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Pro-Israel candidates from both parties scored major victories across Florida on Tuesday, with Republican gubernatorial nominee Byron Donalds, Republican Rep. Randy Fine and Democratic Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Jared Moskowitz all defeating opponents who had made hostility toward Israel a prominent part of their campaigns.

Donalds easily captured the Republican nomination for governor, positioning himself to succeed term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis while dealing a decisive defeat to James Fishback, whose campaign drew attention for its outreach to the “groyper” movement associated with Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.

With 87% of ballots counted, Donalds had received 762,364 votes, or 48.3%, while Lt. Gov. Jay Collins was a distant second with 393,248 votes, or 24.9%. Fishback finished third with 163,261 votes, or 10.4%.

The Associated Press called the Republican gubernatorial contest for Donalds roughly an hour after polls closed.

Fishback has denied harboring hostility toward Jews, but his campaign was heavily focused on opposition to Israel and was also marked by repeated racial jabs at Donalds, who is black.

Among other proposals, Fishback promised to remove Florida state investments from Israel and signed a “contract with Florida” pledging not to accept money from the pro-Israel group AIPAC. He also referred to food served at the University of Central Florida as “goyslop” and repeatedly called Donalds “By’rone,” apparently seeking to make his first name sound more stereotypically black.

Donalds, by contrast, has been an outspoken supporter of Israel and has previously characterized the Jewish state as the United States’ closest ally in the Middle East.

The Republican congressman will now advance to the November general election, where he will face David Jolly, a onetime Republican congressman who secured the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

Republicans also rejected an explicitly antisemitic challenge to Jewish Rep. Randy Fine, who comfortably retained the GOP nomination for his House seat against social media personality Dan Bilzerian.

With 87% of ballots counted, Fine had 42,898 votes, or 56.8%, compared with Bilzerian’s 13,816 votes, or 18.3%.

Bilzerian, who has approximately 29 million Instagram followers and has previously denied the Holocaust, made antisemitic rhetoric a central feature of his campaign.

Days before the primary, Bilzerian posted an AI-generated video asking “should we revisit that Austrian painter’s opinions” alongside an image of Adolf Hitler. The video also depicted Fine wearing a yarmulke while horns appeared to grow from his head.

The video prompted widespread condemnation from Republicans, Democrats and Jewish organizations.

The Republican Jewish Coalition celebrated the results, praising Fine for defeating a “neo-Nazi” and Donalds for overcoming “one of the most openly bigoted campaigns in recent memory.”

“James Fishback spent this race trafficking in vile racism and antisemitic filth,” stated Matt Brooks, CEO of the coalition. “He peddled antisemitic conspiracy tropes to his supporters while courting the endorsement and praise of white nationalist Nick Fuentes.”

“Dan Bilzerian did not merely flirt with antisemitism. He made Jew-hatred the entire premise of his campaign,” Brooks said. “Tonight, the Republican voters of Florida’s 6th District stood up to this fanatic and buried Bilzerian’s hateful campaign in the dustbin of history where it belongs.”

On the Democratic side, two prominent Jewish and pro-Israel members of Congress also survived challenges from candidates who have accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.

Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Jared Moskowitz each won their respective Democratic House primaries despite major changes to Florida’s congressional map resulting from Republican-led mid-decade redistricting.

The new boundaries prompted Moskowitz to seek reelection in the 25th Congressional District, which had previously been represented by Wasserman Schultz. She instead moved to the predominantly black 20th Congressional District, a seat left vacant when Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned in April after being federally indicted on fraud charges.

Despite leaving Congress, Cherfilus-McCormick remained a candidate in the Democratic primary. Wasserman Schultz also faced former Broward County Mayor Dale V.C. Holness; Elijah Manley, a self-described democratic socialist and convert to Judaism; and Luther Campbell, the rapper best known for leading the 1980s hip-hop group 2 Live Crew.

All four of Wasserman Schultz’s primary opponents are black.

