Daily Kickoff
Good Tuesday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report from yesterday’s presidential inauguration in Washington, and look at how the Israeli right is approaching President Donald Trump following his administration’s push for a cease-fire and hostage-release deal. We also cover the unanimous vote to confirm Secretary of State Marco Rubio and report on the Anti-Defamation League’s pushback on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over Elon Musk’s hand gesture at yesterday’s post-inauguration rally. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Brian Hook, Steve Soboroff and Jon and Rachel Goldberg-Polin.
What We’re Watching
- The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will meet at 10 a.m. today for its confirmation hearing for Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), the Trump administration’s nominee to be U.N. ambassador.
- Israeli President Isaac Herzog is slated to sit in conversation with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, at 5 p.m. local time today. Earlier today, Walter Russell Mead spoke on a panel about the incoming Trump administration, while former Harvard President Larry Summers and Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein spoke on separate panels on the topic of economic growth. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also slated to speak this afternoon, as is German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
- Also happening today at Davos, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani will join their counterparts from Nigeria, Finland and the EU for a conversation about “diplomacy and disorder.” (Al-Thani will also sit for a one-on-one conversation shortly after Herzog’s session.) At the same time, a separate session focused on Gaza will feature speakers from the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the International Crisis Group and the Bank of Palestine.
- Earlier today, Israeli forces began a counterterror operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, a stronghold for terror groups operating in the territory.
What You Should Know
On Monday night, as the events of Inauguration Day wound down, a remarkable scene took place at the Capital One Arena where President Donald Trump and his supporters were celebrating the presidential transition.
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, paid homage to the hostage families in attendance, inviting them onstage. He announced that Trump would be meeting with the hostage families later Monday night, after signing a flurry of executive orders. “Let’s give them all some love and a big hand,” Witkoff said.
The families took turns shaking hands with Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, First Lady Melania Trump and Second Lady Usha Vance.
Trump then took the stage with the families — including released hostage Noa Argamani, whose boyfriend is still in captivity — lined up behind him at the lectern alongside Adam Boehler, the Trump administration’s special envoy for hostage affairs.
Trump started his speech on message, calling for the release of all the hostages: “We’ve won, but now the work begins. We have to bring them home,” he said.
But then the speech took an awkward and uncomfortable turn, with Trump quickly transitioning from discussing the hostages in Gaza to talking about “J6 hostages,” a term he has used to refer to people charged with federal crimes for their actions at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He announced that he would be issuing pardons for them later that evening. The Israeli hostage families stood behind him awkwardly — some of them politely clapping, perhaps not certain which ‘hostages’ Trump was referring to — as he delivered his partisan pitch to the crowd.
The episode is an illustration of how many of Trump’s allies — even those who back his policies — will likely have to contend with defending his often extreme rhetoric as a price of staying in his good favor. (Trump later announced pardons of the more than 1,500 Jan. 6 rioters, including Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys, and others with extreme antisemitic views.)
On foreign policy, however, Witkoff offered a mainstream articulation of Trump’s Middle East policy that avoided the blustery rhetoric. Witkoff, speaking prior to Trump, referred to the president’s “policies that have already delivered remarkable successes, such as yesterday’s release of hostages in Gaza,” prompting the group of hostage families in attendance — sitting front row — to rise to their feet and display posters of their loved ones, before Witkoff called them on stage.
Witkoff continued: “My commitment is to continue the work of advancing President Trump’s vision for the Middle East … A stable and prosperous Middle East is not an unattainable dream. It is a goal within our reach, made possible by strong leadership and unwavering commitment. Under President Trump’s guidance, we are proving the impossible can become reality.”
Still, it’s easy to see how the encouraging signals from the Trump administration on Middle East policy could become unreliable. His inaugural address, as JI’s Marc Rod reported, sounded an isolationist note, one that’s hard to square with some allies’ hopes that he will aggressively confront Iran’s nuclear program.
And Tucker Carlson’s continued role as a leading, if informal, Trump advisor, is another worrisome sign for Trump’s Jewish allies. His decision to remain seated as the crowd stood and applauded Trump’s announcement during the inauguration speech of three Israeli hostages returning home spoke volumes.
Buckle up for the next four years. Some in the pro-Israel community were occasionally frustrated by the Biden administration’s public words of caution and equivocations in their approach to Middle East policymaking. Trump‘s rhetoric has frequently been supportive of Israel, but he has also shown lately his actions don’t always match his rhetoric.
trump returns
Trump says in inaugural address he’ll avoid foreign military entanglements
In his second inaugural address, President Donald Trump emphasized his desire to pull back from and avoid foreign military engagements, leaning into his isolationist foreign policy instincts, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What he said: “We will again build the strongest military the world has ever seen. We will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars that we end, and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into,” Trump said. He said that his “proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier.” Near the beginning of his speech, Trump lamented that the government “has given unlimited funding to the defense of foreign borders, but refuses to defend American borders,” a talking point that some conservatives have used in recent years to oppose funding for Ukraine and, in the case of a smaller number of lawmakers, Israel.
