Daily Kickoff
Good Wednesday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on how Senate Democrats intend to vote today on three pieces of legislation that would block some weapons transfers to Israel, and look at how Democrats’ ideological splits are dividing the party on the issue. We talk to Rep. Jake Auchincloss about how the incoming Trump administration could approach foreign policy and report on Israel’s confirmation that its air force struck an Iranian nuclear facility last month. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Sir Ronald Cohen, Sally Buzbee and Al Schwimmer.
What We’re Watching
- Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan, who has emerged as a top candidate for Treasury secretary, is scheduled to meet with President-elect Donald Trump today at Mar-a-Lago. Rowan, who also serves as chair of UJA-Federation of New York, is reported to have flown back early from a trip to Hong Kong for the meeting.
- The House is slated to vote on a bipartisan resolution led by Rep. Kathy Manning (D-NC) promoting the adoption of the State Department’s global guidelines on antisemitism — which include adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism.
- White House senior envoy Amos Hochstein will arrive in Israel today following meetings in Beirut earlier this week aimed at ending the war between Israel and Hezbollah. Speaking yesterday in Lebanon, Hochstein said an end to the war was “within our grasp.”
- In Jerusalem, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, former Israeli security cabinet member Gadi Eisenkot and former National Security Advisor Yaakov Amidror are slated to speak at the Israel Democracy Institute’s annual conference.
- XPANSE 2024 kicks off in Abu Dhabi today. Sir Ronald Cohen, MOV.AI’s Limor Schweitzer and Level Ex’s Sam Glassenberg are all slated to speak at the confab, which runs through Friday.
- Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch will be joining a panel of experts from the Brookings Institution, the University of Maryland and the American Constitution Society for a postelection look-ahead tonight at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington.
- The U.N. Security Council is slated to vote this morning on a resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, without conditioning it on the release of the hostages held by Hamas. American diplomats negotiated to soften the Algeria-led proposal with some success, removing the threat of enforcement and adding a call to free the hostages, but it still is not a necessary condition for the cease-fire in the latest draft. The Biden administration has vetoed similar resolutions in the past but has not publicly said how it will vote this time.
What You Should Know
The Biden White House’s decision to speak out against a push from progressive senators proposing legislation seeking to block aid to Israel is shaping up to be an early sign of postelection clashes between the party’s mainstream majority and its activist faction that will determine the future direction of the Democratic Party.
“We strongly oppose this resolution and we have made our position clear to interested senators,” a National Security Council spokesperson told Jewish Insider on Tuesday night.
News of the Biden administration’s involvement, first reported by The Times of Israel, is a seminal moment in the Democratic Party’s increasingly divisive internal debates over Israel and Middle East policy. It’s a sign that Biden is personally invested in ensuring that the party maintains its broadly pro-Israel posture, and doesn’t fall prey to far-left activists’ demands.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), along with several of Israel’s most frequent critics in the Senate, is pushing a series of anti-Israel resolutions that would block military aid, including guided bomb kits, tank shells and mortar rounds. Eleven senators voted for another long-shot measure by Sanders to censure Israel earlier this year.
The legislation has virtually no chance of passing, but the White House’s engagement suggests concern that a larger-than-expected bloc of senators would consider aligning with the party’s anti-Israel faction — an inconvenient development after a losing election where many Democratic leaders have blamed the the influence of left-wing activists for the party’s decisive defeat.
Mainstream Jewish and pro-Israel groups have been mounting a concerted advocacy campaign to pressure senators to oppose the resolutions because they see the measures as a barometer of where Senate Democrats stand on support for Israel nearly 14 months into its war against Hamas and Hezbollah.
The Jewish Federations of North America, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Democratic Majority for Israel and AIPAC are all urging supporters to lobby against the legislation.
The Jewish Democratic Council of America, the umbrella organization for Jewish Democrats, is also taking a strong stance against the measure — a sign that the group is drawing a line in the sand against the party’s anti-Israel faction. “This wasn’t a tough call for JDCA. We have always supported full funding of military assistance and opposed cuts or conditions on U.S. aid to Israel,” JDCA CEO Halie Soifer told JI. She said the group contacted every Democratic senator’s office to urge them to oppose the Sanders resolutions.
Seven senators, all vociferous Democratic critics of Israel’s military operations in Gaza, have said so far that they plan to vote for at least some of the resolutions. If the number of lawmakers supporting one or more remains around the 11 that supported Sanders’ January resolution, Jewish groups would likely see that as a victory. Seven have also said publicly that they’re likely to oppose all three resolutions, while another 18 said they’re undecided or declined to preview their votes. More below.