With 99% of ballots counted, Wasserman Schultz led the field with 29,759 votes, or 45.6%. Holness finished second with 14,985 votes, or 22.9%, followed by Manley with 9,059 votes, or 13.9%. Cherfilus-McCormick received 5,997 votes, or 9.2%, while Campbell finished with 5,520 votes, or 8.4%.

Moskowitz, meanwhile, faced Oliver Larkin in the Democratic primary for the 25th District. Larkin was the only Florida candidate to receive the endorsement of the Democratic Socialists of America.

With 91% of ballots counted, Moskowitz held a commanding advantage with 27,584 votes, or 63.5%, compared with Larkin’s 15,867 votes, or 36.5%.

Republicans also held a competitive primary for the 25th District. With 91% of those ballots tabulated, Scott Singer led with 11,603 votes, or 31.3%, while George R. Moraitis was second with 10,162 votes, or 27.4%.

The November outlook differs significantly for Florida’s two Jewish Democratic incumbents. The Cook Political Report currently considers Moskowitz’s newly configured 25th District a toss-up, potentially setting up a closely fought general-election contest, while Wasserman Schultz’s 20th District is rated solidly Democratic.

{Matzav.com}

Conor Kennedy, the son of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been placed on Russia’s international wanted list over his decision to fight alongside Ukrainian forces following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to reports.

Moscow’s Basmanny District Court authorized Kennedy’s “arrest in absentia,” accusing the 32-year-old of serving as a mercenary with Ukraine’s armed forces, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

If apprehended and convicted in Russia, Kennedy could face a prison sentence of between seven and 10 years, the Russian outlet reported.

Kennedy disclosed in October 2022 that he had secretly traveled to Ukraine and enlisted with the country’s International Legion, joining fighters on the front lines against Russian forces. He said at the time that he had kept the decision almost entirely secret, revealing his whereabouts to only one person back home.

“Like many people, I was deeply moved by what I saw happening in Ukraine over the past year. I wanted to help. When I heard about Ukraine’s International Legion, I knew I was going, and I went to the embassy to enlist the next day,” he wrote in an Instagram post.

Kennedy explained that he deliberately concealed his identity and plans from almost everyone around him.

“I told one person here where I was, and I told one person there my real name. I didn’t want my family or friends to worry, and I didn’t want to be treated differently there.”

The third child of RFK Jr. acknowledged that he arrived in Ukraine without a military background and “wasn’t a great shot,” but said he could handle physically demanding tasks and “learned fast.”

“I was also willing to die there,” the Kennedy scion wrote. “So they soon agreed to send me to the northeastern front.”

Kennedy even kept the enlistment secret from his father and his stepmother, actress Cheryl Hines. Rather than tell them that he was heading to Ukraine, he informed his family that he had decided not to take a planned position at a Los Angeles law firm that summer.

The grandson of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy reportedly asked his parents not to press him about where he was going, telling them only that he intended to pursue something he strongly believed in.

“We asked him when he was starting [the job at the law firm],” RFK Jr. previously told People.

“He had a good job and we were looking forward to having him stay with us. And he told us that he had given notice to the law firm and he was doing something else instead.”

His family eventually began suspecting that something unusual was happening when charges from Poland and Ukraine started appearing on his credit card statements, according to the report.

“When he got back, I kind of expressed some — I don’t know — whether it’s anger or whatever,” RFK Jr. said.

“He said to me, when he heard maybe a little bit of anger and concern, ‘Dad, this is what you taught me to do: to stand up for what I believe in.’ And I was like ‘okay.’ ”

“I’m very proud of this. Of my son,” the Trump administration Cabinet secretary added.

RFK Jr. said he and his son did not share the same perspective on the conflict, but he respected Conor’s willingness to personally act on the position he had advocated.

“And I knew his views about the war were not aligned with mine. Although he’s not naive at all about it. … He’d been arguing vociferously for the U.S. intervention and he didn’t want to be one of these people supporting a war and sitting on the sideline.”

After spending approximately two and a half months serving on the front lines in Ukraine, Kennedy returned to the United States and resumed his legal studies at Georgetown University.

