Daily Kickoff: Competing convenings in Bahrain and Qatar this weekend
Good Friday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on White House senior advisor Amos Hochstein’s key role in President Joe Biden’s recent trip to Africa, and cover calls by New Jersey politicians to move next year’s primary, which falls on Shavuot. We cover the overnight arson attack on a synagogue in Melbourne, Australia, and report on a bipartisan effort to condemn Amnesty International’s recent Gaza report. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Mandy Damari, Jason Greenblatt and Jake Retzlaff.
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: Israel looks to ‘shape deterrence regime’ in Lebanon after cease-fire; As the next mayor of Las Vegas, Shelley Berkley marks her ‘last hurrah’ in public office; and The left’s answer to Joe Rogan has an antisemitism problem. Print the latest edition here.
What We’re Watching
- In Boston, Combined Jewish Philanthropies is hosting an event this afternoon between CNN’s Van Jones and Rabbi Marc Baker.
- The Manama Dialogue begins this evening in Bahrain, while the Doha Forum kicks off today in Qatar. More below.
- President-elect Donald Trump is heading to France this weekend, where he will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron.
- On Sunday, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren and Jonathan Haidt are among those slated to speak at Tikvah’s annual Jewish Leadership Conference in New York.
What You Should Know
Against the backdrop the backdrop of a rebel surge in Syria, instability in Lebanon and the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, regional leaders and officials will gather for two separate convenings this weekend focused on the future of the region, Jewish Insider Executive Editor Melissa Weiss reports.
In Bahrain, a host of world officials will join the more than 500 attendees at the Manama Dialogue. Among them: Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf, Bahraini Ambassador to the U.S. Shaikh Abdullah bin Rashid Al Khalifa, International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi and Anwar Gargash, an advisor to the president of the United Arab Emirates.
In Qatar, the theme of the annual Doha Forum is “The Innovation Imperative,” with a focus on finding “innovative approaches” to “disruptive forces impacting security, climate, economies, and the global order itself.”
Former Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt, who served in the first Trump administration and is speaking at the Doha Forum, told us that he expects “the Israel-Palestinian conflict will take center stage, with Gaza and Lebanon a significant part of the discussion, as well as Iran.”
“Of course President Trump and his approach to the entire Middle East and the intense turmoil and danger that the region now faces will be front and center, as well as other hot spots around the world such as Syria, Ukraine, Russia and now South Korea,” Greenblatt, whose Doha Forum panel will focus on U.S. strategy in the Middle East during the next administration, said. “Undoubtedly, how I portray Israel and its essential, just war against Hamas and its actions against Hezbollah — more limited now due to the cease-fire — will be unusual in the room and very unwelcome to some in attendance. Some speakers at last year’s forum were unusually harsh against Israel, though that’s not uncommon at many of these international forums.”
“I’ve heard I won’t be the only voice in the room with a similar view,” Greenblatt added, noting that “Qatar’s willingness to allow me to share my opinions with their audience this year is appreciated, and I hope to be able to change some hearts and minds while I am there.”
Others speaking in Doha include First Lady Jill Biden; White House senior advisor Amos Hochstein, fresh off a trip to Angola (more on his trip below); Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens; Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking; Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani; the U.N.’s Sigrid Kaag, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi; and Goldman Sachs’ Jared Cohen.
Araghchi will be coming from Baghdad, where he met earlier today with the foreign ministers of Iraq and Syria to discuss the developing situation in Syria as Turkish-backed rebel forces make gains on President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. Their meeting comes a day after the Syrian army announced a withdrawal from the city of Hama, days after it pulled out of Aleppo.
africa achievement
Amos Hochstein’s latest hurrah wasn’t in Lebanon
When Israel and Hezbollah agreed last month to a cease-fire deal to stop the fighting that caused devastation in southern Lebanon and northern Israel, White House aide Amos Hochstein could breathe a sigh of relief. The Biden confidant had finally negotiated the accord that had eluded him for more than a year. But the completion of the cease-fire deal did not mean Hochstein could return to Washington and ride out the remainder of President Joe Biden’s term quietly ensconced at the White House. Instead, Hochstein traveled with the president this week to Angola, where he could see through another major accomplishment before Jan. 20, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Eastern Med to Africa: It was a stunning two weeks for Hochstein. He was a major figure in orchestrating Biden’s trip to the sub-Saharan African nation, according to two Biden administration officials, one of whom said Hochstein was “pretty key” to the trip. During the trip, Biden heralded the growing ties between the U.S. and Angola, which has become an important U.S. partner in recent years as the U.S. seeks to counter China’s influence in Africa. That was the thinking behind the Lobito Corridor, an ambitious rail project that will transport critical minerals across Africa and of which Hochstein was a crucial architect.
