Plus, Israel-Ukraine relations face grain of contention
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL)
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The gunman who attacked the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night, Cole Tomas Allen, was arraigned in Washington this afternoon. He is being charged with transportation of a firearm between states, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence and attempting to assassinate the president of the United States, which carries a potential life sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jocelyn Ballantine said Allen, 31, had “a 12-gauge, pump-action shotgun, a .38-caliber semiautomatic pistol and … three knives and other dangerous paraphernalia” during the attack. He will remain in detention with another hearing scheduled for Thursday…
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump met with his national security team this morning where they discussed Iran’s latest proposal to end the war, which reportedly includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz but postponing talks on the country’s nuclear program…
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the U.S. is “being humiliated” by Iranian leaders after negotiations between the two countries this weekend were called off.
“The Iranians are obviously very skilled at negotiating, or rather, very skillful at not negotiating, letting the Americans travel to Islamabad and then leave again without any result,” Merz told a group of students. The result is “an entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by these so-called Revolutionary Guards,” he added…
Russian President Vladimir Putin praised how “courageously and heroically the people of Iran are fighting for their independence” in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi today in St. Petersburg. Araghchi thanked Russia for standing by its side and said the countries will continue their “strategic partnership”…
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said today that the terror group will not disarm, despite the Lebanese government’s intent to remove the group from power in the south of the country under the terms of the ongoing ceasefire with Israel. Hezbollah and Israel have continued to exchange fire throughout the ceasefire, including a wave of Israeli airstrikes today in response to Hezbollah’s deadly drone attack that killed an IDF soldier and wounded six yesterday…
New Department of Homeland Security training materials allow green card applicants to be denied for antisemitic and anti-Israel social media posts and activism, as well as anti-American activism, The New York Times reports. The documents, distributed to immigration officers last month, cite “as an example of questionable speech a social media post that declares, ‘Stop Israeli Terror in Palestine’ and shows the Israeli flag crossed out”…
Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Sybiha summoned Israel’s ambassador to the country to protest the arrival of a ship allegedly carrying grain taken from Russian-occupied Ukraine at Israel’s Haifa Port, Sybiha said on X. Sybiha also denounced Israel’s “lack of appropriate response to Ukraine’s legitimate request” regarding a similar vessel that docked in Haifa last week.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar slammed Sybiha for his announcement: “Diplomatic relations, especially between friendly nations, are not conducted on Twitter or in the media,” Sa’ar wrote. He said that “evidence substantiating [Ukraine’s] allegations have yet to be provided” and that “the matter will be examined”…
Several pro-Israel House Democrats in Florida could lose their seats after Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled a new congressional map that eliminates their districts — state lawmakers are expected to approve the map for use in this year’s midterm elections at a special session of the state Legislature tomorrow.
The new map could give the GOP up to four additional House seats by redrawing Democratic-leaning districts, including those of Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Darren Soto (D-FL)…
Claims by New Jersey congressional candidate Adam Hamawy that the Gazan hospital where he volunteered as a trauma surgeon in 2024 during Israel’s war with Hamas was a “completely benign civilian hospital with no tunnels underneath it” are false, The Washington Free Beacon reports.
While Hamawy claimed in an interview shortly after he returned that “there were definitely no tunnels underground and no command base there,” Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed a year later “in a tunnel directly under the hospital emergency department, where he was leading a high-level meeting with senior Hamas terrorists,” the Free Beacon writes…
All five of Pennsylvania’s living former governors, both Democrats and Republicans, released a statement today calling on state officials to prioritize the safety and security of Gov. Josh Shapiro, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
The letter came days after state Treasurer Stacy Garrity — Shapiro’s leading Republican opponent in this year’s gubernatorial race — said the state will not pay for security upgrades made to Shapiro’s privately owned family residence, done after the state-owned governor’s mansion was targeted in an antisemitic arson attack last spring…
The New York Times chronicles Google co-founder Sergey Brin’s turn away from the Democratic Party and increasing political involvement, including against the proposed “billionaire tax” in his home state of California.
“I fled socialism with my family in 1979 and know the devastating, oppressive society it created in the Soviet Union. I don’t want California to end up in the same place,” Brin told the Times. Brin, who is Jewish, has also been disturbed by the Democratic Party’s leftward shift on Israel policy…
Toronto-based Jewish advocate Adam Hummel argues in the “Boundless Insights” Substack that “anti-Zionism” is an obsolete position, given the 78-year-old existence of the State of Israel.
“Israelis don’t owe anyone an argument for their existence. … The debate is over, not because one side won, but because the thing itself came into being. They are a people. They speak a language. They live on a piece of land and have mortgages. That is what peoples do. The Greeks do it. The Poles do it. The Québécois do it. The arguments about whether they should are, at this point, a leisure activity for people who live elsewhere”…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a profile of Keith Sonderling, the acting secretary of labor, who is Jewish and the grandson of Holocaust survivors, following the resignation of Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
The Zionist Rabbinic Coalition will present its first “Pillar of Zion” award to Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) at the organization’s fifth annual National Conference in Washington. Other speakers at the three-day conference will include Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter; State Department antisemitism envoy Yehuda Kaploun; Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon; and Jonathan Schanzer, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Stories You May Have Missed
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK
Hiding under a table at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner

‘Two thoughts ran through my head. The main one: I’m getting married in six days. I can’t die now. The second: I can’t believe this is happening to me again’
Plus, half of young Americans view Israel as a burden
Iranian Presidency/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian delivers a speech on April 19, 2026.
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Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Talks between Israel and Lebanon, which are currently underway, were moved from the State Department to the White House. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were spotted arriving there together this afternoon, and a White House official told Jewish Insider that President Donald Trump would greet the participants at the opening of the discussion…
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who returned to Washington in order to participate in the talks, also stopped by Capitol Hill where he met with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)…
While the bombing campaign in Iran is on pause, the battle at sea continues: U.S. forces boarded another vessel carrying Iranian oil in the Indian Ocean this morning and Trump said he had ordered the U.S. Navy to “shoot and kill any boat” placing mines in the Strait of Hormuz — just as a third U.S. aircraft carrier arrived in the region…
Trump also said Iran is “having a very hard time figuring out who their leader is,” indicating the regime may still be struggling to present the U.S. with a unified proposal. “The infighting is between the ‘Hardliners,’ who have been losing BADLY on the battlefield, and the ‘Moderates,’ who are not very moderate at all (but gaining respect!),” he claimed.
