Daily Kickoff
Good Thursday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we cover yesterday’s Capitol Hill hearing on antisemitism at Columbia University, and do a deep dive into Jordan’s participation in efforts to protect Israel from an Iranian attack. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Zohar Palti, Yarden Bibas and Van Jones.
That antisemitism has been increasing in America is not news to American Jews. Data released by the Anti-Defamation League this week shows that antisemitic incidents reached record highs in 2023.
But on Wednesday, FBI Director Chris Wray offered a shocking figure to demonstrate the severity of the challenge that Jews face, particularly in the heated post-Oct. 7 environment, Jewish Insider’s senior national correspondent Gabby Deutch reports.
Between Oct. 7 and Jan. 30, the FBI opened three times more anti-Jewish hate crime investigations than in the four months before the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, according to Wray.
“Of course that’s on top of what was already an increase from the previous year,” Wray said in a Wednesday webinar organized by Secure Community Network, a security organization that works with Jewish institutions in the U.S. “As I look back over my career in law enforcement, I’m hard-pressed to think of a time where so many different threats to our public safety and national security were so elevated all at the same time.”
The FBI has observed a “marked increase” in hoaxes, Wray said — both active-shooter hoaxes and fake bomb threats. “I don’t say that in any way to downplay the gravity of those crimes, because when hoaxes target synagogues, Jewish community centers and other affiliated facilities across the U.S., they not only disrupt whatever activities are ongoing. They also intimidate people and terrorize entire communities,” Wray explained.
“Please be assured that we are relentlessly pursuing those individuals who conduct those kinds of threats — hoax threats — as well, in addition to the threats posed by homegrown violent extremists and other lone actors, motivated by hate we’ve seen since Oct. 7,” Wray told attendees on the pre-Passover call.
A majority of Americans think that the release of the remaining 133 Israeli hostages should be the top priority in any cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, according to a new survey released this morning by the Jewish Federations of North America. Just 28% of the poll’s respondents support an unconditional cease-fire that would leave Hamas intact. Among Jewish respondents, 80% believe the hostages’ releases should be prioritized, and only 11% support an unconditional cease-fire.
in the hot seat
Columbia president pressed at hearing about profs who support Hamas
Columbia University President Nemat Shafik largely escaped the fireworks at a Wednesday congressional hearing that brought down two of her Ivy League colleagues last year, but nonetheless faced a grilling over the school’s handling of antisemitism, particularly regarding professors who have made pro-Hamas comments, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Status update: Questioning from lawmakers on the House Education and Workforce Committee highlighted Joseph Massad and Mohamed Abdou, who expressed support for Hamas and other terrorist groups, and Katherine Franke, who said that IDF veterans are too dangerous to remain on Columbia’s campus. Shafik said that she was “appalled” by Massad’s comments and condemned them, adding Massad had been “spoken to,” an answer Republican lawmakers found inadequate. Shafik said Massad remains under investigation.
Flip-flop: Massad, lawmakers noted, is also the chair of a review committee in Columbia’s school of arts and sciences. Shafik claimed that Massad was no longer chair of the committee, but walked that claim back when Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) said later in the hearing that he still appeared to be named as such on Columbia’s website. She said she’d clarify the record following the hearing. Pressed on whether she would commit to removing Massad as the committee chair, Shafik hesitated, but then said that she would.
Looking ahead: Asked whether Massad could be fired despite his tenure status, Shafik said there are “very complex issues around that.” She suggested the outcome of the school’s investigation could prompt his firing. But she said she would not have approved Massad’s tenure if he were applying today.
Read the full story here.Bonus: Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) wrote to the president of Harvard University to express “serious concerns about the antisemitic harassment and intimidation” of Harvard University student Shabbos Kestenbaum, a Torres constituent, by a Harvard employee.
the center holds
Democratic support for Johnson’s foreign aid package trickles in, as far right revolts
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) proposed foreign aid package is picking up support from House Democrats, setting up a potential pathway to its passage, but is further alienating members of the Republicans’ right flank, some of whom are discussing Johnson’s ouster as GOP leader, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Emily Jacobs report.
