https://jewishinsider.com/topics/features/ All the latest news from the Jewish political & business worlds Thu, 15 Jan 2026 11:47:53 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://image.jewishinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/18185448/cropped-ji-initials-large-white-32x32.png https://jewishinsider.com/topics/features/ 32 32 237874332 https://jewishinsider.com/2026/01/ryan-crosswell-pennsylvania-house-seat-democratic-nomination/ Thu, 15 Jan 2026 09:25:59 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=99508 ]]> Former federal prosecutor and Marine veteran Ryan Crosswell is hoping his military and professional background — as well as his past registration as a Republican — will provide a road map to winning the Democratic nomination and ultimately flipping a critical swing district in Pennsylvania.

The 7th Congressional District centered around Allentown and Easton and rated by the Cook Political Report as a toss-up is held by Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA), who himself flipped the seat in 2024. It was previously held by former Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA). 

Crosswell, in an interview with Jewish Insider, characterized himself as a lifelong public servant and patriot, both as a Marine and as a federal prosecutor, who “always put my country first, even when it came at personal costs, as when I resigned from the Department of Justice because I felt I was being asked to do something that was inconsistent with my oath.”

Crosswell left the DOJ last February in protest of the Trump administration’s decision to drop corruption charges against former New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

He’s running for Congress because “this administration is dangerous,” and he wants to fight for affordability and safety for his constituents. He said his experience as an anti-corruption prosecutor makes him “uniquely suited to rebuild some of the guardrails that have been torn down.” He said that restoring those guardrails, including the public corruption section at the DOJ, is critical to having a “functioning democracy.”

Though he’s running in the Democratic primary, Crosswell was a registered Republican until after the 2024 election. But he said he’s voted consistently for Democratic presidential candidates since 2016. 

“[We’re] at a point right now, there is one party that’s clearly on the right side of history, and one party is clearly on the wrong side of history,” Crosswell said.

Crosswell argued that he’s the best-placed candidate to flip Republican voters in November: He said a key takeaway from last year’s New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial elections is that Democratic veterans are attractive candidates. He added that his background as a former Republican will help him connect with independent and GOP voters to “explain that the Republican Party is not what it once was.”

He also said that his experience as a veteran and federal prosecutor addressing a series of sensitive and high-profile issues makes him best prepared to address a range of subjects as a member of Congress in what he predicted “will be the most challenged Congress in American history.”

Croswell said that he’s “uncomfortable with cutting off aid” to Israel, as some in the Democratic Party are advocating for, “because Israel is surrounded by historical enemies and I don’t want to put the Israeli people in danger by cutting off aid.”

Crosswell is facing off against a series of other more liberal candidates in the primary, most notably Bob Brooks, the leader of the firefighters’ union who was endorsed by Gov. Josh Shapiro last month. Though Crosswell led among Democrats in fundraising as of the end of September, Shapiro’s endorsement and a fundraiser the popular governor held for Brooks last month are expected to help Brooks close the gap.

Crosswell described Israel as “an important ally to the United States” and the “only true democracy in the Middle East.” He visited Israel and the West Bank shortly before the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks. He said that he was “just so impressed by the Israeli people, their innovation and technology,” and their resilience in the face of both inhospitable environmental conditions and the enmity of surrounding nations.”

He said that he’s “uncomfortable with cutting off aid” to Israel, as some in the Democratic Party are advocating for, “because Israel is surrounded by historical enemies and I don’t want to put the Israeli people in danger by cutting off aid.”

He added that “no country is ever entitled to unconditional military aid from the United States under any circumstances, but I’m not willing to cut off aid now.”

Crosswell emphasized the need for the ceasefire in Gaza to continue, adding that those responsible for the Oct. 7 attack should be held accountable “through surgical special forces operations with a ceasefire in place.”

Asked about the U.S. strikes on Iran last summer, Crosswell said he’s “uncomfortable with direct military engagement in Iran at this time,” while adding that Israel must make its own decisions about “what the Israelis believe is necessary in their own interest.” Crosswell spoke to JI prior to the wave of public protests in Iran, which have led the Trump administration to contemplate renewed U.S. attacks.

“I would prefer to avoid U.S. engagement until it’s absolutely necessary,” he continued.

He said that, from his conversations in Israel and the West Bank during his visit, he believes both sides want peace, and emphasized the importance of continuing to pursue a two-state solution.

“It’s been frustratingly hard getting there, but it is the only solution and we can’t give up on it,” Crosswell said. “We need to demonstrate that we are advocates for peace, and that we’re advocating for both sides. We need to demonstrate that through our actions, that we’re committed to this, that we’re willing to have both sides at the table and to work through this, and we need to engage the other Arab nations.”

“I was a Justice Department prosecutor, and we have laws on the books to prosecute those who engage in hate crimes, and we should do that,” Crosswell said. “But I think also members of Congress — we need to be outspoken voices, and we need to speak out against it. And so I’d be in favor of any law that or any efforts to expand education on Jewish history, on the Holocaust, antisemitism, certainly any measures that can be taken to ensure the security of Jewish institutions and synagogues.”

He said that the U.S. should not, however, preempt direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians and recognize a Palestinian state. And he said that removing Hamas from leadership in Gaza is also a critical step to facilitate peace.

At home, Crosswell called the rise in domestic antisemitism “sickening” and said that it was “heartbreaking” to see armed guards outside a synagogue that he visited recently for an event.

“I was a Justice Department prosecutor, and we have laws on the books to prosecute those who engage in hate crimes, and we should do that,” Crosswell said. “But I think also members of Congress — we need to be outspoken voices, and we need to speak out against it. And so I’d be in favor of any law that or any efforts to expand education on Jewish history, on the Holocaust, antisemitism, certainly any measures that can be taken to ensure the security of Jewish institutions and synagogues.”

He added that, “more than anything else, it’s just being voices of moral clarity against hate against anybody, and in particular now, the antisemitic rhetoric and behavior that in some cases we’re seeing from both sides.”

]]> 99508 https://jewishinsider.com/2026/01/new-york-city-mayor-zohran-mamdani-antisemitism-strategy/ Wed, 14 Jan 2026 10:28:48 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=99437 ]]> New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani sparked an uproar among Jewish community leaders when, on his first day in office, he revoked an executive order that adopted a definition of antisemitism equating some criticism of Israel with anti-Jewish prejudice.

But the mayor has yet to articulate which, if any, definition of antisemitism he will abide by, raising questions about his views toward escalating anti-Jewish hate in the city as he continues to weigh in on high-profile issues affecting the Jewish community.

His recent comments responding to pro-Hamas protesters in Queens last week and an arson attack on a synagogue in Jackson, Miss., over the weekend illustrate what Mamdani’s critics interpret as a core tension animating his assessment of antisemitism.

While Mamdani released a statement on Sunday calling the arson a “violent act of antisemitism,” his comment on the demonstration outside a synagogue in Kew Gardens Hills where protesters openly voiced support for Hamas was delayed and came only after he faced growing pressure from media outlets and Jewish community leaders to denounce the demonstration.

In contrast with several of his top allies on the left, Mamdani, who has long been an outspoken critic of Israel, ultimately chose not to the call the protesters antisemitic, even as he otherwise denounced Hamas as a “terrorist organization” and said that the chants heard at the demonstration “are wrong and have no place in our city.”

The statements on two separate issues in different states helped distill how Mamdani has traditionally reacted to individual instances of antisemitism. He has unequivocally condemned as antisemitic recent incidents where Jews have faced violent attacks and have been targeted by vandalism, among other acts. But the mayor has been slower to react decisively on protests near Jewish institutions involving anti-Israel activism.

Mamdani, who has long identified as anti-Zionist and refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, drew backlash last November after he admonished a Manhattan synagogue that was also targeted by anti-Israel demonstrators who chanted slogans including “death to the IDF” and “globalize the intifada,” a phrase he has declined to renounce.

Even as he distanced himself from the language used by protesters in objecting to an event about immigration to Israel, Mamdani said that “sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law,” a statement he later revised. He did not label the protest antisemitic, as other elected officials had done. On the recent Queens protest outside an Israeli real estate event, Mamdani used similar language when asked why he hadn’t condemned “both sides.” He answered, “I absolutely have an opposition to the sale of land in the West Bank. It’s a violation of international law and that comes from my belief in the importance of following international law.”

His ongoing reluctance to explicitly identify such protests as antisemitic underscores how his record of pro-Palestinian activism has long been central to his self-conception. While he moderated on several key issues in the election, Mamdani notably resisted softening even some of his most controversial views relating to Israel — such as a pledge to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on charges of war crimes.

“On an ideological level, it’s a very problematic issue to be a proud anti-Zionist — especially if you are the mayor of New York City,” Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, who leads Stephen Wise Free Synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, said. “On a practical level, wherever anti-Zionism has been normalized,” he said, “as night follows day, it leads to antisemitism, in every single case, and it is the case today. There won’t be an exception simply because the mayor, at this time, insists on being an anti-Zionist and is proud of it.”

Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, who leads Stephen Wise Free Synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, said in an interview with Jewish Insider on Monday that he has spoken with Mamdani repeatedly about what he called a clear connection between anti-Zionism and antisemitism — which, he noted, the mayor has not acknowledged.

Even as Hirsch conceded “it’s not necessarily the case in every circumstance” that “anti-Zionism is, ipso facto, antisemitism,” he said such discussions are “completely divorced from reality,” disagreeing with Mamdani’s assessment of the Queens protest last week. “What Jews mean by anti-Zionism is not what Hamas means by anti-Zionism,” he explained. “If you are pro-Hamas, then you are, by definition, an antisemite.”

“On an ideological level, it’s a very problematic issue to be a proud anti-Zionist — especially if you are the mayor of New York City,” Hirsch argued to JI. “On a practical level, wherever anti-Zionism has been normalized,” he said, “as night follows day, it leads to antisemitism, in every single case, and it is the case today. There won’t be an exception simply because the mayor, at this time, insists on being an anti-Zionist and is proud of it.”

The working definition of antisemitism Mamdani rescinded, which is promoted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, has long been a target of anti-Israel activists and some progressives who believe it stifles legitimate criticism of Israel — even as it is widely accepted as useful guidance by mainstream Jewish groups.

A spokesperson for Mamdani did not respond to a request for comment from JI asking how he would define what he has frequently called “the scourge of antisemitism” while pledging to ensure the safety of Jewish New Yorkers.

Mamdani has yet to announce key administration hires for areas related to antisemitism, such as the office to combat antisemitism, which he has vowed to retain, and he has sent mixed messages regarding his efforts to fight antisemitism — voicing interest, for example, in a city curriculum embraced by leading Jewish groups that promotes a definition of Zionism seemingly at odds with his own views on Israel.

Shortly before his inauguration, Mamdani argued that a report issued by the Anti-Defamation League, which highlighted several members of his transition team who had used antisemitic tropes and justified Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, ignored what he called “the distinction between antisemitism and criticism of the Israeli government.” He did not address some of the most extreme comments made by appointees, but said the ADL report “draws attention away from the very real crisis of antisemitism we see.”

Mark Goldfeder, the director of the National Jewish Advocacy Center, said he suspects that Mamdani is now “gearing up to adopt” what he characterized as “one of the ‘IHRA-lite’ definitions” of antisemitism, citing those embraced by the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism and the Nexus Project — which he called “a little better than JDA,” though neither are widely accepted by mainstream Jewish organizations. Both definitions, he argued to JI, “provide more cover to those who wish to hide their antisemitism behind the curtain of anti-Zionism.”

Jonathan Jacoby, the president and national director of the Nexus Project, said in a statement to JI on Monday that Mamdani “and all public officials should be judged by the actions they take to protect Jewish communities — not by their adherence to any one controversial definition of antisemitism.”

According to Goldfeder, applying the Nexus definition to the recent incidents addressed by Mamdani “would mean that attacking Jews at a synagogue,” as in Jackson, “would be antisemitic — but harassing them, as long as no physical attack” took place, as in Queens, “would be fine.”

“I, for one, am not OK with either,” Goldfeder said. “Neither are the federal government, the majority of U.S. states and the vast majority of Americans both Jewish and non-Jewish.”

Jonathan Jacoby, the president and national director of the Nexus Project, said in a statement to JI on Monday that Mamdani “and all public officials should be judged by the actions they take to protect Jewish communities — not by their adherence to any one controversial definition of antisemitism.”

“Mamdani has expressed a clear commitment to engaging a wide range of Jewish voices in the fight against antisemitism and hate, and affirmed that the city will continue to operate an office to combat antisemitism,” Jacoby added. “Instead of getting hung up on fights over definitions like IHRA that were never intended to be enshrined into law, we need to see more security funding for vulnerable institutions, more support for more education about antisemitism and bias, and the enforcement of civil rights laws to prevent actual discrimination and harassment.”

Amy Spitalnick, the CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, said that the “biggest question” for her “is not whether the mayor personally adopts a specific definition but, rather, how he will respond to acts of antisemitism and invest in a comprehensive strategy to counter it.”

Rabbi Marc Schneier, who has spoken privately with Mamdani about issues concerning the Jewish community, said he was “pleasantly surprised” that Mamdani spoke out against the Queens protest and called Hamas a terror group, noting that the mayor had faced scrutiny for not even mentioning Hamas in his initial statement regarding the Oct. 7 attacks.

“We may be witnessing some evolution in terms of his understanding of Israel,” Schneier told JI, while adding that the Jewish community has “a long way to go.”

Amy Spitalnick, the CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, said that the “biggest question” for her “is not whether the mayor personally adopts a specific definition but, rather, how he will respond to acts of antisemitism and invest in a comprehensive strategy to counter it.”

“I’ve appreciated his willingness to engage with our community and evolve his position and I hope that he will continue to do so,” she told JI on Monday. “The pro-Hamas protests in Kew Gardens and the arson attack in Jackson are different examples of the many ways antisemitism is manifesting right now. All of it threatens Jews and our broader society and democracy.”

]]> 99437 https://jewishinsider.com/2026/01/saudi-arabia-pakistan-china-jf-17-jets-f-35s-u-s/ Wed, 14 Jan 2026 09:04:23 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=99420 ]]> Reports that Saudi Arabia may strike a deal with Pakistan to acquire Chinese-Pakistani JF-17 Thunder fighter jets are raising concerns in Washington, as Riyadh’s potential acquisition of the aircraft signals a continuation of its recent shift in alliances and could complicate its efforts to secure the U.S.’ F-35 jet. 

The discussions between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, first reported by regional outlets, would deepen defense ties between the two longtime partners while easing Karachi’s financial strain by wiping out its $2 billion in loans from the kingdom. 

The JF-17, which is widely used by the Pakistani Air Force, was jointly developed by Pakistan and China, and incorporates Chinese electronic systems and a Russian engine. 

Grant Rumley, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the aircraft would offer little operational benefit to Saudi Arabia, which already fields a fleet of U.S.- and European-made fighter jets, and could instead be a sign that Riyadh is aiming to strengthen ties with multiple defense partners.

“I don’t think there’s any military justification for Saudi Arabia purchasing this plane,” Rumley said, noting that the kingdom’s existing F-15s and Eurofighter Typhoons — along with its planned acquisition of the F-35 — would significantly outperform the JF-17. “Saudi understands Pakistan is in a tough economic situation and converting it into JF-17s is a way to alleviate some economic pressure and further intensify or accelerate defense cooperation.” 

Rumley added that despite the lack of military advantage from the JF-17, Saudi Arabia’s desire to acquire the fighter jet linked to U.S. adversaries raises concerns about U.S. national security and Riyadh’s political alignment, potentially prompting backlash that could complicate or even derail Riyadh’s procurement of F-35s from the U.S.

“The fact that [the JF-17] has a Russian engine and Chinese avionics means it will very likely be viewed as a security risk if it’s co-located near U.S. forces,” said Rumley, who warned this arrangement could pose a danger to the protection of U.S. intel. “The F-35 is one of the crown jewels of American military equipment. Protecting that proprietary information and capabilities is a top priority across party lines in the U.S. national security apparatus.”

Such a deal could create “undue turbulence” for Saudi Arabia’s acquisition of the F-35, potentially “complicating the discussion” around the deal and even putting it “into jeopardy,” Rumley said. 

While experts said it is unlikely Congress would be able to stop an F-35 sale to Riyadh if the White House gives it the green light, they warned the JF-17 talks could provoke internal pushback within the administration, particularly among officials focused on competition with China.

“The Saudis are publicly entertaining this deal because of their dissatisfaction with U.S. policy, their desire to build leverage that brings America around to the Saudi position and, if that fails, to enable Riyadh to develop alternative security ties,” said Jonathan Ruhe, a fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America. “The fact that the Saudis are considering such inferior aircraft, from a less established partner, emphasizes their dislike of how the broader U.S. defense relationship is trending.”

“The China hawks within the U.S. will not look favorably on this type of arrangement in general,” said Rumley. “Buying a fighter jet that’s co-produced with China and has Chinese technologies, as well as Russian technologies, is going to burn through a lot of goodwill with the folks in Washington.” 

Jonathan Ruhe, a fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, said a Saudi deal for the JF-17s could also “throw a major wrench in existing defense cooperation with Riyadh,” framing the reported talks as part of a potential reassessment of the kingdom’s security partnerships.

“The Saudis are publicly entertaining this deal because of their dissatisfaction with U.S. policy, their desire to build leverage that brings America around to the Saudi position and, if that fails, to enable Riyadh to develop alternative security ties,” said Ruhe. “The fact that the Saudis are considering such inferior aircraft, from a less established partner, emphasizes their dislike of how the broader U.S. defense relationship is trending.”

He added that Saudi Arabia has historically used major arms purchases to build political leverage rather than to fill operational gaps, noting that Saudi officials have closely watched Qatar’s use of “checkbook diplomacy” to secure a unilateral U.S. security guarantee last year, even as Riyadh’s own mutual defense treaty discussions stalled.

In recent weeks, observers have noted that Saudi Arabia has increasingly pivoted away from moderation and toward Turkey, Qatar, Iran, and Pakistan, as seen in their actions in Yemen, Sudan, and the horn of Africa, along with attacking the UAE over its relationship with Israel. 

“Riyadh’s current security cooperation with China is not the behavior Washington can reasonably expect from a partner who would like to be trusted with the F-35,” said Justin Leopold-Cohen, a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, who noted that any deal should be viewed “in the context of Riyadh’s recent naval exercises with China.” 

“Saudi Arabia looks at Turkey and Pakistan and sees sort of a middleweight power that is able to exert a ton of influence in the profession of arms and is able to put platforms on the market that drive, not only revenues at home, but is also a pretty effective instrument of national power,” said Rumley. “And they [Saudi Arabia] want that.”

Justin Leopold-Cohen, a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the reported talks likely reflect Saudi Arabia’s desire to “avoid overreliance” on any single defense partner, though he echoed concerns from the U.S. perspective.

“Riyadh’s current security cooperation with China is not the behavior Washington can reasonably expect from a partner who would like to be trusted with the F-35,” said Leopold-Cohen, who noted that any deal should be viewed “in the context of Riyadh’s recent naval exercises with China.” 

However, Rumley argued that such a deal may not necessarily reflect “realignment from a security standpoint,” but could be “more about gaining access to some other technologies.”

“It may be that this is simply a way for Saudi Arabia to get access to these jets, rip them up, or reverse engineer them and take those technologies and use them for their own defense, industrial base development,” said Rumley. 

]]> 99420 https://jewishinsider.com/2026/01/venezuela-jews-florida-maduro-capture-trump/ Fri, 09 Jan 2026 10:00:26 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=99105 ]]> Updating Everlit Embed When Valerie Stramwasser woke up on Saturday, Jan. 3, she glanced at her phone and saw hundreds of WhatsApp messages.

“Im like, ‘Oh my god, something happened.’ I first thought that it was something in the family, and then I opened up and I hear, ‘Were free.’ Were free. It happened,” Stramwasser told Jewish Insider on Thursday. “Literally tears of joy.”

Stramwasser, 37, lives in Hollywood, Fla., with her husband and two children, but she grew up in Caracas, Venezuela. She was forced to flee the country as a teenager after a failed kidnapping attempt against her. She hasn’t been back in years, not even for the funerals of her grandparents.

The tears of joy began when she saw the news that the U.S. military had captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, and flown them to New York to stand trial on narco-terrorism charges. Stramwasser and her husband, who is also Venezuelan, couldn’t wait to tell their 8- and 11-year-old children the news.

“As a mom, you tell the stories to your kids, and they know how much I miss my country. But Ive never been able to go back,” Stramwasser recounted. Then they drove to her brother’s house to celebrate and watch President Donald Trump discuss the operation. “This is one of the most important things that, as a Venezuelan, you can hear in the past 30 years.”

“Growing up there, it was a community of about 28,000 Jews that were living there. It was a vibrant community, a very successful and respected community,” said Paul Kruss, a city commissioner in Aventura, Fla., who also owns a popular local bagel shop. “Now theres maybe 4,500 that live there, which should tell you all you need to know about the kind of brain drain that they had. It wasnt only the Jewish community that fled.” 

An economic crisis that began under the country’s socialist president, Hugo Chávez, who was elected in 1999, grew exponentially worse when Maduro came to power in 2013 after Chávez’s death. The resulting poverty, starvation and crime have led to a massive refugee crisis of roughly 8 million people who have left the South American country. Amid the global diaspora of Venezuelans, many are cheering the removal of Maduro, whom they view as responsible for deteriorating standards of living, repression and political dysfunction plaguing the country.

Stramwasser is one of hundreds of thousands of those Venezuelans who now call Florida home, including several thousand Venezuelan Jews who have developed outposts of their once-strong Caracas community centers in Miami.

“Growing up there, it was a community of about 28,000 Jews that were living there. It was a vibrant community, a very successful and respected community,” said Paul Kruss, a city commissioner in Aventura, Fla., who also owns a popular local bagel shop. His mother, who was from Warsaw, Poland, moved to Caracas after surviving the Holocaust. “Now theres maybe 4,500 that live there, which should tell you all you need to know about the kind of brain drain that they had. It wasnt only the Jewish community that fled.”

The surprise operation has largely garnered support from Republicans, while Democrats are more skeptical, including many who are outspoken critics of Maduro, igniting a debate in Congress about presidential war powers. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Trump should not have acted without congressional approval.

“Maduro is a horrible, horrible person, but you dont treat lawlessness with other lawlessness, and thats whats happened here,” Schumer said over the weekend.

In Florida, even among Democrats, the reaction was more celebratory.

“The capture of the brutal, illegitimate ruler of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, who oppressed Venezuelas people is welcome news for my friends and neighbors who fled his violent, lawless, and disastrous rule,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) said in a statement. “However, cutting off the head of a snake is fruitless if it just regrows. Venezuelans deserve the promise of democracy and the rule of law, not a state of endless violence and spiraling disorder.”

The question of what comes next for Venezuela remains unanswered. The country’s interim president is Delcy Rodríguez, the vice president and oil minister, who was close to Maduro.

“The good thing about what just happened is that sometimes bad people in the world need a message to be sent. If they know that they can do bad things, and no one will come for them, well, they will just keep doing bad things,” said Brian Fincheltub. “ We want to go back, so we are very happy with this.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio laid out a three-step process for Washington’s plans in Venezuela: stabilizing the country, followed by allowing American companies access to the Venezuelan market and, finally, a transition of power. But the U.S. has not laid out plans for a new political regime in Venezuela.

The Venezuelans cheering on the ouster of Maduro are content to wait a bit longer.

“Shes been part of the problem, no question,” Kruss said of Rodríguez. “Im hopeful that the United States will be guiding them and letting the Venezuelan people decide who they want to be their leader, and I think this is just a transition period.”

Brian Fincheltub grew up in the Caracas Jewish community, which he called “one of the best in the world.” He was a social activist working in the slums of Caracas, but due to his ties to the opposition party, he fled the country in 2018 to avoid being jailed. Venezuela’s National Assembly named opposition leader Juan Guaidó acting president of Venezuela in 2019, setting up a showdown with Maduro, who never ceded power. Fincheltub moved to Washington to serve as Venezuela’s consul general under Guaidó’s opposition rule. Now Fincheltub works at the World Bank.

Fincheltub supports Trump’s actions, which he said is not about politics — that he would have supported the move had President Joe Biden done the same thing.

“The good thing about what just happened is that sometimes bad people in the world need a message to be sent. If they know that they can do bad things, and no one will come for them, well, they will just keep doing bad things,” said Fincheltub, 38. “ We want to go back, so we are very happy with this.”

Some Venezuelan Jews see similarities in the response of far-left activists to Trump’s capture of Maduro and their criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza.

“People who are not Venezuelan, who did not grow up under Chávez or Maduro, who did not lose their country, their safety, their future, feel entitled to explain Venezuela to us,” said Valerie Stramwasser, who has said Florida will remain her home even if Venezuela elects a new government. “The same goes for people who are not Jewish, who have never lived the history, the wars, the constant existential threat, feel entitled to explain the Israel-Palestine conflict to us.”

“The same ones that were attacking Israel and the Jewish people are the same ones, or many of them, that are attacking President Trump, or that are attacking what happened in Venezuela,” Fincheltub said. “This is not about President Trump or President Biden. This is about the liberation of Venezuela.”

Stramwasser posted a video making a similar point on Instagram, where her posts usually get a couple thousand views. This one has been viewed more than 500,000 times.

“People who are not Venezuelan, who did not grow up under Chávez or Maduro, who did not lose their country, their safety, their future, feel entitled to explain Venezuela to us,” said Stramwasser, who has said Florida will remain her home even if Venezuela elects a new government. “The same goes for people who are not Jewish, who have never lived the history, the wars, the constant existential threat, feel entitled to explain the Israel-Palestine conflict to us.”

History, she added, will be on her side.

“History is very clear about this,” Stramwasser said in the video. “Those who confuse aggressors with victims dont end up on the right side of history.”

]]> 99105 https://jewishinsider.com/2026/01/saudi-arabia-u-s-lawmakers-united-arab-emirates-brad-sherman/ Thu, 08 Jan 2026 08:06:44 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=98992 ]]> Lawmakers in Washington are largely downplaying recent developments suggesting that Saudi Arabia is pivoting away from moderation and entertaining more hardline Islamism.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been at loggerheads in Sudan, Somalia and Yemen — including a recent Saudi airstrike on an Emirati shipment in southern Yemen — prompting questions about Riyadh’s continued interest in acting as a moderating force in the region. 

Saudi Arabia has also sided with Muslim Brotherhood-aligned forces in other regional conflicts, is increasing its business ties with Qatar and softening its stance toward other Islamist powers hostile to Israel, among other steps, some analysts say.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, who came away from the meeting indicating that potential disputes or shifts in the kingdom had been overstated.

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) — who has been critical of Saudi Arabia in the past — told Jewish Insider that Prince Faisal, in the meeting, sought to directly rebut claims that Saudi Arabia was pivoting away from a position of moderation.

The overall message from Prince Faisal, Sherman said, was “the Saudis claim that they are anti-Brotherhood and that the disputes with the UAE are tactical, not ideological.”

“Just because the Saudis are not Shiite does not mean they’re Zionists. No one should get too carried away. And I’m sure there are elements of the Saudi government that are not nearly anti-[Muslim] Brotherhood as much as they should be,” Sherman said. “That being said, I see a foreign minister who is not Qatar or Turkey.”

“If you’re worried about Israel, you should never put any of the countries we’re talking about here in the ‘don’t worry about it’ category — you’ve got to worry,” he continued. “But the foreign minister went out of his way to say that when it comes to the Brotherhood or Iran, that there’s less reason to worry about Saudi Arabia.”

He said that he expects Saudi Arabia and the UAE to come to an agreement on the anti-Houthi campaign to deconflict the situation — likely one which would see the UAE take a decreased role in Yemen.

Sherman also said he did not see evidence that Saudi Arabia has significantly accelerated or expanded its relationship with Qatar — though he also noted that Saudi-Qatari tensions have gradually eased over the past few years and particularly since the Arab League blockade of Qatar. Saudi Arabia signed a major deal earlier this month to link Riyadh and Doha with a high-speed rail line. 

Even so, Sherman said he has other pre-existing concerns about Saudi Arabia, such as its pursuit of a nuclear program and bid to purchase F-35 fighter jets, neither of which was discussed at Wednesday’s meeting.

Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also met with Prince Faisal. He said it was “great” to see the foreign minister and that the group had discussed various issues including Yemen, Sudan and Gaza.

“Saudi Arabia and UAE are very close, right? I mean, that’s an understatement,” Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told JI. “What I’m saying — everybody can have disagreements, spats, misunderstandings about different things, and that relationship is no different, but those two are two very, very close allies.”

“The U.S.-Saudi relationship remains a pillar of U.S. policy in the region,” Mast said in a statement. “I look forward to continuing to build upon our decades-old alliance to help resolve some of the region’s most pressing and complex challenges.”

He dismissed concerns about a potential Saudi repositioning or clash with the UAE.

“Saudi Arabia and UAE are very close, right? I mean, that’s an understatement,” Mast told JI in a brief interview. “What I’m saying — everybody can have disagreements, spats, misunderstandings about different things, and that relationship is no different, but those two are two very, very close allies.”

A congressional source deeply involved in Middle East issues argued that ties between the Sudanese Armed Forces — the faction Saudi Arabia is backing in Sudan — and the Muslim Brotherhood have been overstated and that the Saudi decision to back the SAF is a tactical one rather than an ideological signal of alignment with the Brotherhood. The source said that the Saudis have indicated that they are working to push the Brotherhood elements out of the SAF faction.

And, the source emphasized, both sides in Sudan have committed significant atrocities, further noting that the Trump administration sanctioned the Rapid Support Forces — which successive U.S. governments have found is committing genocide. The source said that Saudi Arabian officials have been clear they do not want the U.S. to sanction the UAE over its alleged support for the RSF, as some in Abu Dhabi heard after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit.

Regarding the Saudi strike in Yemen, the source said that Saudi Arabia was concerned about anti-Saudi forces approaching its territory and that the shipment the UAE convoy was transporting was being provided to those forces. 

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) said that there “a lot of concerns” about a Saudi dispute with the UAE in Yemen but that he is not “worried about [the Saudis] repositioning to an extreme point.”

“I don’t think we see that yet. There’s still a lot of conversations going on,” Mullin said. “I think that was just one of those regional things that sometimes we have a lack of understanding — or maybe understand it, but don’t understand it.”

Another lawmaker who has had conversations with individuals in the region said on condition of anonymity that — despite recent headlines — they did not believe that Saudi Arabia was making a fundamental pivot in its posture away from moderation or toward a more extremist Islamist stance.

The lawmaker added that the tensions between the two U.S. partners have been “surprising” but also noted there is a long and complex history between the two countries.

Addressing the Saudi-Emirati tensions, Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE), the No. 2 Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, acknowledged that the two countries had conveyed “different interests,” but did not appear concerned that their differences would alter the Saudis’ view of Iran as the top threat in the region. 

“The UAE seems like they’re trying to diversify their sources of support in the region, and that’s a point of some disagreement between the Saudi leadership and UAE leadership,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) told JI.

“I have no insight into what’s going on there, but clearly they’ve got different interests,” Ricketts told JI. “Saudi Arabia’s long-term interest is in a peaceful Middle East where they have allies to offset Iran. Saudi Arabia knows that in the region their worst enemy is Iran, and so they’re going to want allies to push back.”

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee as well as on Foreign Relations, said his primary concern was the UAE’s deepening ties with Russia.

“I mean, the UAE seems like they’re trying to diversify their sources of support in the region, and that’s a point of some disagreement between the Saudi leadership and UAE leadership,” Cornyn told JI.

“What worries me a little bit is UAE talking about allowing the Russians to build a military base there,” he continued. “They seem to be less convinced that they can rely on support from the United States and so they are looking for other friends. That concerns me.”

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) attributed the fissures to the situation in Sudan and instability in Yemen that neither country could independently solve, but said he had been informed that the Saudis and Emiratis had addressed their differences. 

“Well, Yemen is a mess,” Kennedy said. “The UAE and the Saudis have been allies. Now, they recently got crossways, but I understand they got it worked out. I don’t know what else to say. I mean, Yemen is just, … it’s not a stable country.”

Pressed on the Gulf states having “worked out” their issues, the Louisiana senator responded, “Well, I think that got a lot of it worked out. The Saudis and UAE … they’re crossways in Sudan. They’re not always joined at the hip, so I wasn’t particularly shocked about it, but my understanding is they got it worked out.”

Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he hadn’t been following all of the developments with Saudi Arabia’s regional posture but had been tracking the conflict in Sudan, where Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been backing opposing sides in the civil war. Warner emphasized that “neither one of them are the good guys,” referring to the UAE-aligned RSF and Saudi-aligned SAF.

“It does bother me, not just where [the Saudis] may be moving, but also just … in terms of bombing [in] Yemen,” Warner added, referring to the Saudi strike.

Warner, who led Intelligence Committee members on a visit to Saudi Arabia to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2024, said that the Saudis were, at the time, “anxious to get normalization with Israel,” but the Gaza war interrupted that progress.

And Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said the “instability” in the region — including the Saudi-UAE tensions —  demonstrates the need for strong congressional oversight of “any agreement that’s reached with any of our potential partners there.

President Donald Trump recently announced a series of deals with Saudi Arabia, including selling the kingdom F-35 fighter jets and naming Riyadh a major non-NATO ally, without making public strides toward Saudi-Israeli normalization.

“And very bluntly, it reemphasizes that our one truly reliable ally in the Middle East is Israel,” Blumenthal continued.



]]> 98992 https://jewishinsider.com/2026/01/new-york-julie-menin-zohran-mamdani-council-speaker-jewish-leaders/ Wed, 07 Jan 2026 22:39:50 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=98974 ]]> Julie Menin’s election on Wednesday as speaker of the New York City Council was a reassuring sign to Jewish leaders who have long seen the 58-year-old centrist Democrat as a key ally and believe that she will act as a check on Mayor Zohran Mamdani with regard to issues involving Israel and antisemitism.

In a unanimous vote, Menin, a pro-Israel lawmaker and veteran city official who lives on the Upper East Side, became the council’s first Jewish speaker, pledging in her victory speech to focus on “dissolving division” and to “calm tensions” as she prepares to work with a mayor whose hostile views on Israel have long been a defining characteristic of his political ascendance.

“We live in a day with the first Muslim mayor of New York City and now the first Jewish speaker of the council serving at the same time,” Menin said on Wednesday.

Despite the positive tone, Menin, who as speaker now holds the second-most powerful elected role in city government, is still facing the looming prospect of conflict with Mamdani over their differing stances on Israel, which has already animated their nascent relationship.

In her speech, Menin alluded to some tensions that could stoke divisions, insisting that “we must never jeopardize a New Yorker’s right to worship.”

“Because we cannot let what happened outside Park East Synagogue ever happen again, at any house of worship,” Menin said, referring to a protest outside a Manhattan synagogue in November that targeted an event about immigration to Israel and featured chants including “death to the IDF” and “globalize the intifada,” a slogan that Mamdani has refused to condemn.

Mamdani had faced intense criticism after he had admonished the synagogue for promoting what he called “activities in violation of international law,” a statement he later revised.

More recently, after Mamdani had repealed a pair of executive orders tied to Israel and antisemitism on his first day in office last week, Menin said in an interview with The New York Post that she called the mayor to voice her concerns, noting there will “obviously be continued conversation around this.”

Menin added in a separate interview with The New York Times published on Wednesday that she had a “productive conversation” with Mamdani regarding his decision to rescind an executive order issued by former Mayor Eric Adams that adopted a working definition of antisemitism used by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, which labels some criticism of Israel as antisemitic.

While Mamdani indicated during the election that he would seek to invalidate the order, the move triggered widespread backlash from Jewish leaders who said it raised questions over his commitment to effectively fighting antisemitism.

Menin, for her part, telegraphed a more diplomatic position to the Times, even as she had said she was “extremely concerned” by the repeals. “It’s one tool that can be utilized,” she said of the definition. “It’s obviously not the only tool.”

Her assessment underscores what Jewish leaders close to Menin characterized as an even-keeled and largely unflappable approach to governance, which could now be tested on issues she has described as intensely personal.

Menin, a daughter and granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, has long warned of rising antisemitism in New York and has advocated for increased funding to help promote Holocaust education. Menin visited Israel during a solidarity trip after the Hamas terror attacks of Oct. 7, 2023 — after which she introduced a program to send eighth graders to the Museum of Jewish Heritage to raise awareness about the global history of antisemitism.

Chris Coffey, a Democratic strategist who has served as an informal advisor to Menin, said she is “results-oriented and not focused on labels,” while predicting “she will work with the mayor when she can.”

