Ohio Senate race between Israel supporters becomes proxy battle for AIPAC versus J Street
(JTA)—A tight race in Ohio may play a pivotal role in determining which party controls the U.S. Senate, with the two campaigns serving as a proxy battleground for two Israel lobbying groups with different ideologies.
While Republican Sen. Jon Husted is technically the incumbent, in the eyes of many voters, so is Democrat Sherrod Brown. Husted was appointed by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to fill the seat vacated by JD Vance when he became vice president in January 2025. He is now running to fulfill the remaining two years of that term. Brown, meanwhile, served three terms in the Senate before losing Ohio’s other Senate seat to Republican Bernie Moreno in 2024.
In the background of this close race are two pro-Israel lobbying forces: the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the powerful pro-Israel lobby supporting Husted, and the liberal J Street, a frequent critic of the Israeli government that backs Brown.
For this general election cycle, Husted has earned more than $544,000 in individual contributions earmarked for him through AIPAC, according to FEC filings. During the May special primary election, he amassed more than $306,000 in such contributions.
Husted received a direct $5,000 contribution from AIPAC’s political action committee in April, according to both FEC filings and a federal lobby disclosure. Another $5,000 in February was earmarked through AIPAC, meaning that the lobby forwarded a third party’s contribution to the campaign. Husted also received a $5,000 donation from the Republican Jewish Coalition PAC.
Democrat Haley Stevens endorses Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan Senate race
(JNS)—The endorsement followed an escalating dispute with El-Sayed, to whom Stevens narrowly lost in the Democratic primary, over Israel and antisemitism. Stevens’s longtime chief of staff, Justin German, and several other staff members resigned in protest over her decision to endorse Rogers.
“I am endorsing Mike Rogers for the United States Senate. I don’t belong in Abdul’s campaign. I do not stand with Hasan Piker, who gets trafficked on our college campuses,” Stevens said in a video recorded from her car.
“What our students see, what our children see and who we are as Michiganders is not hate, and is not what we are getting out from our Democratic nominee right now,” she added.
Stevens, who had previously said she would vote for El-Sayed but would not campaign for him, announced on Friday that she planned to appear with him and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) at a Detroit church on Sunday after being told that El-Sayed intended to condemn the advertisement and apologize for some of his previous statements about Israel.
El-Sayed said the advertisement was produced by an outside group, did not represent his campaign and that he disagreed with its contents. He accused Stevens of seeking to “relitigate a primary that ended three months ago.”
The rapprochement quickly collapsed. El-Sayed’s campaign subsequently asked Stevens to stay away from its remaining campaign events.
On Sunday, instead of campaigning for El-Sayed, Stevens appeared with Rogers at Perfecting Church in Detroit and endorsed the Republican.
Israeli man extradited to US, charged with stealing $2.89 million in cryptocurrency
(JNS)—Alexander Gurevich, of Israel, who is accused of stealing $2.89 million in cryptocurrency, appeared in federal court in Northern California on October 30 after being extradited from Israel, where he was arrested in May 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
According to a 2023 indictment, the 49-year-old exploited a vulnerability in a cryptocurrency platform called Nomad Bridge. Prosecutors allege that he transferred funds into an account that he controlled in August 2022.
He then allegedly exchanged the stolen assets for other cryptocurrencies and moved the proceeds into multiple accounts to conceal their origin.
Israeli authorities assisted the FBI in the case, the Justice Department said.
Gurevich was charged with computer damage, transporting stolen money across state lines and money laundering. He faces up to 30 years in prison and $500,000 in fines, according to the department.
Mamdani backs international dockworkers’ strike against arms shipments to Israel
(JNS)—New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has repeatedly accused Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza, expressed support on November 2 for an international dockworkers’ strike against arms shipments to the Jewish state.
No New York ports participated in the action.
“Dockworkers went on strike across 113 ports in 22 countries to disrupt the transport of weapons of war, in solidarity with the Palestinian people,” Mamdani wrote, sharing a link to a Reuters report on the Oct. 30 strikes.
“New Yorkers stand with them,” he stated. “When working people unite in their power, we build a better world. Dockworkers do not work for war.”
More than 25 labor unions backed October 30 coordinated action, which included strikes and demonstrations at major shipping hubs in Europe and beyond, including Genoa, Italy; Piraeus, Greece; Valencia, Spain; and Tangier Med, Morocco.
Workers protested the use of commercial ports to transport weapons and military equipment to conflict zones, including Israel. They also called for higher wages, improved working conditions, greater protections for seafarers operating in war zones and the right to have doctors aboard vessels crossing conflict zones.
About 3,000 dockworkers and seafarers participated in a walkout at Piraeus, disrupting cargo operations and ferry services to the Greek islands, Reuters reported.
No decision yet on Iran, US prefers diplomacy, Rubio says at G20
(JNS)—U.S. President Donald Trump “hasn’t made a decision” on whether to resume strikes on Iran, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on October 31 at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Atlanta.
Trump still prefers a diplomatic solution, according to Rubio.
JNS asked Rubio at a press briefing if other countries are offering their own solutions or if the United States is doing so and asking others to follow its lead.
“In the case of the straits, it’s more challenging, of course, because many countries around the world don’t have the ability to project power,” Rubio told JNS.
The U.S. secretary of state noted Trump’s requests, and sometimes demands, that allies join with Washington to protect global shipping interests there.
“So far, we have limited cooperation,” Rubio told JNS.
U.S. administration officials have cited greater levels of cooperation in implementing and enforcing secondary sanctions against Iran rather than direct military contributions.
If the United States strikes Iran after the U.S. midterm elections this week, the Iranian regime could retaliate with major consequences for the Gulf. Multiple media outlets have reported that the White House warned Gulf allies to prepare for a short but intense campaign. No parties have confirmed that.
