
Daily Kickoff: Jason Kander on JI’s podcast + de Blasio calls out opponent’s support for BDS
👋 Good Tuesday morning!
Seth Klarman is hosting a virtual fundraiser for Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) today, as first reported by The New York Times’ Kate Kelly and Maggie Haberman.
More details are emerging about President Joe Biden’s upcoming trip to the Middle East. Biden touches down at Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday afternoon local time. We’ll bring you on-the-ground coverage from his visit as it happens. Here’s what we know so far:
A U.S. officialsaid that Biden will push for the reopening of a consulate in Jerusalem to serve Palestinians, despite confirmation from an Israeli official that discussions over the issue are not on the agenda. He’ll also participate in a four-way virtual summit with Israeli, Emirati and Indian leaders.
Meanwhile, the U.S. turned down a request from Israel to have Israeli officials accompany Biden on a visit to an East Jerusalem hospital, scheduled for later this week.
The administrationis considering lifting its ban on offensive arms sales to Saudi Arabia, days before the president is set to visit the Gulf nation.
Frimet and Arnold Roth, whose daughter Malki, a U.S. citizen, was killed in a 2001 terror attack in Jerusalem, are seeking a meeting with Biden this week as part of a yearslong effort to pressure Jordan to extradite a woman convicted in the killing to the U.S. to stand trial. Ahlam Tamimi was released by Israel in a 2011 prisoner swap, and has since become a popular television personality in Jordan.
reax
De Blasio calls out NY-10 opponent who backs BDS

Bill de Blasio, Yuh-Line Niou
Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, now mounting his first House bid in the redrawn 10th Congressional District, spoke out against a Democratic primary rival, state Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou, who has expressed support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel. “The vast majority of us who are Democrats, the vast majority of us who are progressives, don’t agree with her,” de Blasio told Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel. “We support the State of Israel. We oppose BDS.”
Rapid response: De Blasio was responding to an interview, published by JI on Monday, in which Niou endorsed the BDS movement for what appears to have been the first time since she assumed office in 2017. “I believe in the right to protest as a fundamental tenet of western democracy, so I do support BDS,” said Niou, who, along with de Blasio, is among at least seven leading candidates in the hotly contested race for an open House seat encompassing Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn.
‘It’s not gray at all’: “I don’t know how anyone could be unclear on BDS,” de Blasio elaborated. “It’s a movement that is working against the State of Israel. It’s working against a healthy economy for the people of Israel. It’s working against one of the underpinnings of a future peace, which would be prosperity for Israelis and Palestinians alike. To me, it’s not gray at all. If you care about Israel and if you care about peace, oppose BDS. I’ve been doing that, energetically, for years.”
Broader backlash: Niou is the only Democrat in the race who has publicly supported the BDS movement, which holds only fringe support within the House. Since her comments were published, she has faced criticism from a range of elected officials including freshman Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), the Bronx congressman who identifies as a pro-Israel progressive. “BDS is not merely a ‘protest,’” he wrote on Twitter. “It takes the sinister position that Israel should no longer exist as a Jewish state. It’s an eliminationist movement at its core, one that should itself be protested by any public official professing a concern for peace.”
Bonus: New York State Assemblymember Brian Cunningham announced he was withdrawing his endorsement of Niou over her support of the BDS movement.