Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Addressing the U.N. General Assembly this morning, President Donald Trump said he faces a “big decision” regarding Iran: “Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before … or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic?”

But Trump quickly made clear he believes that a deal will be reached “right after the [midterm] election, because it doesn’t make sense for them not to,” Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports…

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Trump later said during a press availability with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had a “very good meeting” with Iranian officials today on the sidelines of the UNGA that lasted for three hours, while Trump has reportedly told his advisors he’s open to meeting with the Iranians himself “if the conditions are right”…

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will be provided a security detail from the State Department while attending the UNGA, Axios reports…

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Speaking on Fox News about recent Houthi and Iran-backed attacks on Saudi Arabia, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. has “a defense agreement with Saudi Arabia. We intend to live up to our commitments on it. We will,” though he said Washington is “working to see if this thing can be fixed” first…

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani reupped his criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an interview with CNN yesterday, calling him “a war criminal and an architect of a horrific genocide of the Palestinian people.” Netanyahu responded in a video message today accusing Mamdani of supporting Hamas and inciting riots against Jews…

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The Trump administration is discussing with Middle East partners a $10 billion investment fund, with $5 billion from the U.S. and matching contributions from the other countries, to rebuild energy infrastructure damaged in the Iran war and develop new oil and gas routes that reduce reliance on the Strait of Hormuz…

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in his address to the UNGA, accused Israel of having a “genocidal mindset that can never get enough of killing” and called on more world leaders to recognize a Palestinian state…

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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that she is endorsing the state’s Democratic Senate nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, after having previously voiced reservations over his views on Israel and antisemitism, JI’s Emily Jacobs reports. In a joint podcast appearance with El-Sayed, Nessel, who is Jewish, acknowledged that “people are going to call me a traitor to my people” and a “kapo,” but said, “I can’t be true to my values if I even consider voting for [GOP nominee] Mike Rogers. Yes, I’ll be voting for Abdul.”

El-Sayed, for his part, vowed to support the Jewish American Security Act but said he would work to expand the legislation to provide similar protections for people of other faiths. He also answered in the affirmative when Nessel asked if Jewish Zionists have a place in the Democratic Party…

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Meanwhile, Michigan Jewish leaders called on former Vice President Kamala Harris to appeal to El-Sayed, whom she campaigned with in Michigan today, to accept their five “nonnegotiable” demands including Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, noting Harris’ own history of fighting antisemitism and standing with the Jewish community, JI’s Marc Rod reports. In their appearance today, Harris and El-Sayed did not address foreign policy…

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Vulnerable Republican candidates in high-profile races, including Rogers, Iowa Senate candidate Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) and Michigan gubernatorial candidate Rep. John James (R-MI), have urged a prompt end to the Iran war in recent days, citing rising costs ahead of the midterm elections, JI’s Marc Rod reports…

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A new CNN poll found that 61% of Americans view Israel as an “ally” or “friendly” country, down from 73% who said the same in March 2025, while 15% view it as an enemy, the highest in any CNN poll since 2000 and double the amount who said the same last year. The figure who see Israel as an enemy is even higher among Americans under 45, at 23%…

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Several airlines are canceling flights to and from Iran as U.S. sanctions kick in tomorrow, targeting any entity that offers Iranian airlines fuel, landing services, ticketing or other services…

Weekend Recap

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for an interview with author Zibby Owens on her latest book, Between Chapters: How I Started Over, Took Some Chances, and Found the Plot.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will address the U.N. General Assembly tomorrow morning. It remains unclear if Pezeshkian will hold a meeting with President Donald Trump while in the U.S.

Meanwhile, Jewish organizations including UJA-Federation of New York, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, American Jewish Committee New York, Anti-Defamation League New York/New Jersey, the New York Board of Rabbis and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations will hold a rally against antisemitism outside U.N. headquarters.

In Washington, ADL will bring survivors of antisemitic attacks — including the June 2025 firebombing of an Israeli hostage awareness march in Boulder, Colo., the deadly May 2025 shooting at the Capital Jewish Museum and the March 2026 terror attack at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Mich. — to Capitol Hill to lobby for the Jewish American Security Act and the Right to Worship Act.

The Senate Armed Services Committee will receive a classified briefing on CENTCOM operations from its commander, Adm. Brad Cooper.

American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad) will host its Lamplighter Awards reception, this year honoring Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Jeff Miller, chair of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council. The event will be co-chaired by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA); Norm Brownstein, founder and chair of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck; and Eli Miller, senior managing director of Liberty Strategic Capital.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump told Axios today that he has “a big decision coming up” regarding Iran: “Do I want to go in and annihilate them [the Iranian regime] or do I not? It’s a big decision.” Trump also said he “may” meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he comes to New York for the U.N. General Assembly next week…

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The State Department announced it has approved “a possible foreign military sale” to Saudi Arabia for 48 F-35 advanced fighter jets and “related equipment,” including engines, at an estimated cost of $24.3 billion. The proposed sale “will not alter the military balance in the region,” the department said, in a potential reference to Israel’s qualitative military edge, which the U.S. is required by law to uphold…

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Meanwhile, a group of House Democrats introduced a resolution today to block the U.S. nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports, citing the lack of safeguards in the deal applied in previous agreements with other U.S. allies and arguing that the deal paves the path toward a Saudi nuclear weapon.

Under procedural rules, the Democrats should be able to force votes on the resolution, which seems likely to pick up support from most Democrats and potentially a handful of Republicans…

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Russia and China vetoed a U.S. resolution at the U.N. Security Council today to renew the mandate of a panel of experts meant to monitor Iran’s nuclear program and efforts to evade sanctions…

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In another clip released by Axios of Alex Thompson’s interview with Hasan Piker, the far-left streamer defended his lenient views on China as compared to Israel: Asked by Thompson why he cares more about Israel’s treatment of Muslims than China’s, Piker responded, “Israel is murdering not just Muslims, but Christians as well, with my tax dollars,” and made a distinction between what Israel is doing in Gaza as an “actual genocide,” whereas he said China’s actions against the Uyghur Muslim minority are a “cultural genocide”…

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Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Michigan Senate nominee for whom Piker has acted as a campaign surrogate, distanced himself from comments Piker made in another clip claiming that the U.S. had “pound for pound” committed more acts of terror than al-Qaida. “I do not agree with this statement [on al-Qaida], nor do I give much weight to the statements made by a social media streamer,” El-Sayed said in a statement to Axios…

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A group of Jewish Democrats in Michigan published an open letter today urging voters to support El-Sayed, despite acknowledging they remained concerned about some of his views, “including aspects of his approach to Israel and the language used by some of his allies.”

Among the 500 signatories were Eli Savit, the Democratic nominee for Michigan attorney general; former Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI) and his son, former Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI); Alicia Chandler, the past president of the Detroit chapter of the American Jewish Committee; and Decky Alexander, the chair of the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus…

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Hedge-fund manager Clifford Asness, a major Jewish GOP donor who is outspoken against antisemitism, took aim at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on X over a report that Schumer’s Senate super PAC had put another $10 million behind El-Sayed: Sharing the cover of Schumer’s book Antisemitism in America: A Warning, Asness wrote: “by ‘warning’ I think he might’ve meant something a bit different than we were told”…

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A new poll from The Hill and Emerson College found the Texas Senate race in a dead heat less than two months from Election Day: Democratic state Rep. James Talarico barely edged out Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, 47%-46%. In Alaska, another battleground state, an AARP poll found former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) with a more sizable lead over Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), 46%-41%…

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The Harvard Kennedy School announced this week the launch of a new program focused on Israel, set to examine issues including Israeli politics and society, U.S.-Israel relations, Jewish-Arab relations and Israel’s place in the region. Barak Sella, a Kennedy School graduate who is spearheading the initiative, spoke with JI’s Haley Cohen about the program’s goals…

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Automaker General Motors has begun building missile parts for Lockheed Martin’s Patriot missiles, in an effort to boost production of the critical interceptor whose stockpiles have been depleted by the Iran war and heavy demand from allies…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for an interview with former State Department antisemitism envoy Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt on her newly founded institute at Emory University to combat antisemitism.

Axiosis expected to air its full-length interview with Hasan Piker tomorrow, after releasing several clips today.

World leaders will converge this weekend in New York ahead of high-level week at the U.N. General Assembly, which will see speeches from global heads of state and many diplomatic sideline events and meetings.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at a press conference today that they are expecting “multiple protests every day” of the event, but that there are “no known, specific or credible threats against the United Nations General Assembly or our city,” JI’s Will Bredderman reports.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz and Anwar Gargash, a senior diplomatic advisor to UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed, will sit for a conversation on Sunday hosted by Al-Monitor.

On Monday evening, as Yom Kippur comes to an end, former U.S. diplomat Morgan Ortagus and Lebanese banker Antoun Sehnaoui will host a break the fast and UNGA welcome reception in New York.

In observance of Yom Kippur, we’ll be back with the Daily Overtime on Tuesday. Shabbat shalom and g’mar chatima tovah!

