Daily Kickoff
Good Monday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we cover the firing of a congressional campaign manager in a Washington state race to succeed Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA) over the manager’s social media posts supporting terrorism, report on Sen. John Fetterman’s upcoming trip to Israel later this week and look at how Rep. Jamaal Bowman is leaning into extreme anti-Israel rhetoric in the final days before New York’s primaries. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: David Lammy, Mark Ghermezian and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
What We’re Watching
- It’s the final day of campaigning in New York before voters head to the polls tomorrow. ICYMI, check out the down-ballot races we’re watching in and around New York City.
- Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is in Washington today for meetings with senior government officials. Yesterday he met with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and AIPAC leadership after flying down from New York on a U.S. government plane. More below.
- The Aspen Ideas Festival is happening this week in Aspen, Colo. Speakers today include former Secretary of State John Kerry, former Deputy National Security Advisor Matt Pottinger and new Orioles owner David Rubenstein, as well as Stanford student journalist Theo Baker, who is speaking on a panel titled “Academia at a Crossroads.” Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch is reporting from the conference all week.
- Officials in Los Angeles are responding after violent clashes — including the use of bear spray by at least one of the masked anti-Israel protesters — broke out outside of a synagogue in the heavily Jewish neighborhood of Pico-Robertson.
- The Israeli Embassy in Washington is hosting a reception this evening for a SelectUSA business delegation.
What You Should Know
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant arrived in Washington on Sunday for several days of meetings with top U.S. officials. Gallant will hold meetings with Secretary of State Tony Blinken, CIA Director Bill Burns and the National Security Council’s Brett McGurk today.
Gallant’s trip comes amid an escalation in tensions between Jerusalem and Washington after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down on his accusation that the Biden administration is slow-walking the delivery of some arms to Israel, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
Netanyahu told his cabinet on Sunday that, while he appreciates Biden’s support, “four months ago, there was a dramatic decrease in the munitions coming to Israel from the U.S.” Israel asked to expedite the shipments behind closed doors, and received “all kinds of explanations,” the prime minister said, yet only “certain items arrived sporadically, but the munitions at large stayed behind.”
Making the delay in weapons deliveries public was “vital to opening the bottleneck,” Netanyahu argued, saying that he is “willing to absorb personal attacks on behalf of the State of Israel … [and] to ensure that our heroic fighters receive the arms they need.”
“I hope and believe that this issue will be resolved in the near future,” he added.
Netanyahu’s remarks came days after he released a video pressing the Biden administration to ship arms to Israel, and as the White House is reportedly concerned that he will make similar remarks in his address to Congress planned for July 24th.
problematic posts
Washington congressional candidate fires campaign manager over pro-Hamas social media activity
Washington State Sen. Emily Randall, one of two leading Democratic candidates in the state’s 6th Congressional District, fired her campaign manager last week after Jewish Insider contacted her campaign about the campaign manager’s extensive anti-Israel and pro-Hamas social media activity, JI’s Marc Rod reports. Randall is running for the seat of retiring Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA), a centrist who is supporting Randall’s Democratic opponent, state Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz.
Go deeper: Randall’s campaign manager had liked an extensive string of eye-catching posts about Israel, including several valorizing Hamas and celebrating its continued survival, Randall said she hadn’t been aware of the activity until contacted by JI and dismissed the staffer when notified. Randall also went to great lengths in written responses to JI to outline her support for Israel’s right to defend itself from terrorism and oppose any conditions on military aid. Franz also outlined a strong pro-Israel platform, including decrying public breaks between the U.S. and Israel over withheld weapons transfers.
squirrel hill ceremony
Community members, political leaders gather for new Tree of Life synagogue groundbreaking
More than five years ago, 11 members of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community were murdered at the Tree of Life synagogue on Shabbat by a white nationalist gunman. The relatives of those killed, Squirrel Hill Jewish community members and political leaders gathered on Sunday for an official groundbreaking ceremony for a new building — housing a memorial, museum and house of worship — that will be built on the site of the synagogue, much of which has been demolished, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Top of mind: Among the politicians who spoke, current events were top of mind, even as they reflected on the toll of the Oct. 27, 2018, attack and the lingering wounds in the community. In a speech sprinkled with Hebrew and Yiddish words, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said the new Tree of Life complex and the memory of that day should help counter rising hate in Pennsylvania and the U.S. “I know this is a difficult time in America, on college campuses and in our town squares. Antisemitism is rising, and some world leaders at times offer permission slips to hate. Here, here on this sacred ground, we should learn the lessons of the past, develop the tools to speak up and build safer communities for all,” Shapiro said.
trip talk
Fetterman to make first trip to Israel this week
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) will travel to Israel this week, three sources familiar with the matter confirmed to Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs. The trip, which will take place on Wednesday and Thursday, will mark Fetterman’s first-ever visit to Israel and his second international trip since being elected to the Senate in 2022.
