Daily Kickoff
Good Tuesday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on House plans to vote on separate Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan aid bills this week, and talk to Virginia congressional candidate Dan Helmer about his ties to Israel and his Middle East policy positions. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff, Sen. Lindsey Graham, Norman Lear and Zach Roseman.
As the dust settled in the aftermath of Sunday morning’s Iranian attack on Israel — which was fended off by a multinational coalition that included the U.S., U.K. and some Arab states — President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “take the win.”
But Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that Jerusalem plans to mount a response to Tehran after the Islamic republic sent hundreds of drones and missiles toward the Jewish state.
Now, questions about when, where and what form that response will take is a matter of open debate — as is the strategic thinking behind the decision.
The American Enterprise Institute’s Danielle Pletka told us that there is “no upside to a quick response by Israel against Iran; not because Biden’s pathological fear of ‘escalation’ should dictate Israeli national security, or because Iran is suddenly allowed to dictate the framing of its ‘retaliatory’ assault on Israel, but because a measured, strategically considered, psychologically intimidating Israeli answer to Iran’s dangerous aggression is the best choice.”
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Aaron David Miller said that Israel is “going to respond.”
“Only two things matter,” Miller continued. “Will the response be calibrated enough to avoid two serious consequences if it is not — first, an Iranian counterstrike that starts an escalatory ladder leading to a regional war; and second, which is derivative of the first; will it undermine Israeli credibility and reliability with key allies — the Biden administration and Israel’s treaty and Abraham Accords partners.”
And Mark Dubowitz, the CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, suggested that “Israel would be wise to strike in the shadows in the short term using cyber or covert action with plausible deniability and without risking a confrontation with President Biden while planning a longer-term operation to strike at Iran’s nuclear weapons programs.”
“But if Israel decides to strike back openly, immediately and decisively,” Dubowitz added, “Biden should have its back if ‘ironclad’ support is to have any meaning to our allies and enemies around the world.”
Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Walter Russell Mead said that Netanyahu would be committing “political suicide” if he were to follow the White House’s suggestion to hold fire — and that it would be “national suicide for any Israeli prime minister to do so.” Read the rest of his opinion piece here.
Stateside, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff is slated to travel to Kansas City, Mo., for “Driving Out Darkness in the Heartland: 2024 Regional Summit on Combating Antisemitism.” Emhoff is also expected to attend an event commemorating the 10-year anniversary of the Overland Park (Kan.) Jewish Community Center shooting and participate in a fireside chat on combating hate.
glimmer of hope
House to vote on separate Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan bills later this week
The House is set to vote at the end of the week on separate Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan aid funding bills, alongside a fourth bill with other miscellaneous national security legislation, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) announced on Monday, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Emily Jacobs report. The announcement provides a path forward in the House for funding to U.S. allies around the world after months of uncertainty, but success likely depends on Democrats’ cooperation with Johnson’s gambit. It will also slow down the provision of aid to U.S. allies, given that it will require a new, and potentially divisive, battle in the Senate.
What’s next: The exact text and funding levels in the bill won’t be released until Tuesday, with a final vote expected in the House on Friday evening. The plan will likely require Democratic support at multiple stages, including on a procedural “rule” vote to bring the bills to the House floor.
Winning praise: The proposal appears to be satisfying many House Republicans, across a fairly wide ideological spectrum and including both supporters and opponents of Ukraine aid. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), who joined more than 90 Democrats on a Monday morning letter calling on Johnson to call a vote on the Senate-passed Israel and Ukraine bill, said he’s satisfied with the plan. “It shall be achieved,” Wilson told JI. “I feel like we’re really acting… I support very much the speaker’s efforts.”
Yes, but: A few key House conservatives — Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) — might oppose a procedural vote in the Rules Committee needed to advance the proposed bills to the House floor, meaning the bill probably needs support from Democratic leadership. Some Republicans are also resistant to any foreign aid bill without border security attached. “The one big issue that’s going to be interesting to see is how the speaker attaches — the one big issue that we have to deal with in conference is this border security issue. That’s a huge, top priority for us,” Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) said.
