From her perch at one of Israel’s leading startup accelerators, Yonit Golub Serkin has seen the “maturation of the entire [tech] ecosystem” from close up. The former managing director of MassChallenge Israel, which helps startups from all over the world in a variety of fields get off the ground, she is now an independent strategic advisor and an innovation trend-spotter. Before moving to Israel (WHEN), Serkin served as deputy chief of staff for economic development in former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration, and later helped found the Israeli venture capital firm Moonscape Ventures. She joined the hosts of Jewish Insider’s “Limited Liability Podcast,” Rich Goldberg and Jarrod Bernstein (she first met Bernstein when the two were undergraduates at Johns Hopkins University), for a wide-ranging conversation about Israel’s tech scene, the growing collaboration between Israel and Gulf nations in the wake of the Abraham Accords and why it is that such a small country attracts so much innovation.

Below are excerpts from the conversation.

The Israeli startup scene: “I think the most important thing to remember in Israel is that unlike other ecosystems, what’s been created here is really technology innovation that services a myriad of sectors. So regardless of which sector you’re actually focusing on or what your investment strategy or thesis is, you can find relevant technologies here to take back to your existing holdings or portfolio. What we’ve seen here is a maturation of the entire ecosystem. A decade ago, we would have been talking about early stage technology innovation, that are building tools that are then going to be acquired and used in corporations or in later growth stage companies abroad. What we’re seeing today are actually innovators and founders who can grow their companies throughout those stages, and create really big meaningful companies. We’ve seen companies that are not only going public in major numbers, but are also growing and serving their communities from Israel and from abroad. So really a great maturation of the ecosystem, a lot of innovation that crosses the different sectors, and very quick time to market for many of these companies getting their technologies and their products to market.”

How to succeed as a startup in Israel: “So the first thing for the entrepreneurs to remember is ‘what does it mean to be part of this ecosystem and to be successful in it?’ Israel is a weird case, because our market is so small. We speak a language that nobody else speaks around the world. We are now, thanks to the Abraham Accords, more in touch with our neighborhood, but we’ve traditionally been disconnected physically from the neighborhood in which we operate. For entrepreneurs to be successful in Israel, they actually have to be successful out of Israel. They have to already be thinking about their growth outside of Israel from day one, frankly from before day one. So entrepreneurs have to be not just conversant in English, but also emphatic and passionate and effective in English; they have to be able to build their product for another market. That’s a pretty unique skill. 

Traditionally, Israeli founders have been really well steeped in technology…The gap has traditionally been around understanding those other markets – being able to build a significant and large-scale business. That’s a chasm that Israeli founders have really bridged in the last decade or so. That’s the ability to understand what your customers or potential customers need, want and use. That’s been the real learnings of the Israeli founders, and that’s how we actually can distinguish between those founders who are most well positioned to succeed.”

MassChallenge Israel: “So traditionally, MassChallenge, specifically, is open to any entrepreneur who’s solving a major problem around the world. That can mean food or cyber, it can mean anything. Within that, we want to do specializations and identify partners who are going to be really important in a sector of nanotech, or in cyber, or in impact. We want to understand companies that are focused on creating impact, creating positive solutions for the U.N. sustainability and development goals. We want to look at those sorts of things, and we do a deep dive into that. Again, it’s a place to test things, see if it works, and then pass it on to the rest of the world. And that’s something that we would do over and over again here in Israel, and we’ve got a pretty good reputation internally as being a place that wasn’t overly process-driven because we were able to test, make decisions and move forward. I think that has a lot to do with the mindset here.”

