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!

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel raised concerns that Senate Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed has not yet walked back his comments about the violent attack on Temple Israel in March, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports. El-Sayed had said about the attacker — whose relatives, including a Hezbollah commander brother, had been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon — that “hurt people hurt people.”

“A lot of us perceived that as sort of making excuses for somebody who sought to murder over 100 pre-K school children, and that’s the kind of mentality that bothers me a lot,” Nessel, who is Jewish, explained in a podcast interview with The Atlantic’s David Frum. “You can’t make excuses for that kind of domestic terrorism,” she added…

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Nearly all Senate Democrats signed on to a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urging him to address growing settler violence in the West Bank by issuing “clear directives” to the Israel Police and IDF to intervene in such incidents; ensuring that individuals responsible for harassment or violence against Palestinians are held accountable; and ending Israeli settlement expansion, JI’s Marc Rod reports.

The letter, led by Sens. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), who have generally been supportive of Israel, was signed by every Senate Democrat except for Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and John Fetterman (D-PA) — who stand at opposite ends of the caucus on Israel issues…

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Addressing the U.N. Security Council today, Board of Peace head Nickolay Mladenov said neither Israel nor Hamas are yet fulfilling their obligations under the Gaza disarmament road map.

“After three years of war and 20 years of military operations, I ask, will another [Israeli] strike on a munitions depot stop Hamas from rearming or tightening its grip on Gaza? It will not. … In the opposite direction, every weapon still carried, every tunnel still worked on and every convoy still obstructed [by Hamas] sets the process back,” Mladenov said…

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White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner reportedly visited CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa, Fla., today for briefings on Iran…

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The Treasury Department named as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist organization the U.K.-based group Palestine Action, which has been involved in multiple high-profile break-ins and vandalism incidents at weapons manufacturers and British military installations.

The department also proscribed the transnational organization Masar Badil for being a front for Samidoun, which is itself a sanctioned front group for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, JI’s Matthew Shea reports…

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Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of the Iranian parliament, thanked China — Iran’s largest trading partner — for rejecting the U.S.’ economic campaign against Iran, in which Washington has said it will ask all nations to help isolate Tehran. Iran’s relationship with China “needs no one’s permission,” Ghalibaf wrote on X, after China’s Foreign Ministry said yesterday that Beijing rejects the sanctions “that have no basis in international law”…

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The New York Times looks at the operations of Iran’s largest bank — Bank Melli — after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said each of its branches around the world “must be shuttered and dark”…

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Saudi Arabia is working to reroute its oil exports once again, this time through the costlier Suez Canal, as its ships in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait — itself a backup route to the Strait of Hormuz — have come under attack by the Houthis…

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In his first international media interview, former Israeli hostage Evyatar David told CNN about the extreme starvation and psychological distress he suffered during his more than 700 days in Hamas captivity…

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) renewed her membership with the Democratic Socialists of America this month, the organization told City & State New York, after the DSA “recently noticed” her membership had lapsed in 2019. The congresswoman also recently met with leaders of the DSA’s New York City chapter…

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 the Republican Minnesota state senator who’s hoping a “boring,” common-sense campaign can beat the far-left Democratic nominee for the House seat currently held by Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN).

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani will visit Tehran for meetings with Iranian officials.

Israeli singer Ishay Ribo will perform with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

The four-day Milken Institute Hamptons Dialogues will kick off in New York.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social today that the Navy informed him that “all mines have been removed and/or detonated” in the Strait of Hormuz, and that the U.S. has notified Iran “that any ship or boat placing new mines will be immediately and systematically destroyed.” The U.S. Space Force is monitoring the strait as well as Iran’s nuclear sites, including Pickaxe Mountain, for any suspicious activity, he added…

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Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said following a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran today that he is hopeful the two countries “will soon announce a temporary corridor for the Strait of Hormuz and practical arrangements to restore safe navigation,” while continuing to work towards a permanent agreement on administering the waterway. The Omani Foreign Ministry further specified that the parties aim to establish a joint effort to clear the strait of mines — despite Trump’s announcement that all have been cleared…

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The State Department is preparing to send some foreign service officers and other diplomats back to work at embassies in Israel, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Oman, Iraq and Kuwait that were evacuated or had staffing reductions during the Iran war, according to a State Department document obtained by The New York Times, potentially indicating the Trump administration does not expect hostilities to resume…

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced that Israel has expelled officials from the Netherlands from the military and humanitarian coordination hub for Gaza located in Kiryat Gat due to “a series of anti-Israel moves by the Dutch government,” including a new law prohibiting trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank…

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Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed doubled down on his anti-Israel rhetoric during an event at a Dearborn church today, Jewish Insider‘s Matthew Kassel reports, a day after the nominee drew renewed scrutiny over his ongoing association with antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker.

