Daily Kickoff: Netanyahu takes the stand
Good Tuesday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s Capitol Hill meetings as she looks to shore up support for her nomination to be director of national intelligence, and talk to legislators about the regional dynamics that led to the fall of the Syrian regime. We talk to University of Michigan Regent Jordan Acker about the latest antisemitic vandalism at his home and spotlight Harmeet Dhillon, President-elect Donald Trump’s selection to head the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Rep. Brian Mast and Steve Cohen.
What We’re Watching
- Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff are hosting their final Hanukkah reception tonight at the vice president’s Naval Observatory residence.
- This morning, the House Committee on Natural Resources is holding a hearing on the pro-Hamas protest last July at Washington, D.C.’s Union Station during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress.
- Former Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry is speaking this morning at the Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit in Washington. Later this morning, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) will speak on a panel about Democratic foreign policy and security goals in the next administration. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is slated to speak this afternoon, followed by White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden. The confab will conclude with sessions with Kellyanne Conway and Jason Miller, respectively former and current senior advisors to President-elect Donald Trump.
- Israel’s Ministry of Defense is holding its DefenseTech Summit in Tel Aviv.
- Roger Carstens, the Biden administration’s envoy for hostage affairs, is in Beirut in an effort to locate American journalist Austin Tice, who was kidnapped in Syria in 2012. President Joe Biden said over the weekend that the U.S. believes Tice is still alive.
What You Should Know
In an unprecedented moment in Israel’s history, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began testifying this morning at his long-delayed trial, where he is facing charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports. Netanyahu has denied the charges against him.
Netanyahu arrived at court smiling, buoyed by members of his coalition who showed up to support him. He waited for the media cameras to leave the room before approaching the defendant’s table. Netanyahu is the first sitting Israeli prime minister to stand trial; Ehud Olmert resigned before the charges against him went to trial.
Netanyahu held a press conference on Monday evening during which he spoke about Syria and the war in Gaza, but during journalists’ questions he was pugnacious in his remarks about the media, legal system and law enforcement and accused specific journalists of lying about him in their reporting. Asked about his testimony, after numerous requests to delay it, the prime minister said: “The media says I want to avoid my trial. What a lie! For eight years, I’ve been waiting to say the truth … to disprove the lies told about me, to expose the cruel system. They arrest people around me and ruin their lives to get them to lie.”
The prime minister’s defense attorneys called him as their first witness, after three years of testimony for the prosecution that ended in the summer. Last-ditch efforts by the prime minister, his legal team and his political allies to further delay his already-postponed testimony or reduce the number of days in the week he would have to appear before the court in light of the ongoing war in Gaza and security challenges continued this week.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich spearheaded a letter signed by a dozen cabinet ministers to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara arguing that the court schedule, as it stands, is “detached from reality,” would cause “severe harm to the state’s security” and that there must be “a solution that will allow [Netanyahu] to fulfill his central role in leading the State of Israel at this critical time.”
The proceedings, which are taking place in an underground chamber in Tel Aviv for security reasons, involve three cases in which Netanyahu was indicted in 2020: for allegedly illegally advancing the interests of Israeli Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan while accepting gifts from Milchan and his friend, Australian billionaire James Packer; for not reporting an alleged attempt by Yediot Aharonot publisher Arnon Mozes to bribe Netanyahu by offering positive media coverage in exchange for allowing a law to pass that would outlaw free newspapers — such as Yediot competitor Israel Hayom; and for allegedly accepting a bribe from Shaul Elovitch, the owner of Israeli telecom conglomerate Bezeq for positive media coverage on Elovitch’s news outlet at the time, Walla, in exchange for regulatory changes that benefited him. The prosecution declined a suggestion from the judges to drop the bribery charge.
Netanyahu’s initial remarks were focused on arguing that he is not in office for personal gain. He said he works 17-18 hours a day, barely sees his family and spends his little free time reading history books and occasionally smoking a cigar. The prime minister said he could have had an easier life but felt that he had to do more for his country: “It’s a great effort. It’s not enjoyment and not hedonism. That is ridiculous.”
