Daily Kickoff
Good Friday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on President-elect Donald Trump’s selection offormer Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to be attorney general, and cover the International Criminal Court’s issuance yesterday of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. We also have the scoop on a potential plan to relocate some senior Hamas officials from Gaza to Turkey as the country takes in officials from the terror group who had been based in Qatar. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Sen. Lindsey Graham, Georgia state Rep. Esther Panitch and Maryland state Del. Joe Vogel.
For less-distracted reading over the weekend, browse this week’s edition of The Weekly Print, a curated print-friendly PDF featuring a selection of recent Jewish Insider and eJewishPhilanthropy stories, including: Real estate mogul Witkoff is Trump’s unorthodox choice to serve as his Middle East envoy; Auchincloss: U.S. needs to focus on splitting Iran and China, not Saudi normalization with Israel; Israel Katz, the self-proclaimed Herod of Israeli politics and Israel’s new defense minister. Print the latest edition here.
What We’re Watching
- The Halifax International Security Forum kicks off this morning in Nova Scotia. More below.
- President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name the rest of his nominees for the Cabinet before the weekend. In particular, we’ll be watching for his choice for Treasury secretary, as Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan has increasingly become the dark horse candidate for the role.
What You Should Know
Starting this morning, hundreds of policymakers, elected officials and foreign policy experts from more than 60 countries will gather for three days in Nova Scotia for the annual Halifax International Security Forum (HFX). Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch will be on the ground in Halifax — say hi if you’re there.
The conference’s organizers expect the gathering to focus on Ukraine and pushing the message that President-elect Donald Trump should support Ukraine in its nearly three-year-long war with Russia. It’s the first major national security conference since Trump’s election. Expect attendees to jockey to get close to anyone there from Trump world.
“We encourage President Trump to offer strong American support for Ukraine’s fight,” HFX President Peter Van Praagh said earlier this month. “Once complete unity on Ukraine among the allies is demonstrated, Iran and its terrorist proxies, North Korea and China will begin to moderate their aggressive actions.”
Some of the informal, off-the-record sessions offer evidence of Western democracies’ malaise: One is called “Bye, Bye Biden Blues: Ushering in a New Era for Transatlantic Relations.” Another is titled “Elon Musk Has a Very Big Rocket: the Broligarchs’ Growing Influence.”
But even the best-organized conference has to contend with current events — and now, the leaders and diplomats gathering in Halifax will be forced to confront one topic that has proven deeply divisive among democracies: the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court on Thursday against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The Biden administration said the U.S. “fundamentally rejects” the ICC’s decision, and Republicans have vowed to push legislation sanctioning the court.
At the same time, the European Union issued a statement saying EU member nations are obligated to enforce the warrant, and Canada also said it will abide by the warrants. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is drafting a letter asking the EU to reverse its position. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Jim Risch (R-ID), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) will be on the ground in Halifax this weekend.
We’ll be watching whether the ICC debate comes to a head at HFX. We’re also looking to see how America’s allies are preparing for a second Trump term — and what it means for Israel, the Middle East and the world.
boosting bondi
Trump’s new AG nominee Pam Bondi called for crackdowns on pro-Hamas protesters
President-elect Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he intends to nominate former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to serve as his attorney general, hours after former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) declined the nomination amid increasing scrutiny of allegations of past sexual misconduct and sex trafficking, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Leaning in: In an October 2023 appearance on Newsmax, Bondi expressed concern about antisemitism, particularly on college campuses. She urged that those in the U.S. on visas participating in pro-Hamas rallies be deported, and U.S. citizens face FBI investigation. Former Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL), who is Jewish, expressed high praise for Bondi, telling JI, despite their political differences, “when it comes to the interests of the Jewish community and having an attorney general that will fight for the protection of the Jewish community, we could not do better than Pam Bondi.”
scoop
Some Hamas officials in Gaza may relocate to Turkey
Some of the remaining Hamas leaders in Gaza may move to Turkey and at least two senior Hamas officials have left Qatar for Turkey, three Israeli sources and a senator briefed by Israeli officials told Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov, Marc Rod and Emily Jacobs.
