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Tuesday, November 18, 2025

Mamdani Aide: “President Ahmedinejad has declared Israel as cancer which will be eliminated very soon”

The top official on Mamdani’s transition team has apologized for that and other flagrantly antisemitic messages—but the words are revelatory. Israel Hayom: Hassaan Chaudhary, who identifies on LinkedIn as political director for the transition and inaugural committee, used “Jew” as a slur and praised former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who infamously stated Israel is “a cancer which will be eliminated soon.” The Muslim engagement director for Mamdani’s campaign called Israel a “bloody country” and “barbaric nation” in posts from 2012 when he was 18, and in December 2024 reshared content on X aimed at pro-Israel Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, stating, “If Luigi [Mangione] had shot a Gazan toddler instead, Josh Shapiro would have given him a medal.” In February 2012 correspondence with Pakistani journalist Najam Sethi, Chaudhary posted, “Hitler … why don’t you face our Pakistani people? Your daughter works at WSJ [the Wall Street Journal],” followed by the Urdu phrase “oh forgot that Jew hoga tera baap” — meaning roughly “Jew will be your father.” Additional messages showed him celebrating Ahmadinejad while writing, “This banda [person] is fearless RT “@murtazasolangi President Ahmedinejad has declared Israel as cancer which will be eliminated very soon,” to Pakistani official Murtaza Solangi (Israel Hayom).

Hakeem Jeffries to See Election Challenge From Socialist Left

The fight for the future of the Democratic party is on. Just the News: Democratic socialist New York City councilman has filed paperwork to run against House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in the 2026 midterm election. Chi Ossé, 27, represents the city’s 36th District, which includes North Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant, in the New York City Council, which is a position he has held since 2021, The Hill news outlet reported. The New York Post reported last week that Ossé was preparing to challenge Jeffries against the wishes of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, whom the councilman endorsed…. Ossé’s bid comes as other younger Democratic candidates have launched campaigns for seats currently held by older Democrats, such as Reps. Nancy Pelosi of California, Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, Steve Cohen of Tennessee, and others (Just the News).

Epstein Files Reveal Close Ties With Hakeem Jeffries and Pritzker

Ed Morrissey sums it up well: The Epstein Files will eventually prove to be the most politically defective hand grenade in recent memory. Everyone who picks it up as a weapon has eventually had it explode in their own faces. The Trump administration has already learned that lesson the hard way. Now, apparently, it’s the Democrats’ turn. After demanding the release of all material related to the investigations of Jeffrey Epstein, they are about to find out why one should be careful about what one wishes for. It turns out that Democrats kept engaging with Epstein long after his plea deal for sex crimes in 2007. One e-mail connects a Democrat fundraising group’s efforts on behalf of Hakeem Jeffries and Epstein himself in 2013. That has reminded some of an earlier revelation from almost two years ago about the Pritzker family. The cousin of Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker got named by one of the victims in the investigation…. So let’s recap. The Pritzker family — who provide massive amounts of resources for Democrats and progressives, and now hold the governor’s office in Illinois — kept close contact with a known and notorious sex trafficker for years after his conviction in Florida. Democrat fundraisers tried to woo Epstein to support their candidates, including the current House Democrat caucus leader, who has been lecturing everyone on the moral stain of Epstein. It’s exactly the kind of hypocritical projection that has left everyone else vulnerable to the Epstein grenade (Hot Air).

The Epstein Documents Show Many People of Profile Continued Relationship With Him—Even After HIs Sentencing

Among the trove of documents released by Republicans late last week was a draft of an unreleased magazine profile of Epstein by Michael Wolff. Byron York took a look: Wolff went to some length to note the constant presence of young women around the Epstein house. Wolff described them as being “in their twenties and thirties” — he did not say any were underage — and acting as “Epstein’s support staff and companions.” The “Hefnerian prurience” in the house, Wolff said, was “somewhere between Daddy Warbucks and ‘Eyes Wide Shut.’” Wolff concluded that the atmosphere “may be part of the appeal for the men who come to visit Epstein.” After trying to explain the situation, Wolff ended up saying, “The constant attendance of so many comely young women seems so outside of conventional living or staffing or social or romantic relationships that it is hard to describe in a straightforward or straight-faced way.” Given today’s political situation and the things Wolff has been saying recently, here is something interesting. Out of all the names dropped, one is conspicuously absent: Donald Trump (Examiner).

Germany Eases Weapons Ban on Israel

The fruits of the ceasefire in the war in Gaza. Financial Times: Germany has become the first major arms supplier to ease export restrictions on Israel, saying that the ceasefire announced with Hamas removed the need to withhold weapons that could be used in Gaza. Government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said that the truce, in place since October 10, meant that the situation had “stabilised” in recent weeks…. But within Israel, the embargo and the sense of international isolation it signalled prompted Netanyahu to declare that the country needed to prepare for an era of self-reliance modelled on Sparta. “If there is one lesson we have drawn from this war, it’s that we want to be in a situation where we are not restricted — that Israel defends itself with its own forces and with its own weapons,” he said in mid-September, later clarifying that his “remarks were on the attempt to restrict the import of parts, components, weapons or raw materials” (Financial Times).