Across the aisle: Democrats, including a number of prominent pro-Israel lawmakers, either declined to weigh in until they saw the full bill or reacted with skepticism to the plan, continuing to push for the Senate-passed aid bill to be voted on in its original form. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) said that “anything short of the Senate bill is a delay. It’s an unfortunate and dangerous delay. So I wish we were focused on that.” But he said he’d examine the GOP proposal.
on the hill
House Democrats split again over new Iran funding vote
The House Democratic caucus split nearly in half again on Monday over a vote aiming to further restrict potential U.S. and international financing for Iran. Rep. Bill Huizenga’s (R-MI) “No U.S. Financing for Iran Act” passed by a 294-105 vote, with 88 Democrats supporting the bill and 104 opposing it; Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) was the GOP’s sole vote in opposition. Democrats split along similar margins on another measure restricting funding to Iran last November, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Going deeper: The bill would prohibit any U.S. financial institution from transactions with Iran (except those of a humanitarian nature), direct the administration to oppose the provision of financial assistance to Iran at the International Monetary Fund and prohibit the Export-Import Bank from providing financing to projects involving Iran. Among Democrats, the vote breakdown didn’t fall cleanly along ideological lines, although most of the party’s more moderate members voted for the bill, while most of its more progressive members voted against it. All three top Democratic leaders opposed the bill.
Strong vote: The “Iran-China Energy Sanctions Act,” placing sanctions on all Chinese financial institutions that engage in transactions with sanctioned Iranian financial institutions relating to the oil trade, passed by a 383-11 vote. Democratic Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), Cori Bush (D-MO), Greg Casar (D-TX), Chuy Garcia (D-IL), Summer Lee (D-PA), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Delia Ramirez (D-IL) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Republican Massie voted no.
Near-unanimous: A bill led by Reps. David Kustoff (R-TN) and Brad Schneider (D-IL) to strip tax-exempt status from any group providing “material support or resources” to Hamas or other designated terrorist groups passed by a 382-11 vote. Bowman, Bush, Garcia, Lee, Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Pressley, Ramirez, Tlaib and Massie, as well as Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), opposed the bill.
terror designation
Israel: Declaring IRGC as terrorists is ‘initial price’ Iran must pay
From Canberra to Buenos Aires, Israeli diplomats across the world are on a mission to get countries to declare the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization, following Iran’s missile and drone attack on Israel over the weekend, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
Exacting a price: “Iran must pay a price for its aggression,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lior Haiat posted on Sunday, the day after Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones toward Israel. “The initial price must be the immediate recognition of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps — which launched the extensive terrorist attack last night — as a terrorist organization.”
‘Diplomatic offensive’: Israel’s envoys around the world, as well as Foreign Minister Israel Katz, immediately began work on exacting that “initial price.” In what he called a “diplomatic offensive,” Katz contacted his counterparts by phone and through letters to 32 countries in Europe and South America as well as Australia to call on them to declare the IRGC a terrorist organization “as a way to curb and weaken Iran.”
Sanctions effect: ”Iran must be stopped now — before it’s too late,” Katz posted. The further sanctioning of the IRGC would make it more difficult for Iran to build up weapons and would also serve as a show of Western unity with Israel following the attack on Sunday.
va-10 race
Dan Helmer touts his support for Israel in Northern Virginia House primary
At a time of increasing disagreement in the Democratic Party over Israel policy and growing calls within the party for conditioning aid to Israel, Virginia state Del. Dan Helmer, who is running for a House seat in Northern Virginia, is pushing back, standing on strong pro-Israel positions, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Why it matters: Helmer, in a recent interview with JI, stuck to a traditional view of the U.S.-Israel relationship. “American leadership is best served by having strong relationships with other democracies, and by leading with our values, and that includes having a strong relationship with the Jewish democracy in Israel,” Helmer said. His stalwart support for Israel offers fresh evidence that in politically competitive suburban turf, it’s still good politics to stand with Israel in a Democratic primary. One of his leading Democratic rivals, former state House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, has also made support for Israel central to her campaign and is endorsed by Democratic Majority for Israel.
Background: The son of an Israeli who immigrated to the U.S. and the grandson of Holocaust survivors, Helmer had relatives who fought in the Palmach, part of Israel’s pre-state military, and still has relatives living in Israel. Helmer is also an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran and a West Point graduate.