As for media-related charges, Netanyahu posited that his right-wing positions prove he was not out for accolades from the press, focusing especially on pressures to pursue a two-state solution during the Obama era.
“If I wanted good press, all I had to do was signal that it’s OK, there will be two states. I would take a few steps to the left and I would be lifted on their shoulders,” he said.
The prime minister’s supporters have argued that the prosecution, Baharav-Miara and her predecessor are politically motivated, accusing them of prosecutorial overreach and mistreatment of witnesses and arguing that Netanyahu has been unfairly targeted.
Netanyahu’s critics believe the charges show that he is deeply corrupt and that most of his actions as prime minister are motivated by a desire to avoid prison. “Instead of another absurd letter to the AG,” Opposition Leader Yair Lapid posted on X, “the 12 cabinet ministers should have signed a letter to Netanyahu that said …’It is clear to us that you are unable and unfit to manage the country in this exceptional security and diplomatic situation, and we demand that you resign.'”
tulsi talk
Gabbard begins meetings with senators, amid scrutiny of Syria views
Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be director of national intelligence, began meeting with senators on Monday, kicking off what could be a challenging confirmation process over her foreign policy positions, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod report. Gabbard’s first meetings come days after the fall of the Assad regime in Syria. Gabbard’s 2017 visit to Syria as a member of Congress and subsequent praise of then-President Bashar al-Assad have been seen as major stumbling blocks to her confirmation.
What they’re saying: One Republican senator, who has not yet met with Gabbard personally, told JI late Monday that some members of the Senate Intelligence Committee had told colleagues that they were not impressed with her performance during their interviews. “The Intelligence Committee members are really, really concerned about her. Her interviews have not been going well. One told me she was the worst prepared candidate and was kind of trying to get by on her BS [and] personality. So there’s a lot of rumbling among members,” the senator said, speaking on condition of anonymity to address private conversations. Committee members who spoke to reporters after meetings with Gabbard on Monday did not commit to supporting her nomination, but rather said they treated their discussions as opening steps.
domino effect
Senators link Assad’s fall to Israeli operations against Hezbollah, Iranian proxies
Numerous Democratic and Republican senators linked the surprise fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria to Israel’s recent actions against Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies in recent months, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod report. The senators whom JI interviewed also largely urged a cautious approach toward U.S. involvement in the chaotic and still-emerging new Syria, warning that the country’s new governance structure, system and ideology remain unclear at this point, though many emphasized the need for some level of continued U.S. engagement.
What they’re saying: “What happened in Syria is a direct result of Israel not only asserting its right to defend itself, but Israel’s very prudent decision to ignore President Biden’s appeasement,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) told JI. Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) said, “Israel’s striking progress against Hezbollah recently really opened the door for the fall of Assad in a way that I think wasn’t foreseen by a lot of analysts.”
Read the full story here with additional comments from Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), James Lankford (R-OK), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Angus King (I-ME), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Jack Reed (D-RI) and Brian Schatz (D-HI).
Eye on Ankara: The fall of the Assad regime in Syria could spark further tensions in the already strained relationship between the U.S. and Turkey, which have repeatedly found themselves at loggerheads in Syria. Lawmakers expressed concerns on Monday about the potential for expanded Turkish attacks on U.S.-backed forces, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod report.
nuclear threat
Assad’s collapse comes as Iran ‘dramatically’ increased uranium enrichment
The collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria may motivate Tehran to further ramp up its nuclear program, experts warned in the wake of the rebels’ victory on Sunday, days after International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi warned that Iran had “dramatically” increased its uranium enrichment, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
Proxy problems: Benham Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Iran Program, told JI, “Syria occupied the long pole in the tent of the Islamic Republic’s regional strategy, one that offered it a land bridge to the Mediterranean and a permissive jurisdiction to move men, money, and munitions across the northern tier of the Middle East. It is precisely because of this that Tehran invested significant blood and treasure to save Assad for so long.” Ben Taleblu added, “With its proxies battered and conventional deterrent strategy nearly checkmated, the salience of the nuclear option for Tehran will continue to grow, but so too will the regime’s attempts to look for a bailout from the West in the form of a nuclear deal that buys time for a regime which is increasingly being boxed in.”