“There may be times when they don’t agree and they will work through it,” he told Jewish Insider earlier this week, saying Menin is “more interested in results than drama.”

Yeruchim Silber, director of New York government relations at Agudath Israel of America, an Orthodox advocacy group, said that Menin “has a long history of working with the Jewish community,” calling her “an important part of the [former New York Mayor Bill] de Blasio administration,” when she led efforts to promote participation in the 2020 census.

He told JI he was “confident she will be able to work collaboratively with” Mamdani’s administration “on all issues important to the community.”

Still, other related issues could emerge as a more challenging test, as Jewish leaders speculate about what actions Mamdani will take next. One point of major tension stems from the partnership between Cornell University and Israel’s Technion, which the mayor’s team had indicated during the election that he would reassess.

Menin, a staunch opponent of Israel boycotts, has praised the joint Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island, which sits in her district, as a crucial hub for local tech and business innovation. “That is an area, of course, of disagreement,” Menin said last month regarding Mamdani’s skepticism of the partnership.

A spokesperson for Menin did not respond to a request for comment from JI on her differences with the mayor.

Menin and Mamdani have in recent weeks largely struck a collaborative tone, appearing at their first joint press conference on Monday to sign executive orders to counter deceptive business practices such as junk fees. Menin has emphasized a shared focus on affordability goals including universal daycare, a key priority of Mamdani’s fledgling administration.

But their courteous public relationship belies other underlying tensions. For his part, Mamdani — who never formally voiced a preference in the contest for council speaker — had privately sought to thwart Menin’s effort as she consolidated backing from a range of members and locked up a supermajority several weeks before the Jan. 1 inauguration. Last month, in a notable snub, Mamdani also did not include Menin in a group of more than 100 elected officials he picked to advise his transition.

Menin, meanwhile, declined to endorse Mamdani, and during the primary chose not to join a summer meeting he had arranged with local Jewish elected officials to address their concerns about his critical views on Israel.

Now that they are working together, some Jewish allies of Menin said they expect that she will put her differences with Mamdani aside, unless provoked to take action with regard to key issues on which she is not aligned with the mayor.

One Jewish leader close to Menin, who asked to remain anonymous to speak candidly, said the new speaker “will be willing to partner with” Mamdani’s administration “to improve the city,” but suggested that it is in the mayor’s “hands to stop doing actions that isolate and antagonize the Jewish community.”

“She is definitely of a mindset of wanting to work together but doing what he did on inauguration day was definitely viewed as a first punch,” the Jewish leader told JI, referring to the executive orders that Mamdani revoked.

Jake Dilemani, a Democratic consultant who served as an informal advisor to Menin in her 2021 Council bid, said that the speaker “is focused on governance and delivering results, and has a strong track record on affordability and consumer protection issues.”

“So, the expectation is this will be a cornerstone of her speakership and that she will work with Mayor Mamdani to put points on the board,” he told JI. “She equally has a strong record on Jewish issues and fighting antisemitism, and it is something that is very personal for her. I fully expect that she will work productively with the mayor on many issues, but will stand up to the administration should she deem it necessary.”

]]> 98974 https://jewishinsider.com/2026/01/israel-somaliland-recognition-diplomatic-relations-somalia/ Wed, 07 Jan 2026 09:35:51 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=98893 ]]> When Israel announced the day after Christmas that it would formally recognize Somaliland, making it the first country in the world to announce formal diplomatic relations with the secessionist region in the Horn of Africa, even some of Washington’s foremost foreign policy experts were sheepishly asking the same question: What, exactly, is Somaliland? 

There was no single event that led to Israel’s choice to recognize the sovereignty of Somaliland, which announced its independence from Somalia in 1991. The territory has functioned independently for 35 years; nothing in its governance changed last year. 

What changed was Israel — and its geopolitical calculus regarding regional security threats. 

“The Houthis didn’t used to fire missiles at Israel. That’s new, and Israel’s now trying to respond to a new situation,” said David Makovsky, the Ziegler Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “I have no doubt that this was driven by how to try to neutralize a threat from the Houthis that Israel takes very seriously.” 

Somaliland sits just across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen, from which the Iran-backed Houthis have fired drones and ballistic missiles at Israel following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in 2023. Allying with Somaliland could allow Israel to target the Yemeni militia from much closer range. Israel has also reportedly approached Somaliland about resettling Palestinians from Gaza there, although officials in the country have denied that such conversations took place. 

Somaliland also sits in a strategic location south of Djibouti and to the east of Ethiopia, and its coastland is close to where the Indian Ocean and Red Sea meet, making it a prime shipping location. 

“No one can ignore the strategic location of Somaliland,” Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, told The Wall Street Journal. “The straits are a strategic point.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar visited Hargeisa, Somaliland’s capital, on Tuesday to meet with President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi. It was the first visit by a foreign minister to Somaliland in its more than three decades of existence as a self-governing entity. 

The key question is whether Jerusalem’s recognition of Somaliland will prompt similar moves by other nations. Somalia, with which Israel does not have diplomatic nations, has slammed the move. The African Union on Tuesday called for Israel to walk back its recognition, saying the move “represents an unacceptable interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign Member State of the United Nations.” 

But even as Israel faces diplomatic pushback even from allied African nations, it has created an opening for Somaliland to press its case internationally. 

The region was a separate entity from Somalia beginning in the 19th century, when it was controlled by the British — in contrast to present-day Somalia, which was previously ruled by Italy. Today Somaliland is home to 6 million people, and it has held democratic elections throughout the past two decades. 

Washington has not recognized Somaliland, and a State Department spokesperson told Jewish Insider on Tuesday that no such announcement is forthcoming. 

“The United States continues to recognize the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Somalia, which includes the territory of Somaliland,” the spokesperson said. 

But at an emergency United Nations Security Council hearing last week, Tammy Bruce, the U.S. deputy representative to the U.N., defended Israel’s right to conduct diplomacy, and she called out the body’s “persistent double standards” in treating the recognition of Somaliland as different from states that have unilaterally recognized a Palestinian state.

“The Americans are engaging with the country. How quickly they move to recognize Somaliland, I don’t know,” said Max Webb, a Horn of Africa expert who works at Israel Policy Forum. “Somaliland has been a fixture of Republican politics.” 

“Israel has the same right to conduct diplomatic relations as any other sovereign state,” said Bruce. “Earlier this year, several countries including members of this council made the unilateral decision to recognize a non-existent Palestinian state, and yet no emergency meeting was called to express this council’s outrage.” 

Even though Washington does not recognize Somaliland, the region has a small diplomatic mission in the United States. In December, the top U.S. military official overseeing the Africa Command visited Somaliland and met with Abdullahi, its president.

“The Americans are engaging with the country. How quickly they move to recognize Somaliland, I don’t know,” said Max Webb, a Horn of Africa expert who works at Israel Policy Forum. “Somaliland has been a fixture of Republican politics.” 

The conservative Heritage Foundation first called for U.S. recognition of Somaliland in 2021. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) threw his support behind recognition last August, and he said in a post on X on Monday that Somaliland recognition “aligns with America’s security interests.” President Donald Trump told The New York Post in December that he wasn’t yet ready to recognize Somaliland but that he will “study” the issue. “Does anyone know what Somaliland is, really?” Trump said.

Taiwan, which is not a United Nations member state, has a representative office in Somaliland, but it has not formally recognized Somaliland as an independent state. A handful of regional powerhouses, including Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates, also have strong economic relationships with Somaliland. They have yet to establish full diplomatic ties, although Somaliland and Ethiopia — the second most populous nation in Africa — signed a major memorandum of understanding in 2024. There are larger geopolitical factors at play: Egypt is closely aligned with Somalia, while Egypt and Ethiopia have long been at odds over an Ethiopian hydroelectric project on the Nile River. Turkey and Qatar, both of which are close to Mogadishu, condemned Israel’s actions.

Somalia is a key counterterrorism partner for the U.S., particularly as the Islamist group al-Shabab has grown and become more deadly alongside a Somali affiliate of ISIS. Some worry that U.S. recognition of Somaliland could hamper that coordination. 

“Somaliland is on the map,” said Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. “People who had never heard of Somaliland a week ago are suddenly reading up on its history and understanding its arguments.”

“I’m sure there are other countries as well beyond the U.S. that worry if they recognize Somaliland, then Somalia will have a full meltdown and will cut off counterterrorism cooperation, for instance, and then al-Shabab will make even further gains,” said Joshua Meservey, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute who has called for U.S. recognition of Somaliland. “Somalia’s dysfunction almost protects it, in a way, from Somaliland gaining wider recognition.” 

Over the past 10 days, no other states have followed Israel’s lead. But a diplomatic crisis has not emerged, at least not yet — and now, Somaliland is part of the global conversation in a serious way for the first time since it declared independence.

“Somaliland is on the map,” said Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. “People who had never heard of Somaliland a week ago are suddenly reading up on its history and understanding its arguments.”

]]> 98893 https://jewishinsider.com/2026/01/bruce-blakeman-republican-nominee-new-york-governor-antisemitism/ Tue, 06 Jan 2026 07:18:26 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=98777 ]]> Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman suddenly emerged as the presumptive Republican nominee for governor of New York in December, with Rep. Elise Stefanik’s (R-NY) unexpected exit from the race against Gov. Kathy Hochul. 

Now, with the formal endorsement of President Donald Trump, Blakeman is preparing for an uphill battle in a reliably Democratic state.

Blakeman, 70, is Jewish and said he represents the greatest number of constituents of any Jewish Republican elected official — more than 1.3 million. He vowed to protect the Jewish community statewide against antisemitism, and pledged that under his leadership, the state would step in if New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani fails to do so.

Blakeman said that he has worked with the Nassau County police to deal with disruptive anti-Israel protests, setting firm rules for demonstrators, with prompt arrests if they stepped outside of those boundaries.

“If they got off the sidewalk, they would be given one chance to get back on it or they’d be arrested,” Blakeman said. “We didn’t take any nonsense. We didn’t allow them to do the things that they got away with in New York City. And that’s the same way I would approach it as governor.”

“Nick Fuentes is, in my opinion, a nut, but a dangerous one, and he has no place in the Republican Party,” Blakeman said. “Tucker Carlson is a big blowhard who has an issue with Jewish people, and it probably emanates from his chameleon-like personality. … He’s very unprincipled and I think he has biases that probably emanated from his youth.”

Blakeman said that if Mamdani fails to enforce the law, he would dispatch state police and national guard to do so. “We will not let any community be lawless, and I will not tolerate any acts of bigotry, antisemitism or racism in a state where I’m the governor.”

Asked about voices like Tucker Carlson and neo-Nazi influencer Nick Fuentes who are working to mainstream antisemitic ideas in the Republican Party, Blakeman did not mince words in his condemnation.

“Nick Fuentes is, in my opinion, a nut, but a dangerous one, and he has no place in the Republican Party,” Blakeman said. “Tucker Carlson is a big blowhard who has an issue with Jewish people, and it probably emanates from his chameleon-like personality. … He’s very unprincipled and I think he has biases that probably emanated from his youth.”

At the same time, Blakeman argued that he sees most antisemitism in the United States coming from the left, pointing to the large-scale turn against Israel in the Democratic Party.

“We have a couple of nuts in our party, but certainly [they are the] vast minority, and in the Democratic Party, it seems to me that they have completely abandoned Israel and that they are a hotbed for antisemitic activities,” Blakeman said.

He predicted those trends will help his campaign capture a significant number of Jewish Democratic voters who “realize that the Democratic Party has become an extreme party that’s hostile to Israel and hostile to Jewish people.”

He said he feels it’s important for the Republican Party to have “a strong Jewish presence” and that he takes his responsibility in that role seriously, saying he wants to be a “role model” for other Jewish people to get involved in GOP politics.

“I am a strong supporter of Israel,” Blakeman said. “I am a Zionist and a proud Zionist.”

“It’s something that I don’t take lightly as being a leader and someone who is a Jew and in the Republican Party,” Blakeman said.

Blakeman said he’s established a strong record as an ally and supporter of Israel in Nassau County, building business ties to Israel, implementing anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions legislation and signing friendship agreements with what he called Judea and Samaria — the biblical term preferred by the Israeli government for the West Bank — and the Shomron Regional Council, a council of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

“I am a strong supporter of Israel,” Blakeman said. “I am a Zionist and a proud Zionist.”

He said he’s currently under contract to buy an apartment in Beit Shemesh, as an investment.

Asked about the role his Jewish faith has played in his time in office and public life, the Nassau County executive responded, “Everything that I do emanates from the strength that’s given to me by Hashem, by God. So I am very mindful that it’s only with God’s blessings that I have the strength to do what I’m doing.” 

“I ask for God’s blessings each and every day, and I pray every day, and I feel that having that spiritual connection with God is a very important part of my life,” he continued.

Blakeman said his campaign will focus on improving public safety, lowering prices for businesses and residents, making the state government more responsive and stopping the population flight from the state, issues he said are being driven by incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat.

He framed Nassau County, under his leadership, as a counterpoint to those trends, pointing to the county’s low taxes and strong financial position. “If we can do that on the state level, I’m  sure people will be happy. They’ll want to do business here. They want to live here, and they will flourish and prosper.”

“I want to make people happy. I want them to be proud of New York. I want them to want to raise their children and their grandchildren,” Blakeman said. 

He said that his past victories in a Democratic-leaning county provide a model for winning statewide in deep-blue New York, arguing that he’s been able to reach populations that haven’t traditionally voted Republican, including Hispanic, Latino, Asian American, women and African American voters.

Asked about Mamdani’s victory in New York City, Blakeman said that Mamdani’s focus on affordability “struck a note with a lot of voters,” but New York City Republicans “didn’t have an adequate message with respect to that issue — and I do.”

Blakeman said he wants to create jobs and make the state more prosperous, rather than providing “a free bus ride or a handout,” spurring economic development and job creation in collaboration with the business community and unions.

]]> 98777 https://jewishinsider.com/2026/01/venezuela-iran-maduro-terrorism-hezbollah-latin-america/ Sun, 04 Jan 2026 16:04:11 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=98710 ]]> The U.S.’ capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday is expected to weaken Iran’s terrorism efforts, weapons production and economic activity in Latin America, experts say.

With Vice President Delcy Rodriguez taking power — and the Trump administration expressing willingness to work with her — it remains unclear whether Maduro’s regime will largely remain intact with American supervision or if the government will ultimately be replaced by the democratic opposition, led by Nobel Peace Prize recipient Maria Corina Machado, or someone else.  

While Venezuela’s future remains unclear, Israel’s leaders applauded what they saw as a pro-American turn, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressing support for the Trump administration’s “determined decision and action of the United States to restore freedom and justice to that part of the world.”

“Across Latin America right now, we are seeing a transformation,” Netanyahu said. “Several countries are returning to the American axis and, not surprisingly, to a connection with the State of Israel. We welcome this.”

Emmanuele Ottolenghi, senior research fellow at the Center for Research on Terror Financing, told Jewish Insider that “if the regime remains in place [under Washington’s supervision], there will have to be adjustments in its regional posture and foreign policy. That means, of course, the role that nefarious foreign actors such as China, Russia, Cuba and Iran played in Venezuela will change.”

Danny Citrinowicz, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, told JI that “the Iranians turned Venezuela into a strategic hub, and now that has disappeared.”

“Iran built a very deep operative and strategic relationship with [Maduro’s predecessor Hugo] Chavez, and it uses Venezuela … as its jumping-off point for influence in Latin America,” he said.

Ottolenghi said that Maduro’s government allowed Iran to operate freely in Venezuela, which Tehran took advantage of in a variety of arenas, including propaganda, terrorism and arms manufacturing.

Tehran established a drone factory in Venezuela, in which Venezuelans produced Iranian drones, Ottolenghi said.

The recently foiled terrorist plot to assassinate Israel’s ambassador to Mexico was planned by Iranian operatives in Caracas, Ottolenghi added.

“The Iranians made Caracas the hub of all their propaganda and soft power operations in the region, including their Spanish-language 24/7 news network,” Ottolenghi said. “They established a permanent presence in Caracas for their missionary network, under the umbrella of the sanctioned Al-Mustafa International University.”

After former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visited Caracas in 2023, scientific and academic exchanges between the countries grew, and Iran was granted greater access to Venezuela’s economy.

The economic relationship with Venezuela has been important for Iran, Ottolenghi said.

“Venezuela assisted Iran in evading sanctions prior to the JCPOA [2015 Iranian nuclear deal], but since 2019-2020, when the Venezuelan economy sharply deteriorated, Iran gained the upper hand in the relationship,” he said. “Maduro essentially joined the ‘axis of resistance.’”

The country with the largest proven oil reserves in the world needed to buy refined gasoline from Iran because of “the dramatic deterioration in quality in the oil industry in Venezuela after years of cronyism, brain drain, corruption and mismanagement purging the national oil company,” Ottolenghi explained. “The Iranians stepped in to stop Venezuela from collapsing for lack of refined [oil] products, providing technicians, technology, refined gasoline shipped from Iran in exchange for gold. That gave [Iran] even more leverage inside Venezuela, including the ability to operate one of the refineries for their own needs.” 

As for Hezbollah, Citrinowicz noted that the Lebanese terrorist organization is “very important to [Iran], in that it connects the Shi’ite communities in Latin America.” 

Ottolenghi said that Hezbollah “benefitted from both the protection of the regime and the large expat community of Lebanese immigrants and their descendants … who are sympathetic to the movement and enabled them to become involved in money laundering and other financial activities … including crypto and reportedly illegal gold mining in the southeast of the country.” 

Though Hezbollah is an Iranian proxy, it has independent sources of income, including the Latin American drug trade.

Maduro’s fall “will make it hard [for Hezbollah] to keep up those ties,” Citrinowicz said.

Ottolenghi said that “traditionally, [Hezbollah] has played mainly the role of intermediary for drug cartels, providing services in logistics, distribution and financial channels to move the money in complex translational transactions.”

However, he noted that, as opposed to Tehran, Hezbollah’s operations in Latin America have not been primarily based in Venezuela, and that until recently, the terrorist group’s senior official in Latin America was based in São Paolo, Brazil. 

“Insofar as Maduro’s removal may curb Iran’s influence and its proxies in Venezuela, it does not address necessarily what Hezbollah is doing in other countries,” Ottolenghi said.

Maduro’s fall is one of “a series of blows” to Iran in recent years, Citrinowicz said, with the governments of Bolivia, Chile and Argentina turning more pro-American, and the same is likely to happen in Colombia in its upcoming presidential election.

“Iran likes working with socialist regimes that counter the West,” Citrinowicz said. “They can’t leave Latin America entirely. … They will need to work with what’s left and emphasize Cuba and Nicaragua.” 

Citrinowicz said that Iran will likely pivot its investments of time and money to Africa. 

]]> 98710 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/12/saudi-arabia-yemen-sudan-israel-uae-moderation-abraham-accords/ Wed, 31 Dec 2025 07:33:36 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=98604 ]]> Saudi Arabia is recalibrating its regional posture in ways that are challenging long-held assumptions about Riyadh’s role as a moderating force in the Middle East, as recent moves across Yemen, Sudan and the Horn of Africa expose the country’s widening rift with the United Arab Emirates and a growing alignment with Qatar and Turkey — two countries with openly hostile positions toward Israel.

The realignment has been most stark on the issue of Yemen, where Saudi Arabia led an airstrike on an Emirati shipment of vehicles on Tuesday which Riyadh claimed was intended for the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), which has consolidated power in the country’s south as Saudi-backed efforts to stabilize the war-torn nation have stalled. Hours after the strike, the Emirati government announced it would withdraw its remaining troops from the country.

The Saudis’ decision to embrace Islamist-aligned factions in Sudan, where the UAE is aligned with rival forces, has caused additional fissures with the Emiratis, putting the two U.S. allies and Gulf power players at odds. 

The Gulf states have also taken opposite sides on Somalia, with the UAE quietly supportive of Somaliland, while Saudi Arabia condemned Israel for recognizing its independence and Israel’s Channel 12 reported that the move threatened the chances of Riyadh and Jerusalem establishing diplomatic relations. 

These actions, taken together, have raised questions about Riyadh’s role as a moderating force in the region and potential partner for normalization with Israel.

“Yes, Saudi Arabia is moving away from its position of recent years,” Hussain Abdul-Hussain, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Jewish Insider on Tuesday. “Since [Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman] came to power, he promised drastic change under the banner of ‘Saudi First.’”

Abdul-Hussain said that Saudi Arabia is “abandoning its past policy and distancing itself from the UAE and the moderate capitals and getting closer to Islamist Qatar and Turkey. … How far on the scale of Islamism the Saudis decide to go remains to be seen.” 

“There have been two alliances competing in the region: A radical Islamist one led by Turkey and Qatar and allied with Iran and Pakistan and a moderate one led by Israel and UAE and allied with India, Greece and Cyprus,” Abdul-Hussain said. “While America has friends on both sides, it is clear that American national interests are served by taking the side of Israel, the UAE, India and Greece coalition against the rival axis.”

Nervana Mahmoud, a political commentator based in the U.K., told JI that while “it’s very difficult to read the strategic decisions within the kingdom because they don’t announce plans … I noticed a shift in the Saudi [posture] from mid-2024.”

Mahmoud said that the Saudi-UAE divergence has also expanded because of the Saudi’s softened stance on Qatar, something she argued reflects the kingdom’s acknowledgement of Doha’s growing influence both in the region and globally, specifically pointing to Qatar’s positive standing with the Trump administration. 

“I see the Saudis saying, ‘We cannot defeat the Islamists, but we can influence [them], using them for strategic influence,’” Nervana Mahmoud, a political commentator based in the U.K., told JI. “They think they can influence Islamists rather than be fooled by them. Before Islamists were infiltrating Saudi, now Saudi thinks [they’re] powerful enough to influence and tame them to serve strategic interests. I see that as wishful thinking.”

Saudi Arabia has improved ties with Qatar, ending a blockade on Doha in 2021 and signing a deal earlier this month to link Riyadh and Doha with a high-speed rail. 

The UAE, meanwhile, has expressed concerns over Doha’s influence in Trump’s Gaza peace plan, including its potential role in post-war Gaza, as well as Qatar’s Islamist ties. 

“I see the Saudis saying, ‘We cannot defeat the Islamists, but we can influence [them], using them for strategic influence,’” Mahmoud told JI. “They think they can influence Islamists rather than be fooled by them. Before Islamists were infiltrating Saudi, now Saudi thinks [they’re] powerful enough to influence and tame them to serve strategic interests. I see that as wishful thinking.”

Mahmoud pointed to Saudi Arabia’s engagement in Syria where Riyadh has supported efforts to rehabilitate Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and encourage engagement with the Trump administration, despite Al-Sharaa’s Islamist background. Israel, meanwhile, has taken a more suspicious view of al-Sharaa and has thus far failed to secure a security agreement with Damascus. 

Another cause for concern has been the Saudis’ reticence to engage on joining the Abraham Accords, despite publicly expressing willingness to normalize relations with Israel on condition of the establishment of a pathway to Palestinian statehood and a ceasefire in Gaza. 

“Since 9/11, and especially since MBS came to power in 2015, Saudi Arabia made enormous effort to distance itself away from Muslim Brotherhood and Islamism,” Hussain Abdul-Hussain, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies said. Now, “Saudi is getting closer to all Islamist, anti-Israel, anti-West governments, whether it’s Iran and Pakistan or Qatar and Turkey.”

Mahmoud accused Riyadh of “playing the game” on the normalization issue, saying that the kingdom had continued to signal interest in joining the Abraham Accords while “always [having] an excuse not to.”

“The excuses will never end,” Mahmoud told JI of the Saudis, adding that the kingdom was “trying to be on the good side of [President Donald] Trump.”

Riyadh’s shift away from moderate Gulf states has also been marked by diverging views on how to approach the Muslim Brotherhood. While Qatar has long sponsored the Islamist movement’s actions, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have historically taken a harsher stance against the group, proscribing it as a terrorist organization, aligned with the Trump administration’s recent moves to do the same. 

“There was a period from 2017 to 2021 where the Saudis, Emiratis and Bahrainis completely isolated Qatar because they considered the Qataris as sponsoring the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Muslim Brotherhood meant harm to the political systems in Saudi and UAE and Bahrain,” Edmun Fitton-Brown, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former British diplomat who served in Kuwait, told JI. 

Abdul-Hussain argued that there has been “some reversal” on Saudi Arabia’s reputation as a moderate actor on the brotherhood, creating a potentially concerning landscape for Israel and dampening efforts toward normalization.

“Since 9/11, and especially since MBS came to power in 2015, Saudi Arabia made enormous effort to distance itself away from Muslim Brotherhood and Islamism,” Abdul-Hussain said. Now, “Saudi is getting closer to all Islamist, anti-Israel, anti-West governments, whether it’s Iran and Pakistan or Qatar and Turkey.”

]]> 98604 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/12/israel-somaliland-recognition-qatar-houthis-yemen-trump-netanyahu/ Mon, 29 Dec 2025 12:57:12 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=98563 ]]> Israel’s recognition of Somaliland has stirred unease across parts of the Arab and Muslim world, challenging regional power dynamics as Jerusalem moves first in a strategically sensitive corner of the Horn of Africa.

Israel became the first country to recognize Somaliland on Friday, 34 years after the democratic, pro-Western state declared its independence from Somalia. The move puts Israel at odds with a number of Arab and Muslim nations including Qatar, a major power broker in Somalia and a key mediator in regional conflicts, at a time when Washington is seeking to expand the Abraham Accords and manage competing Arab interests in the Horn of Africa.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar signed a document establishing full diplomatic relations between the countries which affirms that they have shared values, strategic interests and the spirit of mutual respect that binds our peoples, and that this relationship will contribute to advancing peace, stability, and prosperity in the Horn of Africa, the Middle East and beyond.

The Prime Ministers Office described the recognition as being in the spirit of the Abraham Accords, signed at the initiative of President [Donald] Trump, and Netanyahu told Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi that he would “communicate to President Trump your willingness and desire to join the Abraham Accords.”

However, Trump has largely dismissed the idea that the U.S. would follow suit at this juncture, saying it is “under study.”

“Does anyone know what Somaliland is, really?” Trump told The New York Post.

Somalia is a member of the Arab League, joining in 1974 as the first non-Arab nation due to strong cultural, religious and historical ties. Somalia also holds a crucial geopolitical location for global trade.

Somalia has served as a proxy battleground for broader regional power struggles, with influential Middle Eastern states supporting different factions and projects.

Qatar has sought to establish itself as a dominant influence and key mediator in Somalia, supporting the central government and pouring resources into the country for over a decade.

Want another reason to back Somaliland? Qatar — the Muslim Brotherhoods biggest bankroller — backs the other side, Foundation for Defense of Democracies CEO Mark Dubowitz said.

On Saturday, the Qatari government released a statement rejecting “the announcement of mutual recognition between the Israeli occupation authorities and the Somaliland region,” and “any attempts aimed at establishing or imposing parallel entities that would undermine the unity of Somalia.” Doha also said in the statement that it would be “more appropriate” for the Jewish state to “recognize the State of Palestine.”

Qatar also released a statement with 21 Arab and Muslim countries — including Jordan, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan and the State of Palestine — stressing their unequivocal rejection of Israels recognition of the Somaliland region.

Recognizing Somaliland is also a way of positioning Israel against Qatar, as Foundation for Defense of Democracies CEO Mark Dubowitz pointed out: Want another reason to back Somaliland? Qatar — the Muslim Brotherhoods biggest bankroller — backs the other side.

An official Somaliland X account posted that Doha has no business meddling in Somalilands affairs while bankrolling Muslim Brotherhood proxies to prop up Mogadishus failed regime. Foreign powers parroting Mogadishus line can shove their hypocrisy. Our future is ours—not dictated by Qatar’s Islamist agenda.

Egypt and Turkey, both close allies of Somalia, have also condemned Israel’s recognition of Somaliland. Saudi Arabia, a country that holds a more moderate posture toward the Jewish state but has expressed reticence to establish relations with it, is reportedly less likely to normalize ties with Israel due to the recognition of Somaliland, according to Israel’s Channel 12.

The UAE, in contrast, has nurtured a close relationship with Somaliland, a factor that may have encouraged Jerusalem in its move to recognize the African state, though Abu Dhabi has not yet recognized Somaliland, Asher Lubotzky, a researcher at the Israel-Africa Relations Institute, wrote.

Saar said in a statement that relations between the two countries grew over the course of the last year, and that they will exchange ambassadors and open embassies. Israel and Somaliland also plan to cooperate in the fields of agriculture, health and technology, the Prime Ministers Office stated.

Israeli and Somaliland officials have reportedly held secret meetings over the course of the past several months. The president of Somaliland has met with Netanyahu and Sa’ar, as well as Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, and Netanyahu invited him for another visit. 

Somaliland could serve as a forward base for a range of missions, Asher Lubotzky, a researcher at the Israel-Africa Relations Institute, wrote in a paper published last month, intelligence collection and monitoring of the Houthis and their military buildup; logistical support for Yemen’s internationally recognized government in its war against the Houthis; and direct operations, from offensive actions to intercepting Houthi attacks at sea or by UAVs.

In a paper published by Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies a month before Israel recognized Somaliland, Lubotzky wrote that the African state’s security importance for Israel has become even more pronounced over the past two years.

Somaliland is strategically located for Israel, across the Gulf of Aden from parts of Yemen controlled by the Houthis, who have frequently attacked Israel over the past two years.

Somaliland could serve as a forward base for a range of missions, Lubotzky wrote, intelligence collection and monitoring of the Houthis and their military buildup; logistical support for Yemen’s internationally recognized government in its war against the Houthis; and direct operations, from offensive actions to intercepting Houthi attacks at sea or by UAVs.

The growing number of countries recognizing a Palestinian state also may have curbed Israels former reluctance to recognize secessionist states out of a concern that it could set a precedent for supporting Palestinian statehood, Lubotzky noted.

Earlier this year, reports indicated that Somaliland could be open to accepting Palestinian refugees from Gaza, as President Donald Trump expressed support for relocation from the enclave to enable reconstruction efforts. Recent reports suggest this idea has resurfaced and may factor into any emerging arrangement between Israel and Somaliland.

The European Union released a statement that it reaffirms the importance of respecting the unity, the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Somalia This is key for the peace and stability of the entire Horn of Africa region.

The African Union has declined to formally recognize Somaliland in the past, citing concerns that doing so could set a precedent for secession across the continent and trigger wider instability.

]]> 98563 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/12/jewish-hockey-zvi-hershcovich-x-account/ Fri, 26 Dec 2025 15:38:08 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=98540 ]]> Zvi Hershcovich is from Canada, which means he loves hockey. He is also a Chabad rabbi, so helping Jews connect to their faith is his sacred mission.

Helping a Jewish hockey player wrap tefillin? Life goal achieved.

Yet that wasn’t what Hershcovich expected to happen when he created the X account @JewishHockey, where he posts clips of Jewish hockey players at all levels — National Hockey League superstars, minor league up-and-comers, college athletes — scoring goals and generally looking cool on the ice, usually accompanied by a deeply Jewish caption.

“On the last night of Chanukah, Zach Hyman spins the Dreidel on a backhand and wins the chocolate coins,” one post from @JewishHockey stated on Monday, with a clip showing Edmonton Oilers left winger and Jewish day school graduate Zach Hyman scoring a goal against the Vegas Golden Knights. (The Oilers won 4-3.)

A day earlier, @JewishHockey spotlighted a goal by Vancouver Canucks center Max Sasson against the Boston Bruins in a game Vancouver won in a shootout. “With seconds left to the period, Max Sasson shakes off his defenseman like powder sugar on a Sufganiya, and buries it like a defiled altar found by the Maccabees,” the post read.

With 3,900 followers, the nearly two-year-old account doesn’t have a huge audience. But it does have a cult following. That’s where the story with the tefillin comes in.

“People reach out all the time with different things, and Ive made some connections with many hockey players,” Hershcovich told Jewish Insider in an interview on Tuesday. “Some of them have been very Chabad-centric, where Ill connect with someone online or in person. Just last week, I helped a Jewish hockey player get a pair of tefillin.”

After the antisemitic attack at a Hanukkah celebration in Australia earlier this month, a hockey player in British Columbia was motivated to wrap tefillin but did not know where or how to do so, so he reached out to @JewishHockey. The closest Chabad rabbi was still a significant drive away, but Hershcovich, who declined to name the athlete, made the shidduch anyway. The two men connected, and FaceTimed Hershcovich to prove it.

“Then I decided, I shot my shot. I said, ‘Hey, listen, would you be interested in wearing tefillin every day if you had your own pair?’” Hershcovich recalled. “He said sure. He gave his word. So I threw it out there on Twitter, and someone who asked to remain anonymous wrote back and said, ‘Ill sponsor the pair.’”

The hockey account is a bright spot on X, where antisemitism and harassment have grown worse in recent years.

“Twitter [X] has become a bit of a cesspool thanks to the propaganda of the enemies of the Jews,” Hershcovich said. “Even on posts that I post, youll get a lot of hate, but there definitely has been a community rising, and theres a close knit Jewish hockey community. It’s very neat to be part of it.”

Serving as the unofficial Jewish ambassador to the world of hockey is not Hershcovich’s day job (though it did lead to some freelance work for a Jewish Hockey Hall of Fame being developed in Toronto). His career looks like many other Chabad rabbis. He spenta short stint as a Chabad emissary in Russia more than a decade ago. Now he teaches at a Chabad day school in Philadelphia, creates animated programming for religious children and works on programming for Jewish college students.

The son of two ba’al teshuva Jews — people who were raised secular but chose in adulthood to become observant — Hershcovich, 43, first connected to hockey through his grandfather, with whom he often watched Montreal Canadiens games.

“There was Mathieu Schneider on the Canadiens, and he was my grandfathers pride and joy, that the Canadiens had a Jewish hockey player on the team. So that might be where it started,” Hershcovich said, referring to the hockey Hall of Famer who won a Stanley Cup in 1993.

Basketball was Hershcovich’s main sport as a child, until he took up hockey at a Chabad camp. Later, his parents subscribed to the Jewish Press and he remembered an article about a Jewish hockey prospect. So he started keeping an eye on the hockey news for Jewish players after seeing how excited that story made his grandfather.

“I thought I was the only weirdo doing this for many years, following specifically Jewish hockey players,” Hershcovich said. He still plays hockey every Saturday night after Shabbat, and participates in an annual Jewish hockey tournament in Pennsylvania that draws hundreds of athletes and benefits Rofeh Cholim Cancer Society, which supports cancer patients and their families.



@JewishHockey account creator Zvi Hershcovich after his team won their division in last years Rofeh Cholim Cancer Society Classic, a Jewish benefit tournament in Pennsylvania. In 2022, as a passion project, Hershcovich drafted a pseudo “Team Israel” for hockey — a fantasy roster of Jewish players from around the world who might join an Israeli team, inspired by the fact that 20 of the 24 players on the Israeli baseball team at the 2020 summer Olympics were American Jews.

“I had some fun with that, and that led to more fans, more Jewish hockey fans, discovering there was a larger group. So I opened up a Twitter account and started posting highlights of Jewish hockey players, and things kind of blew up from there,” said Hershcovich. “Its become part of my daily routine. I wake up in the morning, I just breeze through a couple of Google Alerts, and I go through elite prospects, my bookmarked players. It gives you an update over who scored and some basic statistics from the previous night. I’ll look through it. If I see some highlights, Ill share them. This has been going on as theres been a huge explosion in the Jewish hockey world.”

Jewish hockey fans have been delighted to see more and more Jewish players on the ice in the NHL in recent years. Hershcovich thinks a “golden age” of Jewish hockey is on the horizon. He has watched with excitement the rise of Zeev Buium, the American son of Israeli immigrants, who was the 12th overall pick in the 2024 NHL draft, now playing for the Canucks. Among younger prospects, there are even more Jewish players.

“The rise of Jewish hockey is incredible. And following along with the youth, theres incredible talent coming to the NHL. This might be just the start of the golden age of hockey,” said Hershcovich.

There is perhaps no better time to witness the dawn of that golden age than the holidays, when team Jewish heritage nights take place across the month of December.

“This Chanukah, Jewish players are no longer anomalies in the NHL … they’re central to the game,” Dan Brosgol, the executive director of Temple Shir Tikva in Wayland, Mass., wrote in a blog post this month after seeing Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman at TD Garden.