Exit from Gaza: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed openness to expelling Hamas leaders from Gaza in the past, as part of a comprehensive cease-fire including their surrender and the release of the hostages, and a source close to him said on Thursday that remains his position. The Israeli official did not provide further details on the circumstances under which Hamas leaders might be able to depart Gaza — departure from which Israel has tightly controlled since Oct. 7. Shin Bet head Ronen Bar traveled to Turkey to meet with Ibrahim Kalin, the country’s intelligence chief. Reports in the Israeli media said they discussed a possible Turkish role in negotiations to release the Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
Hill headache: The reports about that development are sparking frustration on Capitol Hill, including among lawmakers who have spent months advocating for Hamas leaders to be expelled from Qatar. In a joint statement first shared with JI, Sens. Ted Budd (R-NC), Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Joni Ernst (R-IA) said it is “disappointing that Turkey has welcomed Hamas leaders with open arms following Qatar’s eviction of these terrorists.” The senators called it “unbecoming of a NATO member to harbor foreign designated terrorists with allied blood and hostages on its hands, particularly ones who have already been criminally indicted.” They called on Turkey to abide by the U.S.’ extradition treaty with it and turn over Hamas leaders who have been indicted in the U.S.
legal escalation
ICC arrest warrants ‘a modern Dreyfus trial’ – Netanyahu
The International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza, announced yesterday, stem from anti-Israel bias, the Prime Minister’s Office said on Thursday. Netanyahu’s office called the warrants “a modern Dreyfus trial that will end in the same way. Israel vigorously rejects the absurd and false actions and accusations against it by the ICC, which is a biased and discriminatory political body,” Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
Details: The ICC’s pre-trial chamber issued the warrants earlier Thursday for the arrests of Netanyahu and Gallant, accusing them of crimes related to the war in Gaza. Under their terms of the warrants, Netanyahu and Gallant risk arrest if they travel to any of the 124 countries that are members of the court. “No anti-Israel decision will stop Israel from defending its citizens,” Netanyahu’s spokesperson said. Gallant said that the decision to issue warrants is “outrageous” and “will live in infamy,” saying that it equates Israel and Hamas, and legitimizes terrorism. “It also sets a dangerous precedent for democracies around the world in their fight against terrorism,” Gallant wrote in a post on X.
Real-world implications: Netanyahu and Gallant’s travel options will be much narrower after the ICC’s action, but there are unlikely to be other practical ramifications, experts said shortly after the announcement of the warrants on Thursday. Yuval Shany, a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute and chair of international law at the Hebrew University, told JI that in addition to mostly grounding Netanyahu, the arrest warrant may mean that leaders will no longer visit Israel to meet with him. “It’s not a great honor to go around the world or for the world to come to you, and you have this shadow on you that you’re a fugitive from the law,” Shany said.
White House response: President Joe Biden issued a statement calling the ICC’s issuance of the warrants “outrageous,” adding, “whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”
washington reax
Republican lawmakers vow swift action on ICC sanctions in next Congress
Following the International Criminal Court’s decision on Thursday to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Republicans in the Senate and House are vowing that passing sanctions targeting the court and its officials — legislation that passed the House on a bipartisan basis but has been blocked in the Democratic-led Senate — will be an early priority for them in the next Congress, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod report.
Leadership’s view: Sen. John Thune (R-SD), the incoming Senate majority leader, called the warrants “outrageous, unlawful and dangerous” and said that if Senate Democrats do not act on the sanctions bill, “the new Senate Republican majority next year will.” Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), the incoming chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told JI, “The ICC greatly overstepped its jurisdiction. It has no jurisdiction here.” Read more here.
Scooplet: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is drafting a letter to the European Union warning the body and leaders of its member states against following EU guidance to enforce the orders of the ICC arrest warrants, he told JI’s Emily Jacobs. “I’m going to send out a statement that I’m obligated to sanction any organization or country that aids and abets this effort, which I think is a rogue prosecution,” Graham said. “If you help them, you’re on the wrong side of us.”
