Daily Kickoff
👋 Good Monday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we talk to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries about his recent trip to Israel, and interview Na’ama Schultz, the former director general of the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: New York State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, Amos Hochstein and Rabbi Harold Kushner.
Who killed Kesher’s rabbi? For the past two weeks, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch has been sharing the story of a beloved Washington rabbi and reexamining his brutal 1984 murder in a five-part investigation.
How does a community go on when their spiritual leader has been taken from them? And what does it mean for a religious institution to open its doors and fulfill the Jewish value of welcoming guests in a world where constant vigilance is now a requisite security consideration for houses of worship? Today, we are releasing the final installment in this five-part investigative series, which attempts to take stock of these difficult questions. Read more below, and catch up on the entire series here.
Reza Pahlavi, the exiled Iranian crown prince and the son of the last shah of Iran, delivered remarks last night before a crowd of 600 at the Capitol Hilton at the Anti-Defamation League’s National Leadership Summit.
Invoking Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller’s famous poem “First They Came,” Pahlavi said, “After the Islamic revolution in Iran, and in many other places, it is indeed the case that first they come for the Jews, and then they come for the others. So that is why we must speak out, that is why I am here this evening and that is why I went to Israel. I went to stand up against the Islamic republic’s antisemitism and to stand in solidarity with victims of the Holocaust in the face of the regime’s Holocaust denial. I went to mourn with the victims of the regime’s sponsored terrorism, but I also went to Israel to stand up for my people so that there will be no further victims of hate and bigotry.” See more below.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) landed in Israel yesterday with a delegation of House members for several days of meetings with Israeli officials. Members of the delegation include former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Reps. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY), Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), Greg Landsman (D-OH), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Garret Graves (R-LA), Erin Houchin (R-IN), Thomas Kean, Jr. (R-NJ), Nick LaLota (R-NY), Michael Lawler (R-NY), Julia Letlow (R-LA), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Max Miller (R-OH), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) and Bruce Westerman (R-AR).
McCarthy was greeted at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport by Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, who, accompanied by Israeli musician Kfir Ochaion, performed a guitar rendition of The Eagles’ “Hotel California” for the Bakersfield, Calif., native later in the evening.
Today, McCarthy met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem for a one-on-one meeting, which was followed by a wider lunch meeting with the rest of the U.S. delegation. McCarthy will address the Knesset today at 4 p.m. local time, becoming only the second House speaker in history to address the Knesset, 25 years after then-Speaker Newt Gingrich addressed the body on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Israel’s founding.
McCarthy also met Israeli President Isaac Herzog today for a private working meeting, followed by a wider diplomatic meeting which included the rest of the delegation as well as Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog.
The House speaker’s visit comes days after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis traveled to Israel to speak at a conference and meet Israeli leaders. DeSantis’ office released a statement on Friday with a photo of the governor meeting with Netanyahu in Jerusalem. Netanyahu’s office has yet to acknowledge the meeting, which was reportedly also attended by Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi. While meeting with McCarthy this morning, Netanyahu did tweet out a photo of the two.
McCarthy told Israel Hayom over the weekend that if the White House doesn’t soon extend an invite to Netanyahu, the Israeli leader will be invited to address Congress. “He’s a dear friend, as a prime minister of a country that we have our closest ties with,” McCarthy said.
On Saturday in Washington, more than 2,600 guests attended the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday. It’s Washington’s buzziest gathering, bringing together media personalities, political leaders and celebrities (and not just the Washington variety).
Attendees at Saturday’s soiree included Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, comedian Billy Eichner, actor Bradley Whitford, Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, and dozens of notable public officials, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), Secretary of State Tony Blinken and more (including two intrepid Jewish Insider correspondents).
President Joe Biden began his speech by calling for the release of American journalists who are wrongfully detained abroad, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is being held in Russia, and freelance journalist Austin Tice, who has been held captive in Syria for more than a decade. He also mentioned WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was at the dinner after being detained in Russia for several months last year.
Biden issued a presidential proclamationon Friday, ahead of Jewish American Heritage Month, which begins today. “For generations, the story of the Jewish people — one of resilience, faith, and hope in the face of adversity, prejudice and persecution — has been woven into the fabric of our Nation’s story,” the statement reads.
“Jewish Americans continue to enrich every part of American life as educators and entrepreneurs, athletes and artists, scientists and entertainers, public officials and activists, labor and community leaders, diplomats and military service members, public health heroes, and more,” Biden wrote.
The president noted that his administration is “developing the first national strategy to counter antisemitism that outlines comprehensive actions the Federal Government will undertake” to “help combat antisemitism online and offline, including in schools and on campuses; improve security to prevent antisemitic incidents and attacks; and build cross-community solidarity against antisemitism and other forms of hate.”
The Milken Institute Global Conference kicked off yesterday in Los Angeles. Among those slated to speak at the multi-day gathering are former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Saudi Minister of Economy Faisal Alibrahim, Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih, UAE Minister of State for Public Education Sarah Al Amiri, David Rubenstein, David McCormick, Oren Eisner, Rabbi David Wolpe, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Reps. Seth Moulton (D-MA), Brendan Boyle (D-PA), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Darrell Issa (R-CA), Pete Aguilar (D-CA) and Patrick McHenry (R-NC); former Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, former White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy, former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, Laura Lauder, The Washington Institute’s Zohar Palti, outgoing World Bank President David Malpass, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
trip talk
House Democrats will ‘lean in on our strong support’ for Israel, Jeffries says following Israel trip

House Democrats emphasized while in Israel that they “are going to continue to lean in to our strong support for a Jewish and democratic state,” newly appointed House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) told Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod after leading a group of Democratic leaders on a delegation to the Jewish state last week.
Key members: In addition to the new Democratic leader, the delegation included the ranking members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and its Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia subcommittee, the chairs of the Congressional Black and Hispanic caucuses, several members of the Democratic leadership team and the co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus — a group that Jeffries said “reflected the broad diversity of the House Democratic Caucus, but spoke with one voice, that we valued the special relationship between the United States and Israel.”
Judicial conversation: Jeffries said that the discussion with Israeli leaders on Israeli judicial reform proposals was “anchored in… our shared democratic values” and that Israeli leaders understood “why the subject was raised and why there were significant concerns that had been expressed by many within the Jewish community in the United States.” The House minority leader said he had also “made clear that the protests that were taking place in Israel are a sign of a vibrant democracy, and the fact that principles such as freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and the right to petition your government to demand change were being respected in Israeli society and by the Israeli government. That is a hallmark of a democratic state.”
Palestinian transition: The group also discussed the long-term stability of the Palestinian Authority, particularly the possible transition of power from 87-year-old Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who has ruled the PA since 2005, to new Palestinian leadership. “There was real concern with respect to the uncertainty as to what that transition could look like,” Jeffries said. “But a clear understanding that in no circumstances can a transition to Hamas occur.” Jeffries said that there was “widespread recognition” that the PA’s ability to maintain day-to-day services for the Palestinian people “would be essential.” He also said the group discussed “figuring out a way for some of the Gulf states to be able to increase their support for the Palestinian people… was a possible path toward stabilizing the political situation in the West Bank and foreclosing the possibility that a bad actor like Hamas could step into the vacuum.”
In the region this week: Barbara Leaf, the assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, is in Jordan and Iraq this week and has met with Jordan’s prime minister, deputy prime minister, foreign minister and minister of defense.