Throughout Hanukkah, hockey teams throughout the league host Jewish heritage nights to bring more Jewish fans and families to the games. These programs often feature public menorah lightings and special giveaways. @JewishHockey, of course, posts about all of them.

The Florida Panthers had Hebrew-language jerseys. The Pittsburgh Penguins gave out special jerseys showing the team’s mascot underneath Hanukkah candles, with Stars of David scattered across the design. People who purchased a special ticket for the Philadelphia Flyers’ Jewish heritage night received a Flyers-themed menorah, complete with a puck and a hockey stick.

“Hanukkah seems to have that Christmas feel of the snow and all that, that winter vibe, and therefore to have it with ice hockey really makes sense,” said Hershcovich. “Recently, the teams have been trying to somewhat outdo each other with different shtick.”

One of the most creative celebrations of Jewish heritage will come in March, when the minor league Tulsa Oilers will host the team’s first ever “Jewish Heritage Game” —and the athletes will take to the ice in specially designed blue-and-white jerseys that say “Jewish Heritage Game” and feature the Oilers’ logo on top of a star of David.

“Thats something that hopefully will get imitated as well. That would bring a tremendous surge of pride,” said Hershcovich.

He’ll be tweeting about it.

]]> 98540 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/12/roman-gofman-netanyahu-mossad-israel-military-secretary/ Tue, 23 Dec 2025 10:35:48 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=98455 ]]> Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement earlier this month that his military secretary, Maj.-Gen. Roman Gofman, would become head of the Mossad, came as a surprise to the public, as journalists and experts had been confident that current Mossad chief David Barnea’s deputy, known only as “A,” had the job in all but name.

However, for those who know Gofman, his time in the IDF and his working relationship with Netanyahu, as well as the prime minister’s post-Oct. 7 predilection for bringing in outside candidates to take over defense institutions, Gofman was a natural choice.

Netanyahu appeared on Sunday before the committee that will determine whether Gofman’s appointment is finalized, and IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and Gofman himself are expected to speak to the committee this week. Should the committee approve Gofman, he will enter the role in June.

Gofman has a limited public profile as Netanyahu’s senior military advisor. But in Israel, his face is fairly familiar, as he can be seen walking behind Netanyahu into the Oval Office and other high-level meetings, even as military secretaries don’t make public statements. 

Gofman, 49, was born in Belarus, then part of the Soviet Union, and immigrated to Israel with his family at the age of 14. He was bullied in school and took up boxing to fight back, becoming the second-ranked young boxer in Israel in his weight category. He enlisted in the IDF Armored Corps in 1995 and has been in the military ever since, rising to the rank of Aluf, or major general. 

In October 2022, Gofman was appointed commander of the National Center for Ground Training. A year later, when Hamas invaded southern Israel, Gofman drove from his home in Ashdod towards the Gaza border, without a bulletproof vest or a helmet. He took on Hamas terrorists at the Sha’ar HaNegev Junction, killing two and sustaining a severe wound to his knee, after which he found Israeli police officers nearby who took him to the hospital. In his first public remarks after the battle, he said: “We failed. … Now we’ll go forward and kill them all.” 

Netanyahu chose Gofman as his military secretary in 2024, and he became one of the prime minister’s closest and most trusted advisors. As such, Gofman was a central figure in Israel’s decision to work with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to distribute food to civilians in Gaza, among other high-level moves. 

Netanyahu has sent Gofman on multiple trips to Moscow for discussions on security matters, following the fall of former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, and Gofman is said to have played a key role in shaping Israel’s policies relating to Syria since then. 

Maj.-Gen. (res.) Gershon Hacohen, who knows Gofman well from their years in the IDF, told Jewish Insider that “Gofman did what no military secretary has done in history. … Thanks to Roman, [Netanyahu] made significant decisions in running the war and … circumvent[ed] a system that sometimes leaves out the prime minister.”

Gofman, Hacohen said, “has strategic vision. Syria came as a surprise, and he had a decisive role in the decision [for the IDF] to go in.”

Hacohen said that Gofman’s background, as an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, is an advantage: “He knows that America is not the whole world and there are other forces we need to talk to and understand in depth.” 

Several of Gofman’s current and former colleagues spoke to JI about the new appointee on condition of anonymity. They painted a picture of a passionate Israeli patriot who is well-read and informed on military history and international affairs, while being pragmatic and able to translate that knowledge into an operational approach. They said that Gofman is creative and takes initiative, but is also a good listener, who is willing to accept criticism and alternatives to his own ideas.

In the prime minister’s announcement of Gofman’s appointment as head of the Mossad, Netanyahu called him “an officer of great merit,” and praised his “significant involvement in the seven theaters of the war,” – meaning Gaza, Lebanon, the West Bank, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Iran – as well as his work with all intelligence and security services, including the Mossad.

“Maj.-Gen. Gofman has demonstrated creativity, initiative, stratagem, deep recognition of the enemy, absolute discretion, and the safeguarding of secrets,” the statement from the Prime Minister’s Office reads. “These qualities, as well as his leadership and courage, were evident at the outbreak of the War of Redemption, when he rushed from his home and fought in person against Hamas terrorists in the Western Negev, where he was severely wounded.”

Following the announcement, critics of Netanyahu — mostly in the media, not in the Knesset — made the argument that Gofman does not have the experience in intelligence to head the Mossad. 

Prominent left-wing activist and pundit Yariv Oppenheimer, a former leader of Peace Now, was one of many who argued that Gofman’s close relationship with Netanyahu made him suspect.

“I don’t know this general … but I care about the big picture, which is that Netanyahu is treating this country like it’s his personal property. He wants a Mossad chief who is loyal to him before the country,” Oppenheimer said on a panel on Israeli public broadcaster Kan. “This is an unnatural appointment, and when something is not natural, it raises questions.” 

Hacohen rejected the argument that Gofman is “loyal to the king and not the kingdom. It’s nonsense, because the king is the kingdom. They go together.” 

Historically, some of the Mossad’s best-known leaders came from outside the organization, including Meir Amit, Zvi Zamir and Meir Dagan, the latter of whom not only came from outside the Mossad, but was a leading figure in former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s 2001 election campaign. Hacohen noted that the “the best intelligence agency in the world, the MI6,” also often has leaders recruited from outside the organization.

Hacohen also argued that Gofman learned “unique and significant” things about Israel’s broader security picture as Netanyahu’s military secretary, including the role of the Mossad, and that the job of the head of the Mossad is to “connect people with micro-experience, while seeing the macro.” 

Sources who worked with Gofman have cited his creativity and his willingness to stand up to his superiors and against conventional wisdom. Hacohen said that Gofman “challenged the system everywhere he went. … He had the ambition and desire to ask questions and do better.”

In 2019, Gofman argued for greater deployment of IDF ground forces in sensitive arenas, which, six years later, was one of the conclusions the IDF drew following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel. His remarks were made at a conference of IDF officers with departing Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, now a Knesset member. In footage of his remarks, Herzi Halevi and Aharon Haliva, who served as IDF chief of staff and head of intelligence, respectively, on Oct. 7, can be seen in the audience.

“We are ready to fight, but there is one problem,” Gofman said at the time. “You are not using us. Over time a very problematic pattern has developed, which is essentially the avoidance of using ground forces. And still, in the current reality, we have a lot to offer in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Syria … Time after time, [the IDF tells] people we have more relevant tools [than ground troops].” 

Gofman’s critics also cite an incident from his time as commander of the IDF’s 210th “Bashan” Division, which is responsible for the front with Syria, that may be especially relevant in his new position as head of the Mossad, as it pertains to his treatment of spies.

Gofman authorized intelligence officers under his command to enlist then-17-year-old Ori Elmakayes, who was fluent in Arabic and ran a Telegram channel and other social media pages with news about the Arab world. The intelligence officers sent him classified information to publish online in an attempted influence operation, even though Gofman and the Bashan Division were not authorized to engage in psychological warfare.

Elmakayes was arrested by Israeli authorities in 2022 for publishing classified information and jailed for nearly two years, after which the indictment was dropped when the investigation found that the intelligence officers were working with Gofman’s approval. 

After Gofman’s appointment as head of the Mossad was announced, Elmakayes posted on X that “Gofman abandoned me after initiating an operation in which I was used … Following his abandonment, I was falsely imprisoned … After he used me and ruined my life, Roman Gofman had no problem distancing himself from me despite knowing what I experienced. Such a person cannot be the head of the Mossad. If he abandoned me, what will stop him from abandoning Mossad agents if God forbid they get in trouble in different operations?” 

The same year that he launched the influence operation with Elmakayes, Gofman wrote a paper for an IDF journal stating that commanders can act beyond their formal authority to enact the will of policymakers, citing the work of the contemporary Marxist philosopher Slavoj Žižek. 

Another controversial paper by Gofman came to light after he was appointed Mossad chief: In 2019, he suggested in a paper for the IDF-run Israel National Defense College — where he received a master’s degree in political science and national security in cooperation with Haifa University — that, should Iran get too close to developing nuclear weapons, Israel should threaten to sell nuclear weapons to neighboring countries, such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, to balance the region.

Gofman leads an outwardly secular lifestyle, but after growing up in the Soviet Union, he sought an education in Judaism and Zionism as an adult.

Gofman told Ynet military reporter Yossi Yehoshua that when he was in the IDF officers’ course, Gofman realized he did not know Israel’s national anthem, “Hatikva,” by heart. “I started to feel like I had no depth in the Zionist, Israeli subject, that there are a lot of things the soldiers could ask and I won’t know how to explain. … It shook me. I was going to be an IDF officer and I was missing so much. I was carrying this vacuum since my aliyah.” 

During his undergraduate studies, Gofman also began studying at the Bnei David Pre-Military Academy in Eli, the flagship religious-Zionist institution, for a year of Torah study between completing high school and starting IDF service, many of whose alumni have climbed the IDF ranks. 

“They accepted me as I was, without a kippah,” Gofman recalled. “I built a curriculum and came to study one day a week about Zionism, Israel, history, to explain to myself, first and foremost, who I am and what I am.”

“Only then did I suddenly feel that I have two feet on the ground, but a head in the sky. I know how to explain the Zionist idea,” he said.

A former colleague of Gofman said that he is “very well-connected to his roots, because he went through a personal process to connect to them. He knows how to make war, but he also knows what it’s for, the deeper ideology behind it.” 

“To fight for Israel,” Hacohen said of Gofman’s search for meaning in his Judaism, “you need faith. We, in the Land of Israel, have many struggles. If those who came from the former Soviet Union were looking for a safe place, why would they come here? This is not just a place for fun or safety, it’s for the liberation of the Jewish people.”

]]> 98455 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/12/trump-syria-assad-isis-attack-al-sharaa-sanctions-damascus/ Tue, 23 Dec 2025 09:15:23 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=98434 ]]> Following the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, President Donald Trump has taken an unusually open approach toward Damascus, seeking to usher in a new era of stability and regional integration. But that strategy is beginning to face significant tests from jihadist elements embedded within Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s own military ranks.

In his second term, Trump has made unprecedented moves to normalize relations with Damascus and promote a new political order in Syria following the fall of the Assad regime last year. During a Middle East visit in May, Trump became the first American president in 25 years to meet with a Syrian leader and announced the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Syria that had been in place for more than a decade. On Nov. 10, Trump hosted al-Sharaa at the White House in a historic visit, during which Syria formally joined the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition. The administration has also sought to broker a security agreement between Syria and Israel.

Despite those efforts, experts warn that Trump’s push for stabilization is increasingly being challenged by the incorporation of jihadist-aligned figures into Syria’s emerging military and security apparatus.

“What my colleagues and I have been warning this entire year is that al-Sharaa was putting his jihadist allies into the new Syrian military without apparent measures to prevent bad things from happening,” said David Adesnik, vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, who added that those with jihadist beliefs were integrated in “large groups.”

Those concerns were underscored earlier this month, when two U.S. soldiers and one civilian contractor were killed in Syria in an attack claimed by the Islamic State (ISIS) — the first U.S. casualties in the country since Assad’s fall in December 2024. Reports indicated the assailant was a lone gunman who had previously served in Syria’s Internal Security service and had extremist leanings.  

“The ISIS attack that killed U.S. service members and a civilian should be a wakeup call that the terrorist group is still a threat, and will seize opportunities to reconstitute,” said Dana Stroul, director of research at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “So far, the Trump team has tested al-Sharaa’s forces by asking them to go after ISIS threats and the record is fairly positive. But the ‘Defeat ISIS mission’ is not complete.”

While ISIS remains active in parts of Syria — particularly in the country’s northeast, where U.S. forces have long maintained a presence — some experts told Jewish Insider that jihadist figures aligned with al-Sharaa in the new Syrian military are the more immediate challenge to stabilization efforts.

John Hannah, a senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, said al-Sharaa’s decision to formally align with the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition has not only provoked ISIS, but also energized jihadist elements within Syria’s ranks.

“ISIS has been relatively quiet since the collapse of the Assad regime. That’s clearly changed over the past couple of months,” Hannah said. “That decision to sign on with a posse led by the Americans against fellow Muslims served as a major provocation — not just to ISIS, but to the broader jihadist community, including fighters now inside Syria’s new formal security structures.”

“There have been deep feuds among jihadis, and al-Sharaa was on one side in a feud against the Islamic State,” said David Adesnik, vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “Al-Sharaa is also invested very heavily in a better relationship with the United States. The last thing he needs is a guy in his own ranks killing Americans and potentially throwing all of this off.”

In a Truth Social post, Trump vowed “very serious retaliation” to the attack, writing that the Syrian president “is extremely angry and disturbed by this attack.” The U.S. conducted strikes on multiple ISIS targets in Syria last Friday.

Adesnik said Trump’s comments likely accurately “represent al-Sharaa’s views,” noting that ISIS has long been a rival to al-Sharaa within the jihadist ecosystem.

“There have been deep feuds among jihadis, and al-Sharaa was on one side in a feud against the Islamic State,” Adesnik said. “Al-Sharaa is also invested very heavily in a better relationship with the United States. The last thing he needs is a guy in his own ranks killing Americans and potentially throwing all of this off.”

Days after the attack, Trump signed an executive order barring Syrian nationals from entering the United States. The order “adds full restrictions and entry limitations” on Syria “based on recent analysis.”

Stroul said that while this is “not a significant change in U.S. policy toward Syria,” it will be “received poorly by Syrians.”

“On a positive note, the EO clearly acknowledged the work of the one-year-old government in Damascus to address its security challenges, in coordination with the U.S.,” said Stroul. “This suggests that once the U.S. has confidence in the security procedures of Damascus, it could reverse this decision.”

But signs of ideological extremism within Syria’s new military have continued to surface. Shortly before the attack, video surfaced of what appeared to be a group of Syrian army soldiers chanting a jihadist declaration of war against Israel during a military parade in Damascus.

“It should have been obvious quite a while back that there were large groups within the Syrian military that had precisely this belief,” Adesnik said. “It goes back to the fact that [Syria’s new leadership] has integrated a large number of al-Sharaa’s jihadi forces, or aligned jihadi forces, into the military. Being deeply anti-Israel to the point of supporting Hamas is sort of par for the course if you’re a jihadist.”

Adesnik added that such views are consistent with al-Sharaa’s past rhetoric on Israel. Pro-Israel critics of al-Sharaa have pointed to the Syrian leader’s past ties to Al-Qaida, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization and group he joined following the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. While operating for the group as a foot soldier, al-Sharaa was captured by U.S. military forces and imprisoned. He later founded one of the terror group’s Syrian branches.

U.S. officials have played down concerns about Syrian intentions toward Israel. Tom Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria, told reporters last week that Damascus is not interested in aggression against the Jewish state. But Israeli officials have taken a more pessimistic view, with Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli writing on X that war with Syria is “inevitable.”

“The SDF have been America’s most reliable and effective partner in fighting ISIS for more than a decade,” John Hannah, a senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, said. “The logic of incorporating those SDF units wholesale into al-Sharaa’s army and then unleashing them with U.S. backing on the ungoverned spaces of Syria’s central desert where ISIS has found real sanctuary is compelling.”

The White House has aimed to broker a security agreement between Damascus and Jerusalem, in which the Jewish state would relinquish territory it holds within Syria. However, Israel has differed on this approach due to security concerns and a deep distrust of the leadership in Damascus. The two sides reportedly remain far apart on any potential agreement. 

The U.S. currently maintains roughly 1,000 troops in Syria, supported by U.S. air power, and continues to work with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a longtime American partner that has played a central role in combating ISIS. Hannah argued that integrating the SDF into Syria’s new security structures could help counteract jihadist and ISIS influence in the country.

“The SDF have been America’s most reliable and effective partner in fighting ISIS for more than a decade,” Hannah said. “The logic of incorporating those SDF units wholesale into al-Sharaa’s army and then unleashing them with U.S. backing on the ungoverned spaces of Syria’s central desert where ISIS has found real sanctuary is compelling.”

Adesnik echoed that view, calling SDF integration “definitely a good idea,” while cautioning that progress is likely to be slow.

“There was an interim agreement in March, but the odds of that happening in the next few weeks are very low,” Adesnik said. “As long as it doesn’t go completely off the rails, they’ll probably kick the can down the road.”

Despite the challenges to stabilization, Stroul said that U.S. policy toward Syria will likely “remain consistent,” and that she expects the Trump administration to continue embracing the new government in Damascus and al-Sharaa’s leadership. 

“President Trump is about to sign into law the bipartisan NDAA which lifts the sweeping Caesar sanctions against Syria — this was requested by the Trump team and the al-Sharaa government to Congress,” said Stroul. “This is a critical step in sanctions relief that will allow foreign investment to flow into Syria without fear of U.S. punitive action, and is a major signal of support for the post-Assad Syria.”

]]> 98434 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/12/pentagon-shift-resources-middle-east-iran-russia-china-israel/ Tue, 23 Dec 2025 08:56:56 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=98439 ]]> Senior Pentagon officials are reportedly weighing a sweeping proposal to reorganize the U.S. military that would shift authorities and resources away from the Middle East, a move experts warn could undermine U.S.-Israel security cooperation and destabilize the region.

The plan, driven by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, would reduce the number of U.S. combatant commands from 11 to eight, cut the number of four-star generals and consolidate regional commands into broader organizations. Most notably, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) — which oversees the Middle East and parts of South Asia — would be placed under a newly created U.S. International Command.

CENTCOM has long served as the backbone of U.S. military operations in the Middle East, overseeing operations ranging from efforts to stabilize Gaza to the recent U.S. strikes in Syria and June strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. 

In January 2021, Israel was moved into CENTCOM’s area of responsibility, placing the Jewish state within a U.S.-led regional framework aimed at countering Iran and deepening military integration with Arab partners. Senior commanders have maintained frequent engagement with Israeli defense officials on regional threats, including this past weekend, when reports indicated that Israeli officials notified the head of U.S. Central Command that an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps missile exercise could signal preparations for a strike on Israel. 

But despite looming threats in the region, the Trump administration’s strategy would shift military focus and resources toward the Western Hemisphere.

“The reported shift in U.S. combatant command organization reflects the Trump administration’s priorities as laid out in the 2025 National Security Strategy,” said Alexander Gray, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. “With the administration’s focus on the Indo-Pacific and the Western Hemisphere, it is fitting that it would similarly align combatant commands to reflect its priorities: While Africa, Europe, and Central Command could be combined, Indo-Pacific Command and Southern Command would remain standalone, reflecting the NSS’ regions of focus.”

Gray said that despite a potential reorganization, U.S. defense cooperation with Israel is “unlikely to be impacted,” noting that the structure places an emphasis on “bilateral relationships most essential to U.S. interests,” which he says would benefit Israel. 

However, other experts warned that dismantling or downgrading CENTCOM will not only impact U.S. interests and alignment with Israel in the region, but risks unraveling years of progress.

“Significantly downsizing resources and personnel from the region in an effort to withdraw from the Middle East is only going to cause problems down the road,” said Michael Koplow, chief policy officer at the Israel Policy Forum. “Ensuring that the Middle East builds upon the integration stemming from the Abraham Accords and efforts to realize initiatives requires a focused and well-helmed regional command.”

“If the reorganization happens, it will have detrimental effects on Israel and the wider region,” said Michael Koplow, chief policy officer at the Israel Policy Forum. “The Middle East presents unique challenges stemming from Iranian efforts to upend the regional order and the importance of protecting sea lanes and trade routes. Treating the region as one component of a larger command risks harming U.S. goals.”

Koplow warned that such a move would mean “less high-level interaction with regional partners” which would put cooperation between the U.S. and Israel “at risk.” He also cautioned that a U.S. exit would provide “an opening to Iran, or China, capitalizing on the vacuum” in the Middle East. 

“Significantly downsizing resources and personnel from the region in an effort to withdraw from the Middle East is only going to cause problems down the road,” said Koplow. “Ensuring that the Middle East builds upon the integration stemming from the Abraham Accords and efforts to realize initiatives requires a focused and well-helmed regional command.”

Blaise Misztal, vice president for policy at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, echoed these concerns, saying that such a plan would have reverberations beyond shared cooperation. He noted that CENTCOM plays an important role in leveraging regional partnerships and putting together a defensive coalition of Middle Eastern countries — key to countering Iranian aggression.

“If we assume that the proposals go into effect, and we get rid of CENTCOM, or subsume it into some sort of larger combating command, it’s entirely feasible that a lot of those benefits will be lost, and a lot of the progress that has been made over the past five years will be reversed,” said Misztal, referring to the timeframe in which Israel joined CENTCOM’s area of responsibility. 

Misztal raised concerns about the proposal’s objective to decrease the number of four-star generals and admirals who report directly to Hegseth, which would see CENTCOM’s command status downgraded and remove its four-star authority. 

“Whoever would be responsible for the Middle East would no longer be a four-star general. A lot of what has been accomplished by CENTCOM has been accomplished by the fact that it is commanded by a four-star general,” Misztal said, noting that such leaders bring prestige and influence into the region. “If you do not have a four-star [general] in charge of a combat and command with the resources and authorities that come along with that, even if you have the same level of coordination and cooperation, they might not be able to allocate the resources that would be needed to achieve those same policy objectives.” 

Misztal added that such a move would also “take away the perception of the U.S. caring about the Middle East,” which he said would hurt U.S. posture in the region and benefit Iran.

“A lot of the U.S.-Israel relationship is being managed personally between President [Donald] Trump and Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu, or by [White House Special Envoy] Steve Witkoff or Jared Kushner, and presumably that part of the relationship would not change, regardless of what happens on the security side,” said Blaise Misztal, vice president for policy at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America. “But affecting policies where it comes to bringing U.S. military power to bear might be more challenging.”

“When [Arab partners] perceive that there’s a flagging of U.S. interest or involvement in the region, they turn away, they strike deals with Iran, they reach out to Russia or China, or make their own security arrangements,” said Misztal. “It sets in motion the possibility for a lot of our partners to walk away from the cooperative security arrangements that have been built both with the United States and with Israel.”

Experts emphasized that any proposed change to CENTCOM would not necessarily signal a shift in U.S. policy toward Israel. However, Misztal said it could become more difficult for the U.S. to execute military policy in the region and provide the same level of support moving forward.  

“A lot of the U.S.-Israel relationship is being managed personally between President [Donald] Trump and Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu, or by [White House Special Envoy] Steve Witkoff or Jared Kushner, and presumably that part of the relationship would not change, regardless of what happens on the security side,” said Misztal. “But affecting policies where it comes to bringing U.S. military power to bear might be more challenging.”

Specifics of the proposal remain limited and few details have been shared with Congress, according to reports. The changes would require approval from both Hegseth and Trump. In the event the plan were to move forward, Misztal said he could envision a scenario in which a smaller Middle East-focused structure remains within a broader command.

“Without more detail as to what is being planned, it’s hard to know entirely what will happen,” said Misztal. “It is possible that in some new combatant command there will remain a sub-command that is focused on the Middle East, that can continue to try to focus on the threats, like we’ve seen with ISIS and Syria over the past week, or focus on Iran more broadly, or continued cooperation with Israel on ceasefires in Lebanon and Gaza.” 

]]> 98439 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/12/ted-deutch-american-jewish-committee-jewish-organizations-security/ Mon, 22 Dec 2025 10:19:43 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=98315 ]]> Following the terrorist attack at a Sydney, Australia, Hanukkah event in which 15 people were killed, American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch said that it is critical for Jewish communal organizations to join together around a campaign to protect the Jewish community worldwide and win over allies in that fight.

“The community organizations need to come together around an immediate effort to respond to Bondi Beach. This is urgent for us,” Deutch said. Even if various groups have different approaches to their work, “we’ve got to show the Jewish world” and the philanthropists who back them “that we can actually work together, all of us, in ways that will protect the Jewish community in response to what happened at Bondi Beach.”

He said all Jewish community organizations need to come together on “one campaign right now that seeks to help secure the Jewish community, to help the world better understand the Jewish community, to enlist allies in this fight, and to help everyone understand why fighting antisemitism is not just the right thing to do, but it is in everyone’s self interest, because our society will be strengthened as a result.”

And he said that the Jewish community needs to stand its ground and be clear that it has the right and expectation to have its concerns and security “treated as seriously as other communities” and the “expectation that when we’re at risk, there will be action, rather than asking that everyone please consider our plight.”

“We are a proud community that has experienced challenges for thousands of years. We’re not going anywhere. If you’re not going to take this seriously, then we’re going to keep ramping up the pressure until you do,” Deutch said. “We can’t just go from one of these tragedies to the next. At other moments in American history with rising antisemitism, the community came together in ways that forced policymakers to acknowledge what we’re going through. This is one of those moments.”

He said he’s begun reaching out to colleagues on the subject.

Deutch said that he sees a level of unified horror, “passion” and “resolve” following the Bondi Beach attack akin to that he saw after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, and said that the community and organizational leadership need to build on that.

He said it’s critical to make clear to non-Jews that the fear and horror they felt at the footage of the Sydney shooting is “what we think about every single day as a community” and whenever Jews gather together.

Asked how those efforts will be more successful and more durable than similar calls seen repeatedly since Oct. 7, Deutch responded, “because we have to.”

“One coordinated campaign … isn’t going to solve the thousands of years of antisemitism but it will help us in this moment and it will show that the Jewish community can actually work together on one effort in a meaningful way, which is what members of the Jewish community everywhere in America are desperate to see,” Deutch continued.

The AJC CEO said that lawmakers and leaders have a responsibility to mind their rhetoric, emphasizing that the Bondi attack has shown “yet again” that rhetoric can prompt violence against the Jewish community.

“The need for them to ratchet down the rhetoric, to focus on the dangers that spreading antisemitism and polarization is having on society, is something that they can do without passing legislation. That needs to be an ongoing topic of conversation,” Deutch said. “They need to lead by example.”

Deutch, a former Democratic member of Congress, said that antisemitic actors on both sides of the political aisle have “not been marginalized” in the way that they should be. He said he’d “like to see more from leaders across politics and throughout the country and in every part of our society.”

Calls to “globalize the intifada” and “casual accusations of genocide” lead people to “taking action against anyone they think is responsible,” Deutch said, pointing to the Capital Jewish Museum attack in which two Israeli Embassy staffers were killed outside an AJC event in Washington, perpetrated by an alleged shooter who witnesses said shouted that he had carried out the shooting in the name of Gaza and freeing Palestine.

“What the leaders need to understand in Australia and around the world is, this has always been about terrorism,” Deutch said. “It’s terrorism against the Jewish community. These are attacks against the Jewish community to terrorize us, to put us at risk. The motives have been clear throughout.”

Referencing comments from Democratic Party Chair Ken Martin calling the party a “big tent,” Deutch said that “both parties may claim to be big tents” but have the ability to decide “who’s in the tent and who’s outside of the tent.” He said that anyone targeting Jews should be excluded, regardless of which side they’re on.

Deutch praised Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) as a particularly powerful voice standing up to the “horrific” antisemitic conspiracy theories spread by far-right voices like Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens and Nick Fuentes, calling him a “model” for other leaders.

“There has to be an acknowledgement in both parties that there will be no place for that, for those kinds of voices,” Deutch said.

He expressed frustration with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian government’s response to the Sydney attack, which he said has ignored and de-emphasized the fact that the attack targeted Jews. 

He also highlighted Canberra’s failure to fully implement the recommendations of its own antisemitism envoy, which were presented over the summer, saying Albanese should have made such a commitment immediately after the attack.

“What the leaders need to understand in Australia and around the world is, this has always been about terrorism,” Deutch said. “It’s terrorism against the Jewish community. These are attacks against the Jewish community to terrorize us, to put us at risk. The motives have been clear throughout.”

Earlier in the year, Deutch had offered a mixed response to the administration’s efforts to combat antisemitism, particularly on college campuses. In the months since, those efforts have mostly fallen out of the headlines. But Deutch largely praised the administration’s ongoing efforts and the “serious way they’re approaching these issues.”

Of Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon’s work on antisemitism, he said, “the way that she’s approaching this fight is serious and thoughtful and aggressive and that’s the way that every part of the administration should be approaching it.”

“When protesters come and stand and march and scream outside of a synagogue, it’s clear that there’s not a question of why they’re doing this. It’s antisemitism and the idea that every, every Jew is to be held responsible for whatever ills they see in Israel,” Deutch said. “It all starts with this fundamental belief that, just as it’s true for Christians and for Muslims and for Hindus and for everyone else: Jews should not be afraid simply for gathering together.”

Deutch recently sent a letter to Dhillon urging her to investigate whether there is coordination or foreign involvement in recent synagogue attacks across the country, and to enforce applicable laws to ensure access to religious institutions.

He said that AJC is open to working with the administration and supporting legislation, if necessary, to ensure that blocking access to a religious institution is banned — even if the institution is not hosting a religious service, currently a gray area in existing law.

“When protesters come and stand and march and scream outside of a synagogue, it’s clear that there’s not a question of why they’re doing this. It’s antisemitism and the idea that every, every Jew is to be held responsible for whatever ills they see in Israel,” Deutch said. “It all starts with this fundamental belief that, just as it’s true for Christians and for Muslims and for Hindus and for everyone else: Jews should not be afraid simply for gathering together.”

Deutch said that the Department of Education has made “significant steps forward in working toward a real plan” that he hopes the administration will put into effect. And he praised Justice Department senior counsel Leo Terrell for his efforts as well.

Looking at the year in retrospect, Deutch said that it brought many unexpected developments in the foreign policy realm, especially the strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities, Israel’s strengthened geopolitical position and the return of all but one of the hostages in Gaza.

“The administration’s leadership has been significant,” Deutch said. “The president’s decision about Iran and the president’s leadership on this peace plan have given us this opportunity to think about what comes next.”

He said the administration needs to continue to squeeze Qatar and Turkey to pressure Hamas to stand down and relinquish its arms, in accordance with the next stages of the ceasefire plan. He said key administration officials also need to stay focused on moving the plan ahead.

AJC has worked for decades to cultivate ties with the Gulf and pushed for greater regional integration and normalization. Asked about how he views the prospects for Saudi-Israeli normalization, Deutch said there have been some concerning developments, but said that the U.S. and other advocates “have to stick with this.” With progress on the peace plan, he said that movement toward normalization would also be possible, he argued.

Deutch also warned that, even after the 12-day war between Israel and Iran that included U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, the Islamic Republic continues to pose a threat through its international terrorism and plots against the Jewish community, its repression of its citizens, its continued desire to destroy Israel and its global efforts to foment conflict.

“Their desire to destroy Israel has not changed as a result of the strikes,” Deutch said. “So the advice to policymakers everywhere is Iran continues to be a threat, not just to Israel, but to the Jewish community around the world and more broadly beyond that, and they have to be treated that way. That requires being vigilant, both in the military context and through using economic force.”

]]> 98315 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/12/rabbi-levi-shemtov-hanukkah-chabad-white-house-bipartisanship/ Mon, 22 Dec 2025 09:14:35 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=98296 ]]> One of Washington’s few remaining bipartisan traditions is the annual clamoring for a ticket to the White House Hanukkah party —an affair that was smaller than usual this year after the Trump administration tore down the East Wing, prompting disappointment even from some Republican allies who did not score an invite. If you’re a member of the opposing political party, forget about it.

But even as power changes hands in Washington, one person is a fixture at Republican and Democratic White House Hanukkah parties, as well as Hanukkah gatherings all across the Beltway, from the Pentagon to the Justice Department to the Capitol. That’s Rabbi Levi Shemtov, the executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad), the Washington arm of the global Chabad movement, and Washington’s unofficial menorah-lighter-in-chief.

“I was raised during the Bicentennial, and I got a very patriotic education in our day school. I felt very American, and I thought this was a strong public expression of a deep Jewish pride that I was able to enjoy,” Shemtov said during Hanukkah last week. “I come from grandfathers on both sides of my family who were arrested and imprisoned, tortured and exiled for being Jews and for practicing Judaism and for leading Jewish communities. So I wasnt going to let the freedom we are so fortunate to have here just pass without my active participation in it.”

In an interview with Jewish Insider, Shemtov reflected on the importance of spreading a Hanukkah message of light in a region where that’s often missing: the halls of power in Washington.

During Hanukkah this year Shemtov attended as many as four events in a day, shuttling between government institutions and reciting the blessings in front of dignitaries including President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Attorney General Pam Bondi. He led a bipartisan menorah lighting on Capitol Hill with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

“The menorah itself is a symbol of bipartisanship, in my opinion, because you almost always have four branches on one side, four branches on the other, and a shamash in the middle,” Shemtov reflected. “In the time of the Temple, we are told that the flames used to point towards the center from either side, and the center flame used to point towards heaven. And that was the connection of divinity with this world.”

“When we point towards the center,” Shemtov continued, “we bring more sensibility and, therefore, divinity to our existence across the board. Thats why, especially when we do this with the two leaders, the speaker and the minority leader together, I think it sends a very powerful message to whoever sees it that theres hope for togetherness, even in a time of divisiveness.”

It was Shemtov’s father, Rabbi Abraham Shemtov, who is most responsible for bringing public observances of Hanukkah to Washington. In 1979, Abraham Shemtov participated in the first National Menorah Lighting with President Jimmy Carter, a tradition that his son now leads on the Ellipse, outside the White House, each year.

But this year’s National Menorah Lighting would be different than the usual large, boisterous affair. Shemtov knew that as soon as he woke up.

“I was able to tell that it was going to be a very cold day, but that was a small problem compared to what I saw was an unprecedented vicious terrorist attack on a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia. Sydney is very close to me,” Shemtov said. His wife Nechama is from Sydney and lived down the street from Bondi Beach, where 15 people were killed on the first day of the holiday by terrorists who reportedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.

But the brutality of that day, which sent his wife’s family huddling together for safety, did not keep Shemtov from spreading the message of Hanukkah around Washington. “I think that its an important opportunity to bring a message of life, unity, warmth and positivity in a way which might otherwise not even be possible,” Shemtov said.

It’s no longer a surprise to arrive at the White House or the Naval Observatory and find kosher brisket, freshly made latkes and sufganiyot in a variety of flavors. But the White House Hanukkah party is a relatively recent invention. The first one took place in 2001, hosted by President George W. Bush. It would be a few more years before the event was certified kosher — by Rabbi Shemtov, of course. It’s a responsibility he oversees regardless of who is president.

“They say about the White House, etc., that the moment you dont feel its special to walk into these places — the White House, the Capitol, VPR [the vice president’s residence] — you should stop working there,” said Shemtov. “Access, acceptance and prominence within these hallowed and rarefied quarters of society is something our forebears can only have dreamed of in an ambitious fantasy, and here we are, able to live it. We just have to want to be proud enough to do so, and thats why, of course, its always an honor to be invited, involved, participating and particularly in helping organize such respectable recognitions of our faith.”

Shemtov’s job is to drive for hours around the Beltway, helping Jews in positions of power practice their faith proudly and publicly. This year, he made it a priority to also be home in time to light his own menorah.

“I have to have a Jewish home as well, not just a Jewish expression to the outside world. And to do that takes effort because scheduling is so crazy,” said Shemtov. “We have to remember its like an airplane. You have to put your own oxygen mask on, or else you wont be able to help anyone at all.”

]]> 98296 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/12/texas-jewish-voters-james-talarico-democratic-senate-candidate/ Mon, 22 Dec 2025 08:00:27 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=98293 ]]> Jewish leaders in Texas are growing increasingly concerned about Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico’s comments on Israel, with four members of the community telling Jewish Insider that without concerted outreach from Talarico, they’re likely to back Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) in the Democratic primary.

Their frustrations came to a head after Talarico accused Israel of war crimes in response to a general question on foreign policy at an event last week. “I will use every bit of financial and diplomatic leverage that this country has to end the atrocities in Palestine,” Talarico vowed to do if elected. “I will not use your tax dollars to fund these war crimes. I will vote to ban offensive weapons to Israel.”