Berman’s benediction: Wearing a yellow hostage pin, Rabbi Ari Berman, president of Yeshiva University, delivered a benediction at the inauguration, in which he prayed to God to “guide our schools and campuses which have been experiencing such unrest,” Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
Elsewhere in the Rotunda: Right-wing talk show host Tucker Carlson appeared to remain seated as Trump said that “the hostages in the Middle East are coming back home to their families” during his inauguration speech, a comment that drew a wide and bipartisan standing ovation from a majority of attendees at the Capitol Rotunda ceremony, JI’s Haley Cohen reports.
first-day choices
Trump revokes sanctions on West Bank settlers and reimposes sanctions on ICC with executive orders
Among the more than 100 executive actions President Donald Trump took on the first day of his second term were an executive order withdrawing the Biden administration’s sanctions on individuals responsible for inciting violence and instability in the West Bank and another reimposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court in an effort to deter the body from launching a probe into the U.S. for alleged war crimes in Afghanistan, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod, Emily Jacobs and Haley Cohen report.
Other moves: Trump also signed a directive that could lead to the expulsion of visa-holders who “bear hostile attitudes” toward the country or “advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists,” which could be used to target visa-holders who have rallied in favor of Hamas and other terrorist groups since the Oct. 7 attacks. He also instructed the Department of Justice not to enforce legislation forcing the sale of TikTok or banning it in the United States for 75 days.
Read the full story here.
Bonus: Outgoing Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog said he believed the Trump administration would soon lift the hold on the delivery of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel; the shipments were halted by the Biden administration last spring.
keeping the faith
Israeli right still hopeful about Trump presidency despite ‘terrible’ cease-fire deal
When President Donald Trump won the election in November, much of the Israeli right celebrated. But since Israel and Hamas reached a cease-fire and hostage-release agreement last week, with significant pressure from the incoming administration, the Israeli right’s take on Trump has been much less ecstatic. In the wake of the agreement, a new narrative has taken hold: that Trump will give Israel something else in return for the deal it made, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
Holding on to hope: Yinon Magal, a pro-Netanyahu TV and radio news talk show host with a large social media following, told JI that he “supported Trump very much and did a lot so that [Israeli Americans] with the right to vote would vote for him. I hope that he won’t disappoint us. I think that Trump’s heart is in the right place, and the people around him have their hearts and heads in the right place,” he said. “I understand that his interests do not always totally overlap with Israel’s … I understand that he wanted an immediate win.” Magal expressed hope that Trump “will support Israel in achieving the war’s objectives — eliminating Hamas and allowing all the hostages to come back — and to destroy the Iranian nuclear project and maybe even topple the regime there.”
summer getaway
Rep. Summer Lee listed as speaker at Code Pink inaugural ball, but says she didn’t attend
Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) was listed as a speaker at an inaugural ball in Washington on Saturday presented by Code Pink, a radical anti-Israel group that has gained notoriety for disruptions on Capitol Hill and elsewhere. But a spokesperson for Lee’s office claimed to Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel on Monday that she “did not attend the event,” even as the congresswoman was publicly promoted as one of several confirmed speakers just a day before the ball.
Extreme lineup: Lee’s spokesperson did not respond to a request for clarification about her scheduled involvement in the event, a flier for which also listed Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) as speakers. The ball featured several speakers who have drawn scrutiny for invoking antisemitic rhetoric, including Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour, novelist Alice Walker, left-wing pundit Mehdi Hasan and conspiracy theorist Max Blumenthal, according to the flier.
musk’s move
AOC attacks leading Jewish civil rights group over its defense of Elon Musk
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) slammed the Anti-Defamation League on Monday for issuing a defense of Elon Musk, the billionaire advisor to President Donald Trump, after Musk delivered a hand gesture at Trump’s inauguration rally that some saw as a Nazi salute, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What they’re saying: The ADL, running counter to the quick condemnation of Musk from liberal Jewish circles, urged restraint, saying that Musk appeared to have made the gesture unintentionally. Ocasio-Cortez, who has faced condemnation from the ADL and others in the Jewish community for perceived antisemitic comments, declared that the ADL’s statement was disqualifying. “People can officially stop listening to you as any sort of reputable source of information now. You work for them. Thank you for making that crystal clear to all,” she said. Musk’s gesture also elicited condemnation on Monday from a range of liberal Jewish groups and leaders, and praise from members of the far right.
top diplomat
Senate votes unanimously to confirm Rubio as secretary of state
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), a hawkish supporter of Israel and a harsh critic of Iran and China, was confirmed on Monday evening by a unanimous bipartisan vote as the nation’s 72nd secretary of state, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Emily Jacobs report.
All for one: All 99 senators present — including Rubio himself — voted in favor of his confirmation, a rare sight and one not likely to be repeated for any other Trump Cabinet nominee. Vice President J.D. Vance’s former Senate seat is currently empty. The smooth process to Rubio’s confirmation — a result of Rubio’s reputation in the Senate for bipartisanship, his friendships on both sides of the aisle and his foreign policy experience and acumen — will likely be the outlier in what are expected to be a series of more bitter and drawn-out battles in the weeks to come.