In response, Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and President Masoud Pezeshkian, both considered relative moderates, issued nearly identical statements on X pledging “complete obedience to the Supreme Leader”…
Iranian officials tell The New York Times their new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is alive but injured, and so far ruling differently than his late father; the younger Khamenei is relying on Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps commanders to provide him advice to make decisions “as though he is the director of the board.”
Khamenei’s injuries are extensive and he is largely inaccessible in person: “One leg was operated on three times, and he is awaiting a prosthetic. He had surgery on one hand and is slowly regaining function. His face and lips have been burned severely, making it difficult for him to speak, the officials said, adding that, eventually, he will need plastic surgery”…
U.S. officials are expressing concern over the military’s ability to defend Taiwan from China in the near future should the need arise, given that the U.S. has burned through more than 1,000 Tomahawk missiles and more than 1,500 air-defense missiles in the course of the war with Iran so far, supplies that could take up to six years to replace…
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar named Israel’s first Christian ambassador, George Deek, as the country’s special envoy to the Christian world, JI’s Lahav Harkov reports, after several recent controversies in Israel relating to Christians. Deek is part of the Arab Orthodox Christian community in Jaffa…
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) joined other Michigan Democrats in denouncing Amir Makled, a Democratic nominee for regent of the University of Michigan, over Makled’s past comments expressing antisemitic sentiments and support for terrorism.
“I’m going to have a problem with any candidate — Democrat, Republican or independent — who shares antisemitic and hateful posts on social media. Especially when they refuse to disavow those comments or show remorse,” Slotkin said in a statement to JI’s Marc Rod, in response to a question about Makled…
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not give advance notice to senior Republican senators before announcing yesterday that he was firing Navy Secretary John Phelan, causing surprise and confusion on Capitol Hill. “I found out about it the way everybody else did,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told JI’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod of the Pentagon’s announcement on social media of Phelan’s dismissal.
Trump praised Phelan in a post on Truth Social this afternoon and said he’d “certainly like to have him back within the Trump Administration sometime in the future” — Phelan had reportedly bumped heads with Hegseth but had a close relationship with the president…
Nearly half of young American adults view Israel as a burden to the United States, according to a new Harvard Youth Poll of 18- to 29-year-olds. The survey found that 46% of young Americans consider Israel to be mostly a burden to the U.S., compared to just 16% who say Israel is mostly a benefit, JI’s Gabby Deutch reports.
In addition, Ukraine, which has also received U.S. support in its lengthy war with Russia, was also determined to be more of a burden by young Americans — 31% of respondents said Ukraine is mostly a burden, while 21% said it is mostly a benefit…
The Wall Street Journal‘s Matthew Hennessey issued a defense of Elliot Kaufman, a member of the Journal‘s editorial board, after Trump slammed him on Truth Social as an “idiot” and a “moron.”
“What triggered the president’s ire was an op-ed under Mr. Kaufman’s byline headlined ‘The Iranians Take Trump for a Sucker.’ That’s a provocative title, yes, but the piece delivers on the provocation. Mr. Kaufman wasn’t calling Mr. Trump a sucker; he was merely pointing out that the Iranians are acting like they think he is one. The piece offers plenty of recent evidence to support that claim,” Hennessey wrote…
American journalist Shelly Kittleson details in The Atlantic her experience being kidnapped and held hostage by the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah terror group in Iraq for nine days earlier this month…
Former Disney CEO Bob Iger, who stepped down last month, is returning to Joshua Kushner’s venture firm, Thrive Capital, in an advisory role…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for an interview with Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) as he introduces a buffer zone bill in Congress, which follows legislation under consideration in New York and elsewhere, aiming to protect attendees at houses of worship.
Washington is abuzz ahead of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, being held at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night. The event will be headlined by American Israeli mentalist Oz Pearlman and attended by Trump for his first time as president, alongside celebrities (including Trump fan Nicki Minaj), politicians and media figures. Politicos and reporters will schmooze at events beginning this evening through Sunday morning.
We’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat Shalom!
Stories You May Have Missed
SHAPIRO SPOTLIGHT
Josh Shapiro supports U.S. aid to Israel, but calls to use it as leverage

In an interview with JI, Shapiro said he ‘[hasn’t] really thought about’ whether he would appear on Hasan Piker’s stream but that he hasn’t been invited
Plus, Dems concerned over fraying Israel-Europe ties
Gage Skidmore
Elizabeth Warren
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📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt maintained this afternoon that President Donald Trump is “generously offering a bit of flexibility” to Iranian leaders and has not given them a “firm deadline” to provide a proposal to the U.S., contrary to reports that said Trump only intended to wait a few days before ending the ceasefire that he extended yesterday.
Leavitt also said the president did not view Iran’s seizure of two ships near the Strait of Hormuz today as a violation of the ceasefire: “These were not U.S. ships. These were not Israeli ships,” she said — a change in tone for Trump, who has taken a hardline against Tehran’s escalatory actions in the key waterway.
Meanwhile, mediating countries are reportedly working to get Tehran and Washington back to the negotiating table, with a meeting possibly on Friday. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran “has welcomed dialogue and agreement and continues to do so,” but that “breach of commitments, blockade and threats are the main obstacles” to continuing talks…
Even as negotiations to end the war are still in flux, Trump thanked Iran for granting his request not to execute eight women who were reportedly due to be killed by the regime tonight, instead releasing four of them and holding the other four in jail for one month…
The Financial Times profiles Pakistani army chief Asim Munir as he emerges as an unexpected key mediator between the U.S. and Iran, utilizing his ties to Tehran’s security establishment — including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — and personal rapport with Trump to help secure a comprehensive deal…
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is keeping the door open to a possible 2028 presidential run, saying “only the good Lord knows” what comes next as he continues to reestablish himself in the private sector and policy world after serving in the first Trump administration.
In a wide-ranging interview with Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs, Pompeo also praised Columbia University, where he now teaches at the School of International and Public Affairs, for “beg[inning] to get back the correct leadership … in a way where more voices can be heard”…
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack stood by his comments that drew criticism over the weekend in which he repeatedly criticized Israel and praised Turkey, saying he was merely “stating the obvious.”