Germany Makes it Clear: Alliance With Israel Is Central

The comments of note come from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Analysis from Seth Mandel: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made a statement that was remarkable, in the context of 2025, for being unremarkable. “The position of the Federal Republic of Germany must be clear, where we stand,” Merz said to a conference of his party’s youth wing over the weekend. “In the Western alliance. At Israel’s side, dear friends. I have not forgotten that.” … In fact both Merz and Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker have been open about how their countries’ role in the Holocaust informs their policymaking. “I would consider it a fatal mistake to exclude Israel” from Eurovision, Stocker said recently. “Based on our history alone, I would never be in favor of that.” … This is an essential divide in 21st century politics: between those who believe that past persecution of the Jews requires the current persecution of Israel, and those who believe that the moral lessons of the 20th century include a responsibility to oppose the scapegoating of the Jewish people…. The Russian war effort, meanwhile, is aided by Iran—which has been greatly weakened by Israel, a state whose No. 2 weapons supplier is… Germany. This is the alliance of democracies acting in defense of freedom. Outside the U.S., it is Germany and Israel leading the way. There’s a lesson there for the rest of the West (Commentary).

Chile Marks Rightward Shift in Sunday’s Election

Chile joins Bolivia in making a pivot away from leftist government. Argentina, as well, has recently re-affirmed their embrace of free market economics with Milei in their recent midterm victory. Wall Street Journal: Chileans rallied behind hard-line conservatives in elections Sunday as rising anger over crime and immigration pushes the mineral-rich country to the right, setting the stage for a possible alignment with President Trump. In the first round of a presidential vote, some 70% of voters backed the four leading right-wing candidates. José Antonio Kast, a 59-year-old ultraconservative former congressman, secured 24% of the vote, earning a spot in the Dec. 14 runoff vote (Wall Street Journal). Reuters: “Chile’s traditional parties are in crisis,” said Guillermo Holzmann, a political analyst from the University of Valparaiso. “Their votes have dropped and new leaders have emerged, like Parisi, like Kast.” Kast is favored to beat front-runner Jeannette Jara, the leftist government’s coalition candidate from the Communist Party, in a runoff on December 14 after no candidate reached the majority needed to win the race on Sunday (Reuters).

Supreme Court Agrees to Take Up Immigration Asylum Case

Advocates for illegal immigrants would have preferred to let the 9^th Circuit ruling stand. Essentially: The Trump administration would like the legal authority to turn back the flood of migrants without processing—as the asylum standing has been so clearly abused by migrant movements. Amy Howe at SCOTUS Blog: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to review a ruling by a federal appeals court that, the Trump administration contends, “has already caused—and, if left in place, will continue to cause—‘untold interference with the Executive Branch’s ability to manage the southern border.’” The immigrant rights group and asylum seekers who filed the lawsuit had urged the justices to leave the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in place, telling them that the government’s argument “would empower border officials to render” federal law governing the processing of asylum seekers “wholly inoperable at ports of entry” (SCOTUS Blog). Roll Call: The case is the most high-profile immigration case the justices have accepted for this term, and they likely will hear arguments and issue a decision in the case before the conclusion of their term at the end of June. The lawsuit turns on whether immigration officials can prevent asylum claims by stopping immigrants at the border, as the relevant asylum law allows an immigrant to start their claim when he or she “arrives in” the U.S. Trump adopted the policy in his first term, referred to as “metering,” where border officials would turn away potential asylum seekers at the border before they could set foot in the U.S. and make their claims (Roll Call).

Robert George Steps Aside From Heritage Board

The Catholic public intellectual has been and remains one of the most formidable conservative thought leaders today. From his statement: I have resigned from the board of the Heritage Foundation. I could not remain without a full retraction of the video released by Kevin Roberts, speaking for and in the name of Heritage, on October 30. Although Kevin publicly apologized for some of what he said in the video, he could not offer a full retraction of its content. So, we reached an impasse…. My hope for Heritage is that it will be unbending and unflinching in its fidelity to its founding vision, upholding the moral principles of the Judeo-Christian tradition and the civic principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. I pray that Heritage’s research and advocacy will be guided by the conviction that each and every member of the human family, irrespective of race, ethnicity, religion, or anything else, as a creature fashioned in the very image of God, is “created equal” and “endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights” (National Review).

10.

The Government Shutdown Is Over; the Debate Over the Filibuster Is Not

Albert Mohler argues against the elimination of the Senate filibuster: Let me be blunt. Conservatives depend on the filibuster and without it we would be living under very different circumstances. The conservative disposition calls for restraint when it comes to legislation. If the filibuster had not been in place, we would be facing disaster…. The filibuster can be frustrating. The recent Democratic filibuster was frustrating, and comes with consequences. But conservatives had better remember that, without the filibuster, we would be living in Nancy Pelosi’s America. When she was speaker of the House, she famously hated the filibuster rule in the Senate. But for the filibuster, the Democrats could have cleared the decks with their legislative priorities when Barack Obama and Joe Biden were in the White House. Let that little nightmare focus your attention. William F. Buckley, Jr. once said that the conservative mission was “to stand athwart history yelling stop.” Killing the filibuster would mean conservative surrender. The filibuster is one essential way of yelling stop (World).

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