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Graham Platner, whose Maine Senate run has concerned Jews, becomes presumptive Democratic nominee
(JTA) — Graham Platner, the oyster farmer and political neophyte whose past Nazi tattoo and current anti-Israel rhetoric have caused concern among some Jewish groups, has effectively clinched the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Maine after his primary opponent Janet Mills suspended her campaign Thursday.
A key Jewish Democrat, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, said in a statement that he would support Platner’s bid to unseat Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins. Schumer had initially recruited Mills to run.
“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 fellow New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who runs Senate Democrats’ campaign arm.
Mills, the state’s current governor, did not endorse or even name Platner in her concession statement. Instead, she cited a lack of campaign funds.
“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,” she wrote.
In a statement, Platner said “we are all eternally grateful” to Mills, and that “I look forward to working with her” to defeat Collins. He concluded with a call to arms: “We’re taking back what’s ours.”
Mills was seen as the “establishment” choice for a seat viewed by Democrats as a must-win — one who would come without Platner’s baggage, including on Jewish issues, at a time when the Democratic Party is fending off criticisms of antisemitism slipping in through its left flank. Though she faced criticism for her age, her campaign aimed to blunt the insurgent rise of Platner, a military veteran and outspoken left-wing populist.
Yet even after Platner’s campaign was dogged last year by revelations of his 17-year-old tattoo of the Nazi-affiliated Totenkopf skull-and-crossbones logo, along with reports of derogatory comments toward various groups he had made on Reddit, he refused to drop out. Mills, despite a negative ad blitz against Platner, failed to capitalize on any momentum from his scandals. (Platner has covered up his tattoo, claiming he didn’t know about its Nazi links, and said he’s matured since his past comments; his Reddit comments had reportedly included tactical praise of a 2014 Hamas attack.)
Platner also has Jewish extended family, including a stepbrother in Israel, and recently hosted a Passover seder in Maine with his campaign. He discussed rising antisemitism at the seder, which he also filmed for a campaign video. Steven Koltai, a state leader of liberal pro-Israel lobby J Street, is a key Jewish Platner supporter.
The candidate told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency last month that his familial connections to Israel helped inform his own views on the region — which include his conclusion that Israel committed genocide in Gaza and his push to end military aid to the country.
Asked then how he intends to win over Jewish Mainers, Platner said his campaign “is going to include connecting with the Jewish community, going to go into synagogues. Luckily for me, I’ve grown up with very close and involved Jewish friends in Maine.” He added, “Just like any other community in the state, in my opinion, the way that you engage with people is by engaging with them, being in a space with them, hearing their concerns and fielding questions.”
Even so, Jewish groups including the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish Democratic Council of America, and Maine’s sole Jewish federation have expressed concern about Platner’s candidacy, citing his tattoo and past comments.
The day before Mills dropped out, Platner appeared on Jewish comedian Jon Stewart’s podcast. Stewart came away impressed, telling his co-hosts, “After you talk to him, it’s kind of astonishing that the whole story is, like, ‘f–ked-up tattoo guy.’ And you’re like, oh, I think we may have buried the lead on this one.”
Collins has already linked Platner’s tattoo to Schumer as a wedge in her campaign.
“Chuck is trying to cover up their bad ideas by attacking others,” the senator said at her state GOP convention earlier this week, referencing negative Democratic-backed ads already running against her. “But many people see through that. You know, when I think about it, his approach is like trying to cover up an outrageous tattoo. You can paint over it, but we all know what’s underneath.”
This article originally appeared on JTA.org.
The post Graham Platner, whose Maine Senate run has concerned Jews, becomes presumptive Democratic nominee appeared first on The Forward.
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Lebanon’s Internal Splits Over Talks With Israel Trip Up Saudi Mediation Efforts
An Israeli military vehicle drives past destroyed buildings in Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border, April 30, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Shir Torem
A growing rift between top Lebanese officials has thrown a wrench into Saudi efforts to help Lebanon’s leaders forge a united position over historic negotiations with Israel, Lebanese sources and foreign officials told Reuters on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia, which sponsored the 1990 agreement that ended Lebanon’s 15-year civil war, has deepened its engagement in recent days with Lebanon, where a shaky US-brokered ceasefire has failed to fully halt the nearly two-month war between Israel and Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah.
