Daily Kickoff
Good Wednesday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at the Biden administration’s mixed messaging on the Israel-Hamas war, report on the debate over the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza and spotlight the families of American hostages in Washington this week as they push for their loved ones’ releases. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Rep. Rob Menendez, Elliot Brandt and Jonny Greenwood.
Actions speak as loudly as polls — and the latest flurry of developments in the high-stakes primary between anti-Israel Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and Westchester County Executive George Latimer speak volumes about the direction of the race, Jewish Insider Editor-in-Chief Josh Kraushaar writes.
Former Rep. Mondaire Jones’ (D-NY) decision to endorse Latimer is significant for three reasons: 1) It reflects the growing Democratic consensus that Bowman is in serious trouble and the Latimer bandwagon is growing; 2) It’s a move borne out of Jones’ own political interest, given that he’s running in a neighboring swing district against Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY); 3) Jones’ sharp critique of Bowman is particularly damaging because of Jones’ standing as a barrier-breaking Black progressive who recently represented Westchester County in Congress.
Jones is merely the latest in a line of notable Democratic officials who have either endorsed Latimer or stayed on the sidelines. Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano and White Plains Mayor Thomas Roach, both of whom represent political bellwether cities in the primary, backed Latimer. Jay Jacobs, the state Democratic Party chair, praised Latimer in a recent interview without saying a word about Bowman.
Their snub of the sitting congressman wouldn’t be happening unless they all viewed him as a politically wounded candidate with diminishing support.
Second, as a candidate in one of the biggest battleground House districts in the country, Jones couldn’t afford to stay neutral in a race featuring one of the most anti-Israel lawmakers in the country. Jones needs to win over the Jewish vote in his race against Lawler, and sidestepping the elephant in the room was becoming untenable. Both Bowman and Jones were elected together in 2020 running as path-breaking progressives — though Jones campaigned as a pro-Israel progressive, while Bowman ousted one of Israel’s strongest allies in Congress that year.
Jones backed Bowman’s candidacy in 2020, and as a lawmaker, worked with Squad members on progressive legislation — so his Latimer endorsement shows how much the political winds have shifted. Even as he takes heat from the left for his changed views, Jones clearly appreciates it’s more important to win over the pro-Israel middle than cater to the hard-left base.
Third, Jones’ own condemnation of Bowman’s record is powerful fodder — and a crucial line of defense — for Latimer. Jones told JI’s Marc Rod that Bowman has caused “fearfulness” in the Jewish community, and defended Latimer against the racially charged attacks Bowman has been advancing against his challenger. Jones’ credibility with progressive and Black voters makes it harder for Bowman to thread together a progressive coalition in the face of already-widespread opposition in the district.
It’s hard for Bowman to credibly argue that Latimer is the candidate of right-wing donors, when the area’s barrier-breaking former congressman is touting his record on social justice.
Politics is a game of self-interest more than high-minded principle. So when far-left Squad lawmakers like Bowman become too toxic for even onetime allies, it’s worth taking notice — and appreciating how the political winds have shifted in the last few years.
The most notable election result from Tuesday’s night’s primaries: Rep. Rob Menendez (D-NJ) handily defeated Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, all but securing a second term in Congress. Menendez looked vulnerable as a result of his father’s legal troubles, but the power of the local Democratic machine, which backed the congressman’s reelection, proved significant.
The results markedanothersetback for progressives, who had rallied behind Bhalla’s campaign.
In New Jersey’s 9th Congressional District, Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) easily swatted down a primary challenge from Prospect Park Mayor Mohamed Khairullah, who campaigned mainly against Pascrell’s support for Israel. While Khairullah picked up support in Arab and Muslim areas of the district, Pascrell won with 77% of the vote.
people-pleasing approach
Biden’s mixed messaging on Israel confuses friends and foes alike
The White House’s pattern of contradicting itself over Israel’s war against Hamas has become a regular occurrence since the start of the war. Interpreting what the administration’s precise policy is at any given moment can take Talmudic levels of parsing, and clarifying whether Biden’s often-vague language reflects a change in message, or is simply a function of misspeaking, is a frequent challenge for journalists, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports
Keep everyone happy: Stakeholders and experts describe a White House approach rooted in a desire to appease divergent and at times conflicting constituencies, stemming from difficult political realities at home and a fear that the bloody conflict in Gaza will still be raging as Election Day approaches. But trying to make everyone happy is often a self-defeating strategy in Washington, especially on one of the most divisive issues in politics.
