Plus, Vance on blaming Israel for everything
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Prime Minister Keir Starmer announces his resignation as UK Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party, outside No.10 Downing Street on June 22, 2026 in London, England.
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In today’s Daily Kickoff, we preview tomorrow’s primaries in New York City and talk to Jewish leaders in D.C. about Janeese Lewis George’s victory in last week’s Democratic primary in the city. We cover the developments in Switzerland where the U.S. and Iran have been negotiating a deal, and report on a new survey of Israeli public opinion about the outcome of the war with Iran. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff, Keir Starmer, Bob Iger and Ruth Porat.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss, Israel Editor Tamara Zieve and U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik, with an assist from Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his resignation on Monday morning, bowing to pressure from within his Labour Party to step down. Newly elected Labour MP Andy Burnham, until recently the mayor of Greater Manchester, is the front-runner to succeed Starmer as prime minister and become the seventh person to hold the office in a decade.
- Technical teams from the U.S. and Iran are continuing talks in Switzerland this week, after Vice President JD Vance, White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner wrapped up “positive and constructive” talks with top Iranian negotiators on Sunday, according to a statement from mediating countries Qatar and Pakistan.
- The statement also said Washington and Tehran had agreed to create a “de-confliction cell” to end military operations in Lebanon, though it named neither Israel nor Hezbollah, who are not parties to the talks and who have continued to trade strikes despite agreeing to a ceasefire last week.
- Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the discussions delivered “major progress,” including waivers for Iran to export oil and the release of “some frozen assets,” which the U.S. has not yet confirmed.
- In Jerusalem, the Jerusalem News Syndicate’s policy summit continues into its second day, after an opening plenary on Sunday that included remarks from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. Monday’s program includes Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon, Rafael Chairman Yuval Steinitz, Witkoff advisor Aryeh Lightstone and Netanyahu advisor Caroline Glick.
- In Washington, the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center is convening its second annual Attorneys Conference to discuss ways to use the legal system to combat antisemitism and protect religious liberty.
- The five-day Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity kicks off in the south of France.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR
2026 has been the year of the democratic socialist, with numerous far-left, anti-Israel candidates winning mayoralties and congressional primaries in cities up and down the Northeast corridor, from New York to Washington, D.C. — and beyond.
Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor who proved that radicalism can win hearts and minds among voters in deep-blue jurisdictions, is now trying to utilize valuable political capital by electing three like-minded congressional candidates in primaries in the Big Apple on Tuesday — backing two challengers running against well-funded incumbents, and a third against a well-established progressive borough president.
The outcomes of these three races will go a long way in determining whether Democratic Party voters still draw any red lines around candidates holding views and values that fall well outside the party mainstream.
Let’s be clear: The main difference between the three candidates backed by most Democratic leaders and Mamdani’s favored challengers is the challengers’ hostility to Israel.
WASHINGTON WATCH
D.C. Jewish leaders taking wait-and-see approach to Lewis George’s expected mayoralty
With Janeese Lewis George’s victory in last week’s Democratic primary, Washington, D.C., is expected to become the third major city in the country, after Seattle and New York, with a democratic socialist serving as mayor. Jewish Washingtonians who were unsettled by Lewis George’s stance on Zionism, as articulated in a Democratic Socialists of America endorsement questionnaire in which she said she would reject the “Zionist lobby,” are grappling with how to approach her tenure as mayor, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Holding hope: Mainstream Jewish organizations tasked with local lobbying and advocacy efforts appear to be taking a wait-and-see approach, but will be monitoring her tenure to make sure she does not assume positions that exclude segments of the city. “We hope to work with her, and we will work with her,” Ron Halber, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, told JI on Friday. “But at the same time we’re also going to be watching to make sure that she lives up to her promises to make this an inclusive city, where all feel they can participate equally, and that all people, regardless of their backgrounds, are welcomed — Zionists as well.”
carrot and stick
JD Vance: U.S. ‘willing to fundamentally transform’ relations with Iran if it gives up nukes, ends terror support
Vice President JD Vance, leading the American delegation in diplomatic negotiations this weekend with Iran in Switzerland, told reporters on Sunday that “the United States is willing to fundamentally transform our relationship with [Iran]” if the Islamic Republic’s leadership is willing to give up nuclear weapons and end its backing of terrorist proxies, Jewish Insider’s Josh Kraushaar reports.
What he said: “If your leadership is willing to give up being a driver of regional instability, if they are willing to give up nuclear weapons ambitions in the long term, then the United States is willing to fundamentally transform our relationship with that country,” Vance said at a news briefing, according to The New York Times. Vance described the approach of the U.S. delegation, which he is leading alongside White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, as offering an “outstretched hand” to the people of Iran.
More from Vance: Asked by Christian conservative commentator Allie Beth Stuckey about an “obsession” some on the political right have with “blaming all of their problems” on Israel, as opposed to an “Israel first” perspective, Vance said, “I see both, and I think both are bad,” JI’s Danielle Cohen-Kanik reports. But he said he’s “particularly sensitive” to what he views as the elevation of Israel’s interests because he’s “been defending the president’s decision to end the Iran [war], and I find often the arguments are, ‘Well, Israel doesn’t think this is good, therefore it’s bad.’ And my reaction is: Israel’s opinions matter, but fundamentally they are separate.”
BLAME GAME
Israelis overwhelmingly believe Iran won the war, survey finds
Israelis overwhelmingly believe Iran won the war against the U.S. and Israel and view its conclusion negatively, a new survey by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has found. More than 9 in 10 respondents (92%), surveyed between June 17-20, said Tehran emerged as the victor, according to The Times of Israel, and nearly 70% said President Donald Trump’s management of the war classifies as “failed” or “poor,” Jewish Insider’s Danielle Cohen-Kanik reports.
Survey says: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fared slightly better, with 56% of respondents saying his handling of the war was either a failure or poor. Nearly all Israelis surveyed (88%) said the country did not achieve its stated goals of ending Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs and bringing down the regime. About half (48%) of respondents said Israel should restart major military action against Hezbollah in Lebanon, even at the risk of clashing with Trump, who has pushed for the fighting to end — while only 21% said they were opposed to such action.
