After a night of mixed results in Tuesday’s primary elections, AIPAC’s United Democracy Project super PAC is turning its eyes toward the special election runoff in California’s 14th Congressional District, where progressive state Sen. Aisha Wahab and moderate local mayor, Melissa Hernandez, are competing to replace disgraced former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA).

Wahab entered the race as the heavy favorite and dominated the primaries for both the regular and special elections. In the special election primary, Wahab finished with 43% to Hernandez’s 17%, and led Hernandez 38%-17% in the regular primary. The special election runoff is set for Aug. 18.

Her record raises concerns for some members of the Jewish community — she has not been supportive of numerous priority bills and resolutions aimed at tackling antisemitism and has been a vocal critic of Israel, including describing the war in Gaza as a genocide and championing legislation in the state Senate on the issue.

UDP’s initial ad buy in the race totaled $1.2 million.

One of UDP’s ads accuses Wahab of being soft on crime — pointing to an amendment she led to a sex trafficking bill — and describes Hernandez as tough on crime and supported by police. Other pro-Hernandez groups are running with a similar message. Another highlights her background and work on affordability issues.

In a page on her website responding to attacks, Wahab’s campaign accused Hernandez of “relying on misleading attacks and AIPAC-linked dark-money PACs to tear Aisha Wahab down.” The page takes aim at Hernandez for having “denied the genocide in Gaza” — she declined to provide a yes-or-no answer on the subject at a candidate forum — and shared a spreadsheet naming all of the individual “AIPAC-linked donors” supporting Hernandez’s campaign.

“Wahab has accused Israel of committing genocide and has separately published the names of Jewish donors to her opponent on her website. She’s pretty extreme in her points of view on Israel,” UDP spokesperson Patrick Dorton told Jewish Insider. “It’s a race where Wahab is talking about ideological issues and Hernandez is talking about economic and affordability issues that are important to voters in the district.”

Bold America PAC, linked to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, has spent more than $2 million so far attacking Wahab and supporting Hernandez. The group has taken some donations from an AIPAC-affiliated group. A new pro-Hernandez group, Safer Alameda County, has spent $51,000 so far.

Daniel Klein, the CEO of Jewish Silicon Valley — which is nonpartisan and does not take stances in elections — said that Jewish community leaders are paying close attention to the race, and he has heard significant concern about Wahab’s votes on major antisemitism legislation and her close relationship with state teachers’ unions, which have opposed antisemitism bills.

“That is, I think, creating some angst — or at least more attention to this race — amongst many members of the Jewish community and Jewish communal organizations,” he continued, relating conversations he’s had with members of the community. “These are pieces of legislation that are intended to protect our children, right? They should be fairly non-controversial.”

Wahab was one of three senators who voted against SB 1287, which required overhauls of campus codes of conduct to address antisemitic and anti-Israel demonstrations, and abstained from a floor vote on AB 715, which aimed to address antisemitism in K-12 schools.

Klein said he has not had the opportunity to meet with Wahab personally and is happy to meet with any elected leader. He said he had spoken with Hernandez, who seemed to him primarily focused on local issues and national partisan politics, rather than foreign policy, though he said that she seems to understand the Jewish community’s concerns about antisemitism and is receptive to hearing from the community.

“My record speaks for itself: I have consistently stood against antisemitism, supported the safety and security of Jewish communities, worked in partnership with Jewish colleagues, and defended Israel’s right to exist —  while also maintaining that as an American elected official, I have both the right and the responsibility to question the policies of any foreign government and to speak out when innocent civilians are suffering,” Wahab said in a statement to JI.

Though she did not support the two bills mentioned by Klein, she has supported other priority legislation for the Jewish community in the state Senate. She also introduced a resolution in 2025 with Jewish state Sen. Scott Weiner calling for the release of hostages and an end to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Another Jewish leader said Hernandez had attended various Jewish community events and generally has good relationships with the community but isn’t particularly involved with its issues. The district itself is not home to a sizable Jewish community.

Oleg Ivanov, executive director of StandWithUs Northern California, said, “We’re of course concerned that as a state senator, Aisha Wahhab has called Israel’s defense against the Hamas attack [on Oct. 7, 2023,] genocide. So we’re concerned that she is spreading this debunked blood libel about Israel, which we feel all that does is it makes Jews and Israelis here in her district unsafe. As we’ve seen in many cases, this kind of irresponsible language has led to direct violence against Jews and Israelis.”

Ivanov said he hasn’t had any interaction with Hernandez, but praised her for declining to describe the war in Gaza as a genocide. He also criticized Wahab’s opposition to antisemitism-related legislation.

But another Jewish leader in the district, who requested anonymity to speak candidly, said that the strong consensus among political observers in the area is that Wahab “pretty much [has] this in the bag, and that Hernandez is a lazy campaigner.” Other moderate groups that had looked at the district “just have not been impressed with Hernandez,” the leader continued.

The Jewish community, the leader said, doesn’t want Wahab to win, but that might already be a foregone conclusion.

“I’m not in principle against AIPAC getting involved in these kinds of primaries like some other people [are], but based on all the local knowledge that we’re hearing from politicos, it’s not a good use of time or money,” the leader said. “People are kind of scratching their heads — not because there aren’t concerns about Wahab … but let’s play where we can win.”

The leader said they’re also concerned that AIPAC’s involvement risks pushing Wahab further to left, describing Wahab currently as a less-than-ideal choice but necessarily aligned with the Squad — i.e., not opposed to Israel’s existence or outright at odds with the Jewish community.

The leader noted Wahab abstained on, rather than outright opposed, AB 715, one of the antisemitism bills. They also noted that Wahab’s family are refugees who escaped radical Islam in Afghanistan during the Soviet-Afghan war. Wahab has relationships with some Jewish community groups in the Bay Area, particularly social services organizations that have been involved in Afghan refugee resettlement work.

“I don’t like the idea that the pro-Israel community is jumping into a race they can’t win against the presumptive winner and potentially pushing her into the arms of the worst members of Congress,” the leader said. “I think that people need to play their cards carefully here. There’s shades of gray at play.”

Rep. Wesley Bell (D-MO) easily brushed off a comeback attempt by former Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), whom he defeated in 2024, in a race where AIPAC spent over $3 million to help reelect the pro-Israel incumbent. 

Bell’s race was called by the Associated Press just over an hour after polls closed. With about one-third of the vote in, Bell held a commanding 69-27% lead, winning huge margins in the suburbs of St. Louis County and a healthy margin among Bush’s base in the city of St. Louis, as well.

Bell is on track to easily outpace his five-point victory over Bush in 2024, the year he ousted the far-left, scandal-plagued Democrat from Congress.

The AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project super PAC spent a total of $3.1 million in the race boosting Bell, helping him to dominate the airwaves in Missouri’s 1st Congressional District. Bell also tripled Bush in campaign fundraising. 

Bush’s allies, including the Justice Democrats, did not intervene to boost her campaign or help her match Bell’s advertising advantage.

Bush focused her message heavily on criticism of Israel and Bell’s support from AIPAC, while Bell accused her of being more focused on the Middle East than her own district at home.

“What we’ve seen over and over is talking about an issue that is not impacting folks right here in St. Louis, and while we take those issues seriously, you know, the M in Missouri doesn’t stand for Middle East. It stands for Missouri,” Bell said on Election Day.

Both Bell’s campaign and UDP hit Bush as an ineffective and absentee representative more focused on fighting with other Democrats, including opposing then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

“I am honored and grateful that the people of Missouri’s First Congressional District have continued to put their trust in me to represent them in Congress,” Bell said in a statement declaring victory.

“Two years ago, St. Louis voted for better and more accountable representation. We have kept that promise, whether it’s bringing federal resources home to our neighborhoods, standing with working folks when they needed someone in their corner, or helping families cut through red tape. That work does not stop tonight.”

Despite expected setbacks in Michigan’s Senate race, where Abdul El-Sayed is holding the lead over Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), pro-Israel Democrats are cheering the victory by state Sen. Jeremy Moss, a Jewish Democrat strongly supportive of the Jewish state, for winning his nomination in Stevens’ district. Moss leads far-left challenger Aisha Farooqi by 15 points, with most votes counted.

United Democracy Project, the AIPAC-affiliated super PAC, is running a new ad targeting Abdul El-Sayed, a far-left Democrat in Michigan’s closely contested Senate primary, over his past support of the “uncommitted” movement and his criticisms of popular Democratic leaders — a messaging strategy the group has used as an effective attack line against anti-Israel opponents in previous election cycles.

The 30-second TV spot, released on Tuesday in advance of the Aug. 4 contest, cites comments in which El-Sayed had criticized Barack and Michelle Obama while accusing El-Sayed of “helping Trump win” the election in 2024 because of his promotion of the “uncommitted” effort that urged Democratic primary voters to leave their ballots blank as a protest against former President Joe Biden’s support for Israel amid the war in Gaza.

“With our democracy on the line against Donald Trump in 2024, El-Sayed told Democrats to vote ‘uncommitted,’ even after Gov. Whitmer warned those efforts would help elect Donald Trump,” the narrator says, referring to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who last week endorsed El-Sayed’s rival, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), a pro-Israel Democrat backed by AIPAC.

“Disrespecting women. Attacking the Obamas. Helping Trump win. That’s the real Abdul El-Sayed,” the ad concludes.

While UDP has invoked similar rhetoric in other ads hitting El-Sayed, the new spot is the first to mention his ties to “uncommitted,” a campaign first launched in Michigan that is emerging as a key point of tension for the insurgent candidate — particularly with Black leaders who believe the movement helped contribute to former Vice President Kamala Harris’ defeat in the battleground state.

An image of Harris is shown in UDP’s new TV ad, but the former vice president is not named directly by the narrator. 

UDP is also running two new digital ads — aimed at younger voters ages 18-25 who have been drawn to El-Sayed’s anti-establishment bid — that accuse him of making sexist remarks toward women and saying he was “one of the reasons Trump won,” again referring to his “uncommitted” activism.

Earlier this month, Stevens likewise highlighted El-Sayed’s alignment with “uncommitted,” while alleging he called Harris’ campaign “nauseating.”

El-Sayed, for his part, has sought to downplay his association with the movement, claiming in a recent campaign ad that he was “the first Muslim American leader to endorse Kamala Harris for president,” even as fact-checkers have deemed that statement inaccurate.

In a statement to Jewish Insider on Tuesday, Patrick Dorton, a UDP spokesperson, called El-Sayed “a bad Democrat” who “has repeatedly advocated positions that lose elections for Democrats.”

“That’s why Republicans are desperate to have him be the nominee,” Dorton said. “They know they can beat him.”

A new poll commissioned by the Michigan Education Association, which has not made an endorsement in the primary, found Stevens leading former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), the Republican nominee, by two points in a hypothetical general election matchup, making the race a toss-up. El-Sayed, by contrast, was trailing Rogers by seven points in the open-seat race to succeed retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), which Democrats see as key to control of the Senate, according to the poll.

El-Sayed, an outspoken critic of Israel, has made AIPAC’s investment in the race a centerpiece of his messaging, as the group has grown increasingly toxic among Democrats. UDP’s spending to help Stevens has so far exceeded $30 million.

The pro-Israel group is also targeting former Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), who is seeking a rematch in next Tuesday’s House primary in St. Louis against Rep. Wesley Bell (D-MO) — after he unseated her last cycle with a significant financial boost from UDP.

