News Roundup for March 18, 2026
Pritzker Power Play, Politico Playbook
“In perhaps the most closely watched House primary, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss pulled out a tight 9th District win over 26-year-old social media star Kat Abughazaleh — despite a strong showing from the political newcomer — and state Sen. Laura Fine, per Shia. AIPAC had spent big to try to take Biss down, but he declared last night that his district ‘understands nuance’ on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. ‘Enough about AIPAC. May tonight be the last time I utter their name,’ Biss said. ‘This victory belongs to J Street.'”
Joe Kent, a Top U.S. Counterterrorism Official, Resigns Over the Iran War, New York Times
“One of the United States’ top counterterrorism officials resigned on Tuesday, citing his opposition to the war in Iran and what he said was Israel’s influence over the Trump administration’s policies, a sign of emerging divisions in the Republican coalition. […] Ilan Goldenberg, who also served in Democratic administrations and is now a senior official at J Street, a liberal pro-Israel advocacy group, said Mr. Kent’s [resignation] letter was antisemitic. ‘A secret conspiracy of the media and Israelis to deceive Trump into going to war with Iran is ugly stuff that plays on the worst antisemitic tropes.'”
AIPAC Faces Calls to Reassess Strategy After Split Results in Illinois, Politico
“Tuesday’s results ‘should send a clear message to candidates across the country: you do not have to fear AIPAC’s spending or intimidation,’ Jeremy Ben-Ami, the president of J Street, a rival organization that spent $350,000 backing Biss and worked to counter AIPAC in other Illinois House races, said in a statement.”
[Listen] Bibi and AIPAC are Fracturing Americans’ Support for Israel, The Bill Press Pod
“Bill discusses the third week of a U.S. and Israel-led war against Iran and Americans’ cratering support for Israel, with J Street founder Jeremy Ben-Ami and senior VP Ilan Goldenberg. Ben-Ami calls it Netanyahu’s long-sought war, notes the JCPOA (‘The Iran Nuclear Deal’ under Obama) had effectively constrained Iran’s program, and says the current effort lacks clear goals.”
[Watch] J Street Chief Policy Officer Ilan Goldenberg Discusses the Iran War, Bloomberg
“At the end of the day, you’re going to need a deal. You can have short-term military escorts going through the Strait and get more ships in, but that takes a huge amount of ships and we don’t have that many ships that are capable of doing that.”
Ramat Gan Couple in Their 70s Killed by Iranian Cluster Missile, Times of Israel
“An elderly couple, identified as Yaron and Ilana Moshe, were killed early Wednesday morning in Ramat Gan by a cluster missile as Iran continued to fire salvoes at Israel through the night and into the morning. From midnight to 8 a.m., there were four rounds of missile fire that caused injuries and damage to property.”
Iran Warns of Strikes on Gulf Oil Facilities ‘in Coming Hours,’ State Media Reports, Reuters
“Iran issued an evacuation warning for several oil facilities across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, saying they would be targeted by strikes ‘in the coming hours’, Iranian state media reported on Wednesday. […] It was issued shortly after Iranian oil facilities in South Pars and Asaluyeh came under attack. Those Israeli strikes were coordinated with the United States, Axios reported a senior Israeli official as saying.”
Iranian Gas Infrastructure at Iran’s South Pars and Asaluyeh Hit in Israeli Air Strike, Jerusalem Post
“Facilities linked to Iran’s gas industry in South Pars and Asaluyeh were targeted in an Israeli airstrike on Wednesday, a source confirmed to The Jerusalem Post. The South Pars gas field is the world’s largest natural gas reserve and is jointly operated by Iran and Qatar.”
Indonesia to Deploy 500 Troops to Gaza to Disarm Hamas, Amid Israeli Scepticism, Haaretz
“The troops will deploy as part of a broader international arrangement under which an additional roughly 5,000 soldiers are to arrive later, according to Israeli officials. Under the emerging plan, they will be stationed at a military base now being built in the Rafah area in the southern Strip.”
The Iran War Spreads to the Gulf Region, Word on the Street
“Iran’s strategic logic in striking the Gulf is clear: the Gulf states are major strategic partners of the United States and key contributors to regional stability and the global economy. Attacks on the Gulf can drive pressure on Trump to end the war, both from Gulf leaders and from an American public that is already experiencing the burden of rising oil prices.”
How Israel Used the War in Gaza to Accelerate Settlements in the West Bank, New Yorker
Speaking to the New Yorker’s Isaac Chotiner, Israeli activist Yehuda Shaul said, “We see an attempt at confining the Palestinian population to smaller and smaller patches of land. About fifteen years ago, Israelis launched this campaign called the Battle for Area C. They’re trying to take over the roughly sixty per cent of the West Bank that is designated Area C under the Oslo Accords, and squeeze Palestinians into a hundred and sixty-five enclaves of Area A and B. I think, at this point, we have gone way beyond that. And it’s not just about cleansing Area C; it’s about taking over the entire open space and squeezing Palestinians not just to A and B but to the built-up areas of A and B, to the urban centers. So we’re kind of undoing Oslo.”