“When I described the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire as a ‘time out’ and said that ‘everybody has been equally untrustworthy,’ I was simply stating the obvious reality on the ground. This is realism, not criticism of any side,” Barrack told Fox News Digital. He also reaffirmed his comments that the goal in Lebanon is “not killing Hezbollah,” and that Turkey should be readmitted to the F-35 fighter jet program…
A group of Jewish District of Columbia residents gathered at the city’s municipal building today for a scheduled meeting with Janeese Lewis George, a D.C. councilmember and one of the leading candidates in this year’s mayoral race, but she never showed, two people who were in the meeting told JI’s Gabby Deutch.
A staff member for Lewis George told attendees at the start of the meeting that she was having a busy morning, and they should begin the conversation without her. At the end of the meeting, when Lewis George still had not arrived, the staff member apologized that she could not attend…
New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin warned this morning that if Mayor Zohran Mamdani vetoes the council’s legislation intended to regulate protests at religious and educational sites, the city will face “more divisiveness,” calling the decision a critical test for the mayor, JI’s Haley Cohen reports.
Menin, New York City Comptroller Mark Levine and Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, speaking at 92NY on the future of Jewry in New York, beseeched the Jewish community not to flee despite tensions with the mayor. “This is not a time to lose hope. Hopefully the three of us here can embody the future of the commitment to fighting antisemitism, the commitment to supporting the Jewish community,” Menin said…
Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) is set to introduce a federal buffer zone bill, similar to that of the New York City Council, alongside Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt on Friday, as Suozzi seeks reelection to his swing-district seat on Long Island…
Democratic lawmakers and strategists are expressing concern over the rising popularity of far-left Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, fearing that if he clinches the Democratic nomination, he would lose in a general election to former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), the GOP front-runner, Semafor reports. Democrats must retain the Michigan Senate seat to have any hope of taking back the chamber in the midterm elections.
Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI), who is backing Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in the race, told the outlet that “all three candidates are qualified, but dinged El-Sayed for campaigning with [Hasan] Piker and said ‘we are continuing to see consistent polling that suggests that Haley is the only one that can win in a general election’”…
Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner said he would not support keeping Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) as the party’s leader in the chamber, naming as potential replacements Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Chris Murphy (D-CT) or Brian Schatz (D-HI). He also said he would oppose a ban on semiautomatic assault weapons, a priority policy for much of the Democratic caucus…
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) dismissed criticism of Platner after campaigning with him in Maine last weekend: Asked on CNBC about her comment that Platner is “my kind of man” given his past incendiary rhetoric and actions including his Nazi chest tattoo, Warren said, “He has apologized, he’s out meeting with the people of Maine every single day so they can evaluate not who Graham Platner was but who Graham Platner is today.”
Warren sidestepped a question specifically about Platner’s 2014 praise of Hamas tactics during an attack on Israeli soldiers, as reported by JI: “You guys want to be the party of inclusivity, right?” host Sara Eisen asked regarding the report. “I want to be the party that stands up for hardworking people,” Warren answered…
Schumer dodged a question yesterday asking if he is on the wrong side of his party after most Democratic senators voted in favor of blocking arms sales to Israel — a measure he opposed. “Our caucus is united and focused on ending the war in Iran,” he said, and touted Democrats’ war powers resolutions before walking away…
Rep. David Scott (D-GA) died today at 80. Scott, who voted on the House floor last night, had been running for reelection for his 13th term…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for the results of this afternoon’s war powers resolution vote in the Senate, which is expected to be blocked by Republicans as the previous four were.
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh will meet at the State Department tomorrow for the second round of direct talks between the two countries. Lebanon is reportedly seeking a one-month extension to the ongoing ceasefire, which is set to expire on Sunday; Hezbollah, which has said it is not bound by the agreement, has continued to fire rockets and a drone at Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison will host an exclusive dinner honoring President Donald Trump and CBS News’ White House correspondents at the recently renamed Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace. Ellison is currently seeking regulatory approval of Paramount’s deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery.
The Jewish Democratic Council of America will host a candidate forum for New York’s 17th Congressional District featuring leading candidates Beth Davidson, a Rockland County legislator, and Cait Conley, a national security veteran.
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DEM DIVIDES
Jewish Dems vow to keep fighting in Michigan, even as they question if they belong

Jewish Democrats described a ‘shell-shocked’ atmosphere at their statewide convention that saw marked hostility to pro-Israel voices
Plus, Hasan Piker calls Hamas 'orphan children'
Jacquelyn Martin - Pool/Getty Images
Vice President JD Vance arrives for talks with Iranian officials on April 11, 2026 in Islamabad, Pakistan.
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📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
The U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz began this morning, with more than 15 American warships involved in the operation intended to pressure Iran into concessions after this weekend’s failed negotiations.
President Donald Trump said hours later that the U.S. was “called this morning by the right people, the appropriate people, and they want to work a deal.” Mediators including Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey are also reportedly attempting to revive talks between the parties…
One reported sticking point in the negotiations is a U.S. request that Iran agree not to enrich uranium for 20 years. The 2015 Iran nuclear deal was highly criticized for its sunset clauses, which lifted limits on activity including uranium enrichment after 15 years.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invoked a similar timeframe at a Cabinet meeting today, saying he spoke with Vice President JD Vance yesterday who told him that the U.S. aims to ensure “there is no more enrichment in the coming years, and that could be in decades, no enrichment within Iran.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) took issue with the timeline: “If this reporting is accurate, the idea that we would agree to a moratorium on enrichment rather than a ban on enrichment would be a mistake in my view. Would we agree to a moratorium for al Qaeda to enrich? No,” he wrote on X. “No enrichment means no enrichment”.…
Six additional Senate Democrats plan to file new war powers resolutions this week to halt the war in Iran, a move that would allow Democrats to continue forcing votes on the war for the foreseeable future, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Previously, a different group of six Democrats introduced similar resolutions, and Democrats have called up two of them thus far, with plans to call up a third this week. The latest group of lawmakers spans from staunch progressives and critics of Israel to generally more pro-Israel members, including Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Andy Kim (D-NJ)…
Citing an “increasingly sour national environment for Republicans,” the Cook Political Report shifted its ratings for four key Senate races in Democrats’ favor: The North Carolina and Georgia races now lean Democratic, the Ohio race is a toss-up and the Nebraska race is likely Republican, rather than solidly. Democrats would need to flip four seats to take back the chamber…
In another heated Senate race where Democrats hope to pick up a seat, former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) raised nearly $9 million in the first quarter of 2026, four times the amount her opponent, Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), pulled in. The GOP super PAC Senate Leadership Fund has pledged to spend $15 million in the race, as polls show Peltola with a slight lead…
In an appearance on the “Pod Save America” podcast released yesterday, antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker said he “stands by” his statement made in January that “Hamas is a thousand times better than a fascist settler-colonial apartheid state,” referring to Israel.