Standing firm: Helmer expressed support for an Israeli campaign in Gaza’s Rafah to eliminate the remaining Hamas battalions, noting that this is also the strong consensus view within Israeli society, and that eliminating Hamas and freeing the hostages is a necessary step to achieving peace. He said that calls for conditions on U.S. aid to Israel are “incredibly frustrating” and suggested that they come from a lack of knowledge about the war and the precision weapons that the U.S. is providing to Israel.
conference conversations
Sen. Rick Scott: Oct. 7 ‘created clarity’ on Israel for Republicans
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) said on Monday that Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attacks “probably created clarity” for the Republican Party on Israel, whereas the GOP legislators are split on whether to provide aid to Ukraine at all. Speaking to Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs on the sidelines of a Heritage Foundation event in Washington, D.C., Scott, who is up for reelection this fall, explained that he is not against the idea of helping the Ukrainians with lethal weaponry, though not without oversight measures. He also noted that Ukraine and Israel have different relationships with the United States and are asking for different types of support.
Different asks: “For Israel, we’re not paying for their politicians, we’re not [being asked for] humanitarian aid. We’re giving them military aid. Let’s do that for Ukraine,” Scott said. “I supported the first bills on Ukraine, but think what they want for Ukraine: They want me to pay for politicians; they want me to pay for teachers; they want to pay for all these people. We’re not paying that for Israel. Also, Israel’s not asking me to give $10 billion to Biden to waste money on humanitarian support.”
One-state solution event: The event was hosted in partnership with Keep God’s Land, an organization that opposes Palestinian statehood. Other speakers included former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) and Israeli MK Ohad Tal, a member of Israel’s far-right Religious Zionist party who sits in the Israeli governing coalition.
exclusive
Inspired by Berkeley prof, Academic Engagement Network launches national Faculty Against Antisemitism Movement
When Professor Ron Hassner made the decision to stage a sit-in protest at his University of California, Berkeley office until the school’s administration agreed to take seriously rising campus antisemitism, several other local professors were inspired to come visit the professor of political science in solidarity as he ate and slept in his office — and taught class from there — for two weeks. Encouraged by Hassner’s activism and the support he received from other concerned faculty, the Academic Engagement Network on Tuesday announced it will coordinate a national campaign called the Faculty Against Antisemitism Movement (FAAM) and #KeepTheLightOn, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Haley Cohen reports.
Power of networking: “In many places, many faculty share a concern about antisemitism but don’t necessarily know one another, so I think networking is crucial,” said Hassner, who ended his protest on March 23 after two weeks, saying the school had made sufficient commitments to satisfy his concerns about the safety of Jewish students on campus. (The “hashtag” for the campaign comes from Hassner having kept his office light on for the entire two weeks of the sit-in.)
New measures: The initiatives will provide support to participating faculty, including maintaining a website that will be continually updated with information and resources for faculty looking to counter antisemitic and anti-Israel claims and actions, issuing a FAAM social media toolkit organizing trips that bring American faculty to Israel and supporting faculty-driven initiatives, such as developing a database of faculty around the U.S. who will serve as reviewers for Israeli academics who are being ostracized on campuses, according to AEN, which works to counter antisemitism on college campuses.
Read the full story here and sign up for eJewishPhilanthropy’s Your Daily Phil newsletter here.
Worthy Reads
Setting Precedent: In The New York Times, Reuel Marc Gerecht and Ray Takeyh suggest that bold U.S. support for Israel in the wake of Iran’s first direct attack on the Jewish state could serve as a deterrent for future Iranian aggression. “Today, the problem with Washington distancing itself from Jerusalem, as it has over the large-scale civilian deaths and humanitarian suffering in the Gaza war, is that it will not defuse a crisis that puts Iran and Israel in direct confrontation. And Ayatollah Khamenei will not allow himself to be seen as backing down to Jews — particularly if they are unmoored from superior American power. For the United States, standing by Israel would allow Ayatollah Khamenei another path, a way to back down without losing face. There is a precedent for such a retreat. Again, the Iran-Iraq war is instructive. The founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ruhollah Khomeini, opted for an armistice with Iraq, a country he had long denigrated, because of the sheer exhaustion of his nation and the fear that the war could simply not be won. The implicit threat of American involvement was a big factor in this decision.” [NYTimes]
