Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) will re-introduce legislation on Thursday aimed at combating the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement targeting Israel.

The legislation is backed by 46 cosponsors, including House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Michael McCaul (R-TX), 

A bipartisan group of senators is circulating a letter calling on the State Department to work to end the U.N. Human Rights Council’s permanent Commission of Inquiry investigating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The legislators, led by Sens. Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Rob Portman (R-OH), called on Secretary of State Tony Blinken to lead “a multinational effort in the Council and in the UN” against the COI, which was created in May 2021 in the wake of the conflict between Israel and terrorist groups in Gaza.

Rep. Ted Deutch’s (D-FL) surprise announcement on Monday that he will step down after more than a decade in Congress to lead the American Jewish Committee has opened up what one local Democratic activist described as a “once-in a-generation” opportunity for politicians in the Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton areas — and the potential candidate field is already beginning to take shape.

Deutch’s solidly blue, largely moderate district, which spans Broward and Palm Beach Counties, has one of the highest Jewish populations in the country, many of them retirees. Around 16 percent of the 22nd Congressional District is Jewish, according to Rabbi Mark Winer, president of the Florida Democratic Party Jewish Caucus, which has several chapters across the state.

In this month’s installment of a series exploring new and upcoming books, the team at Jewish Insider previews top titles coming out in March:

Woman on Fire, by Lisa Barr (March 1): In her latest work of historical fiction, Barr dives into the world of Nazi art theft, telling the story through the eyes of an intrepid young journalist tasked with tracking down a piece of art that was looted by the Nazis during the Holocaust. Her efforts to find the artwork take her from Chicago to Europe, where she encounters the heir to a family of art collectors, who is also bent on acquiring the “Woman on Fire.”

Following a long-delayed trip to Israel to promote business development, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont is optimistic about the future of potential business relationships between Israel and his state.

The trip, Lamont’s first to Israel, was originally set to take place two years ago, but was pushed back due to COVID-19. His trip, organized by the United States-Israel Business Alliance, marked the first time in 25 years that a governor of Connecticut has visited Israel. 

The article first appeared in eJewishPhilanthropy.

Fundraising takes artistry. In the case of Batia Ofer, that has included commissioning and curating artworks by underrepresented and emerging artists, which are then auctioned to benefit Make-A-Wish UK, the organization that grants the wishes of critically ill children. 

Carla Sands, a candidate in Pennsylvania’s Republican Senate primary, often boasts of a unique connection with former President Donald Trump, who appointed her as ambassador to Denmark in his administration.

“I’m the only candidate that’s ‘America First’ since 2016,” Sands claimed in an interview on Sunday in Orlando, Fla., where the businesswoman and GOP donor sat on a panel of former Trump ambassadors at the Conservative Political Action Conference. “The only one that helped President Trump get elected, the only one he appointed to his economic advisory council and the only one who served in his administration as his ambassador.”

This article first appeared in The Circuit.

Seeking to spur dialogue between young Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders in the Middle East and build on the emerging ties forged by the recent Abraham Accords, the Washington-based Abraham Accords Peace Institute (AAPI) signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tel Aviv-based NGO ISRAEL-is during a special ceremony last weekend in Marrakesh, Morocco.