El-Sayed declined to confirm if he hopes to win an endorsement from state Sen. Jeremy Moss — a Jewish Democratic nominee for a congressional seat in the Detroit area who is a key holdout in offering his backing — and said that his support for ending aid to Israel is “about making sure that in our foreign policy, we substantiate equal rights to peace, dignity and self-determination for Palestinian folk”…

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Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) was named ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, where he said he will “work to strengthen America’s relationships with Israel and our Gulf allies.”

A source familiar with the situation told JI’s Marc Rod that, since outgoing ranking member Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) would have been unable to remain in the post next year, he decided to give up the position early to help support Moskowitz in his reelection race — in a South Florida district with a substantial pro-Israel constituency where the leadership position will further bolster Moskowitz’s profile — and to pass off committee leadership to a preferred successor….

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A new New York Times/Philadelphia Inquirer/Siena University poll released today found that nearly half of voters in Pennsylvania view Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Jewish Democrat mulling a presidential bid in 2028, as “about right on support of Israel,” even as he has faced skepticism from the far left over his pro-Israel views, JI’s Matthew Kassel reports. Sixty percent of Democrats said they were satisfied with his support for the Jewish state; 39% of Republicans said the same, while another 40% said he is not supportive enough…

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The Department of Justice announced today that a 26-year-old Ohio man had been arrested and charged for sending an email threatening to kill Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) and his family, saying he would behead the Jewish congressman and calling him a Nazi, JI’s Marc Rod reports…

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The IDF said it views with “utmost severity” an incident involving far-right MK Zvi Sukkot and his aides who, during a requested tour of the Palestinian town of Madama, attacked a memorial — dubbed the “Martyrs’ Monument” — with a sledgehammer, an incident which was captured on video. The IDF said the tour participants “acted deceptively and manipulatively” while accompanied by IDF soldiers “who had been diverted from their operational activities for this purpose … while the IDF is operating under significant operational strain”…

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The Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish group that was backed by the U.S. in the fight against ISIS, has officially dissolved, SDF head Mazloum Abdi announced at the presidential palace in Damascus today. The group has completed its merger into the Syrian army under President Ahmad al-Sharaa, Abdi said — the culmination of a fraught integration process that followed months of deadly clashes between government and Kurdish forces…

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Assouline, the luxury publisher known for turning global cities into vibrant $100 coffee-table books, has focused its lens on several Middle Eastern capitals over the years — most recently Beirut. But out of hundreds of titles spanning the globe, not a single Israeli city has made the cut, despite co-founder Prosper Assouline‘s Moroccan Jewish roots, JI’s Haley Cohen reports…

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 Jewish leaders are viewing Rep. Jamie Raskin‘s (D-MD) investigation into the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on campus antisemitism.

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Israeli singer Omer Adam will marry his partner Sacha Israelovich at a converted 14th-century Christian monastery in the Italian seaside village of Portofino tomorrow, after having held a civil ceremony today. Hassidic singer Motty Steinmetz is expected to perform at the celebration, reportedly prompting gender-segregated seating for the guests.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced this afternoon that the Trump administration is launching “Operation Economic Outcast” against Iran, an effort aimed at severing Tehran’s global economic ties in order to “collapse every last option” for the regime, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.

The Treasury Department designated over 60 entities, individuals and vessels “that enable the Iranian regime to procure illicit nuclear and missile technology, conduct cyber operations and generate oil revenue,” Bessent said, while President Donald Trump “is making phone calls to world leaders with specific requests to cease their interactions with the regime”…

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The Treasury Department also redesignated Hezbollah, already a Foreign Terrorist Organization, for acting as a proxy of the Iranian regime under the direction of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and sanctioned 10 individuals who were part of a network transferring funds to Hezbollah through couriers on commercial flights between Lebanon, Turkey, the UAE and Iran…

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed today that Iran tried to assassinate one of his sons: “Iran tried to kill, to murder one of my sons,” he said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 14, without specifying which of his two sons was the target…

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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) today denounced comments by antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker claiming that Jews are inviting antisemitic attacks against themselves by supporting Israel, JI’s Marc Rod reports.

Jeffries wrote on X that the “malicious claim that American Jews are inviting violence against themselves is dangerous and antisemitic,” without naming Piker directly. “We will fight the cancer of antisemitism with the fierce urgency of now,” he said…

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Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, meanwhile, distanced himself from Piker but did not name him nor address the substance of his comments.

El-Sayed insisted that “nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople,” despite having campaigned prominently with Piker, and went on to downplay Piker as “a Twitch streamer” who will not define the race or his campaign. He did not say whether his or his campaign’s relationship with Piker will change going forward…

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Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI) condemned Piker outright, calling him “a hack who thrives on hate, shock and awe because he lacks substance.” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who has previously appeared on Piker’s show, also rejected the streamer’s comments, telling JI’s Marc Rod that “Jews are not the cause of [antisemitism]. Neither are people who support Israel. Antisemites are to blame. That’s it”…

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Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) attended three AIPAC-hosted fundraisers in Los Angeles yesterday with another planned for today, according to The New York Times, as reporting emerges about a growing rift between Rogers and the pro-Israel group as he runs for U.S. Senate.

