Daily Kickoff
Good Wednesday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff we preview today’s election in South Africa, and have the scoop on a letter by Sens. Jacky Rosen and James Lankford urging the education secretary to appoint an official to oversee campus antisemitism investigations. We also press Sen. Raphael Warnock, a trustee at Union Theological Seminary, for his stance on the school’s board of trustees voting to divest from Israel. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: William Kolbrener, Jerry Seinfeld and Tony Gonzales.
AIPAC’s super PAC began its spending blitz against one of its top targets — Squad-aligned Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), who is facing a serious primary challenge from St. Louis County prosecutor Wesley Bell.
The United Democracy Project super PAC placed its first ad buy against Bush on Tuesday, which is expected to be the start of an ongoing campaign before the Aug. 6 primary.
So far this cycle, AIPAC’s super PAC has been effective in winning most of the competitive races it has engaged in. It propelled Maryland state legislator Sarah Elfreth to a comfortable victory in an expensive Democratic primary, stopped anti-Israel former GOP Rep. John Hostettler from prevailing in Indiana and claimed credit for rallying pro-Israel donors behind a center-left Oregon Democrat (Maxine Dexter) running against the sister of progressive Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA).
And in Texas’ high-stakes GOP runoff last night, AIPAC’s efforts to boost center-right Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) played a critical role, as the congressman narrowly defeated Brandon Herrera, a right-wing challenger with a history of antisemitic rhetoric. Texas Republicans also nominated state Rep. Craig Goldman to an open House seat; he’s set to become the third Jewish Republican in next year’s Congress.
AIPAC’s lone setback so far has been in California, where state Sen. Dave Min emerged as the Democratic nominee despite facing a barrage of ads against him from UDP. (Min still faces a competitive general election in a battleground district.)
Its biggest targets, however, are two of the most virulently anti-Israel voices in Congress: Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and Bush. UDP has already spent about $8 million against Bowman in the run-up to his June 25 primary, and the early ad reservation against Bush demonstrates they believe Bell can defeat the controversial incumbent.
Ultimately, AIPAC’s political scorecard (and that of other like-minded pro-Israel groups) will hinge on whether they can oust those two lawmakers. Defeating an incumbent in a primary is historically rare, but pro-Israel groups like AIPAC are betting that this summer will serve as proof that radical views on Israel (and beyond) won’t sell, even in Democratic primaries in deep-blue districts.
Spotted in Israel this week: Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who visited several of the sites where the Oct. 7 attack took place, including the Nova festival and Kibbutz Nir Oz. She headed to the Lebanon border on Tuesday, where she wrote a message on an artillery shell to be shot at Hezbollah targets: “Finish them! America ❤ Israel. Always, Nikki Haley.”
In an interview with Israel Hayom — the right-leaning newspaper owned by Miriam Adelson, whose private jet Haley took to Israel — the former ambassador criticized the Biden administration for stopping some weapons shipments to Israel.
“You can’t hold back weapons from an ally,” Haley said. “So if we want to be a friend to Israel, the best thing America can do is let Israel do its job and just support [it].”
Haley added: “If the Palestinians want a better life, they need to get rid of Hamas. They need to change leadership; they need to understand that they are in this situation because of the leaders around them. This is not Israel’s job to save the Palestinians, the Palestinians should want to save themselves by getting rid of the terrorists who are trying to control them who are using them as human shields.”
Haley called on Israel to “tune out the noise and finish the job… Don’t let anybody make you feel wrong, because Israel is not wrong in this.”
Kirby’s clarification
White House stands by support for Israel amid deadly Rafah incident

As Israel faces global scrutiny following an attack in Rafah that killed dozens of civilians, the White House on Tuesday pledged to stand by Israel in its war against Hamas and made clear that the incident will not shift U.S. policy on arming Israel, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
No change: “I have no policy changes to speak to,” White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said at a press briefing. “The Israelis are going to investigate it. We’re going to be taking great interest in what they find in that investigation, and we’ll see where it goes from there.” Nothing the White House has seen yet has prompted the U.S. to consider withholding more military assistance to Israel, Kirby said.
Deep sorrow: Israeli military officials said that a warehouse of hidden weapons may have been the culprit behind the fire that killed Palestinian civilians on Sunday, noting that the munitions Israel used in its airstrike — which the IDF said killed two senior Hamas terrorists — were small and targeted. The Israeli strike set off a blaze that spread to a complex where Palestinians were taking shelter. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry estimated 45 people were killed. The IDF spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, expressed “deep sorrow for this tragic loss of life” and pledged a comprehensive investigation.
Harris response: Earlier on Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris weighed in on the Rafah incident. “The word ‘tragic’ doesn’t even begin to describe it,” she said. Harris dodged a question about whether it crossed the Biden administration’s “red line” on Rafah.
Never forget: Kirby, pressed by reporters on whether the U.S. will alter its support for Israel, asserted that Washington is giving Israel “the kinds of capabilities they need to defend themselves.” Viewed as one of the more stalwartly pro-Israel voices in the administration, Kirby delivered a terse response about the threats Israel still faces. “Maybe some people have forgotten what happened on the seventh of October, but we haven’t. Twelve hundred Israelis, innocent Israelis slaughtered, mutilated, raped, tortured, and they’re living right next to that kind of threat, still a viable threat in Rafah,” said Kirby. “Israel has every right to not want to live next to that kind of threat. And yes, we’re going to continue to provide them the capabilities to go after it.”
Pushing on: Israeli tanks advanced further into Rafah yesterday, as Israel said it was expanding its operation in the Gazan city.