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Democrats announced plans to try to block the Trump administration’s sale of $2.8 billion in bombs to Israel, which is reportedly set to be financed with U.S. foreign military funding, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced he’s placing a procedural hold on the sale, while Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) vowed, “We will work to stop it”…

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Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita in New York today alongside U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz, where Jerusalem and Rabat agreed to a series of measures to boost bilateral ties, including appointing full ambassadors to each other’s countries, turning their diplomatic missions into embassies, increasing direct flights and holding high-level visits in the near future…

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Meanwhile, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter had a “positive meeting” with his Lebanese counterpart, Nada Hamadeh, in Washington yesterday, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel. The two ambassadors agreed to meet again next month in Rome for further negotiations.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said today that he’d like to reach a security agreement with Jerusalem once the IDF withdraws from southern Lebanon “primarily to end the state of hostility,” though it “could be a prelude to a later peace agreement”…

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Saudi Arabia appears to have escalated its fight against the Houthis by launching a Chinese-made ballistic missile for the first time, based on debris recovered in Yemen and analyzed by Yemeni officials and weapons experts — until now, Riyadh had relied on fighter-jet airstrikes against the Iran-backed militants. The debris may provide rare proof of China’s long-denied missile sales in the Middle East…

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The Houthis, for their part, claimed to shoot down a Saudi F-15 today, releasing video purporting to show burned remains of the American-made fighter jet. U.S. officials reportedly met with Houthi representatives at the U.S. Embassy in Oman over the weekend to try to turn down the temperature on the conflict…

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani told reporters today that he does not intend to participate in any demonstrations against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s appearance at the U.N. General Assembly next week — and maintained he did not endorse protests against the PM’s arrival, an apparent ratcheting-down of his remarks from earlier this summer, JI’s Will Bredderman reports.

Mamdani also said that he “welcome[s]” a planned prayer demonstration by students from the Modern Orthodox Ramaz and SAR high schools outside Gracie Mansion on Friday, though he noted he may not be in residence at the time…

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Senate Democrats largely sounded a positive note after their meeting with Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed in Washington today. Departing from the meeting, Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tina Smith (D-MN) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) told C-SPAN they felt positively about him and his electoral prospects.

El-Sayed also got a boost from former Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI), a longtime Jewish Democrat whose son and brother also represented Michigan in Congress, who yesterday urged “all Michiganders of conscience” to vote for El-Sayed. Despite his “significant disagreement with Abdul in his approach to the conflict involving Israel and the Palestinians,” Levin wrote in a statement, “I have never failed to support the full Democratic ticket”…

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Netanyahu announced in a video statement that he intends to introduce a bill to revoke the citizenship of any Israeli who “defames IDF soldiers abroad,” as well as another bill to increase the amount of damages they can be sued for, referencing opposition party leader Yair Golan, former Military Advocate-General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi and Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, the filmmakers behind the recent film “NAZA”…

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The New York Times announced it had removed a line in an article about “NAZA” that had drawn fierce backlash as it read, “Israelis still largely view themselves as the victims of Oct. 7,” less than three years after attacks that constituted the single deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.

The Times attributed it to an “editing error” and said the sentence “was intended to convey Israelis’ perception of the government’s military response” to Oct. 7 but had “inadvertently suggested that Israelis’ experience as terror victims was a matter of perception”…

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Amazon Web Services said yesterday that it is unable to restore some customer data held in its data centers in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain that were struck by Iranian drone attacks earlier this year. “A cloud region losing customer data because of an airstrike — I don’t think that’s ever happened before,” internet-infrastructure expert Doug Madory told The Wall Street Journal…

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County prosecutors in Washington state agreed to dismiss charges against the “UW33,” members of the University of Washington anti-Israel group SUPER UW who had been arrested after occupying and severely damaging a UW engineering building last year to protest the school’s relationship with companies that do business with Israel. Under the agreement, the charges will be dismissed if the defendants complete community service and do not commit any more crimes in the next year…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for an interview with Erielle Reshef, the MS NOW anchor and reporter who says she “won’t hide” her Jewish identity as she appears on a network with a progressive audience increasingly critical of Israel.

House Republicans announced the chamber is canceling votes tomorrow and will therefore adjourn this afternoon after a vote on a major Russia sanctions package, not set to return until after the midterm elections in November. While House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) denied that the issue was related, an early recess allows the caucus to avoid a vote on a measure forced by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the war in Iran.

Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA) will speak at the Hudson Institute about the Trump administration’s economic isolation campaign against Iran and China’s relationship with the regime.

The Atlantic Festival will kick off in New York, with speakers over the three-day event including New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), Columbia University President Jennifer Mnookin, authors and reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan and other leaders of journalism, art and industry.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

The U.S. destroyed two Iranian vessels yesterday after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps tried to steal a Navy drone in the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. officials told Axios…

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Top military leaders from the U.S., Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt reportedly met in Germany last week to discuss the war in Iran. CENTCOM head Adm. Brad Cooper assured the group that the U.S. does not plan to withdraw its forces from the region, while Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF’s chief of staff, updated participants on IDF operations in several arenas…

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Saudi Arabia issued an alert today for a possible attack targeting the pilgrimage city of Mecca, amid ongoing attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen in recent days…

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Riyadh also canceled some oil shipments meant to depart for Europe in September after its key East-West pipeline was damaged in drone attacks, Reuters reports, compounding the global oil crisis…

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The Trump administration is preparing a $2.8 billion sale of 40,000 one-ton bombs and 20,000 Penetrator warheads to Israel, a U.S. official told The Washington Post…

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The Iran war could cost the U.S. up to $3 billion for each month that it continues, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found in a report released today, on top of the $38 billion the CBO estimated that the war already cost in its first five months…

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U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa visited southern Lebanon today to “see firsthand the progress and challenges in the pilot zones” where the Lebanese Armed Forces have taken over control from the IDF, according to a statement…

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Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) said she was “followed, shouted at, and harassed by two rogue paid actors,” following a hearing on the Hill today, who ostensibly targeted her for her views on the Middle East. “Let me be clear: I have always wanted the wars in the Middle East to end,” she wrote in a statement on X. “People are free to disagree with me, challenge me, and protest my positions. That is democracy. But disagreement is not license for intimidation or harassment”…

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The Trump administration reached a settlement agreement with Lincoln Memorial University to end discrimination against Jewish students, the Justice Department announced today, after a federal investigation found that an LMU college denied requests by Jewish students for religious accommodations, but provided those same accommodations to non-Jewish students…

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Michigan Sens. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Gary Peters (D-MI) are imploring the Democratic Senate caucus to help Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed with financial support in his race against former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), Semafor reports, and are inviting members to a meet-and-greet with El-Sayed in Washington later this week…

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In a meeting with House Republicans today, Vice President JD Vance urged members who are “running against a Democrat who’s not that crazy” in the midterm elections to “just talk about Abdul El-Sayed. He’s got enough material for the whole country”…

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Vance also told the New York Post that the Iran war will be in a “much different phase in a couple of months” and said the U.S. “is not engaged in aggressive operations [against Iran]. We’re just not”…

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Appearing at the Hudson Institute today, Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) argued that the U.S. and Israeli strikes that killed much of Iran’s leadership could have a deterrent effect on Chinese President Xi Jinping by proving that authoritarian rulers are not untouchable. He further claimed that Chinese bot networks helped drive the surge in online antisemitism after the Oct. 7 attacks, citing an estimate that these bots accounted for roughly 22% of such social media activity.

Ricketts also sharply criticized the isolationist think tank Defense Priorities, likening its case for a U.S. pullback from the Indo-Pacific to Britain and France’s 1938 agreement in Munich to let Hitler seize part of Czechoslovakia…

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Ed Sheeran issued a statement regarding Macklemore being dropped as the opening act from the rest of his U.S. stadium tour, writing on Instagram that the decision was out of his hands and that he respects Macklemore’s choice to speak about Israel onstage, even if he does not choose to do the same. He confirmed that he spoke with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft about the issue as well as promoters and “activists on both sides.”

Four of Sheeran’s other opening acts — Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Irish folk band Beoga — pulled out of his tour today in what they said was solidarity with Macklemore and the Palestinian people…

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In a New York Times/Siena poll released today, respondents were split over whether they preferred a candidate who would support or oppose military aid to Israel. The survey found that 36% of respondents overall backed a candidate who was supportive of military aid, while 37% leaned towards someone who was opposed — and responses broke sharply along partisan lines. By a 67%-9% margin, Republicans said they would support a candidate advocating for Israel aid, while Democrats backed the candidate opposing Israel aid, 53%-17%…

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Ally Chemtob, a Democratic member of the New Castle, N.Y., Town Council, yesterday endorsed Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) for reelection, citing his relationship with the Jewish community and record on antisemitism and Middle East policy, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a dive into Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s attacks on AIPAC and Democratic operative Michael Sacks and what they mean for pro-Israel donors in the deep-blue city.

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On the Hill, the House Homeland Security Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold hearings on how counterterror efforts have evolved in the quarter-century since the 9/11 attacks.