Read the full story here.
Looking ahead: Elliott Abrams, the former U.S. special representative for Iran in the Trump administration, said he doesn’t expect much U.S. involvement in Syria following the fall of the regime, but that the newly volatile situation creates both new opportunities and perils in the region, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
legal views
Trump DOJ civil rights pick blasted campus protests, but opposed Antisemitism Awareness Act
President-elect Donald Trump announced on Monday that he is selecting Harmeet Dhillon, a legal advisor to his 2020 campaign who worked to challenge the election results and a Republican Party official, to lead the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. Dhillon and her firm have advocated an aggressive legal approach to antisemitism on college campuses, targeting both universities and protesters, but she also opposes the Antisemitism Awareness Act.
What she’s said: “Sue Yale. Sue every university that refuses to keep students safe based on their religion. Make them regret their choices,” Dhillon said on X in April, responding to a Jewish student who was attacked by anti-Israel demonstrators. “Deplete their endowments. Sue each and every violent protester and organizers.” But she called the Antisemitism Awareness Act “knee-jerk anti-constitutional dreck,” and urged lawmakers, “Do better, think harder, and be smarter, Congress. ‘Hate speech’ laws are a liberal concept.”
Read the full story here.
targeted again
University of Michigan Regent Jordan Acker faces another antisemitic attack at his home
University of Michigan Regent Jordan Acker woke early Monday morning to find that his home in Huntington Woods, a heavily Jewish suburb of Detroit, had been the target of anti-Israel vandals for the second time in just over six months, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports. Acker’s law office in Southfield was also vandalized over the summer.
What happened: During the overnight attack, a window in the Acker home was smashed and his wife’s car was graffitied with the words “divest” and “free Palestine.” In addition, authorities found fragments of a glass jar inside the house along with a foul-smelling liquid as well as a second jar outside of the home. The attack unfolded while Acker, his wife and three daughters were asleep. “This keeps happening to my family because I’m Jewish,” Acker told JI. “There are other, more prominent, regents on this board who do not face this type of targeted harassment, and the reason they do not is because they are not Jewish.”
correcting the record
Threats lead to cancellation of Yoav Gallant event at D.C. synagogue
A large event featuring former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant that was scheduled to take place Monday at Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, D.C., was canceled a day earlier due to security threats, according to two sources with knowledge of the event’s planning. The news was first reported in the Forward, whose story suggested the leadership of the synagogue gave in to left-wing members of the congregation who did not want Gallant to speak. Washington Institute for Near East Peace Executive Director Robert Satloff, who was closely connected to the event, said the idea that Adas Israel gave in to critics was a “malicious lie,” Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Change of plans: “We were told that there were some security concerns because of some threats that they had received, so they asked us not to hold the event at the synagogue,” a spokesperson for Gallant told JI. “It was never brought up that there was any sort of political issue or political pressure from anyone, and quite the opposite.” On Monday evening, Gallant met with roughly 75 people, including Adas Israel’s head rabbis and synagogue leaders, in a private event.
