Daily Kickoff
Good Friday morning, and Chag Purim Sameach to those celebrating this weekend.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at the new Pew report on American attitudes toward the Israel-Hamas war, and report on Israeli concerns about the potential domino effect of Canada’s recently announced arms sale ban. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Gen. Michael Kurilla, David Frum and UF head coach Todd Golden.
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: Israel losing the hasbara battle because of a broken public relations playbook, experts say; Israeli and Jewish artists face threats, boycotts at U.S. shows; Meet Yael Lempert, the Jewish-American ambassador in Amman. Print the latest edition here.
Secretary of State Tony Blinken landed in Israel this morning, where he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Defense Ministry’s headquarters in Tel Aviv before sitting down this afternoon with Israel’s war cabinet. Blinken has spent the last several days in the region amid talks aimed at securing a temporary cease-fire and the release of the remaining hostages.
The secretary’s trip to Israel comes amid ongoing disagreements between the Biden administration and the Israeli government over a looming operation in Rafah, and days before Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is set to travel to Washington to discuss Israel’s plans with top U.S. officials. In Cairo yesterday, Blinken said that a large-scale Israeli operation in Rafah is “unnecessary” to defeat Hamas and would be a “mistake.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) suggested yesterday that he’s open to welcoming Netanyahu to address a full meeting of the House and Senate, as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) confirmed his plans to issue such an invitation, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Schumer said in a statement, “Israel has no stronger ally than the United States and our relationship transcends any one president or any one Prime Minister. I will always welcome the opportunity for the Prime Minister of Israel to speak to Congress in a bipartisan way,” although a spokesperson said that Johnson hadn’t discussed the subject with Schumer as of Thursday morning. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said he hasn’t been consulted either.
With a growing number of Democrats pinning blame on Netanyahu for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and rejecting his handling of the war against Hamas, the prospect of a speech by the Israeli prime minister to Congress could be politically explosive, hearkening back to Netanyahu’s 2015 address to a joint session of Congress, when the prime minister condemned the nuclear talks with Iran that would months later result in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. A significant number of progressive Democrats would likely boycott the speech.
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), a vocal supporter of Israel who attended Netanyahu’s 2015 address, told Politico yesterday, “I would hope he would not come. I think it would not be helpful for Israel’s interests.”
But Schumer’s openness to a speech would seem to mark a political victory for Netanyahu, amid the ongoing fallout from Schumer’s speech calling for new elections in Israel and Netanyahu’s ouster. Notably, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), who’s been critical of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, distanced himself from Schumer’s call for new leadership in Israel, and many Senate Democrats with competitive races in November have declined to weigh in. Read more here.
While the debate over Israel has overtaken the highest offices in Washington, a new Pew poll indicates that, despite months of headlines and ongoing debates on social media, many Americans don’t feel they have enough knowledge about the Israel-Hamas war to weigh in. A plurality of respondents (43%) said they are not following the war too closely, or at all. That percentage increases when looking only at young Americans — 58% of respondents between the ages of 18-29 said that they are not following the war, or if they are, in a very limited fashion.
Nonetheless, a majority of those polled (58%) said Israel’s reasons for fighting the terror group are valid. Two-thirds (66%) of respondents said that the way that Hamas carried out the Oct. 7 terror attacks was completely unacceptable. And while 46% of young adults aged 18-29 think that Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 attacks is unacceptable, a majority of the same demographic (58%) think that the way Hamas carried out the attacks was unacceptable.
Notably, there is no clear consensus among respondents as to the role the U.S. should play in the war. Across age demographics, a plurality of those surveyed said they were not sure if the Biden administration is striking the right balance in the war, though a majority (55%) say the U.S. should take some role in diplomatic efforts to end the war.
uphill bill
Congress to cut security grant funding, ban UNRWA funds and add Palestinian aid restrictions

The final package of U.S. government funding bills for the balance of the 2024 fiscal year is set to cut funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program by $30.5 million, despite skyrocketing incidents of antisemitism. It also bars funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and imposes a raft of new restrictions and oversight provisions on other U.S. aid to Gaza, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
NSGP cut: The NSGP funding cut will further restrict the already under-resourced program, which provides grants for religious institutions and nonprofits to improve their security. In 2023, when $305 million in funding was available, just 42% of NSGP requests were fulfilled, down from the previous year; application volume is likely to increase this year. In the Department of Homeland Security subsection of the bill, which funds the NSGP, lawmakers provided additional funding for immigration enforcement, but cut many (although not all) DHS grant programs. DHS funding remained a contentious issue until the final days of negotiations.
UNRWA ban: UNRWA funding was a particular sticking point in the final stages of negotiations, as some key Democrats fought to preserve funding for the U.N. agency, arguing that it’s the only body currently capable of effectively supporting Palestinians throughout the region. But Republicans, who called UNRWA funding a nonstarter, ultimately won out.
Palestinian aid: The bill provides $175 million in non-UNRWA aid to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, a significant cut from 2023. It introduces new oversight provisions for aid to Gaza similar to those included in the Senate-passed supplemental aid bill, requiring new accountability mechanisms to prevent the diversion of aid, cooperation with Israel, regular reporting to Congress, specific notifications to Congress if aid is diverted and funding for third-party monitoring.