Israeli-Gulf collaboration: “There has been activity between the Gulf and Israel for well over a decade. It was happening quietly, it was happening under the radar, but it was happening…There is no doubt that the Abraham Accords has been a significant catalyst in activity between the two countries. I’ll say even we as MassChallenge launched an accelerator in the UAE, so we were running programs in the UAE. I had team members who were flying back and forth on a weekly basis. That’s been incredibly significant – the ability to get to another market, their interest in technologies, and really getting to learn one another. There’s a lot of significant business there. I will say you are seeing a cultural education, because Israeli culture and the Gulf-based culture is very different. I’m not sure you could find more different business cultures. That’s taking more time to really understand certainly than Israeli founders originally gave it credit for. There are founders, Israeli technologists, who are going over there on a weekly basis, who are finding open doors to pitch their business, to look for partnerships, and I think you’re seeing real meaningful learnings from one another about how to do business in the Gulf. It’s very different from doing business in the U.S. It’s certainly different from doing business here in Israel, and Israeli entrepreneurs are learning that. What they continue to have to balance between is ‘what are the opportunities there versus other markets?’”

Upbringing: “I’m the daughter of a Conservative rabbi and an executive director in the Jewish nonprofit space, so very steeped in North American Jewish life. My family made aliyah when I was an infant for the first time – in our household it is called Aliyah Aleph. We moved over here when I was a year and a half old, settled in Haifa, lived there as a young kid, went through the First Intifada here, went through the first Gulf War here as a child, and moved back to the New York area for the end of elementary school and middle school. It was supposed to be a two-year sabbatical, but you know, life has a way of getting in the way of all plans. I went to undergrad and graduate school at Johns Hopkins – met Jarrod in the middle there – worked for the Bloomberg administration, and have been here [in Israel] ever since.”

Working for Bloomberg: “Working at economic development is some of the most exciting work that you can actually do, because at the end of the day it’s an incredible way to touch people that feels optimistic and hopeful, and like you’re really building for the future…

I have to say that my time in the Bloomberg administration, in a totally self-serving way, ruined all public service afterwards for me. Just because the types of people that were able to come together there, even when we were there, and I was 22 when I started out there, the people who come together there, that was a unique space and time. I felt like it was something special, even at a relatively young age, that this was something that was unique, and I wasn’t going to have the opportunity to work with so many incredibly bright, ambitious and motivated people who just got it done on such a large scale again. It felt so amazingly special.”

Barbara Leaf, the assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, told a Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Thursday that growing Chinese influence in the Middle East has made the region less safe.

Leaf argued that Chinese influence in the region has been inimical to the goals the U.S. has been pursuing, including Israeli-Palestinian peace and expanding normalization between Israel and Arab states.

“The [People’s Republic of China] hasn’t just been absent from the space… in some significant instances Beijing has actively acted against the region’s security,” she explained, “whether in its relations with Iran or Syria or in its sales of advanced weaponry, UAVs as an example, that are used by non-state actors against our Gulf partners and others.”

She clarified that while the Chinese government has not directly provided the drones to Iranian proxy groups, it “does not attempt to curtail that flow.” 

Leaf was skeptical of the Gulf states’ response to the issue, saying that “I look forward to [the] day” when the Gulf states “hold China to account… because frankly China’s getting away with murder in some terms.”

Iran and China struck a deal last year to expand their cooperation, which Leaf described as an attempt by Iran to duck U.S. sanctions by turning to alternative markets.

Beijing, Leaf said, “could play a constructive role vis-a-vis Iran, but they don’t,” particularly with regard to “kinetic activity” and support to terrorist proxies. But, she added, China has been “reasonably constructive” in nuclear talks with Iran.

She emphasized that the U.S. has been sanctioning additional entities in Iran to try to staunch Iranian-Chinese cooperation, and “you will see an increasing tempo of these sanctions.”

Leaf also cited Chinese acquisitions of stakes in critical infrastructure in the Middle East, such as ports, as potentially creating “new vulnerabilities in the region.” China is operating a port in Haifa, Israel, but Leaf did not specifically address Israeli-Chinese bilateral relations.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) —  of the most prominent critics of the U.S.’s handling of the investigation of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh’s death — used his questioning time to discuss the investigation into her killing.

“A lot of us are concerned that this is not getting the attention that it deserves,” Van Hollen said, noting that the State Department had missed a deadline he and colleagues had set in a demand for further information about the U.S.’s report on the case.

