Daily Kickoff
Good Tuesday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we preview President Joe Biden’s address to the U.N. General Assembly today — and talk to senators about what they hope Biden will say. We also look at how Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer could move the Antisemitism Awareness Act to a vote, report on a statement from House Democrats accusing critics of Michigan AG Dana Nessel of antisemitism and cover yesterday’s roundtable between Rep. Ritchie Torres, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Jewish CUNY students. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Eva Wyner, Hilary Brandenburg, Adam Neumann and Dan Friedkin.
What We’re Watching
- The U.N. General Assembly begins today in New York City. President Joe Biden is slated to address the gathering at 10 a.m. ET. More below on Biden’s trip to Turtle Bay.
- On the sidelines of UNGA, the World Jewish Congress is holding a reception today honoring Czech President Petr Pavel. The event is being co-hosted by the Czech Republic’s permanent U.N. mission.
- In Washington, the House Foreign Affairs Committee is holding a markup on a resolution praising recent global antisemitism guidelines.
What You Should Know
When President Joe Biden takes the stage this morning for his 10 a.m. address at the United Nations General Assembly, he will tout his vision for global engagement, “where countries come together to solve big problems,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Monday. The president, she continued, will “reaffirm how this approach has produced results for the American people and for the world.”
But Biden will also have to reckon with reality: In particular, bloody wars in Eastern Europe and the Middle East and stalled negotiations for an elusive hostage and cease-fire deal in the Gaza conflict, Jewish Insider senior national correspondent Gabby Deutch reports.
Biden administration officials declined to share many details about what Biden will speak about, but one senior official said the administration has “a story to tell” about Biden’s work supporting Ukraine, upholding the principles of the U.N. Charter and “what we’re doing to deal with the ongoing and serious conflicts in our world, in places like Gaza, where the president has worked tirelessly to get a hostage-cease-fire deal, and conflicts like Sudan.”
In outlining the themes Biden hopes to address this week, the senior administration official did not mention support for Israel, even as the official highlighted Biden’s work to “rally the world to defend Ukraine’s sovereignty.”
Even amid “this very, very difficult year,” Biden will use the speech as “an opportunity to talk about what we have achieved and what we still need to do,” the official said, “given a situation that is just heartbreaking, where hostages have not been returned, the humanitarian situation in Gaza and, as you know, just such a sensitive issue, such a delicate and dangerous situation, between Israel and Lebanon right now.”
The White House has kept its distance from Israel’s recent attacks on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. Over the weekend, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby appeared to criticize recent events in Lebanon. “We believe that there are better ways to try to get those Israeli citizens back in their homes up in the north and to keep those that are there there safely than a war, than an escalation,” he said. “We need to see a diplomatic resolution,” Jean-Pierre echoed on Monday.
Israel is not looking to launch a war in Lebanon, a high-level Israeli diplomatic source told JI on Tuesday. Rather, Israel is pursuing a “strategy of levels. With every escalation [by Hezbollah] we will go up another level in our response. If they don’t show that they understand we are serious, we will go up another level.”
“Israel raised the intensity and raised the bar” of its responses in the past week, the source said, citing exploding pagers and the killing of Hezbollah No. 2 Ibrahim Aqil and its most recent attacks in Lebanon “causing great harm to Hezbollah” as a way to reach two goals: “To strengthen Israel’s deterrence against Hezbollah and reach a situation where we can bring the residents of the north safely home, and to deter the entire Iranian axis.”
Biden kicked off the week on Monday by meeting with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the Oval Office, the first visit of an Emirati president to Washington. A joint statement from the two leaders highlighted the growing ties between the two nations, which were recognized with a major foreign policy announcement: Biden recognized the UAE as a “Major Defense Partner” of the U.S., a designation shared only with India.
The statement from the two leaders described the U.S. and the UAE as “partners in a stable, integrated and prosperous Middle East and wider region.” Notably, their statement highlighted “the enduring importance of the Abraham Accords,” as ties between the UAE and Israel have held steady despite the war in Gaza.