If closer to 20 Democrats support one or more of the resolutions, it would be a sign that skepticism of Israel has taken deeper root inside the Democratic conference, beyond the most vocal critics.
Biden’s involvement could mean that the number of Israel detractors will end up on the low end. But the fact that it’s taking White House involvement to prevent Democrats from repeating many of the same mistakes that dogged them in this year’s election is perhaps a wake-up-call to how challenging maintaining the party’s pro-Israel posture might be.
policy proposal
Auchincloss: U.S. needs to focus on splitting Iran and China, not Saudi normalization with Israel
The incoming Trump administration needs to focus its Middle East policy on disrupting and distancing ties between Iran and China, rather than “being obsessed” with normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel, Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), a pro-Israel Democrat, told Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod in a lengthy interview last week on his proposal for Middle East policy in the coming years.
Saudi criticism: Auchincloss, who is Jewish, a military veteran and a member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, also was sharply critical of Saudi Arabia as an unreliable partner being led by a “clown.” Saudi Arabia, Auchincloss argued, is still “animated by Wahhabi extremism” and, “in the long run… the Wahhabi strain of Islam is never going to be conducive with a strong alliance with Israel.”
Riyadh reckoning: The Massachusetts congressman emphasized multiple times that he is not opposed to bringing Saudi Arabia into the Abraham Accords — and that he would very much like to see the kingdom join the developing regional air-defense infrastructure — but is not comfortable with the demands that Saudi Arabia has put forward, including security guarantees and nuclear enrichment. “None of these things, to me, are worth it for a country that has not been a productive actor and I don’t think has any long-term compatibility with where we want this region to end up,” Auchincloss said, adding that he doesn’t oppose “good relations” with Saudi Arabia and that the country “does a lot of things that are useful. It’s just, let’s not let the pursuit of Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords induce us to give up things that are not in our interests, or to potentially not prioritize things that would be much more impactful.”
Elsewhere: The Financial Times’ Andrew England reports on how some Arab diplomats are looking to Saudi Arabia to leverage its relationship with President-elect Donald Trump in an effort to temper the incoming administration’s strong support for Israel.
on the hill
Congress to vote on bipartisan bill to revoke nonprofit status for groups supporting terror
The House is set to vote this week on legislation that would make it easier for the federal government to remove the tax-exempt statuses of nonprofits that provide support to terrorist groups, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. But the legislation has become politically controversial amid accusations from progressive groups and Democratic lawmakers that it would enable arbitrary crackdowns by the incoming Trump administration.
What it does: The bill would streamline the procedures for revoking the nonprofit status of charities accused of providing financial or material support to U.S.-designated terrorist organizations. Under current law, the issue must be adjudicated at trial, and the law has rarely been invoked. Under the new legislation, the secretary of the Treasury would be able to make such determinations unilaterally, potentially without publicly releasing underlying evidence. Targeted charities would have 90 days to file a court challenge before losing their tax exemptions.
dem divide
Sanders resolution vote set to test Senate Democrats’ divisions on Israel
The Senate is set to vote on Wednesday on three resolutions led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) that would block transfers of tank rounds, mortars and bomb guidance kits to Israel, votes that will be a key test of the depth of division among Senate Democrats on U.S. support for Israel, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Emily Jacobs report. Going into Wednesday’s vote, it remains unclear how many senators will support one or more of the resolutions — seven Democrats have told JI they’re likely to oppose all of them while another seven have said they’re planning to support some or all.
Drilling down: Their decision to call a vote on the resolution on bomb guidance kits, known as joint direct attack munitions or JDAMs, is raising some concerns, given that pro-Israel lawmakers have argued that those systems reduce civilian casualties by increasing the precision of strikes. One Democratic senator, speaking on condition of anonymity, told JI that several senators argued against a vote on the JDAMs resolution. “Someone who actually knows about dropping bombs made the point: ‘Isn’t their complaint that they’re using the bombs discriminately? If you send a signal that you’re going to take away the thing that allows them to drop them more precisely, doesn’t that have the unintended negative effect?’” the senator said.
bibi’s briefing
Netanyahu confirms Israel struck Iranian nuclear facility
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Monday that Israel struck an Iranian nuclear weapons facility in October, causing damage to important equipment that experts said may be hard for the Islamic Republic to recoup, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
Delayed, not destroyed: “There is a certain component in [Iran’s] nuclear program that was harmed in the strike” on Oct. 26, Netanyahu told the Knesset, emphasizing that the Iranian nuclear threat remains. “The plan itself, its ability to act here [against Israel], still has not been thwarted,” he warned. “We delayed it…but it advanced in enrichment. It still has a ways to go in other areas, and the test is on us. It is on us – the government of Israel, the State of Israel, our friend the U.S.”
