Daily Kickoff: Schumer undecided on how to advance Antisemitism Awareness Act
Good Thursday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we preview this week’s Israeli American Council summit in Washington and talk to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer about whether he plans to bring the Antisemitism Awareness Act to a floor vote before the end of the year. We also preview next week’s trip to Washington by UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and cover a new report from the State Department’s internal watchdog over the mishandling of Iran envoy Rob Malley’s suspension. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Gov. Kathy Hochul, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Rabbi Mordechai Lightstone.
What We’re Watching
- President Joe Biden will sit in conversation with Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein at The Economic Club in Washington at 10:30 a.m. ET.
- The Israeli American Council’s annual confab kicks off today in Washington. Former President Donald Trump is slated to address the gathering this evening. More below on what to expect at this year’s gathering.
- Earlier in the day, Trump will be in Brooklyn, N.Y.,where he’s expected to stop into Gottlieb’s Restaurant in the Williamsburg neighborhood. Before addressing the crowd at IAC, the former president is scheduled to speak to a smaller group of Jewish leaders at an event in Washington, D.C., convened by Yehuda Kaploun and Ed Russo.
- The House is set to vote today on the GOP-sponsored Accreditation for College Excellence Act of 2023, which would ban oversight agencies from telling colleges to support or oppose a particular set of social or political beliefs. Some pro-Israel Democrats are warning the bill could limit universities’ ability to place reasonable restrictions on anti-Israel campus protests or ban protests inside or near spaces like dorms, classrooms and Hillels.
What You Should Know
When an expected 3,000 pro-Israel supporters convene in Washington, D.C., for the Israeli American Council (IAC) National Summit, the three-day event — which kicks off today — will have to strike a delicate emotional balance. The summit’s presence in the nation’s capital will be an “important show of influence for the Jewish community” as the presidential election nears, Elan Carr, the group’s CEO, told eJewishPhilanthropy’s Haley Cohen ahead of the gathering.
Yet the summit’s timing, just weeks ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks, will also allow for a “deeply moving show of commemoration of the tragedy and suffering we have all felt for the last year,” Carr said earlier this week.
Among those slated to speak at the event: Dr. Miriam Adelson; journalist Douglas Murray; Eylon Levy, a former Israeli government spokesperson; activist Noa Tishby; rescued Israeli hostage Andrey Kozlov; Ofir Akunis, the Israeli consul general in New York; and former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren.
Former President Donald Trump is slated to speak at the gathering this evening, after spending the day up the Northeast Corridor in New York City. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were also invited to speak but declined due to scheduling conflicts.
Carr said the organization is “not concerned” about appearing to be a partisan organization when Trump speaks, “because we made it very clear that we invited the president, vice president and the former president, [and] we have [Biden] administration officials coming,” Carr said.
The IAC CEO added that he is not expecting protesters, “but you never know.” The IAC has arranged “extensive security — our own security, and we are working with D.C. metro police,” he said.
The summit comes as “the stakes are so high today for the Jewish people because of what’s happening in the Middle East and the threats Israel faces,” Carr said. “What’s happening globally with rising antisemitism — there could not possibly be a more important time for IAC to bring our powerful, strong community together and to unite Israeli Americans and Jewish Americans into one community focused on our collective Jewish future. That’s what this conference is about.”
Read more about the summit and eJP’s full interview with Elan Carr here.
bring them home
Inside the high-stakes, all-hands-on-deck hostage advocacy campaign in Washington
As attention in Washington shifts to a high-stakes presidential election, a team of advocates, allies and officials is working around-the-clock to keep the plight of the Israeli hostages front and center for the American public. That task is becoming harder every day, as the odds of reaching a cease-fire and hostage-release deal look increasingly bleak, and Americans’ attention turns elsewhere. At the center of the behind-the-scenes Washington advocacy campaign is a young Israeli couple, Matan Sivek and Bar Ben-Yaakov, busy with work and a toddler, who decided soon after the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks that they needed to do something to help, thousands of miles from home. The two 33-year-olds sat down with Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch last week inside their Chinatown office space. They outlined a year spent arranging travel, setting up meetings, teaching the family members how to deal with the media and giving these traumatized Israelis everything they might need to speak publicly about their ordeals.