Mixed messaging: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) defended the Trump administration’s diplomatic discussions with Iran on Sunday, but predicted that negotiations with the Islamic Republic will likely fail, and threatened that the U.S. will take over the Strait of Hormuz if no agreement is reached. “Let’s try a diplomatic solution. I think it’s going to fail,” Graham said on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” JI’s Marc Rod reports.
COMMON DENOMINATOR
Mamdani’s House candidates attack Israel in closing arguments
The battle for three Democratic congressional primaries in New York City has been defined by a conflict more than 5,000 miles away, with candidates spending the final days before Tuesday’s primary echoing the fiercely anti-Israel rhetoric that helped elevate Mayor Zohran Mamdani to power, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports.
Israel angle: All three of the mayor’s favored contenders for the House — former City Comptroller Brad Lander, Assemblymember Claire Valdez and doctoral student Darializa Avila Chevalier — underscored their criticism of Israel and its U.S. supporters as early voting began in the contested districts. Avila Chevalier took time in a televised debate on Tuesday to accuse the country of “apartheid” while seeming to compare the actions of Jewish settlers in the West Bank and the IDF in the Gaza Strip to gentrification in the district where she hopes to unseat Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) and other majority-minority areas.
TESTING THE WATERS
Van Hollen says he’s considering presidential bid, wants Israel to be 2028 litmus test
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), a leading critic of Israel in the Senate, publicly confirmed for the first time this week, after visits to key primary states, that he is considering a 2028 presidential bid — and argued that criticism of Israel should be a key litmus test for the emerging field, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Podcast playback: “I went to New Hampshire because I was invited, but I would say kind of kicking the tires a little bit,” Van Hollen said on the “On NOTUS” podcast this week. Asked whether he thinks any Democratic presidential candidate will be viable without criticizing Israel and supporting conditioning aid to the Jewish state, Van Hollen responded, “I think a Democratic presidential candidate should believe in the United States’ foreign policy based on advancing our values and our interests. And if you want to advance our values, you cannot apply one set of standards just to our adversaries and another to our friends and be taken seriously in the world about it.”
BONDS BROKEN
Auto union votes to divest from Israel at annual convention
Delegates at the United Auto Workers convention in Detroit voted on Thursday to divest from Israel Bonds, citing the war in Gaza, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports. One of the largest unions in the country, the UAW previously held an estimated $400,000 to $700,000 in Israel Bonds and securities, according to the Detroit Free Press. It has not been disclosed how much money the divestment will affect or how many members voted to pass the resolution.
On the stage: The annual convention also featured a speech from Abdul El-Sayed, a far-left, UAW-endorsed Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan who told Jewish supporters last month that he “often struggle[s]” to answer whether he believes Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state. He said in an interview with CNN in April that he believes the Israeli government is just as evil as Hamas.
Worthy Reads
The Folly of Trying to Bribe Tehran: In The Atlantic, Karim Sadjadpour posits that President Donald Trump is betting that Iran will respond to what he calls “bribery” in the form of critical economic concessions that fail to obtain meaningful concessions from Tehran. “The logic of Trump’s current gamble with Iran resembles his entreaties to the North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un during Trump’s first term: The president is offering reintegration as a reward for denuclearization. In Singapore, Trump famously tried to entice Kim with visions of turning North Korea’s missile-testing coastlines into prime real estate, marveling at the country’s ‘great beaches’ and envisioning ‘the best hotels in the world.’ But for revolutionary dictatorships such as North Korea and Iran, Western-backed luxury hotels, foreign tourists, and open capital flows aren’t a triumph — they are a Trojan horse that would erode their total information control and ideological legitimacy.” [TheAtlantic]
Sounds Familiar: The Wall Street Journal’s Allysia Finley writes how Vice President JD Vance is echoing the far left in his recent hostile rhetoric against Israel: “Vance has been eager to take credit with [Tucker] Carlson and his acolytes for bringing the war to an end. His thinly veiled threat last week — echoed by Mr. Trump — to cut off military support for Israel after it responded to Hezbollah’s aggression is aimed at soothing the Carlson crowd’s criticism. Americans might observe, however, that the vice president sounded eerily like Mr. Biden in demanding that Israel show restraint in the face of hostility — and not too different from progressives who accuse Israel of war crimes.” [WSJ]
Climate Change: The Financial Times’ Kenza Bryan profiles Kaveh Madani, a Western-educated environmental scientist and former Iranian environmental official now living in exile after being branded a spy by the regime in Tehran. “Once he started his work as deputy of the environment ministry, Madani was quickly caught between a government that wanted to sell the idea of expatriate children of the revolution choosing to return to Iran, and a security establishment deeply suspicious of Iranians tainted with foreign ideas. … During his brief stint in government, Madani was compared by the IRGC to Eli Cohen, the Israeli spy who infiltrated elite Syrian political circles in the 1960s.” [FT]
Word on the Street
The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. is working with Qatar to release some $6 billion in frozen funds to Iran that would be directed to humanitarian efforts…
An explosion at Qatar’s Ras Laffan natural gas facility on Sunday night caused a fire that injured at least 54 people, while an additional 18 were missing. The site was damaged in an Iranian missile attack early in the war…
The New York Times spotlights the Bürgenstock Resort in Switzerland that has hosted the latest U.S.-Iran talks, owned by Katara Hospitality, a Qatari state-backed hospitality group that acquired it in 2007…
In Colombia’s presidential election, an initial vote count found that right-wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, narrowly defeated leftist challenger Iván Cepeda and will succeed President Gustavo Petro, who cut ties with Israel in 2024 over the war in Gaza…
Petro accused Israel of rigging the elections, posting on X that “software was compromised, and others entered data for polling stations and voting centers”…
The Wall Street Journal profiles Dan Moraff, the progressive strategist behind Maine Democrat Graham Platner’s Senate bid, whose rushed vetting process missed key issues about the candidate’s past…
