Daily Kickoff: Israel’s diplomatic dilemma as attention turns to Rafah
Good Thursday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at the challenges facing Israel ahead of a looming military operation in Rafah, and report on yesterday’s House vote on condemning Hamas’ sexual violence. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Huma Abedin, Esther Safran Foer and Saad Hariri.
A new Fox News poll of Michigan voters shows that respondents support Israel over the Palestinians in the Gaza war by more than a 2-to-1 margin (53% to 25%), while Democratic voters in the state are split evenly between both sides, Jewish Insider Editor-in-Chief Josh Kraushaar writes.
The poll finds President Joe Biden narrowly trailing former President Donald Trump by two points in the crucial battleground state, 47%-45% — within the margin of error.
The results offer a corrective to the narrative that Biden needs to woo anti-Israel voters in order to prevail in the swing state. In reality, Biden is in something of a no-win situation: A plurality of his own voters side with Israel over the Palestinians (41%-35%), validating his broadly pro-Israel positioning.
But Biden loses over one-fifth of Democratic voters to Trump or third-party candidates on the general election ballot — in a sign of unrest on his left-wing flank. He also would lose one-quarter of African-American Michigan voters to Trump, according to the survey.
Back in Washington, and days after Trump professed his support for replacing foreign aid packages with loans, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan offered sharp opposition to the idea in a Wednesday briefing with reporters. His comments came after Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), long a staunch foreign policy hawk, threw his support behind Trump’s controversial idea.
A loan, Sullivan said, would not help Palestinian families get medicine they need. Nor would it help Ukraine, “a country that is fighting for its life,” he added. “Talking about loans as opposed to providing the necessary infusion of cash is only going to make the economic problems of that country worse at a time we are trying to make them better.”
Look at Israel, Sullivan noted: “You have the funding for Israel in the supplemental, including money designed to ensure Israel’s security,” he said. “I would ask the question, is Donald Trump and is Lindsey Graham saying that we should only be providing that money on a loan basis, or that the memorandum of understanding, that has been supported on a bipartisan basis over the course of a decade, should be converted into a loan? I think you would probably find them taking a different approach on that question.”
In 2016, when the U.S. and Israel negotiated a 10-year MOU laying out the terms of U.S. security aid to Israel, Graham criticized Israeli leaders for agreeing to the deal — arguing they could’ve held out for even more money than the $38 billion committed in the plan. Graham’s team did not respond to a question on Monday about what his new position would mean for the MOU.
Rep. Mark Green (R-TN), the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee and a third-term congressman, announced yesterday that he wouldn’t seek another term in office. He’s the fourth House committee chair to announce his retirement, joining Reps. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), Kay Granger (R-TX) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), as well as Mike Gallagher (R-WI) — who chairs a select committee — joining numerous other Republicans heading for the exits.
Green, like Gallagher, was seen as an up-and-coming member of the Republican Conference, who just led the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The wave of retirements points to Republicans’ frustration with the gridlocked and dysfunctional House. Losing key senior members, and some of the party’s more pragmatic lawmakers, is likely to sap the party of leadership and policy expertise — making it all the more difficult for them to pursue serious legislation going forward, and potentially elevating the growing crowd of lawmakers more interested in political spectacle than governing.
final battle
Israel facing military, diplomatic dilemma as attention turns to Rafah
As Israel turns its attention to Gaza’s southernmost Hamas stronghold, Rafah, and what could be its final big battle in the war against the Islamist terror group, it faces a complex military challenge in a densely packed urban arena and a diplomatic pressure point as some of its closest allies call for restraint and even an immediate cease-fire. While four Hamas battalions are believed to be largely intact in Rafah and most of the Iranian-backed group’s senior leadership, including Oct. 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar, is thought to be hiding there, the presence of more than 1.5 million civilians – many of whom fled fighting in the northern and central parts of the Strip over the last four months – sheltering in the area has drawn broad international concern, and mounting pressure on Israel to act with greater consideration for international law, Jewish Insider’s Ruth Marks Eglash reports.
Evacuation issue: “The key to winning the war is for Israel to take over Rafah, destroy the remaining Hamas battalions and take control of the Egyptian border,” Brig. Gen. (ret.) Amir Avivi, CEO of the Israel Defense and Security Forum, told JI this week. A former head of the army’s engineering corps who was responsible for the Gaza region, Avivi said there were ways for the army to move the civilian population out of danger as it battled the remaining Hamas fighters. He pointed to areas west and north of Rafah, where people could shelter, and said that with Khan Younis, which sits just to the north of Rafah, soon “cleared,” people could be directed there too. “There are places to move the people,” said Avivi. “It is far less complicated than people are saying.”