Salvaging the Democratic coalition: “There’s a big danger that the Biden team faces in trying to be everything to everyone and all people at once, that you may end up risking being nothing meaningful,” said Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute.
aid arguments
Inside the fierce debate over aid to Gaza
For months, international aid agencies and governments around the world, including close allies of Israel, have accused the Jewish state of not doing enough to ensure Palestinian civilians in Gaza are receiving basic food supplies and other crucial aid. But since the early days of the war with Hamas, Israel has insisted that it is doing everything it can to facilitate the entry of aid sent by multiple countries and international groups into the Palestinian enclave. A recent scientific study into the quality and quantity of food that has entered Gaza in recent months found that it meets international nutritional standards – and it should adequately provide for the territory’s entire population, Jewish Insider’s Ruth Marks Eglash reports.
Findings: Based on data provided by COGAT, the study, carried out by several top Israeli academics and public health officials, found that the quantity and nutritional composition of the food that was delivered between January and April this year even exceeded the Sphere standards, an internationally recognized benchmark for humanitarian response, and that it should have adequately provided for the territory’s entire population of around 2.4 million.
International claims: Aron Troen, a professor of agriculture, food and environment at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who was involved in conducting the study, told JI that the research was prompted by inaccuracies in the data being published by U.N. aid agencies and other international bodies, such as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Organization, that monitor and analyze food security around the world. “The reports were based on scams and limited data,” he said, adding, “the predictions of famine were based on worst-case scenarios.”
icc pressure
42 House Democrats join Republicans in support of ICC sanctions
Forty-two House Democrats voted with Republicans in favor of a bill placing sanctions on the International Criminal Court over its pursuit of arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Emily Jacobs report.
What happened: Democrats who voted for the bill include Reps. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), who are running for the Senate, along with other mostly moderate, pro-Israel Democrats. Republican Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Warren Davidson (R-OH) voted present. The bill had no Democratic co-sponsors, despite failed efforts to build bipartisan consensus and negotiate legislation that might be able to pass both chambers of Congress and be approved into law.
Room for compromise: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told JI he was amenable to altering the House legislation in order to get the bill across the finish line in a bipartisan fashion. “If there’s a way to change the House bill that makes sense, count me in,” Graham said when asked about concerns about the lack of bipartisanship in the bill from Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD). “I’m for the House bill but if it would get us some votes, I’m open-minded [to making changes].”
Also on Capitol Hill: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen agreed to engage in further discussions with Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) about possible sanctions against Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich over what Van Hollen described as actions “undermining peace, security and stability in the West Bank.”
on the hill
Current hostage deal proposal is ‘the best, last chance’ to free captives, hostage’s father says
Families of American hostages still being held in Gaza joined U.S. lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to push strongly for the Israeli-approved hostage deal laid out by President Joe Biden last week, emphasizing that the onus is on Hamas to finalize the deal, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
A father’s appeal: Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of Sagui Dekel-Chen, said in a roundtable with House lawmakers that “there is more than enough evidence to show that this deal that has been offered by Israel and supported by the United States … is probably the best, last chance to get any of our loved ones, and any of the 124 hostages who still remain in Gaza.” Dekel-Chen emphasized that the burden is on Hamas to approve the deal, saying that “the time is now for Hamas to prove that its real interests are for the people of Gaza, and not just for the killing of Jews and Israelis.”
Holding onto hope: “We need Hamas to get to a yes,” Ruby Chen, father of Itay Chen, said. “And the U.S. advocating for that development, and Congress to do whatever they can to make sure that we get a yes, in order to get this deal going, in order for us to be able to move on with our lives.” Ali Alexander, father of Idan Alexander, said the current moment is a “perfect storm” for a deal, and that everything hinges on Hamas’ reply.
Onus on Hamas: Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), who is running for her state’s Senate seat, said she had been at the White House earlier Tuesday morning speaking to a negotiator departing shortly for hostage talks in the Middle East, and agreed that it is a “perfect storm.” Slotkin noted, “We’ve had a bunch of parties in Israel come forward and say they support the deal. And the deal is strikingly similar to what Hamas itself put up five weeks ago. So at this point, if they don’t take it, it’s just to prolong the suffering of their own people for their own purposes.”
