Daily Kickoff
đ Good Wednesday morning!
The White House announced President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will visit Surfside, Fla., on Thursday to tour the damage of the Champlain Towers collapse and meet with survivors and their families.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), who represents Surfside, told JI that the scene on the ground is âthe stuff that fuels your nightmares from hell. There is just no way I can describe to you the enormity of the tragedy⊠We have devastated families. We have a community that has been completely overtaken by this event.â
Wasserman Schultzalso said that she has discussed with House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) potential emergency federal funding to help the community recover, explaining, âCommunities like this donât put disasters like this in their budget⊠Thereâs a decent chance weâre going to need an emergency supplemental.â She also praised Biden for dispatching an investigation team from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava praised global Jewry for its support of the Surfside community. âSince the morning of June 24th, the deep bonds that unite the international Jewish community have been on full display here in Surfside,â Levine Cava, the county’s first Jewish mayor, explained to JI. âIn the days since this unthinkable tragedy, local rabbis have answered the call for help by devoting their days to maintaining a presence at the site, doing all they can to assist our first responders and offering shelter and comfort to the families. Highly skilled Israeli teams were deployed to the building site and embedded with our first responders in the search for survivors. I continue to be deeply moved by the tangible solidarity, compassion and strength that unites this community and by the ways the teachings of our faith guide us and give us strength during this impossibly difficult time.â
The outcome of New York Cityâs mayoral electionremains hazy as the cityâs Board of Elections released a new tally of votes â which showed former sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia closing the gap with frontrunner and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams â only to take down the numbers later in the day, admitting to a âdiscrepancyâ in which 135,000 test ballots were erroneously counted alongside actual votes. On Twitter, Dave Wasserman, editor of the Cook Political Report, called the mistake âthe most botched election results reporting by an official agency I’ve ever seen in the U.S.â
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN)said in a CNN interview that she does not regret previous comments appearing to equate Israel and the U.S. with terrorist groups â comments she had previously walked back, reiterating, âthe point that I was trying to makeâ was that International Criminal Court investigations of these countries and entities should be allowed to proceed.
Asked by CNN anchor Jake Tapper if she understands why Jewish House Democrats have found her past comments antisemitic, Omar responded, âI have welcomed any time my colleagues have asked to have a conversation, to learn from them, for them to learn from me. I think itâs really important for these members to realize that they havenât been partners in justice. They havenât been equally engaging in seeking justice around the world. I will continue to do that.â
Omar added, âI have obviously clarified and apologized when I have felt that my words have offended and itâs really important, as Iâve explained to my colleagues, they have engaged in Islamophobic tropes. I have yet to receive an apology.â
Exclusive
Pro-Israel House Democrats endorse Shontel Brown in heated Ohio race

Nina Turner and Shontel Brown
Four pro-Israel House Democrats are collectively endorsing Shontel Brown, a Cuyahoga County councilwoman and party chair, in the heated open-seat race to represent Ohioâs 11th Congressional District, which includes Cleveland and a sliver of Akron. The group of lawmakers â including Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Ted Deutch (D-FL), David Trone (D-MD) and Brad Schneider (D-IL) â will each announce this week that they are throwing their support behind Brown with just over a month remaining until the Democratic primary on August 3, a spokesperson for Brownâs campaign told Jewish Insiderâs Matthew Kassel.
Boost for Brown: The endorsements represent a significant boost for Brown, a moderate Democrat widely viewed as a top contender as she pulls in establishment support. âI am proud to endorse Shontel Brown for Congress, a dynamic leader who is a strong and passionate voice for our Democratic values,â Gottheimer told JI on Tuesday. âShe has a distinguished record of bringing people together and delivering for her community, especially during COVID. That will make her an especially valuable partner in Congress as we recover from the pandemic and move our country forward.â
Playing catch-up: In recent months, however, Brown has struggled to keep pace with her main primary opponent, the well-known progressive Nina Turner, a former Ohio state senator who worked for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) as a national campaign co-chair during the 2020 presidential election. Turner has led the pack in fundraising, and recent polling gave her a commanding lead over Brown. On Tuesday, Turner earned an endorsement from Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), who joined a growing list of âSquadâ members backing the congressional hopeful.