Journalists visited an underground drone factory in a hilltop village in southern Lebanon from which Hezbollah launched unmanned aerial vehicles at Israel, in a tour organized by the Israeli military after it captured the tunnel, dug near the Israeli border and discovered 50 Iranian-made explosive UAVs…
Military technology company Anduril is considering launching operations in Israel, according to Calcalist…
Puck reports on Alphabet President Ruth Porat’s remarks at the Economic Club of New York last week, where she argued that AI will drive trillions of dollars in economic growth and accelerate scientific breakthroughs despite mounting concerns about job losses, energy demand and social disruption…
The Wall Street Journal examines the increase in hangings in Iran over the past three months as the war with the U.S. unfolded — at least 45 people have been executed by the regime this year for political reasons, according to human rights groups and Iranian state media…
A Washington Post investigation reports that outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was under the sway of her longtime guru Chris Butler throughout much of her political career…
The New York Times spotlights the roles that the “Manhattan moms” of NY-12 congressional candidates Micah Lasher, Jack Schlossberg and Alex Bores are playing in their respective sons’ campaigns…
The International Criminal Court set a date next month to vote on the removal of its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, who is facing sexual assault allegations from members of his staff…
Meanwhile, the U.K.’s Bar Standards Board suspended Khan, a British lawyer, following his suspension from the ICC earlier this month…
The Financial Times profiles Bob Iger’s second departure from Disney, examining how the architect of its modern empire transformed the company through landmark acquisitions and major investments in streaming, while leaving his successor, Josh D’Amaro, to navigate a rapidly changing media landscape…
Snackmaker Gerald Shreiber, who acquired a series of struggling food companies and turned such products as the SuperPretzel, Dippin’ Dots and ICEEs into household names, died on May 9, at 84…
Yaacov Agam, Israeli kinetic art pioneer whose motion-based sculptures and paintings earned him the Israel Prize and left a mark on public spaces from Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Square to the Pompidou Center in Paris, died on Sunday at 98…
Pic of the Day
Chefs Mitchell Davis, Paul Carmichael, Ryan Bartlow and Naama Shefi, founder of the Great Nosh picnic, at the annual picnic on Sunday on Governors Island in New York City.
Birthdays
Retired MLB second baseman, he played for Team Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics and managed the team at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Ian Kinsler turns 44…
A leading securities, corporate and M&A attorney, he is a founding partner of the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, Martin Lipton turns 95… D.C.-based senior representative of Israel Aerospace Industries from 1969 to 2017, Marvin Klemow turns 89… Jerusalem-born 2009 winner of the Nobel Prize for chemistry, she is the director of a research center at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Ada Yonath turns 87… U.K. judge who chaired high-profile hearings on ethics in the media, currently serving as the U.K.’s Investigatory Powers Commissioner, Sir Brian Henry Leveson turns 77… Winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize for physics, he is a professor at Brown University, J. Michael Kosterlitz turns 83… Justice on Israel’s Supreme Court until 2014, she was previously the Israeli state prosecutor for eight years, Edna Arbel turns 82… U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) turns 77… Member of the California state Assembly until 2022, now a judge on the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Richard Hershel Bloom turns 73… Partner at Shibolet & Co., one of Israel’s largest corporate law firms, Yoram Raved turns 70… AIPAC director for Greater Washington, Deborah Adler… Chair of the kindergarten and pre-K division of Bowman Ashe/Doolin K-8 Academy in Miami, Fla., Cynthia Rosenbluth Huss… Past president of the UJA-Federation of New York, Alisa Robbins Doctoroff… U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) turns 66… Former member of the Knesset for the Hatnuah and Zionist Union parties, Robert Tiviaev turns 65… Creator of the Android operating system, which he sold to Google, Andy Rubin turns 64… Member of the Knesset for the Likud party, now serving as deputy prime minister and minister of justice, Yariv Gideon Levin turns 57… SVP at Red Banyan PR, Kelcey Kintner… Writer, director and film producer, he is a two-time Israeli Academy Award winner and the founder of Hey Jude Productions, Dani Menkin turns 56… Program director at the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Rafi Rone… Senior correspondent and columnist for Haaretz and author of a biography of PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Anshel Pfeffer turns 53… Israeli jazz vocalist and composer, Julia Feldman turns 47… COO of TR Capital Management, Ahron Rosenthal… Russian-Israeli Internet entrepreneur, co-founder of Russia’s largest social network VK.com and the Selectel data network center, Lev Binzumovich Leviev turns 42… Baltimore-based endodontist, Jeffrey H. Gardyn, DDS… Israeli Muay Thai kick boxing champion, Ilya Grad turns 39… Israeli-born basketball player with 10 NBA seasons, Omri Casspi turns 38… Former outfielder for Team Israel in the 2017 World Baseball Classic qualifier round, now a real estate investor based in Nashville, Tenn., Rhett Wiseman turns 32…
Plus, Cornyn hits Paxton on Tucker ties ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Aamir QURESHI / AFP via Getty Images
Security personnel inspect vehicles entering the Foreign Ministry office in Islamabad on April 9, 2026.
👋 Good Friday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we preview this weekend’s U.S.-Iran talks in Islamabad and next week’s Israel-Lebanon talks in Washington amid a fragile Middle East ceasefire, and look at how Israel is viewing the agreement to cease hostilities for two weeks and effort to reach a negotiated agreement with Tehran. We have the exclusive on a new ad from Sen. John Cornyn hitting primary challenger Ken Paxton over the Texas attorney general’s ties to Tucker Carlson, and report on the rejection of an anti-AIPAC resolution by the Democratic National Committee’s rules committee. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Erin Foster and Freida McFadden.
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
- Vice President JD Vance, White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are slated to take part in Pakistani-brokered talks with Iran this weekend in Islamabad, days after President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Tehran. More below.
- We’ll be keeping an eye over the weekend on the expected Israel-Lebanon peace talks being brokered by Washington early next week between Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa. Over the weekend, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam is set to travel to the U.S. to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio ahead of the talks.
- Hamas has just hours to respond to the Board of Peace’s proposal that would force the group to disarm. Despite ongoing negotiations in Cairo, it is unlikely that Hamas will agree to fully disarm, potentially prompting renewed fighting in the Gaza Strip.