“I would vote for Hamas over Israel every single time,” he said on the podcast, claiming Hamas is “entirely comprised … of orphan children that have had their parents killed by an apartheid state that has been dominating the lives of Palestinians for 80 years at this point. … Hamas’ tactics, which I oppose at times, or its like internal governance issues are secondary to this conversation”…
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) called for the federal government to “immediately” pull funding from Yale University over Yale Political Union’s decision to host Piker, who previously suggested that the senator should be killed. Piker is scheduled to speak on campus tomorrow for a debate titled “Resolved: End the American Empire.”
For Scott, Piker’s incendiary language is personal: the streamer was briefly suspended from Twitch last year after urging his followers to “kill Rick Scott.” “An elite private university that hosts an antisemite who says a Senator should be killed, capitalists should be killed, and the U.S. deserved 9/11, shouldn’t get ONE CENT from taxpayers,” Scott wrote on X on Friday…
J Street is seeking to “set the record straight” after the group backed the growing calls among far-left lawmakers to end U.S. support for Israel’s missile-defense systems, including Iron Dome, despite its own criteria for its endorsees stating otherwise.
In a new FAQ, the group called Iron Dome “a critically important defense system” which it “supports and consistently lobbies for.” After the end of the Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. and Israel, which runs through Fiscal Year 2028, however, “financial subsidies to Israel should be rapidly and responsibly phased out. … Israel should pay for these systems”…
More Jews were killed in antisemitic incidents outside of Israel in 2025 than any year in the past three decades, according to a report from Tel Aviv University. Twenty Jews were killed last year in attacks in countries including Australia, the U.S. and the U.K., while the previous record was set in 1994 with the AMIA bombing, which killed 85 people in Buenos Aires, Argentina…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at a new poll assessing the partisan divide emerging among American Jews over pro-Israel political engagement.
The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum will host a Yom HaShoah remembrance event at the Capitol, with a keynote address delivered by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Other speakers include several Holocaust survivors as well as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Reps. Joe Wilson (R-SC) and Lois Frankel (D-FL).
Amid the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group’s spring meetings being held in Washington this week, Jacob Helberg, under secretary of state for economic affairs, will speak at an event with the Atlantic Council about U.S. economic leadership in the Middle East, including utilization of the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor, which has been floated as an alternative trade route to the volatile Strait of Hormuz.
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THE VIEW FROM ISRAEL
Israelis uncertain if Iran war made them safer after ceasefire brings combat to an inconclusive halt

After the ceasefire went into effect, there was a pervading feeling in Israel that the war with Iran was not complete, and the return to routine life may be short-lived
Plus, Joe Kent amplifies Iranian propaganda
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
President Donald Trump conducts a news conference in the White House briefing room about the war in Iran on Monday, April 6, 2026.
This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Amid reports that Iran has rejected the U.S.’ ceasefire framework, President Donald Trump told reporters Tehran has made its own “significant” proposal, though it is “not good enough.”
Asked if he may push the deadline again for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face increased U.S. military action — as he has already done three times — Trump said, “Highly unlikely. They’ve had plenty of time.”
Trump also claimed the U.S. had “sent guns, lot of guns” into Iran. “They were supposed to go to the people so they could fight back against these thugs. You know what happened? The people that they sent them to kept them, because they said, ‘What a beautiful gun. I think I’ll keep it,’” he said…
At a press conference this afternoon, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said today would mark “the largest volume of strikes since Day 1” of the Iran war, with more to come tomorrow.
Trump doubled down on his threats, warning that all of Iran “can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night.” If Tehran does not acquiesce by his 8 p.m. ET deadline tomorrow, Trump said, “they’re going to have no bridges. They’re going to have no power plants. Stone ages.”
The president also floated the possibility of charging U.S. tolls to ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz once it is reopened and potentially seizing Iran’s oil. Trump and defense officials further detailed the harrowing rescue of a fighter jet pilot, who reportedly treated his own wounds while scaling mountainous terrain to evade capture after being downed over Iran…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he spoke yesterday with Trump, who thanked him for Israel’s assistance in rescuing the pilot…
Joe Kent, the former director of the National Counterterrorism Center who resigned over his opposition to the Iran war, shared a post on social media on Saturday spreading false claims from Iranian state-linked media and Drop Site News that the U.S. was attempting to kill the servicemember whose fighter jet was shot down over Iran prior to him being rescued, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
The initial statement from Drop Site, a far-left news outlet sympathetic to Hamas and totalitarian regimes, cited a report by Tasnim News, which is linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, claiming that the U.S. had “lost hope” of recovering the airman and was instead “attempting to kill him”…
Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX), who previously served in the Air Force, predicted that the U.S. will deploy ground troops into Iran: “I just don’t see any other way,” he said on Fox News. “I personally think it’s going to be boots — at least special ops, American special operators — on the ground, with allies in the region and air cover,” he said…
The U.S.-led Board of Peace is pressing Hamas to finalize a Gaza demilitarization agreement by the end of the week, The New York Times reports, which would require the terror group to give up its weapons and maps of its tunnel network in the enclave. Negotiators from both sides are expected to meet in Cairo, Egypt, tomorrow…
Democratic Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow announced she raised more than $3 million in the first quarter of 2026 in her bid for U.S. Senate. “There was not a dime of corporate PAC donations, not a dime of AIPAC donations,” she said in a video. The pro-Israel group was the only organization she named.
