Morningstar, Inc., the Chicago-based financial services firm that came under fire earlier this month for providing analytical tools that were found to have a bias against Israel, committed to addressing concerns that the company harbors anti-Israel attitudes at an Illinois investing board meeting last week, according to two individuals present.

In last Tuesday’s meeting, the Committee on Israel Boycott Restrictions subdivision of the Illinois Investment Policy Board (IIPB) voted not to place Morningstar on the state’s “prohibited investment list,” subject to the firm’s implementing of recommendations put forth in a report published by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and a separate independent report commissioned by Morningstar and conducted by New York City-based law firm White & Case LLP.

A bipartisan group of nearly 100 House members sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday urging the administration to mount a more concerted effort to counter antisemitism.

“We are asking you to advocate for a comprehensive, whole-of-government strategy, led by your Department, to specifically address the growing problem of domestic antisemitism,” reads the letter, led by Reps. Ted Deutch (D-FL), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Brad Schneider (D-IL) and Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) and signed by 88 other lawmakers.

Following the success of the March meeting of U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken and the foreign ministers of Israel, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Bahrain, Washington is spearheading an effort to formalize the new framework for regional cooperation, a senior State Department official familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. 

“The Negev Forum is a new framework to enhance regional prosperity and security by promoting greater cooperation in a variety of spheres among its members,” the official told reporters following a Monday meeting of the Negev Forum Steering Committee in Manama, Bahrain. 

Last fall, Virginia gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin put a bull’s-eye on Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Beloved. It came in the form of an ad that his opponent saw as an attempt to get the book banned in schools because of its vivid portrayal of slavery. 

Now, the nationwide book-banning debate has come for the Holocaust, but with a twist. A Saturday afternoon panel at last weekend’s conference of the American Library Association in Washington, D.C., sparked controversy over the panelists’ approach to Holocaust denial. 

After high-profile spending in a few early primary races that garnered headlines — and controversy — United Democracy Project and Democratic Majority for Israel PAC, both pro-Israel super PACs, have turned their focus to a few upcoming primaries, injecting significant capital into a new set of Democratic races.

Ahead of Tuesday’s primaries in Illinois, Democratic Majority for Israel has spent $540,000 opposing Rep. Marie Newman (D-IL) and supporting Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL). The group also spent $157,000 on digital ads and mailers supporting Chicago City Council member Gilbert Villegas and opposing Illinois House member Delia Ramirez.

Against the backdrop of sweeping change in Israel-Arab relations, a group of 13 American Jewish leaders toured Saudi Arabia last week to learn about Islam and teach the Saudis about Judaism, the first trip of its kind for federation leaders and clergy to the Arab kingdom.

The four-day trip, which ended on June 16 and was organized by American philanthropist Eli Epstein, comes weeks before President Joe Biden’s upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia and Israel, where he is expected to push for relations between the two countries in an attempt to expand the number of Arab nations that have normalized ties with Israel over the last two years as a result of the Abraham Accords.

Bill de Blasio drew criticism from the Congressional Black Caucus on Monday over recent comments in which the former New York City mayor said he wished a friend and former two-time Democratic House candidate in Cleveland, Nina Turner, had been elected to Congress.

The caucus viewed de Blasio’s remarks as dismissive of a fellow member, freshman Rep. Shontel Brown, who defeated Turner in two consecutive cycles in Ohio’s 11th Congressional District, most recently in last month’s Democratic primary. The CBC’s political action committee endorsed Brown over Turner, a former Ohio state senator and progressive stalwart who had cast herself as a future Squad member.

Representatives from more than 40 Israeli companies mingled last night with officials from federal, state and local governments at the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., last night, seeking opportunities to expand their businesses into the United States.

The embassy hosted a reception on Monday for the 42 companies selected by U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides for Israel’s delegation to the Department of Commerce’s SelectUSA summit, which began over the weekend. The conference seeks to promote foreign direct investment in the U.S.