Daily Kickoff
Good Thursday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, the latest on the cease-fire negotiations taking place in Qatar today. We also look at the Senate’s reticence to talk up antisemitism legislation, cover the resignation of Columbia President Minouche Shafik and report on the relaunch of Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s “Voice of the People” initiative. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Maury Litwack, George Helmy and Barbra Streisand.
What We’re Watching
- The latest round of hostage release and cease-fire talks begins today in Qatar. More below on what’s happening in Doha.
- While those negotiations commence, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will conclude a two-day trip to Turkey. He is slated to address Ankara’s parliament today.
- Barbra Streisand is slated to speak at a “Jewish Women for Kamala” virtual gathering tonight.
What You Should Know
U.S., Egyptian, Qatari and Israeli officials are meeting in Doha, Qatar, today for the latest round of talks aimed at reaching a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
But Hamas has refused to participate in the upcoming round of negotiations, potentially dealing a fatal blow to the effort by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar. The terror group has said it may meet with mediators following the talks, but is already working to discredit efforts, publicly criticizing the Biden administration’s efforts.
It’s against that backdrop that senior U.S. officials claimed to The New York Times this week that Israel has done all it can militarily to degrade Hamas. But, the Times notes, “Israel’s military operation has done far more damage against Hamas than U.S. officials had predicted when the war began in October.”
Today’s talks have broader implications for the region: Iran has indicated that its threatened attack on Israel — a retaliatory strike following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month — could be stopped if a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas is reached. Hezbollah, too, has indicated that it could cease its attacks on Israel, which began on Oct. 8, if a cease-fire is reached.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a seven-hour series of three meetings on Wednesday before authorizing the makeup of the Israeli delegation and its mandate for the negotiations. Mossad head David Barnea, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, IDF representative to the talks Maj.-Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon and the prime minister’s diplomatic adviser, Ophir Falk, will be representing Israel in Doha. Also on Wednesday, Netanyahu spoke by phone to former President Donald Trump about the cease-fire negotiations. Read more here on the status of the talks, as well as infighting among senior Israeli officials.
It is unclear whether these negotiations will bear fruit — or whether, like the many rounds of talks that have tried and failed to secure the release of the remaining 115 hostages, they will prolong the longest war in recent Israeli history.
state of play
Where are Senate Democrats on antisemitism?

Nearly 10 months after Hamas’ terror attack on Israel and amid a surging wave of antisemitism in the United States, the Senate left Washington for its August recess without having held any hearings on antisemitism in the U.S. or passing or considering major antisemitism bills, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Emily Jacobs report.
Where things stand: The Senate’s post-Oct. 7 record on antisemitism stands in contrast with the House, which passed the Antisemitism Awareness Act and has launched investigations of antisemitism across a series of committees and subcommittees, with a focus on campus antisemitism — though some Democrats criticize the House’s efforts as ineffectual and politically motivated. Should they retake the Senate in November, Senate Republicans in contention for Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) role as majority leader promised to take a more aggressive approach to antisemitism.