Bonus: CIA Director William Burns and Brett McGurk, White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, departed the U.S. for hostage talks in Doha and Cairo.
transition
AIPAC No. 2 Elliot Brandt to lead group as next CEO
Elliot Brandt, the current vice CEO of AIPAC, is set to take over as the organization’s next chief executive at the end of the year, when current CEO Howard Kohr retires, the influential pro-Israel lobbying and advocacy group announced on Tuesday. Brandt has spent nearly three decades at AIPAC, beginning in San Francisco before moving to Los Angeles and then Washington, D.C., in 2015 to become AIPAC’s managing director, according to an AIPAC statement. He assumed the vice CEO role in January, months before Kohr announced his retirement in March, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Achievements: The AIPAC release credits Brandt with playing an “integral role in driving” AIPAC’s landmark shift in the 2021 election cycle into direct political spending and fundraising through a new PAC and super PAC, and with doubling AIPAC’s fundraising.
‘Gifted communicator’: “Elliot is a gifted and effective communicator. Over the past nine years, he has traveled to nearly every community in the country, meeting with countless AIPAC members and effectively expanding the circle of donors engaging in our work to strengthen bipartisan support for Israel in Congress,” the statement reads. “From major speeches to individual conversations, Elliot is unmatched in how he articulates our mission and motivates our membership.”
Elsewhere in Washington: Attorney General Merrick Garland told lawmakers yesterday that “after Oct. 7, the threat level [of a terrorist attack] for us has gone up enormously.” FBI Director Christopher Wray, in a separate hearing, reiterated a view he’s expressed previously, that the FBI is concerned that individuals or small groups will be inspired by events in the Middle East to launch a domestic attack, and that the Jewish community is uniquely threatened. But he said the possibility of a coordinated foreign terrorist attack in the homeland, like one by ISIS in Russia, is also “increasingly concerning.” He also warned about the Iranian cyber threat.
Worthy Reads
Wrong on Iran: In The Wall Street Journal, former National Security Advisor John Bolton raises concerns about the Biden administration’s policies on Iran. “Mr. Biden decided to concentrate world attention on Gaza rather than on Iran as the puppet-master. Doing so has helped obscure that Gaza is only one component of the larger ring-of-fire threat. Many Israelis, including several members of the war cabinet, have long focused on the close-to-home threat of Palestinian terrorists rather than the existential threat of a nuclear-armed Iran. This joint failure enabled Tehran’s propaganda to outmatch Jerusalem’s, leaving the false impression of a moral equivalence. Had the U.S. and Israel explained the barbarity of Oct. 7 in such broader strategic terms, they would necessarily have concentrated attention on Iran’s coming succession crisis. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is old and ailing. President Ebrahim Raisi’s still-unexplained demise has already launched a succession struggle that could transform Iran. The U.S. and its allies should help the Iranian opposition fracture the Islamic Revolution at the top. Instead, Mr. Biden, who couldn’t conceive of overthrowing the ayatollahs, has dispatched envoys to beg Iran not to stir things up further before November.” [WSJ]
Threat Assessment: In The Free Press, Ayaan Hirsi Ali considers the threats facing Western society. “The West’s inheritance springs from a peculiar confluence of habits and customs that had been practiced for centuries before anyone branded them as ‘ideas.’ But they are principles — radical ones — that have given us the most tolerant, free, and flourishing societies in all of human history. Among these principles are the rule of law, a tradition of liberty, personal responsibility, a system of representative government, a toleration of difference, and a commitment to pluralism. Each of these ideas might have been extinguished in their infancy but for the grace of God and the force of their appeal. Perhaps it is because I was born into a part of the world where these principles were nonexistent that I feel a particular love for them — and an instinct for when they are in danger. Right now, so many Western nations are under grave threat from the twin forces of cultural Marxism and an expansionist political Islam familiar to me from my youth.” [FreePress]
Mnuchin’s MO:Bloomberg’s Max Abelson spotlights Steve Mnuchin, as the former Treasury secretary looks to enter the investment space through his Liberty Strategic Capital firm. “At 61, he’s sitting atop a roughly $3 billion fund, trying to chart a path for himself to the highest levels of financial capitalism, according to interviews with more than two dozen people who’ve worked with him at each step of his career, from New York to Hollywood, Washington and Riyadh. ‘Money is very, very important, people take it seriously — I get it — but I don’t think it’s only that,’ said Jon Corzine, who ran Goldman Sachs Group Inc. when Mnuchin worked there, then became a U.S. senator and New Jersey’s governor. What his old colleague wants, he said, is influence — like the kind enjoyed by the American executives who recently met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. ‘The more successful they are, the better opportunity they have to be at the table,’ said Corzine, who also ran MF Global as the brokerage collapsed. ‘Some people are addicted.’” [Bloomberg]