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Politico’s Decoded Summit will take place in Washington, with speakers including David Sacks, co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, and former Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump claimed today that Iran “wants to make a deal, quickly and badly,” writing on Truth Social that he “will determine whether or not the U.S.A. will choose to engage – The concept of which we are open to.” He also wrote in another post that rising diesel prices around the world are “mostly caused by the Russia/Ukraine War, not Iran,” and that Russia and Ukraine had agreed not to target each other’s energy infrastructure…

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The Treasury Department imposed sanctions today on Russia’s VTB Bank for assisting Iran in evading sanctions, including helping to move billions in frozen Iranian assets. The U.S. had previously sanctioned VTB Bank over its role in financing Russia’s war against Ukraine; Treasury said the bank was now “among the most comprehensively sanctioned financial institutions in the world”…

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CENTCOM head Adm. Brad Cooper met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah today, as the Gulf state continues to face escalating attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. MBS reportedly urged Trump last week to conduct strikes against the Houthis, which the president refused…

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Asked about the hostilities, Vice President JD Vance told reporters today that the U.S. is in direct contact with the Houthis as well as in continued discussions with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, “so we actually feel like we are on top of the situation”…

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Meanwhile, U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham is reportedly weighing Saudi requests for assistance, including helping defend against Houthi strikes on oil infrastructure, and has thus far agreed to send British military advisors to Saudi Arabia for consultations…

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Trump nominated Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) to be U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia; in a statement, Hunt highlighted his previous service in the region as an Army officer and as a diplomatic liaison in Riyadh…

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Widespread protests, the largest since the ouster of former President Bashar al-Assad in 2024, have broken out across Syria after Damascus raised diesel prices by 40% and household gas prices by 9% over the weekend…

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Columbia University anti-Israel protest leader Mahmoud Khalil and several of his fellow activists filed a lawsuit against Columbia in federal court today, arguing that the school failed to protect them against harassment they allege that they faced on campus due to their activism…

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The release of a Department of Education report on foreign funding to U.S. colleges and universities, due out last Friday, was delayed for a fifth time and is now set to be released on Sept. 25…

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Macklemore has been dropped as the opening act for the remaining U.S. dates of Ed Sheeran’s stadium tour after several venues refused to host the rapper, the tour’s promoter said, following controversy over his repeated onstage anti-Israel tirades that critics said veered into antisemitism.

Macklemore claimed in a subsequent post on Instagram, which again accused Israel at length of committing genocide, that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft — who also owns Gillette Stadium, where Sheeran is scheduled to play later this month — rallied other stadium owners to collectively agree they would not allow Macklemore to perform at their venues.

Kraft responded in a statement, saying that hosting Macklemore after his “history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community” would cross a line into platforming hate speech. He invited Macklemore to a sit-down discussion “because ultimately our goal is the same — peace for all people, an end to suffering, and an end to all hate”…

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The Temple Israel congregation in West Bloomfield, Mich., returned to its sanctuary for Rosh Hashanah services on Friday, six months after an attacker drove a truck full of explosives into the synagogue.

During the service, the Forward reports, congregational leaders spoke about the prayer books donated by other synagogues around the country after theirs were destroyed, the neighbors of other faiths who supported the Jewish community and the additional security measures put in place to facilitate the reopening…

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Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF chief of staff, denounced “NAZA” — a new documentary by Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor alleging Israel used AI-assisted systems to kill Gazan civilians — as “blood libel” and ordered a review of possible legal action against its creators, along with a probe into whether classified material was leaked to make it.

The IDF called on the filmmakers to allow the military to view the documentary in its entirety, after it premiered last week at the Venice International Film Festival…

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A ProPublica investigation found that Umar Kremlev, a Russian businessman close to President Vladimir Putin, paid for hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses for Donald Trump Jr.’s three-day May wedding in the Bahamas, including renting a private island.

After the story was published, Trump Jr.’s wife, Bettina Trump, confirmed Kremlev’s role on Instagram, writing that “our dear friend Umar very generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations for us AFTER our wedding” as “an extraordinarily generous wedding gift,” and insisting “friendship doesn’t require a political motive.” National security experts warned the arrangement gave a Putin ally intimate access to the president’s son…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for an interview with Fox News co-host Jessica Tarlov on her new book, I Disagree: Winning Arguments Without Losing Friends, including her reflections on her closely watched sit-down last year with far-left streamer Hasan Piker.

Vice President JD Vance is expected to address House Republicans tomorrow on the White House’s messaging strategy for the midterm elections.

The Eradicate Hate Global Summit will begin in Pittsburgh with a keynote speech from Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist Dr. Alfred Garwood.

New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin will speak at a Democratic Majority Action Committee fundraiser in White Plains, N.Y., where she is expected to address combating extremism, including antisemitism.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

The International Atomic Energy Agency has observed construction activity at Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, a suspected underground nuclear site, IAEA head Rafael Grossi told Bloomberg Television. President Donald Trump said similarly yesterday, “We notice there’s a little activity at Pickaxe,” and warned Iran “not to get cute because we will have to hit them very hard”…

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Iran has also resumed producing ballistic missiles, officials told The Wall Street Journal, working in underground facilities with components it had stockpiled before the war began…

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Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), the GOP nominee for Senate in Michigan, plans to take aim at his Democratic opponent, Abdul El-Sayed, in his remarks at the GOP midterm convention today, calling out in particular El-Sayed’s relationship with streamer Hasan Piker.

Rogers will highlight Piker’s comments that America “deserved 9/11,” according to Axios, as other Republican candidates also campaign around the 25th anniversary of the attacks…

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U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee attended a ceremony today at the 9/11 Living Memorial Plaza in Jerusalem, the only memorial outside of the U.S. to list the name of each victim killed in the terror attacks…

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The next round of negotiations between Israel and Lebanon will be held over two days next week in Rome, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel…

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Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod last week that he’s likely to support the administration’s proposed nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, which would reportedly allow for joint U.S.-Saudi nuclear enrichment efforts inside the Gulf country.

Mast’s support, as the chair of a committee that will be responsible for reviewing the deal during a mandatory congressional oversight period, is a strong sign that many congressional Republicans will coalesce behind the administration in support of the agreement…

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The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law wrote to Qatari Ambassador to the U.S. Sheikh Meshal bin Hamad al-Thani yesterday amid a back-and-forth online, urging the Qatari Embassy to release a full public accounting of its funding to U.S. colleges and universities, JI’s Marc Rod reports.

“There is a straightforward way for the Government of Qatar to demonstrate that public accounts of its activities are inaccurate or misleading: full disclosure,” Brandeis Center CEO Ken Marcus said in a letter to Al-Thani, after the ambassador claimed that critics of Qatar are engaged in a “coordinated disinformation campaign” to manipulate data on foreign funding in U.S. higher education…

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Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” today that the U.S. should take a “very tough position” if Israeli voters reelect the government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel’s upcoming elections, but said a new Israeli government could provide opportunities for more constructive progress…

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The Honey Deuce — the U.S. Open’s iconic signature cocktail — is facing fierce competition for the tennis tournament’s most popular menu item this year. Surrounded by greasy fried foods, the unexpected breakout star is a green bean bowl from Eyal Shani‘s Tel Aviv-born eatery Miznon, whose head of operations spoke with JI’s Haley Cohen about the craze…

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Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel announced that his interview with Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico will not air on his show tonight, and will instead be posted online, after the Trump administration threatened the show, host network ABC and local stations.

The move comes months after former “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert said his show was also prevented from airing an interview with Talarico due to threats from the Federal Communications Commission…

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The J50, a forum of Diaspora Jewish organizations, issued a declaration signed by 59 organizations representing 40 countries that states anti-Zionism, “as manifested today through efforts to deny the Jewish people their right to self-determination, or demand that Jews renounce Zionism as the price of acceptance in political, academic, professional, or cultural life,” is antisemitic, and reaffirms the principles of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism…

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Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon launched a Task Force on Combating Antisemitism at the global body yesterday. Its first meeting was attended by representatives from several countries including the U.K., Australia, Argentina and Slovakia…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at how New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the NYPD are preparing for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming visit for the U.N. General Assembly.

President Donald Trump will attend the Pentagon memorial ceremony for the 9/11 anniversary tomorrow, while Vice President JD Vance will attend the memorial ceremony at Ground Zero.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations will host its annual policy conference and gala in Washington over the weekend, with speakers including New York City Democratic congressional nominee Darializa Avila Chevalier; New Jersey Democratic congressional nominee Adam Hamawy; Virginia state Del. Sam Rasoul; anti-Israel activist Linda Sarsour; Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin; Drop Site News co-founder Ryan Grim; and commentator Cenk Uygur.

The annual All-In Summit — the influential tech-and-politics gathering run by the “All-In Podcast” — kicks off in Los Angeles on Sunday with speakers including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang; Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella; NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman; SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell; California GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton; and former L.A. mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt.

We’ll be back with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shana tovah u’metukah!