- The National Action Network Convention kicked off on Wednesday in New York City and runs through Saturday, with a number of public officials and potential 2028 contenders slated to speak at Rev. Al Sharpton’s annual conference. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro invoked his faith on Wednesday while making a pitch to the Black voters in the audience. “What, you don’t think a Jew can go to a Baptist church?” he quipped. Meanwhile, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore brought cheering attendees to their feet on Thursday before criticizing the war in Iran as a costly and protracted misadventure. Former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) are slated to speak today and tomorrow.
- On Sunday, the Anti-Defamation League and Museum of Jewish Heritage will hold their Annual Gathering of Remembrance at Temple Emanu-El in New York City ahead of Yom Hashoah — Holocaust Remembrance Day — which begins Monday evening.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S melissa weiss
American and Iranian officials are meeting tomorrow in Islamabad, Pakistan, to begin conversations aimed at ending the conflict that has consumed the Middle East since late February. Though much change has occurred in the last six weeks, the decisions made in the next two could determine the future of the region for decades to come.
The “fog of diplomacy,” as The Washington Post’s David Ignatius put it, has shrouded much of what is known about the talks and their contours. The first 24 hours after the ceasefire was announced saw dueling — and often conflicting — statements, denials and claims about various points, including the inclusion of Lebanon in the agreement, Iran’s “right” to enrich uranium and the status of the Strait of Hormuz, that were proposed and supposedly agreed to by the parties.
Those sticking points deepened in the days between the ceasefire announcement and tomorrow’s meeting in Pakistan. On Wednesday, Israel conducted widespread strikes in Lebanon targeting Hezbollah infrastructure and operatives whom the IDF said had embedded in civilian areas, while Hezbollah has launched dozens of missiles into Israel — including one fired at the southern city of Ashdod that also triggered sirens across Tel Aviv and surrounding towns early Friday morning. Meanwhile, Trump on Thursday accused Iran of “doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz.”
It is against that backdrop that Vice President JD Vance, joined by White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, will enter into negotiations tomorrow in Islamabad.
In tandem, a separate set of negotiations is slated to take place in Washington early next week, when the U.S. will convene the envoys from Israel and Lebanon for rare direct, public talks aimed at reaching a peace agreement between Beirut and Jerusalem. If reached — and if Lebanon takes meaningful action to demilitarize Hezbollah — Iran could lose its most powerful proxy in the region. Under pressure from Washington, Israel has limited its attacks on Lebanon.
While the inability to agree on the parameters for a ceasefire does not portend well for the ability to secure a more lasting agreement, both sides have a vested interest in reaching an accord that allows both to declare victory. Watching from the sidelines are Israel and the Gulf states, which will not be represented in Islamabad, and will instead have to hope from their respective capitals that the U.S. does not acquiesce to an agreement that emboldens Iran — and leaves American allies vulnerable.
THE VIEW FROM ISRAEL
Israelis uncertain if Iran war made them safer after ceasefire brings combat to an inconclusive halt
For many Israelis who were awoken by rocket sirens just before 3 a.m. Wednesday, only to see the headline on their phones that a two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran had been reached, the news was met with mixed feelings of relief and concern. 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, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
Survey says: Israelis’ support for the war effort despite the challenges on the home front was strong because its aims — eliminating the Iranian nuclear threat and severely degrading the ballistic missile threat — were meant to ultimately make them safer, along with the hope, bolstered by statements from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump, that the mullahs’ regime would be toppled. Yet, according to a Channel 13 poll, Israelis ranked their sense of security after the war at 5.36 out of 10, and gave Netanyahu a grade of 5.56. The mixed feelings from the public were backed up by experts who spoke to JI on Thursday. Brig.-Gen. (res.) Assaf Orion, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, said that it is “too early to say” whether Israel is safer now than it was six weeks ago.
TRUST BUT VERIFY
Hawkish Republican senators standing behind Trump’s ceasefire deal with Iran
Despite skepticism over the terms and reports of ongoing Iranian strikes, several prominent hawkish Republicans are voicing support for President Donald Trump’s fragile two-week ceasefire agreement with Iran, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. Democrats, meanwhile, are pushing ahead with efforts to pass war powers resolutions on the conflict and calls for Trump’s removal from office.
Notable quotable: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), among the most prominent backers of the war in the Senate, said in a post on X that a “diplomatic solution to end the reign of terror in Iran is the preferred outcome” but said he has concerns about the supposed 10-point plan presented by Iran, which would require the lifting of all U.S. sanctions on Iran, among other steps. “I look forward to the architects of this proposal, the Vice President and others, coming forward to Congress and explaining how a negotiated deal meets our national security objectives in Iran,” Graham said.
Read the full story here with additional comments from Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND).
EXCLUSIVE
New John Cornyn ad hits Ken Paxton over ties to Tucker Carlson
A new ad by Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-TX) reelection campaign will hit his runoff primary opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, over his ties to far-right commentator Tucker Carlson, pointing to Carlson’s criticisms of President Donald Trump, while also honing in on his attacks against Trump’s support for Israel and the war in Iran, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
About the ad: The minute-long ad — a five-figure buy set to begin airing on digital platforms on Friday, JI has learned — appears to be one of the first mentions of Carlson as a target in GOP primary campaigns. It highlights that Carlson has clashed with Trump over the war in Iran and Trump’s support for Israel, and that he backed Paxton’s campaign — though Paxton does not share Carlson’s views on Middle East policy. “Ken Paxton still accepts Tucker Carlson’s endorsement,” the ad intones.
Breaking up: President Donald Trump hit back at Tucker Carlson on Tuesday after the far-right podcaster used his most recent show to accuse the president of steering the U.S. toward nuclear war with Iran and to suggest, in apocalyptic terms, that Trump might be waging a stealth attack on Christianity, JI’s Emily Jacobs reports. In a phone interview with the New York Post, Trump described Carlson as a “low IQ” individual, adding that he has stopped responding to his calls.