Orszag’s Moves: The Financial Times’ Sujeet Indap and Joshua Franklin look at how Lazard CEO Peter Orszag, former head of the Office of Management and Budget in the Obama administration, is working to revamp the company since coming onboard last fall. “Orszag has used his star power to become an indefatigable brand ambassador for Lazard. He is a ubiquitous presence on business television and at wonky think-tank symposia, often talking about macroeconomic policy. And last month, he attended a state dinner at the White House honoring the president of Kenya. Orszag has also begun hosting a ‘salon’ series where luminaries are invited to his home or the Lazard office in the evenings to discuss the events of the moment: it is an idea cribbed from Blair Effron, co-founder of the ultra-successful Centerview Partners, who has used such client soirées to great effect. Orszag’s Washington/New York stature is seen as enough to get important people into a room and eventually convert them into fee-paying clients.” [FT]
Around the Web
Calendar Criticism: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) blamed House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) for reported plans to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak in Washington on June 13, saying neither he nor Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) were consulted about the date, which falls on the Jewish holiday of Shavuot.
Jet Set: Israel and the U.S. finalized a $3 billion agreement to procure 25 F-35 fighter jets in 2028.
Border Bluster: After eight months of a war of attrition between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, officials on both sides are warning of a full-blown military conflict.
Age-Old Question: The Wall Street Journalreports on concerns by both Republicans and Democrats over President Joe Biden’s declining faculties, amid concerns over Biden’s ability to serve out a second term.
Subdued Sunrise: The Sunrise Movement, whose D.C. chapter withdrew from a 2021 voting rights rally over the inclusion of pro-Israel groups, is withholding its endorsement of President Joe Biden, citing the administration’s actions regarding the Israel-Hamas war and fossil fuels.
On the Trump Train: Venture capitalist David Sacks, who previously backed Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns, is backing former President Donald Trump, and will host a $300,000 per-person fundraiser in his San Francisco home.
Digital Dish: Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs is reportedly behind a $2 million effort to target U.S. lawmakers and voters in an effort to grow support for Israel in its war against Hamas.
Iran Censure: State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the U.S. expects to back a joint censure of Iran submitted by the U.K., France and Germany to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Tough on Tehran: A group of House and Senate members — led by Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and also including Democratic Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) — introduced a resolution urging the administration to support the IAEA censure.
Island Ire: Gottheimer is preparing legislation that would condition U.S. aid to the Maldives on the island nation’s allowance of Israeli passport holders into the country; the Maldives announced earlier this week that Israelis would not be permitted to enter.
Book Brouhaha: Ohio’s attorney general is seeking to halt the sale of rare books housed in the Klau Library at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, after the school indicated it was considering selling some of the artifacts to pay down its debts.
Stop the Presses: The website of the Columbia Law Reviewwas taken offline after the publication of an article titled “Nakba as a Legal Concept”; the publication’s board of directors had raised concerns about the publication process of the article, which the board said in a letter to students had not gone through the “usual processes of review or selection.”
Campus Beat: Under the terms of a settlement reached with a Jewish student, Columbia University will increase safety measures at the school, including the creation of a position to help students coordinate safe passage on campus and academic accommodations for students who couldn’t attend classes in person over safety issues.
School Daze: A New Jersey high school teacher under fire for an anti-Israel class presentation resigned from their position, angering parents who called for the Ft. Lee school district to fire the instructor.
Mea Culpa: A school district superintendent in British Columbia apologized after a class of middle schoolers in the Burnaby School District was asked to debate whether Israel should exist.
Food for Thought: More than a dozen Jewish organizations pulled their support for the Oregon Food Bank after the food bank issued a statement calling for “a ceasefire of Israel’s violence against Palestinians.”
Backing Statehood: Slovenia’s government backed a recent parliament vote to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state.