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Asked about the U.K., France and Canada enacting sanctions against Israeli settlements in the West Bank, President Donald Trump told reporters this afternoon on his way to Dallas for the GOP midterm convention that he’ll be “speaking to Israel” about the issue. “I understand exactly what’s going on, but I want to find out why all of a sudden does that happen,” he added…

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Trump also predicted the Iran war “will end immediately after” the midterm elections because the Iranian regime is “desperate to affect the election”…

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White House officials and GOP elected officials told Axios that they’ve stopped trying to persuade Trump on anything and find it futile to push back on his decisions, with one longtime advisor telling the outlet, “Why bother? He’s the boss”…

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A new poll of American Jewish voters commissioned by the nonpartisan Jewish Voters Resource Center found that Vice President JD Vance is viewed negatively by 82% of Jewish voters, including 39% of Jewish Republicans, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports. Vance’s approval numbers are markedly lower than those of Trump — who is viewed positively by 89% of Jewish Republicans — and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, at 93%…

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A new CNN poll of the Senate races in Michigan and Maine found the Democratic candidates leading, though both were within the margin of error, indicating the races remain neck-and-neck in the lead-up to November. In Michigan, Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed led former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) 47%-44%, while in Maine, Democratic nominee Troy Jackson led Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) 48%-45%…

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Trump has begun tapping his super PAC’s $400 million war chest through a new group, No Going Back PAC — financially backed by his main super PAC, MAGA Inc. — which has reserved at least $47 million in ads across six contested Senate races and one House race, The New York Times reports. The PAC’s top investments include nearly $15 million in Michigan, $11 million in Ohio and $9.6 million in New Hampshire…

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Pakistan transmitted a warning from Saudi Arabia to Iran to rein in its Houthi proxies in Yemen amid an escalation in hostilities between the terror group and Riyadh, Reuters reports. Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif also sounded a cautionary note in an interview reminding global actors that attacks on Saudi Arabia could now trigger its mutual defense pact with Pakistan and Turkey…

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The International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors voted today for the first time in two decades to report Iran to the U.N. Security Council for violating its nuclear nonproliferation obligations, diplomats told Reuters. The move marks an escalation that opens Iran to possible U.N. sanctions, though Russia and China’s vetoes on the UNSC make actual punitive action unlikely…

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Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar inaugurated the first Israeli Embassy in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana…

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Israel and the Palestinian technocratic committee governing Gaza have successfully vetted roughly 16,500 Palestinians to serve in the Board of Peace’s new police force, though Jerusalem has not yet given its approval for the recruits to leave the Gaza Strip for training, two Board of Peace officials told The Times of Israel…

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Reps. Brad Schneider (D-IL), Craig Goldman (R-TX), Ann Wagner (R-MO), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) urged Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to take steps to ensure Hamas cannot “exploit” economic instability in the West Bank, raising concerns about Israel’s decision to withhold tax revenues from the Palestinian Authority…

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Former Secretary of State Tony Blinken rejected as “complete fiction” a Haaretz report that he delayed an offer by Hamas immediately after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks to release some of the hostages it had captured…

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White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff earned more than $100 million — including nearly $69 million in cash and $38 million in crypto — from the trust that owns his stake in World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency venture he co-founded with Trump and his family in 2024, according to a new financial disclosure…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for reactions from Texas officials and Jewish leaders to the decision by the University of Texas’ Democratic student group to host far-left streamer Hasan Piker on campus later this month.

The GOP midterm convention, which offers a test of whether President Donald Trump can boost the prospects of Republicans in competitive general election races, concludes tomorrow with closing remarks from the president and a keynote address from Vice President JD Vance.

Also speaking at the summit tomorrow are Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Michigan GOP Senate nominee Mike Rogers, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Donald Trump Jr.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

U.K. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced a sweeping new sanctions regime today targeting Israeli settlements in the West Bank, marking a major escalation in Britain’s diplomatic stance toward Israel, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.

Addressing the House of Commons, Miliband unveiled an import ban on goods produced in settlements alongside targeted sanctions against individuals and corporations involved in constructing, advertising or financing settlement expansion. Miliband went further than any previous British official in accusing Israeli settlers of carrying out “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians in the West Bank and calling them “terrorists” with the tacit backing of the Israeli government…

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Denouncing what he described as a “hostile sanctions package,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Israel would be taking swift retaliatory measures, including closing the British Consulate in Jerusalem, expelling British representatives from the U.S.-backed International Gaza Support Center, terminating the British Support Team in Ramallah tasked with training members of the Palestinian Authority Security Forces and barring 12 British officials, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who are “involved in antisemitic and anti-Israel activity”…

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters about Miliband’s announcement, “Obviously, we’re not going to do what the U.K. did,” but declined to comment further. He said Washington and London “share the goal of stability” and “don’t want to see some uptick in violence” in the West Bank…

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All the while, Israel Space Agency head Shimrit Maman met today in Brussels with Ekaterina Zaharieva, the European commissioner for startups, research and innovation, as more European countries turn to Israel for their defense technology needs and as the EU looks to increase its presence in space. The moves mark a shift from 2024, when a plan for an EU air-defense shield was reportedly scrapped as officials realized they would need to rely on Israeli technology to construct it…

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CENTCOM carried out strikes near Iran’s Kharg Island this afternoon, including on Iranian oil tankers, a U.S. official told Fox News. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to retaliate against U.S. forces in the region…

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The Treasury Department announced sanctions today against 27 Iranian airlines as well as several front companies, foreign intermediaries and other aviation-related actors for supporting the regime’s illicit activities…

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office denied reports that he was warned by the UAE ahead of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks: “If there was any relevant information, it was passed through intelligence channels between the two countries,” the PMO said.

Meanwhile, an Emirati source confirmed to The Times of Israel that UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed personally transmitted the warning in a phone call to Netanyahu days ahead of the attacks…

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A coalition of Michigan rabbis and Jewish leaders launched a petition laying out their five “nonnegotiables” for candidates to receive their backing, an effort ostensibly aimed at Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.

The list includes a candidate’s support for Jewish safety, including for Zionist Jews; for Jews to be able to define their own identities, including a connection to the State of Israel; for Israel’s existence as a Jewish state; for full Jewish participation in American political life; and for an affirmative vision for the Middle East moving forward…

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In a letter obtained by JI’s Emily Jacobs, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) urged President Donald Trump to establish an expedited legal pathway for Jewish Canadians to obtain refugee status in the United States amid rising antisemitism in their home country…

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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced today the release of $70 million in state hate crimes funding to “fortify” religious facilities across the state — as well as a “surge” in police presence — as the High Holy Days begin this weekend, JI’s Will Bredderman reports.

Nearly 300 schools, houses of worship and civic groups — not exclusively Jewish ones — will receive grants of up to $250,000 each for cameras, alarms, security training and cybersecurity enhancements…

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Spotted at the “Freedom 250” celebration hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem today to celebrate the American semiquincentennial were U.S. Ambassdor to Israel Mike Huckabee and his wife, Janet; former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman; Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana; Miriam Adelson; Museum of Tolerance chair and co-founder Larry Mizel; former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren; National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir; Argentine Ambassador to Israel Rabbi Shimon Axel Wahnish; Meta’s Jordana Cutler; United Hatzalah President Eli Beer; venture capitalist Eric Reiner; businessman Simon Falic; and singer Ishay Ribo, who performed for the guests…

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The 59th season premiere of CBS News’ “60 Minutes” this Sunday will feature an interview with one of the officers who was shot down in his F-15 fighter jet over Iran in April. The officer, known as “Dude 44,” will be interviewed by correspondent Norah O’Donnell in his first on-camera sitdown…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for an interview with Elliot Kaufman and Yonah Jeremy Bob on their new book, In the War Room: The Inside Story of Israel’s Fight Against Hamas and the Iranian Axis.

The Republican National Committee will kick off its first-ever midterm convention tomorrow afternoon in Dallas, with dozens of candidates and elected officials scheduled to speak over the two days of programming.

President Donald Trump will deliver the keynote address tomorrow night (as well as closing remarks on Thursday), with additional remarks throughout the convention by Vice President JD Vance; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent; Attorney General Todd Blanche; House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA); Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Jon Husted (R-OH) and Dave McCormick (R-PA); Texas attorney general and Senate candidate Ken Paxton; Georgia Senate nominee Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA); Michigan Senate nominee Mike Rogers; and North Carolina Senate nominee Michael Whatley.

Some GOP candidates in tight races, including Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), former Sen. John Sununu (R-NH) and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), will not be attending the convention, in what appears to be a pointed effort to keep their distance from Trump.

The MEAD conference, a summit of government officials, policymakers and leaders in Middle East policy, will conclude in Washington tomorrow. Representatives from 24 countries, including several that have no diplomatic relations with Israel, are reportedly in attendance.

The Israeli Embassy in Washington will host its Rosh Hashanah celebration tomorrow evening.