He also said he’d refuse to accept support from AIPAC.

“I refuse to be complicit in the death and destruction in Gaza, and I will never use your tax dollars to support the killing in that part of the world, and it makes me sick to my stomach to see what’s happening,” Talarico said. “I hope in this campaign here in Texas we can send a crystal clear message to the rest of the country that we are done being complicit.”

The Texas state representative, who has studied to become a minister, said that the Gaza conflict “weighs on my heart as an educator, as someone who works with kids.” 

“God is screaming at all of us in Gaza, as we speak,” he said.

In response to a later question about “what it means to protect all people, rather than only Palestinian people,” Talarico said that “all people are created in the divine image … which means every person has equal worth.”

“We shouldn’t be empowering people like [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu who are waging war against civilians. And that is not a reflection on the Israeli people because many of you know that we have seen historic protests in Israel from Israelis against their government and against Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet,” Talarico continued.

Art Pronin, who leads the Meyerland Area Democrats Club, a largely Jewish Democratic group in the Houston area, told JI he’s known Talarico for years and the candidate has spoken to the Meyerland Democrats group. Pronin has repeatedly expressed concerns to Talarico directly and to the campaign about his Israel rhetoric, to little effect.

Pronin said he first confronted Talarico directly about the issue at the Texas Tribune festival in November, explaining that — while accusing Israel of war crimes and vowing not to accept funding from AIPAC or J Street — Talarico did not offer a word of condemnation for Hamas or its international backers, or express support for a two-state solution.

“I told him … ‘You’ve got to stop singling out one group,’” Pronin said, referring to AIPAC. He said that Talarico had apologized and said he would modify his rhetoric, but offered similar comments, unprompted, at the Houston town hall last week.

Pronin was in one of the front rows at the event, having been invited by Talarico personally. Pronin said that he again confronted Talarico and his staff after the event last week and they again apologized.

“It was the same conversation. I told him, ‘When you single out one institution over and over again, it’s dangerous.’ I explained to him why it’s dangerous: we just had a shooting in Australia this week. We had violence in New York, in the subway, a guy was stabbed in the street,” Pronin explained. “I said, ‘This is not helpful,’ and I said, ‘Somebody’s going to get hurt if you keep talking like this.’ I said, ‘You’re not balanced. You’re not talking about Hamas, you never mention [Oct. 7], you never even expressed empathy over what happened in Australia this week. And it’s Hanukkah tonight.’ I told him I was disgusted.”

Talarico has not addressed the shooting at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney last week on social media, but did speak about it in an appearance on MSNOW’s “Politics Nation.”

“I am sending my love to our Jewish brothers and sisters in Australia and all over the world on this first night of Hanukkah,” Talarico said on Dec. 14, the day of the shooting. “It is incumbent upon all of us to confront antisemitism wherever it rears its ugly head, and it was inspiring to see a Muslim man stand up for his Jewish neighbors during that deadly attack in Australia. We need that kind of interfaith solidarity all over the world if we’re going to confront these problems with truth and love, and that act of courage should inspire all of us to do the same.”

“He needs to balance his comments out,” said Art Pronin, who leads the Meyerland Area Democrats Club. “He needs to meet with our Jewish federation, our Anti-Defamation League. He needs to have that round-table meeting that I’ve tried to get him to do. He needs to hear our voices on this matter and quit repeating this everywhere he goes. He’s got to balance it out, at least.”

Pronin said that, being near the front of the crowd and having been invited by Talarico personally, he felt insulted, “threatened” and “scared” by other members of the crowd.

He said that he asked Talarico to hold a meeting with Jewish community leaders in Houston, but hasn’t heard any further followup on the subject, and feels that Talarico is ignoring his and other Jewish community members’ concerns.

“I did express to him that I might vote for Jasmine Crockett over it,” Pronin continued. “He needs to balance his comments out … he needs to meet with our Jewish federation, our Anti-Defamation League. He needs to have that round-table meeting that I’ve tried to get him to do. He needs to hear our voices on this matter and quit repeating this everywhere he goes. He’s got to balance it out, at least.”

Talarico’s campaign manager, Seth Krasne, defended Talarico’s record in a statement to JI.

“James believes every human life is sacred. His longstanding record combating antisemitism, defending Jewish students on the floor of the Texas House, and supporting Israel’s right to exist demonstrate his steadfast commitment to Jewish safety,” Krasne said.

Krasne continued, “He will continue to speak out against Prime Minister Netanyahu’s unacceptable actions that threaten civilians in Gaza — this moral clarity should never be misconstrued as opposition to the safety and security of Israeli civilians and Jewish people around the world. In the coming months, James looks forward to working with Jewish leaders to continue the important work of eradicating hate wherever it rears its ugly head.”

A source familiar with the situation told JI that Talarico will not accept campaign contributions from any advocacy group associated with either side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but is willing to meet with any group about the issue.

In a statement on the two-year anniversary of the Hamas attack, Talarico said that the “horrors of October 7th, 2023 will reverberate through our hearts and minds for generations to come,” noting that the attack was the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust, and said that Hamas’ “war crimes should never be forgotten.”

“Every person on this Earth — no matter their color or creed — bears the image of the sacred. I continue to pray for the safe return of the hostages, an immediate end to the suffering in Gaza, and a lasting peace in the region,” he continued.

Days after the initial Hamas attack in October 2023, Talarico supported a resolution in the Texas statehouse that highlighted Hamas’ attack, its intent to destroy Israel and its use of Palestinian civilians as human shields and his support for Israel’s survival and right to “act decisively and unilaterally in self-defense to protect its citizens” and “pursue without interference or condemnation the elimination of Hamas until Hamas is permanently neutralized and public safety is assured.”

The resolution also called for the U.S. to “provide all assistance as may be required to support Israel in its defense against Hamas and all other terrorist organizations.”

“He’s very popular among the younger people and it’s very disheartening to see that he’s … going to pander to that very far-left wing progressive movement in terms of what’s going on with Israel,” Lisa Strauss, a leader in the local Jewish community, said, “especially given the fact that he’s technically in seminary to become a pastor.”

He also praised the ceasefire and hostage release agreement in November 2025, saying, “I hope this ceasefire will hold so we can achieve lasting peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis.”

Lisa Strauss, a leader in the local Jewish community who recently helped start Jewish Women Vote Houston, said that Talarico’s comments are “very disappointing.”

“He’s very popular among the younger people and it’s very disheartening to see that he’s … going to pander to that very far-left wing progressive movement in terms of what’s going on with Israel,” Strauss said, “especially given the fact that he’s technically in seminary to become a pastor.”

She expressed particular frustration at Talarico’s accusations of war crimes and other atrocities in Gaza, which she described as “propaganda,” and said that it’s “frightening” that he and so many other Democrats are taking similar stances and seem unwilling to “even open a discussion about Israel.”

“I would like to see him meet with Jewish groups and explain his stance in greater detail,” Strauss said.

She said that Talarico’s positions on Israel were a major subject of discussion at the first meeting of the Jewish women’s group, and are an issue that’s causing significant concern in her community.

“It’s definitely something that we need to look more into and be more concerned about,” Strauss said, adding that she was surprised that Crockett, an outspoken progressive on many issues, appears to be the more pro-Israel candidate in the race at the moment.

Yvette Pintar, a Jewish voter and local Jewish and Democratic leader who was also in the audience at Talarico’s event last week, said she’d heard Talarico make similar comments in the past and that they made her “uncomfortable.”

“It doesn’t provide context for what’s going on in Gaza,” Pintar said. “I have mixed feelings when I hear about, ‘I’m not taking one penny from AIPAC.’ I’m not a fan of AIPAC, so that’s OK, but it’s still very uncomfortable to hear it, when you single out one entity not to get money from in today’s world.”

“I don’t think that he’s inherently antisemitic … but I don’t think he has been very thoughtful about standing with Jews when it comes to concerns for our physical security, anywhere — overseas, here, or whatever it is,” Yvette Pintar, a Jewish voter and local Jewish and Democratic leader said. “It’s hard to believe that he has given much thought to the concerns of Jews when it comes to physical security.”

Pintar said she was particularly uncomfortable with Talarico’s answer to the follow-up question later in the event — about speaking for “all people, rather than only Palestinian people” — which she said had provided an opportunity for Talarico to commit to offering a statement of support for the Jewish community, particularly in the wake of the Sydney shooting, but felt he failed to do so.

“To me, it was so jarring not to address that, he missed a very easy and obvious opportunity to address the real anxieties that Jews and Israelis have about security. Jews right here in Texas, we had [the hostage crisis at a synagogue in] Colleyville in the not too distant past. This is right here in Texas, so I just thought that that was jarring and very concerning,” Pintar said.

“I don’t think that he’s inherently antisemitic … but I don’t think he has been very thoughtful about standing with Jews when it comes to concerns for our physical security, anywhere — overseas, here, or whatever it is,” Pintar said. “It’s hard to believe that he has given much thought to the concerns of Jews when it comes to physical security.”

Pintar said she hasn’t made up her mind on who to vote for yet, but has the “impression” that Crockett “may be better on these issues.” She said the Talarico campaign “needs to demonstrate to Jewish voters that he takes our concerns seriously. I haven’t seen anything yet that shows he has,” and particularly reassure Jews about their security.

She also said that his current approach to the conflict in Gaza “seems divisive, and that’s not what I would hope [for] from a candidate who is supposedly a peace-loving guy who is concerned with all kinds of communities.”



]]> 98293 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/12/rory-lancman-new-york-city-democratic-party-center-long-island/ Thu, 18 Dec 2025 10:28:32 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=98065 ]]> While the Democratic Party’s far-left wing has gained ground in New York City — an ascendance reflected in Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s victory — in the moderate-minded suburbs outside of the city, Democrats are reeling from the party’s embrace of its radical elements.

To that end, moderate Democrats are stepping up in key races, aggressively distancing themselves from the far-left wing of the party — and hoping the taint doesn’t affect the party’s brand at large heading into next year’s midterm elections. 

Rory Lancman, a civil rights attorney and former state assemblyman, is one of those moderate candidates looking to showcase the other side of the Democratic Party. He launched an exploratory committee on Monday in a heavily Jewish state Senate district in Long Island, which is currently held by Republican state Sen. Jack Martins.

“The Democratic brand has been severely damaged by Mamdani and others, particularly [for] those Democrats like myself who are deeply committed to the safety and security of Israel, and deeply committed to the safety and security of the American Jewish community — whether it’s in our synagogues or on college campuses,” Lancman told Jewish Insider. 

Lancman, 56, previously served as a member of the New York State Assembly, representing the 25th District in Queens from 2007 to 2013. He then served in the New York City Council from 2014 until 2020, where he was among the sponsors of a resolution condemning the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel. 

Currently, he serves as director of corporate initiatives and senior counsel at the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, where he oversees lawsuits alleging antisemitism in the workplace, in labor unions and on college campuses. 

Lancman’s interest in returning to the political arena is driven by a desire to counter “the kind of anti-Israel agenda that Mamdani has committed himself to,” he told JI, referring to the incoming mayor’s hostile views about Israel, including his refusal to denounce the phrase “globalize the intifada” and pledge to discontinue the New York City-Israel Economic Council, a new joint initiative between the two governments aimed at building economic ties. 

“There’s a lot the state legislature could do,” Lancman continued. “It’s important for New York state to adopt the definition of antisemitism that is clear to be applied in circumstances all across the state, that’s the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition which many states have adopted. It’s hard to solve a problem if you lack a basic definition of what that problem is.” (The definition is recognized and used by specific local governments, state entities and institutions within New York, but has not been universally adopted by the state.)  

Lancman also called for reform to New York anti-discrimination laws “to make it easier for Jewish students to bring claims of discrimination under state law and to make it easier for Jewish businesses experiencing BDS to bring claims under state law.”

“We need to protect our houses of worship by adopting a New York State version of the Federal Faith Act, which is a law that can be strengthened and made useful in New York,” said Lancman. “I would like to see New York state explicitly prohibit any film production company that is engaged in BDS from being eligible for a New York state film tax credit.” 

“We need to take real steps to protect our houses of worship and protect us from violence on the street. All of these tools are the ones I’ve used in the last two years [at the Brandeis Center] to protect Jews who have experienced antisemitism.”  

For example, he’d like to see New York’s longstanding anti-mask laws, which were abolished during the COVID pandemic, reinstated. “If someone is walking around in a protest and covering their face, whether it’s with a white hood or a keffiyeh, it’s probably because they’re up to no good. We had a mask law in New York for decades and everyone understood its value.”

“We need to protect our houses of worship by adopting a New York State version of the Federal Faith Act, which is a law that can be strengthened and made useful in New York,” continued Lancman. “I would like to see New York state explicitly prohibit any film production company that is engaged in BDS from being eligible for a New York state film tax credit.” 

Identifying himself as a centrist, Lancman said he is well-placed to earn the trust of Democratic voters, many of whom cite their primary issue as the high cost of living in Nassau County. Like many Democrats, Lancman is “disturbed by things coming out of Washington,” but also has a “lingering mistrust about whether the Democratic Party is committed to defending Jewish life in this country.” 

The state Democratic Party chair, Jay Jacobs, who has spoken out against Mamdani, backed Lancman’s effort to flip the seat, saying earlier this week that “Rory’s lifetime of service to New York and record of delivering for Long Islanders would make him an excellent candidate, and we’re enthusiastic at the prospect of him running.” 

Martins’ office did not respond to multiple requests for comment from JI. While representing Nassau County’s District 7, which has a sizable Jewish community, Martins has advocated for increased security funding for Jewish (and other nonpublic) schools through the Nonpublic School Safety Equipment Grant. In February 2023, the NYS Senate Republican Conference appointed him to chair the Antisemitism Working Group, which produced a report on the rise of antisemitism in 2024.

The campaign arm of the state Senate Republicans called Lancman the product of “extreme City Council policies that drove up costs.”

“We can’t sacrifice one of our two major political parties to the antisemitic leadership and agenda, that would be catastrophic for the Jewish community in the United States and I refuse to surrender my party to the Zohran Mamdanis of the world,” said Lancman.

“My record, my consistent views, my outspoken opposition to Mamdani, will earn people’s trust on the issue of Israel and combating antisemitism,” Lancman told JI. “From there, we can talk about the things that clearly favor Democrats, which are making life more affordable from property taxes to energy costs, those are our issues. In a district like this though, a Democrat has got to establish a real connection and trust on defending Jewish life in this country.”  

In the state Assembly, Lancman said he would draw on a mantra he’s adopted from his time at the Brandeis Center: “That civil rights laws also protect Jews and that those laws need to be exercised to their fullest and need to be expanded and made robust as possible to address the antisemitic threats we are experiencing at this moment in time,” he said. 

“We can’t sacrifice one of our two major political parties to the antisemitic leadership and agenda, that would be catastrophic for the Jewish community in the United States and I refuse to surrender my party to the Zohran Mamdanis of the world,” continued Lancman. “Being able to convert one’s beliefs and point of view into actual legislation and policy, and have an effect on protecting Jews, is not easy. The job is not just proclamation. The job is making people’s lives better, and in the case of the Jewish community, it is quite literally protecting our place in this country.”

“I confess to being disappointed that Democrats aren’t making a bright line litmus test out of whether someone supports the existence of the Jewish state,” said Lancman, adding that his work at Brandeis Center since the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attacks has “reinforced” the belief that “anti-Zionism is antisemitism and that if you hate the Jewish state, you hate the Jewish people.” 

“We see that played out every day in this country and around the world. We cannot let that ideology take hold in the Democratic party, and I’m committed to defeating anti-Zionism and antisemitism in the Democratic party. You don’t need to bend the knee to antisemitism or socialism to be a Democrat.”

]]> 98065 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/12/jewish-military-chaplains-rabbis-u-s-troops-europe/ Mon, 15 Dec 2025 09:25:43 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=97262 ]]> The women’s basketball team at Rochelle Zell Jewish High School in Chicago was practicing earlier this month ahead of its annual Senior Night when an announcement came over the intercom, presenting a special guest. That’s where the video starts — one of those designed-to-go-viral tearjerkers showing a child reuniting with their parent who is in the military.

“He is joining us after leaving the military service in Europe,” the announcer says. Team members start to look around, smiling but confused, when they see that the door to the gym is open.

“We are grateful for his dedication, especially his daughter Hannah,” the announcer continues. That’s when one athlete, in a long-sleeve practice jersey and a ponytail, begins to cry and run toward the door. “Thank you for your service and sacrifice, and welcome home, U.S. Army Chaplain Rabbi Aaron Melman.” Everyone cheers. Throwing her arms around her father, Hannah sobs.

Melman, a Conservative rabbi who since 2021 has served as a chaplain in the Illinois Army National Guard, had just returned from a U.S. Army base in Western Poland. He submitted his request for leave back in September but didn’t tell his daughter, who was devastated most of all to learn his deployment conflicted with the pinnacle of her high school basketball career. (She was more upset that he would miss that game than her graduation.) When she hugged him, Melman took off his cap and revealed a light brown yarmulke that matched his fatigues.

“We made it happen,” Melman tells his daughter in the video, smiling. Days later, RZJHS won at Senior Night. Hannah scored four points.

For more than two decades after he graduated from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2002, Melman was a congregational rabbi in the northern suburbs of Chicago. He had thought, early in his career, about joining the military — his father served in the U.S. Army Reserves — but decided against enlisting, recognizing that serving in active duty would be challenging as he raised two young children.

But later, when his kids were older, the itch to serve returned. Melman was commissioned as an officer in the Illinois Army National Guard, a responsibility that typically required two days of service a month and two weeks each year, until he was sent to Poland earlier this year. That assignment made him one of several Jewish chaplains serving on the front lines of Europe, providing religious support and counseling to American soldiers — most of whom are not Jewish —who are stationed in Germany, Poland and other allied nations largely as a bulwark against Russia.

Many Jewish chaplains serve in the military only part-time. They fit the training into already-busy schedules leading congregations and providing pastoral care to people in their own communities.

Several military rabbis told JI that they view their mission as more than counseling the soldiers in their care and helping them deal with the hardships of military service. They explained that it’s also about reminding American Jews — many of whom have parents or grandparents who fought in World War II, Korea or Vietnam — about the value of service. During World War II, the military printed pocket-sized Hebrew bibles for Jewish soldiers. Today, some Jews don’t know anyone serving in the military.

Rabbi Aaron Melman leads Jewish High Holiday services for Jewish soldiers in Poznan, Poland. (Courtesy) “Most Jews in America are not connected in any way, shape or form to the United States Armed Forces. The common reaction many of us get, when we go into the armed forces here in the States is, ‘Oh, you dont want to go into the IDF?’ or, ‘Why didnt you go into the IDF?’ And for the record, I happen to be a very strong Zionist,” Melman told Jewish Insider in an interview last week. “One of the things for me that Ive really grown to appreciate is trying to connect the younger generation of American Jews into joining or thinking about joining the military and how important it is.”

Rabbi Aaron Gaber spent nine months at Grafenwoehr, a major American base in Germany, starting last summer. As a member of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, his unit’s mission was to train Ukrainian soldiers, and Gaber was tasked with training Ukrainian chaplains. He took them to the Memorium Nuremberg Trials, a museum located inside the German courtroom where Nazi leaders were tried for their crimes after World War II.

“That created a whole conversation about moral integrity and personal courage. How do you say to your commander, ‘Dont commit atrocities’? Or how do you keep your soldiers who are angry at whats happening and want to do things that are unethical or immoral from doing that?” Gaber told JI. “That elicited a whole conversation on a theological level about light versus darkness, good versus evil, but also then on a practical level: How do you advise your commander in a way that gives him or her the option not to do something that shouldnt be done?”

Most of Gaber’s job, when dealing either with Ukrainian troops or American, involved assisting people who were not Jewish.

“As a rabbi, I got to make sure every week there was a Protestant worship service happening,” said Gaber, who returned from Germany in June (and specified that he did not lead those services).

Last year, he volunteered to spend the High Holidays in Poland and Lithuania. He drove between several different bases to make sure Jewish soldiers had access to religious services, food and learning opportunities tied to the holidays.

“I take the idea of ohr l’goyim, or bringing light to the world, I was able to bring light to the world. I was able to help Jewish soldiers celebrate their faith. If I met 10 Jewish soldiers through the entire two weeks, that was a lot. So it was individual work,” Gaber said. “In one case, I had one soldier travel, I think, three hours each way to be able to spend an hour with me. He couldnt go by himself, so he had a noncommissioned officer, one of his squad leaders, go with him. That was the length that the military can and does go to make sure soldiers can access their faith.”

Ohr l’goyim is a phrase that comes up often for Jewish military chaplains. For Rabbi Laurence Bazer, a retired U.S. Army colonel who is now a vice president at the JCC Association and the Jewish Welfare Board’s Jewish Chaplains Council, those words —from the Book of Isaiah — commanded him to be a light unto the nations. “And that’s not just to our own fellow Jews, but to the rest of the community,” Bazer told JI.

A friend of his from the North Dakota National Guard once took Bazer, who served in the Massachusetts Army National Guard, to visit North Dakota’s state partner in Ghana. He sat down with a group of Ghanaian soldiers and told them to ask him anything they might want to know about Judaism.

“Now, these are all Catholic, Protestant and Muslim chaplains from the Ghanaian army,” Bazer recalled. “I said, ‘You could ask me, like, why Jews dont believe in the New Testament, or Jesus, whatever.’ Thats part of the role that I love doing, of being, again, ohr l’goyim, a light unto the nations, to be able to share the positive, affirming side of Judaism so that they felt enriched. It was all in true fellowship of, were all servants of the Divine.”

(Courtesy Rabbi Aaron Gaber) Bazer spent his final years in the military in Washington, working full time in an active duty role at the National Guard’s headquarters. He oversaw the religious response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 racial-justice protests and the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. 

“I was advising commanders up to four stars at a senior level about whats going on religiously, which really meant the moral welfare of their troops,” said Bazer, who had served in New York during the 9/11 attacks and later led the chaplaincy response to the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013. “That emotional level affects readiness, and chaplains are the key to help that readiness.”

In 2023, Bazer was asked to go to Europe to lead Passover services and programming for Jewish troops. He led Passover Seders in Germany and Poland, and then drove between Lithuania and Latvia, delivering matzah and visiting with Jewish soldiers. 

The Seder at Grafenwoehr took place on a large lawn on the base. After he spoke about opening the door for the prophet Elijah, a symbolic act tied to hope that the Messiah will come, a Christian chaplain on base who had attended the Seder pulled Bazer aside. He pointed to a tower that stood next to the lawn.

“He says, ‘You know, Hitler used to go up there and watch,’” Bazer said. The base — now so central to America’s operations in Europe — was once used by the Nazis. “To think that back then he used to watch the Nazis do formation, and now, in 2023 were holding a Passover Seder on the same base in the shadow of that tower is an incredible experience.”

]]> 97262 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/12/brad-lander-dan-goldman-israel-new-york-primary-democratic-party/ Mon, 15 Dec 2025 07:56:24 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=97245 ]]> The hotly anticipated primary matchup between outgoing New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) was widely expected to be a bellwether race that would test the strength of pro-Israel sentiment within the Democratic Party.

Featuring two prominent Jewish New Yorkers with sharply opposing views on the Middle East, the race notably pits Lander, an outspoken critic of Israel and its war in Gaza, against Goldman, a more moderate incumbent viewed as a strong defender of the Jewish state.

But nearly a week after announcing his challenge, Lander, the progressive New York City comptroller, is so far tiptoeing around such differences, even as they are arguably the driving contrast in the primary. Instead, he has more actively emphasized a message that is casting Goldman as ineffective in countering President Donald Trump — declaring it is “time for fighters” and “not folders” in Congress.

His top surrogates — including a range of vocal Israel critics including Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City — have made no mention of Middle East policy in their statements endorsing his campaign to represent New York’s 10th Congressional District, which covers Lower Manhattan and a swath of northwest Brooklyn.

“We need more fighters in Washington now more than ever, and Brad is a fighter,” Warren said last week, adding that Lander has “the grit to not just win this race, but deliver for working families.”

Such comments, however, have failed to note that Goldman, who was elected to Congress in 2022, is recognized as a leading Trump antagonist, having served as the top prosecutor in the president’s first impeachment case. Like Lander, he has frequently confronted the Trump administration on a range of issues including its immigration agenda. Last week, for instance, Goldman seized the spotlight during a fiery House hearing in which he clashed with Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security secretary — accusing her of illegally deporting asylum seekers in a grilling that drew headlines and social media virality.

Warren’s team did not respond to a request for comment when asked why she was not satisfied with Goldman’s record opposing Trump and his administration’s policies.

The early effort by Lander and some of his allies to employ rhetoric focused largely on fighting Trump has obscured how Israel is the clearest dividing line in the race — raising questions about Lander’s strategy as he seeks to shape a narrative Goldman’s supporters have dismissed as a misdirection. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), in a statement last week, countered that her colleague is one of the “best members” she has “ever served with” and said he “is exactly the right fighter for this moment.”

With opposition to Trump likely a major motivating force for midterm voters, Lander is now facing scrutiny over his attacks targeting a two-term incumbent who has long staked his reputation on effectively battling the president. Meanwhile, in the wake of Israel’s recent ceasefire with Hamas, it remains to be seen if Gaza will continue to be an animating issue heading into the June primary election that is already shaping up to be a heated and expensive race.

Goldman, a Levi Strauss heir whose estimated net worth is up to $250 million, spent nearly $5 million of his own money during his first primary bid three years ago, when he narrowly prevailed in a crowded field of progressive rivals who split the vote. Lander has also targeted Goldman’s personal wealth, saying that the “oligarchy” should not “be able to buy a seat in Congress.”

Even as Lander, a former longtime city councilman from Brooklyn, touts high-profile support from the Senate, House progressives have for their part so far stayed on the sidelines.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), an Israel critic who backed Lander’s comptroller bid in 2021 and called him a “talented hero” after his arrest by federal agents at an immigration courthouse last June, said she is “not weighing into that race right now,” echoing other like-minded lawmakers who also declined to take sides in the looming primary.

While Lander has long identified as a progressive Zionist, he has been outspoken in criticizing Israel’s conduct in Gaza, accusing the country of war crimes and ethnic cleansing. He has additionally called for conditioning U.S. aid to Israel, a measure Goldman has rejected.

“What Lander is counting on now is the sentiment of the moment, which is further to the left and more anti-Israel,” Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran Democratic consultant in New York City, told Jewish Insider in a recent interview.

In a speech before the mayoral election, where he rose to prominence as a top surrogate for Mamdani after losing his own primary bid, Lander advocated for building a “coalition of anti-Zionists and liberal Zionists,” seeking to unify opposing factions to end “the horrors in Gaza.”

Goldman, for his part, chose not to endorse Mamdani, citing concerns about his approach to Israel and rising antisemitism, but he has said he looks forward to working with the mayor-elect on promoting his affordability agenda.

“What Lander is counting on now is the sentiment of the moment, which is further to the left and more anti-Israel,” Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran Democratic consultant in New York City, told Jewish Insider in a recent interview.

Still, in the days after launching his campaign, Lander has sent mixed signals about how he plans to highlight differences with his opponent on Israel.

In his campaign announcement video released last Wednesday, for example, he took a thinly veiled jab at Goldman in vowing not to do “AIPAC’s bidding,” referring to the increasingly demonized pro-Israel group, but did not mention the incumbent by name.

Lander told The New York Daily News in an interview last week that he views contrasts over Gaza as ancillary to their approaches to confronting the Trump administration, drawing raised eyebrows from observers who noted that hitting Goldman on his strongest issue avoids addressing a more salient tension over Middle East policy.

“On this issue, we have some disagreements,” he said of Israel, “but the core rationale is because it’s time for fighters not folders,” Lander elaborated on his approach to the race.

One Jewish community leader supportive of Goldman expressed frustration at the logic behind Lander’s challenge. “Im just pissed that there’s not a single thing they can point to what Goldman isn’t doing right other than being pro-Israel,” he told JI, speaking on the condition of anonymity to address a sensitive subject.

During a campaign kickoff event in Brooklyn last week, Lander accused Goldman of failing to hold Israel accountable for its behavior in Gaza, saying “only I, of the two of us, recognize that Netanyahu’s leveling of schools and hospitals and the destruction of Gaza was a war crime,” in reference to the Israeli prime minister. He also reiterated that New Yorkers “don’t want elected officials who do AIPAC bidding in a district that recognizes that our safety and our freedom is bound up together.”

Lauren Hitt, a spokesperson for Lander’s campaign, disputed criticism that he is avoiding Israel as a top issue. “Brad literally called out AIPAC in his launch video, so safe to say he will continue to spend quite a bit of time discussing Israel in this race,” she said in a statement to JI on Friday. 

On Friday, Lander also said on social media that, if he were a member of Congress, he would introduce a resolution censuring Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) over his recent incendiary comments calling for Muslims to be “destroyed.” Lander, without directly citing his opponent, also noted he would “not have voted with Republicans” to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) over incendiary comments against Israel during the Israel-Hamas war in 2023, as Goldman himself had done.

Hours later, Goldman also denounced Fine in an X post for remarks assailing Muslims as “barbarians,” calling the statement “despicable and unacceptable” and saying he “must apologize and retract this tweet immediately.”

Lauren Hitt, a spokesperson for Lander’s campaign, disputed criticism that he is avoiding Israel as a top issue. “Brad literally called out AIPAC in his launch video, so safe to say he will continue to spend quite a bit of time discussing Israel in this race,” she said in a statement to JI on Friday.

“Brad will also speak to the other issues concerning NY-10 voters, including affordability — another topic where the heir to the Levi Strauss fortune is out of step with the districts experience. NY-10 voters don’t need a representative that’s palling around with Don[ald Trump] Jr. in the Bahamas, they need someone who understands and represents their views,” Hitt added, referring to an October social media post in which Trump’s son sarcastically thanked Goldman for his “kind words” about the president’s ceasefire and hostage deal during the government shutdown.

For now, it is unclear how AIPAC and pro-Israel groups more broadly are assessing the matchup — and if they will choose to engage in the primary. A spokesperson for AIPAC declined to weigh in.

In 2022, AIPAC disclosed after Goldman had won his primary that its super PAC, United Democracy Project, had quietly contributed at least $350,000 to a separate group established near the end of the race to fund a series of attack ads against Yuh-Line Niou, a far-left rival who had drawn controversy for voicing alignment with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel.

One pro-Israel consultant, who was granted anonymity to address a sensitive topic, suggested “AIPAC’s involvement in the race would probably be a negative against Goldman.” Mamdani, an ally of Lander who has long been a fierce critic of Israel, performed well in the district — where Goldman’s views on Israel have faced backlash from left-wing voters.

Democratic Majority for Israel, which is backing Goldman, had been wary of a one-on-one contest with Lander, whom polling has shown is a strong opponent, according to a person familiar with the group’s discussions. Lander’s early consolidation of progressive support helped to push two other rivals on the left not to run in the race, effectively clearing the field for the outgoing comptroller. A spokesperson for DMFI did not respond to requests for comment regarding its plans.

Goldman, meanwhile, said in an interview with a local news outlet last week he welcomes Lander’s challenge but is “not really thinking about” the race “right now.” A campaign spokesperson said that he is “focused on stopping” Trump and “will deal with Brad and other challengers in the new year,” when he is “planning to roll out a flood of” endorsements from fellow House members.

Despite differences over Israel, Goldman is also endorsed by J Street, a progressive Israel advocacy group that has long been close to Lander. A spokesperson for J Street told JI in a statement the group is “proud” to back Goldman and “we deeply value his pro-Israel, pro-peace and pro-democracy leadership.”

“Dan has a progressive record,” said Chris Coffey, a Democratic strategist. “It’s not always as far left on Israel as Brad, for sure, and that is one of the things that differentiates them on policy.” Israel, he added, “could be a defining issue in this race,” regardless of Lander’s messaging efforts to prioritize Trump.

“We are also grateful for our years-long friendship with Brad Lander, who is a vocal leader for our values. We know that the issue of peace is close to both of their hearts,” the spokesperson continued. “Ultimately, it is up to the district to determine who they want to represent them in Congress, and we are glad to see two J Street-aligned voices in this race.”

A top J Street official, speaking on background to address the primary, confirmed the group will not be engaging materially in the race as it is satisfied with both candidates’ records. “I expect our donor base will give to both,” the official told JI. “There’s definitely a split of opinion on this race, to say the least.”

“Dan has a progressive record,” said Chris Coffey, a Democratic strategist. “It’s not always as far left on Israel as Brad, for sure, and that is one of the things that differentiates them on policy.” Israel, he added, “could be a defining issue in this race,” regardless of Lander’s messaging efforts to prioritize Trump.

Lander, for his part, could also face backlash from far-left activists in the district who have bristled at his identification as a progressive Zionist and have taken issue with his investments in an Israeli arms producer as comptroller, even as he chose to cease holdings of Israel bonds during his four years in office.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which is focused largely on winning back the House in next year’s midterms, declined to comment on the primary, though it has traditionally backed incumbents.

Locally, a political advocacy group in the district called Brooklyn BridgeBuilders, which is dedicated to fighting antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment, is planning to support Goldman and is currently in the process of formalizing its strategy, according to Ramon Maislen, its CEO.

“The decision to challenge a highly effective liberal Jewish incumbent is incredibly fraught,” Maislen, a Jewish community activist who lives in Park Slope, told JI. “Dan is someone who has been unwavering in taking on Trump, defending our democracy and standing with the Jewish community.”

]]> 97245 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/12/gaza-israel-hamas-day-after-trump-plan-international-stabilization-force/ Fri, 12 Dec 2025 05:57:27 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=97120 ]]> It has been nearly three months since President Donald Trump unveiled his 20-point peace proposal for Gaza, but officials have yet to explain how key aspects would function in practice or how Hamas’ entrenched presence in the enclave will be addressed. 

Under the plan, Gaza’s governance would be overseen by a Trump-led “Board of Peace,” followed by an international executive board expected to include Jared Kushner and White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. Beneath the board would sit a technocratic Palestinian government of approximately a dozen Palestinians who are not affiliated with Hamas. 

Trump initially planned to announce board members by Christmas, but that timeline has slipped to early next year. On Thursday, the White House proposed that Nickolay Mladenov, a Bulgarian diplomat and former UN Middle East envoy, join the Trump-led board as an on-the-ground representative in Gaza. In such a role, Mladenov would be expected to work with a future Palestinian technocratic government.  

But as Trump focuses on hand-picking members for his ideal Palestinian governing body, experts told Jewish Insider that the administration has offered little clarity on how this layered structure would actually govern Gaza — or, more consequentially, how it can operate while armed Hamas terrorists remain in control of much of the enclave. 

“It just hasn’t been made clear on the issue of governance or security how this stuff is actually going to work, or how Hamas is going to be persuaded to step aside,” said Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “Is [the Board of Peace] the overriding executive authority that has the final say in Palestinian governance and security? If that’s the case, it’s going to fail because none of these members of the Board of Peace have the time or inclination to make those decisions.” 

Israel currently controls 53% of Gaza, as demarcated by the “Yellow Line,” while Hamas maintains control in the remaining western part of the enclave. Despite heavy losses, Hamas fighters continue to operate and have given no indication of relinquishing power. Miller called the task of ensuring Hamas is “stripped of its weapons” an “extremely difficult” objective.

“There is no indication that Hamas is ready to meet its commitments to disarm,” said Dana Stroul, research director at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “If anything, [Hamas’] surviving leaders are deliberately muddying the messaging to make their terrorist organization appear reasonable and a legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.”

To prevent a Hamas resurgence, Trump has made the deployment of an International Stabilization Force (ISF) a central pillar of the plan. But the administration has yet to define the composition of the force. Israel has objected to Turkish participation, and while countries such as Azerbaijan and Indonesia have been floated as part of the force, it lacks definitive commitments. 

Elliott Abrams, who served as Iran envoy during Trump’s first term, told JI that the White House has yet to “seriously address the question of who would maintain security in Gaza and prevent a Hamas recovery.”

“To answer that question you have to answer, ‘Who is willing to shoot at Hamas terrorists?’” said Abrams. “The ISF proposal was unrealistic in that it never even asked this, much less answered it. The idea that Muslim or European or U.N. forces would shoot [at Hamas] was never realistic.” 

Miller echoed that concern and questioned how an international force would respond in the event Hamas fighters “emerge from tunnels crossing the line of control.”