While McMorrow’s opponents have not yet publicized their latest fundraising figures, her haul surpassed those of last quarter, when Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) led the pack with $2.1 million raised in the final quarter of 2025…
The Senate Leadership Fund, the Senate GOP’s top super PAC, revealed its $350 million plan to retain control of the upper chamber, focusing on defending incumbents in Ohio, North Carolina, Maine, Iowa and Alaska and seeking to flip seats in Michigan, Georgia and New Hampshire.
The funds will largely be used for ad campaigns, with the most money being spent to defend Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH), who must win his first Senate election for the remainder of his term against the likely Democratic nominee, former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky received a grand welcome upon touching down in Damascus yesterday for his first meeting with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa. The two leaders “explored avenues for strengthening economic cooperation and the exchange of expertise,” al-Sharaa said…
Sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE have signed equity commitments to the tune of $24 billion to back Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, The Wall Street Journal reports…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a preview of tomorrow’s special election runoff in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, where Republican military veteran and Israel supporter Clay Fuller is expected to win the ruby-red seat of former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will hold another press briefing on the Iran war tomorrow morning.
Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed will host rallies tomorrow at Michigan State University and the University of Michigan with guests including Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) and antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker, a move which has drawn condemnation from some Democrats and sparked a broader debate about the mainstreaming of Piker within the party.
The Democratic National Committee will begin its five-day meeting in New Orleans tomorrow, where its resolutions committee will consider several resolutions condemning AIPAC and Israel, including calls for conditions on or a suspension of U.S. military aid to the Jewish state.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte will meet with Trump and administration officials in Washington on Wednesday, as the president continues to slam the organization for its refusal to engage in the Iran war.
In observance of Passover, we’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday, April 13. Chag Pesach Sameach!
Stories You May Have Missed
ALTERED LIVES
They survived the Temple Israel attack. They can’t escape what followed

The foiled attack at the Michigan synagogue is being called a miracle — but those who were inside now face the lasting impact of trauma and a search for safety
Plus, judge rules against UPenn in antisemitism investigation
Haidar Mohammed Ali/Anadolu via Getty Images
Mourners carry the coffin of Kata'ib Hezbollah member on March 2, 2026 amid Kata'ib Hezbollah flags.
This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump lashed out at European countries this morning for their posture during the war in Iran: He wrote on Truth Social that France is prohibiting planes with military supplies destined for Israel from flying over its territory, calling Paris “VERY UNHELPFUL … The U.S.A. will REMEMBER!”
Trump also named the U.K. among the countries “which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran” and are now struggling to acquire fuel due to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. “[G]o to the Strait, and just TAKE IT. You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us,” the president warned…
Trump told the New York Post about reports that he’s willing to end the war without reopening the Strait of Hormuz: “I don’t think about it, to be honest. My sole function was to make sure that they don’t have a nuclear weapon. They’re not going to have a nuclear weapon. When we leave the strait will automatically open.”
He similarly said to CBS News about removing Iran’s enriched uranium, “I don’t even think about it. I just know that, you know, that’s so deeply buried it’s gonna be very hard for anybody. … It’s pretty safe. But, you know, we’ll make a determination”…
During a press briefing this morning, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed that he took a secret trip to the Middle East in recent days to meet with U.S. servicemembers, including Air Force intelligence analysts, Army troops and pilots.
CENTCOM also confirmed that Adm. Brad Cooper visited Israel earlier this week where he met with Defense Minister Israel Katz and Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF’s chief of staff…
Israel is ending all arms purchases from France and “replacing it with domestic Israeli procurement or purchases from allied countries,” the Israeli Ministry of Defense said today, adding that there will be “no new professional engagement with the French military” in the latest rift in the deteriorating relationship between Jerusalem and Paris…
A week after Lebanon declared Iran’s ambassador to Beirut persona non grata and expelled him from the country, the ambassador has still refused to leave the embassy compound, and Iran has stated that the embassy remains open…
China and Pakistan, which has been the intermediary for indirect negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, put forward a ceasefire proposal that would see the immediate cessation of hostilities, the safeguarding of nonmilitary targets and the restoration of transit through global shipping lanes…
American journalist Shelly Kittleson was kidnapped in Baghdad, Iraq, today, according to the Iraqi interior ministry, reportedly by Kataib Hezbollah, the same group that held researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov for over 900 days. Kittleson is a freelance journalist primarily based in Europe who has written for outlets including Al-Monitor and Foreign Policy.
Dylan Johnson, assistant secretary of state for global public affairs, said in a statement that the State Department “is aware of the reported kidnapping” and had “previously fulfilled our duty to warn this individual of threats against them.” Johnson said an “individual with ties” to Kataib Hezbollah “has been taken into custody” in connection with the kidnapping and that the department will coordinate with the FBI to secure Kittleson’s release…
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani attended a dinner for Eid last week where he spoke with antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker, a conversation that Piker called “very productive” on a recent Twitch stream.
“No, he did not disavow me,” Piker said in response to a listener’s question. “‘Did you tell him to tune out the bad faith haters?’ I did,” Piker continued. Mamdani appeared on Piker’s Twitch for an interview during the mayoral campaign but has not met with him publicly since…
“Nope,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) said in response to a video of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) claiming that, “in many respects,” Piker “is doing a very good job.” “Hasan Piker is a proud antisemite … His voice should have no place in our political discourse and all elected officials should condemn his rhetoric,” Gottheimer wrote…
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Jewish Democrat, shared an image of a sign which read, “A Jewish data center has no home here,” displayed outside a town hall she held yesterday urging caution around the approval of data centers. “If you think antisemitism isn’t a problem in Michigan, think again,” Nessel wrote…
A new poll commissioned by former Maine state Sen. Troy Jackson, now a Democratic candidate for governor, found oyster farmer Graham Platner — whom Jackson is backing — nearly 40 points ahead of Gov. Janet Mills in the state’s Senate race (66-28%) among likely Democratic primary voters. The survey was conducted after Mills had started running ads against Platner based on his past controversial statements, a sign that her line of attack may not be persuading voters…
And another poll commissioned by the Senate Majority PAC, a Democratic group, found Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton leading in the heated Republican primary runoff for Senate against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), 47-42%…
A federal judge ruled that the University of Pennsylvania must comply with a subpoena from the Trump administration that seeks information about Jewish university affiliates, which the university had said resembled nefarious efforts by governments over history to gather lists of Jews…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a report from West Bloomfield, Mich., where JI’s Gabby Deutch sat down with community members still reeling from the attack on Temple Israel earlier this month.