calendar conflict
New Jersey Jewish leaders push state to reschedule primary to avoid conflict with
Several top gubernatorial candidates and Jewish leaders in New Jersey are calling on the state to reschedule next year’s June 3 primary election — which overlaps with the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, making it impossible for observant Jews to vote on that date, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Bad date: In observance of the holiday, Jews are forbidden from working, driving, writing, traveling and using electronics, a range of prominent Jewish leaders in the state note in an open letter shared exclusively with JI on Thursday, expressing their “deep concern” regarding the scheduling conflict. “While mail-in and early voting options are available, primary election day remains the most common time for casting ballots,” the signatories write in their letter addressed to top state elected officials including Gov. Phil Murphy, a term-limited Democrat. “The overlap of these dates means that, without intervention, a significant portion of our community will be disenfranchised.”
Read the full story here.
MI MOVES
Michigan Democrats largely avoid addressing University of Michigan’s planned rollback to DEI bureaucracy
Democratic lawmakers in Michigan mostly avoided responding to the University of Michigan’s announcement this week that it will roll back its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs. On Thursday, the state’s flagship university announced it will no longer ask for diversity statements from faculty when considering hiring, promotion or tenure. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Gary Peters (D-MI) and Sen.-elect. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen and Emily Jacobs about Michigan ending required diversity statements, which some of the school’s most high-profile DEI initiatives rely on. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI), whose district includes Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan, similarly didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Stevens speaks: Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) told JI that while she “can’t speak to the specifics of this decision, refining our approach to higher education to better serve students — especially by lowering costs, ensuring student safety and hiring diverse faculty — are concepts I embrace.” Stevens added, “Making sure our campuses are diverse and welcoming places for every student regardless of background and include faculty from every demographic, especially after the Supreme Court ended affirmative action, is the mission of good higher education.”
after burn
Australian Jewry reels after apparent arson attack on Melbourne synagogue
The Australian Jewish community will head into Shabbat on edge after an apparent arson attack in the predawn hours this morning on one of Melbourne’s main synagogues, Congregation Adass Israel, while congregants were inside, causing burn injuries to some of them and severely damaging the building. “I spent the morning outside the shul and I met some of the people who were inside at the time. Their hands were quite severely burned,” Jeremy Liebler, president of the Zionist Federation of Australia umbrella group, told eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross today.
Worst-case scenario: “If this had happened at 10 o’clock at night when the beit midrash was full, there would have been fatalities. If there hadn’t been a back door…,” Liebler said. “They poured petrol all around one side of the shul, and they banged on the door beforehand — they knew people were inside.” Eyewitnesses told local Australian media that people inside heard the banging and saw the alleged arsonists with gas cans as the fire began to spread. The attack comes amid a major rise in antisemitism in Australia over the past year.
Read the full story here and sign up for eJewishPhilanthropy’s Your Daily Phil newsletter here.
across the pond
Mother of British hostage held by Hamas slams U.K. Foreign Secretary Lammy
The mother of the only British citizen still being held hostage in Gaza criticized U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy for a social media post, published hours after their meeting, condemning the “unacceptable humanitarian situation in Gaza” without noting the ongoing hostage situation. Mandy Damari, 63, is in London this week to raise the plight of her daughter, Emily, with the U.K. government, as well as other parliamentarians, the media and public figures, Lianne Kolirin reports for Jewish Insider.
Missed message: While in the U.K. this week, she met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and Liberal Democrat head Ed Davey. She expressed her gratitude to those with whom she met, but had stern words for Lammy, with whom she spoke on Monday. Damari told a press conference in London on Thursday that Lammy had been one of about 100 MPs who attended an event organized by the Labour Friends of Israel earlier in the week. “A few hours after my speech, however, the foreign secretary published a statement on the need for Israel to allow more aid into Gaza for the winter,” she said. “But there was no mention of the need to get any of that aid to Emily or the other hostages — and no additional remarks have been made on the subject since then.”