THE CENTER HOLDS
DNC resolution criticizing AIPAC involvement in primaries voted down in committee
Democratic Party activists on Thursday voted to reject a measure that criticized the involvement of AIPAC in Democratic primaries and the American political system. The resolution was debated during a meeting of the Democratic National Committee’s Rules Committee at the DNC’s New Orleans meeting, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
AIPAC angle: Committee members were considering new policy resolutions, including one introduced by a Florida activist that took aim at AIPAC and the group’s “undue influence over democratic debate and policymaking.” It was voted down in a voice vote. “The DNC made clear today that all Democrats, including millions who are AIPAC members, have the right to participate fully in the democratic process,” AIPAC spokesperson Deryn Sousa told JI. Committee members were considering new policy resolutions, including one introduced by a Florida activist that took aim at AIPAC and the group’s “undue influence over democratic debate and policymaking.”
On offense: The pro-Israel group Democratic Majority for Israel’s super PAC launched its first ad of the 2026 presidential cycle, targeting frequent California Democratic candidate Ammar Campa-Najjar, accusing him of hypocrisy and of flip-flopping on his positions, JI’s Marc Rod reports. The group is spending $750,000 on the ad.
LIPS ARE SEALED
Brad Lander declines to say whether he still supports missile-defense funding for Israel
Former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who is challenging Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) in one of the marquee Democratic primary contests of the midterms, is declining to clarify his position on U.S. funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system, even as he expressed his support for the aid last year during an unsuccessful mayoral campaign, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Zoom out: Lander’s reticence comes as some leading progressive lawmakers have said they will oppose further funding for Iron Dome and other defensive systems used to intercept incoming attacks against Israel. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is Lander’s top ally in the June House race to unseat Goldman, a pro-Israel stalwart, confirmed last week that he agreed with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) commitment to oppose defensive aid to Israel. Asked to clarify his position on Iron Dome funding, Lauren Hitt, a spokesperson for Lander, told JI on Wednesday he would not be commenting and did not return follow-up emails. Lander did not respond to a text message from JI seeking comment on Thursday.
Flip-flop: Michael Blake, a far-left challenger to Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), said at a debate on Tuesday hosted by One NYC Action that he would oppose missile-defense aid for the Jewish state — the latest flip-flop on Israel policy issues by a candidate who has reversed numerous of his past stances on the subject over the course of his campaign, JI’s Marc Rod reports. He said he supported funding for Iron Dome in January during a different campaign event.
HAMAWY HEADWAY
Anti-Israel groups organize behind Gaza doctor in N.J. House primary
A constellation of anti-Israel groups is coalescing behind Adam Hamawy, a doctor who served as a trauma surgeon in Gaza during Israel’s war against Hamas and has been an outspoken critic of Israel, in the competitive Democratic primary for New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. He also recently reported raising $550,000 in the first quarter of 2026, a sizable sum.
Endorsements: Justice Democrats and PAL PAC, a new group affiliated with the Institute for Middle East Understanding that aims to counter AIPAC, both offered their endorsements of Hamawy last month, moves that could bring more national attention and backing to the candidate. Micah Rasmussen, the director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University, said that Hamawy’s $550,000 first quarter fundraising haul and the recent endorsements show momentum for his campaign, but “what remains to be seen is whether this translates into forcing [Sue] Altman to split the outside lane with him.”
Worthy Reads
Goodwill Ambassadors: In the Financial Times, Daniel Benaim, a former deputy assistant secretary of state for Arabian Peninsula affairs in the Near East Bureau at the State Department, calls on the U.S. to nominate and confirm ambassadors to key postings around the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq. “Going forward, there will be Gulf partners who badly need reassuring, reconstruction efforts to support, business ties to revitalise and expat Americans to help. At a time when many question US leadership, there’s an underrated value in simply showing up — and a cost for not doing so. … At moments like these, an American ambassador in post sends a powerful message of solidarity to partners who are watching missiles rain down on their cities.” [FT]
Putin’s Stake: In The New York Times, Nicole Grajewski considers the extent to which the Iranian regime’s survival is critical to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s global strength. “[The Russia-Iran relationship] is dense, diversified and in important respects self-reinforcing — each layer of cooperation makes the next layer easier to build and harder to dismantle. … Mr. Putin has spent years building a coalition of the discontented around the premise that authoritarian states can outlast Western pressure; that regimes built for endurance — which absorb decades of sanctions, surveil their publics and suppress dissent — cannot be undone. Iran, which has absorbed the most pressure and held the longest, is his proof of concept.” [NYTimes]
Real Regime Change: In The Washington Post, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s Dennis Ross posits that the Iranian regime, which survived six weeks of war with the U.S. and Israel, could still fall due to its own domestic malfeasance. “Before the war, the Iranian regime had no answers to any of its fundamental governance failings that produced the public uprisings in December and January. When the war fully ends, it will be even less able to deal with water and electricity cutoffs, a currency that has no value, endemic corruption and the increasing difficulty of daily life. … [T]he inner contradictions of the Islamic Republic will in time either produce an Iranian Gorbachev to try to avert regime collapse, or it will collapse outright.” [WashPost]
The Lion and Lebanon: In his Substack “It’s Noon in Israel,” Amit Segal suggests that Iran’s response to Israeli attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon could signal the end of the regime in Tehran. “If Iran breaks and leaves its proxy at the mercy of Israel, then the Axis of Resistance has officially broken. The Iranian guarantee becomes as worthless as their currency, and its proxies will have to chart their own courses, if not disintegrate altogether. Conversely, if Israel concedes, then it has surrendered its post-October 7 security doctrine: Never allow threats to build up on the borders.” [ItsNooninIsrael]
Word on the Street
House Republicans blocked a Democratic effort to use unanimous consent to pass a measure calling for an end to U.S. operations targeting Iran…
Nawaf al-Thani, the former Qatari defense attaché in Washington, warned that the war with Iran has “forever” altered relations between Doha and Tehran, saying that after Iran’s strikes on the Gulf state’s liquefied natural gas exports, Qatar “has to see a seriousness from Iran when it comes to Qatari security”…
The Wall Street Journal looks at concerns among Gulf states that the two-week ceasefire announced earlier this week is emboldening Iran and positioning the Islamic Republic as a regional hegemon…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine had shot down Iranian-designed Shahed drones that had been launched from the Islamic Republic at nearby Gulf states using domestically produced interceptors that had been utilized to shoot down Shahed drones fired by Russia at Ukraine…
The Free Press reports on a January meeting between the Pentagon’s Elbridge Colby and the Holy See’s envoy in Washington to find common ground and encourage the Vatican to align with the U.S. on defense and foreign policy; the meeting went awry after another U.S. official noted the 14th century period in which France created its own papacy over disagreements with Rome..