Devoted to one goal: “We don’t work in politics. This is really the only thing that we care about,” Ben-Yaakov said. They’ve studied up on other hostage incidents, and they’ve grown close with Ambassador Roger Carstens, the State Department’s special presidential envoy for hostage affairs. They have a direct connection to the National Security Council at the White House. They’re also navigating the rugged politics of the hostages’ families, who do not all agree on the tactics.
status update
Schumer ‘trying to figure out the best path forward’ on Antisemitism Awareness Act
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod on Wednesday that “[w]e’re trying to figure out the best path forward” on the Antisemitism Awareness Act, after a House lawmaker said the Senate leader had committed to holding a vote.
No details yet: Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) said he’d spoken to Schumer recently and Schumer had committed to holding a vote on the bill before the end of the year. Asked about that conversation in a brief interview with JI, Schumer didn’t provide details on his plans or current discussions or directly address his commitment to Gottheimer. The bill has been filed as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. Schumer has been facing increasing Jewish community pressure to call a vote on the bill.
trip talk
Biden to host UAE president at White House next week
President Joe Biden will host United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the White House on Monday, the first-ever visit to Washington by an Emirati president. Vice President Kamala Harris will also meet separately with Sheikh Mohammed, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
On the agenda: Biden and Harris will discuss “areas of deepening cooperation,” including clean energy, space, the supply chain and infrastructure investments, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Wednesday. They will also discuss the UAE’s “essential role in addressing the humanitarian crisis” in Gaza.
malley mayhem
State dept. inspector general report reveals missteps in handling of Malley suspension
The State Department inspector general’s report on the suspension of Special Envoy for Iran Rob Malley’s security clearance revealed a series of missteps and miscommunication among senior State Department officials. The report says that State Department officials allowed Malley, who is on leave from his role while under federal investigation for his alleged mishandling of classified information, to continue working in his role without informing his supervisor, former Undersecretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, or other officials he engaged with of his suspension, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.
‘Serious risk’: “Mr. Malley was left in place as the Special Envoy for Iran, a title he still holds, with only a few senior officials knowing the reason for his absence from the office in the weeks following his clearance suspension. This situation presented a serious risk that he would be privy to highly sensitive information that should not have been shared with an employee whose security clearance was suspended,” the report reads.
community concerns
‘We still have a lot more to do’ to ensure sufficient security grant funding, Schumer says
While touting successes in increasing funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program in the national security supplemental bill, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Wednesday that “we still have a lot more to do” to ensure that all synagogues and institutions in need of protection can receive help, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Quotable: “The number of applicants for funding has always been high. It’s increased dramatically, of course, after Oct. 7,” Schumer said during a briefing on NSGP and Jewish community security organized by Jewish groups on Capitol Hill. “I’ll continue to work with law enforcement and groups like [those] that are exemplified in this room… to fight back against the forces of antisemitism.”
on the hill
Medical professionals meet with congressional offices to discuss antisemitism in their field
Around 40 medical professionals and other Jewish leaders from across the country came to Capitol Hill on Wednesday in a bid to bring awareness to increasing antisemitism in the medical field and ask lawmakers to take action, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
About the visit: The group, organized by the Jewish Federations of North America, spoke to lawmakers and congressional staff about their personal experiences and those of others in their networks of increasing antisemitism in the health-care field. The delegation, which included doctors, psychologists and psychiatrists, social workers and medical school professors, met with 25 congressional offices. They’re hoping for a hearing on the subject, among other actions.
