
Former prosecutor Adam Schleifer, one of seven candidates vying to succeed Rep. Nita Lowey in New York’s 17th congressional district, nabbed the endorsement of a key voting bloc in Rockland County days before voters head to the polls in Tuesday’s Democratic primary.
Last week, Schleifer was endorsed by leaders of Kaser and New Square, two Hasidic enclaves in Rockland County, Jewish Insider has learned.

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Democratic Majority for Israel is defending an attack ad against Jamaal Bowman, the progressive challenger to Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) in New York’s 16th district, despite a plea by the embattled incumbent to cease airing the commercial on television ahead of Tuesday’s primary.
On Saturday, Engel called on DMFI to remove the ad that criticizes his challenger, a 44-year-old former middle school principal, over unpaid taxes. “Shouldn’t Mr. Bowman pay off his own taxes before he tries to spend ours?” the ad asks.

Amos Ben-Gershom/GPO
President Donald Trump and his senior team will reportedly meet this week to decide whether to green-light Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to annex parts of the West Bank as early as July 1.
Details: U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman is flying back to Washington and White House Mideast peace envoy Avi Berkowitz canceled a scheduled trip to Israel to attend meetings with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien and Jared Kushner, Channel 13’s Barak Ravid reported on Saturday. Trump is expected to join the discussions and make a final decision. Haaretz reported on Sunday that the two sides are discussing the possibility of a gradual annexation of some areas in the West Bank over the coming months.

Kobi Gideon/GPO
In John Bolton’s new book, The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, the former national security advisor details how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer tried to block President Donald Trump from meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in August 2019.
Bolton recounts being vehemently opposed to such a meeting and confirms reports at the time that Netanyahu and Dermer had repeatedly tried to reach Trump to prevent such a meeting from taking place.

Two of the top candidates vying to succeed Rep. Nita Lowey are sparring over a recent mailer days before Democrats in New York’s 17th district head to the polls on June 23.
On Friday, the campaigns of Adam Schleifer and Evelyn Farkas traded barbs over the content of a mailer that accused Schleifer of using his family’s resources to buy an election.

AIPAC
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sens. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) are joining growing opposition to Israeli plans to unilaterally annex portions of the West Bank.
“As strong and dedicated supporters of the U.S.-Israel relationship, we are compelled to express opposition to the proposed unilateral annexation of territory in the West Bank,” the senior Democratic senators said in a joint statement to Jewish Insider.

As in-person convenings across the country have been rendered impossible due to the coronavirus pandemic, organizations have taken to the internet to connect with supporters and expand their reach. Since the start of the pandemic, Jewish Insider has compiled statistics, released weekly, on the webinars and online events being held across the community.
This week, the American Jewish Committee held its virtual Global Forum, with thousands of attendees tuning in to hear from speakers including Israeli Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former White House deputy national security advisors K.T. McFarland and Tony Blinken. The Orthodox Union held its “Battle of the Singers” this week, with an audience of over 5,000. The event raised more than $150,000 to help individuals with special needs combat social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Courtesy Antone Melton-Meaux
The Democratic primary race to represent Minnesota’s 5th congressional district has shifted in tone since December, when Antone Melton-Meaux first announced his campaign against freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN).
Like many parts of the country, the Minneapolis district has grappled with the coronavirus over the last several months. But in recent weeks, the mood in the district has transformed from anxiety and grieving to anger over systemic racism and racial inequality after the killing of George Floyd and the aggressive police response to the nationwide protests that followed.