Leaf said she had not seen the U.S.’s report on the case, released a month ago, as she had been traveling, but had been briefed on it. She also said she was not aware that Secretary of State Tony Blinken had called for an “independent” investigation of the situation.

“That report, as you know, just stapled the [Palestinian Authority] report and the [Israeli Defense Forces] report together and then reached some conclusions,” Van Hollen said. “An independent report does not include a PA report and an independent report does not include an IDF report.”

Van Hollen also questioned Leaf about the United Arab Emirates’ conviction in absentia and recent detention of American attorney Asim Ghafoor, expressing concern that the administration was not “doing everything it can to ensure due process.” 

The UAE revealed this week that the U.S. Department of Justice provided information central to Ghafoor’s conviction. Leaf pledged to meet with Ghafoor’s American lawyers prior to his next hearing and keep the committee informed on the issue.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said he shared Van Hollen’s concerns on both issues.

Leaf also confirmed that the U.S.’s prospective sale of F-35 fighter jets to the UAE — initially agreed to in connection with the Abraham Accords — that was shelved in part due to issues regarding Chinese-made 5G technology within the UAE, remains on hold.

The Nonprofit Security Grant Program Improvement Act sailed through the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee this week — but with a lower funding proposal for the program than was agreed upon in the House.

The bill was introduced in the House earlier this year with dual functions: It would establish a dedicated office within the Department of Homeland Security to manage the rapidly growing grant program, and it would propose — but not lock in — increased funding for the program, which houses of worship and other nonprofits use to beef up their security systems. Funding must be approved separately through the appropriations process.

The House version of the bill proposed providing $500 million for the program annually — far exceeding the $360 million funding goal that Jewish community groups and advocates for the program on the Hill had been targeting for 2023. The NSGP is funded at $250 million for 2022. The version of the bill that passed the Senate committee this week brought the proposed funding level down to $360 million, in line with proposals from appropriators in both chambers for 2023 funding.

Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), who chairs the Homeland Security Committee, told Jewish Insider that the proposed funding level was pared down because “there were some folks who weren’t willing to do the full amount.”

“It was just what we needed to do to get support to get it out of our committee,” he continued. The bill passed through the committee by a voice vote as part of a package of numerous other pieces of legislation. The bill passed the House at the $500 million level by a vote of 288 to 129, with all Democrats voting in favor.

He pledged that “we’re still going to try to get the larger amount. I’m going to be working to do that. It’s something I feel strongly about.”

Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), the ranking member of the committee, said during the Wednesday meeting that the Senate version of the bill also included an amendment that would allow nonprofits to receive support and technical assistance to apply for the program. Small organizations without grant-writing staff and experience have historically struggled to apply.

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS), the lead House sponsor of the bill, did not express concerns about the amended funding proposal.

“I am heartened that HSGAC is moving this timely legislation and agreed to authorize it at the level set by appropriations, $360 million, a significant increase over current funding,” Thompson said in a statement to JI. “There’s a lot of unmet need to protect nonprofits which is only going to grow as more come to understand their risk for terrorism and mass violence.”

Elana Broitman, the senior vice president for public affairs at The Jewish Federations of North America, said that the House proposal “leaves flexibility for future growth should it become necessary,” but praised the Senate action on the bill.

“The $360 million figure is a strong authorization level that is a clear signal of support for the funding level in the appropriations bills, for which we have strongly advocated,” she said.

Nathan Diament, the Orthodox Union’s executive director for public policy, said in a statement on Wednesday, “We hope [the bill] will pass the full Senate very soon and we can finalize it with the House of Representatives and get it to the President’s desk in September.”

Diament told JI when the bill was first introduced in the House that OU was continuing to target the $360 million funding level for 2023, and explained, “It’s often the case that you have authorization bills that are at higher levels than what the appropriators do.

Rabbi Abba Cohen, Agudath Israel of America’s vice president for government affairs, praised the committee for approving the legislation.

