Daily Kickoff
Good Thursday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on last night’s failed Senate vote on banning arms sales to Israel and yesterday’s passage of a House resolution backing the State Department’s global guidelines on fighting antisemitism. We spotlight incoming Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and report on efforts by Minneapolis Jewish leaders — and the city’s Jewish mayor — to cancel an upcoming teachers’ union seminar featuring an antisemitic speaker. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Aliza Kline, Aaron Levie and Jessica Tisch.
What We’re Watching
- We’re keeping an eye on the International Criminal Court today, which just announced the issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
- White House senior envoy Amos Hochstein is in Israel today for meetings with senior officials aimed at ending the war with Hezbollah. Hochstein arrived last night after two days of meetings in Beirut.
- Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, FBI Director Chris Wray and Brett Holmgren from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence are slated to testify before the Senate Homeland Security Committee this morning during a hearing on threats to the homeland.
- The House is set to vote on legislation today that would allow the Treasury Department to remove the tax-exempt status for nonprofits that have provided support to designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations. More below.
- The Atlantic Council is hosting a conversation with House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Mike McCaul (R-TX) this morning on the global challenges posed by Russia.
- JINSA is holding a virtual event with Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) this afternoon to discuss the incoming Trump administration’s approach to the Middle East.
What You Should Know
After 19 Democratic senators voted to block certain U.S. weapons sales to Israel Wednesday night, there’s some concern in pro-Israel Democratic circles over the future of their party’s support for Israel. But one Democrat has continued to push for the U.S. to stand by Israel: President Joe Biden, writes Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch.
Ahead of the Senate vote, the Biden White House lobbied senators to vote against it. “Disapproving arms purchases for Israel at this moment would … put wind in the sails of Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas at the worst possible moment,” according to White House talking points about the legislation that were obtained by HuffPost.
Hours before the vote, on Wednesday morning, the Biden administration vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution that called for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” but did not tie a cease-fire to the release of all hostages in Gaza. “Simply put, this resolution would’ve sent a dangerous message to Hamas: There’s no need to come back to the negotiating table,” Ambassador Robert Wood, the U.S. alternate permanent representative to the U.N., said at Wednesday’s UNSC meeting. Read the full story here.
Some Jewish Republicans had warned that Biden would “betray” Israel at the United Nations. “The Biden team is now attempting to sneak through this anti-Israel, anti-hostage resolution today at the UN Security Council,” former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman wrote on X.
That never happened: Even with 14 nations voting in favor of the resolution — including England and France — the Biden administration ensured it didn’t pass.
Biden’s staff advocated against the anti-Israel Senate resolutions, and held firm to his proposed weapons sales to Israel even as a larger-than-expected number of Democrats took a stand against him. That’s a comfort to pro-Israel Democrats. But it has also left them wondering whether the president’s proudly Zionist bona fides may be a harder sell in a post-Biden Democratic world.
dem divisions
Nineteen Senate Democrats vote to block U.S. aid to Israel
A total of 19 Senate Democrats voted to advance some or all of a series of three resolutions led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) seeking to block transfers of several types of weaponry to Israel, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Emily Jacobs report.
Roll call: The three resolutions pertained to transfers of tank rounds, mortar shells and guidance kits for bombs, known as joint direct attack munitions or JDAMs. Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Angus King (I-ME), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Rafael Warnock (D-GA) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) voted in favor of all three resolutions. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) voted in favor of two, regarding the tank rounds and mortar shells, but against the resolution on guidance kits for bombs, known as joint direct attack munitions or JDAMs. Appointed Sen. George Helmy (D-NJ) voted in favor of the resolution on the mortar shells, but against the other two. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), who just won a close reelection contest, voted present on all three.
The ‘no’ voters
Right-wing, Squad members vote against State Department global antisemitism guidelines
Twenty-one House members, most of them coming from the right wing of the Republican Conference, joined by three members of the progressive Squad, voted against a resolution that expressed support for the State Department’s global guidelines on combating antisemitism, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. The resolution passed 388-21.