Rogers reportedly told Michael Tuchin, AIPAC’s board chair, that the group should consider whether it is the best messenger against El-Sayed, though he did not explicitly say he did not want its support and its United Democracy Project super PAC is still considering running ads backing Rogers…

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned comments by Brooklyn Democratic leader Carmella Charrington attacking Jewish investors with whom she is engaged in a property dispute as “Zionists” and suggesting some link between her situation and Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank.

“Suggesting that an alleged deed theft in Brooklyn is part of a global conspiracy involving Jewish people is blatant, reprehensible antisemitism. Trafficking in these dangerous antisemitic tropes is vile and inexcusable,” the mayor’s office told JI’s Will Bredderman, after initially avoiding his questions on the issue at a press conference earlier today. However, the administration did not answer a follow-up question about whether the mayor believes Charrington should step aside from her district leader role…

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Several leading Jewish and pro-Israel organizations condemned actor Mark Ruffalo for using what they deemed antisemitic rhetoric in his recent social media commentary targeting the Ellison family amid the pending merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, JI’s Haley Cohen reports.

Rabbi Noah Farkas, president and CEO of Jewish Federation Los Angeles, said Ruffalo’s “unhinged rant, which combined Jewish wealth, media control, secret technology and sinister global power, is not legitimate criticism. It draws on recognizable antisemitic tropes with a long and dangerous history”…

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As New York magazine continues to come under fire for a recent cover issue depicting the rise of Southwest Asian and North African culture in New York City while taking a hostile view of Israel, the magazine said its editors decided “genocide” is an “accurate description” of Israel’s actions in Gaza and therefore “its use would be allowed in our pages,” claiming that “accusations of antisemitic intent” in usage of the word “were in fact obfuscating an overwhelming ­scholarly consensus”…

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The Trump administration formally revoked Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism today at the end of the 45-day congressional notification period, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced, in order to “eliminate the final major barriers for private sector investment in Syria and promote Syria’s economic recovery and reintegration into the global economy.”

Rubio also revoked the designation of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) — a group that Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa led until he assumed the presidency in January 2025 — as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, after having removed HTS from the Foreign Terrorist Organization list last year…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a preview of tomorrow’s Senate special election runoff in South Carolina, where Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) still has the backing of much of the GOP establishment, including President Donald Trump, in her race against Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC).

Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi is expected to visit Iran tomorrow, as the two countries continue negotiations over administering the Strait of Hormuz amid the announcement of the new U.S. economic campaign against Tehran.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Stefany Shaheen, the daughter of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and a candidate for New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, launched a TV ad this week hitting her primary opponent, military veteran Maura Sullivan, for receiving $300,000 in donations “bundled from AIPAC donors,” Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

The donations referenced in the ad appear to be from individual donors who have previously contributed to AIPAC, but the pro-Israel group itself has made no endorsement and has not been directly involved in the race…

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Michigan Democratic congressional nominee Jeremy Moss declined to endorse his party’s Senate nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, in an interview with Slate: “Abdul’s going to have to demonstrate some serious outreach to Oakland County’s Jewish community,” Moss said. The two candidates have “had an ongoing dialogue,” Moss added, as he said Democrats must ensure that “the liberal Jewish community is not politically homeless”…

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Rabbi Asher Lopatin, director of community relations at the Ann Arbor Jewish federation who has been outspoken about the threat he believes El-Sayed poses to the Jewish community, appeared at a “Democrats for Rogers” press conference in Detroit today where he said, “I usually vote Democrat, but I’m gonna be voting for Mike Rogers … I’m sad to say this, that Abdul El-Sayed has made one thing very clear: We cannot let him anywhere near the U.S. Senate”…

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A new poll commissioned by AARP found El-Sayed leading Rogers by one percentage point, 48-47%, but voters ages 50 and up were 16 points more likely than younger voters to say they were motivated to participate in the general election — a population that swings heavily towards Rogers. Voters ages 50-64 favored Rogers over El-Sayed 51-46%, and voters above 65 favored the Republican by 13 points (54-41%)…

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Asked in a New York Times interview about New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s call for the federal government to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he arrives in the city for the U.N. General Assembly next month, Gov. Kathy Hochul advised the mayor, “Let’s focus on the blocking and tackling of city government. That is where I believe the main focus should be”…

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The Trump administration, meanwhile, is weighing in on another official’s appearance at the UNGA: The White House intends to prevent Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas from attending for the second year in a row, a U.S. official told The Times of Israel…

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent explained on CNBC today that in order to implement the new U.S. economic campaign against Iran, the Trump administration will approach “all of our allies” and tell them, “You are either with us or against us.”

