Deputy Supreme Court chief reportedly says ‘limited’ delay of elections could be justified in case of emergency

The Times of Israel is liveblogging Wednesday’s events as they unfold.

New national security adviser said to convene urgent meeting on ‘encouraging voluntary emigration’ from Gaza

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new national security adviser, Shmuel Ben Ezra, convened an urgent meeting Tuesday on “encouraging voluntary emigration” of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, the Haaretz daily reports.

According to the report, Mossad representatives said during the meeting that they have found no countries willing to take in Gazans and that there were otherwise no new developments on the matter.

“We are unaware of any countries in the world prepared to take in Palestinians who choose to leave the Strip,” a security source tells the newspaper.

Pro-Israel US Congress members Torres and Meng pick up wins in NYC

The pro-Israel Congress members Ritchie Torres and Grace Meng are declared the winners of their primaries in New York City.

Torres, the incumbent in New York’s 15th Congressional District in the Bronx, trounces his leftist opponent, Michael Blake.

With 88% of the vote counted, Torres has 72%, compared to Blake’s 22%.

Meng, the incumbent in New York’s 6th Congressional District in Queens, leads Chuck Park 57% to 43%, with 84% of votes counted.

Outside New York City, the pro-Israel House representatives George Latimer, in Westchester County, and Tom Suozzi, on Long Island, win their primaries.

Latimer won an uncontested vote while Suozzi has 80% with nearly all votes counted.

Trump fumes at US Senate for passing Iran war powers resolution

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump lashes out at the US Senate for passing a motion aiming to prevent him from resuming the war with Iran.

“So, I have Iran on the ropes, ready to go down for the fall, willing to give us practically anything, and for the first time in decades, respecting the hell out of the United States and its president; and the US Senate decides to have a poorly timed and meaningless War Powers Act vote, telling the number one sponsor of terror in the world that the United States doesn’t like what I am doing to them, and I must stop, and by so doing has provided aid and comfort the enemy,” Trump writes in a Truth Social post.

He takes particular issue with the four Republican senators who joined their Democrat colleagues to help pass the measure.

“Iran asked my people, ‘What does that all mean?’ These senators have just made my job more difficult, but I will get it done, one way or the other, because I always get it done!” Trump claims.

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Far-left Chevalier wins NY Congressional primary, capping sweep for Mamdani

Darializa Chevalier, a far-left activist backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, is declared the winner of the Democratic Party primary in New York’s 13th Congressional District.

Chevalier’s win over the centrist incumbent Adriano Espaillat caps a stunning night for Mamdani and his far-left Democratic Socialists of America.

Chevalier defeats Espaillat despite a history of extremist rhetoric against the US, Israel and Democratic party leaders, and having never held political office.

Chevalier attended a rally celebrating Hamas’s October 2023 onslaught in southern Israel and made anti-Israel rhetoric a focal point of the campaign.

Jewish centrist Lasher declared winner in NY’s 12th District primary

Micah Lasher, a Jewish centrist, wins the Democratic Party primary in New York’s 12th Congressional District, covering the Upper East Side, Upper West Side and Midtown Manhattan.

The Associated Press declares Lasher the winner. With 87% of votes counted, Lasher has 39%, while his leading opponent, Alex Bores, has 35%.

Lasher and Bores are both centrists, unlike several high-profile primaries in the city that saw far left candidates backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani challenge centrist opponents.

Bores concedes to Lasher in a statement. “This is not the outcome we hoped for, but I want to congratulate Micah Lasher, who will represent this district well in Congress,” Bores says.

Mamdani’s pick Valdez declared winner in NYC Congressional primary

Claire Valdez, a far-left ally of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, is declared the winner in the primary for New York’s 7th Congressional District.

With 69% of votes counted, Valdez has 58%, leading her leading challenger Antonio Reynoso, who has 32%.

The Associated Press declares Valdez the winner.

Valdez’s win is a major victory for the far-left Democratic Socialists of America, Mamdani’s home base, which has made anti-Israel activism central to its politics.

Mamdani ally Brad Lander defeats incumbent Dan Goldman in NYC primary for US House seat

Brad Lander is projected to win the primary for New York’s 10th Congressional District, defeating incumbent Dan Goldman.

With 42% of the votes in, Lander is ahead with 63%, compared to Goldman’s 37%.