The opponents: On the right, Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Chip Roy (R-TX), Harriet Hageman (R-WY), Bob Good (R-VA), Ronny Jackson (R-TX), Andrew Clyde (R-GA), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Eric Burlison (R-MO), Michael Cloud (R-TX), Clay Higgins (R-LA), Josh Brecheen (R-OK), Wesley Hunt (R-TX), Ryan Zinke (R-WY), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) and Eli Crane (R-AZ) voted no. From the left, Reps. Cori Bush (D-MO), Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) opposed the resolution.
Elsewhere: Speaking at the EMET gala in Washington last night, Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) criticized his “progressive colleagues who’ve fought for every endangered species but when it came to Jews they were silent.”
Taxing talk
Jewish groups divided over House bill addressing terror-supporting nonprofits
A growing list of Jewish groups, including the Conservative movement, joined the Reform movement and progressive Jewish groups on Wednesday to oppose a House bill, set for a vote on Thursday, that would streamline the process for the Treasury Department to remove tax exemptions for groups providing material or financial support to U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Who’s joining: In a joint letter to members of Congress led by the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC), 55 Jewish groups expressed “strong opposition” to the legislation, which would allow the secretary of the Treasury to unilaterally determine that a charity is supporting terrorism, rather than requiring a court decision as under current law — which has been infrequently applied. Notable signatories to the letter include the Central Conference of American Rabbis (the Reform movement’s rabbinic arm), Hadassah, Jewish Women International, National Council of Jewish Women, Mazon, the Rabbinical Assembly, Reconstructing Judaism, the Union for Reform Judaism and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.
Mideast pick
Real estate mogul Witkoff is Trump’s unorthodox choice to serve as his Middle East envoy
Among the many appointments President-elect Donald Trump has rolled out in recent weeks, his decision to name Steve Witkoff, a longtime friend and golfing partner, as special envoy to the Middle East — a crucial role in Trump’s first term — came as an unusual casting choice. Witkoff, a billionaire real estate executive from New York City, has no diplomatic experience and is not viewed as an authority on geopolitical dynamics in the Middle East — where tensions have risen since Trump was last in office, amid a widening regional war between Israel and several Iran-backed proxy groups. Witkoff’s past financial dealings with Qatar, which has targeted him in its lobbying, have also raised questions about conflicts of interest. But with a direct line to the president-elect, Witkoff, a 67-year-old Jewish Republican, is expected to be a key player in conducting outreach across the region, as Trump has indicated he will prioritize expanding the Abraham Accords, with an eye on Saudi Arabia, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Supporting the selection: Despite his unorthodox background, Witkoff’s acquaintances in the real estate industry as well as Jewish Republicans involved in Middle East issues also expressed confidence in his ability to succeed in the high-profile posting. Jon Mechanic, a real estate attorney in New York who has worked with Witkoff on several deals over multiple years, said the developer would benefit from relationships he has built in the region through his real estate firm, Witkoff Group, which owns properties across the country and in London. “He’s raised money over there on both sides,” said Mechanic, referring to Israel and some of the Gulf states. “He’ll be familiar,” Mechanic added. “He’s been involved.”
Read the full story here.
Bonus: The Financial Times spotlights Massad Boulos, whose son is married to Trump’s daughter Tiffany, and looks at the role he could play liaising between Arab governments and the incoming administration.
MINNESOTA NOT NICE
Minneapolis teachers’ union under fire for promoting antisemitic speaker at seminar
Jewish leaders in Minneapolis are calling on the local teachers’ union to cancel an upcoming seminar featuring a speaker with a history of antisemitic remarks who “hates Jews,” according to the city’s Jewish mayor, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
Speaker’s hate speech: Taher Herzallah, the associate director of outreach and community organizing for American Muslims for Palestine and a graduate student and teaching assistant at the University of Minnesota, has said that Jews are “enemy No. 1.” Herzallah is slated to speak at a seminar on Friday evening called “being an educator in a time of war & genocide.” The event is sponsored by Minneapolis Federation of Teachers Educators for Palestine and will be held at the MFT office. On Oct. 17, 2023 — 10 days after Hamas’ attack in southern Israel — Herzallah posted a video of himself online stating that, “anybody who has any relationship or any support or identifies themselves as a Jewish person or as a Christian Zionist, then we shall not be their friend. I will tell you that they are enemy No. 1 and our community needs to recognize that as such.”