International lens: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would “abide by” the ICC’s warrants, while Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán rejected the issuance of the warrants and that Budapest would welcome Netanyahu. The foreign minister of The Netherlands postponed his upcoming trip to Israel, slated for next Monday.
not peachy
Georgia’s only Jewish state legislator slams Ossoff, Warnock for votes against Israel aid
Democratic Georgia state Rep. Esther Panitch, the only Jewish member of the Georgia Statehouse, said on Thursday she was “disheartened that both of our U.S. senators voted in favor” of resolutions to block U.S. aid to Israel, referring to Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Future prospects: “In the end, the failed vote will not be felt by the Israeli forces or government, but acute feelings of abandonment by our senators are already being felt by pro-Israel and freedom-loving constituents, both Jewish and not Jewish, in Georgia,” Panitch said. Asked by JI how she thinks his votes will impact Ossoff and other Democrats’ support among Jewish voters in the 2026 election, Panitch responded, “I won’t commit a vote for an election two years from now and without knowing who else is running, but [Ossoff] should be glad the election isn’t tomorrow.”
on the hill
House Democratic support for bill on terror-supporting nonprofits plummets
Dozens of House Democrats withdrew their support for a bipartisan bill that would make it easier for the federal government to strip nonprofits providing material or financial support to designated terrorist groups, with just 15 House Democrats voting for the legislation on Thursday, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Shrinking support: The declining support among Democrats followed warnings from outside liberal groups, as well as a growing number of liberal and nonpartisan Jewish organizations, that the bill could provide sweeping powers to the incoming Trump administration. An initial version of the bill saw nearly unanimous support in the House — just 10 Democrats and one Republican voted against it. When a new version of the bill came up for a vote last week, just 52 Democrats supported it with 144 opposed. The bill passed by a 219-184 vote on Thursday. Some pro-Israel Democrats who flipped against the bill in the past week cited a deluge of concerns from constituents.
Worthy Reads
Keeping a Lid On: The New York Times’ Lara Jakes looks at why the conflict between Israel and Iran has played out in proxy battles and limited and calculated strikes. “Not long ago, analysts might have predicted that any direct strike by Iran on Israel, or by Israel on Iran, would have prompted an immediate conflagration. But it has not played out that way. Partly that is the result of frantic diplomacy behind the scenes by allies including the United States, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. But the calculated, limited strikes also reflect the fact that the alternative — a war of ‘shock and awe’ between Israel and Iran — could lead to dire consequences not just for the region but also much of the world. … ‘It’s “I slap, therefore you get slapped, so you understand, and so now you can decide whether you want to step down or you want to step up,”’ said Assaf Orion, a retired Israeli brigadier general and defense strategist at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. ‘The fact is that both parties are taking their time to calculate, to collaborate, to shape their own operations,’ he added.” [NYTimes]
Word on the Street
During President-elect Donald Trump’s meetings with top candidates to serve as Treasury secretary during the next administration, Trump floated the possibility of naming Kevin Warsh to the role until Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s term ends in 2026, at which time Warsh would be named as Powell’s successor…
Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) conceded to Sen.-elect Dave McCormick (R-PA) as a statewide recount showed no signs of closing McCormick’s narrow advantage in the race…
Sens. Peter Welch (D-VT), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced a bill to restore U.S. funding for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency…
Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Virginia Foxx (R-NC) announced on Friday that the House Education and the Workforce and the House Energy and Commerce committees are jointly investigating the J. David Gladstone Institutes for its handling of allegedly antisemitic incidents, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports…
The political consulting firm John Zogby Strategies, whose founder is the brother of Arab American Institute founder James Zogby, was paid more than $600,000 by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign for “research consulting” done between September 2023 and August of this year; James Zogby is making a bid for Democratic National Committee vice chair…
The New York Times spotlights former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) as the politician, who spent a year and a half in prison for sending explicit photos to a minor, mulls a return to political life and a bid for New York City Council…
Dozens of anti-Israel protesters demonstrated outside the Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life at Columbia University to protest an event featuring Israeli journalist Barak Ravid…
New legislation introduced in Maryland by state Del. Joe Vogel would ensure that state colleges, universities and K-12 public schools designate a single point person responsible for coordinating compliance with Title VI, which was expanded during the first Trump administration to include protections for Jewish students, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports…
A Jewish art museum in Tulsa, Okla., buried the remains of Holocaust victims in the museum’s possession…
Former Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked was denied a visa to enter Australia, due to a stipulation that allows the rejection of a visa if there is reason to believe the applicant may “vilify a segment of the Australian community, or incite discord in the Australian community or in a segment of that community”…
Israel gave the Biden administration formal assurance that it does not intend to forcibly displace Palestinians from northern Gaza…
The Wall Street Journal looks at how the increased deployment of missiles and advanced aerial weaponry in the conflicts between Israel and Iran and its proxies have affected flights across the Middle East…
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors voted 19-3, with 12 abstentions, to censure Iran over its failure to cooperate with the U.N. nuclear watchdog…
Tehran responded to the IAEA’s censure by announcing plans to activate “a noticeable number of new and advanced centrifuges of different types”…
Former AIPAC official Steven Rosen died at 82…
Pic of the Day
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog and his wife, Shirin Herzog, hosted a reception at the ambassador’s residence last night honoring the artwork of painter Ziva Jelin, whose “Gallery Square” work was unveiled. The painting depicts the gallery at Kibbutz Be’eri, which was destroyed during Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack.