“This is part of an ongoing process and we will continue to work toward higher funding levels. To do so, we will do what we have been doing from the start to make NSGP as strong and as effective as possible,” Cohen told JI. “We will be unrelenting in educating members as to the real dangers that exist, and the need and ways to address them. And as long as at-risk nonprofits are being denied adequate dollars to secure their facilities because of a shortfall in funding, we will work for more funding. I am optimistic that Congress will heed this call and provide the full measure of assistance Jewish and other communities require.”

As the first primary season of AIPAC’s newly formed PAC and super PAC — in which the two frequently dominated conversation in political circles — begins to wind down, AIPAC PAC Director Marilyn Rosenthal and United Democracy Project CEO Rob Bassin spoke to Jewish Insider in a joint interview on Wednesday to discuss their results and explain their strategies.

UDP, Bassin noted, has become “the largest bipartisan super PAC in the country” — it has spent $24.3 million, second only to the conservative Club for Growth in total outside spending — and has won seven of the nine races in which it has spent money. “By any measure, we’ve had a very successful start to our operations,” he told JI.

“We’ve achieved some extraordinary results in a very short period of time,” Rosenthal said. The PAC “is allowing us to clearly define who is and who is not pro-Israel. And that is the objective, essentially, of what we’re trying to achieve,” she added.

Those successes have met with strident opposition from some factions of the Democratic Party, with some accusing the groups of acting on behalf of and in the interests of Republicans, targeting progressives, women and people of color and outright buying elections. AIPAC’s electoral work has also, at times, pitted it against congressional allies and raised concerns among Democrats who otherwise largely support the lobbying group’s agenda.

All told, the PAC has bundled $9.5 million in direct donations to the more than 300 candidates it has endorsed, in addition to “a great deal of grassroots involvement” from AIPAC supporters, she said. “This is an opportunity and has been an opportunity for us to successfully speak in our own name on behalf of our nearly 2 million members to demonstrate that being pro-Israel is both good policy and politics.”

Bassin echoed Rosenthal, saying that the results are “a testament to the strong support that exists across the country among Democrats, among progressives for the U.S.-Israel relationship and for candidates who espouse support for the U.S.-Israel relationship.”

Israel has not, however, been a primary deciding factor for voters in many of the races in which UDP has been involved, and its messaging in the races has not revolved around Israel.

“I would just say about that, first of all, the issues that UDP has focused on have been the issues that are foremost on the minds of voters,” Bassin responded. “That being said, I think the views of the candidates on the U.S.-Israel relationship have been made clear on their websites and their position papers and in their voting records.”

Rosenthal added that pro-Israel candidates “have raised great deals of dollars from AIPAC members because of their support for Israel.”

Bassin declined to say whether UDP plans to get involved in any other races this cycle, but left the door open to the possibility.

Incumbent members of Congress make up the large majority of AIPAC PAC’s endorsements, as well as a dozen non-incumbents, mostly from safe districts. Rosenthal said the group is “looking at opportunities” in the remaining primary races and the general election, but hasn’t yet decided whether it’s going to make endorsements in highly competitive general election races.

Bassin explained that UDP has honed in on races where “there is a sharp contrast between a strong supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship… and a detractor of that relationship” and where “we believe our involvement can make a difference in the outcome of that race.”

“The super PAC has been focused on detractors of the U.S.-Israel relationship,” he continued. “Friends of the U.S.-Israel relationship have been supported through the PAC and the portal.”

In the case of candidates once critical of Israel who have since changed their tune, “the door is always open for candidates who become better informed and educated and are willing to be supportive of the U.S.-Israel relationship,” Bassin said.

Rosenthal explained that, in addition to races where there are clear divisions among candidates on Israel, the PAC’s endorsements also take incumbency into consideration, as well as backing open-seat candidates who have “identified themselves as champions and leaders if they were to get elected.”

Bassin and Rosenthal repeatedly emphasized that the groups are supporting a range of progressive candidates, pushing back on frequent attacks from some on the left.