In recent weeks, UDP has run ads attacking Bush for past comments criticizing Biden and Harris, echoing the messaging it deployed two years ago to help oust the former Squad member who was among the most strident critics of Israel in the House.

A new TV ad released by UDP on Tuesday further dinged Bush as an absentee lawmaker who passed “zero bills” in Congress and called her opposition to the bipartisan infrastructure package in 2021 a vote “against Democrats.”

“Cori Bush has her own agenda, and it hurts St. Louis,” the ad claims.

A month ahead of Missouri’s primary elections, Rep. Wesley Bell’s (D-MO) campaign is being buoyed by an influx of outside spending from the AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project super PAC and another super PAC affiliated with the moderate New Democrat Coalition.

As of this week, UDP has reserved $865,000 in ad time for the race, while New Democrat Majority has reserved $500,000 ahead of the Aug. 4 primary. In at least one advertisement, UDP is taking a similar approach as it did in its attacks against Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) in 2024 when the group helped Bell unseat her, hitting her as an absentee and ineffective lawmaker and for voting against the bipartisan infrastructure package in 2021.

UDP’s ad features clips accusing Bush of having betrayed and disappointed organized labor and workers who supported her in her initial campaign.

A source familiar with Bell’s campaign said that it is confident going into the final weeks, but predicted a tight race, adding that the campaign expects a ramp-up in advertising in the final month of the race.

UDP’s attacks complement what the source said will be the main pitch of Bell’s campaign: the congressman’s work delivering for constituents through projects such as delivering funding for a local airport and tornado recovery, and standing up to the Trump administration on issues including immigration enforcement and releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files.

The source said Bell’s campaign also aims to hit Bush as an ineffective lawmaker who failed to deliver for the district and was more focused on own public profile, as well as highlight past campaign finance scandals, which have continued to trail Bush, and Bush’s failure to embrace Vice President Kamala Harris during her 2024 presidential campaign.

The source also emphasized that Bell has sought to remain deeply and frequently engaged in the district, focusing on constituent services and frequent appearances at local events — gaps that hurt Bush’s 2024 campaign.

At the same time, with her campaign focusing on attacking Israel and AIPAC’s support for Bell, Bush is likely to attempt to weaponize the UDP spending against Bell.

Bell has faced some protests and backlash in the district over Israel, though the source said that voters are much more focused on affordability and quality of life issues at home and concerns about the Trump administration than Israel policy or AIPAC.

The source acknowledged that those issues have come up in the community, but argued that Bush is overplaying the extent to which voters in St. Louis are focused on them.

Bell’s campaign in 2024 ran a robust engagement and turnout operation in the Jewish community, bringing together leaders from across the community from various political and religious backgrounds. Stacey Newman, a former state representative, led that effort for Bell’s campaign in 2024 and returned to do so again, after having launched and led a local Jewish advocacy group in the intervening years.

Braxton Payne, a Democratic political strategist in St. Louis, said that the pro-Bell camp was significantly outpacing Bush and her supporters in media buys around the district, while Bush seemed more focused on the grassroots campaign tactics she has used in previous races.

Payne said he still sees Bell as the frontrunner because he hasn’t taken any votes that were considered to be particularly problematic in his relatively short time in office, has stood up against the Trump administration and has strong financial backing and outside support.

“I think that he’s going to be able to out-communicate Cori like he did two years ago, even without outside funding or outside groups,” Payne said. “Now, if Cori is able to get some grassroots money, and if the Justice Democrats [super PAC] or other groups that similarly align to them do decide to weigh in to that, I think that could make a difference.”

With Missouri’s two-week early voting window, early communication is key, Payne added.

One vote that Bush has repeatedly sought to hit Bell for is on a resolution condemning the antisemitic firebombing attack on a hostage awareness march in Boulder, Colo. that killed a Holocaust survivor and injured others. The Republican-led resolution included language expressing gratitude to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which Democrats who supported the resolution have condemned as a cynical GOP political gambit.

Payne said that the current progressive wave across the country would not necessarily have significant impacts on the St. Louis electorate — “St. Louis has always been a bastion of progressive and left-leaning politics, nothing has really changed there … I would say it’s very similar to people that would have voted two years ago.”

Unlike recent races in New York City and Colorado, Bell is young and still relatively new to Congress, not an old or long-entrenched incumbent. “Those differences of the generational change are just not here in this race,” Payne said.

He said that Bell has generally remained popular among the voters and community leaders who supported him in 2024, as compared to Bush who faced significant defections in that race among voters who had previously supported her.

On the other hand, he said, some progressive voters may be undecided at this point in the race, and, given Democratic outrage at the Trump administration, could be attracted to the more aggressive and confrontational style of politics that Bush has practiced.

And Bush has been working, Payne said, to re-engage with local grassroots groups that she had neglected during her time in office. “A lot of her supporters four years ago that were maybe not as [much] there for her two years ago, or even a year ago — I think they’ve all started to coalesce around her,” he said.

The AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project is launching its first negative ad in the Michigan Senate race, targeting Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed, just over a month before the state’s primary elections.

According to FEC filings, the group spent more than $2 million in the initial ad buy targeting El-Sayed.

The 30-second ad highlights El-Sayed’s “long history of disrespecting women,” including criticisms of former First Lady Michelle Obama and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

The ad also highlights a discrimination lawsuit — in which El-Sayed was not a defendant — that claimed he told a woman he wouldn’t work with anyone over the age of 40, as well as allegations that he attempted to pay an employee to keep silent about his disparaging comments about women.

Critics have recently highlighted El-Sayed’s disparaging comments about his opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI); El-Sayed, in a recent interview, described her as a “suit with a large AIPAC account” who can’t “string together two coherent sentences.”

UDP has spent more than $10 million in the race boosting Stevens.

El-Sayed picked up a high-profile endorsement on Thursday from leading progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). Stevens was endorsed this week by the Detroit News.

Also Thursday, UDP made $400,000 in advertising reservations to support Rep. Wesley Bell (D-MO) as he faces a comeback primary challenge from former Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), whom UDP helped Bell defeat in 2024.

Maryland state Del. Adrian Boafo prevailed on Tuesday in the crowded Democratic primary to replace retiring Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), who endorsed him, marking a legacy-burnishing victory for the veteran congressman and his pro-Israel allies.

The Associated Press called the race after Boafo had secured 32% of the vote with about one-half of ballots counted Tuesday night. His nearest competitor, businesswoman Quincy Bareebe, lagged well behind with 19% of the vote. 

Boafo’s win came after a forceful push by Hoyer, pro-Israel groups and establishment Democrats to help elevate the congressman’s hand-picked former campaign manager in a race that featured two dozen candidates vying to represent Maryland’s 5th Congressional District. 

AIPAC’s super PAC, United Democracy Project, was the biggest spender in the race, investing more than $5.7 million on ads boosting Boafo, including one featuring Hoyer in a direct-to-camera appeal in the closing stretch of the primary. Boafo was also backed by Gov. Wes Moore and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), among others.

UDP’s involvement was a risk for the group, as well as a test of its influence, as it has faced scrutiny from Democrats over its engagement in recent primaries. But the super PAC’s support for Boafo demonstrated that it could still play a significant role in Democratic races, even as its brand has become toxic to a growing number of Democrats.

The group’s spending drew criticism in Maryland, most notably from Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), who accused AIPAC and crypto-aligned interests in the race of “trying to buy” the seat. But Van Hollen did not make an endorsement in the race as the left failed to unite behind one candidate.

In the final days of the race, three other Democratic contenders — Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, former Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker and Bareebe — teamed up to decry the flood of outside spending that shaped the race. Barebee came in second on Tuesday, while Dunn came in third. 

Their pushback was not enough to thwart Hoyer’s choice for the nomination in a moderate district that has been amenable to the congressman’s close ties to AIPAC. Boafo, 32, was also endorsed by Democratic Majority for Israel’s super PAC, which is led by Brian Romick, a former senior aide to Hoyer, who is retiring after 45 years in the House.

In a statement to social media, AIPAC said that Boafo’s victory had “made clear his vision to carry forward the strong pro-Israel legacy of Rep. Steny Hoyer, one of Congress’s most steadfast champions of the U.S.-Israel relationship.”

“United Democracy Project was proud to support Boafo and help ensure this seat remains represented by pro-Israel leadership,” AIPAC added.

As Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) prepares to step down at the end of his current term, the former Democratic House majority leader is staking his pro-Israel legacy on a little-known candidate who he hopes will uphold his long-standing commitment to maintaining a close relationship with the Jewish state.

In throwing his support behind Adrian Boafo, a 32-year-old Maryland state delegate who is among nearly two dozen Democratic candidates running in Maryland’s 5th Congressional District primary on Tuesday, Hoyer, 87, is using his connections to establishment party leaders and ties with pro-Israel groups to boost his hand-picked choice to the nomination for a safely blue seat.

United Democracy Project, AIPAC’s super PAC, has emerged as the biggest spender in the race, investing more than $5.7 million as part of an aggressive effort to promote Boafo launched by Hoyer and his allies. 

The well-funded foray is a useful illustration of the degree to which planning and organization helped put Boafo in contention for the seat Hoyer has held for 45 years, in contrast with recent primaries where UDP and other pro-Israel advocacy groups have been relatively cautious with their engagement while being outflanked by the far left.

A UDP source, granted anonymity to speak candidly about the race, said polling showed Boafo was not in the lead when Hoyer endorsed him in January. “It’s a super close race that could go either way,” the source told Jewish Insider on Monday, stressing a high level of undecided primary voters. “Many candidates are in contention.”

One Jewish Democrat in Maryland told JI that Hoyer “put a heavy finger on the scale” in the race, calling in “chits” with influential Democratic officials who gave endorsements to Boafo, such as Gov. Wes Moore and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) — both of whom are featured in UDP’s ad blitz that began late last month. 

Boafo also gained support from Democratic Majority for Israel’s super PAC led by Brian Romick, a former longtime senior aide to Hoyer. The group backed him on its first slate of non-incumbent endorsements not long after Hoyer had expressed his preference in the race. Boafo is a former campaign manager for Hoyer.

In New York City’s closely watched primaries on Tuesday, meanwhile, UDP and DMFI PAC have largely been absent from key races where far-left challengers are threatening to unseat pro-Israel incumbents. Polling has indicated that Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) is facing long odds against Brad Lander, a former city comptroller, while Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) hopes to fend off Darializa Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist insurgent with a long record of anti-Israel activism.

Both Lander and Avila Chevalier have been buoyed by endorsements from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani — who is using his own early political capital on a risky gambit to help lift a slate of candidates that has angered the Democratic establishment. 

Mamdani has also joined forces with the Democratic Socialists of America’s New York City chapter, which is flexing its local organizational muscle to help Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez, a state assemblymember who is facing off against Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, a progressive backed by retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY). 

Even as far-left super PACs like American Priorities, a new group created to counter AIPAC’s spending in Democratic primaries, have been surging money into New York City, UDP has remained on the sidelines — with the exception of money it recently funneled to a pro-Espaillat super PAC disclosed in campaign filings late last week. Still, the pro-Israel group has not been directly engaged in New York City, despite its historic support for Goldman and Espaillat.

UDP has reason for caution, as AIPAC’s brand has become toxic among a growing number of Democrats who have vowed to reject its support and view it as a noxious presence in contested primaries.