Worthy Reads
Can Trump Make a Deal?: In The Wall Street Journal, Reuel Marc Gerecht and Ray Takeyh consider how Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei might engage in nuclear talks with the West to give Tehran time to recover from the damages inflicted on it and its proxies over the last year. “No U.S. president can simply reject an offer of talks with Tehran. The question wouldn’t be whether to negotiate but how to do so given all the unavoidable pitfalls and traps. It’s entirely possible that President Trump, the deal maker, could soon find himself facing a question similar to the one Mr. Obama was forced to answer: If Mr. Khamenei refuses to dismantle his nuclear and ballistic-missile programs and abandon his proxy-war strategy and penchant for terrorism, what, exactly, is the U.S. willing to do about it? Mr. Obama wasn’t willing to walk away from negotiations, and he certainly didn’t want to use the American military to prevent Iran from getting the bomb. Instead he launched the U.S. down the slippery slope of nuclear concessions. Washington tied itself to the JCPOA, providing Tehran an opening to behave badly throughout the region. The perverse absurdity of this should have become unbearable after Oct. 7.” [WSJ]
Syria Saga: In The New York Times, Andrew Tabler, who headed the Syria portfolio on the National Security Council in 2019, looks at the factors that led to the fall of the Assad regime in Syria. “After he came to power in 2000 following the death of his father, Hafez al-Assad, Mr. al-Assad promised to change one of the world’s most brutal dictatorships. He urged Syrians to respect one another’s views and pledged domestic reforms to accommodate large waves of young Syrians. Encouraged by these pledges, presidents, kings and queens courted Mr. al-Assad and his glamorous wife, Asma, with the goal of achieving Arab-Israeli peace and breaking Syria’s longstanding alliance with Iran. Meanwhile, in Syria, not much changed. While the regime tolerated some dissent in the first year of Mr. al-Assad’s rule, what came after was an ambiguous authoritarian Potemkin reform process to pave the way for trade and other activities in Syria, but which had no legal foundation. Syrians were forced to pay bribes to regime officials, making it one of the most corrupt business environments in the world. The police state continued to arrest opponents, and repression and torture continued for the remainder of Mr. al-Assad’s chaotic rule, while the economy plummeted, sending a vast majority of the population into poverty.” [NYTimes]
Press for Tice’s Release: The Washington Post’s Jason Rezaian posits that the U.S. should make every effort to secure the release of American journalist Austin Tice from Syria, where he has been held hostage for more than a decade. “The images of Syrian political prisoners walking out into the sunlight after decades of having been disappeared suggests Austin Tice is very much alive. Although Biden said he doesn’t know Tice’s location, I spoke to a senior official on Sunday who is already in the region and has been communicating with Syrian rebels, former members of the Assad regime, our own military and intelligence officers and those of regional allies. There is an active manhunt afoot. The effort was described to me as ‘all hands on deck.’ … There is still no happy ending to this incredibly dramatic story. But now is the moment to push as hard as possible to end this family’s ordeal. No effort should be spared in bringing him home safely. The Biden administration’s efforts are being led by the same people who won my release in 2016. There are people in Syria who know where Tice is.” [WashPost]
Hate, Then and Now: In the Jewish Telegraph Agency, William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, reflects on his recent trip to Auschwitz. “Standing in Krakow, just weeks after Jews were hunted in the streets of Amsterdam, I could not help but reflect on the 86th anniversary of Kristallnacht. Then, as now, hatred unchecked has spiraled into violence. That history has left us with scars, but also with lessons to be learned — first and foremost that we cannot remain passive in the face of such threats. … To return to Krakow, a place steeped in Jewish history and scarred by unspeakable horrors, is to confront both the depths of our suffering and the heights of our resilience. As I stood at Birkenau, I was reminded of the enduring spirit of our people. We are here. We endure. And we will not be cowed.” [JTA]
Word on the Street
Cease-fire and hostage-release talks between Hamas and Israel are moving forward in the wake of Israel’s cease-fire with Hezbollah and President-elect Donald Trump’s recent comments urging a cease-fire before he takes office next month…
World Central Kitchen fired roughly 60 of its 500 employees in Gaza following Israeli background checks that flagged security issues with dozens of the nonprofit’s staffers, a week after an Israeli strike that killed a WCK employee who had participated in the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks…
The Supreme Court will hear a case involving the constitutionality of congressional involvement in efforts to hold the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization liable for acts of terror; among those spurring the underlying lawsuits is the family of Ari Fuld, who was killed in a 2018 terror attack in the West Bank…
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) suggested she was open to supporting Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for defense secretary…