Rosenthal noted that the PAC has endorsed scores of congressional Democrats, including members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

“Detractors of the U.S.-Israel relationship… are trying to characterize AIPAC as not supporting progressive candidates, when that’s the furthest thing from the truth,” Bassin said. “Virtually all of the candidates [UDP has] supported are progressive pro-Israel candidates. African American progressive pro-Israel candidates, Latino progressive pro-Israel candidates, women pro-Israel progressive candidates.”

Ahead of Tuesday’s Michigan primaries, UDP spent nearly the same amount in support of  Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and state Sen. Adam Hollier. While Stevens trounced Levin by 20 points, Hollier fell 4.8 points short of victory.

Bassin said UDP’s spending is guided by what the organization thinks will be necessary to win, including examining polling in the races and dynamics on the ground.

“If I knew what the outcomes were going to be in advance, I could spend the money as efficiently as possible,” Bassin said. “But clearly we make every effort and we take very seriously the trust and faith that our donors put in us to be responsible stewards of their money and try to spend it as efficiently as possible to achieve victory while not spending more than we have to.”

Following her victory Tuesday night, Stevens downplayed the role of PAC spending in her race, declaring that she “absolutely” would have won by a similarly wide margin even without outside spending supporting her.

“Ultimately, voters make the decision,” Bassin said in response. “Clearly, Haley Stevens’ message resonated with voters… I believe that super PACs can only amplify… the candidate’s campaign and be helpful in that respect. Super PACs don’t win elections, candidates win elections.”

Bassin and Rosenthal said they’re not concerned that AIPAC’s involvement in electoral politics will impact its reception on Capitol Hill or among Democrats.

Bassin said he’s “received tremendous encouragement” from lawmakers on the Hill — ”Democratic members who have been very, very encouraging and believe that we are playing a constructive role.”

Rosenthal echoed that, saying that sitting Democratic lawmakers have approached AIPAC seeking its endorsement, and that the AIPAC community is largely “enthusiastic about the changes that we’ve made.”

In New York’s redrawn 16th Congressional District, where freshman Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) is hoping to fend off a moderate primary challenger, the district’s former longtime representative has waded into the race, backing his successor’s opponent.

Former Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), who represented parts of the Bronx and Westchester for more than three decades, is bucking Bowman and endorsing Vedat Gashi, Jewish Insider has learned.

Gashi, an immigrant from the former Yugoslavia who currently serves as a Westchester county legislator and a Democratic district leader, is running a kitchen-table-issues campaign in the solidly blue district, contrasting himself with Bowman, who identifies himself with the “Squad,” a cohort of progressive lawmakers. 

Two other candidates — Catherine Parker and Mark Jaffe — are also running, but trail far behind Bowman and Gashi in fundraising. Parker has raised $298,000 and Jaffe $100,000 to Bowman’s $1.4 million and Gashi’s $807,000.

“Vedat is the type of leader we need in Washington, D.C. – someone who understands the unprecedented times we are facing and who will work with President Biden and fellow Democrats on our shared democratic values,” said Engel. “Someone who will work to achieve real results and real progress, not rhetoric or partisan politics.”

“I’m honored to have [the endorsement],” Gashi told JI, adding, “[Engel has] a tremendous legacy.”

Engel, a top Democratic legislator who chaired the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee and helped lead the first impeachment investigation into former President Donald Trump, lost his seat to Bowman in a bitter 2020 primary.

“I strongly endorse Vedat Gashi for Congress because I know he will always put the residents of the Bronx and Westchester first,” Engel said in a statement obtained exclusively by JI. The new district includes the northern Bronx and the southern half of Westchester County.

When it comes to issues beyond the district, Engel and Gashi share several priorities. Both have an affinity for Kosovo, whose statehood Engel vocally supported in Congress, earning him celebrity status — and a street named after him — in the Balkan country. Gashi also aided Kosovo in its early days of statehood, flying to his birthplace to help draft some of the country’s foundational legal documents.

“I’ve gotten to know [Engel] a little bit through the work in Kosovo,” Gashi said.