The artwork was displayed, together with other paintings, some of which had prominent bullet piercings, at the Embassy of Israel’s Independence Day reception in May 2024. The painting was subsequently purchased by The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington from the Lévy Gorvy Dayan art gallery and gifted to the ambassador’s residence. Proceeds from the painting’s sale will go to fund the building of a new gallery in Kibbutz Be’eri.
Birthdays
Former member of Congress, secretary of agriculture and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, Dan Glickman turns 80 on Sunday…
FRIDAY: Real estate developer and former majority owner of MLB’s New York Mets for 33 years ending in 2020, he was a high school teammate of Sandy Koufax, Fred Wilpon turns 88… Professor at NYU Law School, she worked at OMB and the National Economic Council in the Clinton White House, Sally Katzen turns 82… Novelist and screenwriter, he is editor-at-large for The Epoch Times, Roger Lichtenberg Simon turns 81… Born to a Jewish family in Tunisia, he served as a member of the Canadian House of Commons until 2006, Jacques Saada turns 77… President emeritus of the 1.9 million-member Service Employees International Union, now a senior fellow at the Economic Security Project, Andy Stern turns 74… Incoming member of Congress who defeated Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) in the Democratic primary in New York’s 16th Congressional District, Rep.-elect George Latimer turns 71… SVP of development for Hillel International, his bar mitzvah was at Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh, Tim R. Cohen… Television personality and advertising executive, Donny Deutsch turns 67… IT specialist at the IRS, Martin Robinson… Chairman of Dynamo Kyiv (Kyiv’s soccer team) since 2002, Ihor Surkis turns 66… Author of multiple New York Times bestsellers, Peggy Orenstein turns 63… Classical composer, conductor and pianist, Benjamin Yusupov turns 62… President and CEO of Paramount Pictures, known professionally as Brian Robbins, Brian Levine turns 61… Israeli film and television actor, Ishai Golan turns 51… Senior editor at The City and columnist for the New York Daily News, Harry Siegel turns 47… Israeli rapper, blogger and political activist, his stage name is The Shadow, Yoav Eliasi turns 47… Former State Department spokesperson, now serving as deputy to the U.S.’ United Nations ambassador, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Edward “Ned” Price turns 42… Actress, she is the highest-grossing female box office star of all time, Scarlett Johansson turns 40… VP of communications and media relations for theSkimm, Jessica Sara (Turtletaub) Pepper… Actor, who has appeared in films directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Woody Allen, the Coen brothers and Warren Beatty, Alden Ehrenreich turns 35… Actor and comedian, he was on the cast of “Saturday Night Live,” Jon Rudnitsky turns 35… Social media personality known as Baby Ariel, she has 36 million followers on TikTok, Ariel Rebecca Martin turns 24… Former chief of staff to Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, Yarden Golan…
SATURDAY: Former mayor of Pasadena, Calif., Terry Tornek turns 79… Senior U.S. District Court judge in Massachusetts, Judge Mark L. Wolf turns 78… Senate majority leader (D-NY), Chuck Schumer turns 74… Phoenix resident, Richard S. Levy… Board member of the Yitzhak Rabin Center and former member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, Andrea Lavin Solow… President of Eastern Savings Bank in Hunt Valley, Md., Yaakov S. Neuberger… Emeritus professor of Jewish studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Elliot R. Wolfson turns 68… Long Beach, N.Y., resident, Ellen P. Shiff… Graduate of Hebrew U, he is a Los Angeles-based cost and management accountant, Simon Ordever… Israeli-born entrepreneur, Raanan Zilberman turns 64… Television personality and author of both fiction and non-fiction books, Keith Ablow turns 63… Founder of Union Main Group, a private