Daily Kickoff
👋 Good Thursday morning!
Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry abruptly ended his campaign for the Senate on Wednesday, after a monthslong run in which the Wisconsin Democrat loaned his campaign $12 million from his own finances, reports Jewish Insider’s Jacob Miller. In his announcement, Lasry threw his support behind Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes. The sudden announcement arrives less than two weeks before the Democratic primary, and clears a path for Barnes to win the Democratic Senate nomination on Aug. 9, positioning him to face off against Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) in November.
In an interview with Jewish Insider shortly after his announcement, Lasry explained his endorsement for Barnes, saying the lieutenant governor has the best shot of beating Johnson and that Barnes “constantly put the constituents in the state above party and above politics.”
Lasry addressed concerns about Barnes’ support for Israel. In a December interview with JI, Barnes expressed openness to conditioning aid to the Jewish state, a statement he has since walked back “[Barnes] is going to go to the Senate and be a strong supporter of Israel,” Lasry told JI, adding, “He’s gonna go in and fight to make sure that the Israelis and the Palestinian people are able to finally come together and live in peace.”
The Milwaukee Bucks executive told JI he plans to take a break from politics and continue running the Bucks, who won the NBA title in 2021. “I’m going to finally be able to take some time to play dad, be a good husband and take some much needed R&R, and then go back to the Bucks and not just work to get Mandela and [Wisconsin Gov.] Tony Evers elected again, but also bring a championship back to Milwaukee,” said Lasry.
Speaking at a virtual event with the Anti-Defamation League yesterday, Amb. Deborah Lipstadt touched on her goals for her new position as special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism and her recent trip to the Middle East.
When asked about her recent visit to Saudi Arabia, Lipstadt talked about changing attitudes in the region. “[One thing] that people said to me before I left for Saudi Arabia was, ‘Are they really going to be willing to discuss this issue with you?’ And I said, ‘Look, my title is ambassador, special envoy to combat and monitor antisemitism.’ They know I am not going to talk about COVID or climate change, they know why I am coming. They are willing to listen and hear. Not everyone is on board, I can assure you that. [But] there has been a change, that is without a doubt the case.”
On the hill
Senate Republicans demand answers on suspected Iranian activity in Argentina

View of the Boeing 747-300 registered number YV3531 of Venezuelan Emtrasur cargo airline at the international airport in Cordoba, Argentina, on June 6, 2022, before taking off for Buenos Aires.
Twelve Senate Republicans this week accused the Justice Department of deliberately ignoring requests from the Argentinian government for information about potential Iranian espionage activity, in a new letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Letter writing: The letter, led by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), addresses the case of a cargo plane that is being detained by Argentinian authorities. The letter was co-signed by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Pat Toomey (R-PA), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), James Lankford (R-OK), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Rick Scott (R-FL), and Bill Hagerty (R-TN).
Background: The Venezuelan-owned jet was detained in early June in Buenos Aires, along with five Iranians and 14 Venezuelans who made up the plane’s crew. One of the plane’s pilots was found to be a senior official of the cargo airline Fars Air Qeshm — which has been sanctioned by the U.S. and used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for logistical services. Leaked information from that pilot’s phone has also indicated that he was a member of the IRGC Quds Force, according to regional press reports. The plane was originally owned by an Iranian company under U.S. sanction and recently transferred to a sanctioned Venezuelan state-owned airline.
Raising concerns: The Argentinian government, under a treaty with the U.S., has requested information from the Justice Department for its investigation. The senators claim that the DOJ has ignored the request. “The laws of the United States and the enforcement of those laws, in particular sanctions laws, are not optional. The uncharacteristic delay and lack of responsiveness by the Department of Justice suggests a prioritization of other parts of this administration’s agenda, such as negotiations over a new Iranian nuclear deal,” the letter reads. “This is unacceptable, as justice cannot be administered at the expense of political whims or sensitivities.” The DOJ did not respond to a request for comment.