Daily Kickoff
Good Monday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we preview Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to Washington, which comes a day after President Joe Biden’s announcement that he will not seek reelection. We look at Vice President Kamala Harris’ record on Israel, talk to Jewish leaders about Biden’s legacy and report on a Capitol Hill push to redesignate the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization following Friday’s attack on Tel Aviv. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Safra Catz and Albert Allaham.
What We’re Watching
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on his way to Washington today ahead of his address on Wednesday to a joint session of Congress. His meeting with President Joe Biden, originally slated for Monday, was moved to Tuesday. More below on Netanyahu’s trip from Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov.
- National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is slated to meet today with some of the hostage families who are in town ahead of Netanyahu’s address later this week.
- Vice President Kamala Harris will make her first public appearance since Biden’s announcement that he was ending his reelection campaign. Harris is set to speak this morning at a White House event honoring NCAA championship teams.
- Elsewhere in Washington, State Department Senior Advisor Ludo Hood is speaking at a Vandenberg Coalition event titled “A Weapon Against the West: Antisemitism and its anti-American Objectives.”
- U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle will appear at a House Oversight Committee hearing today on the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump earlier this month.
What You Should Know
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to Washington to deliver an address to a joint session of Congress was expected to be the talk of the town — both in Washington and Jerusalem, Jewish Insider Executive Editor Melissa Weiss reports.
Instead, it’s been overshadowed by a series of events in the U.S. and the broader Middle East, following President Joe Biden’s announcement on Sunday that he will not seek reelection and a major Israeli strike on the Red Sea port of Hodeidah in Yemen on Saturday. Netanyahu said on Saturday that the strike targeted a facility that “was used for military purposes, it was used as an entry point for deadly weapons supplied to the Houthis by Iran.”
The strike on the Hodeidah port was in retaliation for the Houthi drone strike that killed an Israeli civilian, a recent immigrant from Belarus, in Tel Aviv a day prior.
The Tel Aviv attack, which occurred several hundred yards from the U.S. Embassy Branch Office, prompted calls from Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill for the White House to redesignate the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Read more on Capitol Hill’s response here.
The attack is likely to prompt a renewed conversation over the designation. The Biden administration had revoked the designation, first assigned by former President Donald Trump, shortly after Biden took office.
An Israeli defense official told JI that the reprisal strike on the Hodeidah port was “completely an Israel strike,” but “because of the location and nature of the targets, we did update our U.S. counterparts.” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin both Friday and Saturday.
No further UAVs from Yemen have entered Israeli airspace since Friday, but the IDF remains on alert and on Sunday intercepted a surface-to-surface missile that approached Israeli territory from Yemen. A Houthi spokesperson described the situation as “open war” with Israel. The Israeli defense official, meanwhile, asserted to us that “We are capable of defending ourselves against anyone who decides to attack us.”
leftward lean
Kamala Harris’ record on Israel to the left of President Biden
While Vice President Kamala Harris has not yet earned the backing of Democratic leadership in Congress, now that President Joe Biden has stepped aside she looks like the presidential candidate to beat ahead of the party’s convention next month — bringing renewed attention to her record on issues of concern to the Jewish community, including her views on Israel and her record on speaking out against antisemitism. In recent months, Harris has been a tougher critic of Israel than President Joe Biden, who frequently describes himself as a Zionist, and as a voice more sympathetic to the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Where she stands: Three days after the Oct. 7 terror attacks in Israel, she sat with Biden as he spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. She was also present — virtually — for a meeting with the White House national security team after Israel responded to a barrage of missiles fired from Iran in April. But Harris is the only senior member of the Biden administration’s foreign policy not to have traveled to Israel after Oct. 7, making her an outlier alongside Biden, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
Backing Kamala: As endorsements poured in for Harris from Capitol Hill on Sunday, prominent pro-Israel lawmakers supporting Harris defended her record on Israel and antisemitism, amid questions about whether she would take a more critical stance than Biden, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
no rush
As rank-and-file Dems rally around Harris, some top leaders hold back endorsements
Vice President Kamala Harris quickly won support from many leading Democratic lawmakers after President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid, but several top party leaders withheld their endorsement — though that group shrank throughout the day on Sunday, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
State of play: The list of Democrats not yet jumping on the Harris bandwagon include: former President Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). But Harris has largely solidified her support among the party’s rank-and-file, and several other potential presidential or vice presidential aspirants offered their support, after not mentioning her in their initial statements.