holding company focused on platform buildups of small companies, Marc Hanover… Professor of chemistry at Northwestern University, Chad Mirkin turns 61… Former owner of the NFL’s Washington Commanders, Daniel Snyder turns 60… Neurosurgeon specializing in the treatment of brain tumors and aneurysms, he is a professor at Indiana University School of Medicine, Aaron Cohen-Gadol turns 54… SVP at Glen Echo Group, Amy Schatz… Berlin-based journalist on the Bloomberg News Automation team, Leonid Bershidsky turns 53… Executive at Hakluyt & Company, Keith Lieberthal… SVP and financial advisor at UBS Financial Services in Baltimore, P. Justin “P.J.” Pearlstone… Partner at Blueprint Interactive for digital strategy, having previously managed a number of congressional campaigns, Geoff Mackler… Senior tribal policy manager in the office of the attorney general of Washington State, Erin Ross… Associate at Herbst & Weiss, Shmuel Winiarz… New England regional director for J Street, Jasmine Gothelf Winship… Rapper, singer, songwriter and recording artist, better known under her stage name Lanz Pierce, Alana Michelle Josephs turns 35… Former pitcher on the Israeli National Baseball Team, now working in renewable energy in Seattle, Corey A. Baker turns 35… Development and grant writer for Friends of Israel Disabled Veterans (Beit Halochem), Elise Fischer… Toronto-based lyricist, author and playwright, Naomi Matlow…
SUNDAY: Retired English teacher, she is the mother of Sheryl Sandberg, Adele Einhorn Sandberg turns 80… Chairman of Lyons Global Insurance Services, he is a senior advisor to the Ashcroft Group, Simcha G. Lyons turns 78… Professor emeritus of chemistry at Bar Ilan University, he is also an ordained rabbi, Aryeh Abraham Frimer turns 78… Coordinator for the International Association of Jewish Free Loans, Tina Sheinbein turns 74… President of Gesher Galicia, Dr. Steven S. Turner turns 73… Actress, best known for her role as Gaby in the film “Gaby: A True Story,” Rachel Chagall turns 72… Senior consultant at Marks Paneth (now CBIZ), he is an honorary VP of the Orthodox Union and a trustee of Congregation Shearith Israel, Avery E. Neumark… Partner in the Los Angeles-based law firm of Gordon & Rees, Ronald K. Alberts… Past president of the University of Michigan, Mark Steven Schlissel turns 67… Former coordinator of clinical oncology trials at Englewood Health, Audrey E. Ades… Born to a Jewish family in Havana, Cuba, secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro N. Mayorkas turns 65… Former co-CEO of global shopping center company Westfield Corporation, he is also chairman of the World Board of Trustees of Keren-Hayesod United Israel Appeal, Steven Lowy turns 62… Media executive, lobbyist, political consultant, he is a graduate of Yale Law School, Jeff Ballabon turns 62… Author and founder of Nashuva, a Los Angeles area Jewish outreach community, Rabbi Naomi Levy turns 62… Member of the Knesset for the Democrats (the merger of Labor and Meretz), she is a granddaughter of Rudolf Kastner, Merav Michaeli turns 58… EVP and COO of the Orthodox Union, Rabbi Dr. Joshua M. Joseph… Israeli actor and screenwriter, he is best known for portraying Doron Kabilio in the political thriller television series “Fauda,” Lior Raz turns 53… Professional poker player, his tournament winnings exceed $9.5 million, Robert Mizrachi turns 46… President of global affairs and co-head of the Goldman Sachs Global Institute, he is an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, Jared Cohen turns 43… Olami Texas rabbi at the Austin campus of the University of Texas, Rabbi Moshe Trepp turns 43… Assistant director of the electric unit at the Georgia Public Service Commission, Benjamin Deitchman… Director at Green Strategies, Rachel Kriegsman… Senior director of strategic marketing at Phreesia, Madeline Bloch… Actress best known for her lead role in the Netflix series “Bonding,” Zoe Levin turns 31… Chief of staff for Douglas Murray, Kennedy Lee… Michael Davis…
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