Democrat Analilia Mejia and Republican Joe Hathaway will participate in a debate tomorrow evening ahead of the April 16 special election in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, after Mejia eked out a surprise victory in last month’s primary. While this race will decide who serves out the rest of Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s House term, the progressive Mejia is also running essentially unopposed by other Democrats for the full term.
In observance of Passover, we’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday, April 6. Chag Pesach Sameach!
Stories You May Have Missed
COMMUNITY TIGHTROPE
In Michigan Senate primary, McMorrow balances Jewish fears and Arab outreach after attack

In an interview with JI, the state senator described herself as someone who supports the U.S.-Israel relationship, but not unconditionally
Plus, one AI rabbi down but more pop up
Emily Elconin/Getty Images
Caution tape near the front entrance of Temple Israel a day after an active shooter incident on March 13, 2026 in West Bloomfield, Michigan.
This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump doubled down on threats to escalate the war in Iran while simultaneously heralding the success of ongoing negotiations: He claimed on Truth Social this morning that the U.S. is in “serious discussions” with a “new” and “more reasonable” Iranian regime and that “great progress has been made.”
“But,” he added, “if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately ‘Open for Business,’ we will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!)”…
Trump confirmed to the New York Post that the U.S. is engaging with Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and assessing whether he’s a reliable partner: “We’re gonna find out. I’ll let you know that in about a week.” He also said the U.S. believes new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is “probably” alive “but in extraordinarily bad shape” after he was injured in an airstrike…
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed in a Fox News interview that the U.S. is “going to retake control of the straits and there will be freedom of navigation, whether it is through U.S. escorts or a multinational escort”…
A series of surveys released today reveal how Jews and Israelis are perceiving the war in Iran: A poll conducted by the Mellman Group found 55% of American Jews oppose the war while 32% are in favor. Another poll of American Jews, solicited by J Street, found 60% of respondents opposed and 40% in support.
In Israel, meanwhile, a poll released by the Israel Democracy Institute found that the war is losing some support among Israelis, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports. In the first week of the war, 93% of Jewish Israelis supported continuing it, while in the latest poll — conducted nearly a month into the war — 78% support it. Nearly three times as many Israeli Jews (12%) now oppose the war as did at the beginning of March (4%)…
The FBI announced findings that the attack on Temple Israel in suburban Detroit earlier this month was “a Hezbollah-inspired act of terrorism purposely targeting the Jewish community and the largest Jewish temple in Michigan.” The brother of the assailant was a Hezbollah commander who had been killed in Lebanon by the IDF the week before the attack…
Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed told campaign staff that he did not want to take any public position on the killing of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the beginning of the war because “there are a lot of people in Dearborn who are sad,” according to meeting audio obtained by The Washington Free Beacon.
If asked by reporters, El-Sayed said his strategy would be to “go straight to pedophilia, frankly. I’ll just be like, ‘Pedophile president decides that he doesn’t like the front page news, so he decides to take us into another war’”…
Allies of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani told Politico that the mayor’s dismissal of criticisms of his wife, Rama Duwaji, for her past extreme rhetoric and social media posts — calling her “a private person” — doesn’t comport with Duwaji’s very public profile.
“‘She is the first lady of New York City. She has a police detail and a government staff,’ said one of the elected officials, who believes Duwaji should explain herself publicly. ‘She would need to do an interview, better explain herself, and have her do some visits and meetings with key constituencies, like Jewish museums’”…
An AI-generated Instagram account, which featured a fake Orthodox rabbi spreading antisemitic conspiracies to its more than 1.4 million followers, was taken offline over the weekend following major backlash from Jewish groups and one Democratic lawmaker — yet several similar, hate-peddling accounts have emerged with little to no public action from Meta, JI’s Haley Cohen reports.
Several new Rabbi Goldman accounts started posting similar videos within the past two weeks — two of which already have followings of 18,500 and 10,000. Both remain active on Instagram and their bios state, “only Backup account for @rabbigoldman” and “old account got banned”…
The Knesset passed a controversial law today allowing courts to impose the death penalty on convicted terrorists found guilty of murder, JI’s Lahav Harkov reports.
The law, championed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, applies in military courts to non-Israeli residents of the West Bank — meaning, in the vast majority of cases, Palestinians. In civilian courts, the law permits applying the death penalty to those who “intentionally cause the death of a person with the aim of denying the existence of the State of Israel” — language which would also likely exclude Jewish assailants. Critics say it will likely be struck down by the High Court…
The Times of Israel breaks down the legislative maneuver used in Knesset by the coalition that caused opposition members to accidentally vote in favor of allocating 800 million shekels (~$250 million USD) to Haredi schools as they passed the state budget this morning…
In an interview on Israel’s Channel 12, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he has barely spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since their last meeting at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2023…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at the resolution coming under consideration by the Democratic National Committee that explicitly criticizes AIPAC’s political spending.
The House and Senate left for recess until mid-April, after failing to come to an agreement to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which has now reached its longest-ever shutdown. Calls have already begun from at least one Republican senator to bring Congress back into session sooner, but prospects for an early return are currently unclear.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) will speak at Temple Emanu-El in New York City tomorrow about his new book, Stand, on the one-year anniversary of his delivery of the longest-ever speech on the Senate floor.
Stories You May Have Missed
SEAT SHAKE-UP
Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick’s scandal could send another Israel critic to Congress

The lawmaker, who may soon be expelled from the chamber, is already in a heated primary race with Elijah Manley, a young far-left candidate endorsed by TrackAIPAC
Plus, fake AI rabbis peddle antisemitism
Will Oliver/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, March 26, 2026.
This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump announced this afternoon that he’s extending his original five-day delay on strikes on Iran’s energy sector, which was set to expire tomorrow, by another 10 days. “As per Iranian Government request … I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Eastern Time,” he wrote on Truth Social, adding that negotiations continue and are “going very well”…
At a Cabinet meeting earlier today, Trump revealed that the “present” Iran had provided the U.S. earlier this week was allowing eight Pakistani-flagged oil tankers to pass safely through the Strait of Hormuz, which he said proved the U.S. was speaking with the “right people” in Iran with the authority to make such decisions.
Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, meanwhile, confirmed reports that the U.S. had presented Iran with a “15-point action list” as a starting offer in peace talks between the two countries, and that Pakistan is acting as mediator…
Speaking at the FII Priority summit in Miami, Jared Kushner said that, during his negotiations with Iran prior to the war, “We basically saw that there was no seriousness, and that they were trying to play different games to just get beyond President Trump in order to preserve their capabilities and pathway to get to a nuclear weapon in a way that would have been very, very hard to be stopped in the future”…
CENTCOM applauded an Israeli strike that killed Alireza Tangsiri, the commander of the IRGC Navy, and warned all IRGC Navy members to “immediately abandon their post and return home.” Tangsiri had been named a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the U.S. in 2019 and was leading Iran’s efforts to shutter the Strait of Hormuz…
Even as U.S.-Iran negotiations continue, the U.S. is considering diverting weapons for Ukraine to the Middle East, The Washington Post reports, including air-defense interceptor missiles.
Ukraine has proved a stalwart ally to the Gulf as it comes under attack from Iran — around 200 Ukrainian military personnel have been deployed around the Middle East to help defend against Iranian drones and President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Saudi Arabia today for a surprise visit…
Resources are also being redirected to Gaza — the Trump administration has reportedly pulled $1.25 billion from international peacekeeping and disaster assistance programs for the Board of Peace’s operations, for which Trump had pledged $10 billion in U.S. funding…
An AI-generated Instagram account portraying an Orthodox-looking rabbi is pushing antisemitic conspiracy theories to its more than 1.4 million followers, and it’s not the only one, according to a study published Wednesday by Combat Antisemitism Movement.
Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports: Researchers identified 12 AI-generated “rabbis” with a combined following of 2.1 million Instagram users, all of which promote classic antisemitic stereotypes. The “Rabbi Goldman” account features many of these, including one video in which the “rabbi,” wearing a tuxedo and seemingly seated in a luxury airplane, claims that Jews utilize empty private jets to evade taxes…
A new Emerson College poll of the Maine Senate race found oyster farmer Graham Platner with a nearly 30 point lead over Gov. Janet Mills (55-28%) in the Democratic primary. Both Platner and Mills lead Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) in the general election matchup, 48-41% and 46-43%, respectively…
California Gov. Gavin Newsom again reaffirmed his support for Israel in an interview with The Bulwark, likening his love for the country but strong disapproval of its current government with how he feels about the U.S…
Democrat Analilia Mejia and Republican Joe Hathaway will participate on April 1 in what is likely to be the only debate of the New Jersey 11th Congressional District’s special election, after the far-left Mejia won the Democratic nomination in a hotly contested primary last month. The New Jersey Globe, which is hosting the debate, acknowledged it had chosen to do so on the first night of Passover, in a district with a sizable Jewish population…
The College Republicans chapter at the University of Florida is suing the school, after a photo of one of its members doing what appeared to be a Nazi salute led to the chapter’s ban from campus.
The chapter argues that the ban violated its First Amendment rights as the member “expressed a viewpoint off-campus that was alleged by some to be anti-Semitic,” and claims it was deactivated in part because it recently hosted James Fishback, a candidate for Florida governor who has expressed antisemitic and anti-Israel views…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for comments from Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow on Israel and antisemitism as she seeks the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate against Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Abdul El-Sayed.
President Donald Trump will provide closing remarks at the FII Priority summit in Miami tomorrow afternoon.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will headline CPAC’s Ronald Reagan Dinner. His primary opponent, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), will not be making an appearance, despite the confab taking place in his home state and calls from its leadership for him to attend.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is traveling to France to attend a meeting of G7 foreign ministers where he is expected to press allies on the Iran war — he told reporters as he departed today, echoing a line from Trump, that the countries involved “get far more of their fuel from” the Strait of Hormuz “than we do.”
Stories You May Have Missed
TROUBLE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Gulf states slam Arab League countries for tepid response to Iranian aggression

Frustrated UAE leaders are questioning the ‘impotence’ of countries like Egypt — and warn that silence on Iranian aggression will push the Gulf closer to U.S., Israel
Plus, is Stevens losing steam in Michigan Senate race?
Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) speaks to the press at the U.S. Capitol on October 17, 2025 in Washington, DC.
This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt downplayed reports that Iran has rejected President Donald Trump’s ceasefire proposal, saying in a press briefing today that “talks continue” and “are productive.” She further confirmed, while cautioning against speculation, that there are “elements of truth” to the 15-point plan that has been reported.
About potential face-to-face negotiations, which International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi said could take place in Pakistan as soon as this weekend, Leavitt said she “would not get ahead of our skis on reporting about any talks this weekend until you hear directly from us”…
Emerging from a classified House Armed Services Committee briefing on Iran, Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) expressed frustration that the administration isn’t forthcoming enough about its war plans. “We want to know more about what’s going on, what the options are and why they’re being considered, and we’re just not getting enough answers on those questions,” Rogers told reporters.
And Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS), asked about his House colleague’s comments, said, “Let me put it this way: I can see why he might have said that.” It’s the latest sign of cracks in the GOP nearly a month into the war effort…
For the first time since the start of the war, the UAE — which has faced the brunt of Iran’s attacks — reported zero Iranian ballistic missile attacks today, raising questions about the Islamic Republic’s potentially dwindling supplies.
Yousef Al Otaiba, the Emirati ambassador to the U.S., called for a “conclusive outcome” to the war, as opposed to a “simple cease-fire.” Writing in The Wall Street Journal, he argued that “building a fence around the problem and wishing it goes away isn’t the answer. It would simply defer the next crisis”…
European authorities are investigating whether a new group that has claimed responsibility for several recent terror attacks on Jewish institutions across Europe, the Islamic Movement of the Righteous Companions, is a front for Iran, which has likely recruited people online to carry out the attacks on its behalf…
The Journal profiles Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf as he emerges as a potential leader and negotiating partner for the U.S., with one expert calling him a “wannabe strongman” who simultaneously has “the necessary credentials to deliver a potential deal with the Trump administration”…
An internal poll from the campaign of Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow shows her leading the pack in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, followed by the far-left Abdul El-Sayed with Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) trailing in third place, a sign her campaign is struggling to build momentum. A fifth of potential primary voters still identified themselves as undecided.
