Mamdani Builds an Anti-Israel Congressional Bench — Endorses Columbia Encampment Organizer

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has endorsed Darializa Avila Chevalier — a former organizer of the Columbia University anti-Israel encampment — for a congressional seat currently held by Rep. Adriano Espaillat. Avila Chevalier has been vocal throughout her campaign about opposing all U.S. military support for Israel, calling to 'invest in our communities, not in bombs abroad.' The endorsement came the same day Mamdani confirmed he would not attend Sunday's Israel Day on Fifth Parade — making him the first New York City mayor in more than 62 years to skip the event. UJA-Federation CEO Eric Goldstein released an open letter sharply rebuking Mamdani, writing that 'your absence will be long-remembered.' The Israel Day Parade, which this year carries the theme 'Proud Americans, Proud Zionists,' is expected to draw record turnout.

• Darializa Avila Chevalier organized Columbia's anti-Israel encampment in 2024 and has made opposing U.S. military aid to Israel central to her congressional campaign.
• Mamdani has now endorsed only congressional candidates who oppose military aid to Israel — creating a pattern, not a one-off.
• UJA-Federation CEO Eric Goldstein wrote that Mamdani's parade boycott 'sends a painful message to the Jewish community of New York City,' noting that every mayor since 1964 has attended.
• NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch will serve as grand marshal in Mamdani's absence, a pointed contrast.
• The Gothamist reports the parade will feature tight security amid ongoing protests, exposing the political fractures Mamdani's posture has widened.

Mamdani is not just refusing to engage with the Jewish community — he is actively recruiting and platforming anti-Israel operatives into the next congressional class. The mayor-to-Congress pipeline he is building would accelerate the anti-Israel caucus's growth in New York's delegation at the moment that delegation is already under pressure. The question Sunday's parade answers is whether the organized Jewish community can mount the kind of visible, unified response that forces that cost.

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen signed an executive order Friday adopting the IHRA working definition of antisemitism into all public schools and universities, requiring annual incident-reporting to the governor's office. Pillen, a Republican, signed the order during Jewish American Heritage Month and tied it to post-October 7 campus antisemitism. On the same day, the Sequoia Union High School District in California's Bay Area settled a major lawsuit alleging years of racially abusive treatment of Jewish students — faculty and staff included — that exploded after October 7.

• Nebraska's EO requires the IHRA definition of antisemitism to be incorporated into student, faculty, and staff codes of conduct at every public school and university.
• The order mandates annual reporting to the governor and requires supplemental Holocaust and Jewish American history curricula.
• The Sequoia Union High School District settlement resolves claims that administrators permitted staff and students to mock, isolate, and intimidate Jewish students without intervention.
• A J. Weekly op-ed notes California schools face a growing wave of similar lawsuits — the Sequoia settlement is not an end point, it is a precedent.

These two stories together sketch out the two tracks of IHRA enforcement: executive action where governors can act unilaterally, and litigation where community organizations are forcing accountability after institutional failure. The pattern suggests pro-Israel legal strategy is maturing — districts that refuse to adopt IHRA or enforce anti-discrimination norms are now vulnerable to settlements that cost more than compliance would have.

President Trump convened a two-hour Situation Room meeting Friday for what he billed as a 'final determination' on an Iran deal — and emerged without one. Trump announced he would lift the U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as a confidence-building gesture while negotiations continue, but Iran rejected his account of the terms, insisting no final agreement has been reached and demanding the blockade lift unconditionally. Key disputes remain: frozen Iranian funds, uranium removal from Iranian territory, and sanctions relief. Vice President Vance acknowledged 'language issues remain unresolved.' A separate Wall Street Journal report revealed the UAE secretly struck dozens of Iranian targets during the war — including petrochemical facilities — with U.S. and Israeli intelligence, a disclosure that complicates Gulf Arab diplomacy.

• Trump declared he would lift the U.S. naval blockade on Hormuz, Iran's key demand, before any formal deal was signed.
• Tehran denies the terms Trump publicly described, creating a public gap between U.S. and Iranian accounts of what was agreed.
• The WSJ reports the UAE launched dozens of airstrikes on Iranian sites in coordination with U.S. and Israeli intelligence — a significant escalation of known Gulf involvement.
• Pentagon chief confirmed readiness to restart strikes on Iran if no deal is reached, maintaining pressure.

The Hormuz blockade lift without a signed agreement is a significant concession — Tehran demanded it unconditionally, and it was Washington's primary leverage. If Iran pockets the concession and walks away from a deal, the U.S. negotiating position weakens materially. The UAE airstrike disclosure adds a new actor to the Iran conflict's ledger and could complicate Saudi-Emirati-U.S. coordination at a moment when Gulf unity is central to any durable Iran arrangement.

Prime Minister Netanyahu confirmed Friday that IDF forces have advanced north of Lebanon's Litani River, approximately 18 miles into Lebanon, operating simultaneously in Beirut and the Bekaa Valley. Netanyahu visited the 36th Armored Division along the northern border and declared Israeli forces are 'dealing Hezbollah a crushing blow.' Hours after Israel and Lebanon held formal military-to-military talks at the Pentagon — the first security track meeting to support ceasefire negotiations — Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets at Kiryat Shmona, hitting the city's commercial center, with local leaders calling it a 'ceasefire that does not exist.' IDF Chief Zamir reported more than 7,500 Hezbollah terrorists eliminated since the start of the war.

• IDF ground forces confirmed operating north of the Litani River for the first time — a major geographic escalation in the Lebanon campaign.
• Hezbollah rockets hit Kiryat Shmona's commercial center overnight, causing heavy damage while Israel-Lebanon military talks were underway at the Pentagon.
• IDF Chief Zamir: more than 7,500 Hezbollah fighters eliminated since the start of the war, including 2,500 since 'Operation Roaring Lion.'
• Netanyahu has directed the military to expand Gaza control to 70 percent of the territory, up from 64 percent currently.

The simultaneous Pentagon talks and Litani crossing reflect Israel's operational posture: negotiate while advancing. Hezbollah's rocket barrage immediately after the Pentagon talks signals the organization is willing to use violence to derail the diplomatic track — and that the 'ceasefire' is holding in name only in northern Israel. The Kiryat Shmona communities experiencing this are waiting for either a real deal or a decisive military outcome.