Meeting demands: The package, which includes funding bills for Israel, Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific and other national security policies including a slew of Iran-related sanctions bills, meets the criteria — particularly the inclusion of humanitarian aid — that House Democrats had laid out as a condition for potentially backing the funding package and procedural votes to ensure it moves to the floor.
Quotable: “To put it bluntly, I would rather send bullets to Ukraine than American boys. My son is going to begin at the Naval Academy this fall,” Johnson said of his rationale. “This is not a game, it’s not a joke. We can’t play politics with this. We have to do the right thing. And I’m going to allow an opportunity for every single member of the House to vote their conscience and their will on this, and I think that’s the way this institution is supposed to work. And I’m willing to take personal risk for that because we have to do the right thing.”
From the right: Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus who opposes Ukraine aid and has been highly critical of the proposed package, criticized the notion of tying together Israel and Ukraine aid. He said his “preference” would be to support Israel “but not at the expense of letting Ukraine ride on the back of it, without getting border security, and frankly, more clarity of mission, purpose and result of what we would do with Ukraine.”
From the left: While President Joe Biden, House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) endorsed the bill, House Democratic leadership has yet to do so; leaders say they want to confer with Democratic members on Thursday morning. “The leadership of the House Democratic caucus [doesn’t] get ahead of our members,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) told JI. “On all issues, particularly ones of great significance, though we may have a perspective, we want to have that conversation.”
military moment
Israel’s superior defense technology gives country a badly needed boost
For the past six months, following the surprise and shock of Hamas’ Oct.7 brutal terror attacks, Israelis’ faith in the army has been severely shaken. But faith in the country’s defensive capabilities was restored — in stunning fashion — in the early hours of Sunday morning when Iran carried out an unprecedented attack, firing some 350 suicide drones, rockets and missiles at the Jewish state. Over the course of several hours, Israel’s various state-of-the art missile-defense systems, alongside fighter jets and even a new high-tech spy plane, were propelled into action and, for the first time, the multiple levels of Israel’s carefully designed defense system worked together to thwart the threat of the swarm of deadly projectiles carrying some 60 tons of warheads and explosives combined, Jewish Insider’s Ruth Marks Eglash reports.
Historic: According to the IDF’s assessment, close to 99% of the missiles were struck down even before reaching Israel’s borders. “It was an air-defense operation that will go down in military history as one of the most successful ever carried out,” Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan Conricus, a senior fellow at the Washington D.C.-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told JI. “The Iranians tried to trick and outsmart our defenses, but they were not able to.”
Layered approach: Maj. Gen. (ret.) Nimrod Sheffer, a former air force deputy commander and the former CEO of Israel Aerospace Industries, a state-owned company that was involved in developing and producing the Arrow system, explained that since the mid-1980s, Israel has been developing is various defense systems. The most sophisticated layer, he said, is “the Arrow family of missiles, which aim to defend Israel against long-range ballistic missiles,” followed by David’s Sling and the Iron Dome.
‘System of systems’: Each system, Sheffer told JI, has evolved and each has several different variations. Over the years, the systems have been tested both operationally and in the field, most notably the Iron Dome, which has intercepted thousands of rockets fired by Hamas from Gaza and Hezbollah from Lebanon. “In the current conflict, we also saw the Arrow system and the David Sling system working against threats coming mainly from the south, from the Houthis in Yemen, but also from Hezbollah in the north,” he said. “We saw that each one worked very well as a stand-alone system.” Sheffer said that the Iranian attack brought together all the systems to create a “system of systems,” and that it worked better than he ever expected.
admin position
After Iran attack, Biden has new mandate to push for Israel aid
For the first time since the Oct. 7 terror attacks, the finish line in the fight to get aid for Israel might finally be in sight — pending, still, many congressional obstacles. President Joe Biden took to The Wall Street Journal’s op-ed page on Wednesday to make the case for why Congress should agree to aid both Ukraine (which some Republicans oppose) and Israel (which some Democrats oppose), Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Supporting democratic allies: Biden made an argument that echoed points he made last fall in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas attacks that killed more than 1,200 people in Israel, but that he has avoided in recent months: directly connecting the conflicts that Ukraine and Israel are fighting, because America has an obligation to support both democratic allies in their fights against existential threats. “Now is not the time to abandon our friends. The House must pass urgent national-security legislation for Ukraine and Israel, as well as desperately needed humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza,” Biden wrote on Wednesday.