The Missouri Statehouse passed legislation codifying the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism on Thursday, sending it to the governor’s desk; “After 16 months of intense work in a growing climate of anti-Jew hate, Jewish students in our state are finally protected against intimidation and harassment,” Stacey Newman, the executive director of the Missouri Alliance Network, told JI, adding specific praise for the “numerous Jewish students who courageously testified in the Capitol of their hateful experiences on campus, which they continue to face”…
Amid controversy, Peter Chatzky, a progressive who had provided $5 million in funding for his campaign for New York’s 17th Congressional District, announced his withdrawal from the race; the decision leaves Effie Phillips-Staley as the main competitor in the left lane in the Democratic primary…
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) convened Christian and Jewish leaders for a call with reporters to criticize Paul Dans and Mark Lynch, who are challenging Graham in the Republican primary for his Senate seat, over Dans’ refusal to fire his campaign communications director and Lynch declining to part ways with his political director despite the staffers’ respective records of making antisemitic statements, JI’s Emily Jacobs reports…
Far-left Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Summer Lee (D-PA) and leftist streamer Hasan Piker dismissed criticism of Piker and his past antisemitic and anti-American comments at a rally at the University of Michigan on Tuesday, JI’s Marc Rod reports…
Speaking at the Tuesday night event, El-Sayed doubled down on claims that the man who attacked Temple Israel in West Bloomfield last month did so as a result of the pain he felt from the war in the Middle East, saying, “hurt people do hurt people,” JI’s Gabby Deutch reports…
A candidate for the University of Michigan Board of Regents shared a series of social media posts praising Hezbollah leaders and Iran, including one last June, during the 12-day war with Israel, calling on Tehran to “show no laxity in sacred war against the enemy”…
A Pakistani man living in Canada pleaded guilty in a New York federal court to a terrorism charge over a failed plot to attack a Jewish center in Brooklyn…
The war in Iran has cost Israel political support in the United States, according to a new Pew Research Center poll, which shows 60% of Americans now view Israel unfavorably, with 37% viewing the Jewish state favorably, JI’s Josh Kraushaar reports…
Jewish groups criticized the American Association of Geographers after its members pushed for an academic boycott of Israel at the organization’s annual meeting, which featured overwhelmingly one-sided presentations against the Jewish state, JI’s Haley Cohen reports…
Paramount President Jeff Shell departed the company following an investigation into allegations he shared confidential company information with an outside consultant…
The Associated Press spotlights Colby College’s Center for Small Town Jewish Life, which aims to support and strengthen small Jewish communities around the country…
“Nobody Wants This” creator Erin Foster is joining the show as a guest star in its upcoming third season…
The Housemaid author Freida McFadden revealed that McFadden was a pen name and her real name and identity was Sara Cohen, a physician who specializes in traumatic brain injuries…
Authorities in Canada charged a man with four gun counts after he fired a gun at a Jewish-owned restaurant in the Toronto suburb of North York last week…
Organizers of the annual Wireless festival in the U.K. canceled the three-day festival after British authorities revoked the visa of Kanye West, who had been scheduled to headline the event despite numerous incidents in which the artist invoked antisemitism language; the U.K.’s Home Office said the visa revocation was “made on the grounds that his presence would not be conducive to the public good”…
Costa Rica’s Foreign Ministry announced that the country had declared Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Houthis as terrorist groups…
Diplomat David Cornstein, who served as U.S. ambassador to Hungary from 2018-2020 and played a key role in deepening ties between the Orbán government and President Donald Trump, died at 87…
Photographer Nathan Farb, who was known for images of Russians in Siberia, hippies in New York City and the landscapes of the Adirondacks, died at 85…
Journalist Peter Schrag, the author of 1998’s Paradise Lost: California’s Experience, America’s Future, died at 94…
Pic of the Day
Israelis enjoyed the last day of Passover and the first day of the ceasefire with Iran on Wednesday in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Birthdays
Israeli singer-songwriter, actress and model, she represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, Noa Kirel turns 25 today…
FRIDAY: Past president of the U.S. Soccer Federation, he was previously an executive of both the L.A. Lakers and the L.A. Clippers, Alan Rothenberg turns 87… Author of four novels and two political history books, he is a former senior editor at The New Yorker and a deputy editor of the “Outlook Section” in The Washington Post, Jeffrey Frank turns 82… Author of 265 books including 56 books in the Cam Jansen series, 68 biographies and books for youth on the Holocaust, David Abraham Adler turns 79… Naomi Eisenberger Atlani… Former member of the Knesset for 26 years, he once served as vice prime minister, Haim Ramon turns 76… Founder of Gantman Communications, he was the VP of global strategic communications at the Motion Picture Association of America, Howard Gantman… Scarsdale, N.Y., resident, Robin Stalbow Samot… Soviet-born Israeli-American pianist, Yefim “Fima” Bronfman turns 68… Member of the Knesset for the Likud party for 23 years, now chairman of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Yuval Steinitz turns 68… Author of four books (including one made into an award-winning miniseries), she was the chief national correspondent at Yahoo News, following 30 years at The New York Times, Lisa Belkin turns 66… Former CEO of NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association, she stepped down last month, Shirley Ann Bloomfield… Tom Kohn… Author of five best-selling memoirs and six novels, she has also written for magazines such as The New Yorker, The Oprah Magazine, Vogue and Elle, Dani Shapiro… Host of Radio Atlantic and a senior editor