Worthy Reads
Meta Analysis: In The Hill, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog calls on Meta’s Oversight Board to reverse its decision to allow posts with the phrase, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” “How can Meta’s oversight board base such an important decision on the examination of three individual cases without looking into the broader context, as characterized by hundreds of thousands of malicious uses of this phrase? How has Meta dealt with these numerous cases and complaints relating to them? Has it taken or does it intend to take any measures to distinguish between malicious and innocent usages? Has it ever found any such usage as illegitimate? Let’s remove the masks and be honest. Why has this phrase flourished immediately after the heinous Hamas atrocities of Oct. 7? How many of those sharing this call recognize Israel’s right to exist? Mere hours after the Hamas murderous terror attack against Israel — the biggest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust — American Jews across the U.S. were already subjected to an unprecedented wave of antisemitic hate crimes.” [TheHill]
Breeding Bündnisfähig: The Atlantic’s Eliot Cohen considers the strategic impact of this week’s attacks on Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon. “By showing its extraordinary reach, Israel will breed internal fear and suspicion that can be more paralyzing than fear of an enemy. The Middle East is witnessing a war of coalitions. Israel’s silent partners here include Arab states such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Jordan. For them, this coup is a confirmation that Israel can be a capable partner. The German word bündnisfähig captures a quality of being worthy to be an ally; in this case, the cloak of mystery and surprise, playing to Israel’s existing reputation for successful skullduggery, makes Israel bündnisfähig indeed.” [TheAtlantic]
Word on the Street
Thousands of walkie-talkies in the possession of Hezbollah operatives exploded yesterday across Lebanon, a day after thousands of pagers given to the terror group’s members exploded in similar fashion…
The Pentagon is raising concerns that Israel could launch an offensive war in Lebanon, following 11 months of near-daily Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel…
Iranian hackers unsuccessfully attempted to deliver information stolen from the Trump presidential campaign to staffers on the Biden reelection campaign; Biden campaign staffers did not respond to the outreach from the Iranians…
Puck interviews Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff about Vice President Kamala Harris’ political rise, ’90s grunge music and his role in the administration; Emhoff said, regarding his status as the first Jewish spouse of a vice president, that “[i]t’s okay to step away from your career and support someone who’s going to be the first woman vice president, and being the first Jew ever to be one of the four — I didn’t realize how big of a deal that would be. She was the one who said, Look, there’s a lot of antisemitism and hate out there, this could be something you’re almost compelled to do”…
Harris has pulled ahead in the critical battleground state of Pennsylvania, according to two new polls from the New York Times/Siena College and Quinnipiac University…
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is preparing a series of resolutions that would halt upwards of $20 billion in U.S. arms sales to Israel, in a long-shot effort that is unlikely to win much support in the upper chamber…
Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY) accused Harvard of “willfully obstructing” local prosecutors investigating a physical assault on a Harvard Jewish student on campus, for which two attackers have been charged. “It is obvious from Harvard’s latest stint in obstructionism that it believes protecting its campus antisemites is more important than providing a safe learning environment to all its students,” they alleged…
Sens. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and Jim Risch (R-ID) called on the European Union, the United Kingdom, France and Germany to implement restrictions on Iranian airlines involved in weapons transfers to Russia and initiate snapback of United Nations sanctions on Iran…
In commemoration of the second anniversary of the killing of Mahsa Amini, Sens. Ben Cardin (D-MD) and James Lankford (R-OK) introduced legislation proposing $30 million in grants to promote internet access for dissidents inside Iran and other efforts to promote internet freedom inside the country…
Politico looks at Senate Democrats’ declining chances of holding the upper chamber, as polls show Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) trailing in the polls against Republican Tim Sheehy…
The Wall Street Journal spotlights the Senate race in Ohio, where Bernie Moreno is challenging Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)…