Pro-Israel activists speculated UDP chose to stay out of a crowded House contest in New Jersey this month featuring some credible moderate candidates because it had earlier bungled its involvement in another race in the state with an aggressive spending strategy that inadvertently helped elevate a far-left Israel critic to a seat in the House. 

In the June primary, some Jewish leaders in New Jersey questioned if UDP’s lack of involvement had helped the nominee, Adam Hamawy, avoid credible opposition — even as he faced scrutiny over his past ties to a radical Muslim cleric convicted of terrorism.

Now, however, UDP is embracing a more proactive approach in Maryland as it seeks to push Boafo past the finish line on Tuesday, in a maneuver suggesting that it is comfortable courting a moderate voter base that Hoyer has represented as a staunch supporter of Israel as well as a close AIPAC ally. 

While UDP has faced backlash from the left, the response has been largely reactive. In recent weeks, for instance, the group has drawn criticism from Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), a vocal detractor of Israel, who has accused AIPAC and crypto-linked interests in the race of “trying to buy” the seat, which extends southward from the eastern Washington suburbs of Prince George’s County. Van Hollen has not made an endorsement in the race.

Meanwhile, three Democratic primary candidates, including Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, former Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker and businesswoman Quincy Bareebe, teamed up to decry the flood of outside spending that is shaping the race. 

“Special interests don’t spend money out of civic goodwill,” Baker said last week. “They spend the kind of money that we see because they expect someone to work for them.”

Dunn, who faced opposition from UDP in a separate race last cycle, has claimed Boafo is “benefiting from the MAGA donors who fund AIPAC.”

In an unusual move, UDP released an ad last week seeking to counter the negative attention in which Hoyer himself spoke in a direct-to-camera appeal.

“You’ve probably seen the attacks on Adrian Boafo,” Hoyer said. “Let’s get something straight. Adrian is a man of deep integrity. He has the courage to stand up to any special interest. I trust him. You can, too.”

For his part, Boafo pledges on his campaign site to “strengthen the U.S.-Israel alliance and ensure” it “has the security assistance it needs to defend itself,” but has distanced himself from UDP, saying in response to Van Hollen’s remarks “that big money has no place in politics.”

His comments illustrate how even as AIPAC seeks to build new relationships amid declining support from Democratic members, its preferred candidates are — at least publicly — keeping the group at arm’s length.

If Boafo prevails in Tuesday’s primary, though, his victory could also help AIPAC to reset the narrative, while providing the group with a potential blueprint for engagement in future races as it seeks to fend off the anti-Israel left.

United Democracy Project, the super PAC affiliated with AIPAC, is spending $2 million on an initial ad buy this week to boost Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in the Democratic primary for Michigan’s open Senate seat, a UDP spokesperson confirmed to Jewish Insider on Tuesday.

The new TV ad, which calls Stevens “a proven fighter for Michigan,” touts her past role as chief of staff to President Barack Obama’s auto task force, support for capping insulin prices and efforts “fighting back against” President Donald Trump’s “Medicare cuts.”

“She’s a fighter for Michigan families on affordability and jobs,” Patrick Dorton, a spokesperson for UDP, said of Stevens, a moderate pro-Israel Democrat. “We are going to show that on these ads,” he said in a statement to JI.

UDP is also spending $300,000 on radio and mail ads, Dorton said of the group’s first investment in the race. He was unable to share how much UDP intends to spend in the primary, which takes place on Aug. 4.

The spending comes as AIPAC is viewed as a lightning rod in Michigan’s closely contested Democratic Senate primary, where one of Stevens’ top rivals, Abdul El-Sayed, a vocal far-left critic of Israel, has accused her of being beholden to donors from the pro-Israel group. Mallory McMorrow, a state senator, has also vowed to reject campaign contributions from AIPAC.

In contrast with other races where UDP has relied on shell PACs that allow it to shield its involvement until after a primary has concluded, the group is spending under its own name in Michigan, which is home to a sizable Jewish community.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) on Thursday called out recent AIPAC and crypto-linked spending in the crowded Democratic House primary in Maryland to replace retiring Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), accusing “outside groups” of “trying to buy this congressional seat.”

“I think voters need to be aware that these outside groups do not have the voters’ interests at heart,” he said during a press conference.

His comments came days after AIPAC’s super PAC, United Democracy Project, invested more than $1 million in a television ad buy to boost Adrian Boafo, a Maryland state delegate endorsed by Hoyer as well as other prominent Democrats in the state.

In a statement to Jewish Insider, Patrick Dorton, a spokesperson for UDP, shot back at the senator, an outspoken critic of Israel who in March called AIPAC anti-American in an address to the progressive Israel advocacy group J Street. “Once again, Chris Van Hollen is deliberately misrepresenting our views and discriminating against millions of pro-Israel Democrats who are members of AIPAC,” Dorton said.

Van Hollen, who is seen as a possible presidential contender in 2028, has not issued an endorsement in the June 23 primary to represent Maryland’s 5th Congressional District — making him a high-profile holdout among state leaders who have thrown their support behind Boafo, including Gov. Wes Moore and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD).

Dorton called Boafo, viewed as a favorite to win the nomination, “a strong and principled Democratic fighter,” and said UDP is “proud to stand with leaders like Gov. Wes Moore, Sen. Angela Alsobrooks and Congressman Steny Hoyer to help get him elected.”

Boafo, for his part, said he agreed with Van Hollen “that big money has no place in politics” and vowed to “work with him in Congress to end Citizens United once and for all,” referring to the Supreme Court decision that struck down limits on independent political spending by corporations. 

“My campaign has been laser focused on the issues of affordability, health care and standing up to this president who has destroyed our economy, including our federal workforce,” Boafo said in a statement to JI shared by a campaign spokesperson, adding that his “coalition is focused on delivering results to the people of Maryland’s 5th District.”

The packed primary also includes Rushern Baker, a former Prince George’s County executive; state Sen. Arthur Ellis; Quincy Bareebe, who challenged Hoyer in 2024; and Harry Dunn, the former Capitol police officer who ran for a separate House seat in Maryland last cycle and drew outside attacks from UDP that are fueling his renewed criticism of its engagement in his current race.

In a recent statement denouncing the group, Dunn accused Boafo of “benefiting from the MAGA donors who fund AIPAC.”

Boafo, 32, is also backed by Democratic Majority for Israel’s super PAC — which is led by Brian Romick, a former chief of staff to Hoyer.

“We support Adrian Boafo and believe he’s the best candidate for the district,” Romick said in a statement to JI. “We hope Sen. Van Hollen will vocally and specifically oppose all super PAC spending, and not just the spending he disagrees with.”

In his remarks on Thursday, Van Hollen suggested candidates who accept AIPAC’s financial backing are not aligned with prevailing Democratic sentiment on Middle East policy.

“I don’t think it’s any secret that voters do not support unconditional votes in support of the conduct of the government of Israel,” he said, while adding, “For a long time AIPAC has had a pretty free hand.”

In one of its largest independent expenditures of the campaign cycle, the super PAC affiliated with AIPAC spent nearly $1.2 million this weekend to help boost Adrian Boafo, a Maryland state delegate running in a packed Democratic primary to succeed longtime Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD).

While the super PAC, United Democracy Project, has invested heavily in several House primaries this year, its latest salvo is particularly notable because AIPAC has frequently avoided engaging openly in contested races — instead using several cutouts — as a growing number of Democratic candidates have disavowed accepting funds from the pro-Israel group.

In Maryland’s 5th Congressional District, which spans southward from the eastern Washington suburbs of Prince George’s County, UDP’s aggressive play suggests that it is comfortable openly courting a more moderate constituency that Hoyer has represented as a prominent supporter of Israel and close AIPAC ally. 

The primary, where Boafo is well-poised to prevail later this month thanks to his institutional support from prominent state party leaders, could deliver a major victory for AIPAC after its negative publicity over a series of recent Democratic contests in which its involvement or potential engagement was a lightning rod for progressive voters. 

UDP began spending in the race in mid-May with a modest direct mail investment of $50,000 to bolster Boafo, who has consolidated endorsements from the state’s Democratic leadership. In addition to Hoyer, for whom Boafo served as a campaign manager, the 32-year-old claims backing from Gov. Wes Moore as well as Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), among other establishment officials.

The super PAC significantly added to its investment over the weekend with a new television ad buy exceeding $1 million. The ads cite Boafo’s legislative efforts to counter federal immigration and customs agents while promoting support from Hoyer, Moore and Alsobrooks.

“We’re proud to be working alongside Gov. Wes Moore, Sen. Angela Alsobrook and Congressman Steny Hoyer to help elect Adrian Boafo,” Patrick Dorton, a spokesperson for UDP, said in a briefly worded statement to Jewish Insider on Tuesday.

AIPAC, whose affiliated political action committee has not officially backed Boafo, declined to comment on the June 23 primary election.

Prior to Maryland, UDP had most recently devoted its considerable resources to unseating Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), an anti-Israel Republican who lost to a Trump-backed primary challenger in Kentucky last month. UDP and affiliated shell PACs ended up winning two of the four congressional races in Illinois they engaged in, helping nominate former Rep. Melissa Bean (D-IL) and Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller but falling short in a high-profile and expensive contest to succeed retiring Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL).

Earlier this year, UDP faced Democratic blowback for opposing a moderate former congressman running in New Jersey who entertained conditioning U.S. aid for Israel — in a failed foray that inadvertently elevated a far-left candidate holding far more antagonistic views on Israel.

With nearly $95 million on hand heading into May, according to the latest federal campaign filings, UDP has a massive war chest at its disposal, but the group has been reticent about discussing how it plans to use its reserves in the remaining months of the campaign season. 

While Boafo has drawn scrutiny from some rivals who have questioned his support from UDP, most experts who spoke with JI said they did not believe those investments alone would prompt major voter backlash of the sort that has driven other primaries in Illinois and New Jersey, where AIPAC found itself on the defensive.

“In contrast to some other races,” UDP’s spending “won’t be as much of a tension except from the other candidates who are going to blast it,” Susan Turnbull, a Jewish Democratic leader in Maryland, told JI in an interview. “I wouldn’t be surprised,” she added, “if AIPAC feels that it could be out front in the district because Steny always was.”

Still, she suggested that Boafo’s ties to the tech industry as a former lobbyist for Oracle, owned by the billionaire Republican donor Larry Ellison, and support from crypto-linked spending could stoke suspicion if voters draw a connection to AIPAC’s outside investment. “It could be a problem,” she predicted.

Turnbull said, however, that AIPAC likely did not need to engage in the multi-candidate race, given what Boafo’s supporters interpret as his favorable position just under three weeks before the election. There is no public polling available on the primary.

A prominent Jewish leader in Maryland, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly, likewise said that AIPAC’s “money likely isn’t needed to put Boafo in first place” in what is expected to be a “low-turnout election,” citing Hoyer’s ability to call in “well-earned chits” with high-profile Democrats who followed his lead in backing the retiring congressman’s preferred candidate. “I don’t know of bad candidates who could win the seat now.”

“AIPAC would be better off spending money to back good candidates in races where bad candidates could win,” the Jewish leader told JI this week, referring to Michigan’s Senate race as well as a House primary in New York City where a pro-Israel Democrat is facing a formidable challenger from the left.