What Lies Beneath: In The Wall Street Journal, former CENTCOM commander Gen. Kenneth McKenzie Jr. posits that Iran’s attack against Israel underscored Tehran’s vulnerabilities. “The April 1 Israeli strike against Iranian planners in Damascus was the culmination of Tehran’s embarrassment. Taking a page from Russian strategic doctrine, the Iranians tried to escalate to de-escalate, taking a very aggressive action to raise the stakes dramatically. The intention is to cow the opponent into changing its behavior by convincing it that it is at heightened risk. The key to this kind of tactic is actual leverage — a genuine capability that puts the opponent at grave risk. That hasn’t happened, because it’s apparent that the Iranians are playing a weak hand. For years the ballistic-missile, drone and cruise-missile force has been at the heart of Iran’s strategic deterrence — more important in practical terms than its nuclear program. The attack Sunday morning was poorly executed and a strategic miscalculation. The vulnerability of Iran’s force has been exposed, and the regime is gravely weakened as a result. Israel has been strengthened by a stunning display of military competence, a striking contrast with that seen on Oct. 7.” [WSJ]
The Retaliation Conundrum: The Washington Post’s David Ignatius considers Israel’s potential responses to Iran’s attempted strike. “As Israeli officials weigh their response to Iran’s missile attack, they are confronting the perennial dilemma of deterrence: How can a country demonstrate its willingness to use force — and dominate the cycle of escalation — without creating precisely the crisis it seeks to avert? Israel’s tough-minded approach to this question has deterred some conflicts, but it has arguably created some others. For generations, Israeli leaders have insisted that their unyielding position is essential for survival in a brutal and unforgiving Middle East. You can question, as some U.S. officials do, whether this logic has truly been successful for Israel. But the mood Monday night was a reminder that whatever outsiders might think is best, Israel will make its own decisions about security.” [WashPost]
Iran’s Real Target: In The Atlantic, Eliot Cohen looks at the broader elements at play in Iran’s weekend attack on Israel. “The aim here is also something a lot bigger than the struggle to destroy Israel. The target of the Russia–China–Iran–North Korea coalition is the overthrow not of a ‘rules-based international order’ — a phrase that misleads more than it informs, because there have always been rules of some kind — but of the American-led world order, which is an artifact of the past 75 years. The coalition’s frame, as it were, is a large one, in which the United States and its allies represent one frangible whole that, if tapped hard in several places, will disintegrate. … That a coalition of the West and its partners were willing to act in countering the Iranian missile barrage is a promising sign. Still, until Iran pays a visible and heavy price for its behavior in attacking not only Israel directly but its Arab neighbors and global shipping through its proxies, the problem will only get worse.” [TheAtlantic]
Problematic Picture: In Slate, Dahlia Lithwick and Masua Sagiv reflect on the recent awarding of a top photojournalism prize to a photographer who captured an image of Hamas terrorists returning to Gaza with the body of Oct. 7 victim Shani Louk. “Some have suggested that the picture of Louk is deserving of recognition as part of a long tradition of war photojournalism, a practice that stretches back to Mathew Brady’s images of the dead at Antietam. That was the position of Picture of the Year director Lynden Steele, who claimed that the image captures ‘the harsh realities of war’ and therefore merited the award. We understand the merits of war photojournalism, just as we understand that awarding a photograph a prize is not equivalent to celebrating its contents. But the picture of Louk is not war photojournalism. It was taken not during wartime but during a terror attack. The men in the back of the truck are not ‘fighting.’ They are not even wearing uniforms or insignia. They are returning from a pogrom with their spoils, to publicly desecrate a captured corpse. Louk’s family was able to identify her only because viral real-time video of her body paraded through the streets allowed them to recognize tattoos and dreadlocks. Bone fragments from her skull were later found at the Nova festival, suggesting she had been killed at the site.” [Slate]
Around the Web
Lieberman’s Legacy: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) writes a remembrance of Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), who died last month.
Transportation Trouble: Bridges and highways in San Francisco, New York, Chicago and other major metropolitan areas were shut down yesterday amid large-scale protests by anti-Israel protesters.
ADL Audit: The Anti-Defamation League released its annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, which registered 8,873 antisemitic incidents across the United States in 2023 — more than half of which occurred after the Oct. 7 terror attacks.
Campus Beat: The University of Southern California said that its valedictorian will not give an address at the school’s upcoming commencement ceremony, citing security concerns; senior Asna Tabassum was discovered to have a history of posting anti-Israel content on social media.
Probe Over: The New York Times ended an internal investigation into a leak to the The Intercept regarding an unaired episode of its podcast “The Daily” that focused on Hamas’ sexual violence on Oct. 7.
Time to Make the Matzah: Bloomberg visits the Streit’s factory in Orangeburg, N.Y., the country’s only still-operating mechanical matzah factory, as the company prepares for Passover, which begins next week.
