Daily Kickoff: Inside the Lebanon-Israel gas deal + Rhode Islanders face off for rare open congressional seat

👋 Good Wednesday morning!

President Joe Biden praised the “historic breakthrough in the Middle East” following the agreement, announced yesterday, between Israel and Lebanon over a disputed maritime border. U.S. Energy Envoy Amos Hochstein has spent recent weeks shuttling between Washington and the Middle East in an attempt to broker the deal, which will enable both countries to drill offshore gas reserves.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price called the accord “remarkable,” adding that the agreement “promises to usher in a new era of regional cooperation while also promoting prosperity, security and stability through unleashing vital energy resources to the world.”

In his phone call with Lebanese President Michel Aoun, Biden commended the Lebanese “consultative and open spirit demonstrated throughout the negotiations” and stressed that the U.S. is committed to supporting stability and sovereignty within Lebanon.

Speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, Biden lauded his “persistent and principled diplomacy,” according to a readout of the conversation. “The President underscored his unshakeable commitment to Israel’s security and discussed how the agreement announced today not only preserves and further enhances Israel’s security and economic interests, but also creates new opportunities for Israel’s regional integration and national prosperity.”

The agreement was approved by Israel’s security cabinet on Wednesday afternoon local time, with support from all members, with the exception of Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, who abstained. It will now go to Israel’s cabinet. According to a poll by Israel’s Channel 12, 40% of Israelis support the deal, 29% oppose it and 31% don’t know. Lapid has said the deal will strengthen Israel’s security, bolster its economy and deliver cleaner, more affordable energy to countries around the world.

The Biden administration will release its first National Security Strategy today, setting out its national security priorities and policy. The report — mandated by law to be released annually — is long-delayed, and the administration has been under pressure from Capitol Hill to release it. This afternoon, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will discuss National Security Strategy at an event at Georgetown University.

Also happening today in Washington: Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff will participate in a Sukkot roundtable with State Department staffers at the Blair House.

ocean state politics

The two candidates meeting voters in the middle in RI-02

In the campaign for a rare open congressional seat in Rhode Island, Democratic candidate Seth Magaziner frequently attacks his opponent, Republican Allan Fung, as a hard-line Republican who is out of touch with moderate New England voters. But Magaziner’s charges were challenged in recent weeks, with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) complimenting Fung, calling the Republican a “quality opponent” and citing his ideological differences with the more extreme elements of the GOP. “That’s what shows that sometimes those cookie-cutter national hits don’t always hold true, and in this case, it doesn’t,” Fung, the former mayor of Cranston, Rhode Island’s second-largest city, told Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch in a recent interview. “The other members all recognize that I’m a nice guy, and I’ve done things working across the aisle.”

Make the pitch: To win in Rhode Island’s 2nd District, which voted for Joe Biden by a 12-point margin in 2020, Fung has to do more than just convince Democrats he’s a nice guy. “My opponent can call himself whatever he wants. But he has also made clear that he is prepared to enable some of the most extreme elements in American politics. That’s not just wrong, it’s dangerous,” Magaziner, who is serving his second term as the state’s general treasurer, told JI.

On a tightrope: Magaziner was referring to the delicate balancing act that Fung is attempting in trying to appeal to a broad swath of voters while also earning the support of national Republican figures like House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who hosted a fundraiser for Fung in the state in August. Republicans view the 2nd District as a key pick-up opportunity due to redistricting, which made the district more conservative, and the retirement of longtime Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI), who was first elected to the seat in 2000. So far, Fung’s strategy appears to be working. A poll conducted in early October showed him leading Magaziner 45% to 37% among likely voters. Another poll, released a week earlier, showed Fung with a six-point lead.

Original ideas: Fung diverges from other Republicans on a number of policies. He said he would have supported the infrastructure bill Biden signed into law last year, which passed the House with the support of 13 Republicans. He also pledged to advocate for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a position that is increasingly losing support among a number of Republicans.

