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Joel Rubin, veteran of a number of Jewish organizations, to run for Congress in Maryland
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Joel Rubin, who has had leading roles at a number of Jewish organizations, is entering a crowded Democratic congressional race in a Maryland district that stretches from Washington’s suburbs to the Pennsylvania border.
The race in Maryland’s competitive 6th District is uncharted waters for Rubin, a Jewish progressive. Redistricting after the 2020 census drained the district of much of its Jewish population and stretched its boundaries into the conservative redoubts of the otherwise deep blue state.
Rubin, a national security consultant who launched his campaign on Monday, said he would bring into play his hands-on experience as the deputy mayor of Chevy Chase, a D.C. suburb, and his roots in Pittsburgh, which lies about 90 minutes north of the western part of the district.
“It’s just a matter of transportation, housing, public safety and security, questions about economic development and what’s the vision for our children in the schools,”said Rubin who in May wrapped up his third two-year term as deputy mayor of the suburb.
Rubin helped found J Street, the liberal Jewish Middle East policy group, in 2008, and was the Jewish community liaison for Jewish Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders second bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, in 2020.
He served on the board of the Jewish Democratic Council of America and from 2020-2022 was executive director of the American Jewish Congress, where he led an initiative tracking antisemitism on the far right.
He said that he would embrace the template that helped incumbent Democrat David Trone keep the seat even after the redistricting, focusing on the area’s economic woes. Rubin said his Pittsburgh upbringing would bring “a perspective of working people, a perspective of being in areas that have gone through a lot of change economically, and a lot of change and social issues, and the opioid crisis.”
Trone, a wine-selling magnate whose wife and children are Jewish and who has close ties to the Anti-Defamation League, is running for the Senate seat to be vacated by Ben Cardin, a long-serving Jewish Democrat.
Trone and Rubin ran against each other in the open primary for the 8th District in 2016; they lost to Jamie Raskin. Rubin still resides in the 8th District, which under Maryland law does not disqualify him from running in the 6th. He notes that Trone lives in the 8th as well.
The race will be crowded: Rubin is at least the fourth to declare, and others come from within the district and bring with them records as moderate-to-conservative Democrats. The party establishment may want to get behind a more conservative Democrat in a year that Democrats hope to wrest back the House of Representatives from Republicans.
Rubin, who was also a deputy assistant secretary of state under President Barack Obama, said he could translate his progressive values into a pitch that would appeal even to the district’s conservative voters. He said he learned about reaching across divides when he served as a Jewish volunteer for the Peace Corps from 1994-1996 in a small Catholic village in Costa Rica.
“The values that as a Jewish American are near and dear to my heart are universal values, the value of tikkun olam, of healing the world, the belief in trying to be inclusive and trying to be to have a tolerant society, those are the Jewish values that I grew up with that informed me as a kid growing up in Pittsburgh,” he said. “Those are values that I’ll communicate. And I think those resonate as I did when I was in the Peace Corps.”
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The post Joel Rubin, veteran of a number of Jewish organizations, to run for Congress in Maryland appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Trump Hosts Qatari Prime Minister After Israeli Attack in Doha
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
US President Donald Trump held dinner with the Qatari prime minister in New York on Friday, days after US ally Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an attack in Qatar on Tuesday, a strike that risked derailing US-backed efforts to broker a truce in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-old conflict. The attack was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond as an act that could escalate tensions in a region already on edge.
Trump expressed annoyance about the strike in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sought to assure the Qataris that such attacks would not happen again.
Trump and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani were joined by a top Trump adviser, US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“Great dinner with POTUS. Just ended,” Qatar’s deputy chief of mission, Hamah Al-Muftah, said on X.
The White House confirmed the dinner had taken place but offered no details.
The session followed an hour-long meeting that al-Thani had at the White House on Friday with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
A source briefed on the meeting said they discussed Qatar’s future as a mediator in the region and defense cooperation in the wake of the Israeli strikes against Hamas in Doha.
Trump said he was unhappy with Israel’s strike, which he described as a unilateral action that did not advance US or Israeli interests.
Washington counts Qatar as a strong Gulf ally. Qatar has been a main mediator in long-running negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and for a post-conflict plan for the territory.
Al-Thani blamed Israel on Tuesday for trying to sabotage chances for peace but said Qatar would not be deterred from its role as mediator.
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Trump Urges NATO Countries to Halt Russian Oil Purchases
US President Donald Trump gestures during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, Aug. 26, 2025. Photo: Jonathan Ernst via Reuters Connect
i24 News – US President Donald Trump issued a letter to NATO nations on Saturday, impressing upon them to stop purchasing Russian oil and impose major sanctions on the regime of Vladimir Putin to end its war in Ukraine.
“I am ready to do major Sanctions on Russia when all NATO Nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO Nations STOP BUYING OIL FROM RUSSIA. As you know, NATO’S commitment to WIN has been far less than 100%, and the purchase of Russian Oil, by some, has been shocking! It greatly weakens your negotiating position, and bargaining power, over Russia,” the message read.
“Anyway, I am ready to ‘go’ when you are. Just say when? I believe that this, plus NATO, as a group, placing 50% to 100% TARIFFS ON CHINA, to be fully withdrawn after the WAR with Russia and Ukraine is ended, will also be of great help in ENDING this deadly, but RIDICULOUS, WAR. China has a strong control, and even grip, over Russia, and these powerful Tariffs will break that grip.”
Trump’s post comes after the recent flight of multiple Russian drones into Poland, widely perceived an escalatory move by Russia as it was entering the airspace of a NATO ally. Poland intercepted the drones, yet Trump played down the severity of the incident and Russia’s motives by saying it “could have been a mistake.”
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Netanyahu Says Getting Rid of Hamas Chiefs in Qatar Would Remove Main Obstacle to Gaza Deal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the US Independence Day reception, known as the annual “Fourth of July” celebration, hosted by Newsmax, in Jerusalem, Aug. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that getting rid of Hamas chiefs living in Qatar would remove the main obstacle to releasing all hostages and ending the war in Gaza.
Israel on Tuesday targeted the Hamas leadership in Doha.