Exit Interview:Semafor interviews Jina Moore Ngarambe, the former editor-in-chief of Guernica, who resigned following an uproar over the publishing of an essay about coexistence by a British-Israeli writer and peace activist that caused a furor among staffers.
Looking Left: The New York Times looks at how the activist left has centered support for the Palestinians — and opposition to Israel — in its political organizing.
Lear’s Art: Seven pieces of art owned by Norman Lear until his death last year will go on auction next month; the works are expected to fetch upward of $50 million.
What’s Old is New: In Newsweek, sociologist Amy Neustein reflects on her great-grandfather’s murder a century ago in what was believed to be an antisemitic attack as she confronts modern-day antisemitism in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks.
Art Protest: The Israeli pavilion at the upcoming Venice Biennale will be shuttered for the duration of the art show, with the artist and curators associated with Israel’s submission agreeing to open up the pavilion “when a cease-fire and hostage release agreement is reached.”
Which Side Are You On?: The Wall Street Journal looks at how tensions in the Middle East are forcing moderate Arab states to choose sides in the growing conflict.
Stock Drop: U.S. stocks tumbled in the wake of Iran’s attack on Israel over the weekend, with the Dow dropping 0.7%, the S&P 500 falling 1.2% and the Nasdaq losing 1.8%.
Bonus Boom: Techcrunch spotlights Zach Roseman’s Draftboard, which extends job referral bonuses beyond a company’s employee base.
Remembering: MLB’s winningest Jewish pitcher Ken Holtzman, who played for the Oakland A’s and Chicago Cubs, died at 78.
Song of the Day
Yaakov Shwekey released his newest song, “United We Stand,” about the Oct. 7 terror attacks and their aftermath.
Birthdays
Actress and movie producer, Ellen Barkin turns 70…
CEO and president of American Express in the 1990s, Harvey Golub turns 85… Hasidic singer, known by his stage name Mordechai Ben David, Mordechai Werdyger turns 73… Olympic track-and-field athlete, and survivor of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, Esther Roth-Shachamorov turns 72… Chairman and CEO of private equity fund manager Jordan/Zalaznick Advisers, David Wayne Zalaznick turns 70… Physician and venture capitalist focused on biotechnology and life-sciences industries, Lindsay Rosenwald turns 69… Professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University, Aaron Louis Friedberg, Ph.D. turns 68… Filmmaker, he directed the 2011 documentary “Paul Williams Still Alive” and the 1997 slapstick comedy “Vegas Vacation” starring Chevy Chase, Stephen Kessler turns 64… Dean of Harvard’s Kennedy School since 2016 and former director of the Congressional Budget Office, Douglas Elmendorf turns 62… Secretary of state of the United States, Antony John (“Tony”) Blinken turns 62… Television producer and writer, he co-created and produced “Will & Grace” and “Boston Common,” David Sanford Kohan turns 60… Long Island native, he is a Los Angeles pharmacist since 1990, Jeffrey D. Marcus… U.S. ambassador to Egypt during the Trump administration, Jonathan Raphael Cohen turns 60… Former mayor of Hoboken, N.J., Dawn Zimmer turns 56… Israel’s former ambassador to the U.S., now Israel’s minister of strategic affairs, Ron Dermer turns 53… Member of the House of Commons of Canada since 2015, she represents the riding of Toronto-Danforth, Julie Dabrusin turns 53… Celebrity plastic surgeon, he is active on social media as “Dr. Miami” and has been on reality TV about his practice, Michael Salzhauer, M.D. turns 52… Board member of Jewish Community High School of the Bay in San Francisco, Ellen K. Finestone… Founder and president of Glass Ceiling Strategies, she is also a managing director for communications at Climate Power, Alex Glass… Founder of the Jewish Fashion Council and a journalist at Fabologie, Adi Heyman… Pitcher in the Washington Nationals organization, he played for Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Richard Sidney Bleier turns 37… Attorney who has served as a law clerk to three Maryland judges, now a senior associate at JPMorgan Chase, Geoffrey S. Middleberg… Senior product manager at Duolingo, Uriel Kejsefman… Singer, pianist, and composer, he is best known as half of the folk-rock duo, the Portnoy Brothers, Mendy Portnoy turns 32… Climate and energy transition investor, he was a White House staffer in 2017, Matthew Saunders… Client strategy and success manager at Grow Progress, Adam Gotbaum… First baseman in the Chicago Cubs organization, he played for Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Matthew Jared Mervis turns 26… Josh Goldstein… Sarah Wolfson…
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