Daily Kickoff
👋 Good Tuesday morning!
Condolences poured in from around the world over the death of Colin Powell, the barrier-breaking former U.S. secretary of state, who died on Monday at 84 from complications from COVID-19. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid both grieved Powell’s passing.
Powell, a South Bronx native — who learned Yiddish working in a Jewish-owned store — was remembered for his remarkable rise to the top of the U.S. military and government, becoming one of the most respected leaders in the world.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will vote today on advancing a raft of nominees, including Tom Nides, the nominee for ambassador to Israel, and Barbara Leaf, the nominee for assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs.
Alta Fixsler, a 2-year-old Hasidic girl at the center of a protracted legal battle with the British government, died Monday after being taken off life support.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who encouraged U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson to allow Fixsler to leave the country for treatment, told Jewish Insider, “I extend my prayers and support for the Fixsler family during this very difficult time. May Alta’s memory be a blessing. I continue to believe the policy followed here was wrong on many levels and regret that our multiple, and legally and morally, well-grounded pleas were unheeded by the British authorities.”
The appointment of the next head of the Jewish Agency for Israel has been postponed by a month, following a request by Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid after his candidate for the job, Elazar Stern, dropped out of the race last week.
sunshine race
Dale Holness vows to continue Hastings’s legacy in Congress

Current Commissioner and Former Mayor of Broward County, Florida, Dale V.C. Holness speaks at a candlelight vigil presented by AIDS Healthcare Foundation, at Sunshine Cathedral MCC, honoring the millions of individuals who have died from COVID-19, on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness touts a number of advantages that should strongly position him in the crowded special House primary in Florida’s 20th congressional district to replace the late Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) in Florida’s 20th Congressional District, including what he claims is a posthumous endorsement from Hastings himself. Though Hastings never publicized his support, nor does he appear to have put it in writing, Holness, 64, says the congressman, whom he described as a mentor, “was ready to get his voice out there” before he died in April. “I certainly have great shoes to fill,” Holness said in an interview with Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel. “Not saying that I’ll fill them, but I’ll do everything I can.”
Eye on Israel: For Holness, that means upholding the congressman’s commitment to the U.S.-Israel relationship. If elected, “I will continue his leadership and follow in his footsteps,” Holness writes in an Israel position paper, explaining his support for the country through the prism of advancing Black-Jewish relations — a cause to which Hastings was also dedicated. “Jewish Americans and African Americans share histories of slavery and emancipation,” says Holness, a Jamaican-born real estate broker and longtime county commissioner. “Similarly, the United States and Israel have shared histories of being places of refuge.”
Trade mission: Holness visited Israel in 2019 on a trade mission during his tenure as vice mayor of Broward County, noting that he read Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle in preparation for the trip. “Folks might not realize how Jews and Muslims and Arabs live side by side in Israel unless you go and see that,” he told JI. “Not saying that the Palestinians don’t have some serious issues in terms of the difficult conditions in which they live. But part of that, I believe, goes through leadership.”
On the issues: Holness rejected the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel, and supports public efforts to divest from companies that engage in the practice, such as Florida’s recent decision to enforce anti-BDS legislation by placing Ben & Jerry’s parent company, Unilever, on a list of “scrutinized companies that boycott Israel.” He also supports the continuation of U.S. military assistance to Israel, and supports legislation giving Israel $1 billion in supplemental aid to replenish its Iron Dome missile-defense system.
Voter outreach: Holness leads the 11-way field in outside campaign contributions, so far pulling in $575,000, according to a campaign spokesperson, and he argues that his on-the-ground voter-engagement strategy remains unmatched in the 20th Congressional District, which includes Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. “I believe that’s how the race will be won,” he said. “It will be won with who has the most outreach directly to the people, and we’re there. I mean, I’m in church every Sunday. I’ve been to the Chabad. I’m reaching out across all lines.”