Timing: “Messaging is always dependent on real-time events,” a senior White House official told JI, noting that Iran’s attack — thwarted by Israeli and U.S. forces working together to take down hundreds of missiles and drones — makes clear why further security assistance to Israel is needed. “It certainly demonstrates what the president’s been saying and it helps his case with respect to giving Israel what it needs to defend itself,” said the official, who requested anonymity to detail internal thinking on the issue.
amman interest
Why Jordan helped Israel repel the Iranian missile attack
If anyone thought Jordan’s part in intercepting drones Iran launched at Israel on the weekend marked a turning point in the Hashemite Kingdom’s relations with the Jewish state, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi immediately tried to dispel that notion, insisting in media interviews that Israel was still the real problem. Leading figures in Jordan have for months been leveling harsh criticism on Israel and Amman called off an energy and water deal in response to the war in Gaza, amid pressure from a population that has largely been unsupportive of relations between the countries since they signed an agreement in 1994. But the Iranian assault, with projectiles flying over Jordanian territory, marked a point where Amman was working in its own interest, which overlapped with Jerusalem’s, rather than Jordan jumping to Israel’s rescue, experts told Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov.
War within Islam: Iran has long worked to gain a foothold in Jordan and undermine the stability of its monarchy. Israel’s 300 km-border with Jordan is its longest frontier, such that a stronger Iranian or Iran-backed presence would pose a serious threat to the Jewish state. Yet Israel, Eyal Pinko, senior research fellow at Bar-Ilan University’s BESA Center of Strategic Studies said, is “only one player on the chessboard…in the war within Islam, between the Shi’ite countries led by Iran and the Sunni countries, such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Jordan and Morocco.”
‘Slow encroachment’: Former Deputy Ambassador to Egypt Ruth Wasserman Lande, a fellow at the Misgav Institute for National Security, told JI that in recent years Iran “found graves of all kinds of Shi’ite sheikhs on the Israel-Jordan border, told the Jordanians they must come and take care of the graves, and suddenly there was an Iranian presence in Jordan.” Those graves began a “slow encroachment” that characterizes Iran’s behavior around the region, Wasserman Lande said. Jordan remained silent for years, even when Iran-supported Hamas tried to compete with the Kingdom over primacy at holy sites in Jerusalem, and as Iran and its proxy Hezbollah smuggled weapons and drugs through Jordan.
on the hill
House Democrats split again over Iran, Houthi bills
The House Democratic caucus once again split over a series of four votes on Wednesday seeking to force the Biden administration’s hand toward a more aggressive Iran policy, though most Democrats opposed the measures. Hard-line anti-Iran measures have proved divisive for House Democrats on several occasions in recent months, often fracturing the caucus, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
The breakdown: In each of the four votes on Wednesday, Democratic support mostly came from moderates and hawks — and in some cases, lawmakers facing competitive reelection races — joined by a handful of more progressive members. The top Democratic leaders voted against each of the bills, as did Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), the only Republican to oppose any of the bills.
No sanctions relief: The House voted 259-160 to pass a bill by Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX) that would bar the president from lifting sanctions on Iran, as well as permanently refreeze the $6 billion in Iranian funds that the administration released to a bank account in Qatar as part of a hostage deal last year. Forty-seven Democrats voted yes and 159 Democrats voted no.
Houthi designation: The House voted 285-135 for a bill by Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) seeking to force the president to redesignate the Iranian-backed Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, a label the administration has resisted due to concerns about humanitarian aid to Yemen. Seventy-two Democrats voted for the bill; 134 voted against it.
