Daily Kickoff
Good Wednesday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we cover the White House’s stance on cease-fire and hostage-release talks in the aftermath of last week’s executions of six hostages, preview the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual summit in Las Vegas and report from last night’s vigil for the slain hostages at Washington’s Adas Israel Congregation. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Khalil Shikaki, Ina Garten and Nicholas Winton.
What We’re Watching
- The Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual confab begins in Las Vegas today. More below.
- The Hudson Institute’s Walter Russell Mead will be speaking at the latest installment of the American Enterprise Institute’s American Dream Lecture Series at 5 p.m ET, focusing on the foreign policy challenges the next president will face.
- Egyptian President Abdul Fattah el-Sisi is traveling to Turkey today, his first trip to the country in 12 years. While in Ankara, el-Sisi is slated to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose inflammatory language against Israel has inflamed anti-Israel sentiment in the country.
What You Should Know
The Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership summit, which kicks off today in Las Vegas, is expected to culminate on Thursday morning with a speech delivered remotely by former President Donald Trump, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports from Las Vegas.
The high-profile donor confab — held at the Venetian Resort built by the late GOP casino magnate Sheldon Adelson — will be a key test for Trump to demonstrate his Middle East policy bona fides as he has continued to argue that Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks “would never have happened” if he were president.
The recent discovery of six hostages murdered by Hamas in Gaza underscores the urgency of addressing the war — and provides Trump with a chance to stake out a more proactive role by outlining how he would handle Israel’s war differently than the Biden administration.
But it remains to be seen if the former president will seek to elevate the war between Israel and Hamas as a top issue in his campaign — even as Jewish conservatives have pilloried Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden over their approach to the conflict.
“This is the most important election of our lifetimes, and we are thrilled to welcome President Trump back to the RJC Leadership Summit at this absolutely pivotal moment for America, the Jewish community, and Israel,” RJC CEO Matt Brooks said in a statement previewing the confab. Brooks highlighted the growing level of antisemitism taking place in the country over the last four years during the Biden administration, a point Trump will likely address.
During last year’s proceedings, Trump had yet to lock up the Republican nomination and faced criticism from some primary rivals such as former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who has since endorsed his campaign.
This year’s lineup of speakers, meanwhile, illustrates the ideological tension between conservatives embracing an isolationist-minded America First agenda and more traditional Republicans who support a muscular American engagement in international affairs.
Among the first-time speakers at the summit this week is Kari Lake, a MAGA diehard running for Senate in Arizona. Two top GOP Senate recruits also addressing the conference — Sam Brown in Nevada and Tim Sheehy in Montana — are military veterans who have voiced skepticism of U.S. engagement abroad, and have opposed aid to Ukraine that was backed by RJC leadership.
Other notable speakers hail from the more traditional hawkish wing of the party, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who will be speaking remotely, Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL). Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a favorite of the party’s more moderate, business-friendly wing, will also be speaking.
Some of the most popular speakers from RJC conferences past — pro-Israel stalwarts such as former Vice President Mike Pence, former Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton and former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) — won’t be in attendance, given their frosty relations with the former president. Pence received a standing ovation at last year’s summit when he announced he was dropping out of the presidential race — with a veiled jab at his former boss.
But despite the sizable number of Republican officials who won’t support Trump, very few have warmed to Harris. (Former GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger [R-IL], a military veteran, was the most prominent Republican voice to speak at the Democratic convention.) It means that the sizable constituency of the GOP’s onetime Haley backers and longtime Pence fans at the RJC summit will offer a critical look at the state of the presidential race — just over two months away.
deal dealings
White House sticks to script on negotiations after Hamas’ murder of hostages
In the aftermath of Hamas’ murder of six Israeli hostages over the weekend, including U.S. citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin, several top Biden administration officials on Tuesday asserted that the need to reach a cease-fire and hostage-release deal is more urgent than ever. While the officials reiterated that the hostages’ deaths add urgency to Washington’s monthslong quest to mediate a deal, they did not say how, or if, the weekend’s events would affect their approach to the negotiations, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Nitty-gritty: At times, officials spoke about talks that had taken place last week, describing the Biden administration’s commitment to a deal as an extension of those talks — making clear that Hamas’ killing of the hostages did not fundamentally shift what the U.S. hopes to see from a deal. While Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement over the weekend that Hamas cannot control Gaza, a Biden administration official told JI on Tuesday that her comments were referring to “our day-after plans on governance,” and not to a new condition for the deal.