Ties between Riyadh and Beirut had been strained for years due to Hezbollah’s power over Lebanese politics and security, but the Sunni kingdom sees an opening after the group was severely weakened by war with Israel in 2024.
The US intended for the April 16 truce between Israel and Lebanon to allow for direct talks on a peace deal, potentially shaking up Lebanon’s internal dynamics and its role in the region. But Lebanese leaders remain at odds over the negotiation format and ultimate goal.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun has defended face-to-face talks with Israel in Washington, and has said the ceasefire should be transformed into “permanent agreements.” Although he has stopped short of explicitly calling for a peace deal, two sources familiar with Aoun’s position told Reuters he had privately expressed his readiness to normalize ties with Israel to stop the war.
Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, is opposed to direct talks, reflecting the Shi’ite terrorist group‘s position. Berri believes Lebanon should seek a non-aggression pact with Israel but not a full peace deal, two Lebanese sources familiar with his position told Reuters.
PLANS DERAILED
Last week, Saudi envoy to Lebanon Prince Yazid bin Farhan visited Beirut to encourage Aoun, Berri, and Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to set out a single position on the talks and to signal their unity through a tripartite meeting, according to two senior Lebanese political sources who met with bin Farhan and a Western official briefed on the talks.
But plans to hold such a meeting this week were derailed by rising tensions, all three sources said, after Berri publicly accused Aoun of making statements about negotiations that were “inaccurate, to say the least.”
There was no immediate response to requests for comment from Aoun’s office or from the Saudi government media office. Aoun met Salam on Thursday, the presidency said in a statement, without mentioning Berri.
The splits between Aoun and Berri, who hold their positions according to a power-sharing system that divides Lebanon’s top posts by religion, reflect broader divisions within Lebanese society over the negotiations with Israel.
Some Lebanese see direct talks and a swift peace deal as the only way to end a long history of Israeli invasions into Lebanon.
But Hezbollah and much of its broader Shi’ite Muslim constituency, who have borne the brunt of Israel‘s attacks, are firmly opposed to face-to-face talks and to normalizing ties. Some people protesting against talks earlier this month called for the government to be toppled.
Saudi Arabia’s intervention with Lebanese leaders was driven by the risk of such instability – as well as its concern that Lebanon was moving towards peace with Israel too swiftly, according to a Gulf source with knowledge of the matter, the two senior Lebanese political sources and the Western official.
Bin Farhan sought and received reassurances that Hezbollah would not seek to topple the Lebanese government, and cautioned Lebanese leaders last week that Beirut’s progress towards peace with Israel should not outpace Saudi Arabia’s, the four sources said.
Riyadh’s longstanding position has been that it will only sign up to the Abraham Accords normalizing ties with Israel if there is agreement on a roadmap to Palestinian statehood.
SAUDI KEEN FOR ‘DETENTE’ BETWEEN LEBANON AND ISRAEL
US President Donald Trump, keen to expand the accords, said this month he would invite Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House for talks.
Bin Farhan advised Lebanese authorities against Aoun meeting Netanyahu soon, the two senior Lebanese political sources said.
However, Saudi Arabia does want Lebanon to work towards a “detente” with Israel that would halt instability, the Gulf source and one of the Lebanese sources said.
Israeli strikes have killed more than 2,500 people in Lebanon and displaced more than 1.2 million since the latest round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began on March 2, according to Lebanese authorities. Israel says the vast majority of those killed have been Hezbollah terrorists, who started the conflict by firing drones and rockets at the Jewish state.
The April 16 truce, which facilitated separate negotiations over the Iran war, stopped strikes on Beirut and its southern suburbs but not on other parts of Lebanon.