Military challenges: Eyal Pinko, a retired Navy commander who served in the Israeli navy and intelligence agency for 30 years, told JI that military maneuvers in Rafah would be extremely difficult due to the large civilian presence and the fact that Hamas fighters had now embedded themselves inside that population. “The challenges are different now and you can’t bombard Rafah from the air,” Pinko, now a senior research fellow at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, noted, highlighting the contrast to earlier battles in the northern and central regions of Gaza, where the civilian population was easily evacuated, and Hamas terrorists operated from its underground infrastructure. “I think Israel has a huge dilemma,” observed Pinko. “There was a declaration at the beginning of the war that the first goal was to bring back the hostages and the second goal was to take out Hamas – the problem is that these two goals are contradictive to one another.”
Bonus: The Wall Street Journal reports on the “exacerbated tensions” between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Joe Biden.
on the hill
House passes resolution condemning Hamas sexual violence, with Tlaib voting present
The House voted nearly unanimously on Wednesday in favor of a resolution condemning sexual violence committed by Hamas during and since its Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) was the only member not to support the resolution; she voted present, while 418 other House members voted in favor, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What she said: Tlaib said in a speech prior to the vote that the resolution “rightfully denounces any sexual violence by Hamas” but added that it “completely ignores and erases” sexual violence allegedly committed by Israeli forces against Palestinians. “War crimes cannot justify more war crimes,” she continued. “We must stand up for everyone’s safety and human rights, no matter their faith, no matter their ethnicity.”
Earlier in the day: The House floor vote came hours after a symposium on Hamas sexual violence organized by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), which included remarks from Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, Ambassador-At-Large for Women’s Issues Geeta Gupta, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Mike Herzog and his wife, Shireen Herzog, a psychiatrist who has treated former Hamas hostages, several members of Congress, American Jewish leaders and actress and activist Noa Tishby.
Second Gentleman speaks: “The evidence is — you can’t even speak about it: torture, genital mutilation, butchery, leaving women to die after they’ve been raped and tortured, to die in a ditch. All while you see the images of Hamas terrorists laughing and bragging about it,” Emhoff said. “This happened, this happened to these women, and we have to shine a light on it.”
d.c. displays
‘If it’s Jewish, we have it’: Inside D.C.’s new Jewish history museum
In the century after the first synagogue in Washington, D.C., was built in 1876, the small building housed many things — various churches, a motorcycle shop and, ironically, a pork barbecue store. Now, for the first time in more than 100 years, that building is again a gathering place for Washington’s Jews. This time, it’s the home of the new Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum, the first museum dedicated to examining the history of Jewish life in the nation’s capital and the ways Jews engage with Washington in the present. A small exhibit now on display is one of the first at a Jewish museum to deal with the Oct. 7 terror attacks in Israel and their aftermath here in the U.S. Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch toured the new museum last week with its president and curator.
Local stories, national connections: Washington’s Jewish community has largely been ignored by historians and scholars, who have focused on Jews who come through the nation’s capital for other reasons, like politics. The museum’s curators decided to address both the unique history of how Jews first settled in Washington and what their lives looked like in the nation’s capital, as well as the many ways American Jews have been an integral part of the U.S. political system for decades. The stories are irrevocably linked, according to the Capital Jewish Museum, and worthy of exploration — particularly since Washington is among the top-five largest Jewish communities in the country.
See yourself: Visitors are encouraged to think about their place within Washington’s history, whether it’s racial history (for more than five decades, Washington was the largest majority-Black city in the country), social history (political activism is an undercurrent in each exhibit) or cultural history (like the kosher delis and Jewish bookstores that were once common downtown). The museum’s mission is straightforward: connect, reflect, act.
Have an impact: “The ‘act’ part is really, I think, what sets us apart from, ‘Let’s just collect documents and artifacts.’ This is Washington. This is a place where important decisions are made. You can have an impact on these decisions,” said Esther Safran Foer, the museum’s president. Safran Foer was previously the CEO at Sixth & I, the pathbreaking downtown synagogue and cultural center that she helped revitalize.
cease-fire call
25 Democratic senators call for temporary cease-fire, hostage release
Twenty-five Democratic senators joined a call on Wednesday to offer “urgent support” for efforts to reach a deal to free additional hostages from Gaza “in tandem with a restored mutual ceasefire in Gaza,” Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What they said: The letter to President Joe Biden was led by Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Raphael Warnock (D-GA). An Ossoff spokesperson clarified that the letter is seeking a temporary pause in the fighting, consistent with what has been publicly reported about the hostage talks. “We recognize that such a diplomatic achievement will require the agreement of the warring parties, and that its terms remain under negotiation,” the letter reads. “In our judgment, it is in our urgent national interest — and the urgent humanitarian interest of millions of innocent civilians — that these negotiations succeed.”