“If you insist on doing business with [Iran] — either transferring money, buying their oil, doing seaborne ship transfers — then the U.S. Treasury and the U.S. government will put its full might and force toward enforcing against you,” he added…

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The NYT looks at which countries do the most business with Iran and could therefore be hardest hit by the new measures, including China, India and several Middle East nations…

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Georgia state Rep. Esther Panitch, the only Jewish member of the state’s Legislature, denounced the Georgia branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations for featuring extremist anti-Israel voices including Zahra Billoo, Ana Kasparian and Cenk Uygur as keynote speakers at its gala next month.

CAIR-GA has “dropped the mask at this point,” Panitch told the Jerusalem News Syndicate. “This is actual straight-out, Nazi-level Protocols of the Elders of Zion kind of antisemitism. They’re doing it, and they can’t say they didn’t know”…

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For more than 150 years, Baltimore’s Orthodox Jews have walked to synagogue on Preakness Saturday and listened to the roar of the crowd from Pimlico Race Course less than a mile away, never able to join it. That changes in 2027, when the second jewel in horse racing’s Triple Crown — following the Kentucky Derby and preceding the Belmont Stakes — moves from Saturday to Sunday, finally opening the gates at Pimlico to the local Shabbat-observant community for the first time since the race started in 1873, JI’s Haley Cohen reports…

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 growing divide between the United States and Israel over how to approach post-Assad Syria.

Despite her recent debate stage snafu, which has led GOP operatives to question her chances in next week’s special runoff election, Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) is still enjoying the support of the party: Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), the Senate majority whip, is in South Carolina today to support her race, and President Donald Trump will join her in Myrtle Beach for a rally tomorrow.

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Jewish leaders in Michigan are circulating an open letter, obtained by Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel, urging Jewish Democrats and independents in the battleground state to sign their names in support of former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) as he faces Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed in the race for U.S. Senate.

If El-Sayed were to claim victory in the general election, the authors say, “we fear the far-left and anti-Jewish elements in the Democratic party would become dominant … We cannot allow him to become the Democratic standard-bearer or Michigan’s senator”…

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California state Sen. Aisha Wahab still holds a narrow lead as of this afternoon over former Dublin, Calif., Mayor Melissa Hernandez in the special election runoff for an East Bay House seat that drew a late surge of outside spending from AIPAC.

With 62% of the vote counted in yesterday’s election, Wahab had 51%, leading Hernandez by two percentage points or 1,356 votes, according to the unofficial initial returns. “We made a race that wasn’t close when we started into a nail-biter,” Patrick Dorton, a spokesperson for AIPAC’s United Democracy Project super PAC, told JI’s Matthew Kassel…

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ICE detained a Jewish bridal shop owner and his mother living in Englewood, N.J., a local elected official confirmed today to JI’s Haley Cohen: Ari Ladino and his mother, Chava, who are originally from Bogotá, Colombia, run Luana Rose Modestly in Teaneck — a dress shop specializing in modest special occasion gowns popular among local Orthodox Jewish women. The reason for their arrest remains unclear…

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In an interview with The Jerusalem Post today, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack doubled down on his criticism of Israeli strikes on a Syrian air base earlier in the week, which Israel said had been prompted by Turkish involvement at the base. “Turkish forces were not aware that the Israeli aircraft were en route to that specific Syrian base … [and] could potentially have been inclined to scramble their own jets in the belief that they themselves were under attack,” Barrack said.

He announced that the U.S. is looking to relaunch a deconfliction cell between Israel and Syria, with potential Turkish participation, and downplayed reported Israeli concerns over a specific Turkish radar system said to be deployed at the base. “We remain convinced that this technical requirement need not pose a security concern, and that further conversations can help clarify the matter to everyone’s satisfaction,” Barrack said…

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Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF’s chief of staff, visited Israeli troops in southern Syria today, where he said Israel is “monitoring the changes on the Syrian front” and “know[s] how to use our power precisely where it is needed and when it is needed”…

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The IDF announced it is opening an investigation into the killing of 5-year-old Hind Rajab in Gaza in January 2024 after finding that troops had indeed fired at her family’s vehicle as it was traveling opposite the direction of an evacuation route. The military had previously denied responsibility for the incident, which drew global attention and inspired an Oscar-nominated film titled “The Voice of Hind Rajab.”

The IDF will also investigate the killing of 15 rescue workers traveling in emergency vehicles in March 2025, and closed investigations into a strike on a World Central Kitchen convoy and into the deaths of several Doctors Without Borders members, finding that troops’ actions in those incidents did not rise to the level of criminal offenses…

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The New York Times examines CENTCOM’s efforts to keep oil traffic flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, including utilizing air- and water-based assets to intercept Iranian drones and missiles targeting commercial traffic.

