Daily Kickoff
👋 Good Wednesday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we cover Rep. Katie Porter’s comments to pro-Israel Democrats in California, and talk to Amb. Tom Nides about Israel’s bid to enter the Visa Waiver Program. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Marc Rowan, Joe Lonsdale and Hanna Rosin.
Responding to comments by President Joe Biden yesterday over Israel’s judicial overhaul plans, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “Israel is a sovereign country which makes its decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressures from abroad, including from the best of friends.”
“My administration is committed to strengthening democracy by restoring the proper balance between the three branches of government, which we are striving to achieve via a broad consensus,” Netanyahu added in the statement, which was released at 1 a.m. local time.
Hours earlier, Biden had told reporters, “like many strong supporters of Israel I am very concerned, and I’m concerned that they get this straight. They cannot continue down this road… Hopefully the prime minister will act in a way that he’s going to try to work out some genuine compromise. But that remains to be seen.”
“We’re not interfering,” Biden added. “They know my position. They know America’s position. They know the American Jewish position.” Asked whether he was going to invite Netanyahu to the White House, Biden responded: “No. Not in the near term.”
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who had opposed the delay of the judicial reform legislation, told Israel’s Army Radio this morning, “We appreciate the democratic regime there, but precisely for this reason — they need to understand that Israel is an independent country and not another star on the U.S. flag. It should be clear all over the world — the people here went to the elections and have their own wishes.”
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid tweeted, “For decades Israel was the USA’s closest ally, the most extreme government in the country’s history damaged that in three months.”
MK Benny Gantz, leader of the opposition National Unity party, which has shot up in polls in recent days, described Biden’s comments as “an urgent wake-up call” to the Israeli government. “Damage to relations with the U.S., our best friend and our most important ally, is a strategic blow. The prime minister must guide his negotiating teams regarding the judicial legislation, act quickly to correct the situation and preserve Israeli democracy that is at the basis of these values.”
Israeli President Issac Herzog last night began hosting a round of dialogue meetings between coalition and opposition teams, in hopes of reaching a compromise agreement on judicial reform. Today he is continuing to host additional Knesset factions for discussions.
Writing in The Wall Street Journal, the Brookings Institution’s William Galston praised Herzog’s efforts, noting that the president “has sought to act as a moderating force, offering both principles for negotiations and then his own plan as the basis for talks.” Herzog’s “suggestions have encountered resistance in most quarters,” Galston added, “but they have bolstered his credibility as an honest broker.”
The Washington Post’s editorial board noted that “what Israel really needs is a written constitution.” In Netanyahu’s Monday announcement that he was suspending the legislation, the editorial board wrote, the Israeli leader “promised a ‘broad consensus’ and a ‘strengthening’ of individual rights. The Israeli opposition has forced Mr. Netanyahu to make these pledges; now, it must hold him to them.”
Speaking at the Summit for Democracy this morning, Netanyahu said, “I want to assure you that the alliance between the world’s greatest democracy and a strong, proud and independent democracy, Israel, in the heart of the Middle East, is unshakable — nothing can change that.”
Netanyahu compared the situation in Israel today to that of 20 years ago, when, as finance minister, he said he “led a free-market revolution.”
“Israel was a semi-socialist economy, highly regulated, highly controlled, highly taxed, with very low participation in the workforce with monopolies, including government monopolies, abounding throughout our economy,” Netanyahu said in a video address. “I proposed changes, radical changes, to correct this. This was met with massive protests, with months and months of national labor strikes, with admonitions that this would wreck the Israeli economy, that it would make the rich get richer and the poor grow poorer, and so on,” he continued, noting that the government persisted and “the results have been very clear.”
“I’m saying this because it’s not only that the economy grew and prosperity increased, but shared prosperity increased, because contrary to the predictions that the rich will grow richer and the poor will grow poor,” he continued. “Everybody grew richer.”
“And you may have noticed Israel is undergoing in its robust democracy, a very intensive public debate,” the prime minister said. “And the debate is, how do we ensure a proper democracy? Democracy means the will of the people as expressed by a majority, and it also means protection of civil rights, individual rights. It’s the balance between the two.”
Today on Capitol Hill, Attorney General Merrick Garland will testify to the House Appropriations Committee on the Department of Justice budget request; Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley will testify to the House Armed Services Committee; Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will testify to House Appropriations on the department’s foreign programs; former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz will testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee regarding alleged union-busting; Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas will testify in front of House Appropriations; and the House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on sanctions policy.
porter’s politics
After praising Netanyahu, Porter ‘concerned’ about ‘far-right voices’ in his coalition

Before she took questions from Jewish voters during a virtual candidate forum on Tuesday evening, Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA), who is running for U.S. Senate in California, took a few minutes to express concern over Israel’s right-wing governing coalition and its now-suspended judicial overhaul, which has spurred mass protests in recent weeks, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Looking to the PM: “I am concerned about the inclusion of some of the far-right voices in Israel’s coalition government, and I think it is up to the prime minister to provide leadership that lifts up voices that are consistent with Israel’s values, rather than voices who are tarnishing Israel’s democracy and its commitment to its values,” Porter said during the virtual forum, hosted by Democrats for Israel California. “The potential erosion of democratic principles, including an independent judiciary, should be of concern to Americans.”
Taking a stance: Porter’s remarks followed her recent comments to Jewish Insider in which the Irvine, Calif., Democrat mostly shied away from explicit criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom she met in February during a Congressional delegation visit to Israel sponsored by J Street. “I was extremely impressed with his willingness to kind of grapple with us at some of the toughest issues that Israel’s facing,” Porter said in an interview with JI after her first trip to the Jewish state.
Direct dialogue: Speaking at the event on Tuesday, Porter explained that she had “pressed very hard” for the delegation to sit down with Netanyahu in Jerusalem because, she said, “I think he needs to hear directly from U.S. lawmakers that we expect our ally Israel to live up to the hallmark of our special relationship, which is protecting democracy, protecting human rights” and “protecting fundamental freedoms.”
Moving forward: Meanwhile, the congresswoman said she was “pleased” that Netanyahu had “delayed the judicial changes” on Monday. “The best path forward for Israel and all of its citizens is going to be compromise,” she noted.