Worthy Reads
Assad’s Angle: In the Financial Times, Emile Hokayem posits that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is waiting out the ongoing Middle East conflicts in a protracted effort to rehabilitate Damascus’ image and rebuild relationships with global players. “In Assad’s view, a weakened Iran and Hizbollah could allow him to rely more on Russia and to court the Gulf and other Arab states. Seeking funding and political respectability, he sees Moscow as well placed to counter western influence, facilitate a rapprochement with Turkey and accelerate Arab re-engagement. This is why he was beaming while attending the Riyadh conference to promote Palestinian statehood last week. He particularly enjoyed the meeting with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, who had ended his exclusion from the Arab League in 2023. Attempts to rehabilitate Assad are picking up steam. … For Assad, negotiations over security, refugees and drugs are means to entangle foreign governments in drawn-out processes in which the other side pays and concedes as he talks and cedes nothing. Assad hopes that the incoming Trump administration will withdraw its troops from Syria and lift stringent sanctions without requiring it to engage in a political process.” [FT]
Second Chance at Peace: The New York Times’ Tom Friedman suggests that President-elect Donald Trump has an opportunity to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, using his previous administration’s 2020 peace plan as a basis. “So if and when a cease-fire and hostage exchange happens in Gaza, I hope Trump will consider taking advantage of this second chance that history is affording him by inviting both sides to Camp David for a peace summit, with the buy-in to attend being the acceptance of the Trump plan as the floor for negotiations — not the ceiling but the floor — and they can negotiate from there. Is he up to it? I don’t know. I do know that taking the initiative would tell both parties that Trump is not going to wait for their politics to get around to discussing it, because stemming this conflict is a vital U.S. interest before it drags us deeper into a Middle East war than we already are. And we know Trump doesn’t like Middle East wars.” [NYTimes]
Philanthropy and Democracy: In eJewishPhilanthropy, Israeli Democracy Institute board Chair Amir Elstein recommends that philanthropic efforts to address a post-Oct. 7 Israel must also go to initiatives that strengthen democratic institutions in Israel. “Much needs to be done to address these and other key failures — and civil society needs to act now to prepare the ground for reform-minded political leaders who want to hit the ground running after the war. Here are three concrete examples: First, it is critical to devise a new constitutional framework that will codify Israel’s checks and balances and secure the rights of all Israeli citizens — without such a framework, the next crisis is only a matter of time. Second, Israel urgently needs a practical plan to integrate Haredim into the IDF and workforce, or else risk becoming a shtetl economy incapable of defending itself. And third, Israel needs a comprehensive blueprint for rebuilding its hollowed-out civil service so that it may once again provide outstanding service to its citizens — and minimize the need for overreliance on philanthropy and the nonprofit sector.” [eJP]
Word on the Street
President-elect Donald Trump announced transition team co-chairs Howard Lutnick and Linda McMahon as his picks for secretary of commerce and secretary of education, respectively…
Sen. John Thune (R-SD) spoke by phone to Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, who invited the incoming Senate majority leader to visit Israel…
Reps. Al Green (D-TX), Jim Costa (D-CA), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX) and Michael Rulli (R-OH) introduced a resolution honoring the 118th anniversary of the American Jewish Committee…
Police in Pittsburgh are investigating the origins of hundreds of racist and antisemitic stickers posted around the heavily Jewish neighborhood of Squirrel Hill…
The teacher’s union in St. Paul, Minn., is slated to vote next week on a resolution calling for an end to U.S. military aid to Israel…
Authorities in Rochester, N.Y., charged four University of Rochester students with felony criminal mischief for their alleged roles in posting antisemitic posters targeting the school’s Jewish employees; a fifth individual is still being investigated…
A Florida man who is facing weapons violations charges for his possession of a stockpile of guns, ammunition and smoke grenades had kept a “hit list” that included Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) and Jewish centers and Jewish-owned businesses…
Former Washington Post Editor-in-Chief Sally Buzbee is joiningReuters as news editor for the U.S. and Canada…