exclusive
Lawmakers say Amnesty’s genocide report amplifies Hamas propaganda
House lawmakers are circulating a joint statement condemning Amnesty International for its report, issued on Thursday, accusing Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinian people, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What they’re saying: The statement, which has not yet closed for additional signatories, accuses Amnesty of echoing “misinformation that has been spewed by Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran — the U.S.’ shared enemies with Israel” and of “mislead[ing] the public by standing with the narratives produced and promoted by Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.” The statement is being organized by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ). Reps. Dan Goldman (D-NY), Greg Landsman (D-OH), Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), Max Miller (R-OH), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Tom Suozzi (D-NY), Shri Thanedar (D-MI), Tom Kean (R-NJ), Don Bacon (R-NE), Kathy Manning (D-NC), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) and Ritchie Torres (D-NY) have signed on so far.
Worthy Reads
Jump-start AAA: In The New York Post, Nathan Diament, the executive director of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center, calls on Congress to take up the Antisemitism Awareness Act. “We were off to a promising start when the AAA sailed through the House of Representatives in the spring by a generous vote of 320-91, and 30 senators from both sides of the aisle jumped to sponsor the Senate version. Then the bill ground to a halt. Fearful of antagonizing their left-wing activist base and putting vulnerable senators on the record, especially right before the November election, Democrats delayed bringing the AAA to the Senate floor for a vote. Now, the election is over, but the political games continue. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer floated the idea of including the AAA in the National Defense Authorization Act — which must pass Congress before year’s end — but there has been no sign of movement. Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he opposes including the AAA in the NDAA. He hopes to press the Senate to take a standalone vote to hold members accountable. Frankly, we who have worked on the AAA bill from its inception don’t care one bit how it passes Congress — so long as it passes and is signed into law. Now. You can’t combat antisemitism if you can’t — or won’t — define it.” [NYPost]
Deals and Diplomacy: In The New York Times, John Ghazvinian suggests that President-elect Donald Trump could reach a diplomatic agreement with Iran. “What I do believe is that over the next four years, the toxic and seemingly unending psychodrama between the United States and Iran — now in its fifth decade — may very well see its final act. That could mean war, but there is no inevitable reason it has to. For Mr. Trump, who sees himself as the ultimate deal maker and has a fondness for the theatrical and unpredictable, it could just as easily take the form of a historic reconciliation. … His most tempting course of action would be to find some way to wind down Israel’s war with Hamas, take credit for it, and then pivot to a landmark deal with Iran, enabling him to claim that he brought a comprehensive American peace to the Middle East. Whether he would succeed is another matter. But if he did, Mr. Trump would forever be able to boast that he achieved a result that his predecessor, Joe Biden, never could.” [NYTimes]
Word on the Street
Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met on the sidelines of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe summit in Malta…
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) introduced a bill to require the federal government to refer to the West Bank as Judea and Samaria and support Israeli sovereignty over the territory…
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) raised concerns on Thursday to the owners of the digital video game store Steam about a video game sold on the platform that allows players to role-play as Palestinian terrorists participating in the Oct. 7 attack, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…
In an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) defended his votes last month in favor of halting some forms of arms sales to Israel…
By a voice vote, the House passed a bill providing a Congressional Gold Medal to Holocaust-era diplomats who helped Jews flee the Nazi regime, sending the legislation to the president’s desk…
President-elect Donald Trump announced Daniel Driscoll, a former North Carolina congressional candidate, as his pick for secretary of the Army. Read JI’s 2020 profile of Driscoll here…
Politicol ooks at former U.S. Ambassador to Germany Ric Grenell’s failed bid to be secretary of state in the incoming Trump administration…
Jersey City, N.J., marked the fifth anniversary of an attack on a kosher supermarket in which four people were killed…
Brigham Young University star quarterback Jake Retzlaff inked a sponsorship agreement with Manichewitz; as part of the deal, the kosher food company will sell boxes of matzah with Retzlaff’s image on the packaging…
The interim president of Cornell University is facing criticism from faculty after he expressed concern that an upcoming class titled “Gaza, Indigeneity, Resistance” was putting forward a “radical, factually inaccurate, and biased view of the formation of the state of Israel and the ongoing conflict”…
A diary written by a Jewish teenager in New York City in 1945 has gone viral on TikTok, after being purchased at an estate sale by a Brooklyn resident who posted the entries on the social media platform…
Israel’s National Security Council raised the warning level for Jewish and Israeli travelers to the Maldives and Armenia, and lowered the warning level to travelers to Brazil…
The U.K.’s military chief said that Israel showed the “power” of the F-35 fighter jet in its retaliatory strikes on Iran in October; “Israel used more than 100 aircraft, carrying fewer than 100 munitions, and with no aircraft getting within 100 miles of the target in the first wave, and that took down nearly the entirety of Iran’s air-defense system,” Adm. Tony Radakin said during a lecture in London this week…
The Associated Press interviewed Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, who fled the country by foot to escape an eight-year prison sentence after his “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” was selected for the Cannes Film Festival; the film is now Germany’s submission to the Academy Awards…
Two Romanian nationals were arrested in connection with the stabbing attack targeting Iran International TV journalist Pouria Zeraati in London earlier this year…
The Wall Street Journal looks at how Turkey’s support of the rebels making gains against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces stands to bolster Ankara’s standing in the region…
The New York Times published an obituary for Shalom Nagar, the executioner who hung Adolf Eichmann in 1961 and who died last month…
Pic of the Day
Israeli President Isaac Herzog met on Thursday with Muslim religious leaders and influential imams from Arab communities in Israel.