u.s. indictment
Justice Department charges six Hamas leaders, including Sinwar, with terrorism
The Justice Department on Tuesday unsealed terrorism charges against six senior leaders of Hamas, including Yahya Sinwar, citing their roles in the Oct. 7 terror attacks and their aftermath, including the murder last week of American-Israel hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was executed by Hamas along with five other Israeli hostages, Jewish Insider’s Tamara Zieve reports. “The Justice Department has charged Yahya Sinwar and other senior leaders of Hamas for financing, directing, and overseeing a decades-long campaign to murder American citizens and endanger the national security of the United States,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Defendants: The other leaders charged are: Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Iran in July; Mohammed Deif, who was assassinated by Israel in Gaza in July; Marwan Issa, killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza in March; Khaled Meshaal, head of Hamas’ diaspora office; and Ali Baraka, head of Hamas’ relations abroad.
poll problems
The high-stakes battle over understanding Palestinian public opinion in Israel
In March, the highly regarded Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki set out to survey Palestinian public opinion about the brutal attack carried out by Hamas on Oct. 7. The poll, published by Shikaki’s Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, found widespread support for Hamas: More than 7 in 10 Gazans backed the Oct. 7 attack, nearly two-thirds were satisfied with Hamas’ performance in the war and a majority were satisfied with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. But like so much else about the war in Gaza, Shikaki’s poll results are now shrouded in fog, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
Conflicting takes: The official Israel Defense Forces X account, in a post last week carrying the hashtag “busted,” released documents purporting to show Hamas falsified the results of the March poll to indicate greater support for the Oct. 7 attacks in Palestinian society. Experts, however, told JI that allegations that the polling was unreliable is far less dramatic than the military made it seem, with all evidence indicating that the Palestinian public still overwhelmingly supports Hamas and condones the Oct. 7 attacks.
campus beat
University of Illinois reaches agreements to protect Jewish students, resolving antisemitism probe
The new school year is bringing fresh protections for Jewish students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, following the administration’s announcement on Tuesday that its nondiscrimination policy will now extend to harassment or discrimination based on Jewish students’ connections to Israel and Zionism. The guidelines are part of a new agreement with Hillel International, Illini Hillel and the Jewish United Fund, Chicago’s federation, and it comes as several elite universities have received criticism for a lack of transparency about specific messaging as to what university policies are and how they are going to be enforced, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Haley Cohen reports for Jewish Insider.
JUF view: Lonnie Nasatir, president of JUF, told JI that “the terms in this settlement are the best achieved across the country and will have a significant positive impact on the campus climate for Jewish students.”
memorializing the hostages
Emhoff, D.C. Jewish community mourn Hersh Goldberg-Polin and other murdered hostages
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, at a vigil for the Washington, D.C.-area Jewish community on Monday evening following the murder of six Israeli hostages in Gaza, expressed his condolences and described the personal pain he feels about the murder of Hersh Goldberg-Polin by Hamas terrorists. Emhoff, addressing the hundreds of people who filled the sanctuary of D.C.’s Adas Israel Congregation, said that, although it’s difficult, he thinks it’s important for him to use his voice and his platform as the second gentleman to elevate the stories of the hostages and the sorrow that the entire Jewish community is feeling, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
‘Feels personal’: “There’s comfort in community, but standing on this bimah, I must be direct: This is hard. This is raw. I’m gutted,” Emhoff said. “I stand before you, yes, as the second gentleman of the United States … But in this moment, I’m here as a fellow congregant, a fellow mourner, and as a Jew who feels connected to all of you.” He emphasized that Vice President Kamala Harris understands these feelings as well. “I share what I’m feeling with Kamala as my partner, as my wife — not just as our vice president,” Emhoff said. “She knows. She gets it. She cares. She’s committed. Hersh’s loss feels so personal to the two of us, just like it feels to all of you.”