In other races, though, where candidates backed by AIPAC are running, the group is viewed negatively by Democrats, raising questions about whether it would hurt their prospects if it engaged openly or even with a shell PAC. UDP is not expected to spend in support of Reps. Dan Goldman (D-NY) and Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), two Democrats endorsed by AIPAC who are facing anti-Israel challengers in progressive districts.

Boafo, for his part, has been more openly supportive of Israel, vowing on his campaign site to “strengthen the U.S.–Israel alliance and ensure” the country “has the security assistance it needs to defend itself.”

A spokesperson for Boafo’s campaign did not return a request for comment regarding UDP’s support for his bid. He is also endorsed by Democratic Majority for Israel, whose CEO, Brian Romick, is a former chief of staff to Hoyer.

More than 20 candidates are now running in the Democratic primary, including Rushern Baker, a former Prince George’s County executive; state Sen. Arthur Ellis; Quincy Bareebe, who challenged Hoyer in 2024; and Harry Dunn, the former Capitol police officer who ran for a separate House seat in Maryland last cycle and drew outside attacks from UDP that are now inflecting his criticism of Boafo’s support.

Echoing his past complaints about UDP’s spending, Dunn, who also maintains his support for Israel on his campaign site, denounced the group in a recent statement that accuses Boafo of “benefiting from the MAGA donors who fund AIPAC.” 

In a possible reflection of voter sentiment in the district, however, Dunn said in an interview with JI on Tuesday that he did not mean to single out AIPAC for its involvement in the race. 

“This isn’t just about AIPAC,” he explained. “I feel the same way about Coca-Cola or Walmart,” he said. “This is about special interests” influencing elections.

“I just wanted to make that clear,” he added, because “AIPAC gets a bad rap sometimes.”

A recently launched super PAC positioning itself as a progressive counterweight to AIPAC’s involvement in Democratic primary elections has accepted financial contributions from a number of individuals who have also donated to Republicans, campaign filings show.

The financial support for American Priorities PAC, created in February, has come even as AIPAC and its super PAC have faced backlash from critics on the left who accuse it of meddling in Democratic primaries as a sort of front group for GOP-funded attacks against anti-Israel candidates in safely blue districts.

AIPAC’s super PAC, United Democracy Project, has taken far more from GOP-linked donors than its new rival, American Priorities — now funded largely by a handful of deep-pocketed contributors. UDP supports both Democrats and Republicans.

But American Priorities, which has thus far only supported Democrats and pledged to spend at least $10 million during the midterms, has not acknowledged that the source of some of its funding is from donors who have at the same time given to GOP candidates and groups — and more extensively than previously reported.  

A spokesperson for American Priorities did not respond to a request for comment about whether the group is comfortable with such financial support and how it views the donations in relation to AIPAC’s own pro-Israel fundraising.

American Priorities, which has raised $5.4 million thus far, has sought to mimic AIPAC’s playbook of spending aggressively in progressive congressional districts to elect its preferred primary candidates. The new group is investing significantly in New Jersey’s 12th District race on Tuesday on behalf of Adam Hamawy — a plastic surgeon who opposes all U.S. aid to Israel and whose past ties to a convicted terrorist mastermind as well as a now-shuttered al-Qaida-linked group in Bosnia have drawn scrutiny in the final weeks of the election. 

The super PAC has vowed to spend around $2 million by the end of the crowded primary — where Hamawy has been surging — and it recently reached $500,000 in another race in California boosting Randy Villegas, a progressive critic of Israel running for a red-leaning seat held by Rep. David Valadao (R-CA), who is endorsed by AIPAC.

Those investments have been fueled, most notably, by at least $525,000 from Hussein Mahrouq, a Texas businessman who has backed far-right Republicans including the recently ousted Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), both of whom have been accused of using antisemitic tropes about Jews and Israel.

In 2024, Mahrouq, one of the top contributors to American Priorities, also gave $100,000 to boost Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and donated $25,000 to Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, state filings show.

Meanwhile, American Priorities accepted a $5,000 contribution from Omar Khawaja, a personal injury lawyer in Houston, who in March donated to a super PAC supporting hard-right Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who won last week’s GOP primary run-off in the state’s closely watched Senate race. Khawaja has also contributed to a Republican House candidate in Texas as well as Massie, who is among the most vocal critics of Israel in the GOP congressional caucus, according to filings.

Moiz Ali, an entrepreneur and investor in Texas who gave $150,000 to American Priorities in March, also donated to Massie last fall — shortly before he drew a challenger, Ed Gallrein, who defeated the libertarian congressman earlier this month with the backing of President Donald Trump. AIPAC also spent heavily against Massie, a top target of the group this cycle. 

Another American Priorities donor, Nadeem Baig, a gastroenterologist in New Jersey who gave $50,000, has previously contributed to former Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE), former Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ) and Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL), all of whom have been known as staunch supporters of Israel. LaHood is backed by AIPAC, while Lance served as a co-chair of the House Republican Israel Caucus before he was unseated in 2018.

In a statement shared with Jewish Insider by a spokesperson for Mahrouq, he called himself “an independent businessman, not affiliated with any political party,” and said that his “support has always been guided by what I believe is in the best interest of the United States, its economic strength, security and long-term prosperity.”

“I have supported individuals and organizations across the political spectrum when their positions align with those priorities,” he continued. “My focus is not partisan politics, but rather promoting policies that strengthen America, encourage opportunity, and serve the interests of American citizens. I believe decisions affecting our country should be made based on what is best for the United States, independent of pressure from any foreign government, foreign interest group or partisan agenda.”

Mahrouq was the only American Priorities donor reached for comment by JI who shared a response.

The contributions to Massie and Greene in particular suggest anti-Israel sentiment can transcend partisan boundaries, in the way pro-Israel advocacy has been seen as a bipartisan effort connecting Democrats and Republicans.

Still, American Priorities has only backed Democrats, while AIPAC has championed bipartisan advocacy — even as it has stirred controversy over its engagement in Democratic races that show the group is navigating mounting hostility toward Israel from candidates and elected officials.

American Priorities is led by Hannah Fertig, a strategist with ties to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and the far-left group Justice Democrats, which also gave to the super PAC and is likewise backing Hamawy in his primary on Tuesday. “We want our foreign policy views to reflect where the Democratic base has moved, particularly on Gaza, and on unconditional U.S. military to Israel,” Fertig told Semafor in March following the group’s launch. “We’re seeing this as a generational inflection point, and we launched because there’s a huge gap in the progressive spending ecosystem.”

Good Tuesday morning.

In today’s Daily Kickoff, we have the scoop on United Democracy Project’s $790,000 ad buy targeting GOP Rep. Thomas Massie in Kentucky, and report on Sen. Chris Murphy‘s praise for dozens of Iranian ships that bypassed the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. We interview Rachel Goldberg-Polin about the release of her new book, out today, and report on Jack Schlossberg’s plans to skip upcoming Jewish candidate forums in the Manhattan congressional district where he is mounting a bid. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Sue Altman, Idan Ofer and Jessica Chastain.

Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with assists from Danielle Cohen-Kanik and Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.

What We’re Watching

• Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, will conclude later today as the country moves directly into Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day. A prerecorded official torchlighting ceremony meant to mark the transition between the holidays will air this evening at Mt. Herzl in Jerusalem.
• Argentine President Javier Milei will be among those to participate in the torchlighting ceremony in Jerusalem, which traditionally honors supporters of Israel and designees from across Israeli society who are honored for their contributions to the country.
• EU foreign ministers are meeting today in Luxembourg, where Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares is leading an effort for the bloc to suspend its cooperation agreement with Israel.
• Talks between the U.S. and Iran, which were slated to begin today, remain unclear as both sides send mixed signals over the status of the negotiations. Iran has reportedly informed regional mediators that it plans to send a delegation today even as it publicly distances itself from the talks, while unnamed U.S. officials said Vice President JD Vance will travel to Islamabad today ahead of the expiration of the two-week ceasefire.  
• The Senate is set to vote for a fifth time on a war powers resolution limiting U.S. actions in Iran.
• This afternoon, the Helsinki Commission is holding a hearing on Capitol Hill on Iranian support for Russia.
• Also this afternoon, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is convening senior State Department officials for a hearing on U.S. counterterrorism efforts in Africa.
• The House Ethics Committee is holding a sanctions hearing for Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), as the Florida Democrat faces allegations that she illegally misdirected FEMA funds.

What You Should Know

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S josh kraushaar

Amid the downbeat assessment of Israel’s political standing in the U.S., two new polls that came out last week suggest that the Jewish state still can rely on a sizable, if largely Republican, base of support.

The biggest takeaway from these two new polls — one commissioned by NBC News and one conducted by the respected GOP firm Echelon Insights — is that Israel has become a partisan issue, with Democrats turning decidedly against the Jewish state while Republicans have become strongly supportive.

All told, the polls show the public evenly divided over Israel, with the splits largely along party, ideological and generational lines. The results indicate President Donald Trump’s embrace of the Jewish state has caused Democrats to take an instinctively more negative view — in a continuation of how politics has generally operated in the Trump era.

Echelon Insights, which surveyed 1,022 respondents from March 12-16, found 44% of respondents held a favorable view of Israel, while 38% held an unfavorable view. While Israel’s plus-6 net favorability score is nothing to write home about, the results are noticeably better than a recent Pew Research Center poll that drew outsized attention for finding Israel’s net favorability rating at a dismal minus-23 (37/60%).

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

SCOOP

AIPAC’s super PAC takes aim at Thomas Massie with major ad buy

United Democracy Project, the AIPAC-linked super PAC, is taking aim again at Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) with a significant buy for a television ad targeting the anti-Israel congressman, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

About the ad: The buy totals $790,000 for a week of broadcast and cable ads in the Cincinnati, Louisville and Charleston media markets. The ad, which features a graphic of Massie’s face on a flipping coin, accuses Massie of changing his policy positions from when he was first elected, saying he “started out as a conservative Republican but now votes with liberal Democrats” on issues including border security and Israel.

Read the full story here.

Exclusive: The Republican Jewish Coalition announced Tuesday that it is endorsing four Republican Senate candidates for open seats: Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), former U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme in Montana and former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley in North Carolina, JI’s Marc Rod reports.

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on whose side?

Sen. Chris Murphy applauds Iranian ships against U.S. Navy

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) on Monday appeared to cheer on the reported evasion by more than two dozen Iranian ships of the U.S. maritime blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Jewish Insider’s Melissa Weiss reports.

Comment card: The Connecticut Democrat, one of the most vocal critics of Israel in the Senate, responded on X with a one-word comment — “awesome” — to an unconfirmed report that at least 26 vessels belonging to the shadow fleet, which is overseen by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, had bypassed the blockade. 

Read the full story here.

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IRON DOME DECISIONS

J Street accelerates leftward shift as progressives move to end Iron Dome funding

In recent years, as the progressive Israel advocacy group J Street joined left-wing calls to place restrictions on U.S. military aid to Israel, support for funding Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system remained a sacred cow for the group. That consensus has shattered in recent weeks. Instead of steering the conversation among Democrats, where J Street maintains a solid base of support, the organization found itself playing catch-up to the progressive lawmakers it supports after several of them announced in early April that they think the U.S. should no longer fund Iron Dome batteries, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.

