Jewish Insider

Valdez, who is backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Sen. Bernie Sanders and the Democratic Socialists of America’s New York City chapter, joined a nearly hour-long virtual conversation with Michael Beyer, a fellow DSA member who uses the online moniker “Mike from PA” and has drawn criticism for invoking antisemitic rhetoric about Jews and Israel. jewishinsider.com/2026/05/claire…

New York state Assemblymember Claire Valdez, a far-left Democrat now campaigning to fill an open House seat covering parts of Brooklyn and Queens, sat for a friendly interview released on Friday with a Twitch streamer who was once suspended from the platform for calling Jews a “demonic ethnicity.” @matthewkassel reports: ji.news/54ddv

SCOOP @jewishinsider via @WillBredderman: "Jewish Voice for Peace activist to serve as Mamdani ‘faith liaison’" "The NYC mayor has tapped an anti-Zionist Brooklyn rabbi who backed his campaign for the newly created role" jewishinsider.com/2026/05/mamdan…

One Orthodox Jewish leader, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid antagonizing Mamdani, despaired at the news. “If true it would send a terrible signal and would be one more indication that this mayor is not a friend to the Jewish community,” he said. “JVP is a radical fringe group that does not represent the views of the overwhelming majority of Jewish New Yorkers.” Full story from @WillBredderman and @matthewkassel: jewishinsider.com/2026/05/mamdan…

Multiple sources confirmed that Grossman will take on the role of “faith liaison” inside the new department. A graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College who formerly led the independent congregation Kolot Chayeinu in Brooklyn, she is well to the left of even some of the most progressive-minded Jews when it comes to Israel. jewishinsider.com/2026/05/mamdan…

👀 SCOOP | Mamdani will appoint Rabbi Miriam Grossman — a veteran of various far-left and anti-Israel organizations — to a taxpayer-funded post in his newly created “Office of Mass Engagement,” Jewish Insider has learned. ji.news/54db2

The Israeli military carried out a strike in Gaza on Friday targeting Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the most senior remaining Hamas commander in the enclave, according to a joint statement from Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz. @MatthewShea__ reports: ji.news/54d3j

NEW @Jewishinsider: “Israel conducts strike against most senior remaining Hamas member in Gaza” jewishinsider.com/2026/05/israel…

BREAKING | The Israeli military carried out a strike in Gaza on Friday targeting Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the most senior remaining Hamas commander in the enclave. Latest @jewishinsider: jewishinsider.com/2026/05/israel…

Federal authorities have charged an Iran-backed militia commander with plotting to attack Jewish sites in New York City and Los Angeles. According to a criminal complaint, Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi reportedly helped plot at least 18 attacks, several of which were carried out in Europe and Canada since late February. @HaleyCohen19 reports: ji.news/54csi

@marcrod97 Local analysts say that the appearance by Booker — a well-known face to local voters across the Delaware River from his home state — should help Street’s campaign, but were skeptical that it would be enough to help him beat Rabb. jewishinsider.com/2026/05/cory-b…

Sen. Cory Booker is set to attend a rally with state Sen. Sharif Street, a last-minute boost for Street ahead of his Tuesday congressional primary in Philadelphia where his challenger, far-left state Sen. Chris Rabb, is favored to win. @marcrod97 reports: ji.news/54ciy

Cohen told reporters in an emotional press conference on Friday that the decision to drop out of the race was “by far the most difficult moment I’ve had as an elected official.” He said he had considered running for one of the newly drawn districts, but that none of the seats were similar to his current Memphis-based district. jewishinsider.com/2026/05/steve-…

@marcrod97 Cohen, 76, was the first Jewish person to represent Tennessee in Congress, and long stood out as a white, Jewish lawmaker representing a majority-Black district in the South, a rare profile in Congress. jewishinsider.com/2026/05/steve-…

🚨 Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen announced he will retire from the House after 20 years, following a redistricting push by Tennessee Republicans that carved up his Memphis district, ending his re-election campaign. @marcrod97 reports: ji.news/54cfq

Third Way plans to raise money and make DSA affiliation "toxic" in the Democratic Party — comparing it to ties with a neo-Nazi influencer — as Jewish leaders warn the group seeks to make "being Jewish unacceptable in polite society." @ThirdWayMattB, the centrist Democratic group's senior vice president for public affairs, said: “We are going to raise money and develop a plan over the course of the next few months to try to make them toxic, to make it unacceptable for major figures in the party or anybody actually running for office to be affiliated with the DSA, the way it should be unacceptable to be affiliated with [neo-Nazi influencer] Nick Fuentes if you’re running as Republican." Read @GSDeutch's full report: jewishinsider.com/2026/05/democr…

🗣️ “Senior Trump administration figures may believe they can manage these relationships just fine over the phone from Washington because of their close ties with Arab officials. But there are gaps and bandwidth limits that they cannot always overcome,” @DanielBShapiro said. jewishinsider.com/2026/05/former…

🗣️ @aarondmiller2, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former State Department negotiator, expressed similar concern over the vacancies, saying “it would be better if they were filled with people.” He stressed, however, that the openings are more than a “narrow issue,” but rather a “reflection of a broader trend” in how the administration “makes decisions.” jewishinsider.com/2026/05/former…

Elliott Abrams, Trump's former Iran envoy, calls the administration's Middle East ambassador vacancies — including in Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Qatar — "a foolish and damaging failure" with "no excuse." @MatthewShea__ reports: ji.news/54c6w