Democratic rift: The race has come to embody a growing rift between moderates and progressives â particularly on Israel. Brown identifies as a strong supporter of the Jewish state, whereas Turner supports conditioning foreign aid to Israel. Both candidates oppose the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel. But the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas has underscored their divergent views. During the violence last month, Brown condemned âHamasâs massive rocket attacksâ while emphasizing Israelâs âright to defend its citizens.â Turner, meanwhile, positioned herself firmly on the side of the Palestinians, amplifying an accusation of Israeli apartheid on Twitter.
Ad game: Turnerâs approach is a source of concern for pro-Israel advocates nationwide, who are aggressively rallying behind Brown. On Wednesday, Democratic Majority for Israelâs political action committee will release its first ad in Cleveland, a spokesperson said. The 30-second spot, to be distributed on broadcast and cable TV, will highlight the councilwomanâs accomplishments in the district. Brown will âbe a tireless advocate for her district,â Mark Mellman, who chairs DMFI PAC, told JI. âSheâll work closely with the Biden-Harris administration and support Speaker Pelosi in advancing the Democratic agenda, which includes strong support for the U.S.-Israel relationship.â
Read the full story here.
Elsewhere: Also on Tuesday, Jim Clyburn (D-SC), the House majority whip whose pivotal endorsement of Joe Biden helped swing the presidential primaries in his favor last election cycle, announced that he was endorsing Shontel Brown.
The room where it happened
Inside the meeting between Rivlin and members of Congress

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin speaks as U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) looks on before a meeting at the U.S. Capitol on June 28, 2021 in Washington, D.C.
The Monday afternoon closed-door meeting between leading House members and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin focused largely on reaffirming the bipartisan U.S.-Israel relationship, lawmakers who participated in the meeting told Jewish Insider on Tuesday. In attendance at the meeting were House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Reps. Ted Deutch (D-FL), Joe Wilson (R-SC), Jim Clyburn (D-SC), Steve Scalise (R-LA), Greg Meeks (D-NY), Steve Chabot (R-OH), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA) and David Kustoff (R-TN).
Across the aisle: âThe meeting was terrific,â Deutch said. âWe had an opportunity in a bipartisan way⊠to thank President Rivlin for his service not just to the State of Israel, but to strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship. We had a strong bipartisan group of members to reaffirm the importance of [the] bipartisan [U.S.-Israel] relationship.â
Personal praise: Wilson likewise called the meeting âso positiveâ and praised Rivlin personally. âGosh, what an inspiring individual. And to know his history and his background and his familyâs history back to 1809,â Wilson said of the Israeli president, whose family came to Jerusalem in the early 19th century. âHe came across very positive and, again, a restatement of the relationship that we have between the United States and Israel.â
Center stage: Wilson told JI that Israeli concerns over Iranâs nuclear program and the ongoing talks between Tehran and the world powers that negotiated the 2015 agreement were major topics of discussion during the meeting. âI agreed with him on the different issues that were addressed and [Iran nuclear deal] concerns, and I appreciate [that] he raised the issue of missile development â intercontinental ballistic missile capabilities,â Wilson said. âI was just so pleased. And it was bipartisan.â
House divided: While the group talked about âthe strong bipartisan support that existsâ for Israel, Deutch said, âWe didnât talk about any specific members⊠I think the president of Israel understands that the support that Israel felt during the [recent] conflict and continues to feel⊠is deep and long-standing. And there were no conversations beyond that,â he added.
Up next: Deutch also previewed the upcoming House Foreign Affairs Committee delegation to Israel, which will take place next week while Congress is in recess. The delegation will meet with members of the new Israeli governing coalition, Deutch said. The lawmakers will also be on hand for the inauguration of former Jewish Agency Chairman and Labor Party leader Isaac Herzog, who is succeeding Rivlin. Wilson said heâs also joining the trip.