Rare travel: Despite being one of Israel’s strongest allies in the Democratic Party, the Pennsylvania senator has never been to the country. Fetterman has been on only one congressional delegation out of the United States, his first being a brief visit to Turks and Caicos last month as part of a bipartisan delegation that facilitated the release of five detained Americans. Fetterman, who suffered a stroke during his Senate campaign, has spent most of his time between Washington and Pennsylvania since being elected.
squad goals
In closing arguments, Bowman leans in on extreme rhetoric toward Israel
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) turned up the heat in his closing arguments to supporters at a sweltering campaign rally in the South Bronx on Saturday, during which he uncorked a profanity-laden tirade against AIPAC, accused his primary challenger of supporting genocide in Gaza and reiterated his call for a cease-fire, which he has defiantly embraced as one of his top issues in Tuesday’s primary election, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Cutting his losses: The weekend rally, joined by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), was held outside Bowman’s district, underscoring how he appears to have cut his losses in seeking to court key constituencies as polling has indicated he is likely to lose. It also demonstrated how Bowman is leaning into his extreme positions and caustic rhetoric in the final days of his closely watched race against George Latimer, the Westchester County executive leading by double digits.
Elsewhere:Politicolooks at how a 2021 J Street trip to Israel contributed to Bowman’s shift to be highly critical of the Jewish state.
u.k. election
Britain could soon have a new foreign secretary. What would that mean for Israel?
When David Lammy talks about growing up in North London, home of one of the city’s largest Jewish communities, he recalls with genuine fondness the way British Jews embraced his father – who arrived in the U.K. from Guyana – and his own strong relationship both personally and professionally with Jewish people. Now those ties could be put to the test, if the Labour Party wins the upcoming July 4 general election, and the long-serving British lawmaker is appointed by party leader Keir Starmer to become the country’s next foreign secretary. Jewish Insider’s Ruth Marks Eglash spoke to multiple people personally familiar with the British MP about his relationship with the Jewish community and his approach to Israel.
Close to U.S. stance: Like President Joe Biden, Labour and its leaders began with deep empathy for Israel after the Oct. 7 terror attacks, before moving to calls for humanitarian pauses and cautionary warnings to Israel about Palestinian civilian casualties ahead of its military operation in Rafah. More recently, Lammy and other party leaders have been calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and have said they would take steps to recognize a Palestinian state if they take power. “I think the Labour position – and the British government one – has closely followed the Biden one,” Michael Rubin, director of Labour Friends of Israel, told JI. He said that he believed Labour – and Lammy’s – commitment to Israel to be strong and genuine.
Bonus: In a Guardian profile of Starmer that suggests that his wife is Jewish, Starmer responds that his wife and children are “not Jewish for reasons I won’t bore you with.” Starmer does, however, note that the family enjoys watching “Friday Night Dinner,” a British comedy series about a Jewish family that gathers for dinner at the end of every week.
eroded kinship
Manhattan Institute event delves into Black-Jewish relations
What did Black-Jewish relations look like during the Civil Rights Movement? How did the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel influence the Black-Jewish relationship? What can be done to reverse current polling trends among young Black people that suggest sympathy for Hamas and support for antisemitic viewpoints? And how can the two communities return to the kinship once shared by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel? Those were among the questions addressed on Thursday at a panel discussion and reception titled “Black Jewish Relations and Returning to a Shared Legacy,” at an event held by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research at the Monterey restaurant in New York City, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Haley Cohen reports for Jewish Insider.
Not representative: In the keynote interview, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) — in conversation with Juan Williams, a Fox News political analyst and author of Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years — said that the members of Congress who are vocally anti-Israel, most notably some members of the Squad, are not actually representative of Black members of Congress on issues of support for Israel and condemnation of Hamas. Torres, who represents the Bronx’s heavily Jewish neighborhood of Riverdale, as well as heavily Black and Hispanic parts of the South Bronx, pointed to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) as an example of a pro-Israel House member.