Warner Bros. and Aaron Sorkin agreed to develop a film, written and potentially directed by the “West Wing” creator, about the life of Israeli Air Force “father” Al Schwimmer…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a visit to the Gaza Strip that Israel had destroyed Hamas’ military capabilities…
While in Gaza, Netanyahu announced a reward of $5 million and safe passage out of the enclave in exchange for the release of any of the remaining 101 hostages still in captivity…
The American security consulting firm Orbis gave Israel a proposed plan for securing humanitarian aid deliveries in Gaza that includes the creation of an aid hub, funded by donor countries, approved by Israel and not controlled by the U.N. or Hamas…
A new report from the International Atomic Energy Agencyfound that Iran has significantly increased its stockpile of enriched uranium despite calls from the West for Tehran to tamp down its nuclear program…
Italy accused Hezbollah of attacking a U.N. peacekeeper base in southern Lebanon; Italy’s defense minister walked back his initial claim that Israel was behind the strike…
The USS Abraham Lincoln, the U.S. Navy’s sole aircraft carrier in the Middle East, departed the region over the weekend after several months of operations…
The Iranian woman detained earlier this month after she stripped down to her underwear at a Tehran university was released without charges…
The deputy foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Iran and China met in Riyadh on Tuesday to discuss efforts to move forward on the Beijing Agreement…
Turkey is pushing the incoming Trump administration to lift sanctions over Ankara’s use of Russian S-400 missiles, which would allow Turkey to purchase F-35 jets…
Pic of the Day
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations CEO William Daroff and Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel CEO Dumisani Washington laid a wreath on Tuesday at the Birkenau death camp with the European Jewish Association delegation to Auschwitz.
Birthdays
Actress and playwright, Halley Feiffer turns 40…
Art dealer and former owner of MLB’s Miami Marlins, Jeffrey Loria turns 84… Professor of biochemistry and biophysics at the University of Southern California, he won the 2013 Nobel Prize in chemistry, Arieh Warshel turns 84… President of the United States, Joe Biden turns 82… Singer and songwriter, known for writing and performing the song “Spirit in the Sky,” Norman Greenbaum turns 82… Short-story writer and actress, she is a professor of writing at Columbia University and was a winner of a MacArthur genius fellowship, Deborah Eisenberg turns 79… Former national security advisor in the Trump 45 administration, John R. Bolton turns 76… Character actor who has appeared in more than 80 films, he served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild, Richard Masur turns 76… Maj. Gen. (res.) in the IDF, he is a former combat pilot and head of Aman (the IDF’s Military Intelligence Directorate), Amos Yadlin turns 73… Longtime spokesman (now emeritus) to the foreign press at the Jewish Agency for Israel, Michael Jankelowitz turns 72… Pulitzer Prize-winning national affairs writer for The Wall Street Journal during the 1990s, he is the author of six well-regarded books, Ronald Steven “Ron” Suskind turns 65… White House official in both the Bush 41 and Bush 43 administrations, now a partner at Kirkland & Ellis, Jay P. Lefkowitz turns 62… Pianist, composer and author, Robin Spielberg turns 62… Fashion designer, hotelier and real estate developer, Alan Faena turns 61… Vice chair of the board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and a trustee of the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles, Heidi Monkarsh… Deputy assistant director at the National Science Foundation, Graciela Narcho… American-born former member of Knesset for the Likud party, he campaigned for expanding Jewish access to the Temple Mount, Yehudah Glick turns 59… Rapper and founding member of the hip hop group the Beastie Boys, he is known as “Mike D,” Michael Louis Diamond turns 59… Hedge fund manager, founder and president of Greenlight Capital, David Einhorn turns 56… Boston-based real estate attorney at Goulston & Storrs, Zev D. Gewurz… Anchor for Yahoo Finance, Julie Hyman… Opposition research specialist and founder of Beehive Research, Devorah Adler… Executive director at Aish HaTorah since 2020, Rabbi Benjamin Gonsher… U.S. senator-elect from Arizona, Ruben Gallego turns 45… Outfielder for four MLB teams over eight years, he played for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic, he was the general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies until ten days ago, Sam Fuld turns 43… Director for North America at the Saban Family Foundation and the Cheryl Saban Self-Worth Foundation for Women & Girls, Jesse Bronner… Actress and writer, her decision to convert to Judaism was the subject of a 2006 article in The Sunday Times of London, Margo Stilley turns 42… Deputy health care editor for Politico, Dan Goldberg… Alexis Weiss…
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