“Would forces from Arab and Muslim countries fire on Palestinians? Will they be able to maintain their legitimacy if the Israelis are unhappy or dissatisfied with the response of this force and choose to undertake a response of their own?” said Miller. “That’s an extraordinarily challenging set of problems that need to be unpacked.”

The Trump administration indicated on Thursday that it is planning to appoint a two-star American general to command the stabilization force. But experts said the administration should first lay out a concrete plan of what it expects from ISF participants. 

“Who heads [the stabilization force] is much less important, frankly, then what it’s going to do,” said Miller. “It doesn’t matter who sits on top of the organization or the construct if it’s feckless, weak and riddled with contradictions and dysfunction.” 

Stroul agreed, adding that without “clarity on the missions and activities” of the ISF, the force will “encounter challenges.”

“Without a clear plan of responsibility for security on the ground, it is difficult to imagine international organizations and funding coming into Gaza to start the work of rubble clearing and reconstruction,” said Stroul.

]]> 97120 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/12/merrill-eisenhower-holocaust-remembrance-torch-march-of-the-living/ Thu, 11 Dec 2025 10:25:00 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=97014 ]]> LONDON — When he arrived at the Ohrdruf concentration and forced labor camp in Germany in April 1945, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was appalled by what he saw.

The first to be liberated by U.S. troops, the camp was strewn with the decomposing remains of hundreds of prisoners murdered by the SS, who had days earlier fled the scene of their crimes.

Three days later, Eisenhower, the supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe, wrote to U.S. Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall saying, “The things I saw beggar description. I made the visit deliberately in order to be in a position to give first hand evidence of these things if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to ‘propaganda.’”

Eighty years later, Eisenhower’s great-grandson, Merrill Eisenhower, the CEO of People to People International, is carrying the torch for Holocaust remembrance, as he seeks to ensure the world never forgets.

Earlier this year, he joined the March of the Living from Auschwitz to Birkenau in Poland. In a powerful act of remembrance and continuity, he walked alongside Holocaust survivor Eva Clarke, who he now considers a good friend. Last week, the pair were reunited in London to raise awareness and funds for the charity behind the annual march.

Eisenhower told Jewish Insider in an interview this month he hadn’t heard of the organization before they approached him a year ago. But when he was invited to join this year’s event commemorating the 80th anniversary of VE Day, he didn’t hesitate.

“I said ‘absolutely, Id be honored to’. It was humbling,” he said, adding that he immediately suggested organizing a fundraiser in Washington beforehand. That was where he first met Clarke, who was born on April 29 inside the gates of Mauthausen, just days before Eisenhower’s forces liberated the camp in Austria.

“Weve been friends ever since,” he said of Clarke. “You know how you meet somebody and you just connect — it was one of those things.”

Although he never met his famous great-grandfather, who later became the 34th U.S. president, Eisenhower was close to his maternal grandfather. John Eisenhower served alongside his father in Europe and would later serve him in the White House, too.

“On June 6, 1944, D-Day, my grandfather John graduated West Point and became aide-de-camp to Gen. Eisenhower, and so he was with him the whole time through Europe,” the younger Eisenhower said.

“When my great-grandfather arrived at his first camp, he said directly to my grandfather: ‘Make sure you document this, take photos. Bring Congress, bring the press. One day theres going to be some bastard that says this never happened.’”

Sadly those words proved prophetic. Holocaust denial and distortion are surging around the world, including in the U.S.

The haunting images are part of what motivates Eisenhower. “Those photos that he [his grandfather] was taking, some of those still sit in my house and some are in the National Archives and some are in the Eisenhower Presidential Library in Kansas,” he said.

“Most of the time, I find myself on the verge of not understanding how someone could do it, and being grateful of the fact that there were people like my great-grandfather who stood up to the tyranny and the devastation, and the death and the murder,” he said.

“My great-grandfather being a part of it is important, but he was one of hundreds of thousands of American troops who marched across Europe liberating those camps.”

Being involved with March of the Living has given Eisenhower a fresh perspective on the devastation.

“Its not just about going from Auschwitz to Birkenau in a march that represents the same death march that so many millions of people, mainly Jewish, suffered,” he said. “Its about understanding that when youre doing that march, youre actually celebrating the lives and the liberation of all those people who were saved throughout Europe. Every step taken from Auschwitz to Birkenau is a little bit of erasing the evil out of that place, because were educating and teaching people the good that can happen.”

Eisenhower is grateful that survivors like Clarke, who lost most of her family in Auschwitz, including her father and brother, are still able to testify.

“Im thankful theyre here to spread the message and to combat antisemitism, discrimination, racism,” he said. “Being with people like Eva is refreshing, its eye-opening and I think that Ive actually gained more from them [survivors] than I could ever give them. It’s amazing to find out how they were able to survive — their stories give hope to humanity.”

Holocaust survivor, Eva Clarke (L), speaks and hugs Merrill Eisenhower Atwater, while visiting Auschwitz I, ahead of Erev Yom HaShoah on April 23, 2025 in Oswiecim, Poland. (Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images) While in London, Eisenhower met with others who owe their lives to his great-grandfather’s forces and also visited the Houses of Parliament where he met with Lord Mann, the British government’s independent advisor on antisemitism.

Eisenhower lives with his wife, Nicole, and their children in Kansas, where he works in property development. “I build high-rises — that’s my day job,” he said. Beyond that, the 44-year-old is heavily involved in public service work and philanthropy. He serves on the international board of directors for People to People International, an NGO set up by his great-grandfather and which his mother, Mary, formerly headed.

The youngest of John Eisenhower’s four children, his mother spent much of her early childhood in the White House. But Ike was not the family’s only link to power.

“Im actually related to two presidents, which is kind of wild, right?” said Eisenhower. His aunt Julie, married to his mother’s brother David, is Richard Nixon’s daughter.

So does anyone else in the family have ambitions for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue today?

“Nobody is political at all,” he said. “In fact, we do the opposite of politics. We try to really get involved with improving international relations, but its more like world peace efforts.”

That said, he reserves the right to keep his options open.

“I may one day run for office,” he admitted to JI. “But I cant imagine wanting to be president of the United States of America. You have constant criticism even if youre right, and even worse criticism if youre wrong.”

Although he refused to be drawn on party politics or individuals, Eisenhower had this to say about the current climate: “Right now within politics you have people from both sides that are well beyond the point of reason.

“This is what I tell people: if I agree with you in my day-to-day life 60% of the time, I’m probably going to be a pretty good friend of yours. For some reason, if I agree with you 80% of the time in politics, but I disagree with you 20% of the time, it means you hate me.

“That type of complete divisiveness is why you had someone like Hitler rise to power, then all of a sudden the economy goes terrible and now we need someone to blame.”

The rise of antisemitism from both sides of the political spectrum “doesnt make sense to me” and is disappointing, he said. What would his great-grandfather think?

“I think he’d be disturbed with the way the current political environments are going, and he would give caution and warning, making sure we remember what people like Eva and her family went through so that we dont do it again.

“I think when people stand still and say nothing, thats when bad things happen. We have to crack down on that kind of rhetoric.”

He admitted that’s easier said than done, but added: “In the U.S. we have absolute freedom of speech; however, being a leader, you have the ability to say, ‘this is not right’ and ‘we cannot tolerate this behavior.’ I think there are certain presidents that have done a better job [of that].”

Clarke, 80, who traveled to London from her home in Cambridge, said the week with Eisenhower had been “incredible.”

“Im going to say this forever — hes my new best friend and Ive been dropping his name all the time,” she said.

“It is such an incredible privilege to have met Merrill in his own right and for all the good hes doing, but just to think about what his great-grandfather did. If he hadnt done what he did, I wouldnt be here now.”

She described the global rise in antisemitism as “very depressing and very worrying,” but has pledged to continue promoting Holocaust education, a role she has inherited from her mother who brought her to Britain as a preschooler.

“All we can do is to carry on with what were doing because we can only take very small measures, but every small measure adds to the whole,” she said. “I feel its my duty, like Merrill does.”

The connection between the pair is all important, according to Scott Saunders, founder and chairman of March of the Living.

“Merrill represents the next chapter in the ongoing story of witness and responsibility,” he told JI.

“Earlier this year he marched with us at the March of the Living in Auschwitz, and now, meeting British survivors here in the U.K., he is demonstrating what it means to actively carry the torch of remembrance.

“The March of the Living has always been about connection: between past and present, survivors and young people, memory and action. Merrill’s dedication embodies that mission.”

]]> 97014 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/12/trump-executive-order-muslim-brotherhood-terrorist-designation/ Wed, 10 Dec 2025 09:31:51 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=96874 ]]> President Donald Trump’s recent executive order directing a review of Muslim Brotherhood chapters for potential terrorism designations is limited in scope, and leaves out scrutiny of Qatar and Turkey — a strategy that experts say reflects both legal realities and geopolitical constraints.

The order, which was signed on Nov. 24, directs Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to identify which branches of the Muslim Brotherhood — with a focus on chapters in Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt — should be designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and which should be deemed Specially Designated Global Terrorists.

Rather than apply a terrorist designation to the entire Muslim Brotherhood as a whole, Trump’s executive order first looks at individual branches. This strategy is echoed in a Senate bill, sponsored by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), which requires an assessment of every branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in an effort to designate the organization for its involvement.

The House version of the legislation was modified in committee last week and now more closely resembles the Trump executive order.

Michael Jacobson, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the approach “makes sense,” adding that a “one-size-fits-all” designation would be unproductive. He also noted that it will allow the administration to more effectively pursue chapters of the organization.

“The bottom-up approach will allow the administration to proceed in a more strategic and calculated fashion,” said Jacobson. “Targeting individual chapters and entities could also open up additional avenues for investigation and action. Once individual branches are designated, the Treasury could then use its authorities to sanction those supporting these branches. I believe that this approach is also more likely to gain support from other governments.”

This same sentiment was echoed by Cruz, who called the “bottom-up” approach the “correct and sustainable strategy.

“That strategy is built into both the president’s executive order, which was a bold and critical breakthrough in advancing American national security, and my bipartisan legislation,” Cruz told Jewish Insider. “It’s the consensus strategy, and it’s the right one.”

David Adesnik, vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told JI that while a single designation done in “one fell swoop” might be appealing, it faces legal and factual challenges.

“The administration was rightly concerned that a judge could overturn a designation of the entire organization if he or she assessed that it didn’t meet the legal thresholds. This would have serious consequences in several respects,” said Michael Jacobson, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “If a judge ruled against a Muslim Brotherhood ban, it would be interpreted by some as a signal that the MB is not a terrorist organization, end of story — also a message the administration was likely eager to avoid.”

“This is not a single unified organization,” said Adesnik. “There’s no headquarters, no address, no person who is the head. It’s very hard to make a terror designation if you’re not exactly sure who you’re designating.”

Jacobson said the administration also looked to avoid a blanket designation out of concern that any legal challenges that followed could hurt efforts to reign in the Muslim Brotherhood.

“The administration was rightly concerned that a judge could overturn a designation of the entire organization if he or she assessed that it didn’t meet the legal thresholds. This would have serious consequences in several respects,” said Jacobson. “If a judge ruled against a Muslim Brotherhood ban, it would be interpreted by some as a signal that the MB is not a terrorist organization, end of story — also a message the administration was likely eager to avoid.”

Some critics of the executive order, including far-right influencer Laura Loomer, who is a confidant of the president, have expressed frustration over the administration’s decision not to name Qatar and Turkey in the order.

“The Muslim Brotherhood designation signed by President Trump today doesn’t have any teeth,” Loomer posted on X on Nov. 24. “This designation is probably the weakest designation of the Muslim Brotherhood we could have ever received, as it doesn’t even apply to Qatar and Turkey.”

Both Qatar and Turkey have strengthened ties with the United States during Trump’s second term, however the two countries are also significant supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and have been known to provide sanctuary for their members.

“Claiming to get tough on the Muslim Brotherhood without a serious strategy to clamp down on the support provided by the movement’s most important state sponsors in Qatar and Turkey is not a serious policy,” said John Hannah, a senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America. “Out of consideration for America’s longstanding partnerships with both countries and President Trump’s particular affinity for their leaders, one hopes that there is a plan to bring real pressure to bear on both Doha and Ankara in private to cease and desist their wide-ranging support for MB affiliates across the Middle East and globally.”

But while Qatar and Turkey’s ties to the Muslim Brotherhood are problematic, experts said they were not included because they do not currently have chapters of the organization in their countries, which the executive order focuses on.

“If were targeting chapters of the Brotherhood, there are no Brotherhood chapters in those countries,” said Adesnik. “So the real question is, how do you deal with what are effectively state sponsors of the Brotherhood? And does that state sponsorship cross the line into terrorism or sponsorship of terrorism?”

The Senate bill also does not address how Turkey and Qatar would be targeted as state sponsors of the organization.

However, experts and legislators remain wary of the threat posed by the two nations and have expressed that plans to root out the Muslim Brotherhood should account for Turkey and Qatar.

“Claiming to get tough on the Muslim Brotherhood without a serious strategy to clamp down on the support provided by the movement’s most important state sponsors in Qatar and Turkey is not a serious policy,” said John Hannah, a senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America. “Out of consideration for America’s longstanding partnerships with both countries and President Trump’s particular affinity for their leaders, one hopes that there is a plan to bring real pressure to bear on both Doha and Ankara in private to cease and desist their wide-ranging support for MB affiliates across the Middle East and globally.”

With the current executive order, the White House is seeking to first designate branches in countries that experts said are involved in violence from within the country. This will also likely include entities that finance other Foreign Terrorist Organizations, according to Jacobson.

In Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt, threats connected to the Muslim Brotherhood have become national issues of concern.

“The Islamic Group [Muslim Brotherhood chapter in Lebanon] clearly built up the ability to carry out attacks against Israel and cooperated very openly with Hezbollah,” said David Adesnik, vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “Authorities there really aren’t doing anything about it, partly because they lack power and have other issues to address. So it’s a pretty fair point.” 

In April 2025, Jordanian authorities arrested 16 individuals and thwarted a plot that was to involve rocket and drone attacks inside the country. The suspects were linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, which is the government’s largest opposition group. Following the arrests, the Jordanian government banned the group entirely.

Adesnik said that while Jordan has initiated a “thorough crackdown” to address the problem, it is notable that there was “clearly a branch that had migrated toward planning for terrorism.”

In Lebanon, he called the Muslim Brotherhood a “persistent issue.”

“The Islamic Group [Muslim Brotherhood chapter in Lebanon] pretty openly built up a capability to carry out attacks against Israel and cooperated very clearly and openly with Hezbollah,” said Adesnik. “Authorities there really aren’t doing anything about it, in part because they don’t have a lot of power and they have a lot of other problems to deal with. So it’s a pretty reasonable case.”

Adesnik called the administration’s targeting of Egypt the “thorniest case from a definitional perspective.” He noted that while Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi’s regime in Cairo has spent more than a decade cracking down on the Brotherhood aggressively, concerns still remain over the presence of branches such as Harakat Sawa’d Misr, also known as Hasm, which was already designated by the U.S. as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Entity in 2018.

“The question is just what’s left of the Brotherhood there? said Adesnik. “Is it doing enough to merit a designation?”

]]> 96874 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/12/iran-international-network-london-washington-mehdi-parpanchi/ Tue, 09 Dec 2025 09:35:59 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=96728 ]]> Walk into any think tank in Washington and you’re likely to bump into more than a few so-called “Iran watchers”: researchers whose job is to try to interpret the actions of the often-opaque Iranian regime and help policymakers figure out how to approach the Islamic Republic.

Given the adversarial relationship between Washington and Tehran, making sense of the two nations’ policy choices toward each other is big business. But according to some Iranians, something is missing.

“Most of the people who are working on Iran, they have never been to Iran. Americans, I mean. That brings with itself certain limitations,” said Mehdi Parpanchi, who was born in Iran but now lives in Washington. The U.S. does not have a diplomatic presence in Iran, and vice versa. “In my opinion, the image of Iran is not being seen properly from outside the country.”

Parpanchi is the director of U.S. news at Iran International, one of the biggest independent Persian-language news outlets in the world. Based in London, Iran International broadcasts inside of Iran via satellite — much to the chagrin of Iranian officials, who have called the network a terrorist organization. It also reaches Iranians expats and dissidents around the world. While the network mainly operates with the goal of offering independent news from an anti-regime perspective to the global Iranian diaspora, Iran International also serves as a crucial source to Iran watchers of all stripes, including those who have never set foot in the country.

“There is always a decade of delay between the reality inside Iran and how it is being seen from the West, especially from the U.S.,” Parpanchi, who moved to Washington in 2020 to launch a U.S. headquarters for Iran International, told Jewish Insider last month.

A new show from Iran International, filmed in Washington and broadcast around the world, aims to at least partly remedy that problem. “Iran International Insight,” which launched in June, pledges to put Iran International viewers who live in Iran in conversation with the political figures and diplomats across the world whose policy choices will affect their lives.

“The concept was that theres a tremendous opportunity for policymakers and experts in D.C., but especially policymakers, to be engaging with and taking questions from the Iranian people directly,” said Aaron Lobel, a co-producer of the new show and the founder and president of America Abroad Media, an international media organization.

The growth of Iran International’s programming in Washington comes after the Trump administration slashed funding for the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which supports independent outlets such as Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFERL) and Middle East Broadcasting Networks that air pro-democracy content around the world. Parpanchi previously spent two years at RFERL, which has a Persian-language branch.

Iran International is not expressly trying to fill that niche, and the new program was in the works starting in 2024, before Trump even came to office. Regardless, the new program arrives at a time that America has pulled back from cultural diplomacy.

“This is in the best traditions of the United States. It advances American values and it advances American interests,” said Lobel. “The more credible media organizations outside Iran that are trying to reach the Iranian people with information and to give them some sense of hope as well — the more the better.”

So far, three interviews — hourlong conversations between one or two guests and an Iran International anchor —have been filmed, all in front of a live audience, including many Iranians who live and work in Washington. Iran International’s producers and journalists solicit questions from the network’s viewers in Iran. The interviews take place in English, but they are dubbed in Persian before being aired.

“Ive met with groups of Iranian diaspora, who have family in Iran and who are activists with them. But I dont think I received online questions like that,” Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, who was the first guest, told JI. “That was the primary agenda, to speak to the people.”

Leiter’s interview with Iran International was a journalistic gold mine for the network: scheduled in advance, it happened to come at a particularly timely moment, hours after President Donald Trump announced a cease-fire between Israel and Iran at the end of the countries’ 12-day war in June. Leiter touted Israel’s military victories in its campaign to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Yet many Iranians wondered why Israel would attack Iran, but ultimately not seek to remove the ayatollah from power. (Hundreds of questions were submitted.)

Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter speaks at an event with Iran International on June 24, 2025. (Mo Broushaky) “One of the themes that came out that was so striking was, of course, many Iranians wanted Israel to continue the campaign, and they were, I think its fair to say, you could hear in that show, disappointed that Israel stopped the war. Or to put it differently, they were upset that the Israeli government had, in their view, raised their expectations of ‘regime change’ and then failed to deliver,” said Lobel.

Leiter offered unusually candid responses to those questions, going beyond the diplomatic language that would’ve gotten the job done even if leaving viewers unsatisfied.

“I appreciated the opportunity to explain why we werent going to go further and actually topple the regime by force,” Leiter explained. “I understand them. Remember when the chancellor of Germany said that Israel is doing the ‘dirty work’ for the world? I guess that the people wanted us to do the work completely for the world. But we cant do that. And it was important for me to be able to explain that.”

Two other programs were recorded this fall. One featured Elliott Abrams, who served as Iran envoy in Trump’s first term, and Dennis Ross, a fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy who previously held several high-level jobs at the State Department in Democratic and Republican administrations. Another featured former CIA official Norman Roule and Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Iran International’s main Instagram account has 16 million followers, and video clips from the Roule-Dubowitz event got about 1 million views each.

Those four experts have different ideological backgrounds, but each falls closer to the hawkish end of the spectrum on Iran. So does Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who was scheduled to appear in an interview in September before the congressional schedule led Cotton to cancel. (Parpanchi said they hope to reschedule.)

Parpanchi said Iran International aims to include a broad range of perspectives from Washington, noting that the program is only just beginning.

“Its not only hawkish. There are other people who have different views about Iran, and we will reflect them all,” Parpanchi said. Iran International plans to ramp up to a more regular filming schedule in 2026.

]]> 96728 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/12/experts-raise-red-flags-over-ais-potential-to-disrupt-israels-next-election/ Tue, 09 Dec 2025 08:01:46 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=96715 ]]> The run-up to next year’s Israeli election will be the first in which artificial intelligence tools to create images and videos and rapidly compose texts are easily accessible, and experts are raising red flags over the technology’s ability to influence voters and campaigns and the lack of regulations around its use.

Israeli politicians have long been early adopters of technological tools to boost their campaigns, from bypassing traditional media through Facebook to using social media data to target key demographics before most liberal democracies were doing so, and AI will likely be no different.

Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler, head of the Democracy in the Digital Age program at the Israel Democracy Institute, told Jewish Insider that Israel is one of the countries with the largest market penetration of AI in the world — 85% of Israelis have used ChatGPT and 76% use it frequently, according to a study by the Israeli Internet Association published in October — so it is only a matter of time before politicians use it in their campaigns.

(National elections are legally required to take place on Oct. 26, 2026, at the latest, but political tensions make an earlier date possible.)

“AI chatbots have significant penetration in the public,” Shwartz Altshuler said. “They will be used to ask whether to vote and for whom to vote. We have not seen anything like this before. … People use chatbots as a companion for emotional support. The concern over the great influence of chatbots on voter behavior is significant.”

Shwartz Altshuler said that there have already been attempts to “give poison injections” to AI models, such as creating fake news sites and positions on subreddits to manipulate the bots into giving more pro-Israel responses to users abroad, and those tools can be turned inward, toward Israeli voters.

She also pointed out that Israel does not have any laws requiring machine-generated content to be labeled.

“This is the first time we have an election in which we are unable to differentiate between authentic and machine-generated photos and videos,” she said. “There is a fear that the perception of reality is being undermined. People can forge documents and make deepfakes of politicians. … Machine-generated content can create an alternative reality, a very dangerous prospect when the content is very emotionally attractive.”

Yuval Dror, the former dean of media studies in Israels College of Management Studies, who hosts a popular technology podcast in Hebrew, was skeptical that computer-generated photos and videos will have a major impact on the next election.

“With photos, sometimes we can tell if it’s AI or not. With video, people usually know that it’s AI,” he told JI. “The impact of [AI-generated] video will mostly be economic, because it will be much easier to produce. In the past, you needed an ad agency, actors, post-production work. Now it’s much easier, so [campaigns will] save money.”

You can create a false presentation in which masses of people say this or that and look like a grassroots movement, Yuval Dror, the former dean of media studies in Israels College of Management Studies, said. There is [already] an army of bots echoing a few people on social media.

Dror was more concerned about AI-generated texts, which he noted can be much harder to detect.

AI may be used in upcoming political campaigns to flood social networks with content, making a candidate, message or policy appear to have more support than it does in reality. This already happens on X, where much of the political discourse in Israel takes place, but also in more closed networks like WhatsApp and Telegram, Dror said.

You can create a false presentation in which masses of people say this or that and look like a grassroots movement, Dror said. There is [already] an army of bots echoing a few people on social media.

“We’ve seen this for years. It will just get more and more convincing,” he added.

Shwartz Altshuler said that social media companies have difficulty stemming mass-bot content. “Generative AI can create a lot of versions of the same content, so the result is inauthentic, coordinated behavior on social media,” she said. “If there are slightly different versions of the same content, the social networks don’t detect” that it comes from bots.

“Most of these [AI tools] are not mentioned in the law or by past Central Election Committee decisions. They are in a grey area. [Campaigns] will do what they want,” Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler, head of the Democracy in the Digital Age program at the Israel Democracy Institute, predicted. 

In addition, developments in AI since the last Israeli election, in 2022, can help politicians use data even more effectively to target potential voters with different kinds of messages and ads, she said.

Shwartz Altshuler recounted speaking with a prominent Israeli political strategist who told her, “First we win elections, and then we see if what we did is legal or not.”

“Most of these [AI tools] are not mentioned in the law or by past Central Election Committee decisions. They are in a grey area. [Campaigns] will do what they want,” she predicted.

Despite the fertile ground for election fraud using AI, Shwartz Altshuler said it is unlikely that new laws will be passed before the next election. “This coalition has no motivation to pass such laws [and] usually the courts say laws [regarding elections] can only be applied after the next election.”

She also pointed out that the current Central Election Committee chairman, Noam Solberg, is a conservative Supreme Court justice, and therefore would be unlikely to instruct the Knesset to pass laws addressing the issue.

Despite all the advances in AI, it may not be enough to cover for a weak candidate.

Dror said that Israeli politicians are already using AI to write texts for social media or speeches: Some politicians are not capable of stringing together two sentences, so they let AI do it, but the result is no less awkward.

They have also generated all kinds of pictures to post online, which Dror said makes [them] look stupid, using Israeli Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman, who posted a picture earlier this year depicting French President Emmanuel Macron kissing Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, as an example. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz frequently posted AI-generated images ridiculing Israels enemies when he was foreign minister last year.

I dont know that theres an audience for this stupidity, Dror said.

]]> 96715 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/12/mitchell-moyshe-silk-hasidic-jew-senate-department-of-treasury/ Fri, 05 Dec 2025 07:42:30 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=96390 ]]> To the business community in Asia and to his former colleagues at the Department of Treasury, Mitchell Silk was usually called Mitch. To his friends and family in the Jewish community he is, always, Moyshe.

However those who know him refer to him, Silk in 2020 became the first Hasidic Jew to serve in a government role that required Senate confirmation. (The next Hasidic Jew to be tapped for a Senate-approved role also came from President Donald Trump: Yehuda Kaploun, whose nomination to serve as antisemitism special envoy was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday.)

As assistant secretary of the Treasury for international markets in Trump’s first term, Silk worked on trade negotiations with China —he previously spent several years living in Hong Kong, where he found a surprisingly robust Jewish community that enjoyed more kosher restaurants than he would later encounter in Washington —and on a COVID-era program that provided assistance to the airline industry.

He did all of this while commuting weekly to Washington from Borough Park, leaving Brooklyn on Sunday afternoon and returning on Thursday night, just as the scents and sounds of Shabbat cooking began to fill the air.

His service “demonstrated beyond any doubt that there need not be any compromise in the Jewish lifestyle of an observant, Hasidic Jew with the highest echelons of government service,” said Rabbi Levi Shemtov, executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad). They prayed together most days during Silk’s three years in Washington. “I think that with his extraordinary breadth of experience and broad talent, plus a very engaging personality, Mitch Silk — or Moyshe, as we called him — remains one of the extraordinary Jewish figures in public service of this generation.”

In a conversation with Jewish Insider last month, Silk reflected on an unlikely career path that began with a high school job at a Chinese restaurant, and later took him from studying abroad in Taiwan to conducting business deals in Hong Kong and then advising former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on trade with Asia. And while many other China experts have passed through Washington over the years, it’s doubtful that any of them spent the period following their government service working on a major translation and commentary of a seminal work of Jewish thought. (For Silk, that was Kedushat Levi, an important text by the Hasidic Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev. He published his three-volume edition in 2023.)

“If I were to do a backward run for you of where I ended up and am at now, to each stage and link in the progression and the trajectory, I could do it only in a manner that highlights exactly how much hashgacha pratis, how much divine providence, factored into where I am today,” Silk told JI, using a Hebrew term. “I cannot explain it in any other way than how much I had a divine hand guiding me.”

Silk, who is 64, never set out to become an expert in international markets with a law practice in Asia. He grew up first in Chicago and later in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., which is where the path began —with, as Silk would put it, a little help from God.

“I found the Asian mystique interesting, but I just ended up working in a Chinese restaurant to make money to help my mother. I ended up learning Chinese because I needed to for my work,” Silk recalled. He spent a year studying in Taiwan, as well as a period in China. Shortly after getting married, he and his wife moved to Hong Kong in 1992 when Silk was tasked with opening an office there for a large law firm.

“It was a really great period in my religious and spiritual development,” he said of his years in Hong Kong.

Mitchell Silk with Nguyen Van Binh, Head of Vietnam’s Central Economic Committee and former head of their Central Bank (Courtesy) While his work took Silk to places with smaller Jewish communities than his home in New York, he said he never lacked for religious options. He saw the number of synagogues in Hong Kong grow during his time there, as well as the number of kosher restaurants —though both were a tiny fraction of the options available to him just steps from his home in Borough Park. But with fewer people in the community, Silk got involved. As an active member of Hong Kong’s Hevra Kadisha, the group of Jews who make sure bodies are prepared for burial according to Jewish law, he helped remodel the facilities where that process takes place.

“I think the real distinguishing factor for me is that I was able to make an impact in a way in communal life that I would have never had the opportunity to do in the United States,” said Silk.

Silk spent 21 years at the law firm Allen and Overy, and it was only when a former colleague from the firm joined the Treasury Department and suggested Silk for a role there did he contemplate working in Washington. He first served as a deputy assistant secretary before Trump nominated him to the more senior role.

“It was the greatest job that I ever had in my life,” said Silk.

No longer in government, Silk still believes strongly in Trump’s approach to the economy, including his controversial use of tariffs to wrest trade deals from other nations.

In a new book, A Seat at the Table: An Inside Account of Trumps Global Economic Revolution, Silk outlines his religious journey as he progressed through his career. He writes longingly of the joy of returning home to Brooklyn before Shabbat, and the difficulty of driving away from the Yiddish-tinged chaos of his community as he headed toward the “sterile calm” of Washington.

But he also uses the book to make a case for Trump’s economic agenda, and to present himself as a loyal steward of — and cheerleader for —that message.

“This book is not a memoir,” Silk writes. “It’s a road map and a call to action. It’s an inside look at Trump’s economic principles and strategies through the lens of my Treasury portfolio, to help illuminate what Trump really stands for.”

At the beginning of the book, Silk makes clear what he stands for, and the ideals that drive him. The book’s epigraph features three quotes — one from the Talmud, one from Kedushat Levi and one from Rabbi Mordchele of Nadvorna, the Ukrainian shtetl where his grandfather was born: “True justice demands action. Hard work redeems hardship. To serve with heart is to lead with purpose.”

]]> 96390 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/12/success-academy-antisemitism-poland-holocaust-education/ Thu, 04 Dec 2025 10:19:38 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=96325 ]]> Standing inside a gas chamber, Natalie Francisco felt history — the darkest kind — come alive in a way no classroom lesson on the Holocaust could have.

Francisco, an 11th grader at Success Academy High School of the Liberal Arts–Harlem, told Jewish Insider that “witnessing Auschwitz-Birkenau, literally being inside a gas chamber, brought the horror of it all to me in a way that reading or studying history could not.”

“It was super emotional to think about the sheer inhumanity and the vast scale of it. I will carry the memories of the visit for the rest of my life,” she said.

Fransciso was one of eight high school students who took part in the school’s inaugural six-day trip to Poland last month, which included visits to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the site of the Plaszów Concentration Camp in Krakow and the Warsaw Ghetto.

Success Academy, a network of New York City charter schools primarily serving low-income families, designed the new program as a way to give students “a direct personal connection and opportunity to understand this singular event in history,” Eva Moskowitz, the organization’s CEO and founder, told JI.

While the trip to Poland came as antisemitic incidents reached record-high levels in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel — and anti-Israel rhetoric has in particular surged dramatically in New York City K-12 schools, Moskowitz, who is Jewish, said the program wasn’t necessarily designed to combat the increase of antisemitism.

“Even if there weren’t recent, horrific incidents of antisemitism, I would still want our students to understand [the Holocaust],” she said, adding that the trip was several years in the making, with logistics including obtaining passports for students, many of whom have never traveled outside of the U.S.

“At Success Academy, our students spend four years studying world history in middle school, and in high school students take both AP World History and AP European History,” continued Moskowitz. “Our curriculum is primary-source driven. But the ultimate primary source for the Holocaust is visiting an extermination camp.”

(Success Academy) Miguel Suriel, a student at Success Academy High School of the Liberal Arts–Manhattan, echoed that seeing the camps in person had a larger impact than learning about the Holocaust in class.

“Nothing prepared me to witness where, and how, it took place. I am so grateful I got to see it with my own eyes. I will never forget it, and I am changed because of it.”

“It was the hair, the enormous piles of shoes, glasses and luggage that conveyed to me the 1.1 million people, mostly Jews but not exclusively so, that were deliberately and systematically murdered there,” said Suriel.

Success Academy was founded by Moskowitz in 2006 to provide an alternative for students attending poor-performing New York City public schools. Nearly 90% of Success Academy’s 22,000 students are nonwhite, and 70% come from low-income families. Earlier this year, one of Success Academy’s schools was ranked as one of the top 10 public high schools across New York’s five boroughs, according to US News World Report.

Ellie Miller, an AP U.S. history teacher at Success Academy High School of the Liberal Arts–Harlem, told JI that she could see from students’ faces “that this journey will leave a lasting impression, shaping their character and sense of moral responsibility.”

“While our students spend a significant time studying this singular event in the classroom, nothing compares to actually walking in the footsteps of this unimaginable history,” said Miller.

Whether the trip will run again next year “is really a question of resources,” said Moskowitz. “I [think] it’s important to invest in our students’ understanding.”

While funding only allowed for bringing eight students to Poland, those students presented their experiences to peers upon returning to New York. “We brought the entire high school community together to learn,” said Moskowitz.

]]> 96325 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/12/yaron-lischinsky-parents-sarah-milgrim-israeli-embassy-employees-murder/ Mon, 01 Dec 2025 09:37:40 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=95988 ]]> Six months after the death of their son, Yaron Lischinsky, and his girlfriend, Sarah Milgrim, in a shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum, Daniel and Ruth Lischinsky visited Washington last week to meet with senior administration officials and visit the sites where their son — who, with Milgrim, worked at the Israeli Embassy — lived, worked and, ultimately, died.

Speaking to Jewish Insider during their time in the U.S. capital, the pair reflected on their son’s life and legacy.

“In the beginning it was a big shock for all of us because it was so unexpected — [it was] like an earthquake,” Ruth Lischinsky said of his killing. “Now, we are feeling much more — we are missing him much more. He’s not coming back home. He’s not calling, no message[s], no nothing. So it’s really hard.”

At first, Daniel Lischinsky said, they equated the experience to being on drugs. “We didn’t know where we are and somebody removed the floor beneath us.” But he said they were grateful for the support of their friends, family and community as they grappled with their loss.

He said that his son was a “very sweet boy” and “very gentle, very artistic, very sensible all the time”; he was passionate about soccer as a child and had visions of being a professional player.

“All the time [he was] looking [out] for other people. What are their needs, how are they feeling, approaching the people that are lonely or on the side when you are in big groups,” Daniel Lischinsky continued. “He was a peacemaker. He tried [to make] people understand one [another], talking with the other and not fighting. He was a big fan of the Abraham Accords and he was a peacemaker. He knew that through diplomacy he can reach and he can make achievements.”

It was that passion, his mother said, that led him to pursue diplomatic service and ultimately land in the Israeli Embassy in Washington. She said she’s been struck by the number of people that knew her son in the nation’s capital.

“I have so many opportunities reaching out to different communities,” she said. “He was in contact with so many people. We were really blown away when we realized it now, that so many people knew him and he had contact with them.”

Lischinsky “loved” his time in Washington and ended up “in the right place,” Daniel Lischinsky said.

During their time in Washington, the Lischinskys visited the site where their son and Milgrim were killed, outside the Capital Jewish Museum.

“Seeing the place where they [were] killed was the hardest part, of course,” Ruth Lischinsky said. “But we wanted to go there to somehow connect.”

They said they regretted that they did not have the opportunity to meet Milgrim in person before her death. The young couple had arranged to visit Lischinsky’s parents in Israel days after they were killed, and Lischinsky was planning to propose.

The Lischinskys traveled to Washington both to meet with administration officials involved in fighting antisemitism as well as to meet with Lischinsky and Milgrim’s colleagues at the embassy, and see where the couple had worked together. 

Ruth Lischinsky said she’d been impressed by the dedication to fighting antisemitism expressed by the officials they met with — “they are really serious about it.” 

Daniel Lischinsky said that they came to offer any help they can, but also told the officials that “they need to be stronger, much more strong against antisemitism, and against every crazy one that can be suspicious, like this murderer that took the life of our children. We told them that we don’t want to hear anymore about something like this, not here in Washington, D.C., and not in the States.”