biden’s legacy
Jewish leaders praise, reflect on Biden’s legacy
Jewish leaders and groups largely praised President Joe Biden’s legacy after his announcement on Sunday to end his presidential reelection campaign. Mark Mellman, the CEO of Democratic Majority for Israel, praised Biden in a statement “for his lifelong support for the U.S.-Israel alliance, and for ensuring the Democratic nominee for President has a strong pro-Israel platform on which to run in November.” Mellman praised the “the Biden-Harris Administration” for its record since Oct. 7 and support for Israel, but did not directly endorse Harris, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Haley Cohen reports for Jewish Insider.
Biden’s record: Nathan Diament, the executive director of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center, also offered praise for Biden’s record on Israel and antisemitism. “I appreciate how [Biden] by & large stood by Israel & the Jewish community as [president],” Diament tweeted. “His legacy will include him unabashedly self identifying as a Zionist & lover of Israel even in the most difficult times.” Halie Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America and former national security adviser to then-Sen. Harris expressed her appreciation for Biden’s leadership and also endorsed Harris for president.
bibi to dc
Netanyahu heads to Washington for Congress speech, Biden meeting
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed for Washington on Monday, for a visit likely to be overshadowed by President Joe Biden’s announcement on Sunday afternoon that he is dropping his reelection bid. While Netanyahu was set to address a joint session of Congress on Wednesday to raise support for Israel’s war aims in Gaza and its defense against attacks from across the Middle East, and to raise awareness of the hostages’ plight, Biden’s announcement — and ensuing debate over the eventual Democratic nominee — are likely to take center stage, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
On the agenda: The prime minister delayed his flight from Sunday to Monday after his sit-down with Biden was postponed a day to Tuesday due to the president’s recovery from COVID-19. Netanyahu is also expected to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris. The Israeli prime minister’s speech to Congress is expected to address the war in Gaza, Hezbollah’s escalating attacks on Israel’s north, as well as the Houthis attacks on Israel in recent days. The 120 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and the ongoing negotiations for their release will also be a central part of the address.
sullivan insights
National Security Advisor Sullivan predicts less controversial Netanyahu speech than 2015
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Friday that he expects Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to strike a different, and less divisive tone, in his upcoming address to Congress than he did in his 2015 speech railing against the Iran nuclear deal, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports from the Aspen Security Forum.
Different tone: “Our expectation is that his speech will be one that doesn’t look like 2015. It looks like what it should in the circumstances of today, and that is how the U.S. and Israel are [working] together,” Sullivan said during a panel at the Aspen Security Forum. “Whether that happens or not… we’ll see.” Sullivan said he expects the speech will “reinforce themes and arguments not at odds or in contradiction to our policy.”
Status update: Secretary of State Tony Blinken said on Friday at the Aspen Security Forum that Iran has reduced its nuclear breakout period — the time it would need to create sufficient fissile material for a nuclear weapon — to one to two weeks.
post-haste
Washington Post under fire for story ‘scolding the parents of a hostage’
The Washington Post, which has been widely criticized for its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, is under scrutiny again for publishing a news story on Thursday that appeared to criticize the parents of Israeli American hostage Omer Neutra for not discussing the suffering in Gaza, despite interviewing the mother and father and including comments in the story from them that the situation in Gaza is “horrible.” The article, written by national correspondent Joanna Slater, details Ronen and Orna Neutra’s visit to Milwaukee to speak at the Republican National Convention on behalf of their son, who has been held hostage by Hamas since Oct. 7, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.
Internal criticism: “When the Neutras speak publicly, they don’t talk about the ferocity of Israel’s counterattack, which has killed more than 38,000 Palestinians and left nearly 90,000 injured, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Swaths of the territory have been pulverized and international experts have warned of looming famine,” the story reads. “The Post keeps failing to meet its commitment to fairness in stories about American Jews. I know it’s costing us our readers’ trust, because they’ve told me so. Top management needs to fix this ASAP,” a Post journalist, speaking on condition of anonymity, told JI in response to learning of the piece.
