Daily Kickoff
👋 Good Thursday morning!
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced the nominations of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann to the full Senate. Garcetti and Gutmann have been nominated to be the ambassadors to India and Germany, respectively.
Gutmann’s nomination was a point of some controversy — Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), the committee’s ranking member, said he would oppose her nomination because he believed she had exercised insufficient oversight over the donations her university received from China, but said, “it is not personal… certainly, she’s qualified.”
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) defended Gutmann and said that her family background — her father fled the Nazi regime in Germany — “gives her a special insight… [that] can help us greatly in our representation in Germany.”
The committee also briefly discussed Deborah Lipstadt’s stalled nomination to be antisemitism envoy. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), the committee’s chair, said, “I have been advocating for a hearing for this nominee and I hope to get there with the ranking member in order to do so… I look forward to working with Senator Risch.”
Risch shared his stance, “I likewise look forward to working in that regard too. The nominee has left a lengthy trail of materials that we’re in the process of reviewing. I suspect we’ll get there. We’ll continue with it.”
The exchange appeared to signal possible progress, or a de-escalation of tension, compared to before the Senate’s holiday recess. At that time, Menendez threatened to skip the committee process entirely and Risch said a hearing was in Menendez’s hands.
Two Israeli soldiers were killed by friendly fire on Wednesday night after they were misidentified during a security patrol near an IDF base in the Jordan Valley, the army said.
“This is a very sad morning,”said Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. “I would like to send heartfelt condolences to the families of the two officers who were killed overnight in a tragic accident. The two commanders had dedicated their best years to the security of Israel and defending our homeland. The entire people of Israel mourns for them.”
Pocan Pies
Pocan pokes Israel — but where are his constituents?

Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) speaks during a news conference to introduce the “Protect Our Public Lands Act,” to ban fracking on public lands on Wednesday, April 22, 2015.
Last May, as mounting tensions over Israel reached a climax within the Democratic Party, Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) stepped into the fray as an unofficial ringleader among the contingent of House members who have forcefully criticized the Jewish state. With competing factions of mainstream and far-left lawmakers poised to address the conflict between Israel and Hamas in a series of floor speeches, Pocan took action to ensure his side would not be outdone as he organized an hour-long special session that would amount to an extraordinary rebuke of America’s closest ally in the Middle East, reports Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel in a detailed look at the Wisconsin lawmaker’s approach.
Leading the charge: “We must acknowledge and condemn the disproportionate discrimination and treatment that Palestinians face versus others in this region,” Pocan said in introductory comments before yielding the microphone to 10 House Democrats who took turns castigating Israel’s actions. Back in his home district, which includes Madison, Jordan Loeb, an attorney and local Jewish community activist who has helped raise money for Pocan’s campaign, watched with dismay as the congressman delivered his assessment.
Squad-adjacent? The hour-long floor session was a “wake-up point” for Loeb, who says he has grown wary of Pocan’s combative posture toward Israel. After Pocan’s demonstration, Loeb found himself grappling with a nagging question that remains unresolved. “I’m like, ‘Alright, Mark, so what’s your policy here,’” Loeb recalled wondering, “‘or are you just trying out for one of the seats that’s adjacent to the Squad?’”
Rising profile: Loeb isn’t alone among Pocan’s constituents in noticing that the congressman has, in recent months, wagered a significant share of his political capital on Middle East issues as he forms alliances with Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and others. But while his profile has risen on the national stage, Pocan’s investment in the conflict is garnering mixed reactions at the local level as he risks alienating some Jewish community members who have either supported him or sought engagement in the past, but now suspect that his political allegiances have led him astray on Israel.
Constituent concerns: Richard Landay, a flavor chemist for Kerry Ingredients who lives in the congressman’s district, said he appreciates Pocan’s advocacy on a range of issues, including that the congressman, who is gay, has positioned himself as a strong supporter of LGBT equality. “But I don’t like his approach with Israel,” he said. “I’m surprised that Pocan, as smart as he is and as caring as he is — because I get the sense that he cares about a lot of stuff — doesn’t look back and understand the whole history,” Landay told JI. “I think a lot of people who have his stance don’t understand the whole history.”
Pocan’s view: In a recent interview, Pocan said he has long felt as if his positions have put him in somewhat rarefied political territory. “I’ll be honest,” the congressman told JI. “I’m in a bit of a weird, lonely place.” Recounting a recent meeting with Israel’s President Isaac Herzog, Pocan said Herzog told him, “‘You’re the guy who criticizes Israel,’ and I had to tell him, ‘No, no, actually, you know how sometimes when you have a friend you can say things to them differently because they’re your friend? I’m saying things to you as a friend as opposed to someone we may not know.’”