Daily Kickoff
Good Friday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on the Biden administration’s new conditions on military aid to Israel, and spotlight Argentinian President Javier Milei’s visit to the Jewish state. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Sam Altman, former Vice President Mike Pence and Alex Karp.
For less-distracted reading over the weekend, browse this week’s edition of The Weekly Print, a curated print-friendly PDF featuring a selection of recent Jewish Insider, eJewishPhilanthropy and The Circuit stories, including: Gallant: Odds of war on the northern front are significant; Biden’s pro-Israel stance boosts his standing in Pennsylvania; The former hostages using data to help Oct. 7 victims; JChef offers kosher meal kits for the busy consumer. Print the latest edition here.
On Thursday, a Justice Department special counsel released a long-awaited report with the results of an investigation into President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents.
There wasn’t enough evidence to charge Biden with any crimes, the special counsel found. But the report contained several bombshell assessments of Biden’s mental acuity — describing him as a “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” — that quickly sent Washington into a tailspin.
Hours later, Biden addressed the report infiery remarks before taking questions from reporters. challenging the descriptions of his memory issues. “I’m well-meaning, and I’m an elderly man — and I know what the hell I’m doing,” he said on Thursday night.
After his remarks, the president walked back to the lectern to respond to a question on the hostages still being held in Gaza and said, “I’m of the view, as you know, that the conduct of the response in the Gaza Strip has been over the top.” The White House has yet to clarify the president’s remarks, during which he also called Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi the president of Mexico.
Soon after, Biden issued a national security memorandum requiring recipients of U.S. military assistance — including Israel — to issue written certifications that they will comply with humanitarian and international law. Earlier in the day, the White House faced criticism from some Jewish leaders over a meeting in Michigan between several senior administration officials and Muslim community members, including a controversial activist who has praised Hamas and Hezbollah. More on the new policy and the Michigan meeting below.
Up the I-95 corridor, Tuesday’s special election on Long Island to determine former GOP Rep. George Santos’ successor in Congress is as good a political bellwether as you’ll see. The race pits former Rep. Tom Suozzi, a popular moderate Democratic lawmaker, against Republican Mazi Pilip, an Ethiopian-born immigrant from Israel who serves in the county legislature, Jewish Insider Editor-in-Chief Josh Kraushaar writes.
Biden comfortably carried the district four years ago, but Republicans have been dominating Long Island elections ever since. Democrats are running on protecting abortion rights — a key issue among suburban voters — but Republicans are tapping into anger from voters over an unchecked migrant crisis and elevated crime affecting the region.
The stakes are high: A Democratic win would shrink the GOP’s already razor-thin House majority, and prove that a moderate playbook can succeed even in an area trending away from the party. But a Republican win on Biden’s turf would spark panic across the White House, underscoring that the president’s poor approval numbers could threaten the fortunes of other congressional Democrats in November.
Public polls show a narrow Suozzi advantage, but a district where Biden’s support has collapsed. A Siena College survey released on Thursday found that despite Suozzi’s narrow edge, former President Donald Trump would defeat Biden by five points in the presidential election. Biden’s favorability rating in the New York City suburb is a notch worse than Trump’s.
During a time of historic levels of straight-ticket voting, it’s unusual that there are a notable number of Trump supporters planning to support Suozzi. It’s either an encouraging sign that his moderation and familiarity are effective selling points in the district, or a warning sign that the district’s Trump-supporting majority could end up backing the Republican in the end.
In a district with one of the largest Jewish constituencies in the country — where Jewish voters are estimated to make up as much as 20% of the special election electorate — support for Israel has been a significant issue. Pilip, who is Jewish and served in the Israel Defense Forces, is making inroads with Jewish voters, even among some who typically vote Democratic. But Suozzi’s lengthy pro-Israel record has allowed him to maintain majority support among Jewish voters in the district.
While Pilip has touted that she’d offer a powerful and personal rebuke in Congress to the hard-left Squad, Suozzi has also denounced anti-Israel Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) on national television as a conspiracy theorist.
The Siena poll found Jewish voters in the district are backing Suozzi by 13 points — 55-42%. That’s a strong showing for a Republican, but given Pilip’s resonant background, it may not be enough of an overperformance to win. (Trump is winning 35% of the district’s Jewish vote, according to the poll.)
Both sides are cautiously optimistic about their chances. Republican strategists involved in the race told JI that the trendlines have shifted in Pilip’s favor in the closing weeks of the race, but Democratic operatives maintain that the race has stabilized in the final stretch — and they’re outspending Republicans on advertising to make sure it stays that way.
Buckle up for a close race on Tuesday. We’ll be covering all the latest developments here at JI.
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Biden places new conditions on U.S. military aid following criticism of Israeli campaign

President Joe Biden issued a new national security memorandum on Thursday evening that requires recipients of U.S. military aid to issue written certifications that they will comply with humanitarian and international law, and that they will cooperate with U.S. humanitarian aid efforts, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Gabby Deutch report.
The context: Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) who has been pushing Congress to pass similar policies, described the new memo as placing new “condition[s]” on U.S. aid that could give the U.S. more leverage over Israel, as well as other allies. Although the new regulations apply globally, they come amid growing friction between the administration and Israel over its military operations in Gaza. At a press conference on Thursday evening, Biden criticized Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. “I’m of the view, as you know, that the conduct of the response in the Gaza Strip has been over the top,” he said. He appeared to be responding to questions about the hostage negotiations and about the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
What it does: The new memorandum requires the secretary of state to obtain “credible and reliable assurances” from countries receiving military aid that they will use the aid in compliance with international humanitarian law and will not “arbitrarily deny, restrict, or otherwise impede, directly or indirectly” American and U.S.-backed humanitarian assistance efforts. Any country, such as Israel, that is already engaged in hostilities using U.S. aid will have 45 days to provide these assurances, or aid will be suspended.
Backlash: The policy drew immediate criticism from the Republican Jewish Coalition. A spokesperson for the group called the memo “yet another piece of the Biden administration pressuring Israel unfairly.” RJC spokesperson Sam Markstein said, “We gave him relatively high marks at the beginning of the war, when he went over there in person to show solidarity, and we gave him credit for that. But this tonight was really, really ridiculous,” also referring to Biden’s comment about Israel’s “over the top” conduct in Gaza.
Amendment averted: The Biden administration has thus far avoided placing any conditions or restrictions on U.S. military assistance to Israel, despite pressure from some progressive lawmakers. Biden said in November that conditioning aid was a “worthwhile thought,” a comment the White House later walked back. Legislation proposed by Van Hollen that would achieve the same aims as Biden’s new memorandum would likely have struggled to pass Congress.