Only two other meetings between Biden and foreign leadershave been announced for this week: Vietnamese General Secretary Tô Lâm and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. When asked if Biden will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week, Jean-Pierre said she doesn’t “have anything right now to share about any conversation.” After his speech today, Biden will meet with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.
Netanyahu’s office did not confirm or deny a meeting with Biden, but a high-level diplomatic source told JI that the prime minister still plans to fly to New York on Wednesday night, despite the escalation with Hezbollah. “The U.N is also an arena; the prime minister sees it as an important platform,” the source said.
AAA Answers
What it would take for Schumer to pass the Antisemitism Awareness Act in the NDAA
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has reportedly pledged to hold a Senate vote on the Antisemitism Awareness Act before the end of the year. The National Defense Authorization Act, which has yet to pass the Senate, is seen on Capitol Hill as a potential vehicle to which the AAA could be attached and could pass the Senate. The AAA, which passed the House by a wide margin and boasts bipartisan support, has yet to receive a vote in the Senate. It faces some opposition from progressive-minded Democratic senators in Schumer’s caucus, as well as a handful of right-wing Republicans who oppose the AAA on free speech grounds, though it likely has at least the 60 supporters needed to pass. But Schumer is still holding his plans close to the vest, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Possible paths: “Senator Schumer is working on a bipartisan bill that can pass,” spokesperson Angelo Roefaro told JI last week. The AAA’s lead sponsor, Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) — who is reportedly pressuring Schumer behind the scenes has introduced the bill’s text as an amendment to the NDAA. On one hand, moving the legislation would likely be easier and attract less attention as an amendment to the NDAA. NDAAs and other similar packages are frequently used as a vehicle to pass all manner of legislation. And, with the NDAA likely to move in the final days of the congressional session, after the election, political pressure would be less of a factor. On the other hand, calling a vote on Casey’s amendment to attach the AAA to the NDAA won’t be a seamless process, with two possible paths forward.
speaking out
Democratic lawmakers accuse Michigan AG Nessel’s critics of antisemitism
A group of 21 House Democrats is accusing critics of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel of antisemitism, amid a political firestorm over Nessel’s decision to charge some anti-Israel demonstrators at the University of Michigan with a slew of crimes, including several felonies. The House lawmakers’ statement comes amid a controversy over recent comments by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) alleging that Nessel’s office is biased in the case. The Democrats’ statement doesn’t explicitly mention Tlaib, though her comments have been at the center of discussion about the charges in recent days, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What they said: “Casting doubt on Attorney General Nessel’s impartiality or implying these cases are being handled unfairly due to her religious background is antisemitic, deeply disturbing, and unacceptable,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement shared with JI, adding, “we owe it to our constituents to model methods of disagreement that do not invoke hateful tropes or false charges of unfair bias.”
speech focus
Lawmakers urge Biden to defend Israel, condemn Iran in UNGA speech
Vocal supporters of Israel in Congress told Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod they want President Joe Biden to place a heavy emphasis on the United States’ commitment to supporting Israel and deterring Iran in his final address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. Biden and those in his orbit have largely remained mum on what to expect from the address, though one senior administration official told reporters on Monday that the president has “a story to tell” about his work supporting Ukraine, upholding the principles of the U.N. Charter and “what we’re doing to deal with the ongoing and serious conflicts in our world, in places like Gaza, where the president has worked tirelessly to get a hostage/cease-fire deal, and conflicts like Sudan.”
Tehran talk: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told JI that Biden needs to focus his entire address on the threats posed by Tehran. “Condemn Iran, go to the source of evil, quit playing games,” Graham said. “It’s Iran. Iran, Iran, Iran. If he doesn’t label Iran the worst actor on the planet, it will be a failed speech.”