Worthy Reads
Burying Hersh: In his Substack “Israel from the Inside,” Daniel Gordis reflects on the execution of Hersh Goldberg-Polin in Hamas captivity. “Some will say what we lost was the very last pretense that there’s anything we can do (or anything we will do) to get the hostages back — so what we lost, yet again, was the belief in our ability to defend ourselves. Or, for some (but certainly not all), the belief that we have it within us to do the right thing and to get the remaining hostages home. Some will say that we lost even the pretense that some (again, some, not all) of the leaders of this country even care that much. Some will say that it’s deeper than that. They will say that as long as the agony of his captivity endured, as long as Rachel and Jon Goldberg-Polin, along with their daughters, fought indefatigably for the return of their beloved son and brother, we were blessed (for the most horrifying reasons) to see the very best of what Israel can be. Dignified, passionate, determined. Zionism that is genuine (they moved here, after all). A profound Zionism that also has a place for acknowledging the pain of all the innocent victims — not just us. Deep religiosity animated not by hate, but by boundless love.” [Substack]
Too High a Price: The New York Times’ Bret Stephens argues against a hostage-release deal. “A good society will be prepared to go to great lengths to rescue or redeem a captive, whether with risky military operations or exorbitant ransoms. Yet there must also be a limit to what any society can afford to pay. The price for one hostage’s life or freedom cannot be the life or freedom of another — even if we know the name of the first life but not yet the second. That ought to be morally elementary. Also elementary: Whatever one thinks of Netanyahu, the weight of outrage should fall not on him but on Hamas. It released a video of a hostage it later murdered — 24-year-old Eden Yerushalmi, telling her family how much she loved them — on Monday, the day after her funeral. It’s another act of cynical, grotesque and unadulterated sadism by the group that pretends to speak in the name of all Palestinians. It does not deserve a cease-fire so that it can regain its strength. It deserves the same ash heap of history on which, in our better moments, we deposited the Nazis, Al Qaeda and the Islamic State.” [NYTimes]
Inching Closer to a Bomb: The Free Press’ Jay Solomon raises concerns about recently passed Iranian legislation that indicates Tehran is increasing funding for its Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, known as SPND. “While the new Iranian legislation doesn’t specifically mention nuclear bomb development, it clearly states that SPND’s mandate is to produce advanced and nonconventional weapons with no civilian oversight. The legislation, which The Free Press translated, states that ‘this organization focuses on managing and acquiring innovative, emerging, groundbreaking, high-risk, and superior technologies in response to new and emerging threats.’ The law essentially shields Iran’s defense department from any domestic oversight — while giving it a seemingly unlimited budget, though no specific numbers were given. When Iran’s parliament published the legislation on its website in May, it offered the most detailed accounting yet of SPND’s structure, which was largely kept secret.” [FreePress]
Playbook for Colleges: In The Wall Street Journal, William Galston suggests how university administrations can protect Jewish and Israeli students on campus this fall. “Based on my three decades as a faculty member of two large state universities and a short stint in an administrative post, let me offer a few suggestions. Colleges and universities should forbid conduct that disrupts teaching, learning and research. They shouldn’t allow anyone to interfere with these core activities through classroom disruptions, noisy demonstrations, or actions designed to prevent invited speakers from expressing their views. They should establish reasonable limits on the time, place and manner of public speech and expression. They should resist any effort to close off campus public spaces for any individuals or groups. They should treat complaints of misconduct with concern and respect, regardless of the identity of the complainant, and administrators who violate this norm should be disciplined.” [WSJ]
Word on the Street
American and Israeli officials told Politico that Hamas’ execution of six hostages last week damaged the ongoing talks in Egypt and Qatar to reach a cease-fire and hostage-release deal…
Following the murder of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, White House senior official Amos Hochstein, who had been a longtime friend of Goldberg-Polin’s parents, reflected on his own son’s birthday, saying, “as I look at him, all I can think about is Hersh”…
In the Washington Post, the American Enterprise Institute’s Danielle Pletka calls for the U.S. to ban citizens from traveling to countries that kidnap Americans…
