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US Sen. Jon Ossoff Faces Waning Support Among Georgia Jews, Reelection Chances in Danger: Report
Then-Democratic US Senate candidate Jon Ossoff speaks after the runoff election against Republican Senator David Perdue in a still image from video in Atlanta, Georgia, US, Jan. 6, 2021. Photo: Jon Ossoff for Senate/Handout via REUTERS.
US Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) is hemorrhaging support among Jewish constituents over his increasingly adversarial posture against Israel, according to the New York Times.
Jewish community leaders and donors initially became disillusioned with Ossoff after the lawmaker voted to implement a partial arms embargo against Israel and lambasted the Jewish state’s conduct in its war against Hamas, the Times reported over the weekend. The newspaper noted that a coalition of Jewish organizations subsequently sent a private letter to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, encouraging the Republican to challenge Ossoff in the 2026 Senate race.
“As a bipartisan group of leaders in the metropolitan Atlanta Jewish community, we humbly ask you to consider running for the United States Senate in 2026,” the letter read.
“Should you decide to run in the 2026 election,” the letter continued, “you would find no better friends, more loyal allies, or stronger supporters than us and our community.”
Last November, Ossoff, along with 19 other senators, joined an unsuccessful effort spearheaded by progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to block the transfer of certain heavy-duty arms to Israel.
Ossoff, who is Jewish, accused the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of behaving with “reckless disregard” for the lives of Palestinian civilians. He slammed the Jewish state for supposedly failing to “provide safe passage for food and essential medical supplies” in Gaza and criticized Israel for engaging in “conduct” that allegedly undermined American interests. Lamenting the arms embargo’s failure to pass the Senate, Ossoff stated that Israeli officials needed a “message” that the Jewish state must “have mercy for the innocent.”
Following the Hamas-led slaughter of roughly 1,200 people and kidnapping of 251 hostages throughout southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, relations between the Democratic Party and Jews have become increasingly strained. Many supporters of Israel have become outraged at what they perceive as growing anti-Israel animus if not outright antisemitism within traditionally left-wing institutions.
Progressive lawmakers such as Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Summer Lee (D-PA) have spent the past year launching attacks against Israel’s character, accusing the Jewish state of committing both a “genocide” and an “ethnic cleansing” campaign in Gaza. Even nominally moderate lawmakers such as Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) have sharpened their criticisms of Israel over the past 16 months, calling into question the Democratic party’s support of the Jewish state among some pro-Israel advocates.
The Times‘ report on Ossoff came after the latest Economist/YouGov poll released last week showed that Democrats in the US widely sympathize with Palestinians over Israelis.
Separately, the American Jewish Committee (AJC) released a survey last week finding that American Jews believe the Republican Party is handling antisemitism better than the Democratic Party and that 81 percent of American Jews stated that they cared about Israel because it was “important.”
Ossoff, who ran a senatorial campaign in part focusing on his Jewish identity, will likely face intense competition to secure reelection in 2026. If Kemp were to enter the 2026 Senate race, he would be coming off the heels of a popular stint as governor, in which he enjoyed a 63 percent approval rating in June 2024. Ossoff is also widely considered one of the most vulnerable Democratic senators up for reelection, already facing a barrage of attack ads from Republicans within The Peach State.
The post US Sen. Jon Ossoff Faces Waning Support Among Georgia Jews, Reelection Chances in Danger: Report first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.