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) and several Democratic colleagues urged Secretary of State Tony Blinken to work with allies to “secure clear, public commitments that they will not enforce” the International Criminal Court‘s “illegitimate” arrest warrants targeting Israeli officials…
Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), an outspoken supporter of Israel and one of the most ardent opponents of a two-state solution in the House, is set to become the next chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee following a surprise vote on Monday by House Republican leadership, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…
A bipartisan group of New Jersey gubernatorial candidates, including Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), signed onto a letter calling on the state’s Legislature to move the date of next year’s primary elections, which currently falls on the Jewish holiday of Shavuot; Gottheimer led the letter, which came days after Jewish leaders in the state called for the date to be moved…
Vox opted against renewing its partnership with Taylor Lorenz; earlier this year, the media company inked an agreement with the former Washington Post reporter to distribute her YouTube and podcast show…
In the wake of the Mets’ acquisition of Juan Soto, The Wall Street Journal looks at Mets owner Steve Cohen’s efforts to lure talent to the New York team and shift the balance of power away from the Yankees…
Firearms, ammunition and pro-terror materials, including Hamas and Hezbollah flags, were among the items found by authorities executing a search warrant in the Virginia home of two Students for Justice in Palestine leaders at George Mason University…
San Francisco Hillel, located near San Francisco State University, was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti…
A Massachusetts man is expected to face assault and battery charges for attacking a pro-Israel demonstrator at a rally in the Boston suburb of Newton…
Canada’s CBC looks at the yearlong effort to surveil and apprehend the Pakistani national who planned to cross the U.S.-Canada border to conduct a terror attack against the New York Jewish community on the anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks…
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Mohammed al-Bashir will head the formation of a temporary government in Syria following the Turkish-backed group’s ouster of President Bashar al-Assad over the weekend…
The U.K. could remove HTS’ terror designation, which the group first received in 2017 when it was an offshoot of al-Qaida…
The IDF struck dozens of military targets across Syria, part of an effort announced by senior Israeli officials to keep Damascus’ heavy weapons stockpile from ending up in the possession of malign actors…
Germany, France and the U.K. expressed concern over Iran’s rapid advancement toward nuclear enrichment…
Washington Post Managing Editor Matea Gold is departing the publication and joining The New York Times as Washington editor…
Pic of the Day
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) was ceremonially sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris using a Maimonides Mishneh Torah printed in Italy in 1490.
Birthdays
Real estate entrepreneur based in Palm Beach, Fla., Jeff Greene turns 70…
Retired hedge fund manager, champion squash player, bestselling author and statistician, Victor Niederhoffer turns 81… Baltimore-based dairy cattle dealer, Abraham Gutman turns 80… Former Chairman and CEO of Verizon, Ivan Seidenberg turns 78… Owner of Judaica House and Cool Kippahs, both in Teaneck, N.J., Reuben Nayowitz… Progressive political activist, she headed the AmeriCorps VISTA program during the Carter administration, Margery Tabankin turns 76… U.S. senator (R-AR) since 2011, John Nichols Boozman turns 74… Founding rabbi, now emeritus, of Congregation B’nai Tzedek in Potomac, Md., Stuart Weinblatt turns 72… Founder and CEO at Seppy’s Kosher Baked Goods in Pueblo, Colo., Elishevah Sepulveda… NYC real estate investor and developer, Joseph Chetrit turns 67… Senior fellow with the Independent Women’s Forum, she was the deputy special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism at the U.S. Department of State, Ellie Cohanim turns 52… Former rabbi of Temple Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, he was held hostage in the synagogue in January 2022 and then rescued, Charlie Cytron-Walker turns 49… Head of Bloomberg Beta, a venture fund backed by Bloomberg L.P., Roy Bahat turns 48… Actress known for her roles in HBO’s “Entourage” and CBS’s “The Mentalist,” Emmanuelle Chriqui turns 47… Managing director for private-equity firm TPG, Marc Mezvinsky turns 47… General partner at Andreessen Horowitz, David A. Ulevitch turns 43… Screenwriter, best known for co-writing “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Captain Marvel” and “Pokémon Detective Pikachu,” Nicole Perlman turns 43… Assistant managing editor for national security and justice at NBC News, Alex Koppelman… Co-founder and co-CEO of single-origin spice company, Burlap & Barrel (a public benefit corporation), Ethan Frisch… Assistant professor of health policy and management at Harvard School of Public Health, Ari Daniel Ne’eman… R&B, jazz and soul singer and songwriter, she performs as “Mishéll,” Irina Rosenfeld turns 36… Senior manager of communications at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, Mitchell Rubenstein… Rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel in Metairie, La., Philip Kaplan… Co-founder at Dojo, helping companies design healthier workplaces, Daniel Goldstern… Actress, musician, fashion model and radio talk show host, Rachel Trachtenburg turns 31…
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