Worthy Reads
The Israel Obsession: In The Atlantic, Arash Azizi posits that the outsized focus on Israel by the far-left wing of the Democratic Party is harming its own interests. “The obsessive anti-Israel maximalism of this section of the American left is bewildering. Domestic concerns long ago superseded internationalism for this group, and it’s hard to imagine the same people caring this much about any other foreign-policy issue. … That Israel should be the cause of a major rift among American leftists at this time is striking. The world’s richest country badly needs a socialist force that can stand against growing inequality and advocate persuasively for social and environmental justice. Taking loony, extremist positions on this issue is a sure means of self-marginalization.” [TheAtlantic]
The Rafah Strategy: The Wall Street Journal’s Elliot Kaufman interviews Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz about the IDF’s decision to invade Rafah, despite pushback from the international community. “It shouldn’t be a surprise that pressure on Hamas could yield gains in negotiations. Yet for months Western powers took the opposite approach, pressuring Israel to end the war and leave Hamas victorious. They called for an ‘immediate cease-fire,’ increasingly delinked from a hostage deal. Humanitarian groups upbraided Israel and kept quiet about Hamas. The International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court menaced Israel with bogus prosecutions and tribunals. Mr. Katz was on the receiving end of many lectures from Western officials. ‘I sat with foreign ministers, and they told me, “Don’t go to Rafah, don’t go to Rafah. It’ll be a mess.” And I told them, “What are you saying? You believe that we can leave Hamas in Rafah, and so five minutes after we withdraw, they will take all of Gaza?”’” [WSJ]
What Kind of Week Has It Been: In City Journal, Tevi Troy considers the historical impact of the events of the last week and a half. “This long ‘week’ began on July 13, with the failed assassination attempt against Donald Trump that came close to succeeding; the Secret Service is reeling under mounting revelations of security lapses, for which explanations will be demanded starting tomorrow, when Director Kimberly Cheatle appears before a House committee. Trump rose from the near miss, of course, and the image of his bloodied face and raised fist is sure to be one of the most iconic in presidential history. Though these two bookends — the Trump shooting and the Biden withdrawal — are certainly the most memorable events, the whole week has been historic. … We’ll be hard-pressed to find another nine days so packed with history. Then again, the 2024 campaign has demonstrated that its only speeds are fast and faster, its only route the one with the wildest twists and turns. We have a long way to go, and how we’ll get there is anyone’s guess.” [CityJournal]
Word on the Street
Several former Biden administration officials who resigned over his support for Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza told Politico that they believe Vice President Kamala Harris will take a tougher stance on Israel and more favorable policy toward the Palestinians…
The IDF confirmed the death of two hostages in Gaza: Alex Dancyg, 75, and Yagev Buchstav, 35…
The United Arab Emirates is considering sending soldiers as part of a multinational force in Gaza, provided that an invitation comes from the Palestinian Authority…
In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Mark Zuckerberg called former President Donald Trump’s reaction to being shot “one of the most badass things I’ve ever seen in my life”…
In a phone call, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated Trump on his nomination to be the GOP presidential nominee…
Safra Catz, the CEO of Oracle, stepped down from the board of directors of Disney after six years…
Dmitri Mehlhorn, chief political strategist to Reid Hoffman, is splitting with the LinkedIn co-founder days after Mehlhorn apologized for comments suggesting the assassination attempt on Trump earlier this month was staged…
Model Bella Hadid retained lawyers after Adidas announced plans to revamp its campaign around the revival of the company’s 1972 Munich Olympics sneakers; the sportswear company had been facing criticism for tapping the anti-Israel Hadid to spearhead a campaign featuring the sporting event in which 11 members of Israel’s Olympic delegation were killed by Palestinian terrorists…
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was sentenced by a Russian court to 16 years in a penal colony after being found guilty on false charges of espionage…
A Michigan jury acquitted the Detroit man charged with murder in the death of synagogue president Samantha Woll; Michael Jackson-Bolanos was convicted of lying to police over his role in Woll’s death…
Beverly Hills Councilman John Mirisch called for the State Department to take steps to expel Qatar’s consulate in Los Angeles, citing the Gulf nation’s ties to Hamas and the recent conviction of Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) that named Qatar among the countries that Menendez lobbied on behalf of…
Albert Allaham’s Reserve Cut kosher steakhouse purchased its location at 40 Broad St. in Manhattan for $18 million…
The New York Times reviews two new books that spotlight Jewish participation in organized crime in the early 20th century…
Marvel reversed course and reinstated the Israeli identity of the character Sabra in the upcoming “Captain America: Brave New World”; the character of Sabra, played by Israeli actress Shira Haas, had been rewritten as an American official after a campaign by anti-Israel activists…
Most of the charges brought against the roughly 3,100 campus anti-Israel protesters who were arrested or cited earlier this year have been dropped…
The new Labour government in the U.K. committed to opening a Holocaust museum next to Parliament; plans to construct the museum have hit a series of legal roadblocks since it was first proposed in 2015…
The Wall Street Journal looks at the threat posed to Israel by UAVs, which are smaller and can be harder to detect using traditional missile-defense technology…
Israeli security officials said that a Canadian citizen who entered the country yesterday attempted to stab soldiers guarding the entrance to the Netiv Ha’asara community near the Gaza border…
Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’ leader in Gaza, sent Israel a warning of a flare-up “in the prisons and on the issue of the captives,” several weeks before Oct. 7…
The International Court of Justice issued a ruling calling for Israel to end settlement construction in the West Bank and parts of Jerusalem…
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) died at 74, a month after announcing she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer…
Folk musician Happy Traum died at 86…
Roll Call columnist Walter Shapiro died…
Pic of the Day
Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides spoke at the Saturday night hostage rally in Tel Aviv organized by the Hostage and Missing Families Forum.