New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin and Comptroller Mark Levine will walk the runway at the Metropolitan Opera House during Style Across the Aisle, where they will be dressed by Jewish designers Elie Tahari and Yosel Tiefenbrun.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Vice President JD Vance defended his friendship with far-right commentator Tucker Carlson at a White House press briefing this afternoon, saying that he would not “play the game where I throw friends under the bus because I have political disagreements with them,” Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.

“Everybody knows that Tucker Carlson and I are friends. And I think it’s very obvious that Tucker has said some things that I disagree with,” Vance said. He criticized Carlson’s attacks on President Donald Trump and his recent comments expressing support for Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed over former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers in Michigan’s Senate race, though he did not mention Carlson’s extreme antisemitic and anti-Israel rhetoric…

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On the other side of the spectrum, asked by Stephen A. Smith if there was anything antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker could say that could cause El-Sayed to publicly disavow him, El-Sayed responded, “I mean, sure,” but said the “idea that you just categorically disavow an individual, that to me doesn’t make sense.” He added that Piker has 3 million listeners, to whom he wants to “offer … a pathway into an electoral movement”…

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Many of the liberal Jewish and civil rights organizations and lawmakers who protested federal efforts to deport Columbia University anti-Israel protest leader Mohsen Mahdawi are so far silent on new revelations about Mahdawi’s lengthy history of antisemitic and pro-terrorist social media posts, JI’s Haley Cohen and Marc Rod report.

Mahdawi, a 35-year-old Green Card holder and West Bank native, pledged in a 2010 Facebook post, “soon, very soon, we will annihilate the Jews.” He also praised Hamas and honored deceased terrorists in several posts on Instagram and Facebook, declaring that Palestinians have the capacity and conviction “to kill and to wound”…

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Iran fired missiles and drones at Kuwait and Bahrain early today local time, according to the Kuwaiti Defense Ministry and Bahraini Foreign Ministry…

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Trump disputed reports that the U.S. is running low on munitions, writing on Truth Social that the U.S. has “virtually unlimited amounts of Mid to High Grade Ammunition” and is “stockpiling” more but that “sales to Allies will soon again, begin”…

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Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said at an event for Defense Ministry employees today that Jerusalem is “seeing signs” that the pressure campaign on the Iranian regime “could push them to desperate measures,” and warned that if Iran is to attack Israel, “we will strike all infrastructure — including energy infrastructure — and return Iran to the Stone Age”…

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Israel is releasing five Lebanese civilians who had been detained in southern Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said today, in exchange for Beirut’s assistance in locating the remains of Lebanese Jewish community figures. The PMO said the individuals being released were determined through questioning not to be involved in terror activities…

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A new study by the Jewish Federations of North America found that Jewish institutions’ security spending has surpassed $1 billion per year, a 33% increase from 2024. The total breaks down to about $225,000 per institution, including community centers, synagogues, schools, summer camps and nonprofits, with the largest share of the cost allocated to security personnel…

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As a group of leading Hasidic rabbis exited their Oval Office meeting with Trump this afternoon, communal leader Yossi Gestetner told reporters that the gathering was “an opportunity for the first time in over 50 years for the president of the United States to meet with the grand rabbis of the largest Hasidic sects … We had the opportunity to thank the president for all that he does for the United States.”

Among the attendees were Vance; Jared Kushner; Satmar leaders Rav Aharon Teitelbaum and Rav Zalman Leib Teitelbaum; Rav Malkiel Kotler, rosh yeshiva of Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, N.J.; New Square Mayor Israel Spitzer; Rav Aron Mendel Twersky; and Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), who represents large Hasidic and Orthodox Jewish communities in Rockland County, including Monsey and New Square…

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House Democrats overwhelmingly voted against the Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act, a bill that would strip federal funding from colleges and universities engaged in boycotts of Israel, with just 33 Democrats supporting the measure, JI’s Marc Rod reports. The bill ultimately passed 237-169, with two Republicans voting against the measure along with the majority of Democrats…

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Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, told JI’s Marc Rod that he’s hoping to take action in the committee on several bills regarding antisemitism in the remaining months of the congressional term, and also previewed plans for a hearing on the International Criminal Court.

“We’ve been supportive of all of those [antisemitism bills] in the past, so we’ll see what we can get done here in the last few weeks of September, or maybe even in the lame-duck session” after the midterm elections, Jordan said…

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The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights issued a “Dear Colleague” letter today to all healthcare providers that receive HHS funding, explaining how antisemitic conduct can violate federal civil rights law in patient care, medical education, provider training and other settings.

It’s the first such letter from the federal government to incorporate the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, according to the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for an interview with Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) about his views on the Democratic Socialists of America, being pro-Israel in the Democratic Party and more.

Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed will speak on a panel at the Islamic Society of North America‘s annual convention in Detroit on Saturday alongside outspoken Israel critics Cenk Uygur and Zaid Shakir.

Meanwhile, former Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner will no longer speak at a Labor Day rally hosted by the progressive group Hancock County Activists, in what was supposed to be his first public appearance following the suspension of his campaign after a former romantic partner accused him of rape. The group said he was dropped as a speaker because “the media frenzy got just too insane,” and he will instead lead a march for veterans after the rally.

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

In a phone interview with Israel’s Kan public broadcaster, President Donald Trump said Israel “should not worry” amid renewed hostilities between the U.S. and Iran. “You know why? Because I’m the president and I will take care of Israel,” he added.

Asked separately by reporters today how long the military action will last, Trump said, “I don’t think too long”…

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An Oakland, Calif., coffee shop that drew national scrutiny for promoting Hamas and forcibly removing Jewish patrons announced it has indefinitely suspended operations amid lawsuits brought by the Justice Department, Anti-Defamation League and the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law over its alleged harassment of the Jewish customers, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.

About its decision to close down, the cafe wrote on Substack, “These lawsuits represent the ongoing efforts of zionist organizations and the federal government to use the courts as a tool to repress free speech and public political commitments to Palestine”…

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Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani, the sister of Qatar’s emir, promoted a divisive exhibition at the Venice Biennale called “Gaza — No Words — See the Exhibit,” which highlights allegations that Israel deliberately targeted children in Gaza among other actions that the exhibit portrays as constituting genocide, JI’s Matthew Kassel reports.

The Qatari royal, who chairs several of the Gulf state’s leading cultural organizations, hailed the display — which features a textile collection of 100 hand-stitched panels made by Palestinian women called the “Gaza Genocide Tapestry” — as “a powerful exhibition, one not to miss”…

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Actor Mark Ruffalo reportedly tried to enlist Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt — with the assistance of Greenblatt’s former Obama administration colleague Norm Eisen — to help Ruffalo make amends after remarks he made opposing the merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery were characterized by critics as antisemitic, an offer which Greenblatt refused.

Eisen then worked to gather support from over 180 Jewish figures in entertainment who signed an open letter supporting Ruffalo amid what they allege is a “smear campaign” against him…

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani today visited Borough Park in Brooklyn, home to one of the largest Orthodox Jewish communities in the city and the world, a week and a half before the Jewish New Year, JI’s Will Bredderman reports.

Footage released by Mamdani’s office of his visit to Eichler’s Judaica — a purveyor of Jewish books and religious items that has been in business for nearly 40 years — showed the mayor discussing garbage pickup and curriculum at yeshivas with local leaders, who gifted him honey for Rosh Hashanah…

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee met yesterday with U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss progress made in the U.S.-mediated negotiations between Jerusalem and Beirut, which Huckabee called a “historic process, only impeded by Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah”…

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Around 30 Jews remain unaccounted for among the thousands of people missing after last week’s devastating flash floods near the Nepal-Tibet border, according to Rabbi Chezky Lifshitz, who leads the Chabad House of Kathmandu. The Israeli Foreign Ministry has also confirmed that at least two Israelis are missing…

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Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, wrote on X today that the “Israelization of our societies is a fact,” claiming Israel is “a model of containment/repression dressed as democracy” and that pro-Israel advocacy groups “sell that image abroad”…

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In an interview with Rolling Stone, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said it “makes sense” that Jews are sensitive to criticism of Israel crossing into antisemitism, highlighting recent FBI statistics showing anti-Jewish hate crimes make up the majority of religiously motivated hate crimes in the country. “You’ve heard the joke, but it’s serious: Paranoid people have enemies too,” he said.

About his potential decision to run for president in 2028, he said, “I’m more yes than no. I haven’t made a full decision because I want to make sure that we get through this successfully, meaning winning the midterms, and then I’m going to make a final decision”…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at the continued concern within the GOP to Vice President JD Vance’s ongoing failure to distance himself from far-right commentator Tucker Carlson, a dynamic highlighted in Vance’s remarks at the Republican Jewish Coalition summit on Monday.

President Donald Trump will host several Hasidic rabbis in the Oval Office tomorrow to convey his Rosh Hashanah greetings, a meeting the White House claimed is the first of its kind since 1979. The gathering will reportedly include members of the Satmar community, an anti-Zionist Hasidic sect.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

The U.S. struck Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets in Iran today, CENTCOM announced, following Iranian attacks on U.S. forces in the region over the weekend as well as strikes on two tankers carrying Saudi oil in the Strait of Hormuz yesterday.