Former Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY) aired one of his first general election ads — on digital platforms — targeted at Jewish voters; the ad is focused on his support for Israel, his efforts standing up to Squad-aligned Democratic lawmakers, all while hitting his opponent, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), for backing former President Donald Trump…
A new poll found Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks leading former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan by five points in the state’s Senate race…
Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson is facing criticism for hosting controversial podcaster Darryl Cooper, who downplayed Adolf Hitler’s actions during WWII as well as the extent of the atrocities in Nazi concentration camps; in a now-deleted post, X owner Elon Musk shared the interview, saying the content was “[v]ery interesting” and “[w]orth watching”…
Jimmy McCain, the son of former Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Donald Trump…
The New Yorker profiles celebrity cook and author Ina Garten, known as the “Barefoot Contessa”…
Officials in Prague renamed a street in honor of Sir Nicholas Winton, who was instrumental in efforts to secure the safe passage of Czechoslovak Jewish children to the U.K. before the outbreak of WWII…
Israel’s National Insurance Institute will subsidize professional counseling services for the families of Nova music festival survivors…
Ukrainian allies in Europe are raising concerns that Iran will soon begin shipping ballistic missiles to Russia for use against Ukraine…
The former longtime head of Lebanon’s central bank, who has been largely blamed for the country’s economic collapse, was arrested and charged with embezzlement…
Brian Stelter is rejoining CNN as chief media analyst and will again author the outlet’s “Reliable Sources” newsletter…
Morgan Finkelstein is joining the Harris campaign as national security spokesperson; Finkelstein was previously a senior spokesperson for terrorism and financial intelligence at Treasury…
Alex Rogoff, formerly a Middle East policy advisor for Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) and a staffer in the office of Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) before that, is now the congressional liaison at Democratic Majority for Israel…
Mijal Bitton is joining Maimonides Fund as a scholar-in-residence…
Israeli researcher Eliyahu Rips, who drew worldwide attention for suggesting there was a secret code hidden in Genesis but later walked back the claim, died at 75…
Pic of the Day
Israeli paralympic swimmer Ami Omer Dadaon celebrated his second gold medal at the Paris games on Tuesday. Dadaon won the 200-meter men’s freestyle race days after setting a record in the 100-meter men’s freestyle.
Birthdays
Award-winning computer scientist and philosopher who is a pioneer in artificial intelligence, he is the father of slain WSJ journalist Daniel Pearl, Judea Pearl turns 88…
Emeritus professor of law and former acting dean at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Lester Brickman turns 84… Retired professor at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, Edmundo N. Kraiselburd, Ph.D. turns 81… Saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator, in 2010 he received a lifetime achievement award from the National Endowment for the Arts, David Liebman turns 78… Attorney and political consultant who has served as board president of the Louisville, Ky., Jewish Family & Career Services, Mark Steven Ament… Israeli singer-songwriter, his music mixes modern pop with Spanish music, David Broza turns 69… Celebrity doctor who is a board-certified internist, addiction medicine specialist and media personality, best known as “Dr. Drew,” David Drew Pinsky, M.D. turns 66… Former member of the House or Representatives (D-NY), Anthony Weiner turns 60… Real estate strategic advisor, political strategist and commentator, E. O’Brien (“Obi”) Murray… Screenwriter best known as the writer of the 2008 film “Vantage Point,” Barry Louis Levy turns 52… Former member of Knesset for the Labor / Zionist Union party, he was the secretary general of Israel’s Labor party until early 2017, Yehiel “Hilik” Bar turns 49… General partner at Thrive Capital, he was a special assistant and personal aide to President George W. Bush, Jared Weinstein… Chief communications officer at BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Marni Kottle turns 46… Television and film actor, Max Greenfield turns 44… Israeli former professional basketball player and basketball coach, currently serving as an assistant coach for Maccabi Tel Aviv, Guy Pnini turns 41… Development officer at Atlanta’s Jewish Home Life Communities, Melissa Horen Kaplan… Television and film actor, Carter Mark Jenkins turns 33…
Recent Daily Kickoff Newsletters