at The Atlantic, she was born in Israel and moved to Queens when she was 5, Hanna Rosin turns 57… Governor of Missouri from January 2017-June 2018, Eric Greitens turns 52… Co-CEO of NJI Media and co-founder of FamousDC blog, Josh Shultz… Movie producer best known for the 2016 musical romantic-drama film “La La Land,” Jordan Horowitz turns 46… Israeli journalist, television personality and a political columnist for the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, Amit Yitzhak Segal turns 44… SVP of entertainment and news media at Disability Belongs, Lauren Appelbaum… Attorney who has clerked for two federal judges, he also served as a fellow in the Office of the Solicitor General, Yishai Schwartz… White House liaison to the American Jewish community during the Biden administration, Shelley Greenspan… Associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Daniel E. Wolman… Basketball player for Klosterneuburg Dukes in the Austrian Basketball Superliga, Sylven Landesberg turns 36… Phil Hayes… Susie Diamond…
SATURDAY: Actress who played the title character on the 325-episode soap opera satire “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” Louise Lasser turns 87… Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and syndicated columnist, she is the co-founder of “The Conversation Project,” focused on end-of-life care, Ellen Goodman turns 85… Founder and CEO of the USA Network in 1977, she is the co-founder and chairman of Springboard Enterprises, Kay Koplovitz turns 81… West Bloomfield, Mich.-based inventor on more than 40 patents, Barry Schwab… Actor, director and screenwriter, he played the role of a crooked politician in “The Sopranos,” Peter Riegert turns 79… Sarita Dery… Former deputy director of WomenStrong International, Sydney Rubin turns 74… Managing partner and a founder of L.A.-based law firm Glass & Goldberg, Marshall F. Goldberg… Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives since 1999 from the Pittsburgh area, Dan B. Frankel turns 70… Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author, Michael Vitez turns 69… Australian industrialist, executive chairman of Visy Industries and Pratt Industries US, the world’s largest privately owned packaging company, Anthony Pratt turns 66… Chair of the board of The Estée Lauder Companies, he serves on many charitable boards including the University of Pennsylvania and the 92nd Street Y, William P. Lauder turns 66… Provost of Harvard University, formerly dean of Harvard Law School, John Francis Manning turns 65… General counsel of the Department of Homeland Security during the Biden administration, Jonathan E. Meyer turns 61… Scholar of Eastern European Jewry, with a focus on the social history of Hasidism, Glenn Dynner turns 57… Retired Olympic breaststroke swimmer, he competed for the Soviet Union and then Israel, Vadim Alekseyev turns 56… Co-founder of Caracal Global Strategies and founder and CEO of Brigadoon, Marc A. Ross turns 55… Fashion designer, entrepreneur and author, founder of Body by Julia shapewear, Julia Haart turns 55… Professor of Talmud at Yeshiva University, he has held a variety of administrative and educational roles at Yeshiva, Rabbi Ezra Y. Schwartz turns 52… Head of fixed income sales at Citadel LLC, he was previously a Major League Soccer midfielder, Jordan Cila turns 44… Professor of Talmud at Yeshiva University and a dayan/judge at the Beth Din of America, Rabbi Itamar Rosensweig turns 37… Youngest woman ever elected to the Arizona House of Representatives, she is a convert to Judaism and worked for Tucson’s JCRC, Alma Hernandez turns 33…
SUNDAY: Founder and chairman of Christians United for Israel, Pastor John Charles Hagee turns 86… Former national correspondent for “CBS News Sunday Morning,” where she worked for more than 50 years before retiring in March 2025, Rita Braver turns 78… Attorney and bestselling novelist of 13 legal thrillers and author of three nonfiction books, combined he has sold more than 30 million copies, Scott Turow turns 77… Television producer, he serves as chairman of the Liverpool Football Club and the Boston Red Sox, Thomas Charles Werner turns 76… SVP at UJA Federation of New York, Stuart Tauber… Fashion designer, he is a co-founder of the Guess clothing and accessory brand, Paul Marciano turns 74… West Bloomfield, Mich., resident, Ron Mitnick… Washington, D.C., attorney, Norman B. “Norm” Antin… Member of the House of Lords and Parliamentary under-secretary of state for patient safety, women’s health and mental health, she previously served as chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews from 2014-2021, Baroness Joanna Merron turns 67… U.S. District Court judge for the Southern District of New York, Judge Paul A. Engelmayer turns 65… Twin brothers, both real estate agents starring in the Netflix original series “Selling Sunset,” Jason and Brett Oppenheim both turn 49… Actress, director and writer, Jordana Spiro turns 49… Realtor focused on the Boston area, Ilya Jacob Rasner… President at National Student Legal Defense Network, Aaron Ament… California state senator (D-27), Henry I. Stern turns 44… Attorney, general counsel of an international technology firm, chair of the GI Research Foundation, board member of multiple biotech companies, and controlling owner of OnlyFans following the death of her husband Leonid Radvinsky in March 2026, Yekaterina “Katie” Chudnovsky… Member of the Seattle City Council, Daniel Aaron Strauss turns 40… Comedian, writer and actress, best known for co-creating and co-starring in the Comedy Central series “Broad City,” Ilana Glazer turns 39… Israeli actress best known for her lead role in the 2012 film “Fill the Void,” Hadas Yaron turns 36… Actor, he starred as Big Red in the Disney series “High School Musical,” Larry Saperstein turns 28…
Rafael Chairman Yuval Steinitz: Israel entering a ‘laser revolution’ in its missile defense
John Keeble/Getty Images
A Rafael Iron Beam -M (250) and Iron Beam (450) High Energy Laser Weapon System (HELWS) are displayed during the Security Equipment International (DSEI) at London Excel on September 10, 2025 in London, England.
Israel’s Iron Beam system, which intercepts missiles with lasers, will be delivered to the IDF for initial operational use at the end of the month, Brig.-Gen. (res.) Daniel Gold, head of the Israeli Ministry of Defense Research and Development Directorate, said at the International DefenseTech Summit at Tel Aviv University on Monday.