Beyond protecting tankers loaded with oil, the U.S. military has also reportedly established its own corridor to help empty ships enter the strait, load up and exit largely undetected…

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The New York State Department of Financial Services issued a notice warning Holocaust survivors and their families about potential fraud by an organization calling itself the “Jewish Holocaust Claims Center” that is contacting such individuals about their eligibility for compensation…

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 Sen. Darline Graham‘s (R-SC) debate stage flub on national security may impact her chances in next week’s South Carolina special runoff election for Senate.

Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and his primary opponent, Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), will face off in their final debate before the election. Moulton, 47, is mounting a generational challenge to the 80-year-old Markey and has taken an increasingly critical stance against Israel and AIPAC on the campaign trail, while Markey has long staked out staunchly anti-Israel positions.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social this morning that “There are no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled, with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” directly contradicting a statement from Jared Kushner yesterday that dialogue between the White House and “different areas of the Iranian government” is “probably more robust than it’s maybe ever been”…

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U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who also serves as special envoy for Syria and Iraq, said on X this morning that he’s “deeply concerned” over what he called “confirmed Israeli airstrikes” on Syria’s Abu al-Duhur Airbase overnight, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the strikes.

“The United States has in the past, and will continue in the future, to host discussions to encourage diplomatic cadence over kinetic frustration for both nations,” Barrack said, calling the incident an “unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability.” Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), who has been a pro-Israel stalwart, also condemned what he called “one-sided aggression”…

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U.N. inspectors visited some nuclear sites tied to the deposed Assad regime in Syria this week, the first time that International Atomic Energy Agency officials have been given full access to the sites. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said at a press conference with IAEA head Rafael Grossi that nuclear material found at the locations, including several tons of uranium, will be placed “under IAEA safeguards”…

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions today against Tomoko Akane, president of the International Criminal Court, and Abdoulaye Seye, a senior trial lawyer, as part of the Trump administration’s recently announced campaign to target the body.

Rubio said the two individuals “have directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute officials whose government has not consented to ICC jurisdiction,” likely in reference to Israeli leaders…

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Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, claimed today that the Trump administration’s probes into campus antisemitism were “fake” and that schools found to have violated federal civil rights law were effectively framed, pointing to whistleblower reports that claimed the administration had manipulated evidence to show violations of law despite lacking sufficient evidence.

Raskin announced that he is launching an investigation of the alleged “misconduct” of the Department of Justice and intends to assess potential changes to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act “in light of this Administration’s shockingly reckless and unethical actions,” JI’s Marc Rod reports…

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The DOJ charged a New York man, Larry Montes, with two federal hate crimes charges and one count of destruction of religious property for disrupting Shabbat services at Central Synagogue in Manhattan over the weekend, where he struck a congregant, damaged synagogue property and spat on and headbutted a security guard. Montes has already been charged with hate crimes by local prosecutors…

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The DOJ also charged 17 members of the Mabna Institute — an Iran-based company that federal prosecutors say ran a state-sponsored cyber campaign on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps since at least 2013 — with hacking 144 U.S. and 178 foreign universities, dozens of private companies and several U.S. government agencies to steal research, academic data and intellectual property…

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The Department of Defense instructed 30 U.S. academic institutions to conduct reviews of their ties with “foreign entities of concern,” threatening future Pentagon funding for research projects if they fail to do so and terminate “problematic partnerships”…

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Michigan state Sen. Jeremy Moss, the Democratic nominee in Michigan’s 11th Congressional District, pushed back today against what he alleged was a doctored audio clip circulating online designed to portray him as more loyal to Israel than the United States, JI’s Marc Rod reports.

“There is a manipulated and unsourced audio, with things I never did and never would say, that is nothing more than political disinformation intended to portray me as anti-American,” Moss, who is Jewish, said on X…

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Rebecca Weininger, senior regional director of Anti-Defamation League Midwest, called out the Chicago branch of the Democratic Socialists of America’s “fixation on Israel” after the group’s 2027 city council endorsement questionnaire asked local candidates to explain whether they consider themselves anti-Zionists and if they support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

The group’s outsized focus on the Jewish state, Weininger said, is “not only far removed from the responsibilities and priorities of an alderman, but also risks fueling anti-Jewish sentiment, harassment, and ultimately, violence against Chicago’s Jewish community”…

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) suggested in an interview with The Washington Post that he believes Democrats can still win the Senate even if far-left Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, whom Schumer has endorsed, loses in November, JI’s Marc Rod reports. “A path to winning back the Senate clearly goes through Michigan, but we have a whole bunch of different paths,” Schumer said.

The Senate Majority PAC, a Democratic super PAC, is spending $3 million on a new ad campaign to defeat Republican nominee Mike Rogers, portraying him as a career politician who enriched himself while in Washington…

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

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for results from today’s key races in Florida and California. Polls close in the Sunshine State at 7 p.m. ET, and in the Golden State at 11 p.m. ET.

