Daily Kickoff
👋 Good Wednesday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on New York’s statewide effort to address antisemitism, and spotlight the development taking place in the area around Jerusalem’s major transportation hubs. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Rep. Katie Porter, Josh Kushner and Amb. Gilad Erdan.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met yesterday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly — a first for an Israeli prime minister since Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Jewish Insider’s senior political correspondent, Lahav Harkov, reports from New York.
The meeting came on the heels of a phone call earlier this month, in which Netanyahu sought to ensure that Hasidic pilgrims to Uman, Ukraine, would be able to visit the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov on Rosh Hashanah, and the Ukrainian president pushed for the meeting as a more open sign of solidarity from Jerusalem.
One moment stood out as Zelensky greeted the receiving line of Israelis: While the Ukrainian president shook hands with the rest of the delegation, he hugged Mossad head David Barnea, who accompanied Netanyahu in meetings to talk about the Iranian threat. Barnea looked alarmed by the gesture. When reporters cornered Barnea after the meeting to ask when he’d last been in Kyiv, the spy chief said he “can’t remember.”
The meeting lasted more than an hour, including some one-on-one time, and was “serious and in-depth and on a broad range of topics,” a Prime Minister’s Office source said. Netanyahu promised Israel would continue humanitarian aid to Ukraine, including help with clearing anti-personnel mines. Zelensky tweeted that they discussed cooperation on civilian defense, as well as their shared “concern about increasing military cooperation between Russia and Iran.”
On the way out of the meeting, in response to Israeli journalists asking how the meeting went, Zelensky answered simply: “It was good.”
In another first, Netanyahu met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The leaders celebrated the rapprochement between their countries and exchanged invitations to each other’s capitals. Erdogan is reportedly interested in praying at the Al Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
Netanyahu will meet with President Joe Biden this morning in New York, the first time the two world leaders will meet since Netanyahu’s election last year. The meeting is expected to draw sizable protests from American opponents of Netanyahu’s controversial judicial reform legislation.
A senior Biden administration official said on Monday that the meeting will be “focused on the shared democratic values between our two countries and a vision for a more stable and prosperous and integrated region,” and it will also include a discussion of “effectively countering and deterring Iran.”
Biden reiterated Washington’s support for Ukraine in a Tuesday address before the General Assembly that also sought to remind the world of the value of U.S. involvement globally. Biden ticked off a long list of Washington-led efforts to foster global cooperation, including the recent announcement of a proposed rail project to connect Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Israel.
“This is part of our effort to build a more sustainable, integrated Middle East,” Biden said. “It demonstrates how Israel’s greater normalization and economic connection with its neighbors is delivering positive and practical impacts even as we continue to work tirelessly to support a just and lasting peace between the Israelis and Palestinians — two states for two people.”
Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Gilad Erdan attracted attention at the GA when he was escorted out for protesting Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s speech. A U.N. spokesperson denied reports Erdan had been detained, telling The Independent that “at no time was the ambassador detained in any way, shape or form. As far as we are concerned, the incident is closed.”
Raisi, meanwhile, used his speaking time to call for the U.S. to “demonstrate in a verifiable fashion” that it wants to return to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The Iranian president made no mention of this week’s prisoner swap. He did, however, bring up the 2020 killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, calling the assassination “a terrorist act” and again vowing retribution. “The blood of the oppressed will not be forgotten,” Raisi said from the dais.
Raisi is slated to meet with the Council on Foreign Relations today, a convening that has drawn criticism of the think tank in recent days. The meeting, originally slated to be held at CFR’s office in Manhattan, was reportedly moved to Raisi’s hotel, which falls inside the GA’s security perimeter, at the Iranian delegation’s insistence.
Netanyahu is slated to meet with Jewish leaders on Friday afternoon in New York. While the attendee list has not been released, our sister publication eJewishPhilanthropy reported yesterday that Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt was not slated to attend the convening, as he had a prior engagement speaking at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin. The ADL now tells us that Greenblatt, who for the last several weeks has been the target of X owner Elon Musk, whom Netanyahu met with on Monday, will attend the gathering in New York. “Due to the importance of meeting with the prime minister, Jonathan will be attending,” a spokesperson for the ADL told eJP’s Haley Cohen.
fighting hate crimes
N.Y. Gov. Hochul announces new state actions to combat antisemitism

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul pledged on Tuesday to use the power of government to combat antisemitism by announcing the state’s first Anti-Hate in Education Center and Annual Convening as well as distributing an additional $38 million to nonprofit organizations throughout the state that face an increased risk of hate crimes. Her announcement comes as the Jewish community in New York faces an elevated threat of antisemitic incidents during the High Holy Days, including bomb threats at a number of synagogues during Rosh Hashanah, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Haley Cohen reports for Jewish Insider.
First responder: The governor’s announcement makes New York State the first in the nation to respond to President Joe Biden’s national strategy to counter antisemitism, which was released in May. Hochul called the 60-page document “a blueprint for other states to follow.”
‘Top priority’: “As governor of the state with the largest Jewish population outside the State of Israel, I feel a solemn responsibility to protect and uplift New York’s vibrant, diverse Jewish communities,” Hochul said at a Rosh Hashanah reception held at the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan. “No one should have to fear for their safety while going to their place of work, going to school or just walking the streets. It has always been my top priority to keep the people of New York safe, and we will continue taking action to fight antisemitism and use every tool at our disposal to eliminate hate and bias from our communities.”