“With development complete and a comprehensive testing program that has validated the system’s capabilities, we are prepared to deliver initial operational capability to the IDF on Dec. 30, 2025. Simultaneously, we are already advancing the next-generation systems,” Gold said.
According to Gold, “the Iron Beam laser system is expected to fundamentally change the rules of engagement on the battlefield.”
Former Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, chairman of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, which developed and produced the Iron Beam system, told the Misgav Mideast Horizons Podcast in an episode to be released Wednesday that the new missile defense system represents a “laser revolution.” (Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov co-hosts the podcast.)
“For the first time in human history, we are able to shoot down missiles, rockets, even artillery shells, mortar shells, cruise missiles, airplanes as well — not with projectiles, not with missiles or artillery shells, but with light,” Steinitz said.
According to Steinitz, American, Chinese, British, German and Russian companies have tried to develop effective laser weapons for decades.
“We managed to do it and we already intercepted [projectiles] in tests,” he said, noting that Lite Beam, a smaller version of the Iron Beam system, was successfully used in October 2024 to intercept roughly 50 UAVs shot at Israel by Hezbollah from Lebanon.
“This is revolutionary, and I am confident that this is just the beginning,” he added.
Iron Beam will initially be used to shoot down short and long-range missiles from Lebanon and Gaza, and the combined use of Iron Beam and the Iron Dome and David’s Sling missile defense systems, also produced by Rafael, will bring Israel close to 100% interception, Steinitz said.
He does not expect Iron Beam to fully replace Iron Dome nor David’s Sling in the coming years, because factors such as poor weather conditions and very large barrages could make the laser systems less effective.
The use of the laser system will also drastically lower the costs of missile defense, Steinitz said, because each use of the Iron Beam system costs around $3, as opposed to about $50,000 per Iron Dome interceptor. As such, it will cost less for Israel to intercept a rocket than it costs for its enemies to produce them, at $5,000-10,000.
In addition, Steinitz said that the Iron Beam system works faster than the Iron Dome.
“Once the [rocket] is rising over Gaza, interception will start immediately, because the laser can reach the incoming rocket at the speed of light,” he said. “With the Iron Dome, it’s two missiles flying, one from Gaza and one from Tel Aviv to meet each other midway.”
Shooting down rockets over Gaza will also mitigate the need for Israelis to run to shelters and safe rooms due to falling missile and interceptor fragments.
“We won’t sound the alarm in Tel Aviv, because we should be able to see [an interception] immediately if we succeed to intercept, and if we fail to intercept, we will have another opportunity, and then we shall put on the alarm,” Steinitz explained.
Steinitz also said that in the coming years, Rafael is likely to develop laser-based systems to intercept longer range missiles, such as those shot at Israel by the Houthis from Yemen and by Iran in the last two years.
By Jacob Kornbluh & JI Staff
DAY 5: Netanyahu: It’s Going To Take Time: “We are here in the midst of a complex operation. We need to be prepared for the possibility that it may take time. This is a serious event and there will be serious consequences. We are working together in a considered, responsible and very determined manner.” Netanyahu urged the international community to decry the kidnapping: “I expect all responsible elements in the international community – some of whom rush to condemn us for any construction in this place or for enclosing a balcony in Gilo – to strongly condemn this reprehensible and deplorable act of abducting three youths.” After 5 days and without mentioning Hamas, the EU finally released a statement: “We condemn in the strongest terms the abduction of 3 Israeli students in the West Bank and call for their immediate release.” [Statement] (more…)
Top Talker – Report: Iran and Israel met for secret talks – “Iranian and Israeli diplomats, as well as those from the U.S. and Arab countries, participated in a secret meeting last month to discuss the possibility of an international conference on banning nuclear weapons in the Middle East, according to The Jerusalem Post. Diplomats told the Israeli newspaper Tuesday the meeting occurred Oct. 21-22 in a hotel in Glion, Switzerland. The envoys expressed their positions, but the Israeli representatives had no direct communication with the Iranians and Arabs, the report says. An Arab diplomat told Reuters, however, “that they were there, the Israelis and Iran, is the main thing.”
–More than a dozen delegations attended the meeting along with Jaakko Laajava, Finland’s undersecretary of state, who is responsible for organizing the conference, a diplomat said in the reports. The source also described the meeting as “quite constructive,” and suggested another meeting would take place in November. “This was a completely procedural meeting,” a foreign ministry official in Jerusalem told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. President Obama tasked Secretary of State John Kerry with navigating peace talks with the Iranians on their nuclear program. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in September he would not produce nuclear weapons and told Obama he’s open to negotiating the limits of his country’s program with the international community. During his international trip Tuesday, Kerry said in Poland the U.S. does not yet have a deal with Iran. The G-5 — the U.S., France, Britain, Russia and China, plus Germany — are slated to hold a new round of negotiations in Geneva on Thursday and Friday.” [The Hill] (more…)
FIRST LOOK – Vanity Fair September issue, “GOLDMAN’S GEEK TRAGEDY: A month after ace (Jewish) programmer Sergey Aleynikov left Goldman Sachs, he was arrested. Exactly what he’d done neither the F.B.I., which interrogated him, nor the jury, which convicted him a year later, seemed to understand. But Goldman had accused him of stealing computer code, and the 41-year-old father of three was sentenced to eight years in federal prison. Investigating Aleynikov’s case, MICHAEL LEWIS holds a second trial” – “[I]n early 2009 [Aleynikov got an offer] to create a trading platform from scratch for a new hedge fund run by a 39-year-old Russian fellow named Misha Malyshev [who was] willing to pay him more than a million dollars a year … He agreed and then told Goldman he was leaving. … Four times in the course of [his final six] weeks he mailed himself source code he was working on. (He’d later be accused of sending himself 32 megabytes of code, but what he sent was essentially the same 8 megabytes of code four times over.) The files contained a lot of open-source code he had worked with, and modified, over the past two years, mingled together with code that wasn’t open source but proprietary to Goldman Sachs. As he would later try and fail to explain to an F.B.I. agent, he hoped to disentangle the one from the other, in case he needed to remind himself how he had done what he had done with the open-source code, in the event he might need to do it again. (more…)
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