Read the full story here for more comments from Sens. James Lankford (R-OK), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Susan Collins (R-ME), Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD).
hate, by the numbers
FBI reports record-high antisemitic hate crimes in 2023, up 63% from 2022
The FBI reported on Monday that antisemitic hate crimes hit record-high levels in the United States in 2023, increasing 63% from 2022, a rise that one Jewish leader called “staggering.” In 2023, 1,832 anti-Jewish hate crimes were reported to the FBI’s data collection program, making up the majority of reported religious-based hate crimes (68%) and far outpacing any other type of religious-based hate crime. Those incidents encompassed 2,002 specific offenses against 2,069 victims (including both individuals and institutions), Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Breakdown: Antisemitic hate crimes also made up 16% of all reported single-bias hate incidents reported in 2023, and were the second-largest category of hate crimes reported in 2023, behind anti-Black hate crimes (3,027 incidents) and ahead of anti-gay male crimes (1,037 incidents). Of the reported 2,069 victims of anti-Jewish hate crimes, 1,060 suffered destruction of property or vandalism, 700 intimidation and 112 simple assault. Smaller numbers of victims faced larceny (84), aggravated assault (62), crimes against society (14), robbery (13), burglary (11) and arson (8). One hundred twenty-eight of the reported victims were minors.
campus beat
CUNY Jewish students share experiences of antisemitism at roundtable with Torres, Adams
Jewish student leaders from the City University of New York shared firsthand accounts of campus antisemitism with Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and New York City Mayor Eric Adams at a roundtable in City Hall on Monday. The meeting came about following several antisemitic incidents CUNY students have faced just weeks into the new academic year. Many of the students in attendance said that antisemitism is more intense on campus than it was last year. They shared that they were met with loud protests outside a recent event intended to welcome new Jewish students to campus, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Haley Cohen reports for Jewish Insider.
Chance to be heard: “We’ve been fighting for almost a year now with all of the antisemitism going on both on campus and in the city,” Maya Gavriel, a third-year student studying accounting at Baruch College, told JI at the event. “Being able to speak with leaders who can actually make change, and they’re listening to what’s happening, feels like I’m finally getting an opportunity to be proud about being Jewish. I’m under the impression that [Adams and Torres] care about wanting to give us the resources to make a change, but it will only come with time and a lot of pressure.”
Read the full story here.
exclusive
Harris campaign beefs up Jewish outreach team with two new hires
Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign has hired two new operatives to join its Jewish outreach team, including one staffer working specifically in the state of Pennsylvania, signaling the crucial role Jewish voters are expected to play in the presidential election on Nov. 5, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Name drop: Eva Wyner will join the campaign this week as director of Jewish outreach in Pennsylvania, a key swing state that both the Harris and Trump campaigns view as a must-win. Wyner comes from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office, where she has served as Hochul’s deputy director of Jewish affairs for New York State since 2021. Earlier this month, Hilary Brandenburg joined the Harris campaign as deputy director of Jewish outreach at the national level.
Worthy Reads
Biden’s Blunders: In The Wall Street Journal, Walter Russell Mead takes a look back at the struggles of the Biden administration to find diplomatic solutions to conflicts in the Middle East. “No administration in American history has been as committed to Middle East diplomacy as this one. Yet have an administration’s diplomats ever had less success? Mr. Biden tried and failed to get Iran back into a nuclear agreement with the U.S. He tried and failed to get a new Israeli-Palestinian dialogue on track. He tried and failed to stop the civil war in Sudan. He tried and failed to get Saudi Arabia to open formal diplomatic relations with Israel. He tried to settle the war in Yemen through diplomacy, and when that failed and the Houthis began attacking shipping in the Red Sea, the ever-undaunted president sought a diplomatic solution to that problem too. He failed again.” [WSJ]
Echoes of Beirut, 1982: The Washington Post’s David Ignatius considers the potential consequences of all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah. “Many people feel a moral obligation to choose sides in these wars. I’m a journalist, and it’s part of my job to talk to all the combatants, if I can. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have opinions. I think Hamas rule has been a tragedy for Palestinians in Gaza and an intolerable menace for Israel. I think Hezbollah is a terrorist group that kidnapped Lebanon and has the blood of hundreds of Americans on its hands. But I’ve seen Israel make some recurring mistakes, as well. Those are agonizing to watch if, like me, you think of Israel as an outpost of democracy in the Middle East and, in the words of the prophet Isaiah, “a light unto the nations.’ What I’m watching now in Lebanon is hauntingly similar to what I saw in 1982 as a young reporter in Beirut covering the Israeli invasion that year. The problem, then as now, was overreach. Israel wanted to go to the root, to crush its chief adversary at the time, the Palestine Liberation Organization. No more halfway measures; use every weapon in the arsenal.” [WashPost]