In his speech, Nides implored Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will speak to Congress on Wednesday, to “please tell them how important [a hostage release] is to our country, to your country — for the families that are sitting here today, for the mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers.”
Birthdays
Israeli theater, television and film actress, Gila Almagor turns 85…
British Conservative Party member of Parliament for 36 years until 2010, Anthony Steen CBE turns 85… Historian, author and professor emerita at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Judith Walzer Leavitt turns 84… British biochemist and professor at the University of Dundee in Scotland, Sir Philip Cohen turns 79… Actor, director and comedian, Albert Brooks (born Albert Lawrence Einstein) turns 77… Past president of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Detroit, owner of Nodel Parks, Richard Martin Nodel… Winner of eight Academy Awards and eleven Grammy awards, pianist and composer of many Disney movie musical scores, Alan Menken turns 75… Owner of Baltimore’s Seven Mile Market, Hershel Boehm… Managing director of a German public affairs firm, he works to ensure that the Holocaust and its many victims are not forgotten, Terry Swartzberg turns 71… Publisher of The 5 Towns Jewish Times, Larry Gordon turns 71… Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia since 2011 (senior status since May 2023), Judge Amy Berman Jackson turns 70… Canadian sports journalist, radio host and mental health advocate, Michael Elliott Landsberg turns 67… Member of the board of governors of the American Jewish Committee, Cindy Masters… Former secretary of veterans affairs in the Trump administration, David Jonathon Shulkin turns 65… Director of government relations at the Zionist Organization of America, Dan Pollak turns 65… Federal prosecutor for 25 years, she was the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama throughout the Obama administration, Joyce Alene Vance turns 64… Founding partner of the D.C.-based intellectual property law firm, Greenberg & Lieberman, Stevan Lieberman turns 59… Democratic member of the West Virginia House of Delegates since 2018, Evan Hansen turns 58… Television journalist and news anchor, David Shuster turns 57… CEO of Leviathan Productions, Jack Benjamin (Ben) Cosgrove… Pentagon speechwriter, Warren Bass… Owner of West Bloomfield-based Saltsman Industries and Saltsman Financial Group, Daniel A. Saltsman… Former Pentagon official, now a contractor for CISA, Jonathan Freeman… Contemporary artist living in Brooklyn, he is best known for sculptural paintings that use multiple layers of glass to create three-dimensional collages, Dustin Yellin turns 49… Manager of global issues for ExxonMobil, Elise Rachel Shutzer… Associate justice on the New Jersey Supreme Court, Rachel Wainer Apter turns 44… Former White House assistant press secretary, now the executive producer for politics at Crooked Media, Reid Cherlin… White House correspondent, Andrew Grant Feinberg turns 42… Member of the House of Representatives (D-RI) since 2023, Seth Michael Magaziner turns 41… Executive director of the American Sephardi Federation since 2014, Jason Guberman-Pfeffer… Actor best known for his role in the Freeform series “Pretty Little Liars,” Keegan Phillip Allen turns 35… Director of growth operations at Valera Health, Maor Cohen… Talia Joyce Thurm Abramson… Serial entrepreneur and product strategist, Yoela Palkin… Actor and voice actor, Skyler Gisondo turns 28…
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