Worthy Reads
Denialism Danger: In The Atlantic, Tufts University’s Michael Cohen considers the reasons behind Oct. 7 rape denialism and the dangers it poses. “The rape denialists might think they are winning a near-term public-relations battle against Israel, but denying Palestinians agency, and accusing Israel of fabricating allegations of mass rape, does far more harm than good. Above all, it denies reality, perpetuates misinformation, and feeds the empathy gap that separates the two sides. When Israelis and Palestinians look beyond the walls — both real and metaphorical — that separate them, few see fully formed individuals with legitimate grievances and fears that are worthy of their sympathy. Instead, they glimpse caricatures. As pro-Palestinian activists rightly demand that Israel come to grips with how its policies breed humiliation and desperation among Palestinians, so too must supporters of the Palestinian cause face the reality that rejectionism and terrorism have contributed to Israeli fears that peaceful coexistence is not possible.” [TheAtlantic]
Out of the Shadows: In The Wall Street Journal, Yonah Jeremy Bob suggests that Iran’s weekend attack on Israel marked a turning point in the decades-long tensions between the countries. “Iran’s attack ended the shadow war. The old rules no longer apply. Israel has said it will respond, and it must if it hopes to restore deterrence. But if the response is too light, Israel risks inviting future waves of drones and ballistic missiles. Then again, if Israel attacks too aggressively, it risks greater retaliation from both Iran and Hezbollah. To date Hezbollah has used up only around 3,000 rockets and missiles out of an estimated arsenal of 150,000. The U.S. and Israel’s European allies are pressing Israel not to counterstrike. President Biden considers a wider regional war to be a threat to his re-election. On the flip side, Iran’s attack shocked the Saudis out of their complacency — they ‘outed’ themselves publicly as having assisted Israel against Iran. Riyadh and Washington have both made noises about a grand normalization deal with Israel, and Mr. Biden may still exit the current chaos with his own ‘deal of the century’ going down the electoral home stretch.” [WSJ]
Around the Web
Change in Plans:Axios reports that Israel initially intended to conduct a retaliatory strike against Iran on Monday, but opted against the move “for operational reasons.”
Options Open: Zohar Palti, a former Mossad director of intelligence, told Sky News that “everything is on the table” in terms of a response to Iran’s weekend attack, including the targeting of the Islamic republic’s nuclear sites.
Qatari Considerations: Qatar said it is “in the process of a complete re-evaluation of its role” as a mediator between Israel and Hamas, citing the “abuse” it faced from unnamed politicians engaged in “point-scoring” as they tried “to conduct election campaigns by slighting” Doha.
Hostage Footage: New footage of the Oct. 7 kidnapping of Yarden Bibas, who is still being held in Gaza along with his wife and two young children, was released, showing his captors beating him and shouting.
Bargaining Chips: The UAE and Saudi Arabia reportedly conveyed to American officials that they want U.S. security assurances similar to Israel in exchange for scaling up their participation in the regional security alliance.
Stepping Up Sanctions: The EU, meeting this week in Brussels, plans to expand sanctions on Iran following Tehran’s attack on Israel; Politico looks at the challenges facing the body’s ability to act on Ukraine as Israel and Iran take center stage.
Tehran Talk: CNN commentator Van Jones said that Iran’s leaders are “destabilizing the world with their jihadist agenda,” citing Tehran’s proxies around the world.
PA Prospects: The U.N. Security Council could vote as soon as today on a resolution giving the Palestinian Authority full member status in the body; Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas reportedly turned down repeated requests from the Biden administration not to move forward with the effort.
That Was Fast: Senate Democrats voted to dismiss both articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas as unconstitutional, ending the trial within hours before it had begun in earnest.
Hitting Back: In The Wall Street Journal, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) responded to Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) recent comments about Israel and genocide, accusing the Massachusetts Democrat of “victim-blaming” and calling on the Biden administration “to end its appeasement of the Iranian regime, stop allowing bad actors to question our commitment to our allies, unequivocally support Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorism and respond appropriately to acts of war.”