Congress and the Campus: In The Wall Street Journal, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement preview Rubio’s upcoming legislation that aims to target antisemitism on college campuses. “Universities and law enforcement need better leaders, but the U.S. also needs a legal structure prohibiting antisemitic harassment on college campuses with clarity and teeth. Doesn’t this structure already exist? Yes and no. Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin in federally-funded institutions of education. But it doesn’t specifically prohibit discrimination against Jews, and unlike the sections of the act that govern employment and housing, Title VI doesn’t cover religious discrimination… . [The Preventing Antisemitic Harassment on Campuses Act] targets what the U.S. Supreme Court has already held the First Amendment doesn’t protect — harassment ‘so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive, and that so undermines and detracts from the victims’ educational experience, that the victim is effectively denied equal access to the resources and opportunities of the educational program or activity.’” [WSJ]
The Takeover of the GOP: The Atlantic’s Yair Rosenberg suggests that “a new wave of insurgents with a very different agenda” has infiltrated corners of the Republican Party, citing Tucker Carlson’s platforming of antisemitic conspiracy theorists and the rise of Candace Owens, who has similarly broadcast sentiments that demonize Jewish Americans and Israel. “Simply put, as [former President Donald] Trump and his allies have coopted the conservative movement, it has become defined by a fundamental distrust of authority and institutions, and a concurrent embrace of conspiracy theories about elite cabals. And the more conspiratorial thinking becomes commonplace on the right, the more inevitable that its partisans will land on one of the oldest conspiracies of them all. Conspiratorial thinking is neither new to American politics nor confined to one end of the ideological spectrum. But Trump has made foundational what was once marginal. Beginning with birtherism and culminating in election denialism, he turned anti-establishment conspiracism into a litmus test for attaining political power, compelling Republicans to either sign on to his claims of 2020 fraud or be exiled to irrelevance.” [TheAtlantic]
Word on the Street
Democratic vice-presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz held a fundraiser on Monday at the home of Huma Abedin and Alex Soros…
Hamtramck, Mich., Mayor Amer Ghalib endorsed former President Donald Trump; Ghalib’s endorsement underscores the Trump campaign’s efforts to reach Muslim voters in the Wolverine State…
A super PAC backing former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is putting more than $18 million into ads running this week in support of the Republican Senate candidate, outspending Democrats in the state by a 2-to-1 margin…
Reps. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Dean Phillips (D-MN) introduced legislation to address human rights abuses, including aid diversion, by the Houthis, which is set for a vote in the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday…
By a voice vote, the House passed a bill to start the process to move the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History into the Smithsonian system…
Former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) accused Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro of “trying to un-Jewish himself” while under consideration to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate; a spokesperson for Shapiro called the comments “disgusting rhetoric” and told JI that Zeldin’s remarks were “expectable from the kind of weak, pathetic man who chooses to follow Donald Trump around the country to give forgettable pre-program speeches”…
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp dropped his support for North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s gubernatorial bid, after Robinson was linked to a litany of offensive, racist, antisemitic and homophobic remarks online…
The Justice Department is bringing federal hate crimes charges against a man for assaulting a Jewish individual in Washington’s Foggy Bottom neighborhood in July; Walter James faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted…
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares is leading a coalition of 22 states in filing an amicus brief arguing against calls for the dismissal of a lawsuit that had been brought on behalf of victims of the Oct. 7 attacks who are suing Students for Justice in Palestine and American Muslims for Palestine for allegedly serving as propaganda arms of Hamas…