Israel action: Both candidates pledged to support U.S. security assistance for Israel without conditions, although Magaziner, who called Israel “a vital ally for the United States,” added that Washington “should, in a friendly way, continue to encourage Israel to double down on the peace process.” Magaziner has been endorsed by J Street’s political action committee, while AIPAC’s PAC has not gotten involved in the race.

Read more here.

countdown to november

United Democracy Project makes first foray into general election

United Democracy Project, a super PAC launched earlier this year by the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC, made its first foray into the general election late last week, spending nearly $80,000 to boost a Democratic candidate vying for an open House seat in the San Francisco Bay Area, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.

Mullin moves: The five-figure ad buy supporting Kevin Mullin, a moderate California assemblyman in South San Francisco, is hardly among the most sizable expenditures from UDP, which was created in January and spent millions of dollars in several key Democratic contests during the primary season. The race for California’s redrawn 15th Congressional District has kept a lower profile on the national stage, though UDP’s recent contribution — first disclosed on Friday in a filing posted by the Federal Election Commission — may draw increased attention to a unique matchup in which Mullin is poised to square off against a fellow Democrat. With just under a month remaining until the midterms, the new investment from UDP marks the group’s only recorded expenditure of the general election and its first direct contribution since July.

Background: Mullin won the June primary to succeed retiring Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA), who endorsed him, with 40% of the vote, handily defeating his chief rival, David Canepa, by double digits. But they are competing again next month due to California’s open primary system, where the top two primary vote-getters advance to the general election. While Mullin was largely well-versed on Middle East policy during an interview earlier this year, Canepa’s grasp of the issues, on the other hand, was comparatively limited. In a phone conversation with JI, he was unaware of the BDS movement, for instance, first saying he supported it but later backtracking, and said he was not immediately familiar with the memorandum of understanding that guarantees $38 billion in U.S. aid to Israel over 10 years.

Ad angle: UDP’s new ad, which has not been previously reported, provides no indication that it was motivated by any concerns over Canepa’s apparent lack of depth on core issues relating to Israel. Instead, the 30-second spot centers on Mullin’s support for abortion rights and makes no allusion to Canepa. “In the Assembly, Kevin Mullin co-authored the new state law protecting women from prosecution for having an abortion,” the ad’s narrator says. “In Congress, Kevin Mullin will work to guarantee all women have the right to make their own medical decisions.” The issue, however, is unlikely to be a source of contention, as it has in other traditionally competitive races pitting Democrats against Republicans. When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, Canepa, taking to Twitter, declared that California “must fight harder than ever to protect and expand women’s rights.”

Read the full story here.

gone south

Kanye West sparks outrage following antisemitic social media posts

Rapper and artist Kanye West was locked out of his Instagram and Twitter accounts following a series of antisemitic posts alleging Jewish control over a fellow rapper and threatening violence against the Jewish community over the holiday weekend.

What happened: On Sunday, West, who now goes by Ye, posted an antisemitic tweet in which the rapper vowed to go “death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE,” an apparent confused reference to DEFCON, a security alert system used by the U.S. military. Days earlier, West posted a screenshot of a text message he had sent to rapper Diddy, accusing Jews of pressuring the hip-hop star and businessman.

Roll the tape: In an interview with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson last week, West accused former White House Senior Advisor Jared Kushner of orchestrating the Abraham Accords normalization agreements “to make money,” and in a since-deleted Instagram post attacked Kushner’s brother, Josh, who has a 10% stake in SKIMS, the women’s shapewear company founded by West and his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian. Vice later obtained and published unaired clips of the artist — in which he makes multiple comments about Jewish people — speaking with Carlson.

Pushback: West’s comments were met with condemnation from celebrities, journalists and some members of Congress, including Reps. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who tweeted that West’s comments were “harmful + dangerous” and said that there “is absolutely no room in this country or world for antisemitism.” Adidas, which last week said it was reevaluating its business partnership with West following an incident in which the artist wore a “White Lives Matter” shirt during Paris Fashion Week, is facing increasing pressure to sever ties.