Ruth Lischinsky added that the U.S. media needs to do a better job of accurately reporting what is happening in Israel. Daniel Lischinsky said that inaccurate reporting encourages violent attacks such as the one that killed Lischinsky and Milgrim.

The couple also called for better education, starting early in schools, and for stronger law enforcement response to suspicious individuals like Elias Rodriguez, who has been indicted on murder charges for the shooting.

The Lischinskys, referencing an issue that Milgrim’s parents have also spoken about publicly, expressed shock that protesters were allowed to gather for months directly outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, making so much noise that they were disrupting work inside the building.

The pair have also been traveling to Jewish communities around the world, recently visiting the site of a bombing that targeted the AMIA Jewish community center in Argentina and the Jewish community in Los Angeles.

“We, all the Jewish people, the people in Israel, are praying for you, and you are helping us and praying for us, the Israelis and the people in Israel,” Daniel Lischinsky said. “We are very much encouraged by the support and the love of the Jewish community here in the U.S. It’s really a balsam for our hearts.”

]]> 95988 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/11/tom-malinowski-mikie-sherrill-special-election-new-jersey/ Wed, 26 Nov 2025 08:54:18 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=95861 ]]> Former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), who established himself as a prominent voice on Capitol Hill on foreign policy and national security issues in Congress between 2019 and 2023, told Jewish Insider last week, as he mounts a congressional comeback bid, that he’s “as pro-Israel as I have ever been.”

But he also expressed more openness to policies conditioning or restricting aid, and called for the U.S. to serve as a “counterweight” to the Israeli far right. And he said that U.S. aid shouldn’t be used in furtherance of Israeli actions that the U.S. itself doesn’t support. At the same time, he expressed support for the Trump administration’s Gaza peace plan and strikes on Iran’s nuclear program.

Malinowski is one of the many Democrats who have declared their candidacies in the special election in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, recently vacated by Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill. The 11th District, an affluent suburb with a sizable Jewish population, borders and incorporates portions of the district Malinowski represented for two terms.

Malinowski said that he’s “as pro-Israel as I have ever been, in the sense that I believe that Israel should be safe and secure as a Jewish and democratic state, and that the United States has a moral and strategic interest in defending Israel as that kind of state at the same.”

Malinowski said that “to be pro-Israel for me also requires listening to what the hostage families have been saying for the last couple of years, to what hundreds of Israeli security officials have been saying to their government and directly to the United States about the need to bring the war in Gaza to an end and to have some plan that addresses the legitimate desire of Palestinians to have their rights respected and to have a future that they can strive towards.”

“I would not seek to enable [any] ally to do something that I thought should not be done. It’s just a basic foreign policy principle that I think most people would agree is straightforward,” Malinowski told JI, when asked about the possibility of conditioning or suspending aid to Israel. “I would make case-by-case judgments given what’s happening on the ground.”

He said he would not support U.S. policies that would hurt Israel’s ability to protect itself, but added that the U.S. should “serve as a counterweight” to the pressure that an Israel government may feel from Israel’s far right and “use our influence and leverage and our honest voice to steer our ally away from policies that are self-destructive.”

He expressed a similar view in public interviews last year when he offered support for President Joe Biden’s moves to suspend some U.S. arms sales to Israel to pressure Israel against mounting a military incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

“I would not seek to enable [any] ally to do something that I thought should not be done. It’s just a basic foreign policy principle that I think most people would agree is straightforward,” Malinowski told JI, when asked about the possibility of conditioning or suspending aid to Israel. “I would make case-by-case judgments given what’s happening on the ground.”

He said he was not committing to supporting conditions on aid but also did not rule them out depending on the situation. “There’s no U.S. ally in the world that I would guarantee a rubber stamp on every request for military assistance, that’s not the way U.S. foreign policy functions,” Malinowski said.

He said on X in April of last year that the U.S. has, in practice, failed to apply the globally applicable U.S. laws conditioning all arms sales on human rights compliance to Israel. He said that a decision to enforce that law last year to suspend arms sales to certain Israeli units was a “step towards treating Israel as we would any other partner.”

He added that the purpose of the law is to seek remediation of the issues to prevent the need to cut off arms, as was the case for most of the Israeli units to which it was applied.

At the same time, Malinowski indicated to JI a level of skepticism of efforts to halt all offensive aid to Israel, which have been pushed by some former colleagues, arguing that the “distinction between defensive and offensive is hard to make and a bit artificial.”

He expressed support for the Trump administration’s 20-point ceasefire plan for Gaza, saying it “offers the best possible hope for a way forward” and said the U.S. should focus on pushing all parties involved to implement it to its fullest extent, to deploy the international security force to neutralize Hamas and to surge humanitarian aid.

He said any decision on Israel in Congress, including with regard to aid, would be geared toward pursuing that goal.

“I think were very far from being able to address the issues of sovereignty and what the ultimate answer to those questions should be,” Malinowski said. “Even many of my Palestinian and Arab American friends, I think, would say that theyre not interested in lip service to a two-state solution right now.”

He said that “serious oversight” is needed from Congress on the deal because he is concerned that Trump will be “tempted to just declare victory and claim his Nobel Peace Prize without doing the hard work of securing implementation of the rest of the plan,” when it will require “steady pressure” — on Hamas and its interlocutors as well as on Israel — to ensure that the situation does not return to the pre-Oct. 7, 2023, status quo.

Malinowski was not supportive of an effort led by some progressive lawmakers to recognize Palestinian statehood, arguing that the U.S. focus should be — and that his focus would be — on more immediate humanitarian and security issues, including ensuring the Trump plan proceeds.

“I think were very far from being able to address the issues of sovereignty and what the ultimate answer to those questions should be,” Malinowski explained. “Even many of my Palestinian and Arab American friends, I think, would say that theyre not interested in lip service to a two-state solution right now.”

Malinowski said he did not oppose the U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities earlier this year, adding that U.S. intervention likely helped bring the war to a quicker close than it would otherwise have, by bringing the U.S.’ superior capabilities to bear on Iran’s nuclear facilities. He also said he’s “very happy” the Assad regime fell, Hezbollah was significantly weakened” and the “paper tiger of Iran’s defenses has been exposed.”

At the same time, he argued that any “lasting solution” to Iran’s nuclear program will require a diplomatic agreement with “highly intrusive inspections,” and said President Donald Trump had “exaggerate[d] the impact” of the U.S. strikes.

“My hope is that we will continue to pursue that, rather than imagining that this problem can be addressed just by going to war every few years,” Malinowski said.

At home, Malinowski has spoken publicly at various occasions since the Oct. 7 attacks about anti-Israel and pro-Hamas activism in the U.S. and on college campuses. He argued in May 2024 that students who care about protecting innocent Palestinians were being overshadowed by more extreme voices advocating for the end of Israel, which he called counterproductive.

“The loudest voices are using Gazas plight to push a sweeping more radical agenda of defeating Zionism and colonialism. This is not about ending the war but about ending Israel,” Malinowski said on X. “But the actual political effect of these protests has been to shift attention away from Gaza at the very moment (after the World Central Kitchen strike) when opinion was shifting against the war. All our attention should be on getting aid to Gazans, freeing hostages, avoiding more deaths, and what happens post-war. Instead, we have to talk about dumb 19 year olds glorifying Hamas ‘intifada,’ drowning out the voices of others who sincerely care about saving lives.”

He said those voices also gave right-wing “bad faith partisans” fodder to “cast all legitimate criticism of self-defeating Israeli government policies” as support for Hamas and demand police crackdowns.

“Even though there is a significant problem on the far left that involves anti-Israel protests morphing into calls for an end to Israel as a Jewish state, we don’t quite have a Nazi problem in the Democratic Party in a way that leading Republicans are now acknowledging they do on their side,” Malinowski said.

Malinowski told JI that leaders need to speak up and police antisemitism on their own sides, adding that he “probably underestimated the extent of the problem on the far left” during his time on office but argued that the “problem on the right has gotten much worse and is too often dismissed by critics of the Democratic Party.”

He argued that the problem in the GOP is much more severe than in the Democratic Party. “You have leaders of the party rightly worried, as some on the Republican side are, that a significant share of the young people going into administration positions … have something akin to a Nazi ideology,” he said.

“Even though there is a significant problem on the far left that involves anti-Israel protests morphing into calls for an end to Israel as a Jewish state, we don’t quite have a Nazi problem in the Democratic Party in a way that leading Republicans are now acknowledging they do on their side,” he continued.

He also said that holding social media platforms accountable —a longtime priority for Malinowski — for their amplification of content designed to fuel hatred, will be critical. He said that social media platforms “bear the largest share of responsibility” for increased extremism on both the far left and far right.

Asked about New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s record on Israel and antisemitism issues, Malinowski told JI the Jewish community is “rightly feeling a tremendous amount of anxiety” about rising antisemitic rhetoric and violence.

He said Mamdani has “made a lot of decent promises about the need to reject antisemitism and hatred of all stripes, and about his interest, his determination to listen to people and to bring communities together. And he needs to be held to those promises.”

Malinowski said that if Mamdani follows through, he could prove to be a “potentially very powerful ally against antisemitism” and help to rebuild Jewish-Muslim dialogue that has broken down since Oct. 7.

“But I also understand that he has said things in the past and failed to say some things in the present that cause people understandable anxiety, and therefore everyone has to be vigilant and hold him accountable to the better angels of his nature,” the former congressman continued.

Malinowski said he decided to run for Congress again because “it would be nice to have a Congress again, one that can fulfill its basic constitutional function of checking presidential policies that go too far. … I’d like to contribute to making Congress a coequal branch again.”

And he argued that his experience in foreign policy generally is one of the key factors that makes him stand out from the rest of the field, explaining that there is a “big shortage” in the House of “people who can conduct oversight of the administration’s foreign policy.”

Asked about emerging attacks on him as a carpetbagger —he previously represented a neighboring district that included only part of the district in which he is now running — Malinowski argued he’s the only lawmaker who has represented any part of the district before and he works in the district as a professor at Seton Hall University.

And he argued that voters are looking for a candidate who can effectively pick up Sherrill’s work where she left off from his first day in office, given his previous service. His previous service, he said “is one of the key distinctions” between him and the rest of the field.

]]> 95861 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/11/espn-paul-finebaum-senate-alabama-tommy-tuberville/ Tue, 25 Nov 2025 07:43:14 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=95762 ]]> Paul Finebaum, the longtime ESPN host and veteran Birmingham, Ala., college football commentator, is seriously considering entering the Republican primary to replace outgoing Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), three sources familiar with the matter confirmed to Jewish Insider. 

Finebaum, 70, began considering a run in late August, as it became clear that former Auburn University men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl, whom Finebaum had encouraged over the summer to enter the race, was not going to make his own bid. Both men are Jewish and have known each other for over a decade as prominent figures in the Southeastern Conference — Pearl as a legendary college basketball coach and Finebaum as an outspoken football commentator. 

Finebaum has largely avoided talking about politics during his career commentating on college football. The ESPN host, whose contract with the network ends in mid-2027, made some comments critical of President Donald Trump early in his first term, though Finebaum grew supportive of the president before he left office in 2021. During that time, Finebaum also grew tired of what he has described to those in his orbit as liberal bias at ESPN and the Walt Disney Company, the media giant that owns the network, according to a source close to Finebaum. 

While confirming his interest in the seat in an appearance on the “Clay Travis Buck Sexton Show” in late September, Finebaum said that he unsuccessfully lobbied ESPN to allow him to interview Trump on the network in 2019.

Reached for comment, Finebaum told JI, “It’s true, I’ve received a lot of calls encouraging me to run for Senate. So many of those calls have the same theme: Alabamians aren’t looking for someone running for the Senate as a job promotion. They want a senator ready to fight for their families, for conservative values and for President Trump’s agenda.”

“We all have a belief system, things that drive us and make us who we are, faith is a big part of that for me. I’m praying about the best path forward for me and my family,” his statement continued. “I’m flattered that so many people think I can serve in that role for them. Like I tell everyone who calls me or stops me at the grocery store, I’ll have something to say soon.”

A spokesperson for ESPN said they were “politely declining” JI’s request for comment.

Known as the “Mouth of the South,” Finebaum spent decades building a devoted following of college football fans as host of “The Paul Finebaum Radio Network,” a sports radio program devoted to Southeastern Conference athletics. Finebaum left Birmingham for Charlotte, N.C., in 2013, when ESPN signed him to a multiyear deal to help launch SEC Network the next year and rebrand his program as “The Paul Finebaum Show.” 

The longtime sports analyst moved back to Alabama with his family earlier this year, and has since been splitting his time between his new residence and Charlotte, where the studio for his syndicated ESPN program is based. 

While he has until late January to file for next May’s GOP primary, Finebaum has privately acknowledged he needs to make a decision about running imminently, with numerous other candidates already in the race. The SEC Network host has given himself a deadline of the first week in December to decide, though sources close to Finebaum say he has privately acknowledged that he is facing growing frustration from some in Alabama’s political class over the prolonged wait. 

Finebaum, who grew up attending an Orthodox synagogue in Memphis, Tenn., would be the only Jewish Republican in the Senate.  

As part of his Jewish upbringing, Finebaum was a member of the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization (BBYO). He said in a 2017 interview with the organization that he got involved in a Memphis-area chapter as a teen after being connected through his mother, who had been involved with BBYO for more than three decades. He eventually became a regional president at 16 years old.

Finebaum credited BBYO with teaching him “how to communicate, which is something I now do every day.” He also touted “the relationships that I formed and learning how to listen to people” as the main things he “took away from BBYO.” 

Finebaum, whose family moved from New York to Memphis just before he was born, told the Athletic in a July profile that he has “explored Christianity” and once considered converting to Catholicism with his wife Linda, who was raised Methodist. He said he still practices Judaism, however, to honor his parents. 

“I had a political operative tell me about a month ago: ‘Listen, I like you. I’ve followed you my entire career. I appreciate how you’ve spoken out on hypocrisy and held the people that run college football accountable. But you’re Jewish, and it will never work in Alabama,’ Finebaum said In an appearance on Travis and Sexton’s program on Monday. “I disagree strongly. I have lived in Alabama most of my adult life.”

“I believe in God and very strongly in faith, but it has been a challenge to find my way,” Finebaum said of exploring different faiths. “As I got older and opened my eyes to other things, it really helped me. … It’s a lifelong journey for me.”

“Whatever that means,” he added jokingly.

In an appearance on Travis and Sexton’s program on Monday, Finebaum said bringing Christians and Jews together would be one of his “major goals” as a Jewish senator for Alabama. 

“Right now, I don’t need to tell anyone listening to the show where that issue is and how much division is out there,” Finebaum said. “I had a political operative tell me about a month ago: ‘Listen, I like you. I’ve followed you my entire career. I appreciate how you’ve spoken out on hypocrisy and held the people that run college football accountable. But you’re Jewish, and it will never work in Alabama.’ I disagree strongly. I have lived in Alabama most of my adult life.”

Finebaum argued that the claim that Alabamians wouldn’t support a Jewish candidate was a “ridiculously unfair attack” on the people of the state, who he said “have been painted in a corner.” 

“That may have been true 50 or 60 years ago, but it’s not true today,” Finebaum said.

“I’m not going to run on being a Jewish Republican senator, if I chose to, from Alabama,” he continued. “But I think it would, you know, standing up there, assuming it happened, with [Alabama] Sen. [Katie] Britt, who is someone who has represented the great values of the state. I think we would make an incredible tandem. … I’m not in the field, but I think I’m the only person that could actually do that.”

If he enters the race, Finebaum would face no shortage of GOP competitors. The crowded Republican field to replace Tuberville includes Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, who has been the state’s chief law enforcement officer since 2017; Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL); Morgan Murphy, Tuberville’s former national security advisor; and Jared Hudson, a former Navy SEAL and pro-Trump businessman. 

Moore has the support of the Club for Growth, the well-funded conservative organization that was once at odds with Trump but has pledged to “work closely” with the president in the midterms. He’s also been endorsed by Sens. Ted Budd (R-NC) and Steve Daines (R-MT), the latter of whom chaired the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Senate GOP campaign arm, last cycle. On the House side, Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Tim Burchett (R-TN) have gotten behind his campaign. 

Hudson is endorsed by Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT).

Trump has not endorsed in the race yet, nor has Tuberville or the NRSC. Finebaum has been making overtures to people close to the president about seeking his endorsement. He has also engaged with some of the state’s leading campaign operatives and donors, as well as the NRSC, about getting in the race.

Finebaum told those around him in recent weeks that he came away from his conversations with senior NRSC officials feeling encouraged about their interest in his candidacy, despite the fact that he’d be making such a late entry into the race. He has also cited what he described as overtures from conservative commentators, GOP lawmakers and other Trump allies urging him to run as reason to consider throwing his hat in the ring. 

A NRSC spokesperson did not respond to JI’s request for comment.

“Paul is smart. He loves the country,” Sen. Tommy Tubervile (R-AL) said on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast in late September. “[He’s] been a friend of mine for a long time. I tell you, he’s got 100% name ID in Alabama. He’d have a lot of big people behind him. He would be a force in the race if he decided to get into it.”

The ESPN mainstay had initially planned to travel to Washington, D.C., to meet with GOP senators and NRSC officials about a potential run after the August recess, but had to cancel the trip due to scheduling conflicts. He faced headwinds in organizing a trip this fall due to the government shutdown, and has not made it to Washington since starting to consider entering the race. 

Tuberville, who opted against seeking a second term in the Senate to run for governor of Alabama, has publicly embraced the idea of Finebaum running to succeed him. 

“Paul is smart. He loves the country,” Tuberville said on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast in late September. “[He’s] been a friend of mine for a long time.”

“I tell you, he’s got 100% name ID in Alabama. He’d have a lot of big people behind him. He would be a force in the race if he decided to get into it,” he added of Finebaum.

Britt is not getting involved in the GOP primary and plans to hold off on weighing in until she endorses the Republican nominee in the general election, three sources familiar with her thinking told JI. The Alabama senator and her husband Wesley Britt, a former NFL tackle with the New England Patriots, are longtime friends of Pearl’s and have socialized with Finebaum for years through Alabama sports circles. 

A spokesperson for Britt did not respond to JI’s request for comment.

Regardless of how Trump or the NRSC land on endorsing Finebaum’s campaign, the ESPN host is certain to face some right-wing detractors. Far-right commentator Laura Loomer has accused him of being a “Trojan horse” for his “radical” and “left-leaning views,” including his comments supporting the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 and criticisms he made of Trump during his first term. 

Loomer, a close ally of the president’s, claimed in a series of tweets last month that Finebaum’s views are “at odds with the conservative values that define the Republican Party and Alabama’s electorate,” and accused him of “using” Trump-aligned “influencers” to “dupe MAGA into thinking he’s conservative so he can run” for Tuberville’s seat.

]]> 95762 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/11/trump-saudi-arabia-mbs-f35s-abraham-accords-israel-normalization/ Thu, 20 Nov 2025 07:25:28 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=95266 ]]> During Tuesday’s meeting between President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the leaders strengthened their relationship and confirmed the completion of several deals. Any plan to utilize such transactions as part of normalization with Israel, however, was notably absent.

While taking questions from reporters in the Oval Office, Trump confirmed that the U.S. would sell Saudi Arabia F-35 fighter jets of similar caliber to Israel’s. At a dinner that evening, the president added that a strategic security agreement had crossed the finish line, while also formally naming Saudi Arabia a major non-NATO ally. On Wednesday, the two countries announced a strategic artificial intelligence partnership.

“The main takeaway of the visit was the normalization of the U.S.-Saudi relationship,” said Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former State Department negotiator. “[There was] very little, it seemed to me, not surprisingly, on the side of normalization to Israel. It’s almost as if Israel was sort of an afterthought this visit.”

When asked by reporters why normalization with Israel was not prioritized, Trump did not provide much of a response, instead asserting that Israel is “going to be happy.”

Observers had anticipated that Trump would roll out the red carpet for MBS on his visit to Washington. What remained unknown was whether the deepening ties between Washington and Riyadh would come with progress between Saudi Arabia and Israel, the United States’ closest ally in the region.

But the deals announced this week were made without any apparent requirement of progress toward normalization, leading some experts and leaders of pro-Israel groups to raise questions about the Trump administration’s strategy.

“By the way this was done, President Trump seems to have elevated the partnerships with Saudi Arabia and maybe, to some degree, with other Gulf states, above pretty much all other U.S. partnerships, including Israel,” said Dan Shapiro, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel under former President Barack Obama.

“So that means that other considerations, like ensuring the right incentives are still in place for Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel or ensuring that military sales are done in a way that protects U.S. interests and Israels security interests, may be less important than they have been under previous administrations.”

Shapiro said that while it is reasonable for the U.S. to strengthen its partnerships with Gulf countries, the deals gave away major incentives for normalization “without knowing whether it can be achieved later.” He also added that it came without guarantees from the Saudi government on limiting military cooperation with China and Russia.

Anne Dreazen, the vice president for the American Jewish Committee’s Center for a New Middle East, told JI that Saudi-Israeli normalization could not have been achieved on this visit, adding that it was “not in the cards right now.”

“Now the paradigm is shifting where it’s about peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia being logical and good based on its own merits, when they can get the politics right and when they can reach agreement on the Palestinian issue,” said Anne Dreazen, the vice president for the American Jewish Committee’s Center for a New Middle East.

“Right now we’re not there. The politics in Israel and Saudi Arabia are not right for this,” said Dreazen. “I think President Trump realized that it wasn’t going to happen in this visit and wanted to move ahead with these deals because theres a strong perception that making some deals with Saudi Arabia is in America’s interest.”

Dreazen, however, still believes normalization is “going to happen,” adding that she has confidence from conversations with Saudi officials that political differences will be resolved in the future.

Trump’s decision to make significant deals with Saudi Arabia while not pressing for normalization suggests the White House is taking a different approach than in the past, Dreazen argued.

“Now the paradigm is shifting where it’s about peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia being logical and good based on its own merits, when they can get the politics right and when they can reach agreement on the Palestinian issue,” said Dreazen, a shift from how former President Joe Biden approached negotiations.

But with MBS leaving Washington with so many deliverables, it’s unclear whether he will still prioritize normalization.

The Israelis are “going to be right to worry that the Saudis may feel like theyve gotten everything they want and dont have any need left for normalization,” Shapiro said.

Following his Oval Office meeting with Trump, the Saudi crown prince told reporters, “We want to be part of the Abraham Accords, but we want also to be sure that [we] secure a clear path [toward a] two-state solution.”

Leaders of pro-Israel groups said normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia should remain a top policy priority for the U.S.

“The United States would be stronger and more secure if our major non-NATO allies worked together to promote regional peace, stability and prosperity, said AIPAC spokesman Marshall Wittmann. “This objective would be advanced if Saudi Arabia joined the Abraham Accords, and U.S. leaders should urge it to do so.”

In a statement released on Wednesday, Democratic Majority for Israel’s president and CEO, Brian Romick, said that expanding the Abraham Accords must be “central to U.S. policy,” and urged Congress to play an active role in reviewing U.S. defense agreements with Saudi Arabia.

“Any substantial upgrade in the U.S.–Saudi relationship — including access to advanced U.S. defense systems — must be tied to meaningful, measurable progress toward Saudi-Israeli normalization,” Romick said in a statement. “It is now incumbent on the Trump Administration to use our leverage with Saudi Arabia to make real progress toward normalization.”

“Theres clearly a political dynamic going on here,” said Israel Policy Forum chief policy officer Michael Koplow. “Trump went out of his way to almost poke at the Israelis. He implied that [the U.S. is] OK with the Saudis getting F-35s but [the Israelis] want the Saudis to get a less advanced version, and he almost seemed to boast about the fact that hes going to give the Saudis whatever he wants no matter what Israel says.”

Trump’s promise of F-35 sales to Saudi Arabia has raised questions about which model and allowances Riyadh will receive and whether Israel will maintain its qualitative military edge, which the U.S. is bound by law to uphold. To date, Israel is the only country in the Middle East to have obtained the fighter jet.

U.S. officials and experts told Reuters that the F-35 jets the U.S. plans to sell to Saudi Arabia will lack superior features that Israel’s fleet has.

Israel Policy Forum chief policy officer Michael Koplow voiced concerns about the security aspect of the deals.

“It doesn’t surprise me that all of these things are going ahead,” said Koplow. “What surprises me more is that some of the things that have been discussed over the past couple of days seem to put Israel in a more difficult security position, particularly this question of sales of F-35s.”

Israel’s government, meanwhile, has stayed largely quiet about the F-35 sales, though the Israeli Air Force has objected to the deal, warning that it could damage Israel’s air superiority in the region

“Theres clearly a political dynamic going on here,” said Koplow. “Trump went out of his way to almost poke at the Israelis. He implied that [the U.S. is] OK with the Saudis getting F-35s but [the Israelis] want the Saudis to get a less advanced version, and he almost seemed to boast about the fact that hes going to give the Saudis whatever he wants no matter what Israel says.”

]]> 95266 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/11/confused-young-groypers-jewish-republicans-reckon-with-resurgent-antisemitism-on-the-right/ Tue, 18 Nov 2025 10:44:33 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=95033 ]]> During a talk at a Turning Point USA event at the University of Mississippi last month, Vice President JD Vance listened carefully as a student took the microphone and asked him a question grounded in antisemitic tropes. Vance took the question at face value, declining to push back.

“Im a Christian man, and Im just confused why theres this notion that we might have owed Israel something, or that theyre our greatest ally,” the questioner began. “Im just confused why this idea has come around, considering the fact that not only does their religion not agree with ours, but also openly supports the prosecution [sic] of ours.”

The exchange came soon after right-wing podcaster Tucker Carlson hosted neo-Nazi provocateur Nick Fuentes for a decidedly friendly interview, a shocking but not altogether surprising cultural moment that catapulted an intra-party rift into the open: a shift among a small but growing contingent of young conservatives away from Israel and, increasingly, into a conspiratorial worldview that holds the Jewish state — and Jews —responsible for the world’s ills.

The question facing party leaders is just how deeply this perspective has rooted itself among the right and how to deal with it: whether to fight it, accept it or stay quiet and hope it disappears.

Vance’s response at the Turning Point event sparked concern among Jewish conservatives about how a potential future GOP presidential nominee plans to deal with a growing segment of the political right that is not just critical of Israel but of Jews — and why he has been willing to make excuses for the bigotry of some of his supporters. Last month, Vance called criticism of scores of racist and antisemitic messages in Young Republicans group chat “pearl clutching.” And earlier this month, after many conservatives spoke out against Carlson’s interview with Fuentes, Vance decried what he deemed “infighting” calling it “stupid.”

Until Sunday, President Donald Trump had avoided the maelstrom of the last several weeks, which saw the venerable Heritage Foundation devolve into chaos after its president, Kevin Roberts, defended Carlson following the Fuentes interview. But Trump entered the fray for the first time on Sunday when he was asked by a reporter what role Carlson should play in the conservative movement after hosting “antisemite Nick Fuentes” —and responded with praise for Carlson.

“I found him to be good. I mean, he said good things about me over the years. I think hes good,” Trump said. “You cant tell him who to interview. I mean, if he wants to interview Nick Fuentes, I dont know much about him, but if he wants to do it, get the word out. People have to decide.” Trump dined with Fuentes and Kanye West, also an avowed antisemite, at his Mar-a-Lago resort in 2022, though Trump has insisted that he didn’t invite Fuentes, but rather that Fuentes tagged along with West.

Pro-Israel Republicans have generally been willing to dismiss Trump’s connection to Carlson — Trump appeared on Carlson’s podcast during the campaign last year soon after the former Fox News host platformed a well-known Holocaust denier —because of what they describe as Trump’s pro-Israel bona fides.

“Its a ridiculous conversation to be having, because nobody should doubt where the president stands on this,” Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks told Jewish Insider on Monday. “Donald Trump has zero tolerance when it comes to antisemitism.” Brooks, who is highly critical of Carlson, categorized Trump’s comments as “an omission in his remarks on an airport tarmac.”

Earlier this month, at the RJC conference in Las Vegas, Republican fundraiser Eric Levine told JI that he has concerns about Vance, though he added that those concerns are balanced out by the fact that Trump remains “the most pro-Israel president in the history of the country.”

“I was disappointed in JD Vances response, particularly as part of the Trump administration, which is so pro-Israel, so pro-Jewish,” Levine said. “This notion of this outsized influence that Jews have is disturbing, and I would have thought that the vice president could have done a better job, could have been clearer on that point.”

Yet Vance’s rhetoric, coupled with his ties to the more isolationist wing of the Republican Party, has frustrated even some of his Jewish backers, who want to see him do more to disavow the fringe, conspiracist right.

“This [anti-Israel] sensibility has been gaining ground on the right for several years now, and I count myself as one of those who has been warning about it and is worried. But the antisemitic part of it is relatively new,” Peter Berkowitz, who served as a senior State Department official in Trump’s first term, told JI. “Its high time for those great adepts of social media, President Trump and Vice President Vance, to take to social media and weigh in.”

“I admire and support JD Vance, but his response to that question was disappointing,” said David Brog, a conservative activist who leads the Maccabee Task Force, an organization focused on fighting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel. “He knows better. He is the vice president of the United States now. He doesn’t need to please the confused young groypers” —a term used by Fuentes’ acolytes to describe themselves. “He needs to step up, lead and teach them the right path forward.”

Andrew Day, an editor at The American Conservative, a magazine identified with more isolationist strains of the right, called Vance “the clear favorite of a growing faction on the right that favors realism and restraint in foreign policy, a faction generally hostile toward Israel,” while noting that his “pro-restraint views have long accommodated sympathy for the Jewish state,” so he won’t entirely alienate pro-Israel Republicans. Vance has written for the magazine, and Carlson sits on its advisory board.

“This [anti-Israel] sensibility has been gaining ground on the right for several years now, and I count myself as one of those who has been warning about it and is worried. But the antisemitic part of it is relatively new,” Peter Berkowitz, who served as a senior State Department official in Trump’s first term, told JI. “Its high time for those great adepts of social media, President Trump and Vice President Vance, to take to social media and weigh in.”

The White House did not respond to a request for comment, and a spokesperson for Vance declined to comment for this article.

Vance’s sympathy toward a more transgressive younger generation of conservatives is an outgrowth of that contingent’s expansion in the party. How widely that worldview has percolated is not fully known: conservative writer Rod Dreher recently estimated that 30 to 40% of young Republican staffers in Washington “are fans of Nick Fuentes,” while journalist Emily Jashinsky wrote at the conservative website UnHerd that the “number is high, but not nearly as high as 30-40%.”

What is not disputed is that among Gen Z conservatives, old dogmas, like support for Israel, are no longer accepted at face value. In the weeks after TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk’s murder, several well-known figures on the right,particularly in the podcasting sphere where Carlson operates, haveattempted to recast Kirk as critical of Israel. In a letter sent to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this year, Kirk was clear about the trend lines: “Israel is losing support even in conservative circles. This should be a 5 alarm fire,” he wrote.

But Jewish Republicans see an issue bigger than just a shift away from Israel among some Republicans who are skeptical of American involvement overseas, particularly in the aftermath of the invasion of Iraq two decades ago. They also see an antisemitism problem, in addition to an apathy problem —or, perhaps more accurately, a fear factor —among leaders who are wary of taking on an increasingly radicalized young generation.

“It wouldnt be accurate to say the right is inherently antisemitic, or that being anti-Israel is endemic on the right,” said Tamara Berens, a conservative writer in Washington who wrote an article in early 2023 outlining the growth of antisemitism on America’s far right. “I think whats endemic is the platforming and the excusing of antisemitic figures.”

“Youre going to get debates about where Americas long-term interests truly lie and where they dont, and thats where I think you get a very hot debate,” said Rusty Reno, editor of First Things, a prominent Christian magazine. “Certainly because of the Gaza war, it became a very heated debate about whether or not the U.S. has an interest in a strong alliance with Israel.” 

A June Quinnipiac poll found that 64% of Republicans sympathized more with Israelis than Palestinians —a far higher number than Democrats, but a decrease from November 2023, when 80% of Republicans were more sympathetic to Israel. And that drop in support has come alongside “flirt[ing] with antisemitism,” said Maccabee Task Force’s Brog.

“It’s a new era, certainly when it comes to the conversation about where the guardrails are, if there are any remaining on the broader right,” said Josh Hammer, a conservative activist and lawyer. “There are a lot of young folks on the right who have been infected with varying degrees of this mind virus.”

As the editor of First Things, a prominent Christian magazine, Rusty Reno is aware of the anti-establishment sentiment growing among young conservatives. He attributes much of that to an emerging “consensus that we need to revise and fundamentally rethink our global commitments,” Reno told JI.

“Youre going to get debates about where Americas long-term interests truly lie and where they dont, and thats where I think you get a very hot debate,” Reno explained. “Certainly because of the Gaza war, it became a very heated debate about whether or not the U.S. has an interest in a strong alliance with Israel.”

Reno said he believes some of the concern about rising antisemitism has brought about a “hysterical response,” although he acknowledged that it is not “just this internet nonsense.”

“It does exist, and Ive heard people say things that shocked me in some circles on the right,” Reno said. “Its difficult for me to interpret in young people the extent to which they say things performatively, to demonstrate to each other their bona fides as not captive to the baby boomer mentality, and how much of it is real, or something I should worry about.”

Even staunch backers of Trump’s agenda now acknowledge that they can no longer ignore the fact that something has begun to shift among some hardcore conservatives.

“I dont think Republicans should make the same mistake that Democrats made and allow themselves to be eaten by a radical fringe, which inevitably means you start losing elections,” said the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Rich Goldberg, who until recently served as a senior advisor at the Department of Interior.  

“I do not think that is reflective of the party as a whole, by any stretch of the imagination. I think that it is, with respect to the adults in the room, still fringe,” Sandra Hagee Parker, the chair of Christians United for Israel Action Fund, told JI. “But I think that the issue is that we have to be aware of whats happening in this young generation and be prepared to respond to that.”

The party now finds itself at a crossroads as Republican leaders consider how to deal with a small but vocal antisemitic fringe.

“I dont think Republicans should make the same mistake that Democrats made and allow themselves to be eaten by a radical fringe, which inevitably means you start losing elections,” said the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Rich Goldberg, who until recently served as a senior advisor at the Department of Interior.

It is certainly not a foregone conclusion that the party will fully cede to that perspective. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has spoken out sharply against Carlson recently, including in a recent speech calling on his Republican colleagues to criticize the popular podcaster. By going after Carlson, Cruz may be positioning himself for a 2028 presidential run, Axios reported this week.

Trump is in his second term, and the Republican Party — which has been shaped almost exclusively by Trump for the last decade —will eventually have a new figurehead. Whether that is Vance or someone else remains to be seen, with two years before presidential primary season begins. But the fight that is playing out now is not one that Trump will be able to contain forever.

“What these guys are fighting for is not MAGA. Its fighting for the next thing,” said David Reaboi, who operates a national security communications firm. “They dont care if hes MAGA or not. Theyre very happy to hand over MAGA at this point.”

]]> 95033 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/11/israel-u-s-memorandum-of-understanding-foreign-aid/ Mon, 17 Nov 2025 09:02:45 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=94920 ]]> With Israel’s current 10-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the U.S. set to expire in 2028, Jerusalem is reportedly seeking a renewed and expanded agreement that would run through 2048 — though questions remain over the deal’s final framework and the future of U.S.-Israel assistance. 

The current memorandum between the two countries was signed in 2016 under President Barack Obama and provides Israel with $3.8 billion in military aid and missile-defense funding annually. 

The first 10-year framework agreement between the two countries, for $21.3 billion, went into effect in 1998, during the Clinton administration. The second, for $32 billion, began in 2008 under President George W. Bush. 

Israel is looking to finalize a new 20-year agreement that entails more in annual assistance, with hopes of securing the deal within the next year. Negotiations were previously delayed due to the war in Gaza; however, Israeli and U.S. officials confirmed to Axios that initial discussion began in recent weeks. In an interview with journalist Erin Molan last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said of the Axios report, however, “I don’t know what they’re talking about. My direction is the exact opposite.”

“MOU negotiations typically take a long time, and waiting for both countries to get through their respective 2026 elections puts the start of these talks well into fiscal year 2027,” said Dana Stroul, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “If there are going to be changes in the funding levels, Israeli and American budgeteers will want this information as early as possible.”

“If the Israelis have any concerns about the strength of support in the U.S. or in the subsequent administrations, securing an agreement now is smart,” said Elliott Abrams, a former diplomat and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. “2028 is an election year, and it’s better to resolve this now. In addition, they may believe that President Trump will be friendlier than any likely successor.”