Federal prosecutors are investigating New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ ties to Israel, Turkey, China, Qatar, South Korea and Uzbekistan; Adams was already being probed for potentially having pressured city officials to approve plans for a new Turkish consulate despite safety concerns…
The Israeli Air Force struck 1,600 targets in Lebanon on Monday, as it ramps up efforts to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure and rocket launchers poised to target Israel. Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes since yesterday killed 558 people but did not provide a breakdown of Hezbollah members and civilians…
The Financial Times highlights the resurgence of Israeli Prime Minister’s Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party in the polls since the country has launched more aggressive operations against its enemies…
Quincy Institute co-founder Trita Parsi, a former executive director of the National Iranian American Council, was filmed entering the New York City hotel where Iran’s delegation to the U.N. General Assembly is staying…
Dan Friedkin’s Friedkin Group agreed to purchase a majority stake in the Everton Football Club from British-Iranian business man Farhad Moshiri…
The Wall Street Journal looks at former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s flailing $140 million effort to help lower-income students matriculate into elite institutions, largely through remote counseling and advising services…
Adam Neumann is partnering with local Saudi investors to develop several properties in Riyadh for his new residential real estate company Flow…
Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren considers the White House’s conditionality of support for Israeli actions against Hamas and Hezbollah…
Actress Mayim Bialik shared her familial connection to the Israeli town of Kiryat Bialik, which has come under Hezbollah rocket fire; Bialik’s great-great-grandfather was the first cousin of poet Chaim Bialik, for whom the town is named…
CNN interviewed one of the five people released from an Iranian prison in a deal last year between the U.S. and Tehran that included the unfreezing of $6 billion in Iranian assets…
The Wall Street Journal does a deep dive into Iran envoy Rob Malley’s efforts to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran nearly a decade ago, and again in recent years, as well as the investigation into the suspended diplomat’s clearance revocation…
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned of “irreversible” consequences of a broader war between Israel and Iranian proxies across the Middle East, and told reporters ahead of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, “We’re willing to put all our weapons aside so long as Israel is willing to do the same” …
Pic of the Day
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited New York’s Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust on Sunday. He was greeted by Museum President & CEO Jack Kliger and Chairman Bruce Ratner and toured the exhibition “Speaking Up! Confronting Hate Speech” with Sara Softness, the museum’s director of curatorial affairs. The exhibition, which examines historic and present-day examples of rhetoric and propaganda that have inspired identity-based violence and mass atrocities, seeks to empower visitors to recognize and devise strategies for countering hate speech in their communities. At the conclusion of his visit, the chancellor met with a group of young Jewish leaders from the UJA-Federation of New York, American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League and the World Jewish Congress.
Birthdays
Economist, best-selling author and a great-granddaughter of former British Chief Rabbi Joseph Hertz, Noreena Hertz turns 57…
Author of 26 books, best known for the semi-autobiographical novel I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, Joanne Greenberg turns 92… Artist Judith Margolis turns 80… Retired Israeli diplomat who served as Israel’s ambassador to Peru, Argentina, Brazil and Chile, Rafael Eldad turns 75… Former CEO of American Media, David Pecker turns 73… Feature writer for Sports Illustrated for 27 years, he is a 2015 inductee into the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, Franz Lidz turns 73… Attorney and former judge advocate, Michael Alan Weiss… Founder, executive chairman and CEO of Hilco Global, Jeffrey Hecktman turns 71… Associate director of emergency services at FirstNet by AT&T, William Gross… President of Princeton University since 2013, in his mid-40s he discovered that his mother was Jewish, Christopher L. Eisgruber turns 63… Co-founder and principal at DC-based PRG Hospitality, Alan Popovsky… EVP of governmental affairs at the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council, Chanina Sperlin… Screenwriter, television producer, comic book writer and novelist, Marc Guggenheim turns 54… Israeli television host, actress and model, Yael Goldman-Pfeffer turns 46… Senior policy manager at Amazon, Jessica Schumer… Former White House reporter at the Associated Press, Alexandra Jaffe… Actor, singer and songwriter, Ben Platt turns 31… Rap musician, known professionally as Token, Benjamin David Goldberg turns 26…
BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Founder and director of Lerhaus/The NewShul of America, Rabbi Seth Frisch…
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