Further reading: The Atlantic’s Yair Rosenberg looks at what lessons could be learned from West’s latest outburst. “Anti-Jewish bigotry is a self-sustaining circle. It’s a common misconception that anti-Semitism is simply a personal prejudice toward Jewish people. It’s not,” Rosenberg writes. “It’s also a conspiracy theory about how the entire world works, blaming shadowy Jewish figures for countless societal problems. Kanye’s tweets aptly illustrate why this form of anti-Semitism is so difficult to uproot: It’s a self-affirming conspiracy theory. The anti-Semite claims that Jews control everything. Then, if they are penalized for their bigotry, they point to that as proof. Heads, they win; tails, Jews lose.”

future of food

Eager Israeli food startups shrug off Beyond Meat’s market woes

When Beyond Meat Inc. went public in May 2019, investor excitement over the sizzle of its plant-based burgers sent the stock soaring, giving the California-based company a market value of almost $14 billion. Three years later, the shares have fallen more than 90%, fueling concern about whether consumer demand for meat alternatives will live up to the expectations they’ve generated, Linda Gradstein reports for The Circuit.

Cultivated meat: In Israel, home to a thriving vegan culinary culture and more than 400 food-tech startups, the prevailing outlook is optimistic. While several Israeli companies are producing plant-based versions of beef, chicken and fish – as well as eggs and dairy products – another frontier of so-called cultivated meat, which is made from lab-grown animal cells, is gaining traction. “Plant-based meat as it is today won’t get people to stop eating meat,” Guy Nevo Michrowski, CEO of Israel’s ProFuse Technology, told The Circuit. “The only thing that will get them to switch is something that really tastes like meat, and that is what is already happening.”

Gulf interest: The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which import the vast majority of their food, have been developing partnerships with Israeli food-tech companies since the 2020 Abraham Accords normalized relations between Israel and the two Gulf states. Aleph Farms and DisruptAD have discussed building a manufacturing facility in Abu Dhabi to produce cultivated meat products and sell them across the Gulf.

Read the full story here.

Worthy Reads

🚀 Booming Business: The Wall Street Journal‘s Dion Nissenbaum looks at gains from the Abraham Accords made by Israel’s defense industry. “Few have benefited more from the warming relations than Israel’s military contractors. The breakthrough agreements have created a huge boon for Israeli military companies, which are known for air defense. Those systems are in great demand in the U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia, which Iran-aligned militias in Yemen have attacked with drones and cruise missiles. Israeli security officials say they have had more than 150 meetings with counterparts in Bahrain, Morocco and the U.A.E since the accords were signed. But the new cooperation has its limits. Israeli officials said there are still tight constrictions on what Israel will sell to its Gulf neighbors. The focus now, they said, is on selling air defenses. Israeli government approval to sell advanced offensive weapons is unlikely to come any time soon.” [WSJ]

🏢 Startup Nation: In the Financial Times, James Shotter spotlights the Bizmax business center for Haredi men, which encourages young entrepreneurs to enter the startup world. “In Haredi families, women are often the main breadwinners, while men devote themselves to religious study. Only half of Haredi men work, and close to half of ultra-Orthodox households are below the poverty line. ‘We have a very big challenge with the Haredi community and integration into the workforce,’ says Yitzik Crombie, Bizmax’s founder. ‘We try to show them that it is possible. And the way to show them that it is possible is to build role models . . . and one way to build role models is to help start-ups.’” [FT]