Worthy Reads
A Mother’s Anguish: Dr. Ayelet Levy Shachar, whose daughter Naama is a hostage in Gaza, penned a letter, published in the New York Post, to mark Naama’s 20th birthday. “Naama, your captors have denied medical visits from the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations, and this has left us in complete darkness about your well-being. We know nothing. As a physician, I am tormented by the realization that the person I most want to save in this world, I cannot. My Naamonet, I speak to you in my heart every day. Do you hear me? When I close my eyes, I see you in front of me smiling. Do you see me? Every day I sit with my thoughts and am overcome by unspeakable anguish and pain. I ask myself, how did we reach this point? And today that pain is even sharper. You should be celebrating your birthday laughing with friends, blowing out candles with your two brothers and sister, hugging your father and me. You should be celebrating at home.” [NYPost]
Making an Impression: For CNN, Mijal Bitton reflects on the effect that anti-Israel protests are having on young Jewish Americans — pushing them toward Israel, instead of away. “But for most of us American Jews, Zionism is the belief that Jews have a right to self-determination in their historical homeland. At the heart of this Zionism is the security in having at least one place in the world that never closes its doors to displaced and oppressed Jews. This Zionism is dedicated to fighting for an Israel that is liberal and democratic and also holds hope for dignity, rights and freedoms for Palestinians. I see this vision resonating with young Jews who never would have thought of themselves as Zionists before. I have spoken with young professionals who in college were too progressive to visit Israel but now are convinced that if America betrays its values, Israel is the only other country that would have their backs. I have spoken with dozens of Jews who are looking into real estate opportunities in Israel as an insurance plan in case they have to flee their communities. This is not just talk — just about anyone born a Jew today is a descendant of refugees who were either lucky or alert enough to survive persecution by leaving their homes behind.” [CNN]
Debate Prep: In The New York Times, Frank Luntz outlines what former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden could do to come out on top in this week’s presidential debate. “This week brings us potentially one of the most consequential debates since Mr. Kennedy and Richard Nixon’s. The expectations are already high for Mr. Trump, who dared Mr. Biden to debate at any time or place of his choosing. It is quite possible that Mr. Trump will regret issuing such a public challenge, and Mr. Biden may regret accepting the offer. To shape and sway voter opinion, the two opponents need to use the debate to do what Mr. Reagan, Mr. Obama and Mr. Trump did at their best: Crystallize the stakes of the race and the choice in November with a single memorable line that speaks to the feelings, instincts and perhaps even the fears of so many voters about America today.” [NYTimes]
Cairo Crunch: In The Wall Street Journal, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Reuel Marc Gerecht suggests that the U.S. and Israel need to increase pressure on Egypt as they contemplate the day-after in Gaza. “No matter what the Israelis end up doing in Gaza, Washington should get serious about Cairo’s behavior. Through decades of greed and central planning, the Egyptian army has impoverished Egypt and continually turns to other countries for bailouts. Neither Russia nor China will give Egypt something in exchange for nothing. Neither Saudi Arabia nor the United Arab Emirates, off whom the Egyptians try to leech, has the means or desire to save Cairo from dysfunction. By contrast, Washington has the means and the will to help Cairo, and it should use that leverage to do a lot more arm-twisting of the Egyptian military. The U.S. and Israel have nothing to lose and more than a little to gain.” [WSJ]
Word on the Street
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that the current phase of fighting in Gaza is winding down as the IDF prepares to redirect troops to the border with Lebanon…
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown cautioned that an Israeli offensive into Lebanon could trigger an Iranian response on behalf of its proxy Hezbollah; Iranian officials and observers, meanwhile, said that thousands of Iran-backed fighters across the region are prepared to come to the aid of Hezbollah…
U.S. military officials said that Houthi claims that the Iran-backed militant group had attacked the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower were false; the ship is returning to the U.S, while the USS Theodore Roosevelt will head to the region…
Meanwhile, the Houthis released a new music video threatening to attack the U.S., U.K. and Israel…
A top State Department official working on the Israel-Palestinian portfolio is departing Foggy Bottom, citing personal reasons…
The Biden reelection campaign is planning to hire a faith engagement director focused on outreach to the Jewish community, amid concerns over lagging support among Jewish voters in must-win states ahead of the November election…
The New Yorker spotlights Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), asking whether the Pennsylvania legislator is “trolling the left or offering a way forward for Democrats”…
Semafor’s Dave Weigel looks at why anti-Israel agitators have largely not gained traction in the Republican Party…
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff talked to CBS News about the increasingly prominent role he’s taken on as the Biden administration works to combat antisemitism…
The Washington Post looks at former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s efforts to engage with Democratic Jewish voters in the state, as the GOP senses an opportunity to win over the demographic amid increasing divisions in the Democratic Party over support for Israel…
