State-Level Races Put the Democratic Israel Divide on the Ballot

State and local contests are becoming a direct test of whether anti-Israel records carry an electoral cost: Illinois Democratic leaders have put more than $2 million behind Nabeela Syed, while pro-Israel Democrats in New York have formed a new state PAC and Rep. Doris Matsui is pressing Mai Vang over ties to Hasan Piker.

Also tracking: Democratic foreign-policy veterans are openly forecasting new congressional pressure on Israel, and Jewish organizations are confronting an Italian education center over a political loyalty test imposed on Jewish educators.

In the wire: backlash is growing around Piker’s Minneapolis appearance with Ilhan Omar and Omar Fateh; Hillel is disputing a fired Emory rabbi’s account; and a former U.N. torture expert says colleagues ignored evidence of Hamas sexual violence.