The Associated Press declares Lander the winner of the Democratic primary.

The primary victor is the presumed winner of the general election in the Democratic district.

Lander and Goldman are both Jewish and Israel was a major issue in the race.

Lander ran to Goldman’s left, allying with the city’s anti-Zionist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, accusing Israel of genocide, and attacking pro-Israel lobbying, while acknowledging that the attack line played into antisemitic tropes.

Lander’s win bolsters the far left, anti-Israel political movement in the city, home to the world’s largest Diaspora population.

Deputy Supreme Court chief reportedly says ‘limited’ delay of elections could be justified in case of emergency

Deputy Supreme Court Chief Justice Noam Sohlberg, who heads the Central Election Committee, told a conference held at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem that a “limited postponement” of the elections could be justified in case of an emergency that would prevent a free and fair vote, according to the Ynet news site.

The report says Sohlberg stressed to the crowd that such a delay could not be used “as a tool by the government to extend its tenure,” adding that postponing an election should only be considered as a “last resort.”

He also reportedly called for the Central Elections Committee to be ready for anything, “so we aren’t thrust into a situation in which we must consider delaying the elections.”

A separate report by the Israel Hayom daily on Sohlberg’s remarks says the senior judge declared “only a fool would see we aren’t in a crisis,” citing the security situation, social divisions, “blurring borders between what is acceptable and not,” foreign influence efforts and artificial intelligence.

DC talks between Israel and Lebanon wrap up for the day

WASHINGTON — The first day of the fifth round of direct talks between Israel and Lebanon has wrapped up in Washington after over eight hours.

No joint statement is issued by the sides recapping today’s talks.

A source familiar with the matter says a statement is more likely at the conclusion of the talks on Thursday.

Tuesday’s meeting addressed both political and security issues. Talks will pick resume Wednesday at the Pentagon, but focus solely on security matters, before returning to the State Department on Thursday for a politically-focused session.

The US is reportedly hoping that this week’s negotiations will result in Israel agreeing to a minor withdrawal from territory in southern Lebanon where IDF troops would be replaced by the Lebanese army, in what is being dubbed a “pilot program.”

The US pressure for an Israeli withdrawal comes as Washington seeks to solidify its memorandum of understanding inked with Iran last week, which requires an end to military operations in Lebanon.

That MOU infuriated Israel, which isn’t a party to the deal and has argued that Iran should not have a say in what happens in Lebanon. The MOU also undercut Washington’s own efforts to separate the two tracks.

NY candidate Lander won’t defend ally Mamdani’s AIPAC comments

Brad Lander, a Jewish leftist running for Congress in New York City, wavers on Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s characterization of AIPAC as “monsters.”

Lander has allied himself with Mamdani, who endorsed Lander’s campaign for New York’s 10th Congressional District in today’s primary election.

Lander is a harsh critic of Israel, but is Jewish and identifies as a “liberal Zionist.”

This sometimes puts him in an awkward position, as Mamdani is an anti-Zionist who is sometimes accused of antisemitism.

Mamdani made the AIPAC comment last week, saying the pro-Israel lobby was using “dark money” to foment “genocide” and stoke societal divisions.

Jews, including leftist Mamdani supporters and Jewish leaders in the city government, said the comments played on old antisemitic tropes. Mamdani doubled down on the comments yesterday.

Lander is asked about Mamdani’s AIPAC comments at a Brooklyn polling site.

He agrees with Mamdani’s characterization of “negative forces” associated with AIPAC, but won’t defend his ally Mamdani’s comments, despite repeated questions, Politico reports.

“I can only be responsible for the words I use,” Lander says. “I’m going to keep trying to simultaneously be critical when I think it’s necessary, but also build in a spirit of unity and humanity.”

A Jewish voter tells Lander his non-response is “disappointing.” He says it’s “pretty challenging” to “navigate these waters,” the report says.

In another sign of Lander’s awkward fit in the Mamdani coalition, the mayor’s wife, Rama Duwaji, leaves Lander out of a get-out-the-vote statement.

Duwaji posts a photo of herself with an “I voted” sticker to her 2 million Instagram followers, telling them to vote for the two other candidates that Mamdani endorsed, Claire Valdez and Darializa Chevalier.

Lander is notably absent from the endorsement.