
Daily Kickoff: Interview with Tlaib challenger Shanelle Jackson + Detroit Dems gear up for Stevens vs. Levin
👋 Good Friday morning!
Ed. note: In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the next Daily Kickoff will be on Tuesday.
For less-distracted reading over the long weekend, browse this week’s edition of The Weekly Print, a curated print-friendly PDF featuring a selection of recent JI stories, including: Pocan pokes Israel — but where are his constituents? ; In Jerusalem, an ancient site undergoes renovations with modern technology; Joshua Malina speaks out; Nicaragua slammed for hosting Iranian official wanted in Argentina Jewish center bombing; Biden administration takes Trump admin to task on Iran; In suburban Detroit, Stevens-Levin matchup suggests a test of candidates’ Israel policies; and Michigan redistricting sets up close races across the state.Print the latest edition here.
Earlier this week, we launched The Circuit, a new publication which covers the Middle East and beyond through a business and cultural lens.
So today we’re issuing a special edition of The Weekly Print showcasing stories recently published in The Circuit including The general who coined the Abraham Accords; For Israeli high-tech, 2021 was a ‘bumper’ year says head of Innovation Authority; and Strauss Zelnick’s Take-Two buys Mark Pincus’s Zynga in $12.7 billion deal. Print The Circuit edition of the Weekly Print here.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) will have a primary challenger in former state Rep. Shanelle Jackson, Jewish Insider has learned. We spoke to Jackson last night — read the interview below.
Pennsylvania Republican David McCormick, who entered the race for Senate this week, called on fellow GOP Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz to renounce his Turkish citizenship.
Sirhan Sirhan’s bid for parole was rejected by California Gov. Gavin Newsom after a parole board recommended release for Sirhan, who assassinated Robert F. Kennedy in 1968.
race to watch
Former Michigan state legislator to mount challenge to Rashida Tlaib

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Shanelle Jackson
Shanelle Jackson, a former Michigan state legislator in Detroit who now works in the private sector, told Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel on Thursday that she intends to challenge Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) in the open-seat Democratic House primary for the newly drawn 12th Congressional District. “I’ve been rallying the troops,” Jackson, who said she is planning to formally launch her campaign in mid-February, told Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel. “I think there’s a great opportunity there.”
Race to watch: The face-off sets up what will likely be a closely watched primary battle as Tlaib, the well-known lawmaker and prominent member of the Squad, seeks a third term in a district she has not previously represented. Tlaib, 45, announced last week that she would run for reelection in the 12th District after longtime Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-MI) said she would retire at the end of her term. Tlaib has represented Michigan’s 13th Congressional District, which includes parts of Detroit and its surrounding suburbs, since 2019.
‘Now is the moment’: Jackson, 41, previously ran against Tlaib in the six-way primary to represent the 13th District in 2018. She came in last with 5% of the vote but believes the updated House map presents a new opportunity in the neighboring 12th District, which favors Democrats. The primary will be held on Aug. 2. “I think right now is the moment,” Jackson, who is Black, told JI. “It’s almost palpable in the city of Detroit and in this region: Black women are stepping up in leadership. We’re hungry to have our voice in the room and at the table.”
Drawing contrasts: Jackson, who presents herself as a centrist Democrat, drew a sharp contrast with Tlaib, emphasizing that she is a supporter of Israel, which she visited in 2010 as a state representative. “When she gets that mic in front of her, she goes crazy and goes to many extremes,” Jackson said. “I really feel like it’s now or never as it pertains to being able to sort of shut her down and calm down some of the antisemitic rhetoric.”
Community outreach: Jackson said she is planning to engage with Jewish voters in the Detroit-area district, which takes in Southfield, a majority-Black city that is also home to a robust Jewish community. “I want to convey to the Jewish community that, as an African-American woman, to me, our stories are extremely similar,” she told JI. “I think that we have sort of a natural bond, and obviously that’s not there with her,” Jackson said of Tlaib. “So where I don’t have the answers, or the things that I don’t know, I’m open to learning because of this natural bond and kinship and love that I have for the Jewish community.”