Hannan Lis, Brian Hermelin and Rob Orley, three prominent Jewish Democratic bundlers in Michigan, are hosting a fundraiser tonight for the state’s Republican Senate nominee, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), as some Jewish Democrats in the Wolverine State consider flipping their votes against Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed. Read Lis’ comments to JI here.

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) will face off in a debate tonight hosted by the South Carolina GOP, a week ahead of their runoff election.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump confirmed to Fox News this morning that the White House is communicating directly with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and said that Tehran should “raise the white flag of surrender,” as the 60-day memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran — which was intended to lead to the creation of a permanent peace agreement but was quickly deemed moot by both parties — officially expired today without a deal in sight.

Jared Kushner separately told Fox News about the status of talks with Iran that Trump is “focused on economic pressure” but is still open to reaching an agreement, adding that dialogue between the White House and “different areas of the Iranian government” is “probably more robust than it’s maybe ever been” and that the conversations are “positive”…

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Trump also threatened in his interview to “bomb the sh*t out of” Oman if the country “gets in the way,” amid Muscat’s negotiations with Tehran over the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking later to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said he doesn’t think Oman “behave[s] very well” and that the U.S. would “handle them very easily.” He also reaffirmed his recent claim that he intends to declare the strait a U.S. territory, saying he “think[s] it’s a great idea”…

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Responding to Trump’s threat, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) announced he intends to introduce a war powers resolution when the Senate returns from recess to prohibit U.S. military action against Oman…

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he had “deep and constructive discussions” with Board of Peace head Nickolay Mladenov and Kushner in Jerusalem today, where the parties agreed to establish two working groups: one on the “disarmament and demilitarization of Gaza,” which they agreed should happen before “any reconstruction,” and a second on sanitation and public health concerns in the enclave.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog also met with the group and said he was “impressed that Israel’s security interests are an important and central element of their plan”…

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After the meetings, Kushner told Fox News that he predicts there will be progress in starting to demilitarize Gaza “in as little as 30 days” and beginning to fill in Hamas’ terror tunnels “in the next 60 to 90 days.”

Despite Trump stating in his interview that Israel should not be conducting any more strikes in Gaza, Kushner said the Board of Peace would “not restrict Israel’s right to defend itself” and that if Hamas doesn’t follow through on its commitments, Israel will “have a lot more support from the U.S.” to “finish the job.” He called his Sunday meeting with Hamas leaders “cordial” and said they “said all the right things” but that they are “hard to trust”…

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Trump said today it’s “most appropriate” that he “stay out of” Israel’s upcoming elections but added that he “may endorse somebody” anyway….

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi disputed claims by Masrour Barzani, prime minister of the region of Kurdistan, that his office was attacked by Iranian drones: “Kurdish friends should be vigilant against false-flag ploys to sow discord between neighbors,” Araghchi said on X, claiming that Iran has historically “protected” the Kurds. It was a striking characterization given that Iran has repeatedly struck Kurdish opposition bases in Iraqi Kurdistan, including during the current war, and has a decades-long history of suppressing its own Kurdish population…

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New York City leaders are condemning a series of inflammatory posters opposing a new housing development in Chelsea that use antisemitic, racist and homophobic language, including a call to “stop Zionist occupation of Manhattan,” tying the project to “foreign wealth dirty zionist money” and claiming that “Talmudists are trained to cheat.”

City Hall called the posters “vile” and claimed the rhetoric “has absolutely no place in our city’s political discourse,” while Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, said, “Disagreement over housing policy is legitimate. Dehumanizing your neighbors is not”…

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Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Dan Goldman (D-NY) continued to spar this week over the University of Washington’s decision to cancel a planned speech by antisemitic influencer Hasan Piker, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

After Goldman argued initially against Jayapal’s denunciation of the school, the congresswoman said she “completely disagree[s] with [Goldman’s] analysis of free speech”; Goldman responded that students have ample access to “Piker’s racist and anti-American views,” but the university has a responsibility to prevent discriminatory conduct or a hostile environment for Jewish students that could interfere in their ability to participate on campus…

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 AIPAC’s involvement in tomorrow’s special election in California’s 14th Congressional District, where state Sen. Aisha Wahab is facing off against former Dublin, Calif., Mayor Melissa Hernandez, who is backed by the pro-Israel group.

Florida will also hold its primary elections tomorrow, where several pro-Israel and Jewish candidates are facing off against far-right and far-left extremists. Read more on the races and their implications here.

The Sephardic Rabbinical Conference will conclude in New York with speakers including Israeli Consul General Ofir Akunis; Daniel Rosenthal, vice president for government relations at UJA-Federation of New York; Rabbi Elie Buechler, director of programs at the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center; and rabbis from around the world.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced today that his Office to Combat Antisemitism will be releasing a municipal plan to combat antisemitism, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports.