Change in position: J Street released a statement on April 13 calling for the U.S. to cease funding Iron Dome batteries, arguing that Israel — a wealthy nation with a substantial defense budget — should pay for its own missile-defense systems. In conversation with JI on Monday, J Street’s chief policy officer, Ilan Goldenberg, acknowledged that progressives’ rapid shift on the issue factored into J Street’s announcement, even as the group insists it was moving in that direction anyway. “It stirred up the conversation a little more, but that memo was already written,” Goldenberg said.

Read the full story here. 

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ABSENCES AND ANSWERS

Jack Schlossberg to skip Jewish candidate forums as questions remain around his stance on Israel

As Jack Schlossberg gains a foothold in his primary campaign for a coveted open House seat in the heart of Manhattan, his views on Israel policy are drawing closer scrutiny, as he begins to stake out a stance on the increasingly heated subject of Democratic debate. His decision to skip at least two upcoming Jewish community candidate forums occurring next month, meanwhile, is also raising some eyebrows in the district, which has a large Jewish constituency, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports. 

Not attending: On Middle East policy, the 33-year-old Kennedy scion has embraced positions that place him to the left in the crowded field on Israel issues. Some Jewish leaders say that they are interested in hearing more from Schlossberg as he emerges as a leading candidate in the race. He attended Shabbat services in March at the Conservative Park Avenue Synagogue on the Upper East Side, a day after the terrorist attack against Temple Israel in suburban Detroit.

Read the full story here.

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PHILLY FIGHT

Progressive heavyweights line up behind Israel critic Chris Rabb in crowded Pa. congressional primary

Anti-Israel Pennsylvania state Rep. Chris Rabb has collected a series of high-profile congressional endorsements in recent days as he seeks the Democratic nomination in Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District against state Sen. Sharif Street and Ala Stanford, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. Rabb has made his criticism of Israel and pro-Israel groups a central part of his House campaign, including accusing Israel of committing genocide.

Backing Rabb: Rabb has been endorsed in recent days by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Jared Huffman (D-CA), as well as the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Far-left streamer Hasan Piker has also praised Rabb on his show.

Read the full story here.

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LOVE AND PAIN

In new book, Rachel Goldberg-Polin recounts the before and after (and ever after) of her son’s life and death

In the months after the death of Hersh Goldberg-Polin at the hands of his Hamas captors, his parents became the faces of a unique kind of grief — one that they experienced in the public eye. Rachel Goldberg-Polin recounts some of those moments in her new book, When We See You Again, which comes out today, a chronicle of her life before, during and after her son’s captivity and murder, Jewish Insider’s Melissa Weiss reports.

Writing as therapy: “I don’t think of this book at all as a memoir or a tell-all,” Goldberg-Polin told JI. “It’s like little Tupperware of pieces of a life that was, and then figuring out a life that is, and how do you do this? How do we do this, breathing in a world where we no longer have air?” She had started writing because she found it therapeutic. “I couldn’t bear the intensity of the suffering that I was carrying; [it] was making my knees buckle and my soul buckle,” Goldberg-Polin explained. 

Read the full story here.

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Worthy Reads

MBS Scales Back: The New York Times’ Vivian Nereim observes Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s pivot away from his grandiose Vision 2030 endeavor to more modest projects and advancement amid financial challenges. “Over the past 10 years, the government has managed to reduce its reliance on oil revenue, finding new sources of funding by introducing taxes and fees. But the prince’s plans and ambitions have grown more rapidly than the state’s financial capacity. … But in recent years, the prince has refashioned himself as a mediator and diplomat, while pulling back on some of the most ostentatious elements of his plans.” [NYTimes]

The New Gulf Doctrine: In Semafor, former senior Qatari defense official Nawaf Al-Thani posits that the recent war with Iran has changed the decades-old doctrines that have guided regional relations for the last half-century. “It won’t happen overnight, because states don’t abandon half a century of accumulated practice in weeks, but change will come because the old formula was too generous and cautious. What follows this war will be narrower, harder, and more demanding. There may still be trust, but it will require verification of a far more definitive kind.” [Semafor]

The Missiles That Bind: In the Jewish New Syndicate, William Daroff and Betsy Berns Korn, respectively the CEO and chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, argue that “a shared civilian battlefield” is the “new reality” tying Israel to Gulf states in the wake of the war with Iran. “The experience no longer divides along national lines. The same missile that sent a family in Tel Aviv to a shelter sent a family in Abu Dhabi to do the same. The geography differs. The fear does not. The ceasefire quiets the sirens for now, but it does not erase what people across the region now understand.” [JNS]

Word on the Street

The Board of Peace’s Nickolay Mladenov suggested that negotiators working to get Hamas to agree to disarm have “maximum a couple of weeks” to reach a deal with the terror group, which has already blown past its deadline to accept the board’s disarmament proposal…

The Iranian ship seized by the U.S. Navy in the Gulf of Oman was believed to be carrying dual-use items from China that had potential military uses…

Pakistan has reportedly paused plans to move forward on a $1.5 billion deal to supply weapons to Sudan after Saudi Arabia, a close ally of Islamabad, with which it signed a defense pact last year, said it would not finance the sale…

The Wall Street Journal reports on the “hidden war within a war” that took place between Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Gulf states during the broader war with Iran…

CBS News goes to Tehran to meet with members of the country’s 12,000-strong Jewish community to discuss the recent U.S. and Israeli war with Iran…

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that Congress “should not support the [Lebanese Armed Forces] unless it acts to disarm Hezbollah completely — and immediately”…

Sue Altman, a progressive organizer and former top staffer for Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ), who is running for Congress in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, slammed her anti-Israel primary opponent Adam Hamawy for “cheerleading and wishing for the deaths of Israeli children” with his comments opposing Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…

NBC News looks at former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel’s leftward shift on Israel as he mulls a potential White House bid in 2028…

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Alan Dershowitz, a registered Democrat who has long been a vocal critic of his party, announced he was reregistering as a Republican, arguing that the Democratic Party’s “hostility to Israel represents a deeper and more dangerous shift away from the center and toward a radical approach that is bad for America and the free world”…

Mohamed Abdou, a former Columbia University professor terminated for praising Hamas and advocating for jihad following the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel, is scheduled to speak on Tuesday at an event organized by New York University students, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports…

The Real Deal profiles Israeli businessman Idan Ofer as the founder of Quantum Pacific Group looks to break into the New York real estate market by acquiring offices to convert into residential properties…

The Washington Post does a deep dive into the finances of Nick Fuentes, who had made close to $1 million, largely through donations from superfans who pay for extra access to the far-right antisemitic conspiracy theorist…

Apple TV is expected to release the long-delayed thriller series “The Savant,” which stars Jessica Chastain as a researcher who uses the dark web to track down extremists and domestic terror groups; the series, which was delayed following the assassination of Charlie Kirk last September, is largely based on the work of an Anti-Defamation League employee…

Residents of Scarsdale, N.Y., are calling on the president of the school board to resign after his daughter, a student at Scarsdale High School, praised the recent vandalism of posters promoting a student-led Israeli culture club that were ripped down and discarded in a urinal…

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer admitted to having unintentionally misled legislators about the security clearance of Peter Mandelson, who was appointed to be London’s envoy to the U.S. despite having failed vetting over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein; Starmer said that the government itself had been misled by lower-level Foreign Office staffers who greenlit Mandelson…

An Australian man who mimicked the terror attack at a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach weeks after the deadly shooting and made antisemitic comments was sentenced to a year in jail; the man’s attorney said, “What he did say was antisemitic but he didn’t go out of his way to be an antisemite”…

Hungarian Prime Minister-elect Péter Magyar said that Budapest would comply with the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, should the Israeli leader enter Hungary; Netanyahu had earlier this month accepted an invitation to travel to the country later this year to take part in a ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Hungarian Uprising…

The Financial Times profiles Marion Maréchal, the niece of French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, as she works to build a broad right-wing alliance modeled on similar efforts by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni that would propel Le Pen’s National Rally party to electoral victory next year…

Swiss football club FC Basel, which was set to host Kanye West during his planned European tour this summer, canceled his upcoming show, following similar moves in the U.K., France and Poland, over West’s history of making antisemitic comments…

Israeli computer scientist Michael Rabin, who in 1976 was a co-recipient of the Turing Award, died at 94…

Pic of the Day

Israeli President Isaac Herzog laid a wreath on Tuesday morning at the Memorial Day ceremony for Israel’s fallen soldiers at the Hall of Remembrance on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.

Birthdays

Once the top-ranked collegiate female tennis player in the U.S. and currently the head women’s tennis coach at the University of Oklahoma, Audra Marie Cohen turns 40…

Comedian, screenwriter, film director and actress, she returned to Broadway in 2018 after a 60-year hiatus, Elaine May turns 94… Art collector and museum trustee in Chicago, he is a retired attorney, Don Kaul turns 91… President and executive director of the Ben and Esther Rosenbloom Foundation, Howard Rosenbloom turns 87… British chemist and emeritus professor at the University of Cambridge, Sir Alan Roy Fersht turns 83… Award-winning folklorist, author, poet and editor of dozens of books, Howard Schwartz turns 81… Former lieutenant governor of Connecticut, Nancy S. Wyman turns 80… Southern California-based interior designer, Marilyn Weiss… Emergency physician in Panorama City, Calif., Joseph Edward Beezy… Founding director of Microsoft’s long-running research program on quantum physics at UCSB, an early winner of a MacArthur genius fellowship (1984), Michael Hartley Freedman turns 75… Rabbi, psychologist, writer and editor, Susan Schnur turns 75… Professor emeritus at George Mason University Law School (now known as Antonin Scalia Law School), he lectures frequently at Federalist Society chapters across the country, Michael Ian Krauss turns 75… Australian barrister who is a minister for local government following 31 years as mayor of Botany Bay, Ron Hoenig turns 73… Rabbi at Temple Ner Simcha in Westlake Village, Calif., Michael Barclay turns 63… Ukrainian-born industrialist, now also an Israeli citizen, he co-founded the Genesis Prize and the Genesis Philanthropy Group, Mikhail Fridman turns 62… Chicago-based lobbyist and attorney, Scott D. Yonover… Art collector and dealer, who together with his father and brother are reputed to own $1 billion of art including over 1,000 pieces by Andy Warhol, Alberto “Tico” Mugrabi turns 56… International breaking news reporter at The New York Times, Ephrat Livni… Founder of I Was Supposed to Have a Baby (IWSTHAB), an online community geared toward Jewish women experiencing infertility, Aimee Friedman Baron… Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter for The New York Times and best-selling author, Jodi Kantor turns 51… CEO of Unistream, Ifat Bechor… Head of customer success at SnapStream, Eric Weisbrod… Retired actress and voice actress, her career included the voice of Regina “Reggie” Rocket on Nickelodeon’s “Rocket Power,” Shayna Bracha Fox turns 42… Investor relations officer at Gryphon Investors, he is a past president of the Berkeley Hillel, Robert J. Kaufman… Salesforce marketing and cloud consultant at Jackson Family Wines, Joshua Gibbs… Outfielder for MLB’s Texas Rangers, he is a two-time World Series champion and a two-time All-Star, he played for Team Israel in the 2013 and 2023 World Baseball Classics, Joc Pederson turns 34… Writer, magazine editor and actress, she was the founder and editor-in-chief of the since closed online Rookie Magazine, aimed primarily at teenage girls, Tavi Gevinson turns 30… 

United Democracy Project, the AIPAC-linked super PAC, is taking aim again at Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) with a significant buy for a television ad targeting the anti-Israel congressman.