Destroy Hamas: The lawmakers said that they also “continue to support Israel’s pursuit” of its “vital national interest that Hamas — a brutal terrorist organization — be removed from power in Gaza.” But they added that “without a break in the fighting, humanitarian conditions” in Gaza will deteriorate further and kill thousands, and that “the prospects are dim for the survival of hostages” without a diplomatic agreement to free them.
Signatories: The letter was co-signed by Sens. Tina Smith (D-MN), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Peter Welch (D-VT), Mark Warner (D-VA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Chirs Murphy (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Angus King (I-ME), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL).
finance factor
House lawmakers press Treasury Department on actions to counter Iran and Hamas
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle suggested at a House Financial Services Hearing on Wednesday that the Treasury Department is failing to be proactive enough or act expeditiously enough to counter the international networks that help finance Iran and its terrorist proxies. Pressed repeatedly on how Treasury is cracking down on further Iranian profits and transfers of funds to its proxies, Brian Nelson, the undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said that the department is working actively to sanction entities involved in Iran’s illicit finance operations, highlighting last week’s sanctioning of a Chinese oil buyer. He also noted that the department has issued several new rounds of sanctions against Hamas and its affiliates since Oct. 7, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Limited tools: But, Nelson said, given that much of Iran’s oil trade is insulated from the international financial system, Treasury has limited tools to counter it. “What we’re trying to do is nonetheless focus on those touch-points to the international financial system” that Iran uses to move money back into Iran, he said, as well as Iran’s so-called ghost fleet of smuggling ships.
Insurance issue: Several lawmakers raised specific cases of concern. Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA), highlighted a recent report that ships in Iran’s smuggling fleet had been insured by a U.S.-based company — something Nunn said Treasury had denied to him as recently as December. Nelson responded that Treasury is looking into the situation and “taking it seriously” and would follow up.
Response time: Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) highlighted reports that the U.S.had been alerted to various international assets held by Hamas, questioning how long it took Treasury to take action after learning of these assets. “We go through a process where we have to develop an evidentiary package that meets legal sufficiency and work through our interagency,” Nelson responded, repeatedly dodging Torres’ specific inquiries on when Treasury was informed.
Worthy Reads
Netanyahu’s Moment: The Atlantic Council’s Shalom Lipner, who spent 26 years in the Prime Minister’s Office, writes that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must begin formulating plans for when the war with Hamas ends. “Netanyahu must appreciate that Israel should seize the reins of its destiny. The tragedy — for the prime minister and Israel — is that he’s wedged tightly between a personal ‘rock’ and a professional ‘hard place.’ Israel’s National Security Council may have convened multiple discussions about the ‘day after’ for Gaza, but those deliberations are no substitute for direct ministerial engagement. Netanyahu will win no relief from his cabinet colleagues. Even if the war cabinet — in which two of five participants are members of the centrist National Unity faction — were inclined to consider ideas such as introducing a ‘revamped and revitalized’ Palestinian Authority (PA) into Gaza, these shots are called elsewhere. The security cabinet, whose tenor is set by right-wing firebrands Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, is entrusted with formulating policy, and it has no intention of restoring PA rule in Gaza. And Netanyahu, whose political survival is contingent on those ideologues’ support in parliament, has stepped in line dutifully behind their approach. He continues to hedge his bet by making no final decisions on the issue. The prime minister is doing Israel a great disservice. Deciding not to decide is, after all, also making a decision. While Netanyahu treads water to preserve all his options — and to keep his coalition intact — other actors are working to construct the ‘day after’ on their own terms.” [AtlanticCouncil]
Presidential Priorities: The Washington Post’s David Ignatius suggests how President Joe Biden could respond to three of the biggest crises of his presidency as he looks to win a second term. “How Biden responds to these crises will be the best evidence whether he has the right stuff to continue for another term, or whether he should stand back and let a younger Democrat take on Donald Trump. These are wicked problems, all with big political risks. But a strong chief executive uses political power decisively — overcoming obstacles and defying criticism — to do the job. Let’s start with the war in Gaza. Biden has known for weeks that the essential next step is an extended pause in fighting, accompanying a hostage-release deal, that would begin a process of de-escalation across the Middle East. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has all but told the president to stick it; he’s balking at hostage-release talks in Cairo and evidently wants to keep fighting, perhaps through the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which is a recipe for an even worse disaster.” [WashPost]