Embassy Incident: The U.S. Embassy in Beirut was targeted by gunfire; the only reported injury was that of the assailant, who was taken into custody.
Tuning It Out: Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood slammed anti-Israel activists who criticized his recent collaboration with Israeli musician Dudu Tassa, saying that those calling for him to end their partnership are “unprogressive.”
Tibon’s Tale: Levitation Productions tapped “Fauda” co-creators Avi Isaacaroff and Lior Raz to script the upcoming film “October 7th,” about Maj. Gen. (res.) Noam Tibon’s rescue of his son’s family from Kibbutz Nahal Oz.
Relief Aid: IsraAid dispatched a team to Papua New Guinea to assist in relief and recovery efforts following a landslide that left 2,000 people missing or dead.
Prison Probe: Israel’s Supreme Court is weighing the closure of the Sde Teiman detention facility, days after the IDF launched a probe into the conditions of three camps housing detained Palestinians from Gaza.
Hack Work: U.S. prosecutors are seeking to extradite an Israeli private investigator from London in connection with an investigation into a global hacking-for-hire operation.
Transition: John Rogovin was named general counsel of ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok.
Remembering: Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, a key player in expanding the Chabad-Lubavitch movement’s outreach and emcee of the annual Kinus Hashluchim, died at 74. Journalist Ben White, the chief economic correspondent for Politico, died at 52.
Pic of the Day
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with families of the remaining American hostages in Washington on Tuesday. Reps. Dan Goldman (D-NY), Haley Stevens (D-MI) and French Hill (R-AR) are slated to participate in a roundtable discussion with the families today.
Birthdays
Israeli politician, diplomat and businessperson, he served as consul general of Israel in Philadelphia from 1988 to 1992, Israel Peleg turns 75..,
Lithuanian-born Holocaust survivor, co-founder of the Virginia Holocaust Museum in Richmond, Va., known for his ever-present cowboy hat, Jay M. Ipson turns 89… Training director and broker associate of the Santa Monica, Berkshire Hathaway Home Services branch, Saul Bubis… Owner of the NFL’s New England Patriots and founder of the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, Robert Kraft turns 83… Former project manager at CSA Group, now an ESG consultant, Dan Yurman… VP of new business development at Maresco & Partners, Linda Greenfield… Author of 11 personal finance books, financial adviser, motivational speaker and television host, Susan Lynn “Suze” Orman turns 73… Staff member at Burbank Temple Emanu El, Audrey Freedman-Habush… Portrait photographer and visual anthropologist, she is the author of The Jews of Wyoming: Fringe of the Diaspora, Penny Diane Wolin turns 71… Former commissioner on the U.S. International Trade Commission, Dean A. Pinkert turns 68… Best-selling instrumental musician, the saxophonist “Kenny G,” Kenneth Bruce Gorelick turns 68… Columnist for the New York Post, Andrea Peyser turns 65… Head of legal at Compass real estate, Sam Kraemer… EVP and managing director at DC’s Burson Cohn & Wolfe (BCW), Michael Heimowitz… Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament for eight years until 2022, Gila Deborah Martow turns 63… VP of government affairs at Invenergy, Mark S. Weprin turns 63… First-ever Jewish speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates when she was elected in 2020, now running for Congress, Eileen R. Filler-Corn turns 60… Beth A. Freeman… Member of Congress (D-PA), her father is a Jewish Holocaust survivor from Poland, Christina Jampoler Houlahan turns 57… Member of the British House of Commons for 15 years, now a member of the House of Lords, Baron Ed Vaizey turns 56… Entrepreneur, venture capitalist and author, he holds more than 100 granted and pending patents, Nova Spivack turns 55… Professor of Israel studies at UCLA, Dov Morris Waxman turns 50… Film and television actress, she has a recurring role in the Fox series “The Cleaning Lady,” Liza Rebecca Weil turns 47… Actor, voice actor, comedian, writer and producer, Nicholas Kroll turns 46… Co-founder of BlueLabs and director of analytics for the campaigns of both Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Barack Obama in 2012, his father and grandfather were both rabbis, Elan Alter Kriegel… Research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, he was previously a member of the New Hampshire state legislature, Jason Bedrick turns 41… Partner relationship manager at Voyant, Arielle Levy Marschark… Account director on the corporate PR team at M Booth, Maya Bronstein… Clara Moskowitz… Susan Stein…
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