Additionally, the two are strong supporters of Israel. Engel, who was known as a staunchly pro-Israel member of Congress,  opposed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and once sponsored a resolution declaring Jerusalem as Israel’s undivided capital. Gashi supports legislation aimed at expanding the list of Arab nations that have normalized relations with Israel as a result of the Abraham Accords.

“Vedat will always stand with our allies like Israel and Ukraine,” Engel wrote in the statement.

Yesterday, former Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), who has also represented many areas of the redrawn 16th district over her 32-year tenure in Congress, threw her support behind Gashi, whom she called “young, smart, experienced, and hardworking” in a press release announcing the decision.

Lowey’s endorsement is particularly surprising given her connection to Parker, whose late stepfather, Richard Dannenberg, was Lowey’s husband’s partner at the law firm Lowey Dannenberg.

The Bowman-Gashi primary race follows a national pattern of contests pitting progressive candidates versus moderate ones, as Democratic voters choose between two different visions for the country.

Pro-Israel groups such as AIPAC and Democratic Majority For Israel have not put any money into the race, following a practice of targeting districts with open-seat races and incumbents battling primary challenges, rather than investing in a riskier campaign to oust an incumbent.

A source with knowledge of Gashi’s campaign told JI that Gashi trails Bowman in internal polling.

The primary will take place on Aug. 23.

BIRMINGHAM, Mich. — With early returns showing Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) with a 20-point lead over fellow Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI) in Michigan’s 11th Congressional District, it was a relatively short night at the campaign’s election watch party, which took place at the city’s Townsend Hotel. Stevens took the stage for her victory speech just over an hour after polls closed.

But the night was not without some moments of drama. Campaign volunteers glued to the returns on their phones appeared shaken by an early reporting mistake by the Associated Press that swapped Levin’s and Stevens’ vote totals. The news that the totals had been misreported prompted cries of relief from the volunteers, replicated moments later as an early call was made in the district.

It took nearly half an hour for the news to reach most in the dense crowd, when the results came up on a local news channel playing in the room. The news prompted an impromptu dance session by some Stevens supporters. Stevens took to the stage moments later.

The space quickly began to empty out after Stevens’ remarks.

“It’s not a mystery why we beat the odds. We stayed in Congress because we listened. I listened,” Stevens said in her speech. “I heard your stories. I learned… every single day doing this work what is most important to you.”

While the new 11th District seat is considered safely Democratic, Stevens turned in her speech to discuss the need for strong Democratic turnout in November in statewide races. 

Stevens (D-MI) sought to downplay the influence that outside PAC spending, including $4 million from the AIPAC-affiliated super PAC United Democracy Project, had on the final outcome. Levin’s campaign and its allies had focused heavily on pro-Israel groups’ support for Stevens as a central attack line.

“My hard work spoke for itself,” Stevens told reporters shortly after declaring victory, pointing to her larger fundraising totals — which were bolstered by more than $600,000 bundled by AIPAC — as well as her canvassing efforts around the district and her record in office. She also expressed her support for reforming election spending law.

Pressed by Jewish Insider on whether she thinks her margin of victory would have been as wide without the influx of independent expenditures, Stevens was unequivocal.

“Absolutely,” she said. “Because every time I was out and about and engaging with people, my message was met with enthusiasm… My message of doing and delivering and actually getting things done and uniting people, that’s what wins the day.”

In addition to the UDP spending, a super PAC affiliated with EMILY’s List, a campaign group supporting Democratic women, spent $3 million backing Stevens.

Stevens was asked about the role that Jewish supporters played in the race. Many leaders in the mainstream Jewish community in the district were early and forceful backers of the congresswoman.

“I thank my wide-ranging supporters from all over Oakland County from labor to our Jewish community to our African American community,” Stevens responded. “Certainly having Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence’s early support and endorsement, which is so significant… She started the Black-Jewish caucus. She’s led the Women’s Caucus. That is [whose] footsteps I’m going to follow in the Congress.”

In his concession statement, Levin appeared to pin his loss on UDP’s spending, rather than factors inside the district.