Iranian officials told The New York Times that the strikes hit several targets in southern Iran including a military base and the perimeter of a commercial airport. Tehran retaliated by firing missiles once again at U.S. bases in Jordan, according to Jordanian state media…

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President Donald Trump had warned on Truth Social that if Iran retaliates for “this very justified attack,” the U.S. will strike Iran again “at a much harder and higher level, but it will not be the biggest attack of them all,” which he said “is waiting in the wings.” He told Fox News that the U.S. was targeting Iranian radar capabilities as it attempted to rebuild and said an agreement with the regime “isn’t worth the paper it’s written on”…

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Even so, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on the sidelines of a gathering of G20 finance ministers in Asheville, N.C., today that the Strait of Hormuz “will be bypassed in two years” as “a worthless piece of water.”

Bessent also said his department is likely to announce sanctions on other banks this week and next after targeting Egyptian Banque Misr for its connections to the Iranian regime…

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Russia has been helping Iran develop advanced supersonic cruise missiles, according to a Financial Times investigation of leaked Russian communications. The highly sophisticated weapons technology, which can travel at several times the speed of sound, could assist Tehran in targeting U.S. aircraft carriers and other assets in the region…

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Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said at a press conference today that Israel and Syria are engaged in negotiations mediated by the U.S. and that Damascus is “still committed” to reaching a diplomatic agreement, despite what he described as dozens of ongoing IDF incursions into Syrian territory…

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The Justice Department announced today that the FBI seized $560,000 in cryptocurrency donations intended for Hamas as well as fundraising and recruitment communication infrastructure belonging to the terror group.

John Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security, said the seizures “deprive Hamas of resources it relies on to recruit and radicalize individuals online and finance barbaric attacks like the one on Oct. 7, 2023”…

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Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he would go on Hasan Piker’s Twitch show to give the antisemitic streamer “a lesson in what he is perpetuating and the advocacy and the rhetoric of what he’s doing,” Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports. “I can give him a two-by-four upside his head because of what he said,” Emanuel said in a CNN interview yesterday, referring to recent comments in which Piker had claimed that Jews who support Israel are inviting violence against themselves.

Piker criticized what he called the “violent death threats from rahm israel emanuel” in a post on X responding to JI’s story, a day after he said on his Twitch stream that he had deleted the social media app…

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Ahead of his address at the Republican Jewish Coalition summit last night in Las Vegas, Vice President JD Vance’s team reached out to several prominent Jewish GOP donors to test the waters of how he might be received, The New York Times reports, in a reflection of how the vice president hoped to use the appearance to assuage concerns among the key constituency for his potential 2028 presidential run…

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California’s state Legislature passed a bill yesterday adding Jewish as an ethnicity option on state forms that collect demographic data. The bill, which now awaits Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature or veto, has raised some historical concerns around government records of Jews, while its proponents say the state’s privacy protections should prevent improper use of the data…

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FBI Director Kash Patel hosted Shin Bet head David Zini in Washington today where they discussed counterterrorism efforts including breaking terrorist financing networks, intelligence sharing and counter-drone technologies, according to Patel…

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul held a joint press conference this morning ahead of the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks calling on the Trump administration to release what they said is $87 million in frozen counter-terror funding owed to the state.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin held a dueling presser elsewhere in the city accusing the two leaders of failing to address crime and highlighting the administration’s work to detain thousands of illegal immigrants across New York…

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A trade union issued a strike notice to Brussels Airlines as workers said they are being forced to staff flights to Israel, a breach of the union’s contract that says employees may volunteer but may not be compelled to fly to Tel Aviv. The workers have “serious concerns about both their physical safety and the mental and ethical impact of these flights,” a union spokesperson told The Brussels Times…

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Jewish leaders from 59 communal organizations from around the world convened in Jerusalem this week for a meeting of the J50 Forum, a body established by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and currently chaired by William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

Meeting with the group today, Sa’ar said they discussed “our shared and deepening concern over the global rise in antisemitism, and the clear connection between the obsessive anti-Israel rhetoric of many governments and the growing attacks against Jewish communities”…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for perspectives from lawmakers on whether the U.S. or Iran has the upper hand as the war currently stands.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump told Fox News this morning that the U.S. will respond to Iran’s attacks yesterday on U.S. forces in Jordan: “We’re going to hit them hard. There will be a response,” he said…

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CENTCOM and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have proposed to Trump a campaign of limited strikes around the Strait of Hormuz to prevent Iran from rebuilding its radar and missile capacities, U.S. officials told Axios, a plan that may draw the president’s approval following the renewed hostilities over the weekend…

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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Jewish Democrat, encouraged Jewish voters on Sunday to put aside concerns about their safety “in exchange for the opportunity to save the rest of humanity,” regarding Michigan’s closely contested Senate election this November, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.

“We have a moral imperative to place the needs of the world above even our own self-interest and, yes, even our own survival,” Nessel told attendees in her remarks at the Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus’ annual “Summer Simcha” gathering…

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Vice President JD Vance, appearing at a GOP rally in Michigan, attacked the state’s Democratic Senate nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, as a terror sympathizer, targeting him for his comments following the violent attack on Temple Israel earlier this year where he said “hurt people hurt people.” Vance spotlighted a rabbi and security guards from the synagogue who were in the audience…

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El-Sayed’s campaign is working to hire a Jewish community liaison, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports, as he seeks to make inroads with the Jewish community after apologizing over the weekend for his remarks regarding the Temple Israel attack…

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Politico speaks with Detroit-area Arab Americanleaders who helped rally their community to support Trump in his 2024 campaign, many of whom are now souring on the GOP amid the war in Iran and the president’s attacks on El-Sayed — a potentially meaningful shift for the swing constituency that could have an impact in the Senate race…

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San Francisco congressional nominee Connie Chan endorsed the “Oakland People’s Arms Embargo,” an activist movement seeking to halt what it claims are arms shipments out of Oakland Airport heading to Israel, as she seeks to best state Sen. Scott Wiener in the Democrat-on-Democrat race with the backing of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)…

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New York City congressional nominee Brad Lander addressed an incident over the weekend where he was accosted by individuals who accused him of being a Zionist while participating in a protest against a Hindu nationalist leader at Madison Square Garden: Lander in response claimed once again that Israel is carrying out genocide, occupation and apartheid against Palestinians and said he was “glad to participate” in the protest, despite the blowback from “a couple of fringe a**holes with drums and bullhorns”…

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Former Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer told attendees at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership summit to give Vance a “warm welcome” when he speaks at the summit this evening, JI’s Marc Rod reports from Las Vegas. Dermer praised the vice president for playing a “critical role” in the 12-day war against Iran in June 2025, “and particularly the first day, where that element of surprise was so critical to our success”…

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In his remarks at the RJC summit, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee condemned Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood for their spending to influence U.S. education with anti-Israel sentiment, JI’s Marc Rod reports — a notable comment from a representative of the Trump administration, which has largely embraced Doha…

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Vivek Ramaswamy, the GOP nominee for governor of Ohio, told the RJC audience that they “represent the most successful demographic group in America” and therefore antisemitism “is an attack on the idea of success. It is an attack on the idea of meritocracy. It is an attack on the idea of capitalism. It is an attack on the very idea of America itself”…

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British designer John Galliano and the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced that a planned exhibit honoring Galliano’s work would not move forward after the project faced backlash due to Galliano’s history of being convicted of an antisemitic hate crime, JI’s Haley Cohen reports.

“I remain fully accountable for the pain caused by my words in the past … I understand that meaningful atonement is not achieved through an exhibition, institutional recognition or a single public gesture. It is a continuing responsibility, demonstrated through listening, learning and one’s conduct over time,” Galliano said in a statement…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at where Israel’s elections stand with less than two months until voters head to the polls.

Massachusetts will hold its primary elections, where Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) hopes to fend off a generational primary challenge from Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA).

With the House back from its August recess, the Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the threat posed by the Houthi terror group to U.S. interests in the Red Sea.

The leaders of China, Russia, India, Iran and several other countries gathered in Kyrgyzstan today for a two-day meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization focused on political and security issues.

Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent kicked off a two-day meeting of the G20 finance ministers in Asheville, N.C., today, where he is expected to push U.S. allies to cooperate in the Trump administration’s economic isolation campaign against Iran. Also in attendance are several Fortune 500 executives, including Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase and David Solomon of Goldman Sachs.

analysis

Trump administration tees up Capitol Hill fight over Saudi nuclear deal

By Marc Rod

The Trump administration this week submitted the civilian nuclear deal it signed with Saudi Arabia to Congress for a legally mandated review period — during which time Congress could, theoretically, vote to block the deal.Of most concern for lawmakers, the agreementwould reportedly allow for nuclear enrichment inside Saudi Arabia, which critics warn could provide a path toward a Saudi nuclear weapon and set off a race for nuclear enrichment and arms around the region or even the world, with other U.S. allies demanding similar privileges.Once the administration submits the deal to Congress, it is subject to a 90-day consultation and review period, during which the House and Senate foreign relations committees are expected to hold hearings and recommend to the full Congress whether to approve the deal.