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers in Sacramento reached a deal on a 2025 state budget, which includes a record $80 million annually for two years for the state’s nonprofit security grant program. Jewish advocates and lawmakers cheered the deal, which represents a major increase from $20 million in the 2024 budget and $50 million the year before…
New Washington Post publisher and CEO Will Lewis has expressed concerns about his paper’s anti-Israel bias, according to Puck, and questioned former editor Sally Buzbee’s reluctance to report on the financing behind anti-Israel protests on college campuses. Buzbee said that her daughter participated in the protest at her own school…
Tech startup Gynger raised $20 million in a Series A funding round led by PayPal Ventures; the startup was incubated by Mark Ghermezian’s m]x[v Capital…
Leadership of the Jewish Federations of North America met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine last week…
Canada will extend its work visa option for Israelis through July 2025, citing the potential for war against Hezbollah…
Bloomberg spotlights the Israeli business leaders who are considering entering politics over the government’s handling of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks and ensuing war in Gaza. Among those who are considering a pivot to politics: former Mellanox CEO Eyal Waldman, Pitango’s Chemi Peres, Papaya Global’s Eynat Guez and Wiz’s Assaf Rappaport…
Saudi Ambassador to the U.K. Prince Khalid bin Bandar said that normalization between Riyadh and Israel will not happen without the recognition of a Palestinian state…
Bahrain and Iran will resume talks about restoring relations between the two countries, eight years after Manama and Tehran severed diplomatic ties…
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel called on Tokyo and Washington to work to accelerate the joint production of weapons, citing a need to deter China and provide support to Ukraine…
Iran’s Supreme Court overturned a death sentence handed down to rapper Toomaj Saleh; the artist was arrested in October 2022 after publicly supporting the anti-government protests that had swept the country…
More than 1,300 people died during this year’s Hajj to Mecca in Saudi Arabia; officials attribute many of the deaths to the high temperatures in the region…
More than a dozen people, including numerous law enforcement officials and a priest, were killed in a series of attacks on churches and synagogues in Russia’s Dagestan region…
Mubadala Capital is acquiring an expansion team in Larry Ellison’s SailGP; the Oracle co-founder’s sailing league returned to New York over the weekend…
Art dealer Barbara Gladstone died at 89…
Journalist and alt-country staple Jeremy Tepper died at 60…
Pic of the Day
Dov Forman (far left) watches as Jonathan Conricus, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies; John Bolt, assistant superintendent of the Normandy American Cemetery; and Rabbi Jacob J. Schacter, president of Operation Benjamin, shovel dirt onto the grave of 1st Lt. Nathan B. Baskind at the American Cemetery in Normandy, France. Baskind was declared Missing in Action until his remains were identified in a mass grave of German soldiers earlier this year.
Birthdays
The first on-air talent of the NFL Network when it debuted in 2003, he has become the face of the network ever since, Rich Eisen turns 55…
Ruth Weinstein… Co-founder of Trian Fund Management, Nelson Peltz turns 82… Professor emeritus in the College of Business at San Francisco State University, Sam S. Gill turns 82… Former chairman and CEO of New York Life Insurance Company, Seymour “Sy” Sternberg turns 81… Professor of Jewish philosophy at American Jewish University and founding dean of its rabbinical program, Rabbi Elliot N. Dorff turns 81… Founder of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, he is also the founder of Yeshivat Maharat, Rabbi Avraham Haim Yosef (Avi) Weiss turns 80… Former secretary of labor in the Clinton administration, he is an author and professor at UC Berkeley, Robert Reich turns 78… Former member of Knesset and former chief of staff of the IDF, Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon turns 74… Early childhood specialist at Columbus City Schools and Columbus School for Girls in Columbus, Ohio, Carol Glassman… EVP at Edelman, he is the author of a book on the Saatchi & Saatchi ad firm, Kevin Goldman… Circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Sandra Segal Ikuta turns 70… President and CEO of public relations firm Steinreich Communications, Stanley Steinreich… U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Florida, Beth Francine Bloom turns 62… President-elect of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo turns 62… Principal until 2023 of Mount Scopus Memorial College located in Melbourne, Australia, Rabbi James Kennard turns 60… Israeli businesswoman and owner of the soccer team, Hapoel Beer Sheva, Alona Barkat turns 55… Author and columnist, he is the managing editor at Shtetl, Shulem Deen turns 50… Singer and songwriter professionally known as Ariel Pink, Ariel Marcus Rosenberg turns 46… Film director, screenwriter, producer, editor and cinematographer, Todd Strauss-Schulson turns 44… Director of domestic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, Matthew Continetti turns 43… Digital marketing manager at Guardian Pharmacy Services, Brett Rosner… One-half of the husband-and-wife duo known for their YouTube channel h3h3Productions, Ethan Edward Klein turns 39… VP of Houston-based RIDA Development, Steven C. Mitzner… A 2015 contestant on “Jeopardy!” who earned $413,612 by winning 13 consecutive episodes, Matthew Barnett “Matt” Jackson turns 32… Actress and singer, Elizabeth Greer “Beanie” Feldstein turns 31… Director of legislative fiscal affairs at the Rockland County (N.Y.) legislature, Moshe Gruber… College basketball player for the Harvard Crimson until 2022, then a graduate transfer player at NYU until last month, Spencer Freedman turns 26… Lois Charles…
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