“Unfortunately, I was… the target of a largely Republican-funded campaign set on defeating the movement I represent no matter where I ran,” Levin said, referring to UDP. The group has noted in the past that it has received large donations from major donors on both sides of the aisle.

AIPAC took a victory lap on Tuesday night, retweeting and quoting from an article that declared that the pro-Israel group had “[won] big in Michigan thanks to [its] super PAC project” and that its “foray into super PACs has proven wildly successful.”

In a statement, the group argued that “Democratic voters have sent the unambiguous message that being pro-Israel is both sound policy and smart politics.”

“In a series of primaries this year, we are proud that we have helped pro-Israel progressive Democrats prevail over detractors of the Jewish state,” the statement continued. “In this election cycle, pro-Israel activists have made an important difference in strengthening the bipartisan congressional coalition in support of the U.S.-Israel alliance.”

J Street, whose super PAC spent more than $700,000 in independent expenditures supporting Levin, said in a statement that Levin had faced “an onslaught of right-wing outside spending and baseless smears,” and called AIPAC’s spending “alarming,” accusing it of “intimidating” candidates.

Later in the evening, retiring Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-MI) delivered brief remarks congratulating Stevens, whom she endorsed early in the primary. Lawrence currently represents part of the redrawn 11th District.

“I wanted to turn over some of my district to a person that puts people before politics, a person who understands what it means to fight,” Lawrence said.

Following weeks of criticism for arresting an American citizen, the United Arab Emirates revealed it had charged American attorney Asim Ghafoor in absentia with tax evasion and money laundering, following an investigation provoked by the U.S. Justice Department.

Ghafoor, an attorney who represented Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi before the prominent dissident was murdered by Saudi agents, was arrested in the UAE on July 14.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) labeled the allegations “false charges,” while Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) suggested that Ghafoor was convicted because of his work for Khashoggi. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) called the process “politically motivated” and accused the Emirati government of denying Ghafoor due process.

Last week, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) described the charges as “dubious.”

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said last month that Ghafoor’s arrest was unrelated to his relationship with Khashoggi.

Five Virginia lawmakers adopted a more measured approach, demanding the UAE allow Ghafoor — a Virginia resident — to be released on bail and allowed access to his attorneys.

“[W]e strongly urge you and your Administration to raise Mr. Ghafoor’s case immediately at the highest levels of the Emirati government and advocate for his fair treatment, including assurances regarding his health and safety while in Emirati custody,” wrote Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Reps. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA), Don Beyer (D-VA) and Gerry Connolly (D-VA) in a letter to President Joe Biden.

A State Department spokesperson told Jewish Insider that the United States did not seek Ghafoor’s arrest and that it had raised the issue with senior Emirati authorities, adding that Ghafoor is receiving consular support, and that American embassy officials have made numerous visits to see Ghafoor, most recently on July 30.

The Emirati government explained that it was first alerted to Ghafoor’s financial maneuverings by Department of Justice officials, whom the UAE claims were conducting their own investigation of Ghafoor.

“This case is part of broader legal cooperation between the UAE and United States to strengthen policies and enforcement to uncover and prevent transnational financial crimes and illicit money flows,” the UAE wrote in a press statement.

The UAE has not made any evidence publicly available and the Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.

Along with Khashoggi, Ghafoor co-founded a nonprofit called Democracy in the Arab World Now (DAWN), an organization profoundly critical of both Israel, which it has called an apartheid state, and the Abraham Accords, which it labeled “regressive.”

DAWN has called for Ghafoor’s immediate release.

Ghafoor had a hearing scheduled for Monday, which a State Department spokesperson said was attended by embassy officials. Emirati officials wrote that they will hold a hearing on Aug. 9, at the request of Ghafoor’s legal counsel.

DETROIT — Michigan state Sen. Adam Hollier (D-MI), who has benefitted from outside spending from the AIPAC-affiliated United Democracy Project (UDP), told Jewish Insider on the eve of Primary Day, that he feels pro-Israel groups are being unfairly singled out and held to a different standard by Democratic critics.