Birthdays
Film director, producer and screenwriter, including box office successes such as “The Parent Trap” and “What Women Want,” Nancy Meyers turns 75 on Sunday…
FRIDAY: Moshe Hochenberg… Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for 20 years until 2014, Lawrence S. Bergman turns 84… Renowned artist, Bruce Nauman turns 83… Israeli-born art collector and producer of over 130 full-length films, Arnon Milchan turns 80… Founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure (named after her late sister), she also served as U.S. ambassador to Hungary and chief of protocol of the U.S., Nancy Goodman Brinker turns 78… Professor emeritus of Talmudic culture at the University of California, Berkeley, Daniel Boyarin turns 78… Senior U.S. district judge for the Northern District of Ohio, he has served as a trustee of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, Judge Dan Aaron Polster turns 73… Cell and molecular biologist, he is a professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, David L. Spector turns 72… Founder of Craigslist, the San Francisco-based website used around the world, Craig Newmark turns 72… Film, stage and television actress, Gina Hecht turns 71… Faculty member at Harvard Law School since 1981, she served as dean from 2009 until 2017, Martha Minow turns 70… Author of the bestselling novel Memoirs of a Geisha, with over 4 million copies sold, Arthur Sulzberger Golden turns 68… SVP and general counsel at United Airlines, Robert S. Rivkin turns 64… Former EVP and COO of the Inter-American Development Bank, Julie T. Katzman turns 63… Emmy Award-winning producer, writer, director, actor and comedian, Judd Apatow turns 57… Israel’s minister of education, he was a fighter pilot for the IDF and then a civilian pilot for El Al before entering politics, Yoav Kisch turns 56… Professor of economics at the University of Chicago, he previously served as the chief economist for President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, Michael Greenstone turns 56… Professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, he is a son and grandson of rabbis, Julian E. Zelizer turns 55… Editor-in-chief of J. The Jewish News of Northern California, Chanan Tigay… Senior director of Milltown Partners and host of the “Dejargonizer” podcast, Amir Mizroch… Managing director in the NYC office of PR firm BerlinRosen, Dan Levitan… Editor-in-chief at The Air Current, Jon Ostrower… Atlanta native, now a venture capitalist in Israel, Ilan Regenbaum… Licensed community association manager in South Florida, now a regional associate at Bozzuto, Beth Argaman… Psychologist and psychoanalyst, founder and director of professional staff at Beit T’Shuvah in Los Angeles, Susan Krevoy, Ph.D.… Assistant professor in international relations and global politics at the American University of Rome, Andrea Dessì… Joe Blumenthal…
SATURDAY: Activist and professor emeritus at MIT, Noam Chomsky turns 96… Author or editor of 40 books including the New York Times best-selling Chicken Soup for the Jewish Soul, Rabbi Dov Peretz Elkins turns 87… Actor, director and producer, Larry Hankin turns 87… Hedge fund manager, he is the co-founder of Taglit-Birthright Israel and the founder of Hebrew language charter schools in NYC, Michael Steinhardt turns 84… Professor of mathematics at Princeton University, Nicholas Michael Katz turns 81… Novelist (17 books), essayist and screenwriter, Susan Isaacs turns 81… Former Israeli Foreign Ministry legal advisor and then Israeli ambassador to Canada, now at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Ambassador Alan Baker turns 77… Chair emeritus of the Longmeadow, Mass., Democratic Town Committee, Candy Glazer… Director and vice chairman of Simon Property Group, Richard S. Sokolov turns 75… Past board chair and president of AIPAC, Lillian Pinkus… U.S. senator (R-ME), Susan Collins turns 72… Chairman of Loews Hotels and co-owner of the NFL’s New York Giants, Jonathan M. Tisch turns 71… Haifa-born composer and professor of music at Harvard, Chaya Czernowin turns 67… Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention throughout most of the Obama administration, Dr. Thomas R. Frieden turns 64… Teacher in the Elko County School District in the northeast portion of Nevada and leader of the local Jewish community there, Shawn Welton-Lowe… Provost and interim dean of the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education at The Jewish Theological Seminary, Dr. Jeffrey Kress turns 56… Co-founder of Laurel Strategies, a CEO advisory firm based in Washington, Dafna Tapiero… Director, producer, writer, actor and comedian, best known as the director of “Modern Family,” Jason Winer turns 52… President of baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs, Jed Hoyer turns 51… Leading actress in multiple television series including “Roswell” and “Unreal,” Shiri Appleby turns 46… Managing partner of NYC-based Capitol Consulting, Jeffrey Leb… Food critic for The New Yorker, she received a 2024 James Beard Award, Hannah Goldfield… Co-author of Union: A Republican, a Democrat, and a Search for Common Ground, he is the managing partner at America’s Frontier Fund, Jordan Blashek… Executive director at NYC’s Mission Staffing, Jaime Leiman… Founder and CEO of Go Dash Dot, Hannah Fastov… Physician practicing in the U.K., Carine Moezinia… Freelance content creator and social media manager, Hannah Vilinsky… VP and head of the startup division at the Israel Innovation Authority, Hanan Brand… Jeff Blum… Toby Lerner…
SUNDAY: Founder and CEO of Top Rank, a boxing promotion company based in Las Vegas, Bob Arum turns 93… Film, stage and television actor, composer of film and theater music, and son of concert pianist Arthur Rubinstein, John Rubinstein turns 78… Israeli folk singer, lyricist, composer and musical arranger, she has released more than 60 albums sold worldwide, winner of the Kinor David (David’s Harp) Prize, Chava Alberstein turns 77… Astrophysicist and senior scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Margaret Geller turns 77… Canadian anthropologist and author of four books promoting Mussar, a Jewish ethical movement, Alan Morinis turns 75… Professor of human development at Cornell University, following high-ranking academic positions at the University of Wyoming, Oklahoma State, Tufts and Yale, Robert J. Sternberg turns 75… Writer, photographer and designer, founder of the Honey Sharp Gallery and Ganesh Café in the Berkshires, Honey Sharp… Bedford, Texas, resident, Doug Bohannon… Senior executive producer of special events at ABC News, Marc Burstein… Emmy Award-winning sports commentator and journalist, Roy Firestone turns 71… Chairman of a nationwide insurance brokerage, Bruce P. Gendelman… Author of Toward a Meaningful Life, a book that has sold over 400,000 copies, he is the chairman of the Yiddish English weekly, The Algemeiner Journal, Rabbi Simon Jacobson turns 68… Retired administrative law judge at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Nadine Lewis turns 67… Rabbi, speaker and musician known as Rav Shmuel, for 21 years he led the Yeshiva program run by the IDT Corporation in Newark, N.J., Shmuel Skaist turns 60… Co-founder of three successful companies, including Office Tiger in 1999, CloudBlue in 2001, and Xometry in 2013, where he is CEO, Randy Altschuler turns 54… Attorney by training but in real life a social media blogger and author, she is the co-founder of TheLi.st, Rachel Sklar turns 52… CEO of Executive Platforms, Aaron Kissel turns 50… Founder of newsletter “Popular Information” started in 2018, Judd Legum… President and CEO of the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles, Aaron Lerner turns 45… Actor and musician, Dov Yosef Tiefenbach turns 43… Actress, comedian and television writer, Joanna “Jo” Firestone turns 38… Co-founder and former chief scientist at OpenAI, in June he co-founded Safe Superintelligence, Ilya Sutskever turns 38… Artist, Sophia Narrett… Venture capitalist in Israel, Alex Oppenheimer… Partner at Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, Ali Krimmer…
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