The mayor marketed the plan as the “first-in-the-nation,” even as former Mayor Eric Adams already released a “blueprint” for combating antisemitism on his last day in office, which included the city adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism — a policy that Mamdani repealed on his first day.

The move comes days after Mamdani hosted a roundtable with rabbis in the city who asked the mayor to back off his attacks on Israel, a request that Mamdani did not reference or commit to addressing in his remarks…

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The California state Legislature is considering a bill to require state agencies to include “Jewish” as an ethnicity option on all forms that collect demographic data. The move would make California the first state to officially consider Judaism as more than a religion for identification purposes…

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A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit yesterday brought by the Trump administration against Harvard University alleging that the school showed “deliberate indifference” to antisemitism on campus in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks.

The judge ruled that the few campus incidents cited by the administration were “too isolated and episodic” to find “any institutionalized noncompliance with Title VI persists at Harvard to this day”…

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Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), former chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said on X today that she had communicated her “concerns” to the University of Washington about its decision to cancel an appearance by far-left, antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker, and encouraged student groups who “want to hear from Mr. Piker to work with the University to ensure they can proceed.”

Piker had earlier this week denounced Democrats who didn’t “speak out against this clear violation” of the First Amendment due to his “position as a prominent critic of Israel”…

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Former Democratic Maine Senate nominee Graham Platner is expected to headline a Labor Day rally for the Hancock County Maine Democrats next month, his first public appearance since dropping out of the Senate race after he was accused of rape by a former romantic partner…

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White House advisor Jared Kushner is planning a trip to Israel next week with Board of Peace head Nickolay Mladenov to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials to discuss the Hamas disarmament deal, Axios reports…

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CENTCOM announced today it is undertaking efforts to establish the “first-ever multi-domain, multinational attack drone task force,” including consulting with and inviting regional partners to join, that will work to utilize unmanned, one-way attack drones “from above, on, and below the sea” in the Middle East…

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The U.S. has lost roughly a quarter of its fleet of MQ-9 Reaper drones in the war with Iran, sources told The Washington Post, as the armed drones have been targeted by Tehran and its proxies in Yemen and Iraq…

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The Pentagon is sending the USS George Washington aircraft carrier to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East, as reports and lawmakers indicate that conditions aboard the ship are deteriorating after a record 200 days without a port call; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed the concerns about the Abraham Lincoln today as “completely misrepresented”…

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Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC), facing a runoff special election to be the GOP nominee for her late brother’s Senate seat, announced she is co-sponsoring the Jewish American Security Act, the U.S.-Israel FUTURES Act, a bill on Iran sanctions and a bill on Iranian human rights and internet access…

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 Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is avoiding contending with the anti-Israel turn of her preferred successor, San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, in her race against state Sen. Scott Wiener.

President Donald Trump will appear with Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the GOP candidate for New York governor, at an event on Long Island honoring law enforcement officials.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), a member of the Squad, will appear at a rally in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., alongside anti-Israel progressives running against Jewish Democrats Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), as well as socialist Colorado Democratic congressional nominee Melat Kiros.

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

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

A State Department official pushed back on Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz’s comments in southern Lebanon today, where he said the IDF would remain deployed in a security zone, contrary to the agreement signed between Washington, Jerusalem and Beirut.

“The United States expects all parties to act in a manner consistent with the Framework they agreed to, and Israel clearly stated that it has no territorial ambitions in Lebanon. A permanent military presence in South Lebanon is not consistent with the commitments made in the Framework, or the long-term peace and security of both states,” the official told Axios…

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Sources told Reuters that Israel and Lebanon have agreed that countries including Britain, Italy, Switzerland and Indonesia could contribute troops to an international force meant to oversee Hezbollah’s disarmament; an Israeli official denied any decisions had been made on the issue…

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President Donald Trump continued to boast about the success of the U.S. campaign against Iran, stating again in a post on Truth Social today that the U.S. “has total control over the Strait of Hormuz” and that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is “decimated and fleeing.”

Meanwhile, out of the 166 ships that have transited the strait so far this month — a significant decrease from the average before the war — only two are known to have used the U.S.- and Oman-backed route, according to The Wall Street Journal…

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In a rare interview with Western media, top IRGC advisor Mohammad Reza Naqdi told “PBS News Hour” that Iran is prepared to continue hostilities through the end of Trump’s term and accused the U.S. of waging a “war without strategy”…

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The New York Times documents the efforts being made by Gulf countries to construct routes to move oil out of the region that do not rely on the Strait of Hormuz…

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Board of Peace head Nickolay Mladenov denied in a post in Hebrew today that there is any financial agreement between the board and Hamas, refuting a report by Israeli public broadcaster Kan that the board would cover Hamas’ debts up to $400 million.