Taking on Tehran: In The Hill, retired Col. Joe Buccino, a former CENTCOM communications director, suggests how the Biden administration could tackle the challenges being posed by Iran. “Iran is a nation abundant in oil resources and possessing significant geopolitical influence. Rather than engaging in short-term strategies, Iran adopts a patient approach, focusing on goals decades away. While the U.S. has superior military capabilities, Iran believes it has superior resolve and will therefore ultimately prevail in any confrontation with the U.S. The mullahs seek to outlast the U.S. in the Middle East, gradually expanding their influence and undermining regional stability. Deterrence is not a matter of force, but of will. For deterrence to work, an adversary must believe that the U.S. has the will to strike at his interests. In Iran’s case, regime survival is the greatest interest. The clerics in Tehran will only back down if they believe an American attack places their power at risk.” [TheHill]
Burst Bubble: In Tablet, Columbia professor Shai Davidai and his wife, Yardenne Greenspan, reflect on their experiences on the campus and in social circles when they spoke out against the Oct. 7 terror attacks and Hamas. “We failed to realize that for many in our ‘progressive’ circle, being a liberal Israeli just wasn’t good enough. If we had kept quiet, they might have been willing to accept us as equals. If we apologized for Israel’s existence, they might have even given us some extra points. But exposing Hamas’ atrocities and the support it was gaining among young Americans? Naming the kidnapped children and begging the world to help bring them home? Giving voice to the Israeli victims of mass rape by Hamas terrorists? For our friends, our refusal to apologize for Israel’s existence simply deemed us intolerable. Their minds were already made up. They wouldn’t even let us plead our case. It took us a while to understand it, but once we did everything started making sense: Our friends did not have a problem with our politics, they had a problem with our identity. Our friends were willing to overlook the fact that we were Jewish Israelis, but only so long as we shut up about it. For many in our ‘enlightened’ circle, our ethnic and national identity was an unfortunate accident, something to apologize for rather than take pride in.” [Tablet]
Around the Web
Absent: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Israeli hostage negotiating team would sit out the next round of talks aimed at securing the release of those remaining in captivity, citing Hamas’ demands.
IDF Operation: The IDF began what it called a “precise and limited” operation in Gaza’s Nasser Hospital, citing “credible intelligence” that hostages had been kept in the complex.
Base Block: Arab Gulf countries are reportedly restricting the U.S. from using military bases in their countries to launch retaliatory strikes on Iranian proxies across the region.
Spontaneous Stop: FBI Director Chris Wray made a surprise visit to Israel this week, his first trip to the country since the Oct. 7 terror attacks.
Visa Update: The White House announced that Palestinians in the U.S. can overstay their visas without threat of deportation for the next 18 months.
Capitol Hill Hullabaloo: House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) sent panic through Washington with a warning to members of an “urgent matter with regard to a destabilizing foreign military capability.” Subsequent reports indicate that the threat relates to a new Russian anti-satellite weapon with potential nuclear capability. Other lawmakers briefed on the issue said there is no need for immediate alarm.
Undoing UNRWA: Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Eric Schmitt (R-MO) introduced a bill to block any additional U.S. funds from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency and ban any UNRWA affiliates from the United States, except for U.S. citizens. It would also revoke UNRWA’s tax-exempt status.
Rescue Resolution: Sens. Tim Scott (R-SC), Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) introduced a resolution declaring that President Joe Biden already has the authority necessary to use U.S. military force to liberate American hostages held in Gaza.
Nonprofit Probe: Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) are set to send a letter to the Department of Justice urging a criminal investigation of UNRWA USA, which fundraises domestically for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, for support of terrorism.
Syria Slap: The House approved the Assad Anti-Normalization Act, banning the U.S. from normalizing relations with Syria under Bashar Al Assad, and extending and expanding sanctions on Syrian leadership.
Clyburn’s Call: Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) announced plans to step down from House Democratic leadership but said he will run for reelection later this year.
I Swear: In City Journal, Tevi Troy looks at the history of presidents using expletives.
X Payments: A new report from the Tech Transparency Project found that the X has taken subscription payments from accounts linked to terror groups, in a potential violation of U.S. sanctions.
Mad Murphy: N.J. Gov. Phil Murphy wrote in a text to staffers that he was “white hot mad” that anti-Israel protesters gained access to the governor’s mansion to disrupt a Lunar New Year event.