Kennedy, who previously had a brief relationship with Taylor Swift and married Brazilian singer-songwriter Giulia Be earlier this year, is currently listed as an associate attorney at the Los Angeles office of Wisner Baum.

Kennedy is not the only foreign national whom Moscow has sought over alleged involvement in Ukraine’s military. Other foreign volunteers placed on Russia’s wanted list reportedly include 37-year-old American citizen Ingram Asbill Tracy James and British citizen Shorney Joseph Richard Ryan.

{Matzav.com}

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Tuesday stood by his decision to label extremist West Bank settlers who terrorize Palestinians as “terrorists,” warning that their actions are damaging Israel and the Jewish people. At the same time, he rejected reports that Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu and U.S. envoy Jared Kushner clashed over the next stage of President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan.

Huckabee first applied the term last week in a post on X while discussing extremists who have surrounded several homes in the West Bank village of Qusra. The group has repeatedly returned to the area despite efforts by the Israeli military to disperse them, apparently seeking to force the residents — one of whom is an American citizen — from their homes.

“I’ve been rebuked by people who said, ‘Well, that’s not terrorism,’” Huckabee said in an interview with Channel 12 news.

“But from the US definition of terror, when acts are conducted that cause people to change their behavior, and put them in fear for their lives, when things are done to people for the express purpose, whether they’re done to a nation, whether they’re done to a specific individual or to a family, but it causes them to be afraid to live their lives — that’s terror.”

The ambassador emphasized that those responsible represent “a very small minority” of Israelis. He also said that many do not actually reside in the West Bank, quipping, “they’re not settlers, they’re unsettlers.”

“They’re there to stir up trouble and the damage that they are doing to Israel, the damage they are doing to the Jewish people – I have no idea why they think that they’re accomplishing anything other than hurting the very people they claim to be fighting for,” he said.

Addressing the situation in Qusra specifically, Huckabee said he believed Israeli authorities were already “acting” against those involved, independent of any intervention from the U.S. Embassy. Ordinarily, he explained, “we don’t have a direct involvement if it doesn’t involve an American citizen.”

“But once it involves an American citizen, then our involvement is pretty much automatic and it’s going to be significant because that’s our job,” he said.

Asked whether he was troubled that Netanyahu had not publicly denounced what was happening in Qusra, amid reports that Washington had urged the prime minister to issue a condemnation, Huckabee responded, “What we’re looking for is responsible action.”

The confrontation in Qusra comes against the backdrop of a months-long increase in violence by extremist settlers, including almost daily incidents targeting Palestinians or their property. Arrests and prosecutions in connection with those attacks have remained relatively uncommon.

In a separate Channel 13 interview, Huckabee said the Office of the U.S. Security Coordinator in Yerushalayim has been involved in efforts to reduce tensions in the West Bank. Created in 2005, the USSC works to improve and strengthen Palestinian Authority security forces while encouraging their security coordination with Israel. Although personnel from the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, Turkey, Poland and Bulgaria participate in the international mission, it operates under American leadership.

“We would like to see all those taking part in terror activities face grave consequences,” said Huckabee.

Huckabee also pushed back strongly against accounts suggesting Netanyahu and Kushner had a contentious exchange Monday over the future implementation of Trump’s Gaza initiative. He said Washington understands that Israel cannot be expected to withdraw further from Gaza while Hamas continues to possess weapons.

“Where do the people get this? I was in the room. I was a part of every conversation. That simply did not happen like that,” Huckabee said of the reported tensions during the Monday meeting.

“There was an agreement, and it was a good agreement, that we all want to see this [plan] move forward, but we also recognize that what the president has made clear is that Hamas must disarm, demilitarize, and they have no future in the governing of Gaza.”

Despite reports of frustration within the Trump administration over Israeli military operations in Gaza, Huckabee maintained that Israel “never backed away” from its support for President Trump’s broader 20-point framework for Gaza’s postwar future. He said Washington and Yerushalayim also remain aligned on Israel’s “right to defend itself.”

“Israel has always maintained, and the US has respected, that Israel has a right to defend itself. And if they have an imminent threat, they’re not expected to stand back and take it in the teeth. Nobody expects that of them,” he said.