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Initial Australian Inquiry Into Bondi Beach Shooting Calls for Counterterrorism Reforms
People stand near flowers laid as a tribute at Bondi Beach to honor the victims of a mass shooting that targeted a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach on Sunday, in Sydney, Australia, Dec. 16, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Flavio Brancaleone
An interim report into last year’s Bondi Beach mass shooting on Thursday advised increased security around Jewish public events and further gun reforms among 14 initial recommendations, but found Australia’s legal and regulatory frameworks did not hinder security agencies in preventing or responding to the attack.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government would adopt all the initial recommendations made by the Royal Commission, the nation’s most powerful inquiry, into the Dec. 14 shooting at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, which left 15 dead.
While the report did not propose urgent changes, it outlined recommendations to strengthen Australia’s counter–terrorism capabilities, Albanese told reporters.
“This is as the government envisaged – that the first task of the Royal Commission, the priority, was to look at the security elements of these issues,” he said.
Five of the recommendations remain classified due to sensitive national security concerns, Albanese added.
The attack at Bondi Beach stunned Australia, a country known for its strict gun laws, and prompted widespread calls for enhanced measures against antisemitism and tighter firearm controls. Authorities have said the alleged perpetrators, a father and son duo, were inspired by the Islamic State terrorist group. It was the deadliest mass gun attack in the country in three decades.
The Royal Commission was established in January following mounting pressure from Jewish advocacy groups and victims’ families, who criticized Albanese’s initial hesitation in launching the inquiry.
The 154-page interim report recommends a comprehensive review of the country’s joint counter–terrorism teams, with findings to be submitted to police commissioners and the director-general of security within three months.
It also calls for expanded security protocols during Jewish High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, to include other high-profile Jewish festivals and events.
Additional measures include updating the counter–terrorism handbook promptly and involving senior government officials in counter–terrorism exercises, and accelerating efforts to implement a proposed national gun buyback plan.
“The review has revealed aspects in which counter–terrorism capability at federal and state levels could be improved,” the report noted.
Public hearings by the commission are scheduled to start next week, with a final report due by the end of the year.
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Vessel Carrying Grain Ukraine Says Stolen by Russia Will Not Unload in Israel, Kyiv Says
A farmer operates a combine during the start of the wheat harvesting campaign in a field near the town of Starobilsk (Starobelsk) in the Luhansk Region, a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine, July 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
A vessel carrying grain that Ukraine says was stolen from areas occupied by Russia will not unload in Israel, Ukraine said on Thursday, after Kyiv requested Israel to seize the cargo.
Ukraine‘s prosecutor general, Ruslan Kravchenko, said on the Telegram app that the vessel, Panormitis, left Israel‘s territorial waters and departed into neutral waters following “a range of procedural measures taken by Ukraine.”
“On the basis of the materials provided by the Ukrainian side within the framework of international legal cooperation, the competent Israeli authorities have begun to process the request,” he said.
Israel‘s foreign ministry said, however, that Ukraine‘s request for legal assistance, submitted late on Tuesday, “contained significant factual gaps and did not include any supporting evidence.”
In the meantime, the ministry said, it was informed that the vessel that was supposed to enter the port next week decided to depart from Israel‘s territorial waters.
The Panama-flagged vessel‘s manager was not immediately available for comment.
SIGNAL TO OTHER VESSELS
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, writing on X earlier on Thursday, said the vessel would not be unloading in Israel, describing it as a “welcome development” which “demonstrates that Ukraine‘s legal and diplomatic actions have been effective.”
Sybiha added that Ukraine will continue to track the vessel and warn against any operations with it.
“This is also a clear signal to all other vessels, captains, operators, insurers, and governments: do not buy stolen Ukrainian grain. Do not become part of this crime,” Sybiha said.
The Jerusalem Post and other outlets earlier on Thursday cited a statement from Israel‘s Grain Importers Association saying that the company importing the grain had been forced to turn away the vessel.
Zenziper, the company named in the reports as the importer, did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Kyiv considers all grain produced in the four regions that Russia claimed as its own since invading Ukraine in 2022 as well as Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, to be stolen and has protested over its export by Russia to other countries.
Moscow has not commented on the legal status of grain harvested in regions that remain internationally recognized as Ukrainian.
Ukraine and Israel traded diplomatic barbs this week as Kyiv condemned what it said were purchases of grain produced in Ukrainian territory currently occupied by Russia, while Israel said Kyiv had not produced evidence for its allegations.