Uncategorized
How a Kentucky lawmaker’s friendship with a Jewish woman helped inspire her viral speech decrying anti-trans legislation
(JTA) — Pamela Stevenson, a Democratic state representative in Kentucky, was chatting recently with her friend Zahava Kurland about one of Kurland’s duties at her Orthodox synagogue: preparing the dead for burial.
“She was trying to explain to me certain things that had to be done,” Stevenson, who is also a Black Baptist minister, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency last week. The seemingly esoteric topic was one of many the two women have discussed over more than a decade of weekly Friday-morning conversations — which cover anything from politics and friendship to faith and being one’s true self.
Stevenson said her conversations with Kurland have made her attuned to Jewish sensibilities. “She’s always listening for and giving me information” about Judaism and Jewish experiences, said Stevenson, who was first elected to the Kentucky legislature in 2020.
So Kurland was not surprised when, in a viral speech on Wednesday decrying her fellow lawmakers for signing off on a law that bans gender-affirming care for trans youth, Stevenson also centered antisemitism.
“First, you hated Black people,” Stevenson said, addressing the Republican lawmakers who voted for the legislation. “Then, you hated Jews. Now, you’re hating everybody. So the question is, when the only people left are you, will you hate yourself?”
Kurland said her friend is a listener and naturally empathetic, so she would be sensitive to how hatreds intersect.
“She’s truly well balanced,” said Kurland. “She truly cares about people.”
Stevenson says she looks forward to her Friday morning talks with Kurland. She said the conversations have helped give her a more expansive perspective on life, which drives her to fight bigotry.
“I really believe that I will never know as much as she knows,” Stevenson said. “But I can develop an appreciation for what it’s like and not use my view of the world as the only view of the world.”
What prompted Stevenson’s floor speech was the overwhelmingly Republican legislature’s override of Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of a law that bans a range of medical treatments and practices for trans youth. It outlaws doctors from providing gender-affirming treatment to youth; requires them to cease care if it has already begun; bans conversations in schools about gender identity or sexual orientation; bans school districts from allowing transgender students to use the bathroom aligned with their gender identity; and allows teachers to refuse to use a child’s preferred pronouns.
The bill was introduced weeks after state Sen. Karen Berg’s trans son, Henry Berg-Brousseau, died by suicide. Berg, who is Jewish, said that referring to the anti-trans bill as a parents’ rights bill is an “absolutely despicable affront to me personally,” according to The Washington Post. Stevenson, who has appeared alongside Berg at rallies, called her “phenomenal” and said, “This is infinitely more personal for her.”
Stevenson said that she mentioned anti-Jewish hatred in her speech because she believes hatreds are mutually reinforcing, and she connects the anti-trans sentiment she sees with rising racism and antisemitism.
“If you have a model where you have to hate somebody to win, then you always have to have somebody to hate,” she said. “People say it was out of nowhere, but it’s really out of somewhere. We’ve gone through the cycles of the Native Americans, the Black folks have been hated for a long time, the disabled. Everybody is always on the bottom of that model. And in just recent years, it was the Muslims, then it was the immigrants, and then it was back around the Blacks again. And so because of this overflow of hate, there’s been an uptick in antisemitic actions.”
Stevenson said her mission is to make people cognizant of the roots of hatred. “People want to say that all the attacks against the Jewish temples and the Jewish people in recent times came out of nowhere,” she said, referring to reports of a spike in antisemitic attacks. “No, it did not. We just have chosen not to pay attention to what’s been said.”
Kurland, who is a member of Congregation Beth Jacob in Atlanta, and Stevenson, a retired Air Force Colonel and an attorney who is running to be Kentucky’s attorney general, met in 2006 when Stevenson was serving in the Air Force and Kurland was working as an accountant in Atlanta. They attended a three-day course with Landmark, the personal development program that presses participants to face uncomfortable truths about themselves.
“When we were closer-in logistically she came over very often for Shabbos meals,” Kurland said. “I often invite people for Shabbos meals and the holidays and I love explaining, you know, how Judaism gave more to the world than anything, anybody, any person. Torah, Judaism has given the world its whole structure for society.”
The Air Force started moving Stevenson around. “That’s when we started talking on the phone all the time, because we couldn’t get together,” Kurland said.
Stevenson is “a committed listener, someone who’s going to hear you and call you out on your stuff,” Kurland said. “It’s not a friendship where you massage each other’s egos. It’s a friendship where you hold each other to account for who you say you are.”
They each speak with outrage at the lawmakers who, they feel, would breach the relationship between a parent and a child.