Hollier is among the top rung of candidates in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District, alongside state Rep. Shri Thanedar, a multimillionaire entrepreneur who has drastically shifted his positions on Israel heading into the race, and nonprofit CEO Portia Roberson. 

“[Opponents of UDP] try and use ‘Republican’ as a proxy for AIPAC to demean AIPAC. And they don’t say ‘Jewish,’ they don’t say ‘pro-Israel,’” he said. “That has been a really interesting point and a really interesting way that other single-issue PACs are not treated.”

“Nobody’s mad at credit unions, and when they talk about credit union spending, they call it credit union spending,” he said, arguing that other PACs with supporters and beneficiaries on both sides of the aisle have not faced the same sort of criticism as pro-Israel groups.

The millions in outside spending in the race supporting Hollier — United Democracy Project has spent more than $4 million, in addition to $1.1 million from Protect our Future, the super PAC backed by crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, and more than $750,000 from VoteVets — have not matched Thanedar’s own spending, Hollier noted. Thanedar has put more than $8 million into his own campaign.

“The pro-Israel community has not outspent anyone,” he said, distinguishing his race from others where UDP has been spending. “This is not something where they have come in and tipped the scale in some crazy way. If anything, they’ve only come in and allowed it to be a little bit more equitable.”

Nevertheless, he said he’s been stunned by the volume of outside spending in his district.

“I woke up one day and saw an outswell of support, and it was like a little kid on Christmas,” Hollier said. “I could never have imagined that that was going to be the case, and I was super grateful.”

Hollier told JI he feels the pro-Israel community is being unfairly singled out for its spending and held to a different standard than other interest groups.

UDP has become the top-spending outside group in this year’s Democratic primaries, and the second-highest spending outside group overall in the country, behind only the conservative Club for Growth.

“When people complain about what it might mean — no one asked me for anything,” he emphasized. “There was no oath or pledge or promise… People ask me honestly how I feel about the relationship between the U.S. and Israel, and folks want to support me because I honestly feel the way that I do about the strategic relationship.”

Hollier also pushed back on criticisms of UDP and other pro-Israel groups for failing to bring up Israel issues in their advertising.

“You’re not talking about Israel when you critique them, you are calling them Republicans, when there are lots of Democrats involved,” Hollier said.

Hollier said that Israel rarely comes up while he’s on the campaign trail, although he has heard from potential voters who are concerned about his position on Palestinian rights because of AIPAC’s support for him.

“A lot of them are like, ‘Hey, you’re a monster, I can’t believe that you feel that way,’” Hollier recounted. “And I think that’s the most frustrating part about this space because it’s become so polarized, people don’t want to talk about it. They believe that because I’ve got the support of a pro-Israel group, that it means XYZ about how I care, how I interact with Palestinians. I think that is fundamentally the problem. There’s so many people who don’t want to talk about these issues, who are unwilling to listen.”

In heated conversations about Israel, Hollier said he still tries to keep an open mind.

“It’s got to start with listening and showing that I’m open to winning. Because I’m not convincing someone that I’m right or they’re wrong about something that has been being fought for 100 years today,” he said. I’ve got to show them I’m willing to listen to their perspective and hear them and learn.”

Headed into Tuesday’s primary, Hollier said he’s confident he’s gotten his message across to voters in the 13th Congressional District.

“The question on this race is all about resources and the ability to get my message to voters, and whether or not they can hear it,” Hollier told JI. “I think, thanks to all the support, people have heard my message. I was joking with a friend… that people can pronounce my name better in Southgate and Wyandotte than some people I went to high school with or members of the legislature.”

“I feel like I’ve done everything that I could,” Hollier said, speaking to JI on the lawn of the Chabad of Greater Downtown Detroit, whose rabbi is a friend of Hollier’s. “I raised just about everything that I hoped to raise… we’ve knocked over 40,000 doors, we’ve made almost 300,000 phone calls to primary voters.”