The buy totals $790,000 for a week of broadcast and cable ads in the Cincinnati, Louisville and Charleston media markets. In the previous election cycle, UDP also ran ads against Massie, though he did not face a primary challenger at the time. He now faces a primary challenge from military veteran Ed Gallrein, who is backed by President Donald Trump.

“Tom Massie is the most anti-Israel Republican in Congress,” UDP spokesperson Patrick Dorton said. “He’s got a terrible record and we are going to make sure every single one of his constituents knows about it.”

The ad, which features a graphic of Massie’s face on a flipping coin, accuses Massie of changing his policy positions from when he was first elected, saying he “started out as a conservative Republican but now votes with liberal Democrats” on issues including border security and Israel.

“On Israel, Massie votes with AOC and Ilhan Omar again and again,” the ad states. “Massie’s a flippin’ disaster. That’s why President Trump supports Ed Gallrein for Congress.”

Unlike UDP’s ads in Democratic primaries, which have largely focused on issues other than Middle East policy, the ad campaign reflects the ongoing high level of support for Israel among Republican voters.

Republicans expect a close race between Massie and Gallrein, backed up by a recent poll showing a competitive contest.

Analilia Mejia, a progressive activist and organizer who won a surprise victory in the special election primary in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, looks to be on track to win the district’s regular election Democratic primary after several of her potential opponents declined to run.

In the days after Mejia’s surprise victory over former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) and other more moderate candidates, there was speculation over whether she might be vulnerable to a one-on-one challenge in the regular primary on June 2. United Democracy Project, the AIPAC-linked super PAC that inadvertently helped boost Mejia, teased the possibility of  further involvement in the subsequent primary.

But former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way announced Sunday that she wouldn’t run against Mejia for the seat, leaving Mejia with no major Democratic competition; other moderate candidates in the special election primary also declined to run again, and Assemblywoman Rosaura Bagolie briefly considered a run, but decided not to pursue a bid as elected Democrats in the state quickly coalesced behind Mejia.

Several of the other Democratic special election candidates pledged not to run for the full term if they lost the special election — but Way had not made such a promise.

“Since the special primary, I have been deeply humbled by the outreach of so many who encouraged me to run in the June primary for Congress in NJ-11,” Way said in a statement. “The confidence and belief so many friends and neighbors have placed in me means more than I can say. After many conversations with my family, who are my greatest calling, and a lot of prayer, I have decided that this is not the right moment for another campaign. But make no mistake: I am not going anywhere.”

Even as the Democratic field has cleared for Mejia, her campaign has in recent days found itself at odds with the League of Women Voters.

The nonpartisan organization canceled its scheduled district-wide candidate forum — set to feature Mejia and Republican nominee Joe Hathaway, the former mayor of Randolph, N.J. — because the LWV and Mejia “could not reach an agreement with Mejia’s campaign and still maintain the League’s nonpartisan debate policy,” according to an LWV statement.

Mejia asserted that the LWV had refused to commit to diversity among the debate moderators; the LWV refuted her claim, stating its moderator is indeed a person of color but Mejia wanted to personally approve of them, which it would not allow. Hathaway accused Mejia of trying to “mislead voters and frame it as a diversity issue.”

Mejia’s stance has elicited criticism even from some fellow Democrats, including Bagolie, who criticized her comments about the LWV.

“If someone believes a debate is not worth their time, say that, it’s honest. But throwing the League under the bus is not okay,” Bagolie said. “I understand the instinct to rally behind a Democrat at all costs. I do. But we cannot excuse behavior that mirrors what we say we are fighting against.”

Hathaway, in a long-shot bid for the blue seat, has leaned into efforts to attract Jewish and pro-Israel voters in the district, and is pitching himself as a moderate with cross-party appeal.

The United Democracy Project, the AIPAC-linked super PAC, launched a $500,000 ad campaign on Monday supporting Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, who is running in one of a series of hotly contested Chicago-area congressional primaries.

In the 7th Congressional District Democratic primary, Conyears-Ervin faces, among others, Kina Collins, a Justice Democrats-backed, anti-Israel progressive candidate who ran for the seat twice before. Conyears-Ervin herself is a repeat candidate, having run against incumbent Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL), who is retiring in 2024. Conyears-Ervin maintained strong support for Israel during her previous campaign.

The ad highlights Conyears-Ervin’s background as the daughter of a single mother reliant on public assistance and supporting a sister with disabilities who also depends on federal medical assistance programs. It frames her as a committed fighter against President Donald Trump.

“When Donald Trump attacks everything you believe in, you never back down,” the ad states. “For Melissa Conyears-Ervin, lowering costs, protecting health care and stopping Donald Trump is personal.”

Conyears-Ervin received 21% of the Democratic primary vote to Davis’ 52% and Collins’ 19% in 2024. In this year’s primary, she faces real estate developer and Jewish United Fund board member Jason Friedman, state Rep. LaShawn Ford — who is Davis’ preferred successor, emergency physician Thomas Fisher and Anthony Driver, a former leader of the Chicago police oversight board and a local union leader.

Conyears-Ervin finished 2025 fourth in total fundraising, trailing Friedman, Fisher and Ford.

She was also recently endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union, which has supported various anti-Israel initiatives since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.

Friedman, who is Jewish, has a record of support for and engagement with Israel through the JUF, including leading numerous JUF delegations to the Jewish state. He’s seen by some as an unconventional candidate for the historically Black-dominated district.

A pair of recently created super PACs began running ads last week backing moderate pro-Israel women in several other Chicago-area districts. Those groups are rumored to be supported by UDP or other pro-Israel backers, but the 7th District is the only one in which UDP is directly and publicly involved.

The AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project said in a statement Friday that it had anticipated the potential elevation of a far-left candidate who has accused Israel of genocide in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District as a possible outcome of its spending against former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), but indicated it may undertake further spending in the district.

The group spent $2.3 million attacking Malinowski over his support in 2019 for Immigration and Customs Enforcement Funding and stock trading while in Congress.

Though ballot-counting has not yet finished, progressive activist Analilia Mejia, who is well to the left of Malinowski on Israel issues, currently holds a narrow lead in the primary — an outcome that frustrated New Jersey Jewish leaders attribute at least in part to UDP’s attacks on Malinowski.

“The outcome in NJ-11 was an anticipated possibility, and our focus remains on who will serve the next full term in Congress,” UDP spokesperson Patrick Dorton said in a statement Friday. “UDP will be closely monitoring dozens of primary races, including the June NJ-11 primary, to help ensure pro-Israel candidates are elected to Congress.”

Thursday’s race was a special primary to fill the remainder of Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s term in the House, through January 2027. The winner will still face a general election against Republican Joe Hathaway, the mayor of Randolph, N.J. The progressive Mejia could be uniquely vulnerable in the general, though the district favors Democrats.

There will also be a second primary race in June, on which Dorton suggested that UDP is focused, for the next full term in the House.

Former Lt. Gov Tahesha Way, rumored to be AIPAC’s preferred candidate and endorsed by Democratic Majority for Israel, looks poised to finish in third, with around 17%, in Thursday’s special election primary.

Mejia, who would likely win with less than 30% of the vote, could be vulnerable in the June primary if moderate voters — split amongst Malinowski, Way and Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill in Thursday’s race — coalesce behind Way in the June regular primary.

Way and Malinowski did not immediately respond to requests for comment on whether they plan to run in June. Gill’s team confirmed that he does not plan to run. 

In New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, the AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project made a $2.3 million bet against former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ). It was clear early in the evening that the bet wasn’t paying off — but now the race could end up in what local Jewish leaders are calling a worst-case scenario.

After some outlets initially called the special primary election race for Malinowski, far-left progressive activist Analilia Mejia surged, and took a narrow lead as of the end of the evening, with most saying the race is now too close to call. 

Malinowski maintained a largely pro-Israel record while in office but expressed openness during his latest congressional bid to backing policies conditioning or restricting aid. A former State Department official, he was also a leading and influential voice on foreign policy issues among colleagues.

Mejia’s views on Middle East politics are well to the left of Malinowski’s — she indicated support during a candidate forum for an offensive weapons ban, accused Israel of genocide less than a month after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and, as early as Oct. 10, before the Israeli invasion of Gaza began, said, “Every fiber of my being is horrified beyond words at what is furthering in Gaza.” At the same time, she has expressed support for Israel’s “right to both exist and defend itself.”

Mejia was endorsed by a laundry list of vocal Israel critics, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).

Even without a final call, the results are already emboldening other Israel critics on the left, who are declaring that the results show that AIPAC has lost its sway, including candidates running against moderate, pro-Israel candidates in two key Illinois primaries.

Though some were concerned about Malinowski’s growing criticism of Israel since leaving office, other Jewish leaders had been puzzled by UDP’s decision to attack a lawmaker they saw as an ally during his previous congressional term — particularly when a more strident Israel opponent such as Mejia was in the race.

Now, some believe that UDP’s attacks on Malinowski, which attacked the former congressman’s vote in 2019 for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and his stock trading while in office,  may have pushed voters toward Mejia, rather than toward a more moderate candidate, leaving pro-Israel advocates in an even worse position than if it had not intervened.

“Some of the worst fears of the Jewish community in New Jersey have been realized,” one Jewish leader said, referring to Mejia’s surge. “This was a possible byproduct of them stepping into the race. I don’t know how much of this is to blame on AIPAC specifically, but I think there needs to be a serious after-action report if the intent to push out Malinowski had this unintended consequence of propping up a very, very progressive candidate. … If she were to win, this would be far worse than Malinowski winning.”

The leader added that Jewish and moderate voters were ultimately split among former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, who was rumored to have AIPAC’s tacit backing and was endorsed by Democratic Majority for Israel, and Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill — a longtime New Jersey political hand and the anticipated frontrunner, who ultimately failed to carry his home county.

While attacking Malinowski, UDP did not air positive messaging about any of the candidates to push voters toward its preferred choice.

“Jewish organizations need to rethink their strategy, or I fear that they are slowly pushing themselves into irrelevance,” the leader continued, pointing to the New York City mayoral race as a similar result when Jewish and moderate voters failed to coalesce to stop a far-left candidate. “People are winning elections without their support — they’re basically beating them.”

Another said AIPAC and UDP had “played it wrong in every step” — raising money for Way, whom the source said always had little chance of winning, and then spending heavily to go after Malinowski despite the Jewish community’s largely positive relationship while he was in office, potentially pushing Malinowski further left.

“If AIPAC’s definition of pro-Israel now excludes even someone like me, who passionately supports Israel but won’t commit to a blank check for anything [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] might want, there won’t be enough pro-Israel people left in America to sustain the relationship,” Malinowski said when UDP first began running ads against him.

In a statement, UDP spokesperson Patrick Dorton said the group had anticipated a potential Mejia victory but suggested UDP may get involved in the upcoming June primary for the next full term. Thursday’s primary election was only for the remainder of Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s term in the House, through January 2027.

“The outcome in NJ-11 was an anticipated possibility, and our focus remains on who will serve the next full term in Congress,” Dorton said.  “UDP will be closely monitoring dozens of primary races, including the June NJ-11 primary, to help ensure pro-Israel candidates are elected to Congress.”

Mejia gained attention relatively late in the shortened race, and was not initially viewed as a major contender. Additionally, turnout in the race — expected to be low for a Thursday special election primary with poor road conditions from a recent winter storm — ended up surpassing the 2024 primary election.