Bottom line: There’s likely to be an intense fight on Capitol Hill over this deal leading into the midterms and the end of the congressional session. But if the Trump administration wants it to go into effect, it probably will.

Read the full analysis →

Are you a member of Congress or a congressional staffer? Do you have a copy of the agreement? Reach out to [email protected].

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● The Live Briefing. Word on the street, clips, podcasts and quick updates — the items we’re tracking all day in our Live Briefing on the app (on Apple and Android) and website.

CENTCOM head Adm. Brad Cooper confirmed in a video update on Thursday night that the U.S. military had cleared the Strait of Hormuz’s shipping lanes of sea mines, and announced that U.S. forces helped nearly 1,500 commercial vessels carrying nearly 750 million barrels of oil transit the strait over the past several months… 

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The Associated Press reports that the U.S. is facing a “beyond critical” shortage of advanced missile interceptors — including Patriot missile interceptors — in Europe, owing to their use in the war against Iran; the report comes days after CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow to advise Russia against attacking NATO territory and to end its support for Iran…

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said following a meeting on Thursday with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani that resuming diplomatic efforts with the U.S. “isn’t impossible” but that Washington should come to the table with an “understanding of one simple fact: pressure doesn’t work.”

But Trump administration officials have indicated that the White House does not want to return to the memorandum of understanding it previously had with Tehran, opting instead to pursue its economic pressure campaign…

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President Donald Trump responded to a question about Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) potential entry into the 2028 presidential race, saying, “He’s very talented, he’s a very good friend of mine. I think he might do that, yeah”…

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The New York Times looks at the response among Democrats to the decision by House Democratic leaders to name Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) to the party’s top role in the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Middle East subcommittee… 

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Meta said it shut down a network of accounts on its Facebook and Instagram platforms tied to an Iranian effort to use AI to target American users with content about U.S. politics; the content, which reached thousands of accounts, also including messaging about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict…

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The Justice Department is appealing the dismissal by a district court in Massachusetts of its antisemitism lawsuit against Harvard University, in which the presiding judge ruled that the instances of campus antisemitism were “too isolated and episodic” to constitute a violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act…

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The New York Times previews the Broadway production of Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich’s play “Here There Are Blueberries,” the Pulitzer Prize finalist based on the true story of the response of U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum officials to a photo album gifted to the museum that contained photos depicting the off-duty lives of SS officers at Auschwitz… 

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Prosecutors in Scotland are pursuing terrorism-aggravated charges against seven Palestine Action members who in March 2025 vandalized the Trump Turnberry golf resort…

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Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader said at the Combat Antisemitism Movement’s conference in Santo Domingo this week that the country would adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, becoming the 48th country to do so…

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An Israeli court acquitted a man who had been filmed spitting on a nun in Jerusalem’s Old City — an incident that prompted widespread outrage at the time — citing the man’s mental illness; the man, who was determined to be in a psychotic state during the April incident, was ordered to spend the next six years in a psychiatric hospital…

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Former Israeli hostage Elkana Bohbot, who was released from captivity in Gaza last October, announced the birth of his second child, a girl, with his wife, Rebecca…

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Mijal Bitton was tapped by Maimonides Fund to serve as dean of the Maimonides Jewish Leadership Institute, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim reports…

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Venture capitalist and finance analyst Benjamin Rosen, who was one of the first to push for private investments in the technology industry, died at 93…

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

Enemy Lines: In Tablet, Elliott Abrams reflects on Jared Kushner’s meeting earlier this month with senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya. “The Trump administration’s policy of meeting with terrorist leaders does more than legitimize their aims and tactics. It also establishes a ruinous precedent for future administrations that find deeper sympathies with organizations that murder Western civilians while proclaiming, ‘Death to America.’ … The Kushner-al-Hayya meeting is in fact the latest in decades of such mistakes, and the interesting question is why the U.S. officials making them did not see them as errors that would undermine U.S. interests.” [Tablet]

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Lurie’s Allure: The Washington Post’s Kate Andrews spotlights San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, a Democrat, who has largely focused his time in office on addressing local challenges. “‘I think it is radical for an elected official to think about his or her city and just stay focused on that,’ Lurie, 49, tells me … The mayor is having a moment in America, in large part because of attitudes like [progressive Seattle Mayor Katie] Wilson’s and grocery store stunts like [New York City Mayor Zohran] Mamdani’s. Such politicking has captured the nation’s attention, but Lurie isn’t interested in weighing in on any of it. ‘I don’t really think about parties and ideology,’ he says.” [WashPost]

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High Holy Day Appeal: In the Jerusalem News Syndicate, Nathan Diament, executive director of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center, calls on Congress to increase funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program. “With the High Holidays around the corner, millions of American Jews will attend synagogue with a sense of trepidation — not because Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish Day of Judgment, but because sitting in synagogues for hours at a time makes us think about the attacks that have occurred. … This security crisis strikes at the heart of the First Amendment. American society cannot function without flourishing religious life. And there is no true freedom of religion without freedom from fear.” [JNS]

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Former Israeli hostage Emily Damari, who was held in Hamas captivity in Gaza for more than 15 months, on Thursday night married food influencer Danielle Amit in a ceremony in Tel Aviv.

Lea Michele Sarfati, actor, singer and songwriter, known professionally by her first and middle names, turns 40 on Saturday

FRIDAY

Tibor Spitz, artist and chemist, he survived the Holocaust by living with his family in a hole in the ground for seven months, turns 97

Bernard Kupferschmid, independent international trade and development professional, turns 95

Yakir Aharonov, professor emeritus of quantum physics at Tel Aviv University, now on the faculty of Chapman University in Southern California, turns 94

Robert Elman, honorary president of the Israel Policy Forum and past president of the American Jewish Committee

Robert Greenwald, filmmaker and the founder of Brave New Films, turns 81

Jane Denkensohn, retired general counsel of Queens College of the City University of New York

Heather Maxine Reisman, founder and CEO of retail chain Indigo Books & Music and co-founder and past chair of Kobo, turns 78

Susan Mailer, psychoanalyst and author of a 2019 memoir about her father, Norman Mailer, turns 77

Merryl H. Tisch, chair of the SUNY Board of Trustees and former chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents, turns 71

Gary J. Shapiro, executive chair of the Consumer Technology Association and author of several books on business and innovation, turns 70

Rabbi Jose Rolando Matalon, rabbi emeritus of B’nai Jeshurun on the Upper West Side of Manhattan

Daniel Jacob Stern, actor, best known for his roles in two “Home Alone” films and two “City Slickers” films, turns 69

Emma Elizabeth Wylie Samuelson, British actor, known professionally as Emma Samms, she is best known for her soap opera roles, turns 66

Jonathan G. Cedarbaum, professor of practice at The George Washington University, he was deputy counsel in the Biden administration and the National Security Council legal advisor, turns 65

David J. Zuckerman, television writer and producer, he is best known as the original showrunner and executive producer of the animated comedy series “Family Guy,” turns 64

Jonathan Steven Adelstein, FCC Commissioner from 2002 to 2009, then CEO of the Wireless Infrastructure Association, turns 64

Naomi Fried, Ph.D., managing partner and co-founder of PharmStars and managing partner and co-founder of Ambit Health Ventures 

Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Meta/Facebook from 2008 to 2022, turns 57

Thomas Jacob “Jack” Black, actor, comedian and musician, in 2018 he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, turns 57

Richard Recht, early pioneer of contemporary Jewish rock music, turns 56

Kai Falkenberg, general counsel of The Guardian US and a lecturer at Columbia Law School

Daniel “Doni” Greenwald, first VP in the Baltimore office of Newmark Valuation & Advisory

Steven Michael Mesler, Olympic gold medalist in four-man bobsleigh in 2010, he is the co-founder and CEO of Classroom Champions, turns 48

Gilad Shalit, Israeli soldier held captive for over five years by Hamas, released in 2011 as part of a prisoner exchange deal, turns 40

Michael Dunn, offensive lineman for six different NFL teams since 2017, turns 32

Ari Willner

SATURDAY

Elliott Gould, longtime movie and television actor, born as Elliott Goldstein, turns 88

Robert Rubin, secretary of the Treasury during the Clinton administration, turns 88

Amnon Reshef, retired IDF major general, he is the founder of Commanders for Israel’s Security, which he led from 2014 to 2020, turns 88

Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Hillel, head of Yeshiva Ahavat Shalom in Jerusalem, turns 81

Connie Milstein, hotel and real estate mogul, she was the U.S. ambassador to Malta, turns 80

David F. Levi, former dean of Duke Law School following 17 years as a U.S. District Court judge, turns 75

Uri Lupolianski, founder of Yad Sarah and former mayor of Jerusalem, turns 75

Warren Stern, Los Angeles resident

Jacob Joseph “Jack” Lew, former U.S. ambassador to Israel, he was the secretary of the Treasury during the Obama administration, turns 71

Amy Nathan, former senior counsel at the Federal Communications Commission for 23 years

Richard E. Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation since 2017, turns 67

Laura Kamer-Israel, director of operations at Kesher Israel: The Georgetown Synagogue

Ariel Zwang, CEO of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, the first woman in JDC’s history to hold the position

Lisa Frydman Barr, journalist, author and blogger, turns 62

Melinda R. Katz, district attorney of Queens since 2020, turns 61

Neil Gorsuch, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States since 2017, turns 59

Ra’anan Alexandrowicz, director, screenwriter and editor, turns 57

Nicola Mendelsohn, head of the global business group at Meta, turns 55

Jerr Rosenbaum, partner at Penn Avenue Partners

Charlie Spies, election law guru at Dickinson Wright PLLC

Marc Ecko, hip-hop fashion designer, entrepreneur and artist, born in Lakewood, N.J., as Marc Milecofsky, turns 54

Gal Beckerman, author and staff writer at The Atlantic

Rabbi Seth Grauer, rosh yeshiva and head of school at Bnei Akiva Schools in Toronto

Ehud Tenenbaum, Israeli computer hacker, known as “The Analyzer,” turns 47

Rabbi Michael Davies, rabbi of Congregation Sons of Israel in Cherry Hill, N.J.