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul sat for a wide-ranging interview with the New York Post’s Cindy Adams that included a conversation on antisemitism. The governor told Adams, “And I care about the Jewish problem. Discrimination is violation. Hamas must be defeated. Laws need [to] be changed. School teachers have to be accountable. To fight hate crimes. There has to be education in schools. I understand that New Yorkers are under siege right now”…
The planning board of Jackson Township, N.J., in the state’s Ocean County, rejected a developer’s plan to build a 2,500-school complex for Orthodox students in the town; an attorney for the Lakewood-based 394 Chandler Holdings plans to sue the board following the denial…
The genetics-testing company 23andMe agreed to a $30 million class-action settlement over last year’s data breach that targeted users with Chinese and Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry; the company’s board resigned earlier this week over disagreements with CEO Anne Wojcicki regarding her plan to take the company private…
Chelsea Handler, Connie Britton and Andy Cohen were among the celebrities to sign onto a letter calling on the Biden administration to “protect and support” Israel and to continue working to secure the release of the remaining 101 hostages…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision to suspend several dozen arms licenses to Israel, saying in an interview with the Daily Mail that the British leader was “sending a horrible message” to Hamas…
The New York Times does a deep dive into the multiyear Israeli effort to manufacture and distribute pagers and walkie-talkies laced with explosives to Hezbollah operatives…
The U.N. General Assembly voted 124-14, with 43 abstentions, to call on Israel to withdraw from what it deems “Occupied Palestinian Territory” and to impose an embargo on arms that Israel could use in those areas…
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in a speech to the country’s Shura Council on Wednesday that the kingdom will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel absent Palestinian statehood…
Israeli officials announced the indictment of an Israeli Jewish man who had been recruited by Iran, traveling to the Islamic Republic twice, to assassinate a senior Israeli official…
Former New York City Comptroller Harrison Goldin died at 88…
Pic of the Day
Israeli Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology Gila Gamliel (fourth from left) joined a gathering of My Tech Tribe in New York City earlier this week. The group is convened by Rabbi Mordechai Lightstone and his wife, Chana, (fourth and fifth from right) to bring together people who work in the tech and digital media industries.
Birthdays
Former MLB player for nine seasons, he was on Team Israel for the 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Danny Valencia turns 40…
Professor of Jewish history and literature at Yeshiva University, he is the only son of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Haym Soloveitchik turns 87… Member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives until 2022, he has served as synagogue president, Jeffrey Colman Salloway turns 83… Professor at Yeshiva University’s Cardozo School of Law and director of the Innocence Project, Barry Scheck turns 75… Distinguished senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, after a 28-year Pentagon career as a Middle East expert, Harold Rhode turns 75… Freelance reporter, he was a writing instructor at Montana State University Billings, Bruce Alpert… Stockton, Calif.-based physician at The Pacific Sleep Disorders Center, Ronald Kass M.D…. Film producer and executive producer of the television series “Monk,” David Elliot Hoberman turns 72… Archaeologist and professor of early Judaism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Jodi Magness turns 68… Rabbi emeritus of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, he is the Inaugural rabbinic fellow for the ADL, David J. Wolpe turns 66… Boston-based attorney focused upon Section 529 college savings plans, Mark A. Chapleau… Chairman and CEO of NYC’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, John Nathan “Janno” Lieber turns 63… Bow tie-clad field reporter for Fox Major League Baseball since 2005, he is also a senior baseball writer for The Athletic, Ken Rosenthal turns 62… Inspector general of the U.S. Department of Justice since 2012, Michael Evan Horowitz turns 62… U.S. senator (R-SC), he was a 2024 presidential candidate, Tim Scott turns 59… CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, Ronald Halber… Author of eight popular business books, former small business columnist for The Wall Street Journal, Mike Michalowicz… Founder and managing director at Two Lanterns Venture Partners, he is also the founder of MassChallenge (a startup accelerator), John Harthorne… Pole vaulter, she competed for the U.S. in the 2004 Olympics and for Israel in the 2012 Olympics, now an associate brand manager at Kraft Heinz, Jillian Schwartz turns 45… SVP at Antenna Group, Neal Urwitz… Public affairs director at Elliott Investment Management, Joe Kristol… Singer-songwriter and producer, he frequently wears a Magen David pendant when performing, Charlie Burg turns 28… Former NFL placekicker, Sam Sloman turns 27….
Recent Daily Kickoff Newsletters