Turning to the question of Israeli troop withdrawals, Huckabee said it has “been clearly understood that Israel is not expected to move their boundaries as long as Hamas has still got arms and RPGs and grenades. That’s the whole point of the disarmament.”

His comments came as Israel continued to raise objections to the Board of Peace’s Hamas disarmament proposal. That framework calls for the IDF to gradually withdraw from portions of Gaza while Hamas simultaneously turns over its weapons. Netanyahu has rejected that sequence, maintaining that Israeli forces will not withdraw until Hamas has been fully disarmed.

Although Huckabee portrayed the differences as limited, sources familiar with Monday’s talks have said that the question was not ultimately settled during Netanyahu’s meeting with Kushner in Yerushalayim.

One source with direct knowledge of the negotiations said that after the Netanyahu-Kushner talks, the Board of Peace began considering an alternative formula under which Hamas would completely disarm and Israel would fully withdraw from Gaza. No final agreement on such an arrangement has been reached.

Huckabee also defended Kushner against criticism in Israel over the American envoy’s recent decision to meet senior Hamas officials in Cairo.

During his Channel 13 interview, Huckabee said Kushner “didn’t meet with them because he thought that he was dealing with honest brokers, but he needed to convey the message very clearly from the United States: You’ve got to disarm, demilitarize, and you have no future.”

In another interview with Israel’s Kan public broadcaster, Huckabee was questioned about the growing anti-Israel sentiment seen among segments of both the Democratic and Republican parties in the United States and whether Israeli policies had contributed to the trend.

“They cannot change the voices of people who are antisemitic and hate Israel,” the ambassador said.

“And a lot of this comes from the billions of dollars that’s being spent by the Muslim Brotherhood sponsored entities that fund all of these Middle East studies programs on American campuses,” he continued, while also accusing Russia and China of helping spread misinformation online.

Huckabee said one way to counter negative perceptions is to encourage more people to visit Israel themselves. He also argued that Israel needs to pursue a more forceful and effective public diplomacy campaign.

At the same time, he warned that Israelis themselves should avoid behavior that strengthens the arguments of Israel’s opponents.

“But he added: “Israelis have to be careful not to give ammunition to these critics.” The ambassador again pointed to violent extremists in the West Bank, saying their actions amounted to “pouring gasoline on a fire.”

“Why would you help your enemies hate you more?” Huckabee said.

{Matzav.com}

Rav Avraham Yosef issued a strong warning against participating in a Mincha minyan held after the time of Tzeis Hakochavim according to the Geonim, ruling that the time is already definitively considered nighttime and that one should not remain in the area while such a minyan is taking place.

The issue arose during Rav Yosef’s “Shamor V’Zachor” program on Israeli radio, when a listener presented a situation that can occur during the winter months. The listener said he learns in a beis medrash where Mincha is sometimes held according to Rabbeinu Tam’s later calculation, after Tzeis Hakochavim according to the Geonim, and asked what he should do if he is present when the minyan begins.

Rav Yosef responded unequivocally: “Get out of there. It is forbidden to answer Amen after them.”

Rav Yosef explained that once Tzeis Hakochavim according to the Geonim has arrived, halachah considers it fully nighttime. To illustrate the significance of that determination, he cited the halachos governing a bris milah.

“A baby who is born tonight, at eight o’clock, we perform his bris on Shabbos,” Rav Yosef said.

“The halachah is definitively in accordance with the Geonim,” he added, explaining that Mincha therefore may not be davened after that point.

Addressing a situation in which someone is either in the street or inside a beis medrash and is asked to join a Mincha minyan at such a late hour, Rav Yosef again gave an emphatic response.

“They want to daven Mincha? Get out of there,” he said.

Rav Yosef stressed that once Tzeis Hakochavim according to the Geonim has passed, a person should not participate in such a Mincha minyan.

The listener subsequently asked whether Rav Yosef’s warning applied only to answering Amen to brachos recited during the minyan, or whether one should also refrain from responding to Kedushah.

“No, leave there. I said to leave; don’t get involved,” Rav Yosef replied.

