Daily Kickoff
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A 4,000-word article on the online targeting of Women’s March leadership by Russian trolls, published Sunday morning in the New York Times, spotlights Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour, a co-founder of the organization whom the New York Times describes as having “troubled pro-Israel politicians in New York” over “her support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.”
The article, which attributes the challenges facing Women’s March leaders to online attacks and Russian interference — rather than internal disarray and support for controversial figures including Rev. Louis Farrakhan — stops short of mentioning numerous instances in which Sarsour has been accused of trafficking in antisemitic tropes, or that as recently as April, insurance giant Geico canceled an event at which Sarsour was scheduled to speak after an uproar over her inclusion, going so far as to say the company “does not condone hatred of any kind, and we do not stand for or with anyone who does.”
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, a high-profile Sarsour ally, used the article as an opportunity to defend the activist on Twitter, saying that it was “probably too much to ask” of Jewish leaders to “rethink their words toward her.” The City editor Harry Siegel pointed out that a Brooklyn rabbi had told the paper that she had defended Sarsour in the past, but she found, the Times reported, “each time, that a new firestorm would arise, often resulting from something inflammatory and ‘ultimately indefensible’ Ms. Sarsour had said.”
The Times piece comes on the heels of a story published in the Gray Lady last Thursday that focused on anger from anti-Israel organizations and activists over the casting of Shira Haas in an upcoming Marvel film as a former Mossad agent. In its opening paragraphs, the article cites the Institute for Middle East Understanding, which has published on its Medium page essays titled “No President Biden, Israel Cannot be ‘Jewish and Democratic’” and “Israel is Destroying My Entire Community and the World is Doing Nothing to Stop It.”
The coverage of the new Marvel character, named Sabra, is in contrast with how the Times in 2013 celebrated the creation of a Muslim character: “Marvel Comics’ newest superhero is a shape-changing teenage Muslim girl from New Jersey” read a tweet from the Times’ official account.
royal engagement
The last Israeli ambassador to have an audience with the queen

Israeli Ambassador to the United Kingdom Mark Regev speaks during the annual Holocaust Memorial Commemoration event, co-hosted with the Israeli Embassy, at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office on January 23, 2019, in London, United Kingdom.
New diplomats arriving in the United Kingdom are required to present their credentials to the reigning monarch. Mark Regev, the last Israeli envoy to present his credentials in person to Queen Elizabeth II, who died last Thursday at 96 after a 70-year reign and whose funeral is today, felt pressure to make the most of his short time with her, he told Jewish Insider’s Ruth Marks Eglash. “I needed to decide what I wanted to talk to her about,” recalled Regev, who headed Israel’s embassy in London from June 2016 through 2020. When his replacement, Tzipi Hotovely assumed the role, she presented her credentials remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Family history: Regev decided that he would relay to the queen the story of his late father, a Jewish citizen of Germany during World War II. “The whole family was going through a very difficult time, they were in a very precarious situation as Jews in Germany,” Regev related to JI. “Then one night, the RAF Bomber Command flies over and bombs the place where they’re living to kingdom come and in the fire and death, chaos and confusion, the family managed to escape — they literally ripped off their Jewish stars, and went into hiding.” During his audience with the queen, Regev, whose family later emigrated to Australia, emphasized how British soldiers, who have in the past been criticized for bombing civilian populations in Nazi-occupied Europe, had saved them during the war.
Personal touch: While the queen responded as the consummate professional, Regev said, later that evening the foreign office official who had accompanied the royal matriarch during the credentialing’s ceremony told him that she was in fact quite moved by his personal tale. “Who knows if he was just being nice to me,” quipped Regev. “But maybe she did actually appreciate hearing the Regev family story.”
Truss talk: Regev also said the British-Israel ties were solid and strengthening, especially with the installation of new U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss. “As ambassador, your role is to advance the bilateral relationship between Israel and the country where you’re posted,” he explained. “Ultimately, the trajectory of British-Israel relations has been very good over the last years; we’ve been constantly moving in the right direction.” By the time he had left the U.K., Regev said, “Truss was already foreign secretary, and she was the best foreign secretary for Israel there has ever been. Whenever I met her at events she always expressed herself as a friend of Israel.”