Stevens’ campaign then released its own internal poll that showed her in first place, followed closely by El-Sayed with McMorrow in third, though the survey was conducted in mid-February…
As the Trump administration sues Harvard — again — over alleged civil rights violations and failure to address campus antisemitism, Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi, president of Harvard Chabad, told The Harvard Crimson that the school is in fact “taking the issue” of antisemitism “very seriously.”
“While there is much more to be done, the only plausible characterization of Harvard’s current leadership is as principled and effective in confronting and removing the intolerance which had taken root on campus over more than a decade,” added Jason Rubenstein, executive director of Harvard Hillel…
Asked at a recent event at Harvard’s Kennedy School whether the Biden administration could have done more to save lives in the war in Gaza, former Secretary of State Tony Blinken said, “Could we, should we have done things differently such that the suffering that people endured, the loss of the children you just listed and so many others could have been averted? The short answer is: Maybe yes.”
Blinken also called on people not to be “binary” in their thinking about the Middle East, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports. With the Gaza war, he said, “Where did we start? We started with Oct. 7. We started with the most horrific massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. It’s very easy to say, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s a given.’ Except it wasn’t a given for Israelis and Israeli society”…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at the growing divide in the Democratic Party over engagement with antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker — and the questions it raises about the meaning of progressivism in the current political landscape.
The Atlantic Council and U.S.-Syria Business Council will host a symposium on Syria’s energy sector with keynote remarks from U.S. Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack. Also speaking are several oil executives and Jacob McGee, the State Department’s deputy assistant secretary for Israeli-Palestinian affairs.
The FII Priority Summit continues in Miami; among other sessions tomorrow, Jared Kushner will speak on U.S.-Gulf investment and Zach Witkoff, co-founder of World Liberty Financial and son of Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, will discuss crypto.
CPAC, which President Donald Trump is seemingly not attending for the first time in a decade, continues in Dallas. GOP candidates who are in attendance include Brandon Herrera, the far-right influencer running in Texas’ 23rd District; Michael Whatley, the front-runner in North Carolina’s open Senate race; Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), running in a competitive primary to challenge Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA); Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK), seeking the Senate seat vacated by new Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin; and Nate Morris, running to succeed retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
The House Ethics Committee will hold a rare public hearing on Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick’s (D-FL) alleged ethics violations, including her laundering of funds from a FEMA-backed contract for her family business into her congressional campaign.
Stories You May Have Missed
STRAIT TALK
Senate Republicans express confidence, but say they haven’t heard plan for reopening Strait of Hormuz

Some disagree on who should claim ultimate responsibility for the strait — the U.S. or other countries in the region
The publication, founded to provide coverage explicitly hostile to Israel, has credulously interviewed several Hamas leaders
Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026.
In her first week on the job last year, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that she planned to shake up the establishment-oriented press corps by creating a seat at White House press briefings reserved for new media outlets — a broad category that would include “independent journalists, podcasters, social media influencers and content creators,” she said.
One recent pick for the daily new media seat in the rotation stood out: Drop Site News, a publication founded in the summer of 2024 to offer reporting explicitly hostile to Israel over the war in Gaza and the U.S. response to it.
The far-left Drop Site’s inclusion among the outlets in Sunday’s press rotation — the group of TV, radio and print outlets selected to travel with and report on the president for the day — was a marked contrast to the mostly right-wing outlets like The Federalist and Gateway Pundit that are usually selected. Some newer, more centrist sites like Semafor and NOTUS have also been selected for the new media seat.
Drop Site launched in July 2024 with an 8,000-word interview with two senior Hamas leaders in an article described as an “exclusive” conversation with officials from the terrorist group about “their motivations, political objectives and the human costs of their armed uprising against Israel.” Since then, the outlet has gained a reputation of credulously reporting on Hamas’ claims and repeating the group’s propaganda.
Last April, Drop Site’s official X account, which has 273,000 followers, shared a message from Hamas calling for “days of rage in the face of the occupation and its supporters.” Drop Site has also vigorously argued that claims that Hamas terrorists raped anyone during the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel are false, despite widespread Israeli testimony to the contrary. A recent social media post from the site called it a “racist lie” to claim that rape occurred on Oct. 7.
A national security reporter at Drop Site said in a post on X in January that Iran “should have fired every single missile on Oct. 8 while Israel was in disarray.” Amid anti-government protests in Iran that were violently suppressed by the regime last month, Drop Site shared a video that reportedly showed thousands of people marching “to express unity with the Islamic Republic’s leadership and reject what officials described as foreign-linked unrest and plots aimed at destabilizing the country.”
Drop Site was founded by Jeremy Scahill, Ryan Grim and Nausicaa Renner, veterans of the far-left investigative outlet The Intercept and outspoken critics of Israel. Scahill described Drop Site as “a non-aligned, investigative news organization” that will take “big swings at powerful people and institutions.” Grim did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.
The news outlet is a nonprofit, funded by reader contributions. It is fiscally sponsored by Social Security Works Education Fund, a Washington organization that educates about the importance of Social Security benefits. Open Society Foundations, George Soros’ philanthropic organization, donated $250,000 to Drop Site in 2024 to support its Middle East coverage, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
In September 2025, Drop Site promoted a fundraiser to “help the journalists in Gaza City evacuate safely.”
Drop Site’s inclusion in the press pool occurred on a Sunday, when Leavitt did not host a press briefing, so its reporter did not get the opportunity to ask a question. Still, the outlet chosen to fill the new media slot is selected by the White House communications team, not by the independent White House Correspondents Association.
A White House spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
In December, Scahill went to Doha, Qatar, to interview Khaled Meshaal, who spent 20 years leading Hamas’ political bureau. Drop Site published the text of their interview in full, in which Meshaal offered a look at how Hamas views the publication: “I appreciate your keenness to conduct this interview and for providing this space and platform for me and for all those who represent the Palestinian cause,” Meshaal said.
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