Rav Yosef compared the situation to encountering a minyan at the Kosel that is davening Shacharis after the proper time, saying that in such circumstances as well, a person should avoid joining the tefillah.

{Matzav.com}

Newly revealed figures show the extraordinary scale of charitable giving by two of Satmar’s most prominent philanthropists, Reb Yoel Landau and Reb Lipa Friedman, who together donated approximately $73.42 million to the chassidus’s Torah, chinuch and chesed institutions over just three years.

The detailed figures cover the period from 5783 through 5786 and provide a rare look at the enormous sums contributed by the two philanthropists toward the construction and expansion of Satmar mosdos and communal projects around the world.

Reb Yoel Landau leads the figures with a total of $44.56 million in contributions to Satmar institutions. Among his largest individual donations was $10 million toward the new Talmud Torah building in Kiryas Joel.

Landau also contributed $5 million toward the construction of two new wedding halls in Williamsburg operating in accordance with the community’s wedding guidelines, as well as another $5 million to the Keren Marbitzei Torah.

Millions more were distributed by Landau to an extensive range of botei medrash, educational buildings, campuses and other Satmar communal projects in communities around the world, bringing his overall contributions during the period to $44.56 million.

Reb Lipa Friedman, meanwhile, contributed a total of $28.86 million, with much of his philanthropy similarly directed toward major construction projects benefiting Satmar’s educational and chesed institutions.

Friedman’s largest listed contribution was $12 million toward a new Talmud Torah building. He also donated $5 million for a new Bais Rochel building and an additional $5 million toward another Talmud Torah building.

The remainder of Friedman’s contributions went toward the construction and support of additional major buildings, halls and other Satmar institutions, bringing his total giving to $28.86 million.

Combined, Landau and Friedman donated approximately $73.42 million to Satmar institutions between 5783 and 5786.

{Matzav.com}

Russia is reportedly supplying Iran with drone and missile components, explosives and other military equipment as Tehran races to rebuild weapons stockpiles heavily damaged by American and Israeli airstrikes during the war.

More than two dozen Russian vessels, many of which are subject to U.S. and European sanctions, have crossed the Caspian Sea carrying military supplies to the Iranian port of Amirabad, according to NBC News, which cited shipping documents and a Western official familiar with the deliveries.

The shipments are another indication of the increasingly close military relationship between Moscow and Tehran. At the same time, former CIA analyst Jim Lamson said Iran’s apparent reliance on Russian supplies suggests that U.S. and Israeli attacks inflicted significant damage on the Islamic Republic’s domestic weapons-production capabilities.

“Iran’s procurement of drone components and small arms ammunition from Russia strongly suggests that Israeli and US military strikes on Iran’s facilities that produce these items have degraded Iran’s domestic capability to produce them,” he said.

The Russian vessels allegedly carrying the military cargo are operated by MG-FLOT, a maritime company that was placed under Western sanctions in 2024.

Russia has repeatedly faced accusations that it is helping Tehran sustain its war effort, including reports that Moscow has provided Iran with upgraded drones designed to strengthen its ability to attack American targets.

The Kremlin has also developed more advanced versions of Iran’s Shahed suicide drones, weapons that became a major component of Russia’s campaign against Ukraine and have been used extensively in attacks there for years.

Although American strikes have reportedly crippled significant portions of Iran’s missile-production infrastructure, Tehran continues to insist that it retains substantial weapons stockpiles and remains capable of carrying out further attacks.

The reported transfers have heightened concerns that Russia is now helping replenish Iran’s military capabilities in return for the assistance Tehran provided Moscow after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

The precise quantity and types of equipment transferred by Moscow to Tehran remain uncertain. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied allegations about Russian military assistance to Iran, dismissing such reports as “fake news.”

President Trump has also played down the significance of any Russian assistance to Iran. Last month, he said Russian President Vladimir Putin had personally assured him that Moscow was not selling weapons to Tehran.

Trump further said that whatever assistance Russia may have provided “has been very unimpactful,” responding after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of supplying Iran with satellite imagery of American military bases.