In his second term, President Donald Trump’s administration has significantly reduced foreign aid spending, and members of both parties have become increasingly skeptical of U.S. assistance to Israel. 

Experts argued that it would be in Israel’s best interest to secure a deal now amid the uncertainty over future support from U.S. officials. Stroul said Israel “may be calculating that it is better to get out ahead of this trend and lock in U.S. commitments before the midterm elections.”

“If the Israelis have any concerns about the strength of support in the U.S. or in the subsequent administrations, securing an agreement now is smart,” said Elliott Abrams, a former diplomat and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. “2028 is an election year, and it’s better to resolve this now. In addition, they may believe that President Trump will be friendlier than any likely successor.”

Chuck Freilich, Israel’s former deputy national security advisor and an associate professor of political science at Columbia University, echoed those sentiments, and said the agreement will not be a “done deal” as it has been in the past. 

“I don’t think it’s going to be easy this time,” Freilich told Jewish Insider. 

“It’ll still be a very tough sell,” said Jonathan Ruhe, a fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America. “Israel’s solid value proposition as a U.S. partner falls flat with Trump’s base, which tends to reject the premise that we need strong international partnerships.”

Abrams, who served under several Republican presidents, including as Iran envoy during the first Trump administration, said that despite growing skepticism, he does not view the right wing as a problem to Israel’s security agreement ambitions.

“Trump has been insistent that he and he alone defines what MAGA means,” said Abrams. “I don’t think the problem will be the Trump administration or the MAGA voters, who in all polls are strongly supportive of Israel. It will be the Democrats, whose representatives in Congress have cast votes in the last two years that suggest limiting aid to Israel.”

However, some experts argue that such a package still might not be palatable to the MAGA base. 

“It’ll still be a very tough sell,” said Jonathan Ruhe, a fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America. “Israel’s solid value proposition as a U.S. partner falls flat with Trump’s base, which tends to reject the premise that we need strong international partnerships.”

In response to debates over foreign aid, Israel’s proposal reportedly includes “America First” provisions, designed to appeal to the president and his base. This includes using some of the money for joint U.S.-Israeli research and development, rather than direct military aid. 

“The reported changes deal with development and duration,” said David May, a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “The new MOU would include provisions for funding joint U.S.-Israel research and development projects. Israeli research and ingenuity are part of what makes the relationship so beneficial for the United States, so it is natural to emphasize this fruitful aspect.”

Stroul said these parts of the proposed framework would benefit both parties moving forward.

“Israel and the U.S. can clearly benefit from more co-production, and more joint research,” said Stroul. “The U.S. military should already be learning from the IDF, who are coming out of two years of continuous, multi-front, all-domain warfare, including establishing complete air superiority over Iran.”

“The reality is that military aid is spent in the United States after approval by the U.S. government,” Stroul added. “This is critical for maintaining military production lines in the U.S.  Trump is focused on revitalizing U.S. manufacturing and industry, and creating jobs for Americans. His team is focused on upgrading and streamlining the defense industry. President Trump has a solid track record of bucking the voices in his MAGA coalition questioning Israel and U.S. commitments in the Middle East when it works for Americans.”

U.S. aid agreements are viewed in Israel as vital to preserving its qualitative military edge over regional adversaries. Washington has either jointly developed or financed all three layers of Israel’s missile-defense architecture — the short-range Iron Dome, medium-range David’s Sling and long-range Arrow systems.

Israel is the largest recipient of U.S. aid since 1946 and remains among the top recipients of U.S. arms sales. Brad Bowman, a senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the perception that U.S. foreign assistance to Israel is a gift with no return on investment is a misguided approach.

“I think there’s a misperception in some circles in Washington that this is like a charity handout,” said Bowman. “Americans get far more than we give in the relationship with Israel. Some of our allies and partners actually know how to throw a punch against common adversaries, and I put Israel near the top of that list. So when you have an ally or partner like that helping them throw more effective punches it is not charity. It’s a wise investment.”

“Remarkably, the U.S.-Israel defense partnership has only deepened over the past two years despite increasing criticism of its approach to Gaza,” said Dana Stroul, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “It would be an unmistakable signal to Iran and its degraded network for the U.S to signal through a longer MOU that it will continue to stand with, and invest in, Israeli’s offensive and defensive capabilities.”

By strengthening Israel, Bowman argues that American diplomacy is reinforced and Iran is likely to take the U.S. “more seriously.” 

While U.S. aid once accounted for a large share of Israel’s defense budget, it has declined in recent years as Israel’s economy and domestic defense industry have expanded. Still, Israel depends on American weaponry and security assistance.

“Remarkably, the U.S.-Israel defense partnership has only deepened over the past two years despite increasing criticism of its approach to Gaza,” said Stroul. “It would be an unmistakable signal to Iran and its degraded network for the U.S to signal through a longer MOU that it will continue to stand with, and invest in, Israeli’s offensive and defensive capabilities.”

Analysts said Israel’s reliance on U.S. defense systems is not likely to fade anytime soon, expressing that security ties between Washington and Jerusalem will remain indispensable, even as Israel works to grow its domestic defense capabilities.

“Israel learned from the Gaza war that it needs to manufacture what it can at home — some forms of ammunition, for example — and stockpile what it can,” said Abrams. “But it cannot be independent from the U.S. because it does not manufacture jets or much of the ordinance they use, as well as other weapons systems.”

Bowman echoed these sentiments, telling JI that Israel is “never going to be completely independent in terms of producing its own weapons.” 

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied reports about the framework of a new aid agreement, and has increased calls for an “independent” defense industry. 

“Netanyahu may want to deny it at the moment until he wraps things up with Trump,” said Freilich. “This may have gotten out earlier than he wanted it to, and maybe in a way that he didn’t want it to.”

Freilich said that Trump is unlikely to approve just “any new deal,” and said Israel will need to prepare for a future in which it gradually weans off U.S. assistance.

“[Israel’s] not going to be able to get massive aid forever — at some point it has to end,” Freilich said. “You have to differentiate between the financial aspect and the arms supply aspect. Israel will depend on American weapons for the very long term, if not forever. But that doesn’t mean they have to be funded forever by the U.S.”

]]> 94920 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/11/democrats-primary-manhattan-house-seat-jerry-nadler-jewish-voters/ Fri, 14 Nov 2025 11:24:57 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=94774 ]]> An increasingly crowded race for a coveted House seat in the heart of Manhattan is shaping up to be among the most vigorously contested Democratic primary battles in next year’s midterms, with half a dozen — and counting — contenders now jockeying for the chance to succeed retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY).

In a district home to one of the largest Jewish constituencies in the country, the open primary next June is likely to center in part on Israel as the candidates signal where they stand on an issue that has grown intensely charged over the war in Gaza.

Even as the far left now seeks to ride momentum from Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral victory — which elevated an unabashed socialist to executive office — experts suggested the primary could largely serve as an exception to the anti-Israel sentiments that became a trademark of his stunning rise.

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent in the mayoral election this month, won the district by five points with 50%, indicating that a potentially meaningful share of Jewish voters were resistant to Mamdani’s hostile views on Israel and refusal to condemn rhetoric seen as antisemitic.

The district, which includes the Upper East and West Sides of Manhattan, “is more moderate and pro-Israel than” another heavily Jewish House seat in Brooklyn where Mamdani performed well, Chris Coffey, a Democratic strategist who is not involved in the race, told Jewish Insider on Thursday.

So far, however, most of the declared candidates have been relatively cautious about sharing their positions on Israel — underscoring the hazards of addressing a subject that has fueled deep divisions within the Democratic Party. “I would be surprised if they want to lead on this,” Coffey speculated. “It’s a contentious issue.”   

With the exception of Alex Bores, an assemblyman who represents the Upper East Side, none of the top candidates who have launched bids in recent weeks answered a question from JI on Thursday asking whether they would support an embargo on offensive weapons to Israel, a measure backed by Nadler after he revealed in September that he would step down at the end of his current term.

“There are laws on the books about this and they should be applied across the board,” Bores said in a statement indicating he would oppose such efforts if elected. “There is no singling out or exemptions for any one country.”

Privately, Bores has been “clear” that an arms embargo is not “negotiable for him,” according to a person familiar with his thinking. Former Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), a pro-Israel Jewish Democrat, endorsed the assemblyman on Tuesday but was not available to comment about his decision.

Alan Pardee, a former financial executive who is also seeking the nomination, was more direct in a statement shared with JI. “I believe that Israel has the right to defend itself, and that the United States is a critical ally in that regard. I do not support the proposed embargo,” he said.

Micah Lasher, a Jewish assemblyman on the Upper West Side and a protégé of Nadler who is viewed as traditionally pro-Israel, has yet to publicly confirm his own stance on the matter, even as he is expected to reject an embargo. Lasher also dodged a question about the issue while speaking at an Assembly town hall in September before he launched his House bid, saying he was unwilling to discuss topics outside his state legislative purview, according to audio shared with JI. 

A poll that circulated in the district in September, which some observers suspected was affiliated with Lasher or allies of his campaign, asked respondents whether they supported Congress blocking “the sale of weapons to Israel” in order to “send a message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” a sign of the significance of such questions to voters in the race.

Like Nadler, a veteran Jewish lawmaker who has long sought to balance his progressive politics with support for Israel that dwindled during the war in Gaza, Lasher had faced backlash from some Jewish community leaders in the district for having endorsed Mamdani, though he has clarified they are not aligned on Israel issues.

Other candidates in the primary who backed the mayor-elect have similarly distanced themselves from his positions on Israel. Erik Bottcher, a city councilman from Chelsea who joined the primary on Thursday, has confirmed that, unlike Mamdani, he supports Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. Jack Schlossberg, an influencer and the grandson of John F. Kennedy, who also entered the primary this week, has said he disagrees with Mamdani’s pledge to arrest Netanyahu if he steps foot in the city. The political scion was raised Catholic but identifies as Jewish.

Bores, who endorsed Mamdani in September, has objected to a failed bill the mayor-elect introduced as an assemblyman to strip nonprofit groups of their tax-exempt status for “engaging in unauthorized support of Israeli settlement activity.” Bores has said he viewed the bill as “immediately suspicious” because it “singularly applies to organizations providing aid to a specific country and its people.“

And Liam Elkind, a Jewish former nonprofit leader who had launched a primary challenge to Nadler before he announced his plans to retire, has expressed his concern that Mamdani has refused to denounce the phrase “globalize the intifada” — seen by critics as a call to violence against Jews. Mamdani has, instead, pledged to “discourage” usage of the phrase. 

Rounding out the primary field is Jami Floyd, an attorney and journalist who is seeking to occupy a centrist lane and has said that she did not vote for Mamdani. 

The field could grow as other potential candidates are said to be mulling campaigns, including George Conway, a lawyer and outspoken critic of President Donald Trump who is an independent, and Nathalie Barth, former president of Park Avenue Synagogue.

Cameron Kasky, a young gun-violence prevention activist, has filed to run and said on Thursday he is now exploring a bid. He is expected to soon join the race, according to a person familiar with the matter. He would be one of the lone anti-Israel voices in the current primary field, testing the resonance of such views among an electorate that denied Mamdani the majority of the vote.

Kasky, who is Jewish, has frequently criticized Israel on social media and is in favor of an arms embargo. “If you are a Democrat running in 2026 and do not fully support an arms embargo to the to State of Israel amidst their ongoing genocide in Gaza despite Trump’s fake ‘ceasefire,’” he said in a recent post, “Stop wasting everybody’s time. It’s over. The people have spoken. Moral clarity is winning.”

Despite his recent loss, Cuomo, a staunch defender of Israel, is also exploring a campaign and has been making calls to donors who backed his mayoral bid, though it was unclear how seriously he is considering the move, people familiar with the matter told JI. Cuomo, who was once married to a Kennedy, has suggested that he can pull support from Schlossberg and told people he “already has the Kennedy voters,” one of the sources told JI. A spokesperson for Cuomo has dismissed speculation that he has been considering a House campaign.

The primary is also expected to attract outside spending from super PACs and major Democratic donors, including Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn who has reportedly committed to backing Elkind. One person familiar with the race suggested Lasher could claim support from a powerful former boss, Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City, for whom he once worked as a legislative director.

AIPAC, the pro-Israel advocacy group that has actively engaged in recent primary cycles, did not respond to a request for comment about how it is assessing the race.

]]> 94774 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/11/trump-mohammed-bin-salman-defense-past-f-35-deal-normalization-israel/ Fri, 14 Nov 2025 08:30:15 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=94792 ]]> President Donald Trump is slated to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday in a meeting that experts told Jewish Insider is expected to move forward a U.S.-Saudi defense pact and sale of F-35 fighter jets to the kingdom — yet normalization with Israel, once tied to the prospect of such deals, remains elusive.

U.S. and Saudi officials have been holding intense negotiations to finalize a defense agreement ahead of the visit, according to reports. Since an Iranian attack on Saudi oil refineries in 2019, Riyadh has sought to formalize American security guarantees, according to Ghaith al-Omari, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

“Saudi Arabia is an important American security partner,” said Brad Bowman, a senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “The United States and Saudi Arabia have been working toward a regional security architecture for years.”

The agreement is expected to be modeled after the assurances Trump gave to Qatar in a September executive order, which stated that the U.S. will regard “any armed attack” on Qatar “as a threat to the peace and security of the United States.”

“Having for better or worse made the commitment to Qatar, it seems to me unfathomable that the administration wouldn’t offer at least the same commitment to Saudi Arabia and probably to other traditional Gulf partners like the UAE who over the years have often been more steadfast and reliable allies in their support for U.S. regional and global objectives,” said John Hannah, a senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America.

Al-Omari said such guarantees help to solidify American leadership in the Middle East and “serve to limit Chinese influence in the region.”

“It is almost certain that Saudi Arabia will get defense guarantees in this visit,” said Al-Omari. “Providing such guarantees is the correct policy. The security of Saudi Arabia is an American interest, and is key to deter Iran and its proxies from destabilizing the Kingdom. It also sends a clear message that the U.S. remains committed to its Middle East allies.”

Should the defense agreement be formalized as an executive order, like with the Qatar deal, it will need to be enforced by the next president to remain effective. Bowman argued that any serious agreement should instead go through the appropriate process even if it takes time.

“[The security deal] is essentially a treaty that should go through the U.S. Senate,” said Bowman. “That’s not going to be quick, but if we really believe what we’re saying about the value of Saudi Arabia as a security partner … then why not take the time and build consensus and explain that to the American people and their representatives on Capitol Hill and make the case?”

Hannah said that a more formal defense pact is also in Saudi Arabia’s best interest.

“The problem for the Saudis is that until recently, they were holding out for an actual Senate-approved defense treaty that would have made the U.S. commitment to the Kingdom’s future wellbeing a bipartisan and permanent feature of the American foreign policy landscape rather than the temporary pledge of a polarizing, mercurial, and increasingly unpopular president who will be gone in three years time,” said Hannah. “That’s a pretty public climb down and trimming of ambitions from the kind of history-making agreement and lasting transformation of U.S.-Saudi ties that MBS has been insisting that he needed for the past three years.”

“It is likely that an announcement about the F-35s will be made,” said Ghaith al-Omari, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “However, turning such an announcement into reality will have to contend with a number of challenges — whether the legal requirement to maintain Israel’s [qualitative military edge is met], or other congressional processes required to finalize such a deal.”

Riyadh is also reportedly seeking to purchase a weapons package from the U.S. that would include F-35 fighter jets. If agreed upon, Saudi Arabia would become the first nation in the Middle East other than Israel to procure it.

The Trump administration has been open to such a deal this year, but questions still remain regarding the impact such an agreement might have, including on Israel’s qualitative military edge, which the U.S. is bound by law to uphold.

“It is likely that an announcement about the F-35s will be made,” said Al-Omari. “However, turning such an announcement into reality will have to contend with a number of challenges — whether the legal requirement to maintain Israel’s [qualitative military edge is met], or other congressional processes required to finalize such a deal.”

Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter said in an interview published on Thursday by The Jerusalem Post that Israel “prefer[s] that Turkey not receive F-35 [fighter jet]s from the U.S.” but said that “there’s no indication that Israel’s qualitative edge will be compromised” if Saudi Arabia were to acquire them.

The potential F-35 deal has also prompted concern on the risks of transferring sensitive technology to Riyadh while it cooperates militarily with China, a key U.S. adversary.

“Guess what the Saudi military forces did last month? Last month, Saudi naval forces conducted a military exercise with China,” said Bowman. Thats not a good look for a country. That’s not going to sit well with a lot of folks on Capitol Hill.”

Bowman said that in the past, Saudi Arabia has suggested they would turn to Beijing if they couldn’t get “what they wanted” militarily from the U.S.

Should the Trump administration formally approve the sale, it is required by law to be submitted to Congress where there is first a non-statutory, but normally respected, review process that involves leaders of the two foreign relations committees. However, it is highly unlikely for the sale to be stopped even if lawmakers disapprove, once the administration decides to formally submit the sale to Congress.

“The law provides a mechanism for Congress to try to stop an arms sale up to the point of delivery, but that requires both chambers to pass joint resolutions of disapproval and then overcome a prospective presidential veto,” said Bowman. “The Congressional Research Service noted last year that Congress has never blocked a proposed arms sale this way.”

While the Biden administration had tied such security deals to progress on normalization, Al-Omari said that the Trump White House has “abandoned this approach.”

“I think it would be folly not to insist that the ultimate integration of these planes into the Saudi order of battle be tied to normalization and a more fundamental and permanent transformation in Saudi-Israel relations and the regional security landscape,” said Hannah.

Bowman agreed, “The F-35, to me, provides valuable leverage in getting Riyadh to recognize the world’s only majority Jewish state. Forfeiting that leverage would be unwise. I can’t imagine giving our nation’s most advanced fighter jet to a country that refuses to normalize relations with our best ally in the Middle East.”

While experts believe Trump is unlikely to push normalization in the upcoming meeting, they say it is still something the Trump administration is pursuing.

“The price for MBS clearly has gone up after two years of devastation in Gaza — and more important, two years of non-stop 24/7 coverage in Arab media of Palestinian suffering and carnage,” said John Hannah, a senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America. “MBS knows how significant his entry into the Middle East peace club will be for regional and global politics and he seems set on delivering something significant in exchange.” 

“President Trump is still committed to pushing forward Saudi-Israeli normalization,” said Al-Omari. “Yet he is also aware that the gap between the two countries at the moment is too wide to bridge.”

Saudi officials have said they require an Israeli commitment to a two-state solution as a prerequisite to normalizing ties. Hannah said that he does not expect progress towards normalization during the trip, also adding that in the wake of the war in Gaza, Riyadh may be looking to gain more concessions before formally entering a peace agreement.

“The price for MBS clearly has gone up after two years of devastation in Gaza — and more important, two years of non-stop 24/7 coverage in Arab media of Palestinian suffering and carnage. MBS knows how significant his entry into the Middle East peace club will be for regional and global politics and he seems set on delivering something significant in exchange.”

“I wouldn’t rule out that Trump might be willing during the visit to show greater openness and even U.S. support for the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state along lines articulated by [MBS] in an effort to inch him along a little faster on normalization,” Hannah added. “Trump’s pressure and powers of persuasion, and his ability to offer other economic and military incentives to [MBS], also might help temper the crown prince’s demands and ambitions at the margins if the side payments are significant enough.”

Still, Al-Omari believes there are other ways the Trump administration could utilize the upcoming meeting to gain progress towards this goal.

“Instead, the U.S. should explore areas of economic cooperation between the two countries,” said Al-Omari. “That may fall short of full normalization, but would lay the groundwork for future progress.”

]]> 94792 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/11/cait-conley-beth-davidson-mike-lawler-democratic-primary-new-york/ Fri, 14 Nov 2025 08:07:48 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=94783 ]]> The withdrawal of nonprofit executive Jessica Reinmann from the Democratic primary in New York’s 17th Congressional District — a top-targeted swing seat currently held by Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) — is bringing the top contenders in the wide field into focus.

Reinmann, who endorsed military veteran Cait Conley upon her exit from the race, was one of eight — now seven — challengers aiming to take on Lawler in next year’s midterms.

A Democratic strategist in the district said he believes Conley, along with Rockland County Legislator Beth Davidson and potentially former Briarcliff Manor Mayor Peter Chatzky, comprise the top rung of candidates in the crowded race.

Those three candidates also led the field by a wide margin in fundraising as of the end of September. Conley had raised $1.3 million, Davidson $1.2 million and Chatzky $1 million. However, the vast majority of Chatzky’s war chest — $750,000 — comprises a personal loan to his campaign.

Davidson and Conley were invited to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s Candidate Week event in Washington earlier this month, where they received additional training and media preparation — a sign the national party sees the two women as the strongest contenders to take on Lawler. 

Conley’s campaign has taken on a distinct national dimension, as she has touted her military background alongside a series of other female national security alumni in swing races. The so-called Hell Cats, a group that formally launched this week, is explicitly modeling itself after Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger, New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill and Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), each of whom flipped House seats in the 2018 midterms.

In her endorsement, Reinmann said she believes Conley is “by far the strongest candidate in this race” and that she has “seen her commitment to our nation and our shared values.”

Jake Dilemani, a New York political consultant, said that Conley’s profile — a woman with a national security and military background — is “unique and compelling” and one that voters seem receptive to at the moment. But he also cautioned against drawing too many one-to-one conclusions about Conley’s candidacy based on Spanberger and Sherrill’s victories in their recent off-year gubernatorial elections alone.

Davidson, meanwhile, has been racking up local Democratic endorsements, particularly in Rockland County, and she is the only Democratic candidate who hails from that part of the district, where Democrats have struggled against Lawler in previous cycles. Rockland Democrats’ backing for Davidson has not been without some internal controversy, however.

The strategist said that Davidson’s Jewish faith and family could give her a boost in a district where Jewish voters make up a significant and highly engaged portion of the voting population, and have been a strong base of support for Lawler. The Republican congressman has seen particularly strong support in Rockland County’s ultra-Orthodox community.

Dilemani also noted that Tarrytown Trustee Effie Phillips-Staley, who is running as the “de facto lefty” in the field, could rally a base of support with that approach and “pick up some of the enthusiasm that the left has from [Mayor-elect] Zohran [Mamdani]’s win,” but also emphasized that the Democratic voting base in NY-17 is much less progressive than that of New York City.

He said that the field will likely consolidate further in the coming months after the next fundraising deadline at the end of the quarter.

“Whoever is the nominee is going to have a tough challenge going up against Mike Lawler because he has proven himself to be a savvy politician, a good retail campaigner, a good fundraiser, and he has a pretty responsive constituent services team, so the party is going to have to produce a very, very solid candidate to run against him,” Dilemani said.

Hank Sheinkopf, a longtime New York Democratic consultant, also emphasized that Lawler has been popular and has a strong reputation for constituent services, which will make him a formidable incumbent. But he also said that Lawler and Republicans are likely to face backlash over the lengthy government shutdown, and that both Davidson and Conley could give him a strong challenge.

On Israel policy, both Davidson and Conley have expressed support for the U.S.-Israel relationship.

Davidson has highlighted that her daughter stayed in some of the kibbutzim that were attacked on Oct. 7, 2023, and said in a position paper that, “For me and for my family, championing the sanctity and safety of Israel is not an abstract political stance or foreign policy issue. It is deeply personal — woven into the fabric of our identity and survival as Jews.” She has expressed support for continued U.S. aid to Israel.

Conley, an Army veteran who spent time in the Middle East and North Africa in counterterrorism operations, said that, “As someone who has spent my career fighting for democracy, I deeply value Israel as America’s strongest ally in the region, the only democracy in the Middle East and a safe haven for the Jewish people” and that the U.S. should be “firmly committed to the safety and security of Israel.”

During the war between Israel and Iran, Conley expressed hope for a negotiated nuclear agreement but said that “Iran’s unwillingness to abandon the pursuit of nuclear weapons has left the world with few choices” and said that she knows firsthand the necessity of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. But she also warned about “being drawn into another Middle East conflict.”

Davidson told JI on Thursday that last week’s election results show that voters are looking for change from the Trump administration, but distanced herself from Mamdani.

“What was clear across the country on election day was that voters were motivated to the polls by a strong disagreement with the Trump agenda and a desire for more affordability,” Davidson said. “I bring a very different record than Mayor-Elect Mamdani does, having cut taxes, fully funded our police force, and vocally stood up against antisemitism as a well-known Jewish leader in my community. That’s a record I’m ready to take to Mike Lawler from now through next November.”

Conley told Jewish Insider earlier this year, after Mamdani’s primary win, that she did not agree with his approach. “We need to address affordability but not by raising already exorbitant taxes on New Yorkers that will just drive more people out of the state. We need to stand up for the NY Jewish community and stand against anti-semitism in all forms,” Conley told JI.

But she said that Mamdani’s victory showed that voters are looking for alternatives to career politicians — like herself.

Chatzky has distinguished himself from many in the field with a significantly more critical stance toward Israel — he has accused Israel of violating U.S. arms sales laws, requiring the suspension of arms transfers, and said he did not believe that Mamdani is antisemitic.

]]> 94783 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/11/muslim-brotherhood-israel-islamic-movement-mansour-abbas-raam/ Thu, 13 Nov 2025 09:56:16 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=94627 ]]> While Congress is working on a bill to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization in the U.S., and the Islamist group is banned from Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and beyond, the group’s status in Israel is much more complicated.

The matter drew renewed attention this week after Mansour Abbas, the leader of the Ra’am party in the Knesset, an ideological offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, declined to call for the eradication of Hamas on Israeli radio.

In an interview with Israeli public broadcaster KAN, Abbas mostly lamented the high rate of crime and gun violence in Israeli-Arab society, but when he mentioned Gaza, the interviewer, Asaf Liberman, asked whether he sees Hamas as part of the enclave’s future.

“Palestinian society needs to pick its leadership and go on a new path towards peace and reconciliation,” Abbas responded.

Liberman twice repeated his question and sharpened it: “Does Hamas need to be destroyed?”

Abbas added that an international force must enter Gaza and after an interim period a security force of the Palestinian Authority would be trained, but after being pressed to make his position on Hamas clear, he said the interview was beginning to feel like an “interrogation,” and pointed out that he had gone on air to talk about domestic issues facing Arab Israelis. “If you want to talk about crime, fine, if not, bye,” he said, before hanging up.

Abbas has previously condemned Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks, calling them unjustifiable and inhumane, and called for the release of the hostages. The other reporter who conducted the interview, Suleiman Maswadeh, later noted that Abbas and his family had recently received death threats, and hinted that was the reason the Knesset member avoided repeating his previously articulated position — which Maswadeh said does not include a future for Hamas in the governance of Gaza.

In 2021, the Ra’am party became the first Arab party in 50 years to join an Israeli governing coalition, which was celebrated by many in Israel and abroad as a milestone for coexistence, while the Israeli right criticized the 2021-2022 government for what it characterized as working with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Monday’s interview sparked headlines and analysis in right-leaning Israeli media and comments by politicians on the right about the viability of center and left-wing parties once again forming a coalition with Ra’am to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, when Ra’am’s leader would not say that he is for eradicating Hamas.

“The Muslim Brotherhood is a very generic term,” said Michael Milshtein, head of the Palestinian Studies Forum at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University. “It’s not membership in an organization; it’s a denomination. Mansour Abbas is the Muslim Brotherhood. Raed Salah, his rival, is also the Muslim Brotherhood. Hamas is the Muslim Brotherhood. [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan is the Muslim Brotherhood.”

The historic and recent connections between Hamas and Ra’am, both of which were founded by adherents of the Muslim Brotherhood, shed light on the nuances of the international Sunni Islamist movement and its status in Israel.

Michael Milshtein, head of the Palestinian Studies Forum at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University, emphasized, in an interview with Jewish Insider on Wednesday, that the Muslim Brotherhood is an ideology aiming to make Muslim societies more religious, and is not one centralized organization spanning the Muslim world.

“The Muslim Brotherhood is a very generic term,” Milshtein said. “It’s not membership in an organization; it’s a denomination. Mansour Abbas is the Muslim Brotherhood. Raed Salah, his rival, is also the Muslim Brotherhood. Hamas is the Muslim Brotherhood. [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan is the Muslim Brotherhood.”

Muslim Brotherhood founder Hasan al-Bannas brother, Abd al-Rahman al-Banna, founded the group’s branch in Mandatory Palestine in 1935; its leaders included Mufti of Jerusalem Hajj Amin al-Husseini, who incited the deadly Hebron riots against Jews in 1929 and collaborated with Hitler, and Izz al-Din al-Qassam, leader of the 1935 Arab Revolt against the British and namesake of Hamas short-range Qassam rockets.

ANALYSIS Muslim Brotherhood terror-designation effort gains new momentum, but progress remains slow Read more Gaza-based Sheikh Ahmad Yasin formed the Muslim Brotherhood-inspired Hamas in the 1980s. Sheikh Abdullah Nimar Darwish founded the Islamic Movement in Israel in 1971, which also espoused Muslim Brotherhood ideology.

In 1979, Darwish founded an underground group in Israel called The Family of Jihad with a goal of establishing an Islamic state. However, after his arrest and conviction for involvement in killing an accused collaborator and membership of a terrorist organization, he renounced violence and decided to promote Islamism within the confines of Israeli law.

Fissures began in the Islamic Movement in Israel after the Oslo Accords, with the northern branch, led by Sheikh Raed Salah, opposing it, while the southern branch supported it. The two parts of the movement officially split when the southern branch ran for the Knesset in 1996 as Raam, and Salah advocated boycotting national elections.

The leaders of the northern branch were arrested in 2003 for aiding Hamas and in 2015, the branch was banned, after the police and Shin Bet demonstrated that it had close ties to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, and received funds from groups affiliated with Hamas.

Darwish, however, continued to be the spiritual leader of the Islamic Movements southern branch and said he was committed to obeying the laws of Israel. He engaged in interfaith dialogue events, often with former Labor lawmaker Rabbi Michael Melchior, and spoke out against Holocaust denial.

While Islamic Movement Southern Branch leaders have met with Hamas leaders and taken part in mediation efforts between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, in 2022, then-leader of Hamas Yahya Sinwar declared Mansour Abbas a traitor for joining the governing coalition and saying Israel is a Jewish state. Abbas has said that his decision to join the governing coalition in 2021 came from the values he absorbed from the legacy of Sheikh Abdullah Nimr Darwish.

As such, the more radical of the two major offshoots of the Muslim Brotherhood is outlawed in Israel.

Yet, more recently, the Islamic Movement Southern Branch has come under scrutiny for its own possible ties to Hamas.

In the decades since its establishment, the Islamic Movement has faced repeated crackdowns on its charities. The Islamic Relief Committee, founded in 1987 with the stated goal to help the needy in the West Bank and Gaza, was shut down by Israeli authorities in 1995 for aiding Hamas members families, the first in a series of such actions.

“Israel’s anti-terrorism law and the whole discipline has been to focus on specific organizations and declaring them as terrorist organizations because of their goals, because of the means that they use, rather than focusing on an idea, which the Muslim Brotherhood really is,” Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch, the former director of the IDF Prosecution for Judea and Samaria, told JI.

In July, the Israeli Justice Ministry unit dealing with nonprofit organizations found grounds to shut down Aid 48, a charity affiliated with Raam, on suspicion of providing funding to terrorist organizations. Aid 48 is the Islamic Movement Southern Branchs main charity. According to an investigation by the ministry, in 2020-2021, the organization transferred NIS 2 million to a charity in Hebron that Israel had declared in 2012 to be part of a terrorist organization; in 2023, Aid 48 worked with three such Palestinian charities; in 2020, the organization gave NIS 933,000 to a Turkish organization run by Hamas members, which funneled money to the terrorist organization.

Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch, the former director of the IDF Prosecution for Judea and Samaria, currently the director of the Initiative for Palestinian Authority Accountability and Reform in the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, explained to JI that Israeli law makes it easier to crack down on smaller subgroups than an umbrella term like the Muslim Brotherhood.

“Israel’s anti-terrorism law and the whole discipline has been to focus on specific organizations and declaring them as terrorist organizations because of their goals, because of the means that they use, rather than focusing on an idea, which the Muslim Brotherhood really is,” he said on the sidelines of a JCFA conference last week.

In order to declare the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization, “you have to break it down into intelligence,” Hirsch said, adding that the authorities would have to determine who they are seeking to arrest and what money and possibly weapons need to be seized.

Hirsch recounted taking part in the Israeli Security Cabinet meeting in 2015 when the government decided to outlaw the Islamic Movement Northern Branch.

“Some of the questions that were asked were, what is the next step? Who do we operate against now? It was a bit clearer than the entire Muslim Brotherhood, but even then there was a question,” he said.

“I would be very careful because, at its core, the Muslim Brotherhood is a movement that aims to change society. They have a lot of social organizations. It’s very different from Islamic Jihad or ISIS, who are not interested in social activism,” said Milshtein, adding that the Muslim Brotherhood ideology is up for interpretation by its adherents.

When it comes to the southern branch, Hirsch, who has worked with the “Choosing Life” organization of relatives of victims of terror whose lawsuit led to the shuttering of “Aid 48,” argued that “there is a clear connection between Ra’am and funding Hamas … That connection was there all along. It’s partly ideological and partly the idea of the Muslim Brotherhood in its different constellations, including in Israel.”

Milshtein acknowledged that there have been cases of leaders of “Aid 48” meeting with Hamas leaders and funding going to Hamas ahead of its invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, but said that Abbas “took care of” those responsible when he learned of the incidents.

“I would be very careful because, at its core, the Muslim Brotherhood is a movement that aims to change society. They have a lot of social organizations. It’s very different from Islamic Jihad or ISIS, who are not interested in social activism,” he said, adding that the Muslim Brotherhood ideology is up for interpretation by its adherents.

“If you ask Mansour Abbas, there is no problem with being part of the Muslim Brotherhood and part of the government in a state that defines itself as Jewish,” he said. “If you ask Hamas, they want jihad against Israel.”

]]> 94627 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/11/zohran-mamdani-socialists-democratic-incumbents-new-york-city/ Wed, 12 Nov 2025 07:14:45 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=94534 ]]> The organized left scored a major victory last week when Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City, elevating to executive office a politician who became one of the nation’s most prominent democratic socialists during the campaign.

Now, as the movement seeks to ride momentum from Mamdani’s win and grow its influence at the federal level, some emerging challengers are setting their sights on a handful of pro-Israel Democrats in the House — posing what is likely to be the first key test of its political credibility in the upcoming midterm elections.

While next year’s primaries are still more than six months away, some early signs indicate that the far left is already facing obstacles in its efforts to target established incumbents, raising questions about its organizational discipline and messaging ability, not to mention alignment with Mamdani — who is now walking a delicate path in seeking buy-in from state leadership to deliver on his ambitious affordability agenda.

Jake Dilemani, a Democratic consultant in New York, said “there is and should be euphoria among the left” after Mamdani’s victory, “but that does not necessarily translate into toppling relatively popular incumbents.”

“One swallow does not make a summer,” he told Jewish Insider on Tuesday.

In a pair of looming congressional contests in Brooklyn and the Bronx, for instance, potentially divided primary fields are now threatening to split the vote to oppose Reps. Dan Goldman (D-NY) and Ritchie Torres (D-NY), both of whom are preparing to seek reelection amid left-wing backlash over their support for Israel.

Brad Lander, the outgoing comptroller and an ally of Mamdani, has told associates he is planning to challenge Goldman in a progressive district covering parts of Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan, people familiar with his thinking told JI recently.

Lander, who was reportedly boxed out of a top job in Mamdani’s administration over conflict with the mayor-elect, has acknowledged that he is “seriously considering” a House bid, but has yet to confirm his timeline for publicly making a decision. One person familiar with the matter said he is likely to launch a bid after Mamdani assumes office in early January. Lander has denied that there are any tensions with Mamdani or his team.

While polling has shown that Lander would be a formidable challenger to Goldman, thanks to his popularity in the district where he once served as a longtime city councilman, some observers have speculated that he could face skepticism from voters who may see his bid as a consolation after failing to secure a role in City Hall.

Lander and Goldman were seen mingling at some of the same receptions during the Somos conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, last week, but did not appear to interact.

In addition to Lander, Alexa Avilés, a far-left city councilwoman closely aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America, is also weighing a challenge to Goldman, provoking fears among his critics who say he will benefit from a crowded field that helped him secure a narrow victory in his first House primary in 2022.