Dylan Paul Reese, former ice hockey defenseman for 18 seasons, turns 42

Lauren Collins, television and film actor, turns 40

Bracha “Beatie” Deutsch, winner of the Tiberias Marathon and the Jerusalem Marathon, Haredi mother of five children, turns 37

Robin Rubin

Adam Shapiro

SUNDAY 

Judith R. Frazin, author and genealogist, she served on the board of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies, turns 84

Tal Brody, basketball star in both the U.S. and Israel, he was a first-round pick of the Baltimore Bullets in the 1965 NBA draft, turns 83

Miri Fabian, Israeli actor known for her role as Chaja Dresner in “Schindler’s List,” turns 83

Daniella Weiss, Israeli settlement movement activist and a former mayor of Kedumim, turns 81

Lewis Black, stand-up comedian (known for his angry face), turns 78

Rabbi Yitzhak Aharon “Ira A.” Korff, Hasidic rebbe of Zvhil-Mezhbizh, based in Boston, Miami and Jerusalem, previously married to Shari Redstone, turns 77

Murray Weiss, producer for CBS News

Shlomi Shabat, Israeli vocalist who sings in Hebrew, Turkish and Spanish, he was a judge in the inaugural season of “The Voice Israel” on Israeli television, turns 72

David Paymer, actor, comedian and television director, turns 72

Rabbi Yehuda Gilad, rosh yeshivah at Yeshivat Maale Gilboa and the rabbi of Kibbutz Lavi, he served as a member of the Knesset for the Meimad party, turns 71

Thom Tillis, U.S. senator (R-NC), he is retiring at the end of this term, turns 66

Deborah Swartz, co-founder of Maoz (a leadership network in Israel)

Herschel Chomsky, business manager of the Perth Amboy (N.J.) Free Public Library

Richard Rubenstein, judge for New Jersey’s courts of workers’ compensation

Mauricio Karchmer, computer science professor at Yeshiva University, he resigned from MIT over antisemitism issues on campus, turns 66

Gary Ginsberg, corporate strategist and author of best-selling First Friends: The Powerful, Unsung (and Unelected) People Who Shaped our Presidents, turns 64

Daniel Finkelstein, member of the U.K.’s House of Lords, former executive editor of The Times of London where he remains a weekly political columnist, turns 64

Elie Wurtman, Israeli venture capitalist and social entrepreneur, turns 57

Eldad Yaron

Tal Mosseri, Israeli television presenter, actor and singer, turns 51

Mitchell Schuler, director of search and analytics for Politico

Laura Moser, author who founded the anti-Trump resistance movement Daily Action, turns 49

Simon Marciano, principal with Baltimore’s Neuberger, Quinn, Gielen, Rubin & Gibber

Julia Hoffman, political fundraiser in Massachusetts

Max Hoffman, actor, following in the footsteps of his father, Dustin Hoffman

Inna Vernikov, member of the New York City Council representing a portion of Brooklyn, turns 42

Margy Levinson, director of external affairs at Upstream USA

Mati Cohen, project manager at Shalom Bayit Construction in Beverly Hills

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) joined the growing list of Democrats condemning far-left streamer Hasan Piker’s recent comments suggesting American Jews incite antisemitic attacks due to their support for Israel, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports: An Ossoff spokesperson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the Georgia senator “unreservedly rejects reckless and dangerous rhetoric suggesting that policy advocacy invites violence against the Jewish community or any community.”

Piker had in March named Ossoff as his “dark-horse pick” for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, alongside a series of further-left candidates. Ossoff, at the time, did not respond to questions from JI about Piker…

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Meanwhile, Ossoff’s opponent, Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), is again facing criticism over the extremist activity of an associate, following a Washington Post report that a former staffer shared images of a swastika and of himself in a KKK robe…

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The State Department sent a cable to U.S. embassies around the world urging them to work with local governments to shore up security for global Jewish communities ahead of the High Holy Days and the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks…

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The Turkish government has retained Ballard Partners — a lobbying firm with deep ties to President Donald Trump — to represent Ankara’s Ministry of National Defense in Washington, as Turkey and the U.S. continue to improve ties under the Trump administration.

The firm’s team on the contract includes former Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL), a pro-Turkey and pro-Israel voice on Capitol Hill who co-founded the Congressional Caucus on U.S.-Turkey Relations in 2001. Speaking with JI’s Matthew Shea, Wexler framed the partnership as aiming to strengthen U.S.-Turkish ties while also attempting to mend severely strained relations between Ankara and Jerusalem…

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Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani met today in Tehran with Iranian officials including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, President Masoud Pezeshkian and Parliament Speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf, where he discussed with them “efforts being made to reduce escalation and create appropriate conditions for dialogue,” according to the Qatari Foreign Ministry.

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said during his meeting with Al Thani that Iran “[does] not trust the Americans” and threatened that “if America starts evil against the Islamic Republic, we will bring disaster on their military and economic interests”…

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani met with Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, this morning — weeks after Waltz denounced the mayor’s suggestion that he might arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and weeks before the leader of the Jewish state is set to arrive in the city for the U.N. General Assembly, JI’s Will Bredderman reports…

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More than 70% of Jewish educators in teachers’ unions fear that speaking up about antisemitism in their union could harm their careers or reputations, according to a study published today by the Anti-Defamation League.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents (73%) said they feel compelled to self-censor in teachers’ union spaces, and almost half (47%) reported reducing their participation in union activities because of harmful rhetoric or behavior targeting Jews, Zionists or Israel, JI’s Haley Cohen reports…

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A dozen countries issued a joint statement condemning Israel’s move this week to dismantle a vocational training center run by the U.N. Relief and Works Agency in east Jerusalem, which came following the passage of a 2024 law banning the organization from operating in Israel after several of its employees were found to have participated in the Oct. 7 attacks.

Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom called for Israel to immediately “halt all disruptions to UNRWA’s activities.” Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs rebutted the statement, claiming UNRWA has never had land rights to the area, which Jerusalem claims is owned by the Jewish National Fund…

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Trump highlighted on Truth Social today a statement by the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of the Inspector General that it had referred for suspension or debarment 101 current or former UNRWA staff for participating in the Oct. 7 attacks or for affiliation with Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades. Among those referred were “UNRWA school principals, teachers, security personnel, attendants, psychosocial counselors, and medical professionals,” USAID OIG said…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at how the civilian nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia sent to Congress by the Trump administration may unfold.

Tomorrow marks the six-month anniversary of the outbreak of the Iran war, with the conflict now largely stalled. The Trump administration has reportedly conveyed to mediators that it has no interest in returning to the terms of the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding reached in June that quickly fell apart, while the White House maintains that there are “no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled” with Tehran.

Rabbi Jonah Pesner, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, will be one of the keynote speakers at tomorrow’s March on Washington commemoration at the Lincoln Memorial, marking the 63rd anniversary of the historic march co-led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Other speakers at the event include Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and civil rights leaders.

On Saturday, Sanders will join Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) at a rally for Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) ahead of his primary next week against Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA).

The Michigan Democratic Jewish Caucus will hold its Summer Simcha on Sunday honoring Attorney General Dana Nessel, where Michigan Democrats including Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and congressional nominee Jeremy Moss are slated to speak.

The Jewish American Summit will be held in Los Angeles on Sunday, with speakers including Jay Sures, vice chairman of United Talent Agency; U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee; Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter; educator and activist Yossi Farro; GOP California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton; and Jewish communal professionals and leaders.

The Republican Jewish Coalition’s Annual Leadership Summit will kick off Sunday evening in Las Vegas with a welcome reception. Vice President JD Vance is expected to address the gathering. If you’ll be in attendance, be on the lookout for JI’s Marc Rod!

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