moving on
After 10 years, Aliza Kline steps down as CEO of OneTable
A decade after helping launch the Shabbat dinner nonprofit OneTable, CEO Aliza Kline is stepping down from the role, effective Dec. 31, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross reports. Kline said that she is leaving the position with no specific plans for her next step, but felt that, as a founding CEO, she had achieved her goals for OneTable — creating a viable, healthy organization — and felt that she was less invested in continuing the nonprofit’s flagship program, Shabbat dinners for young adults.
Bringing in fresh perspective: “As a person who loves to build and design efforts, we have three offerings at OneTable,” she said, explaining that these were its flagship young adult meals, an emerging initiative organizing dinners for adults over the age of 50 (“OneTable Together”) and a new endeavor of licensing its proprietary platform to other organizations (“Powered by OneTable”). “I see myself really drawn to the one that’s the newest and that we’re still cultivating and developing. And I think for the CEO of an organization like this and this size, you want somebody who is fresh-eyed for all of the offerings, including the one that is now our most historic one, because it’s just a different kind of energy and perspective,” she said.
Elsewhere in philanthropy circles: The Jewish Food Society launched an inaugural online auction on Monday featuring a behind-the-scenes tour of New York’s Katz’s Deli, lunch with Start-Up Nation author Dan Senor and a Japanese tasting meal by chef Ai Ito, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports for eJewishPhilanthropy.
Worthy Reads
Cancel Culture: The Atlantic’s Arash Azizi looks at calls for a boycott of Israeli cultural institutions through the lens of his own childhood in Iran. “Many of us in Iranian society wanted nothing more than to find allies, counterparts, and inspiration abroad, and our regime wanted nothing less for us. Boycotting the country simply advanced the cause of our adversaries — namely, to cut the Iranian population off from influences that could bolster its courage and expand the reach of its solidarity. … When I hear of boycotts on Israeli writers, I think of those Israeli writers who have been published in Persian translation regardless of these obstacles. I ask myself who would benefit if fewer Iranians could read Amos Oz’s enchanting fairy tale, Suddenly in the Depths of the Forest, rendered in Persian by the Marxist poet Shahrouz Rashid. The book tells of two children in an unnamed village who decide, against the advice of their parents, to seek out a demon that has taken all the animals away. Some critics saw this story as an allusion to the Holocaust. I remember discussing it with friends in Tehran and finding within it our own meanings and references. We dreamed of meeting Oz, who died in 2018, and of sharing our interpretations with him. What good is served by severing such cross-cultural exchange?” [TheAtlantic]
Rowan’s Road: Puck’s William Cohan spotlights Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan, a top candidate under consideration to be Treasury secretary in the incoming administration who met with President-elect Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago yesterday. “If Trump chooses Marc, it will be the most rational decision that the president-elect has made since descending the escalator at Trump Tower, in June 2015. There are a few other contenders still in the mix, along with Marc. There’s U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty, a former private-equity investor, who has been gaining altitude on Trump’s shortlist. (Apparently he’s ‘great on TV.’) There is also former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, who is also expected to meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago this week, although Trump may be keeping Warsh in reserve as Fed chairman once Jay Powell’s term is over. And then there is Marc — a dark horse in some ways, but surely the most impressive of the three.” [Puck]
Word on the Street
President-elect Donald Trump met with Marc Rowan, Scott Bessent and Kevin Warsh at Mar-a-Lago yesterday as he narrows his search for Treasury secretary; Bloomberg considers what the potential selection of Rowan would mean for the future leadership of Apollo Global Management, which Rowan co-founded and has been CEO of since 2021…
Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley criticized former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), the incoming Trump administration’s nominee to be director of national intelligence, for her ties to malign actors including Syrian President Bashar al-Assad; Haley said that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence “is not a place for a Russian, Iranian, Syrian, Chinese sympathizer”…
Politico interviewed Box CEO Aaron Levie, who had backed Vice President Kamala Harris in the general election, about his support for Elon Musk’s involvement in the incoming administration…
Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) was elected head of the New Democrat Coalition for the next Congress, while Rep.-elect Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) was elected president of the incoming freshman delegation…
New York Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch, a former deputy police commissioner, was named the new head of the NYPD…
A man arrested two years ago at New York’s Penn Station after making threats to attack Jewish sites in the city was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to possessing a weapon as a crime of terrorism.