New Couple: Huma Abedin and Alex Soros went public with their relationship in a Valentine’s Day post.
Campus Beat: Nancy Cantor was named the president of Hunter College, and will succeed interim President Ann Kirschner in August.
Podcast Playback: Friends of the IDF CEO Steve Weil joined this week’s episode of eJewishPhilanthropy’s “Get Your Phil” podcast.
Dubya and the Diplomat: Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Gilad Erdan met with former President George W. Bush in Dallas.
High Note: A group of 400 actors and entertainment industry figures signed on to a letter supporting the European Broadcasting Union’s decision to allow Israel to participate in the upcoming Eurovision competition; the EBU is facing pressure to ban Israel from competition this year.
Slaughter Ban: The European Court of Human Rights upheld a ban on ritual slaughter that is opposed by both Jewish and Muslim groups.
Dark Comedy: London’s Soho Theatre banned a comedian who last week subjected a Jewish audience member to “verbal abuse.”
Wired: Israel will allow Elon Musk’s Starlink to supply internet services to an Emirati field hospital in Gaza.
Media Matters: Israeli officials said that an Al Jazeera journalist wounded in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza is a Hamas deputy commander, citing video and photo shared by the man on Oct. 7 from Kibbutz Nir Oz.
War Exercises: Iran held a series of war drills that included firing advanced ballistic missiles in preparation for a potential strike on Israeli F-35 fighter jets procured from the U.S.
Nuke Update: The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency cautioned that Tehran was “not entirely transparent” about its nuclear program, following comments from a former Iranian foreign minister that Iran has the components for a nuclear weapon “in our hands.”
Northern Exposure: The Washington Postspotlights Hezbollah’s elite Redwan force operating along Lebanon’s border with Israel.
Weapons Probe: The State Department is looking into Israeli actions in Gaza and Lebanon to determine whether the IDF is properly using weaponry, some of which may have been supplied by Washington.
Hack Work: Microsoft said that hackers from Iran, Russia and China are using the company’s OpenAI platform.
Jet Seizure: The Justice Department announced the seizure of an American-made Boeing plane that had been sold by a sanctioned Iranian airline to a Venezuelan company.
Back in Beirut: Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri made a public appearance at a Beirut event marking the assassination of his father, amid reports he’s considering reentering politics.
Remembering: British pathologist Dr. Anthony Epstein, who with a colleague discovered the Epstein-Barr virus, died at 102.
Pic of the Day
The families of some of the 134 hostages still being held in Gaza traveled to The Hague in the Netherlands yesterday to file a legal complaint against Hamas at the International Criminal Court. Following the filing of the complaint, they held a rally outside the court.
Birthdays
SVP of communications at Philip Morris International, Marian Salzman turns 65…
British actress Claire Bloom turns 93… Professor of cognitive science at Indiana University, Pulitzer Prize-winner, Douglas Hofstadter turns 79… Former Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives for 26 years, Elliott Naishtat turns 79… Cartoonist, editor, teacher at the School of Visual Arts in NYC and longtime contributing artist for The New Yorker, Art Spiegelman turns 76… Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, Melissa Manchester turns 73… Television and movie actor, he stars as the IRGC’s head of investigations in the Apple TV Israeli series “Tehran,” Shaun Toub turns 66… Professor at Yale Law School and author of two best-selling novels, Jed Rubenfeld turns 65… Host of the radio program “Jewish Moments in the Morning” since 1983, Nachum Segal turns 61… Principal at Catalyzing Philanthropy, Karen Paul… Developer of the Miami Design District and other properties in South Beach, Craig Lewis Robins turns 61… Writer, Elizabeth Ives (“Beth”) Solomon… Founder and editor-in-chief of Talking Points Memo, Josh Marshall turns 55… Investor, he founded and then sold the Rockstar energy drink, Russell Goldencloud Weiner turns 54… Founder and director of Areyvut, Daniel Rothner turns 52… Actress, writer, producer, and comedian, Alexandrea Borstein turns 51… Director of business development at Treetop Companies, Eric Distenfeld… Director of education at the Orthodox Union and host of the “18Forty” podcast, David Bashevkin, Ph.D. … Deputy executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, Alex Siegel… Former offensive lineman on three NFL teams, he is now a regional sales manager at Sirtex, Ben Gottschalk turns 32… Beauty pageant titleholder who represented Israel at the Miss Universe pageant in 2016, Yam Kaspers Anshel turns 26… Australian racewalker, she competed in the women’s 20 kilometer walk at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Jemima Montag turns 26… Actor and voice actor, Zachary Adam Gordon turns 26…
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