“As a mother, how dare you interfere with one of the most intimate relationships?” Stevenson said two weeks ago during debate on the bill, addressing Rep. Jennifer Decker, a Republican who was its lead sponsor. “We have no right to interfere in the parental rights.”
Kurland agrees. “These are all decisions to be made between a child and his parents or her parents and their doctor,” she said. “It has no place for the government to have anything to do with anything.”
And both Kurland and Stevenson say religion is a key part of their identities.
“Judaism is the center part of my life,” said Kurland. “It’s what I am, it’s who I am, it’s what I’m about. And as a Jew, you cannot sit by and let another one of God’s human beings [be excluded]. I mean, when we honor other people, we are doing God’s work. We are honoring God. When we cut people out, then we’re not “
Stevenson likewise calls herself “a woman of faith.”
“I believe what is required, in almost every faith that I know of, is to love one another and take care of the people around us,” she said.
—
The post How a Kentucky lawmaker’s friendship with a Jewish woman helped inspire her viral speech decrying anti-trans legislation appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Uncategorized
Janet Mills Drops Out of Maine Senate Democratic Primary, Clearing Path for Anti-Israel Candidate Graham Platner
Democratic US Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks at a campaign town hall meeting in Ogunquit, Maine, US, Oct. 22, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Maine Gov. Janet Mills on Thursday announced that she is ending her campaign in the Democratic primary for US Senate, a move that effectively clears the path for progressive challenger Graham Platner to secure the nomination in a high-stakes race against incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
In a statement, Mills cited the financial demands of a competitive statewide campaign, acknowledging she lacked the resources to continue. Her withdrawal came after weeks of trailing Platner in grassroots fundraising and momentum, despite support from establishment Democrats.
“While I have the drive and passion, commitment and experience, and above all else — the fight — to continue on, I very simply do not have the one thing that political campaigns unfortunately require today: the financial resources,” Mills said.
“That is why today I have made the incredibly difficult decision to suspend my campaign for the United States Senate,” she continued.
The development represents a sharp ideological shift in the Democratic field. Mills, a two-term governor, had been viewed by party leaders as a pragmatic candidate with broad appeal and a traditionally strong stance on US alliances, including support for Israel. Mills’s candidacy failed to gain traction in the state, with observers pointing to a Democratic primary electorate that is both incensed and deeply desirous for a shakeup from the status quo.
Platner, in contrast to Mills, has built his campaign on an anti-establishment message and drawn increasing scrutiny in part for his rhetoric on the Middle East. Some of his past statements criticizing Israel have alarmed more centrist Democrats and foreign policy observers, who argue his framing downplays Israel’s security concerns and risks alienating key constituencies in a general election.
Platner has repeatedly accused Israel of “genocide” in Gaza and vowed to vote against further military assistance to the Jewish state. Earlier this month, Platner accused Israel of “exterminating” people in Gaza and refused to clarify his stance on whether Israel should remain a Jewish state. Most of his criticisms of Israel’s military conduct in Gaza omit any mention of the Hamas terrorist organization, framing Israel as an aggressor with intent of wiping out the Palestinian population.
Further, Platner came under scrutiny last year after it was revealed that the Democratic insurgent possesses a tattoo of a Totemkopf — a symbol historically used by Nazi military units. Though Platner has emphatically denied any knowledge of the tattoo’s connections to Nazism, skeptics have pointed out that the oyster farmer identifies as a military historian, raising serious doubts about his claims.
Concerns about Platner’s conduct and Totemkompf tattoo are already emerging as a potential liability in a race Democrats had hoped to make competitive. Collins, a moderate Republican with a long record of electoral success in Maine, has historically attracted independents and crossover voters, groups that could be wary of candidates perceived as ideologically extreme.
Mills’s exit also highlights a broader dynamic within the Democratic Party, as insurgent candidates in several primaries continue to gain traction over more traditional figures. While that energy has reshaped races across the country, it has also raised questions about general election viability in closely divided states.
Many observers have argued that Platner’s ascendance in the Democratic Party serves as another signal that the party is shifting further away from Israel and becoming more tolerant of antisemitism. Across the country, support for Israel has emerged as a litmus test within Democratic primary competitions, with candidates vowing to curtail support for Israel and being pressured to condemn the Jewish state as a perpetrator of “genocide.”
Despite Platner’s vulnerabilities and personal baggage, he has racked up a bevy of endorsements from Democratic power-players such as Rep. Ro Khanna (CA) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA). On Thursday, the Democratic Party officially endorsed Platner as the nominee to take on Collins.