Yuh-Line Niou, a former state assemblywoman who placed second in that primary, has been considering another bid as well, sources told JI, after she lost by a margin of just two points in a race that centered in part on her controversial support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

Goldman, for his part, has sought to downplay the role that Israel could play in the race, arguing that the Trump administration presents a more serious threat to his constituents.

But Avilés, for one, is almost certain to raise Israel in a potential primary challenge, owing to her vocal opposition to the war in Gaza, which she has called a genocide, and outspoken criticism of AIPAC. “The tide is turning, but the forces remain pernicious and persistent,” Avilés said during a panel discussion at Somos last week, warning of “a Congress that is very much controlled by AIPAC.”

“Saying no to violence is not a radical idea,” Avilés added in comments hinting at a challenge. “And you know what, y’all? If people are not stepping up, then we need to remove them.”

In the Bronx, Torres, who is among the staunchest defenders of Israel in the House, has already drawn a primary opponent focusing overwhelmingly on his pro-Israel record and contributions from AIPAC, in an effort to channel the anti-establishment zeitgeist that helped boost Mamdani’s insurgent campaign.

Michael Blake, a former state assemblyman who came in eighth place in the New York City mayoral primary, launched his campaign to unseat Torres last week. But he is facing accusations of hypocrisy over his own previous well-documented ties to AIPAC and past statements voicing strong support for Israel — contributing to a somewhat turbulent rollout that has cast doubts on his viability.

On the sidelines of the Somos retreat last Friday, Blake, who has twice visited Israel and spoken at AIPAC events, insisted that “you can be critical of governmental policies” and it “does not make you antisemitic or anti-Israel.”

Blake, who also ran against Torres in a crowded primary in 2020, said he now supports an arms embargo on Israel, but clarified that, if elected, he would continue to vote for defensive aid for its Iron Dome missile-interception system — views that are unlikely to win converts among voters in Riverdale, a predominantly Jewish Bronx neighborhood where Torres has built a loyal following.

“I do think we have to be attentive of the moment that were in right now,” Blake said of his thinking last week, while confirming he would “absolutely” seek support from the DSA, which has so far only endorsed candidates running for state office next year.

Marshall Wittmann, an AIPAC spokesperson, said that the group’s “grassroots members understand the stakes in the upcoming midterms and that is why they are deeply motivated and engaged to help elect pro-Israel candidates and defeat detractors.”

Blake cross-endorsed with Mamdani in the primary and has enthusiastically supported the mayor-elect. But Torres, who once cautioned Mamdani was unfit to lead New York City because of his close ties to the DSA, has since spoken positively about the incoming mayor and praised one of his early appointments as “exceptional” on Monday, complicating the political fault lines in the primary.

A lesser-known primary challenger, Andre Easton, is also campaigning against Torres using similarly hostile rhetoric about Israel and AIPAC. Easton, an independent affiliated with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, has said he is running “to fight for the Bronx — not billionaires who fund genocide in Palestine,” and claims that Torres “pockets money from AIPAC” while children in the district “live in poverty.”

Marshall Wittmann, an AIPAC spokesperson, said that the group’s “grassroots members understand the stakes in the upcoming midterms and that is why they are deeply motivated and engaged to help elect pro-Israel candidates and defeat detractors.”

“The track record demonstrates that being pro-Israel is good policy and good politics as 96% of AIPAC endorsed Democrats won their elections last cycle,” he added in a statement to JI on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, another pro-Israel Democrat, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), is expected to draw a more established far-left primary challenger in the coming weeks, setting up a high-profile fight for the Brooklyn House seat he has held for over a decade.

Chi Ossé, a young city councilman and Mamdani ally who has developed a sizable following on social media, is reportedly planning to seek support from the DSA, as he prepares to launch an insurgent bid to topple Jeffries, long a target of the far left. Ossé recently became a member of the DSA after quitting the group in 2020, he said on social media in 2023, noting that when he first left he “wasn’t aligned with the organization” but that there was “no bad blood.”

Still, he may face resistance from Mamdani, who claimed an endorsement from Jeffries late in the election and is hoping to avoid intraparty conflict while balancing a tenuous coalition to advance his daunting campaign pledges. He has also distanced himself from the DSA’s most extreme positions and said their respective platforms are “not the same.”

“It’s not clear that wins from election night will translate into intra-party primary victories in a midterm election,” Basil Smikle, a professor at Columbia’s School of Professional Studies and a Democratic strategist, said on Tuesday. “There’s a lot of time between now and then but the organizing framework has certainly been established to make a strong run.”

Mamdani, who criticized Jeffries’ pro-Israel views before the mayoral election, had reportedly sought to preempt Ossé’s plans to oppose the congressman who could be the next speaker of the House. As the councilman now moves forward against Mamdani’s apparent wishes, the potential primary battle could place the mayor-elect in an uncomfortable position, possibly fueling tensions with an activist base eager to capitalize on his victory. The DSA did not return a request for comment.

Despite such issues, some experts said that the left remains formidable ahead of next year’s primaries, even as it confronts some potential disorganization.

“It’s not clear that wins from election night will translate into intra-party primary victories in a midterm election,” Basil Smikle, a professor at Columbia’s School of Professional Studies and a Democratic strategist, said on Tuesday. “There’s a lot of time between now and then but the organizing framework has certainly been established to make a strong run.”

Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran Democratic strategist, said that “every pro-Israel Democrat is a target for the newly empowered DSA BDS gang,” and warned that incumbents “should be prepared for a long and costly battle.”

]]> 94534 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/11/black-jewish-college-students-unity-dinner-george-washington-university/ Tue, 11 Nov 2025 08:17:27 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=94449 ]]> The official reason that more than 100 college students from across Washington gathered in a ballroom at George Washington University last week was for a formal dinner billed as an opportunity to build bridges between the Black and Jewish communities.

But what really got the students — undergradsfrom GWU, American, George Mason, Georgetown, Howard and the University of the District of Columbia — talking at this event, which was meant to highlight commonalities and spark deep connections between students from different backgrounds, was a breezy icebreaker: Is a hot dog a sandwich?

That was one of several lighthearted prompts for the students to discuss as they settled into dinner and got to know each other at tables of 10. Later, after they had introduced themselves and playfully debated topics like who would play them in a movie and their least favorite internet trends, the students turned to more personal questions about identity, community and belonging. It was an exercise carefully calibrated to build connection free from rancor, where the students could speak about themselves and their identities as racial and religious minorities without fear of judgment.

“Every single time, I am amazed at the discussion and how vulnerable people will be,” said Arielle Levy, vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion at Hillel International. Levy shepherded the students through the increasingly more serious questions during last week’s dinner program. “I just really hope it leads to action, because thats really what were hoping for.”

Formally dubbed the “Unity Dinner,” the event was sponsored by Robert Kraft’s Blue Square Alliance, Hillel International and the United Negro College Fund. The Washington event was one of 14 such events taking place in cities across the country this academic year. It is an expansion on a pilot project, which began last year with the core belief that rebuilding the storied — but strained —Black-Jewish alliance of the Civil Rights Movement must start at a grassroots, interpersonal level. After seven unity dinners last year connecting Black and Jewish students, the funders became convinced that supporting dialogue in intimate settings like this is one of the best ways to fight hate.

“You see this micro-connection that starts to build understanding and awareness,” Tara Levine, Blue Square Alliance’s chief partnership officer, told Jewish Insider at the dinner. “Then over time, that builds empathy, and that becomes something that students share with one another, within their communities, across communities. It is ultimately how we address the underlying divide and start to overcome some of the hate that were seeing.”

The students all had different reasons for coming.Some wanted to meet new people. Others were excited by the prospect of putting off homework for a few hours. Several learned of it from professors who piqued their curiosity.

“I actually take a class on the Holocaust and modern-day politics at Howard University, and my professor is Jewish, and he told us about the specific event that we could come out to,” said Joy Baker, a freshman at the historically Black university. “We were automatically interested.”

The whole idea of bringing Black and Jewish students together over dinner, with no agenda beyond getting to know one another, began in Atlanta with John Eaves, a professor at Spelman College who is both Black and Jewish. He is well-versed in the history of Black and Jewish activists working together during the Civil Rights Movement; his own synagogue, The Temple, was bombed for its support of civil rights in 1958 — but now, Eaves sees that knowledge has lapsed among younger generations in both communities.

“One day, I heard a Baptist preacher tell me that he felt that Jews were unlikely allies. What?” said Eaves, who is also the program director of the Tikkun Olam Initiative and Social Innovation Fund at the United Negro College Fund, an organization that provides financial support to historically Black colleges and universities. “That spoke to the possibility, but it also spoke to the challenge. Theyre allies, but he did not think of Jews as allies. I see this as planting the seed.”

The discussions don’t directly touch on Israel, but the dinner organizers said that the events happening in the Middle East have not kept people away from the events. The main impact Eaves has seen is on American Jews’ wariness toward once-allied communities who they felt had abandoned them after the Oct. 7 attacks two years ago. He encouraged Jews, even those who still feel raw, to not yet write off their wayward allies, and to follow the lead of the college students.

“I think the Jewish community felt sucker punched by Oct. 7, and felt like theres very few people who have been there for us. There’s a degree of sensitivity right now, in terms of ‘nobodys really there for us,’” said Eaves.

“This type of thing is doable. The Jewish community has to understand the power of the ask, not minimize our ability to make the ask. People respond in a positive way. Thats the piece that I think is missing, the limited number of asks that are made,” Eaves added. “Make the ask. All people can say is no.”

At tables throughout the room, over soda and parve desserts, students spoke from the heart: What brings them pride in their community? What gives them a sense of belonging? When have they felt fully free? And were there any commonalities in the answers of students from different backgrounds?

Baker, the Howard student, said she learned things that surprised her,“like how much the Jewish community and the Black community are low key kind of the same.”

By the end of the night, the room was abuzz with the excited chatter of new friends, who had already set up group chats and followed each other on Instagram. Most said they planned to attend a Passover Seder at Howard in the spring, but many hope to meet up sooner —made easier by grants available from Hillel International to encourage continued dialogue.

The students smiled and laughed as they walked out the door, talking with people they did not know two hours ago. They each were carrying something that is sure to excite all college students, regardless of race, religion or university: a free T-shirt from the event.

]]> 94449 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/11/jewish-leaders-mayor-elect-zohran-mamdani-somos-conference/ Mon, 10 Nov 2025 08:02:06 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=94345 ]]> SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The humid air was swelling with anticipation as thousands of New York politicos descended on Puerto Rico’s capital last week to attend the annual Somos conference, a multiday marathon of post-election elbow-rubbing where receptions and panels occur alongside covert negotiations and late-night schmoozing at local bars and hotels.

The extended Democratic gathering, which kicked off on Wednesday and continued into the weekend, was adjusting to the ascendant political order led by Zohran Mamdani, whose victory in New York City’s mayoral election earlier that week had upended the Democratic establishment and led to new alliances that until recently would have seemed improbable.

While Mamdani was still largely unknown during Somos last year, just weeks after announcing his long-shot mayoral bid, the 34-year-old democratic socialist and state assemblyman now seized the spotlight as attendees swarmed his arrival Thursday at the Caribe Hilton, where the incoming mayor was later fêted by some of the state’s top elected officials at a crowded beachside reception.

For many Jewish leaders who joined the Caribbean confab, however, the feeling was far more subdued, as they openly grappled with the sensitive question of how to work with a mayor-elect whose stridently anti-Israel views conflict with their own core values.

It is a wholly unfamiliar position for Jewish leaders and mainstream Jewish institutions in New York City, where the mayors have long been proudly pro-Israel. But Mamdani’s stunning rise challenged the conventional thinking that a winning candidate in New York, a place with the largest Jewish community of any city in the world, must show strong support for Israel. In breaking with decades of precedent, Mamdani still faced skepticism from a significant number of Jewish voters who cast their ballots for former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who lost the Democratic primary and then ran as an independent. Exit polls showed that Cuomo, a vocal supporter of Israel, had doubled Mamdani among Jewish New Yorkers, with around two-thirds of the vote.

As Mamdani prepares to assume office in less than two months, Jewish leaders mingling at Somos were freshly processing his looming mayoralty with a mix of shock, hesitation and bemused detachment. Even if some voiced hope for a positive relationship, most were not ready to specify how they planned to move forward or what was expected of his administration.

One well-connected Jewish attendee cited the five stages of grief in characterizing the reactions among Jewish community leaders who had largely resisted engaging with Mamdani’s campaign. Many of them, it seemed, were dealing with the first stage of denial — and were far from finally reaching acceptance.

“We’re so screwed,” one Jewish political activist was overheard lamenting at an event on Friday evening.

Still, some Jewish community leaders who spoke with Jewish Insider over the course of the retreat suggested they were willing to give Mamdani the latitude to follow through on areas where they are aligned, pointing to a sort of provisional detente in the aftermath of a bruising and emotionally fraught election.

“The mainstream Jewish community is open to dealing with reality,” Noam Gilboord, the chief operating and community relations officer at the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, said diplomatically while attending the conference.

The JCRC, for its part, has not yet held any direct meetings with Mamdani, though members of his team privately reached out about some key issues during the election and have continued to stay in touch, according to Mark Treyger, the group’s chief executive. The campaign gave a heads-up to JCRC leadership, for instance, before Mamdani publicly announced that he would ask Jessica Tisch to stay on as police commissioner, an encouraging choice to Jewish community leaders who favored her for the role.

“We are here to represent the transition with the Jewish community, and we’re so happy to be here,” Ali Najmi, a Mamdani confidante and chief counsel to the mayor-elect’s transition team, told JI in a brief exchange. “We see so many good friends and old friends, and we’re so looking forward to our new friends.” 

Mamdani’s team also checked in with the JCRC after he had won the primary to give assurances that the newly anointed Democratic nominee was committed to providing continued security for its annual Israel Day on Fifth parade — even if he was unlikely to attend, as a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against the Jewish state.

While Mamdani was absent from a Thursday night reception the JCRC hosted with the UJA-Federation of New York, he sent two of his top aides, Ali Najmi and Elle Bisgaard-Church, to join the event instead. They were warmly greeted by attendees in a public easing of tensions that would have been difficult to imagine just a few weeks ago.

“We are here to represent the transition with the Jewish community, and we’re so happy to be here,” Najmi, a Mamdani confidante and chief counsel to the mayor-elect’s transition team, told JI in a brief exchange. “We see so many good friends and old friends, and we’re so looking forward to our new friends.”

Najmi did not share further details regarding the transition’s formal plans to address Jewish issues, steps that are certain to be aggressively scrutinized in the coming months.

Yeruchim Silber, the director of New York government relations at Agudath Israel of America, an Orthodox advocacy group, said he appreciated the outreach and looked forward to meeting with Najmi again. “We’re hopeful that we could always find some common ground and work together,” he told JI during the reception. “Look, the mayor-elect said very clearly in his victory speech that he’s going to tackle antisemitism,” he added, “so we’ll take him at his word.”

“My understanding is there is interest in more formal Jewish outreach” from Mamdani’s team, said Phylisa Wisdom, the executive director of New York Jewish Agenda, a liberal Zionist group that has been receptive to the mayor-elect. Wisdom, who joined a private conversation with Mamdani at a Reform synagogue in Brooklyn before the election, said the appearance of his aides at the reception on Thursday demonstrated “a desire to be in all kinds of Jewish spaces they may not have been during the election,” in order to “build relationships and show goodwill.”

“This is a very, very divided time for the city, I think I can acknowledge that,” Mark Levine, the incoming city comptroller who endorsed Mamdani, said in his remarks to the room. 

Mamdani, whose presence at formal Somos events drew throngs of eager admirers seeking selfies with the mayor-elect, likewise steered clear of an annual Shabbat gathering convened by the Met Council, the Jewish anti-poverty charity. Despite his victory, the event, which featured Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), New York state Attorney General Letitia James and other prominent officials, made no direct allusion to Mamdani — further highlighting his uncomfortable relationship with the Jewish community.

Instead, the speakers at the Met Council’s widely attended reception zeroed in largely on such issues as hunger, poverty and the Trump administration’s efforts to withhold payments for food stamps amid the government shutdown.

“This is a very, very divided time for the city, I think I can acknowledge that,” Mark Levine, the incoming city comptroller who endorsed Mamdani, said in his remarks to the room.

Levine, who is Jewish, is now facing pressure from some Mamdani allies to divest the city from Israel bonds. He has refused to change course, saying last week that he has “criticism of the Israeli government” but still maintains “deep personal ties to Israel.” Mamdani, meanwhile, has voiced support for ending “the practice of purchasing Israel bonds,” though Levine has indicated he does not believe the mayor-elect has the power to enforce such a policy.

The Shabbat reception was disrupted by anti-Israel protesters two years ago, weeks after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. But no such demonstrations occurred last Friday.

Mamdani, who will soon become New York City’s first Muslim and South Asian mayor, has frequently vowed to fight rising antisemitism. The day after the election, he swiftly moved to condemn vandalism of a Jewish day school in Brooklyn that was defaced by swastika graffiti, calling the attack a “disgusting and heartbreaking act of antisemitism” and pledging to “always stand steadfast with our Jewish neighbors to root the scourge of antisemitism out of our city.”

In his outreach to different parts of the Jewish community and in his public remarks during the election, Mamdani called for increased funding to prevent hate crimes and boosting police protection at Jewish institutions. He has expressed interest in a city curriculum backed by leading Jewish groups, even as it uses a definition of Zionism contradicting his own views on Israel. Mamdani has said he does not recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

Despite his pledges to counter antisemitism, that tension underscores how many Jewish leaders see his positions as an active threat and an impediment to upholding support for Israel, as the war in Gaza has fueled deep divisions in the Democratic Party.

Mamdani’s anti-Israel stances have provoked concerns that he will act on his views when he takes office. He has indicated, for instance, that he would reassess the partnership between Cornell University and Israel’s Technion, situated on Roosevelt Island. He has also pledged to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes if he steps foot in New York City, in a controversial move that legal experts have questioned as legally dubious.

Mamdani has faced scrutiny for his ties to the Democratic Socialists of America, whose avowedly anti-Zionist mission includes demands that the mayor-elect implement several policies that would sever New York City’s relations with Israel. His refusal to explicitly condemn calls to “globalize the intifada” have otherwise continued to frustrate Jewish community leaders.

Robert Tucker, a Jewish philanthropist who had served as the commissioner of New York City’s Fire Department until last week, announced that he was resigning after Mamdani’s win, reportedly owing to the mayor-elect’s anti-Zionist stances.

But some Jewish leaders at Somos speculated that Mamdani may now see his vocal opposition to Israel as an albatross as he seeks to enact an ambitious affordability plan that will need buy-in from the state leadership.

During his time at Somos, the mayor-elect seemed careful to largely avoid the issue. “I will make clear that we are not looking to remake New York City in my image,” he said in remarks at a labor breakfast Saturday. “We are looking to remake it in the image of struggling workers across the five boroughs.”

In comments to a mosque he visited in San Juan, where the imam had mentioned Palestine during his own sermon, Mamdani spoke in metaphorical terms as he addressed the audience. “If you are not at the table, you may find yourself on the menu,” he noted. “It was a Muslim brother, Malcolm X, who reminded us that sitting at the table does not make you a diner. You have to be eating some of what’s on that plate.”

Still, some of Mamdani’s allies on the far left indicated that they were eager to use momentum from his victory to push a more hostile view of Israel into the mainstream discourse and to challenge incumbents who accept donations from AIPAC while promoting pro-Israel policies.

In a panel discussion on Thursday billed as “Colonialism, Resistance and Solidarity: Puerto Rico and Palestine,” Mamdani’s supporters — including City Councilmember Alexa Avilés, Beth Miller of Jewish Voice for Peace Action and Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian-American activist who has spread antisemitic rhetoric — were emboldened by his recent win, as attendees chanted “From the river to the sea, Palestina will be free!” and “Viva, viva Palestina!” Sarsour described Mamdani’s election as “a new day” and said “we’re not going back.”

“Being someone who supports the Palestinian people is no longer a political liability,” Sarsour, who has vowed to hold Mamdani “accountable” as mayor, told the room. “It is what gets you elected into office.”

In statements following the election, a range of Jewish organizations promised to hold Mamdani responsible for keeping Jews in New York City safe. The mayor-elect’s “victory marks the beginning of a new political chapter for New York, one that many in our community view with enormous concern,” Eric Goldstein, the CEO of the UJA-Federation of New York, said in a letter to supporters. “His rhetoric on Israel and Zionism raises serious questions about whether Jewish New Yorkers will continue to feel seen and protected in the very city we indelibly helped build and grow.”

He said the Jewish community would be watching closely to ensure “that antisemitism is not given any oxygen in our neighborhoods,” adding that “actions matter more” than “words.”

Rabbi Ammiel Hirsh, who leads Stephen Wise Free Synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, said in a post-election sermon that he “will readily engage in dialogue” with Mamdani if he chooses to reach out. “We will support Mayor Mamdani’s policies where we can — and oppose them when we must,” he concluded.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who, at Somos, celebrated Mamdani’s win, also stressed to reporters on the sidelines of the conference that Jewish New Yorkers still need to “see action” from the mayor-elect to address their concerns. “That’s one area where I know that there’s some opportunities for him to demonstrate, as he has said, but also demonstrate that he is there to protect all New Yorkers, to protect anyone’s right to worship or their beliefs but also their institutions,” she explained.

The Anti-Defamation League, for its part, launched a “Mamdani Monitor” to track policies that could impact Jewish safety and security. Jewish leaders in attendance at Somos, however, voiced reservations with the effort, suggesting they did not see it as productive as some in the community look for common ground to work with the mayor-elect.

Others voiced hope that a leading candidate for City Council speaker, Julie Menin, who is Jewish, would serve as a counterweight to Mamdani — in contrast with a leftist rival, Crystal Hudson, seen more as an ally of the mayor-elect. Menin, who declined to join a meeting between Mamdani and Jewish officials in the primary, is known as an outspoken supporter of Israel in the City Council.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who, at Somos, celebrated Mamdani’s win, also stressed to reporters on the sidelines of the conference that Jewish New Yorkers still need to “see action” from the mayor-elect to address their concerns. “That’s one area where I know that there’s some opportunities for him to demonstrate, as he has said, but also demonstrate that he is there to protect all New Yorkers, to protect anyone’s right to worship or their beliefs but also their institutions,” she explained.

Hochul, for her part, has also drawn backlash from Jewish donors for choosing to back Mamdani’s campaign in the general election, people familiar with the situation told JI. “She’s got a lot to prove,” one Jewish leader said of the governor, long regarded as a staunch defender of Israel.

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), a pro-Israel Jewish Democrat who declined to endorse Mamdani in the general election, told JI at Somos that, despite their disagreements on Israel, he was looking forward to working with the mayor-elect on areas of alignment such as cost of living issues.

But some Jewish community activists were more suspicious of the incoming mayor. One Brooklyn organizer dismissed the possibility of working with Mamdani outright, saying that his stances on Israel had foreclosed any hope of finding common ground, even on unrelated issues.

Leon Goldenberg, an Orthodox business leader in Brooklyn who serves as an executive board member of the Flatbush Jewish Community Coalition, which endorsed Cuomo in the general election, told JI that he has been struggling to decide whether he will ask Mamdani for a meeting.

“I’m really at a loss,” he said on Thursday. “What are we going to talk about, Israel?”

The FJCC itself, which long enjoyed a close relationship with outgoing Mayor Eric Adams, was more optimistic, according to Josh Mehlman, the group’s chairman. “We have met, and will meet with them again,” he said of Mamdani’s team. “We are confident we can work together for the best interest of the Flatbush community and the Orthodox Jewish community citywide.”

]]> 94345 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/11/syria-capitol-hill-advocacy-jamine-naamou-tarek-naemo/ Mon, 10 Nov 2025 06:44:09 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=94307 ]]> The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s brutal regime in Syria last December happened slowly, and then all at once — leaving a region reeling from whiplash and a country digging itself out from the rubble, now under the leadership of a former militia head who cut his teeth as an Al-Qaida terrorist. 

This week, that leader, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, is coming to Washington, the first time a Syrian president has ever been invited to the White House. 

Alongside al-Sharaa’s rise in Damascus has been a flurry of activity in Washington, as lawmakers tried to make sense of a country that one day was considered a rogue nation locked in protracted civil war and the next was viewed as a free state on the path to stability. 

Two people in particular have become fixtures on Capitol Hill, pushing the message that Washington should lift sanctions on Damascus and build stronger ties with Syria: Jasmine Naamou and Tarek Naemo, a married couple who live in Daytona Beach, Fla., with a knack for social media self-promotion and a willingness to strike up a conversation with anyone. 

On the eve of al-Sharaa’s meeting with President Donald Trump, the couple arranged a meeting with the Syrian leader and Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Naamou and Naemo first came to Capitol Hill this year as activists with the Syrian American Alliance for Peace and Prosperity, a nonprofit that emerged early this year to advocate for closer ties between the U.S. and Syria, though Naamou said she doesn’t work directly with them anymore. The organization arranged meetings for Syria’s foreign minister in New York this year, and in April it brought two members of Congress — Reps. Cory Mills (R-FL) and Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) — to Syria for the first visit by U.S. officials in years. Naamou and Naemo were on the trip with them. 

Jasmine Naamou and Tarek Naemo with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) (courtesy) Mills and Stutzman’s visit preceded a more senior delegation, with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), who has held several senior foreign policy roles, visiting the country together. 

All of those lawmakers have met with either Naamou or Naemo this year, documented with slick photos shared on the couple’s Instagram accounts. Naamou has 319,000 followers, and a pinned photo with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA); Naemo has 2.2 million followers and flaunts photos with the Saudi investment minister and Turkey’s ambassador to Syria — plus an image of him holding a rifle and sitting on a golf cart with Wilson. He refers to Wilson as “my dearest friend.” 

Naamou spoke to Jewish Insider on Friday ahead of al-Sharaa’s visit to preview what she hopes the Syrian leader will discuss with Trump, with normalization with Israel high on the list.

“We want regional stability. Israel’s a neighbor. They’re a friend of America. We want them to be friends of Syria. We want to normalize relations,” said Naamou, who was driving to the airport, bound for Washington to be there for al-Sharaa’s visit. She also expressed hope for a U.S. security presence in Syria: “I believe they’re moving in the right direction of getting that security agreement in place. From what I’ve heard, they are in discussions of having a U.S. air base in Damascus to help with those security discussions between Syria and Israel. So I really do see the steps moving in the right direction.” 

Ahead of his visit, the United Nations lifted sanctions on al-Sharaa, a move that followed a similar executive order by Trump in June. “President Trump is committed to supporting a Syria that is stable, unified and at peace with itself and its neighbors,” the White House said at the time.  

Naamou and her husband both work in real estate in central Florida, though they also have ties to a Saudi sovereign wealth fund, according to Intelligence Online, a publication focused on diplomacy. Naamou said investment is a focus of their advocacy to American officials. 

“They’re also going to have discussions on reintegrating investments in Syria because President Trump, when he went over to Saudi Arabia on his Middle East trip, he had announced the whole cessation of sanctions,” said Naamou. 

Jasmine Naamou and Tarek Naemo with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), August 2025 (Instagram) Florida oceanside city become such fixtures on Capitol Hill? Naamou, who is 30, dates her own advocacy to her college days at the University of Florida, where she studied international relations and political science because of what was happening in Syria. She said the political relationships started back home in Florida, too.

“I live in Volusia County, and it’s a relatively small county, and everyone kind of knows each other,” she said. “You just go to events, and you meet people, and things happen, and you discuss things, and then you find things in common.”

They’ve also met with Reps. Byron Donalds (R-FL), who is running for governor of Florida; Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL); Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ), who is the child of Syrian immigrants. 

“I see huge bipartisan support now,” Naamou said. “We like to term Syria as a swing state. Syria is multi-layered. Syria is one of the only countries in the Middle East that is so complex. You have all three Abrahamic religions present in Syria. You have all different types of ethnicities present. And so Syria is very key in the region, because it can be swung either way.”

“Either way,” in this case, means West or East — bringing Syria into the U.S.-led Western world, or into the Russia-Iran-China orbit. 

“They want the U.S., and they want to acclimate here with our values,” said Naamou, who was born in Michigan to a Syrian father. She described the rapid changes in Syria as a “snowball effect.” 

“I’ve never seen, when a regime has fallen, such a fast paced amount of change happen in such a short period of time,” said Naamou. She wants to see it continue: all sanctions lifted, American investment, closer ties. 

“I’m hoping that we see a larger acceptance of Syria in general,” she said. “I’m hoping that we’re able to somehow, in any way, reshape the narrative into a positive light.”

]]> 94307 https://jewishinsider.com/2025/11/thirty-six-hours-in-washington-that-took-hostage-families-from-grief-to-gratitude/ Thu, 06 Nov 2025 08:08:29 +0000 https://jewishinsider.com/?p=94032 ]]> When several dozen people gathered at the Kennedy Center for a yoga class overlooking the Potomac River on Oct. 8, the class began with a practice familiar to anyone who regularly does yoga: intention setting.

The class was called “Yoga for Carmel,” in honor of Carmel Gat, a 40-year-old Israeli yoga instructor who was taken captive by Hamas from Kibbutz Be’eri on Oct. 7 and killed last year alongside five other hostages, including Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Among those taking part in the class were former hostages and the family members of those still being held in Gaza, all of whom had gathered at the same spot a day earlier for a somber event marking two years since the attacks that reshaped their lives.

“What do you do in yoga? You set your intention. You think about the release of the hostages. Thats all we thought about during the entire yoga session,” recalled Matan Sivek, who until last month was the director of the Hostage Families Forum’s U.S. operation. As soon as the class ended, a cacophony of cellphones began ringing as news broke about a possible deal.

“At 6 p.m., we got the news that the deal might be happening, that it’s evolving super rapidly,” said Sivek. Soon it was confirmed: Israel and Hamas had agreed to a ceasefire that would result in the release of all the hostages and an end to the war. The news capped off an emotional 36 hours, which began with the Oct. 7 memorial event at the Kennedy Center a day earlier.

Sivek sat down with Jewish Insider last week for a wide-ranging conversation reflecting on the two-year-long advocacy campaign — spearheaded by Sivek, his wife Bar Ben-Yaakov and leading Jewish organizations including the American Jewish Committee and Schusterman Family Philanthropies — demanding the release of the more than 250 people taken hostage by Hamas during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.

“Im very happy that I am part of something that was successful at the end. There are many initiatives and nonprofits around the world who try to solve different issues, and they will never solve them. People try to end famine. They try to find a medicine for cancer. They try to stop addiction,” said Sivek. “For us, its something that you can say, ‘Wow, we really saved lives.’”

Advocating for the hostages was a task that Sivek and Ben-Yaakov took on almost by accident, but they ultimately became the address for Israeli hostage families who came to Washington to advocate for the release of their loved ones. The couple helped arrange meetings with Democratic and Republican lawmakers, officials in the Biden and Trump administrations and political and faith leaders around the country. Their strategy was to meet with anyone who would listen.

“We really were here to say that this humanitarian issue transcends all politics, and this was our strategy from Day One,” said Sivek.

It made sense, then, that the moment when President Donald Trump shared with the families that the hostages would be coming the following Monday — five days after that yoga class — was in a phone call to the hostage families as they stood in Sivek and Ben-Yaakov’s Georgetown living room. A video of the call, placed by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who put Trump on speakerphone, quickly went viral and appeared on news broadcasts around the world.

“President Trump, you have the best crowd in the world,” Lutnick said into the phone.

Everyone in the room shouted together, smiles on their faces: “Thank you!”

“You just take care of yourselves. The hostages will come back. They’re all coming back on Monday,” Trump said. Among those in the room were released hostages Keith Siegel, Iair Horn, Doron Steinbecher and Arbel Yehoud, as well as family members of Gali and Ziv Berman and Omri Miran, who at the time were still in Gaza, along with Horn’s brother Eitan and Yehoud’s partner Ariel Cunio.

Former hostage Doron Steinbecher embraces Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (Liri Agami) “This is the moment when the world realized the timing of the release of the hostages,” said Sivek.

The White House deputy press secretary, Anna Kelly, told JI this week that Trump was deeply affected by the story of the hostages.

“President Trump is always motivated to end human suffering around the world, and he was horrified by the images of Oct. 7 and the capture of innocent Americans, Israelis and others taken hostage by Hamas,” said Kelly.

Within the Trump administration, Lutnick was working behind the scenes on behalf of the hostages. His wife, Allison, was the driving force behind his advocacy.

Allison Lutnick had gotten to know many of the families after a trip to Israel early last year, when she met the mother of Omer Shem Tov, a hostage who was freed in February. Allison then connected with Sivek when she moved to Washington this year, and soon after he facilitated a meeting between the Lutnicks and several freed hostages at the Lutnicks’ apartment in Miami.

Allison Lutnick, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Matan Sivek and Bar Ben-Yaakov (Liri Agami) “We spent three three hours together in our apartment talking and sharing. They spoke of the horrors of what theyd been through and we spoke of the horrors of what we had been through 24 years earlier on 9/11,” she told JI on Wednesday. At the time, Howard Lutnick was the CEO of the financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald, which lost 658 employees on 9/11, including his brother Gary.

“There was definitely a bond between all of us, having experienced a terrorist attack and the loss of loved ones and horrible trauma,” she added. “Howard and I felt this very deep connection with them and what they were going through. We had an understanding of it.”

Whenever Sivek asked, Allison Lutnick texted leading administration officials like Vice President JD Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directly to set up meetings for them with hostage families. The Lutnicks’ family foundation supported the Sukkah of Hope at the Kennedy Center, where the Oct. 7 commemoration event took place. (The sukkah was supposed to be set up on the Ellipse, outside the White House, but the government shutdown scuttled that plan. So Allison Lutnick, a Kennedy Center board member, reached out to the center’s president, Ric Grenell — and, thus, it was moved there.)

She and her husband both spoke at the memorial event, and that morning in the sukkah, a majority of Trump administration cabinet secretaries gathered for a breakfast with the hostage families.

“We are part of you. We are with you, and we will help get them home,” Howard Lutnick said in a speech. Less than 36 hours later, there was a breakthrough in the deal.

“The two-year anniversary of Oct. 7 was a day of intense emotion, sadness, mourning and disbelief and horror that it’s been two years. And then the next day, Oct. 8, was this incredible elation. It just couldnt have been more different,” Allison Lutnick said. “It was extraordinary to walk into Matans house later that night and celebrate with the families. It was the first time Id ever seen them smile for a picture.”

She and her husband arrived at the impromptu celebration with two bottles of champagne. Meanwhile, Lisa Eisen and Stacy Schusterman, the president and the chair of Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, showed up with food for 30. They had been planning to host Sivek’s family and all the hostage families for Sukkot that night — Eisen and her husband had purchased a larger sukkah in preparation — but the gathering never happened.

(Liri Agami) “I called Lisa. I was like, ‘Lisa, you worked so hard for this dinner, but I think we cannot make it.’ And it was 6 p.m. At 7 we were supposed to be there,” Sivek said. “I was like, ‘A deal is happening. I cannot take them from the city. They need to stay here.’”

“I said, ‘Well, this is the best excuse ever to not come,’” Eisen recounted to JI. She and her family sat down to eat, toasted the hostages and said the Shehechiyanu prayer, expecting to have a much smaller dinner at home. Then Sivek asked her to come celebrate with them.

“So we packed up all of the food for 30 people, and we drove down to Matan and Bars house, and we set up the meal because they had no food,” said Eisen, who split the cooking with her husband: three kinds of soup (coconut lentil, red lentil and matzoh ball), schnitzel, salads, homemade hummus, pies and cakes. “It was one of the most powerful, moving, beautiful moments. And I have to say, Matan and Bar, it wouldnt happen without them. They were so tireless.”

It was in that environment with hugging and crying and eating — critical to any Jewish event — that everyone realized this deal, finally, seemed to be real.

“This is how our kitchen became famous,” Sivek said with a laugh. “For us it was some sort of closure as well, the fact that after two very difficult years, the announcement came from our kitchen.”

Almost immediately, Sivek and his partners began booking the Israelis on flights back home; less than a week later, they would be reunited with their loved ones. It was a moment these Israelis had hardly dared to imagine during the agony of the preceding two years. In that period, their pain was shared by Jews around the world, who wore dog tags and yellow ribbon pins to constantly remind others of the people imprisoned in Gaza.

“Many people view this as a miracle that happened, that theyre out, and of course, it seemed like a miracle. But there was a lot of work of hostage families and former hostages behind the scenes to make it happen,” Sivek said. “I think that the Jewish people should be very, very proud of themselves, that we stood by our people, and we actually managed to save their lives.”

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