Iran Resolution: Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX) led 117 Republicans and 28 Democrats to introduce a resolution condemning the Iran regime and supporting the Iranian protest movement.
DNC Disruptions: The Free Press looks at far-left activist efforts to disrupt the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this summer.
Company Chaos: More than two dozen Google workers in offices in California and New York were fired for participating in sit-ins protesting the company’s contracts with Israel.
Dearborn Demography: In The Wall Street Journal, Jon Pepper observes how the prejudices of his childhood hometown of Dearborn, Mich., have evolved with the city’s changing demographics.
Time’s Top Picks: Rachel Goldberg-Polin was named to Time magazine’s TIME100 list; comedian Alex Edelman, Oracle’s Larry Ellison, CIA Director Bill Burns, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani; Baby2Baby co-founder Norah Weinstein and computer scientist Yoshua Bengio were also named to the list.
NPR Noise: NPR business editor Uri Berliner resigned after being placed on leave for publishing an unauthorized missive in The Free Press detailing what he cited as institutional biases at the broadcaster.
Far-right Trial: Björn Höcke, the leader of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany, is on trial this week for using national socialist slogans at campaign events.
Northern Tensions: Fourteen Israeli troops and four civilians in northern Israel were injured in Hezbollah drone attacks; the Iran-backed terror group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Oil Exports: Iranian oil exports hit a six-year high, amid a surge in crude oil sales to China.
Remembering: Artist Marian Zazeela died at 83. Refugee advocate Sheppie Abramowitz died at 88.
Pic of the Day
The Western Wall Heritage Foundation on Wednesday conducted its traditional clearing of thousands of prayer notes that were placed between the stones of the Western Wall over the past six months. The notes will be buried alongside worn-out prayer books and other texts with God’s name printed in them, in accordance with Jewish law.
Birthdays
Editor of Commentary magazine and columnist for the New York Post, John Mordecai Podhoretz turns 63…
Chief rabbi of the Old City of Jerusalem until 2008, Rabbi Avigdor Nebenzahl turns 89… Partner in the intellectual property law firm of Furgang & Adwar, Philip Furgang turns 87… Former executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union for 23 years until 2001, Ira Saul Glasser turns 86… Biochemist, geneticist and winner of the Nobel Prize in medicine in 1985, Joseph Leonard Goldstein turns 84… Managing director of fundraising consulting firm, Mirsky, Jaffe & Associates, Michael Jaffe turns 84… English barrister and arbitrator, his clients have included the British chief rabbi in a case that held that the rulings of the Beth Din were not subject to judicial review, Michael Jacob Beloff turns 82… Corporate turnaround expert and mergers & acquisitions specialist, Jerry W. Levin turns 80… Los Angeles resident, Saul Bernstein… Former member of the Vermont State Senate and co-founder in 1984 of Jogbra, Hinda Miller turns 74… Former mayor of Phoenix for eight years after two terms on the Phoenix City Council, Phil Gordon turns 73… Composer, pianist and musicologist, Robert M. Greenberg turns 70… Former college basketball coach for 34 years, he is now an ESPN analyst, Seth Greenberg turns 68… Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and director of the Northeastern University School of Journalism, Jonathan Kaufman turns 68… Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of four acclaimed books, Susan Faludi turns 65… Community leader in Detroit and former president of AIPAC, David Victor… President and dean of Ohr Torah Stone institutions in Israel since 2018, Rabbi Dr. Kenneth R. Brander turns 62… VP and deputy general counsel at Scholastic Inc, Mark Seidenfeld… Executive director of the American Zionist Movement, Herbert Block… Emmy Award-winning actress known for her work on daytime television, Tamara Braun turns 53… Film director and producer associated with the horror genre, Eli Roth turns 52… Chabad rabbi, founder and executive director of the Aspen Chabad Jewish Community Center, Rabbi Mendel Mintz turns 49… Poet, critic, translator and professor, Ilya Kaminsky turns 47… Under secretary of Homeland Security for strategy, policy and plans, Robert P. Silvers turns 44… Political director for AIPAC’s Florida region, Evan Philipson… Dov Maimon…
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