As of now, polling indicates a close race in the Maine general election, with several polls showing Platner with a narrow lead over Collins. However, the Republican National Committee (RNC) has not yet aired ads against Platner, and the Republicans are expected to weaponize Platner’s history of controversial commentary in the lead-up to Election Day in November.
Uncategorized
Analysis: As Democrats unite behind Platner, Schumer’s future as leader faces tests
National Democrats on Thursday moved swiftly to unite behind Graham Platner — a progressive candidate whose past Nazi-linked tattoo and sharp criticism of Israel have alarmed some Jewish groups — after he became the presumptive nominee for Maine’s Senate seat.
The move made political sense. Platner, a Marine veteran and oyster farmer, had already been leading in polls against Gov. Janet Mills, who dropped out of the race on Thursday, citing fundraising struggles. Once Platner became the de facto Democratic nominee against incumbent Republican Sen.Susan Collins, party unity was all but automatic.
But that unity comes with serious risks.
Joel Rubin, a Democratic commentator and foreign policy expert, called Platner’s candidacy for a much-desired seat a “nightmare scenario” for the party.
“For Jewish Democrats, wanting to defeat Collins, to have a candidate who makes them very uncomfortable on Jewish issues could potentially dampen support for him,” Rubin said in an interview. “Typically, Jewish Democrats are the most enthusiastic of democratic constituencies for Democratic candidates.”
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, who had recruited Mills to run, is focused on winning back the majority, and Maine is a must-win in the pursuit to flip at least four Republican seats. “After years of allowing Trump’s abuses of power, Senator Collins has never been more vulnerable and we will work with the presumptive Democratic nominee Graham Platner to defeat her,” Schumer said in a joint statement with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who heads the Democratic campaign arm.
Schumer navigates new tensions
Schumer could play a pivotal role in mobilizing national donors, including Jewish donors, to support the Platner campaign.
Nonetheless, Schumer, who has seen his popularity decline since he supported a Republican spending bill to avert a shutdown last year, may be helping build a majority that won’t back him, as his longtime support for Israel increasingly becomes a liability in a party where many voters object to the United States providing funds to the Jewish state.
Platner has aligned himself with a new guard of candidates who could emerge from competitive primaries ready to challenge Democratic leadership — as well as the longstanding Democratic consensus in support of Israel.
Abdul El-Sayed, a U.S. Senate candidate from Michigan rising in the polls, and Zach Wahls, a progressive candidate from Iowa, have both said they oppose Schumer as leader.
These insurgents could also alienate moderate and pro-Israel Jewish voters in closely contested races in the fall. Figures like Platner and El-Sayed have adopted language and positions that would have been politically risky — if not disqualifying — in earlier cycles. Now, those stances are survivable.
And even if they win their races in the general election and Schumer stays on as leader, his role is getting harder to maintain as the party’s base has shifted, especially amid the wars in Gaza and Iran.
For years, Schumer has cast himself as an institutional anchor on issues important to the Jewish community, including support for Israel. In a speech for Jewish audiences, he bragged about preserving Democratic unity on Israel aid. In 2024, he told the Forward that “having a majority leader who’s committed to Israel is vital for Israel’s relationship with the U.S.”
But shifting dynamics suggest the balance may be slipping.
Earlier this month, 40 Senate Democrats voted to block $295 million for the transfer of bulldozers — used by the Israeli military to demolish homes in the West Bank and Gaza — and 36 of them also supported a measure to block the sale of 1,000-pound bombs to the Jewish state. Those counts shattered a previous high of 27 Democrats who backed a similar pair of resolutions last year.
Schumer was in the minority of his party on both votes.
If a future roster of Democratic senators includes more legislators elected on platforms critical of Israel and skeptical of party leadership, Schumer’s ability to manage internal divisions could be tested in ways it hasn’t been before. Schumer came under fire from progressives in February after telling a Jewish group that he will keep “fighting” for military assistance to Israel.
In a recent interview with Politico, Sanders asserted he has now become the leader for Senate Democrats on Israel policy. “I mean, we got 40 votes, and Schumer got seven,” he said. “We have more support for our position than Chuck has for his.”
What Jewish Democrats are watching
For many Jewish voters, Platner’s rise and the party’s embrace of him are another signal of changes many are finding hard to swallow.
Platner faced backlash last year after acknowledging that a black skull-and-crossbones tattoo on his chest resembled a Nazi symbol. He has since covered it up. In past Reddit posts, Platner made incendiary comments, including in defending a man with a Nazi SS lightning bolt tattoo who impersonated a federal officer at a Black Lives Matter protest in Las Vegas in 2020.
Last month, Platner accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and suggested the U.S. should cut off all aid to Israel.