Should UDP be interested in trying to take another swing at the Democratic nominee, it may have two opportunities to do so: the upcoming special general election, where the far-left Mejia might be uniquely vulnerable to a GOP challenge, or the primary for the November midterm election. Beating Mejia in the latter primary would likely require consolidation among moderate Democrats.

“If I was an AIPAC official, I’d be wondering, ‘How am I going to go to the same donors that I got money from to run this whole campaign against Malinowski and now I’m going to have to do the same thing to take out the person that I accidentally got elected?’” one Jewish leader said, presuming a Mejia win.

The result could also raise questions about AIPAC and UDP’s strategy in other upcoming races. In Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, a Jewish activist in the community raised concerns to JI weeks ago that pro-Israel attacks on Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss could ultimately end up peeling off voters to far-left influencer Kat Abugazaleh, who is avowedly anti-Israel.

But thus far, the strategy in that race appears to be different. An outside group that many in the community believe to be backed by pro-Israel donors recently began running positive ads boosting the pro-Israel favorite, state Sen. Laura Fine, rather than attacking her challengers.

A major infusion of pro-Israel funding into attack ads on former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) has complicated Malinowski’s path to victory in the Thursday special election primary for New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District — though political analysts and members of the local Jewish community still see Malinowski as the likely favorite and say the precise impact of the anti-Malinowski attacks remains to be seen.

Malinowski has been the target of over $2.3 million in ads funded by the AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project, which have hit Malinowski for a 2019 vote for Immigration and Customs Enforcement funding and stock trading while in office. 

Though AIPAC hasn’t formally endorsed Tahesha Way or run any messaging supporting her, the group is widely believed to be backing the former lieutenant governor, who was endorsed by Democratic Majority for Israel.

“There are several candidates in this race that are far more supportive of the U.S.-Israel relationship than Tom Malinowski,” UDP spokesperson Patrick Dorton told Jewish Insider last month.

Most local observers agreed that Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, who has deep institutional ties in New Jersey Democratic politics, is in the strongest position against Malinowski, but Way and progressive activist and Israel critic Analilia Mejia, who has mobilized a series of prominent national progressive endorsers, also have pathways to victory.

The AIPAC blitz against Malinowski has surprised some in the Jewish community who saw Malinowski as an ally during his time in office, especially as Mejia has been more strongly critical of the Jewish state than Malinowski. But others have noted that Malinowski has shifted left since leaving office in 2023, when he represented the neighboring 7th District, a shift that now includes expressing openness to conditions on U.S. aid to Israel.

One Jewish leader called AIPAC’s decision to intervene so strongly in the race a tactical mistake that could end up hurting pro-Israel candidates. The leader was also critical of AIPAC’s decision to back Way, rather than Gill, who has also cast himself as a supporter of Israel. 

The leader argued that AIPAC’s strategy had boosted Malinowski’s credibility with progressive voters, opened a window for Mejia and undermined Gill, whom the leader argued would otherwise be the most viable pro-Israel candidate. 

But others in the Jewish community harbor concerns about Gill related to his wife, a state assemblymember. Alixon Collazos-Gill has ties to and has attended various events hosted by anti-Israel groups.

Micah Rasmussen, the director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University, said that Malinowski has clear advantages — he leads in fundraising, and has the strongest name recognition and experience in Congress. He also has a deluge of PAC spending against him. which indicates that opponents view him as having a strong shot — but “my gut tells me … that Brendan Gill has a shot if he can get out the vote in his neck of the woods, in Essex County,” Rasmussen said.

Dan Cassino, the executive director of the Fairleigh Dickinson University poll, agreed that “Malinowski certainly has an advantage in name recognition,” but said the outside spending has been “bruising” to him.

Rasmussen called the UDP ads “one of the biggest factors in the race,” given the size of the spend, but it’s not clear, Rasmussen and Cassino agreed, how voters turned off from Malinowski by the UDP ad blitz will vote, and they may scatter in various directions.

Rasmussen noted that Gill has a higher profile than Way and might be more likely to attract defectors, emphasizing that UDP has not given any direction or push to voters toward its preferred candidate.

He also said that, among certain populations, AIPAC’s opposition could strengthen Malinowski’s standing.

“Any one of these four candidates could win. With a low-turnout election, a highly motivated group of voters can make the difference,” Rasmussen said. A surge in Essex County voters could push Gill over the top, while Way would benefit from higher turnout among Black voters and Mejia could benefit from higher turnout among progressives, he said.

“Turnout is looking to be higher than some of the low-end projections we were seeing, but there’s still not a clear sense of who, exactly, is going to be coming out to the polls,” Cassino said.

Cassino said that “it’s also possible that bringing down Malinowski’s numbers winds up helping Mejia, who’s done a reasonable job of consolidating progressive support,” he continued, while noting that her fundraising has been “anemic.”

Rasmussen added that Mejia hasn’t fully consolidated the progressive lane: she scored endorsements from national progressive leaders, but Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ), the most influential in-state progressive figure, is backing Malinowski.

And, he added, it’s “entirely possible” with so many candidates in the race and a lack of consolidation that a wildcard candidate could come from behind and win with just 20% of the vote.

Cassino framed the race as a test of the continued power of Democratic county organizations in the state.

“There’s going to be a lot of analysis looking at the extent to which Gill and Malinowski benefit from those endorsements,” he said. “The bigger those effects, the more valuable the endorsements are going to be perceived to be, which is going to shape candidate behavior in elections coming up.”

A pair of well-financed groups, whose origin is currently unknown, is set to begin running ads boosting moderate pro-Israel candidates in a series of open House seats in Chicago, each of whom is facing off against vocal anti-Israel opponents.

The ads — being run by newly formed super PACs Elect Chicago Women and Affordable Chicago Now — boost state Sen. Laura Fine, running in the 9th Congressional District, former Rep. Melissa Bean (D-IL), running in the 8th District and Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller, running in the 2nd District.

The ad buys for the two groups add up to millions of dollars across the three races.

Given that the groups were just launched, FEC filing policies will not require them to disclose their donors until close to Election Day. But the ads, which do not focus on Israel policy, are widely rumored to be connected to the United Democracy Project, the AIPAC-affiliated super PAC.

UDP did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and AIPAC has not made formal endorsements in any of the races in question. 

Fine has established herself as a supporter of Israel during her campaign, and Bean had a pro-Israel record in office. Miller’s public record on the issue is less established.

A spokesperson for Evanston, Ill. Mayor Daniel Biss, running in the 9th, declared that ads were being run by “a right-wing dark money super PAC” and that Fine “is being propped up by Trump supporters, AIPAC donors, and right-wing super PACs.”

Biss has called for a ban on offensive weapons transfers to Israel and far-left influencer Kat Abughazaleh, another leading candidate in the  race, has taken even stronger anti-Israel positions.

State Sen. Robert Peters, a 2nd District candidate who also strongly condemned Israel during the war in Gaza, posted a video earlier this week accusing “AIPAC and Trump donors” of “pouring cash” into Miller’s campaign, warning that “AIPAC and Trump allies” are “trying to buy this seat.”

One of Bean’s leading challengers in the 8th is Junaid Ahmed, who supports an arms embargo and an end to all military aid to Israel.

In several progressive-minded districts across the country, UDP has utilized similar pop-up groups and not disclosed its involvement until after Election Day.

The pro-Fine ad praises her record in office on issues like health insurance and gun control, as well as points to her support for a ban on Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Chicago. It calls her “the fighter we need to stop Donald Trump.”

ICE has become a major issue in the race, with both Biss and Abughazaleh attending anti-ICE demonstrations. Abughazaleh is under indictment for allegedly conspiring to injure ICE officers during a protest.

The pro-Bean ad highlights her support for the Affordable Care Act in her previous service in Congress, even though she “knew it might cost her an election,” and includes a photo of her with former President Barack Obama. It frames her new run for Congress as a continued effort to protect healthcare access from GOP attacks.

The pro-Miller ad highlights her work with Planned Parenthood and her work to protect pregnant mothers and combat domestic violence on the Cook County Commission. It also frames her as a fighter against President Donald Trump.

All three moderates — Fine, Miller and Bean — solidified their places as leading contenders in their respective races this week by leading in fundraising in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Fine also released an internal poll this week showing herself and Biss  tied for the lead in her race, with Abughazaleh in third and other candidates trailing.

Bean is seen as the front-runner in her race, given her established record. Miller, in spite of her strong fundraising, could face headwinds running against former Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL), who has strong local and institutional support but struggled to raise money last quarter.

The AIPAC-affiliated United Democracy Project super PAC launched a $500,000 ad campaign this weekend targeting former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), who is running in a special election for the seat formerly held by Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill.

The ads highlight Malinowski’s vote in favor of additional funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement years ago, while he was in office representing the neighboring district. The vote also received support from a majority of Democrats.

“There are several candidates in this race that are far more supportive of the U.S.-Israel relationship than Tom Malinowski,” UDP spokesperson Patrick Dorton told Jewish Insider. Dorton also confirmed the size of the ad buy.

Its decision to aggressively single out Malinowski is unexpected given that he has not expressed the same sort of caustic anti-Israel views that many of the candidates the super PAC traditionally targets have espoused. Malinowski, a former State Department official, was a prominent voice on foreign policy matters during his time in Congress and maintained a pro-Israel record.

“The ad itself is obviously — and unforgivably — cynical and dishonest. The strategy behind it is inexplicable. If AIPAC’s definition of pro-Israel now excludes even someone like me, who passionately supports Israel but won’t commit to a blank check for anything [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] might want, there won’t be enough pro-Israel people left in America to sustain the relationship,” Malinowski said in a statement to JI. “I’m confident people will see through this. But if they were to get away with it here, they will do the same to many other Democrats who at some point voted for border funding.”

Various lawmakers — Democrats and Republicans — who AIPAC supports also voted for the border funding package.

In a recent interview with JI, Malinowski described himself as pro-Israel and expressed support for the Trump administration’s Gaza peace plan and strikes on Iran’s nuclear program. But he also said he’s open to policies conditioning or restricting aid, and said the U.S. should act as “counterweight” to the Israeli far right. He added that U.S. aid shouldn’t be used to facilitate Israeli actions that the U.S. itself doesn’t support.

Multiple other candidates in the Democratic primary for the 11th Congressional District have expressed more critical views of Israel, including Analilia Mejia, who leads a progressive advocacy group. Mejia suggested in a candidate forum last week that Arab Israelis do not enjoy the same level of citizenship as Jewish Israelis and indicated she would not support sending offensive weapons to Israel as a member of Congress.

She’s endorsed by a series of progressives critical of Israel including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Maxwell Frost (D-FL), Delia Ramirez (D-IL), Greg Casar (D-TX), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Chuy Garcia (D-IL), as well as the Working Families Party and the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC.

Other candidates in the race include Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, who expressed support for continued and unrestricted U.S. aid to Israel in a recent interview with JI; Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, who voiced her support for the U.S.-Israel relationship in a recent candidate forum; and Jeff Grayzel, the deputy mayor of Morris Township whose path to victory relies upon the support of Jewish voters in the district.

Gill, backed by Gov. Phil Murphy, and Malinowski have generally been seen as the front-runners.

Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-OR) drew comparisons between the Holocaust and the war in Gaza, the latter of which she described as a genocide, in a speech on the House floor on Thursday, explaining her decision to support a resolution with far-left lawmakers, supported by anti-Israel groups, accusing Israel of genocide.

Dexter was backed by AIPAC’s United Democracy Project super PAC in her 2024 primary race against an opponent viewed as further left, and ran on a relatively standard Democratic platform when it came to Israel issues. But she has shifted dramatically to the far left on the issue in recent months, also throwing her support behind efforts to cut off offensive weapons transfers to the Jewish state.

The Oregon congresswoman began her speech by recounting a visit to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, the timing of which she described as “very intentional.”

“I went to reflect on the horrific history of dehumanization and ethnic cleansing that ultimately led the world to create a new term to describe such an unfathomable evil. That word is genocide,” Dexter said. “After the Holocaust, the international community made a commitment that such evil can never happen again to any people, anywhere. Never again, they said. That is why I recently signed on to a resolution recognizing Israel’s actions in Gaza led by the Netanyahu government as a genocide.”

Dexter said that she signed on “with a heavy heart” and “with the utmost respect for the Jewish people” but acknowledged that Jews in her district “may feel abandoned or deeply harmed by my action.” She professed her ongoing opposition to antisemitism and support for “our Jewish neighbors.”

“Many in this body have been reticent to clearly call out the mass suffering, the ethnic cleansing, the war crimes taking place in Gaza. I will not willingly continue to be part of that complicity,” Dexter continued. “As a United States representative, my job is to stand up against the power and our resources of this country being used in such ways.”

She said that “history has and will continue to judge this body, not just for what it did, but for what it failed to do. … I want my children to live in a country where leaders can be relied upon to lead with courage, empathy, and moral clarity. And I urge every Oregonian watching to hold me accountable in a shared unshakable belief in the sanctity of human life.”

Sara Bloomfield, the director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, criticized Dexter’s comments.

“Exploiting the Holocaust to accuse Israel of genocide is unconscionable and adds further fuel to an already raging antisemitic fire,” Bloomfield said in a statement to Jewish Insider.

AIPAC spokesperson Marshall Wittmann said, “The claim of genocide by Israel is a mendacious attempt to distort facts, rewrite historyand a dangerous blood libel. The only genocide in this war happened on October 7, when Hamas openly admitted it wanted to kill every Israeli man, woman, and child it could.  To invoke the Holocaust against Israel is a grotesque moral abomination.”

Reps. Maxine Dexter (D-OR) and Valerie Foushee (D-NC), two House Democrats who received significant backing from the AIPAC-aligned United Democracy Project super PAC in their primary races against far-left opponents, announced this week that they would support efforts to block the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel.

They join a third UDP-supported Democrat, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), who indicated his potential support for such a policy more than a year ago.

The latest moves highlight the growing anger among Democrats with Israel’s continued war operations in Gaza — and the limited efficacy in advocating for a strong U.S.-Israel relationship towards liberals at a time when public support for the Jewish state within the Democratic party is declining. 

Dexter, who represents a deep-blue Portland, Ore. district, benefitted from more than $2 million in UDP donations provided during her 2024 primary race to other PACs supporting Dexter and attacking her opponent, Susheela Jayapal. 

Dexter said in a statement this week that the U.S. “must halt the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel and ensure immediate, sufficient and sustained humanitarian aid into Gaza,” also stating that “Palestinians and Israelis alike have the right to security, safety, self-determination and peace. Netanyahu’s war crimes against the Palestinians in Gaza shatter any path toward those aims.”

She added that “Netanyahu clearly believes U.S. support comes without conditions. Israel has the right to defend itself from attack, but it does not have the right to commit gross violations of human rights or obstruct humanitarian aid to innocent civilians. Netanyahu’s government is doing both and worse. … We must use all means necessary to stop Netanyahu’s government from perpetuating these crimes against humanity.”

Jayapal, the sister of Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), supported conditions on U.S. aid to Israel during her campaign. Dexter, in an interview during her campaign in 2024, told Jewish Insider she would not support imposing additional conditions on U.S. aid to Israel that don’t apply to all U.S. allies.

Dexter said “Israel had the right to defend itself, they were obligated to defend itself” while also calling for a negotiated ceasefire and raising concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. She said she did not believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was interested in peace.

Asked about her apparent turnaround on the issue, Dexter said in a statement to JI that she would apply a similar standard to any ally.

“It is clear to me that Israel has violated international humanitarian law in the way it has prosecuted this war,” Dexter said. “The withholding of offensive arms, in light of these violations, is a standard to which I would and will continue to hold any American ally. The safety, security, and peace for Israelis and Palestinians alike depend on Netanyahu’s government being held accountable.”

Dexter also voted earlier this year against sanctions on the International Criminal Court, the first major Israel-related vote for new members in the current Congress.

Foushee, whose Durham, N.C.-based district is among the most progressive in the state, was among the first beneficiaries of UDP assistance during her 2022 primary campaign. The group spent $2.1 million supporting her campaign against progressive Nida Allam and former “American Idol” finalist Clay Aiken. Allam had a record of anti-Israel activism even before her campaign for Congress.

Foushee this week announced she would sponsor legislation “to prevent the sale of offensive weapons to Israel.”

“A ceasefire and de-escalation are urgently needed to ensure the sufficient flow of aid into Gaza and protect innocent civilians at aid delivery sites from military attacks,” Foushee said on X. “We simply cannot continue to provide the Israeli government with weapons when they are not being used in accordance with international law to maximize the protection of civilians in Gaza.”

Foushee’s campaign said this week that she would not accept further support from AIPAC.

Her new stance on U.S. aid to Israel comes as the culmination of a series of more critical stances she’s taken since first being elected to office, though she maintained AIPAC’s endorsement in the 2024 cycle.

In June 2023, Foushee signed onto a letter opposing Israel’s entry into the Visa Waiver Program, but subsequently told Jewish Insider she’d done so by mistake. As early as December 2023, Foushee signed onto a letter calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

She has voted against numerous measures since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on Israel cracking down on Iran, the Houthis and the International Criminal Court. And she voted against several measures to combat antisemitism including the Antisemitism Awareness Act and a resolution describing the slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” as antisemitic.

Even so, she traveled to Israel in March 2024 with an AIPAC-affiliated delegation and voted in favor of supplemental aid to Israel.

In December 2024, she signed onto a letter led by other lawmakers accusing Israel of failing to fulfill the conditions of U.S. arms sales policy and law, and co-led a resolution in June condemning the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Foushee’s office also did not respond to a request for comment.

Asked about Dexter and Foushee’s positions, AIPAC didn’t address them directly, but said that the U.S. should not abandon Israel.

“If American leaders desire to end the conflict, they should take concrete steps to pressure Hamas to free the hostages and surrender,” the group said in a statement. “This is not a moment to abandon an American ally that is battling Hamas terrorists who launched this war with the barbaric attack of October 7.”

A UDP spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Garcia — who was backed by around $500,000 in UDP spending in 2022 — has also taken a more critical stance since taking office. Though he ran as the more moderate Democrat in his campaign, Garcia has frequently aligned with the left since taking office.

He signed onto a letter in April 2024 calling for the U.S. to withhold offensive arms transfers from Israel if it “fails to sufficiently mitigate the harm to innocent civilians in Gaza … and if it fails to facilitate — or arbitrarily denies or restricts — the transport and delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza.”

His office did not respond to a request for comment on whether he currently supports suspending offensive aid. He voted, after that letter, in favor of supplemental aid for Israel and traveled to Israel with the AIPAC-affiliated American Israel Education Foundation.

Garcia called for a ceasefire on Nov. 11, 2023, and announced last year he would boycott Netanyahu’s address to Congress. Like Foushee, he has opposed many of the measures the House has voted on in the past two years aimed at countering Iran and its proxies, and several of the antisemitism-related measures.

The latest round of fundraising reports filed by leading pro-Israel advocacy groups suggests that they are in strong financial shape as the midterms come into view, even as some of the top pro-Israel candidates have underperformed with their fundraising in key races.

United Democracy Project, a super PAC affiliated with the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC, raised $13.5 million in the first half of 2025, according to its mid-year fundraising report filed late last week, with nearly $39 million on hand at the end of June.

Those figures were far higher than the $8.8 million in contributions the group had pulled in during the same six-month period in 2023, at the beginning of the last election cycle. The group, which ultimately raised much more in the months following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, had $9 million on hand at the time, federal filings show.

Among the top donors to UDP this cycle are Blair Frank, a portfolio manager at Capital Group, who gave $1.5 million — marking the only seven-figure contribution. The Kraft Group, a holding company led by Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, gave $500,000 — as did four other donors including Sanford Grossman, Michael Leffell, David Messer and Andrew Schwartzberg, according to the new filings.

Meanwhile, AIPAC’s bipartisan political action committee, which has yet to issue endorsements in a range of key House and Senate races, raised $2.6 million last month — and was sitting on nearly $14 million at the end of June, its latest monthly filing shows. By contrast, the group had raked in around $1.5 million in June 2023, with nearly $1.4 million on hand.

The fundraising indicates that pro-Israel donors are being driven to contribute amid a new shift in which a growing number of Democratic lawmakers, as well as some Republicans, have endorsed blocking aid to Israel over its handling of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. That trend has coincided with the Democratic nomination of Zohran Mamdani, an avowed critic of Israel, in New York City’s mayoral race, opening up an ongoing debate over the party’s future direction. 

Marshall Wittmann, an AIPAC spokesperson, said in a statement that “grassroots pro-Israel activists are deeply engaged in the political process given the critical importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship as the Jewish state battles aggression from Iran and its terrorist proxies.”

“As the 2026 midterm elections approach, that increased involvement will ensure that the voice of the pro-Israel community will be heard,” Wittmann told Jewish Insider on Monday. 

On the Democratic, rather than bipartisan, side of the equation, DMIF PAC, Democratic Majority for Israel’s political arm, reported raising $2.1 million so far this year, with $2.6 million on hand heading into July. 

While the group’s latest cash haul was buoyed largely by a single $2 million contribution from Deborah Simon, a pro-Israel donor in Indiana, its new filing indicates a healthier financial situation than its last mid-year report in 2023, when DMFI PAC pulled in just over $700,000 during the first six months of that year, with only a small amount more in reserve funds.

DMFI PAC, which worked alongside UDP to unseat two Squad-aligned Israel critics in House races last cycle, has not yet announced endorsements in next year’s primaries.

Despite relatively robust fundraising for the two groups, such donor enthusiasm has yet to translate to some key races in which pro-Israel candidates are lagging behind their opponents. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), a longtime ally of AIPAC who is running for Senate, was recently outraised by state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and Abdul el-Sayed, an outspoken critic of Israel. And in an open-seat House primary in the Chicago suburbs, Laura Fine, a state senator who is touting her pro-Israel positions, fell well behind her two left-leaning rivals.

One prominent pro-Israel activist who is close to AIPAC, speaking on the condition of anonymity to address what he called an “undeniable shift” in the Democratic Party on Israel, said he was unfazed by such fundraising at this stage of the primary cycle — noting that Stevens in particular has a “reservoir of support that is out there waiting” within the Jewish and pro-Israel communities.

“We are committed to the cause which we think is deeply in America’s interest, and we’re not going to give up,” he told JI. “People like us are just going to get more animated by this, not scared off.”