Senate Democrats Hit Record 40 Votes to Block Israel Arms — Schiff, Kelly Flip

A record 40 Senate Democrats voted last week to block U.S. arms sales to Israel — up from 19 in 2024 and 24 in 2025 — including moderate swing-state senators Adam Schiff (CA) and Mark Kelly (AZ), who both reversed prior pro-Israel positions. Both senators said future votes will be made “case-by-case.” Meanwhile, at Michigan’s Democratic convention, pro-Israel voices including Rep. Haley Stevens were shouted down, a Hezbollah-supporting regent candidate was nominated, and party activists heckled speakers who pushed back — prompting rare public condemnation from Sen. Gary Peters and Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet.

• 40 Senate Democrats voted to block arms sales — the highest total in history, up from 19 in 2024, including moderates Schiff, Kelly, Ossoff, Gallego, and Slotkin.
• Schiff and Kelly said future votes are ‘case-by-case,’ a rhetorical retreat that signals continued pressure from the left wing of the party.
• At Michigan’s Dem convention, Rep. Haley Stevens and pro-Israel speakers were actively heckled by delegates; the party nominated an attorney who praised Hezbollah for U of M regent over Jewish incumbent Jordan Acker.
• Sen. Gary Peters said he was ‘really disappointed’ by the behavior; Rep. McDonald Rivet warned it would cost Democrats in November midterms.
• Jewish Democrats are organizing — the Michigan Jewish Democratic Caucus drew 200 people at the convention, double last year — but the party’s structural direction is moving left.

The 40-vote threshold is the inflection point ICAN has been tracking: it now represents the dominant position in the Senate Democratic caucus, not the fringe. The Michigan convention is a preview of what moderate Jewish Democrats face at every level heading into midterms — a party apparatus that actively marginalizes pro-Israel voices while nominating Hezbollah-adjacent candidates.

President Trump extended the Iran ceasefire indefinitely Tuesday night — reversing his earlier position — after Iran skipped planned Pakistan talks and its IRGC seized two cargo ships and attacked a third in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump claims Iran is losing $500 million per day from the blockade and that Tehran’s military and police are going unpaid. Iran’s hardliners dismissed the extension as a ‘ploy to buy time for a surprise strike,’ while U.S. aides debated strikes as negotiations stalled.

• IRGC attacked and seized two vessels (MSC Francesca and Epaminodes) in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday — the third ship attack in hours.
• Trump posted Iran is ‘collapsing financially’ — losing $500 million daily — after extending the ceasefire at Pakistan’s request.
• Iran refused to commit to a longer ceasefire; U.S. assessment now points to Supreme Leader Khamenei as the primary obstacle to a deal.
• Lebanon direct talks resumed in Washington for the first time in 40 years; FM Sa’ar said ‘Hezbollah is a shared enemy’ and disputes are limited to border issues.

The Hormuz ship seizures happening simultaneous to a ceasefire extension signals Iran is playing both tracks — testing Trump's patience while stringing out negotiations. The Lebanon direct talks, however, represent genuine diplomatic progress worth watching as a counterweight to the Iran hardline.

UCLA’s undergraduate student government issued a formal condemnation of a campus event featuring Omer Shem Tov, a former Israeli hostage who spent 505 days in Hamas tunnels. The student government called the Hillel-organized event ‘selective platforming of narratives that obscure the broader reality of ongoing state violence’ and ‘a troubling disregard for Palestinian life.’ At the same time, a former Columbia professor who advocated for jihad after Oct. 7 and praised the 2025 assassination of Israeli Embassy employees has been invited to speak to NYU students.

• UCLA’s USAC issued a formal written condemnation of Hillel for hosting Omer Shem Tov — a freed Oct. 7 hostage — calling the event ‘harmful.’
• UCLA Hillel director responded: ‘Members of UCLA student government have shown they are anti-dialogue, anti-learning, anti-truth, anti-student, and anti-Jewish.’
• Mohamed Abdou, former Columbia professor who called for jihad after Oct. 7 and praised the assassination of Israeli Embassy employees, has been invited to speak at NYU.
• The dual incidents — a hostage condemned, a jihad-advocate platformed — illustrate the asymmetric campus climate heading into commencement season.

The UCLA condemnation is the clearest articulation yet of how far anti-Israel student governments have gone: the victim of Hamas atrocities is now the threat on campus. NYU hosting Abdou is an immediate target for ICAN intervention — contact administration and trustees before the event.

Christians United for Israel Action Fund is spending six figures on billboards blanketing Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-KY) district for a full month, targeting his opposition to the Iran war and his votes aligning with Democrats. Separately, AIPAC’s United Democracy Project launched a $790,000 television campaign also targeting Massie in the same district. The coordinated pressure escalates pro-Israel electoral engagement ahead of the Kentucky primary. Meanwhile in Florida, Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick’s resignation opens FL-20 — a heavily Democratic seat — to a possible special election where Elijah Manley, a Democratic Socialist and vocal Israel critic, leads in early polling.

• CUFI Action Fund spending six figures on a month-long billboard campaign in KY-4 over Massie’s anti-Iran war position.
• AIPAC’s United Democracy Project separately spending $790,000 on TV ads targeting Massie, framing him as a liberal-vote-aligned flip-flopper.
• Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20) resigned before an Ethics Committee hearing over $5 million FEMA fraud charges, triggering a special election.
• Elijah Manley — Jewish convert, Democratic Socialist, frequent Israel critic — was leading pre-resignation FL-20 polls and is the frontrunner for the special election.

CUFI and AIPAC are both moving against Massie simultaneously — an unusual alignment worth tracking. The FL-20 special election is a threat ICAN must watch: Manley represents the same Israel-critical Socialist profile as the NJ-11 winner last week.

New NYPD data shows 55% of all confirmed hate crimes in New York City in Q1 2026 were antisemitic — despite Jews comprising a small fraction of the population — with multiple viral videos this week showing Orthodox Jews being harassed in Williamsburg under Mayor Zohran Mamdani. In London, the 17-year-old arsonist who pleaded guilty to attacking Kenton United Synagogue was released on bail Tuesday — just days after British counter-terrorism police arrested eight people in connection with a broader wave of suspected antisemitic arson attacks.

• 55% of confirmed NYC hate crimes in Q1 2026 were antisemitic; NYPD Chief Tisch confirmed the trend at a public briefing this week.
• Viral videos from Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood showed cyclists physically targeting Orthodox Jews and shouting antisemitic slurs.
• The 17-year-old Kenton synagogue arsonist who pleaded guilty was released on bail at Westminster Magistrates’ Court; Community Security Trust confirmed minor smoke damage but no injuries.
• British counter-terrorism police have arrested eight people in the ongoing UK Jewish community arson investigation — the most significant sweep yet.

The NYC antisemitism surge under Mamdani's tenure is becoming a data story ICAN should amplify — 55% of hate crimes targeting a small minority is politically actionable. London's arsonist-on-bail decision is a dangerous signal to the broader attack network.