🪧 Iranian Indecision: In Time, Karl Vick observes a shift in the Iranian regime’s approach to the protests against it as they spread to neighborhoods long viewed as their strongholds. “While government forces continued to knock heads in the streets, the head of the Judiciary on Monday publicly spoke of ‘mistakes…weaknesses and failures’ by a government that has never previously acknowledged anything remotely resembling fault…The regime appears uncertain of its footing. In putting down previous protests, authorities played successfully on Iranians’ sense of nationalism, nursing latent fears that unrest might serve as a cover for separatist movements among the country’s ethnic Kurdish, Baluchi, and Arab minorities. [Mahsa] Amini’s death appeared to transcend all that. She was an ethnic Kurd who had been visiting Tehran when she was abducted and allegedly beaten for ‘inappropriate hijab,’ or religious dress. The first protests were outside the hospital where she was declared dead on Sept. 16, then in her hometown. But within days they had erupted in more than 80 cities across the country — including Qom, the holy city. The Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights says it had documented 185 protester deaths in 17 of Iran’s 31 provinces.” [Time]

👋 Moving On: The Washington Post’s Paul Schwartzman examines Rep. Madison Cawthorn’s (R-NC) downfall from rising star to ousted congressman following a series of controversies surrounding the Republican legislator. “Cawthorn’s rapid rise and fall is a case study in what counts as a mortal sin, professionally speaking, in today’s Republican Party — what conservative leaders and voters are willing to tolerate from a MAGA firebrand not named Trump. The congressman’s narrow primary defeat offered an answer, but only in part. The rest of the answer may lie in whatever happens to Madison Cawthorn next. ‘He needs to get his act together. He needs to grow up,’ said John Fredericks, a syndicated pro-Trump radio host who backed Cawthorn in 2020 and now describes his tenure in Congress as a ‘clown show.’” [WashPost]

Around the Web

✈️ Mideast Tour: Barbara Leaf, the assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, will travel to Egypt, the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar on an 11-day trip to the region.

🎧 Mounting Pressure: Former Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez, who has taken a leave of absence, is facing calls to resign — including from the White House — after she made derogatory remarks about a number of minority communities, including Jewish people, in leaked audio clips.

🪑 Empty Seat: Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, a Republican, said he does not intend to nominate himself to fill the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE), who is departing the Senate to helm the University of Florida.

🥇 Honored: The Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences will be awarded to former chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Ben S. Bernanke and U.S.-based economists Douglas W. Diamond and Philip H. Dybvig.

🗳️ Silent Majority?: Despite poll numbers indicating a losing race against Democrat Josh Shapiro for Pennsylvania governor, Republican Doug Matriano’s grassroots campaign may be quietly gaining steam.

🍺 Rolling with the Punch: Comedian Ariel Elias responded to a heckler at a stand-up show by asking if the individual was “trying to get [her] killed” by asking who Elias voted for in the 2020 election, “knowing I’m the only Jew in this room.”

🇮🇱🇨🇦 Security Concerns: Officials from the Israeli Embassy in Ottawa say the Canadian Foreign Ministry won’t boost the diplomatic outpost’s security.

🚑 Flare-up: An Israeli soldier was killed in a shooting near the Shavei Shomron settlement in the West Bank on Tuesday; this comes days after another soldier was killed in a shooting attack near Jerusalem.

🚓 Antisemitic Attack: The NYPD is investigating an attack against a 27-year-old man who was punched in the chest over Sukkot in Brooklyn by an assailant spewing antisemitic rhetoric.

🕍 Reclaimed: The Jewish community in Las Vegas, N.M., bought back a synagogue, thought to be the first Jewish place of worship in New Mexico, from a Catholic diocese.

🧑‍🏫 Campus Beat: The president of Wellesley College condemned a recent decision by the student newspaper’s editorial board to support the controversial Mapping Project that targeted Jewish groups across Massachusetts. In Washington, flyers reading “Zionists F*** off. Save Sheikh Jarrah. Free Palestine” were posted around The George Washington University’s campus.

🍲 Holocaust Savors: Holocaust survivors and their descendants, including Ronald Lauder and Marion Wiesel, celebrated the launch of a new cookbook, Honey Cake and Latkes: Recipes from the Old World by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Survivors.