The disarmament roadmap states that the new Palestinian technocratic government will “assess the legitimate commitments to suppliers, contractors and other parties — up to a total amount of no more than $400M — and address them”; Mladenov said in his post that such processes “are not channeled through Hamas” and that “all accounts are open to full scrutiny by the donor governments”…

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The publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times, Michael Morris, penned an open letter to Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) today pressing the senator over his repeated votes to block U.S. military sales to Israel, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

“I apologize for being blunt, but please, stop lying to me and your constituents. I hear you claim, over and over again, that you support Israel — that your support is ‘ironclad.’ It is not,” Morris wrote…

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Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) denied today that the more than $30 million of support she received from AIPAC’s super PAC in her failed run for U.S. Senate backfired, saying on CNN that those who criticize AIPAC “maybe don’t understand what the group is” and that she’s “proud of the friendships and the relationships I have there [and] the really good Americans” who make up its membership…

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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is stepping away from her role at the end of the month, Trump announced today, in order to spend more time with her family. The president said Leavitt will now serve as “one of my top outside advisors”…

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Josh Kushner, managing partner of the venture capital firm Thrive Capital, and former Disney CEO Bob Iger have agreed to purchase a controlling interest in the Los Angeles Lakers for a record-breaking price of $12.5 billion, JI’s Matthew Shea reports…

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 local Jewish political organizing efforts in major cities across the country.

The Hudson Institute will hold an event examining the state of the ongoing conflicts in the Gulf with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Behnam Ben Taleblu and Hudson’s Michael Doran, Ludo Hood and Zineb Riboua.

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, insisted today that any agreement reached between Iran and Oman on administering the Strait of Hormuz is separate from Tehran’s broader closure of the waterway, which will only be lifted once the U.S. accedes to Iran’s demands.

Meanwhile, Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, a key mediator between the U.S. and Iran, met today with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran. Islamabad’s defense minister, Khawaja Asif, told Bloomberg that developments are “shaping up again in favor of a peace arrangement”…

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CENTCOM said it disabled a Panama-flagged cargo ship sailing toward Iranian ports today by firing two Hellfire missiles into the vessel’s engine room, the third such incident since the U.S. blockade began…

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Ed Miliband, who last month was appointed by new U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham to be foreign secretary, said he had a “frank and constructive first call” with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar today, during which the British diplomat raised the issues of settler violence, settlement expansion and the humanitarian situation in Gaza, among others.

The discussion came a day after Miliband met with British Jewish community leaders, who said they were “impressed” by the foreign secretary’s “longer-term commitment to maintaining the conversation”…

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Sa’ar announced that Israel and Venezuela have agreed to renew consular relations — establishing a coordination mechanism to provide consular services to each country’s citizens — in the first official channel between the two since Caracas severed diplomatic ties in 2009. The move builds on the Israeli aid delegation dispatched to Venezuela after the June 24 earthquakes…

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The Palestinian technocratic committee meant to govern Gaza convened a joint coordination meeting with several U.N. agencies — including the World Food Program, UNICEF and the World Health Organization — as well as representatives from the Board of Peace and former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Institute for Global Change to coordinate on humanitarian aid and reconstruction issues…

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Former Mossad head Yossi Cohen said at a conference in Israel today that Israeli operatives have “toured” Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility “many times” in order to “understand” it, and called the U.S. operation to bomb the site during the 12-day war in June 2025 “the fulfillment of all my dreams”…

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The NYPD denied that its officers will be accompanying New York City First Lady Rama Duwaji on a trip to Lebanon and Syria next month after City Hall said that, “upon the strong recommendation of the NYPD, the First Lady’s security detail will be joining her” on the trip.

“The NYPD does not send officers to countries with level four travel advisories for discretionary reasons,” the NYPD said today, referring to the State Department’s ranking system that currently designates the two countries as “do not travel” locations. Mayor Zohran Mamdani later said the diverging statements stemmed from a “miscommunication,” and that when his wife makes the trip “it will be without any NYPD detail”…

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Democratic Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed has made private over 100 YouTube videos from his time as a podcaster and commentator, CNN reports, including videos in which he lambasted fireworks on the Fourth of July, floated replacing the Second Amendment and voiced support for prison abolition…

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The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added Brian Poindexter, the Democratic nominee in Ohio’s 7th Congressional District, to its “Red to Blue” program as he aims to unseat Rep. Max Miller (R-OH). Democratic leadership will offer Poindexter strategic support as the district, previously considered a long shot for Democrats given its GOP leanings, is now seen as a key flip opportunity as Miller navigates accusations of domestic violence by his ex-wife…

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The campaign of Francesca Hong, the socialist seen as the front-runner in today’s Democratic primary election for governor of Wisconsin, was rebuffed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) as she sought his endorsement due to her perceived weaknesses as a candidate, Politico reports; her campaign is planning to overhaul its staff to address such issues if she proceeds to the general…