The Financial Times looks at the approach taken by Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital, which has invested heavily in OpenAI and a select few other startups…
Speaking at New York’s Beacon Theatre, former President Bill Clinton told actor Billy Crystal that he thinks about the failed Oslo Peace Process “every day”…
Hamas rejected any proposals that would exchange Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners in the absence of a permanent cease-fire…
A rocket attack from Lebanon into northern Israel killed a man in the city of Nahariya…
Three Palestinians from the West Bank city of Hebron were charged with plotting to kill Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and his eldest son…
Strikes on the Syrian city of Palmyra yesterday killed 68 pro-Iran fighters, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said; the IDF did not comment on the strike, which was attributed to Israel…
Bloomberg looks at how Israel’s military successes against Iran and its proxies have reshaped and mitigated the large-scale, imminent threats posed to the Jewish state…
The IDF is investigating how a civilian researcher was able to enter southern Lebanon with an IDF unit without the requisite permissions; the 71-year-old, who was visiting an archeological site, was killed in a gun battle with Hezbollah terrorists alongside a 20-year-old IDF soldier…
El Al reported a 260% profit increase in the third quarter of this year compared to the prior year; the Israeli carrier reported earnings of $187 million from July-September, up from $52 million during the same quarter last year…
Pic of the Day
Nova Music Festival survivor Yuval Rafael performs Demi Lovato’s “Anyone” on the latest episode of Israel’s “The Next Star” singing competition. The show’s winner will go on to be Israel’s representative at next year’s Eurovision competition.
Birthdays
Chairman of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group including Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures and Screen Gems, Thomas Rothman turns 70…
Director-general of the Mossad from 1982 to 1989, Nahum Admoni turns 95… British entrepreneur and philanthropist, Baron Harold Stanley Kalms turns 93… U.S. senator (D-IL), he is the Senate majority whip until Jan. 3, Dick Durbin turns 80… Academy Award-winning actress, director, producer and occasional singer, she founded The Hawn Foundation to help underprivileged children, Goldie Hawn turns 79… Founder, chairman and CEO of Men’s Wearhouse for 40 years, currently holding these same positions at Generation Tux, an online tuxedo rental platform, George Zimmer turns 76… U.S. senator (R-LA), John Kennedy turns 73… Beverly Hills resident, Julie Shuer… U.S. district judge for the Northern District of California, she is a past president of Peninsula Temple Beth El in San Mateo, Calif., Judge Beth Labson Freeman turns 71… Israeli media personality, Avri Gilad turns 62… Business development officer at the San Francisco office of Taylor Frigon Capital Management, Jonathan Wornick… VP of planned giving and endowments at UJA-Federation of New York, William Samers… CEO and national director of the Anti-Defamation League, Jonathan A. Greenblatt turns 54… Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist and editor-in-chief of the Sapir journal, Bret Stephens turns 51… Founder and publisher of the The Real Deal, Amir Korangy turns 51… Former NFL running back for the Raiders, Rams and Bears, he is now a schoolteacher, Chad Levitt turns 49… Political director of ABC News, Rick Klein turns 48… Director of global government relations at the Hershey Company, she was previously a deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Transportation, Joanna Liberman Turner turns 48… Consul general of the U.S. in Quebec, Danielle Hana Monosson… Reporter at Bloomberg News and Businessweek, Max Abelson… Member of the New York City Council from the Bronx, Eric Dinowitz turns 39… MLB pitcher in five organizations, now playing for the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos of the Mexican League, he played for Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Robert Stock turns 35… Director of sports engagement at the American Jewish Committee, Alexander Freeman… Judy Brilliant… Ruth Shapiro…
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