👰🏻🤵🏽 Wedding of Wonder: The New York Timesspotlights the recent Hasidic wedding of Chabad emissary Rabbi Levi Duchman and Lea Hadad in the UAE.

🧕 Hairy Rules: New measures in schools in the Gaza Strip require female students to wear hijabs, a move met with opposition by many students and parents.

🌞 Sunny Spot:The New York Timestalks to supporters and opponents of the eye-catching Ashalim solar tower in the Negev desert.

🏢 Israeli Innovation:Wired magazine showcases the “hottest startups” in Tel Aviv.

💲Mixed Messages: The Israeli Defense Ministry said it has agreed to pay some $141,000 to the family of a Palestinian-American man who died of a heart attack while in Israeli custody, but the man’s brother said the family has not accepted the offer.

🪖 Draft Dodgers: AFP talks to Russians scrambling for proof of their Jewish roots in order to escape to Israel and evade fighting in Ukraine.

🇮🇱 In the Holy Land: Russian pop singer Alla Pugacheva, who publicly denounced her country’s invasion of Ukraine, said she is now in Israel.

➡️ Transition: Jonathan Martin is leavingThe New York Times after almost a decade to pursue “a new adventure reporting on politics.”

🕯️ Remembering: Hollywood reporter Nikki Finke, who founded Deadline, died at 68. Author Leonard Kriegel, whose writings focused on paraplegia resulting from a childhood bout with polio, died at 89.

Pic of the Day

Worshippers gather at the Western Wall in Jerusalem earlier today to perform the annual Cohanim prayer (priest’s blessing).

Birthdays

United States ambassador to Italy during the Trump administration, he is a co-founder of private equity firm Granite Capital International, Lewis Eisenberg turns 80…

Longtime baseball reporter for The New York Times, he is enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame, Murray Chass turns 84… Longtime Fox News anchor now at CNN, Chris Wallace turns 75… President of Los Angeles-based Community Advocates, David A. Lehrer… Former CEO of Wakefield, Mass.-based CAST, a nonprofit whose mission is to transform education for students with disabilities, Linda Gerstle… Pediatrician and medical ethicist, John D. Lantos, MD turns 68… Dermatologist in Los Angeles, Lamar Albert Nelson, MD… First female rabbi ordained in Conservative Judaism, Amy Eilberg turns 68… Co-founder of Ares Management, he is the owner of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, Tony Ressler turns 62… Deputy director of the White House’s National Economic Council until this past July, now a professor at Northeastern University, Seth D. Harris turns 60… Editor of The Wall Street Journal‘s Weekend Review section, Gary Rosen… Managing director at Goldman Sachs, Raanan Agus… Los Angeles-based trial attorney for many high-profile clients, Babak “Bobby” Samini turns 52… Producer, actress and screenwriter, Alexandra Brandy Smothers… Former member of the Knesset, she now serves as the co-chair of the Green Movement of Israel, Yael Cohen Paran turns 49… Computer programmer, creator of the BitTorrent protocol and founder of Chia cryptocurrency, Bram Cohen turns 47… Only son of the current Rebbe of the Belz Hasidic dynasty, Rabbi Aharon Mordechai Rokeach turns 47… Israeli actress, model and television anchor, Miri Bohadana turns 45… Reporter and host of “The Daily” podcast at The New York Times, Michael Barbaro… Minority leader of the Florida Senate, Lauren Book turns 38… Politics and media reporter for BuzzFeed News, Rosie Gray turns 33… Strategic communications manager at Sesame Workshop, Fatima Fettar-Ezzahra… Argentine fashion model and artist, Naomi Preizler turns 31… Pitcher for the Staten Island FerryHawks of the Atlantic League, he had two relief appearances for Team Israel in the 2020 Olympics, Alex Katz turns 28… Startup advisor and former executive director of Start-Up Nation Central, Wendy Singer… Chief development officer of the America-Israel Friendship League, Naomi Reinharz…

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