Platner has done some outreach to the Jewish community across Maine. Recently, his campaign hosted a Passover Seder in Bath, Maine with some 50 community members, during which he discussed rising antisemitism. It was co-hosted with Steven Koltai, the state chair of the progressive Jewish political fundraising group J Street, who is a key Platner supporter.
For now, Democrats have little choice but to unite behind the presumptive nominee. But if candidates like Platner help deliver a majority, the real test will be holding it together.
The post Analysis: As Democrats unite behind Platner, Schumer’s future as leader faces tests appeared first on The Forward.
Uncategorized
Hamas Exploits Gaza Ceasefire to Tighten Civilian Control, Rebuild Military Power as Second Phase Talks Stall
Palestinians displaced during the two-year Israel-Hamas war shelter at a tent camp in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 10, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
As the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement remains stalled, Israeli officials warn that the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas is quietly exploiting the pause in fighting to tighten its control over civilian life while simultaneously rebuilding its military capabilities behind the scenes.
Under the leadership of military wing commander and de facto Gaza ruler Izz ad-Din al-Haddad, Hamas is reinforcing its authority across the enclave, further undermining already fragile efforts to advance the truce.
Al-Haddad is said to be operating three parallel systems intended to secure the terrorist group’s survival and restore its military capabilities, according to a report by the Israeli news outlet Walla, which cited security sources.
The first line of effort seems to focus on reestablishing Hamas’s civilian governance and restoring its authority across the war-torn enclave, with its presence still visibly entrenched through checkpoints, strict regulation of goods, and the takeover of key civilian institutions, including hospitals.
Under the ceasefire, the Israeli military currently controls 53 percent of Gaza, while Hamas remains entrenched in the nearly half of Gazan territory it still controls, where the vast majority of the population lives.
The Palestinian terrorist group has also been reactivating internal security mechanisms to enforce day-to-day order while carrying out extensive intelligence operations aimed at identifying alleged collaborators with Israel and any opposition.
Hamas’s second line of effort has been focused on a violent internal campaign against armed militias and local gangs, particularly in southern Gaza, as the group seeks to reassert control and shore up its weakened position by targeting Palestinians it labels as “lawbreakers and collaborators with Israel.”
With its security control tightening, Hamas’s brutal crackdown has escalated, sparking widespread clashes and violence as the group seeks to seize weapons and eliminate any opposition.
A third line of effort reportedly centers on rebuilding military capabilities, including recruiting new operatives, conducting training both in the field and at command sites, restoring intelligence and surveillance systems, and rebuilding underground infrastructure and weapons stockpiles.
Israeli officials estimate that Hamas’s military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, is rebuilding its forces, with its ranks now totaling roughly 27,000 members.
Despite Israeli intelligence assessments that Hamas’s smuggling capabilities have been significantly degraded, the group is reportedly seeking to rebuild its arsenal through local means by recovering Israeli Air Force munitions remnants and converting them into improvised explosive devices.
The Islamist group is also attempting to revive rocket and mortar production using makeshift materials, while reorganizing stockpiles buried under rubble or left largely intact.
Israeli officials have repeatedly warned that Hamas’s ongoing rebuilding efforts are allowing the group to retain control over much of the war-torn enclave and steadily sustain its influence despite over two years of military conflict.
According to a report by the Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, a new draft proposal has been presented to Israel and Hamas, with talks potentially beginning this week on moving forward with the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan.
Earlier this year, the US-backed plan to end the war in Gaza hit major roadblocks after proposals surfaced that would allow Hamas to retain some small arms.
Israel has previously warned that the Islamist group must fully disarm for the second phase of the ceasefire to move forward, pointing to tens of thousands of rifles and an active network of underground tunnels still under the terrorist group’s control.
If Hamas does not give up its weapons, Israeli officials have vowed not to withdraw troops from Gaza any further or approve any rebuilding efforts, effectively stalling the ceasefire agreement.
The new draft allegedly proposes creating an “Implementation Verification Committee,” to be formed under Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza on Trump’s Board of Peace, bringing together guarantor states, the International Stabilization Force, and a Peace Council to ensure compliance by all parties.
Under this proposed draft, the Peace Council would be granted authority over Gaza’s governance, reconstruction, and development until a reformed Palestinian Authority is able to resume its responsibilities.
The document also reportedly states that Hamas and other extremist Palestinian factions would have no role in governing the Gaza Strip, and that governance would be based on “one authority, one law, and one weapon,” as all armed groups would cease military activity and a phased disarmament process would transfer weapons to the incoming body.
By this framework, Israel’s withdrawal would take place in stages under an agreed timetable, contingent on verifiable progress in the process of disarmament.