Worthy Reads
Truly Trumpian: Politico’s founding editor, John Harris, argues that President Donald Trump is the “greatest American figure of his era,” owing to his decade at the forefront of the political conversation. “Like other large presidents, Trump has been a communications innovator and exploited technological shifts more effectively than rivals. In that sense, Trump’s use of social media recalls Franklin D. Roosevelt’s mastery of radio, and John F. Kennedy’s and Ronald Reagan’s mastery of television — even as his banter and insults don’t aspire to anything like traditional presidential eloquence. One more signature shown by the most consequential presidents: Uncommon psychological toughness. Have you ever known someone who was facing legal hurdles? In many cases, even if people ultimately win the case, they end up being consumed and shrunken by the searing nature of the experience. Imagine running for president amid huge civil suits, criminal prosecutions, and even felony convictions — then emerging from this morass as a larger figure than before. No one needs to admire the achievement to recognize that Trump is possessed by some rare traits of denial, combativeness and resilience.” [Politico]
TikTok and the Constitution: In The Free Press, Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale suggests that President Donald Trump should act within the parameters of the Constitution to address the looming TikTok ban. “ByteDance will never sell TikTok, because TikTok is not a social media app with normal corporate incentives; it’s a weapon. America is the target of that weapon. And in the meantime, the law must take effect. Because in our republic, it is the Congress that writes the law. If President Trump disagrees, he can try to change Congress’s mind. I could not be more excited for this administration; but in four years, it will be over. Perhaps it will have wielded the law against those who have transgressed it. I hope he will have transformed much about our government. But if in his zeal to fight for what he believes, the new president feels tempted to go out of legal bounds himself, it is everyone’s job — especially those of us who support him — to speak up and defend the Constitution.” [FreePress]
Tech Billionaires Row: The Atlantic’s Michael Scherer and Ashley Parker look at how Trump’s relationship with Silicon Valley is likely to differ from his first administration. “Trump’s inauguration events featured a Silicon Valley smorgasbord, with leaders from Apple, Google, and TikTok in attendance, as well as Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Tesla’s Elon Musk. Several of the tech moguls also joined a small prayer service this morning at St. John’s Episcopal Church. Later, they blended in with the Trump clan directly behind the incoming president as he officially assumed power just after noon, like honorary family members. The scene announced a remarkable new dynamic in Washington: Far more so than in his first term, the ultra-wealthy — and tech billionaires in particular — are embracing Trump. And the new president is happy to entertain their courtship, setting up the possibility that Trump’s second turn in the White House could be shaped by person-to-person transactions with business and tech executives — a new kind of American oligarchy.” [TheAtlantic]
Hamas Still Here: The Financial Times’ Neri Zilber, Heba Saleh and Mai Khaled report on Hamas’ continued operations in Gaza, where it has been weakened but not fully incapacitated. “‘We are working according to an emergency plan,’ said Ismail al-Thawabta, a spokesperson for Gaza’s Hamas-controlled government. ‘We cannot leave our people in a vacuum to please Netanyahu.’ Thawabta said the Hamas-led authorities were planning meetings to restore education, reopen mosques for prayers and upgrade health services in hospitals that have been repeatedly bombed. ‘Hamas has not ended despite its military losses,’ said Mkhaimar Abusada, a political scientist from Gaza at Northwestern University in the US. ‘The way the hostages were handed over was a display of force and an act of defiance towards Israel,’ he said. ‘The ceasefire agreement has left vague arrangements for the day after and for the governance of Gaza.’ In Israel, the images of Hamas fighters back above ground and asserting their authority shocked the public, and raised serious questions about the effectiveness of the ferocious campaign unleashed on the strip. While some Israeli analysts cautioned that the procession of masked militants was a public relations stunt obscuring the group’s enormous losses, others saw it as proof of the lack of strategic planning by Netanyahu’s government.” [FT]
Word on the Street
Trump administration officials received a briefing from outgoing Biden White House staffers that stressed concerns about Iranian efforts to target dissidents and current and former U.S. officials…
Congressional Republicans widely supported President Donald Trump’s decision to pull an imam with controversial views on terrorism from offering a benediction at his inauguration, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen and Emily Jacobs report…
Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and John Fetterman (D-PA) will reintroduce their bill today requiring universities to make students aware of their right to file Title VI complaints if they experience discrimination or harassment on campus, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs has learned…
A senior Hamas official based in Qatar said the terror group was prepared to directly engage with the Trump administration…
Journalist Matti Friedman interviewed Jon and Rachel Goldberg-Polin about the cease-fire and hostage-release deal that went into effect earlier this week…
The Wall Street Journal and New York Times look at Israelis’ mixed feelings about the implementation of the cease-fire and hostage-release deal…
An Israeli Border Police officer reportedly shot and injured two Israeli men who allegedly attacked him amid attacks by settlers in two Palestinian villages last night…
Minnesota Democrats Chairman Ken Martin is emerging as the favorite to win the upcoming Democratic National Committee leadership election…
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass tapped former LAPD Commissioner Steve Soboroff to head rebuilding efforts in Pacific Palisades, Calif., following devastating wildfires…
The only two Jewish members of the police force in Trenton, N.J., have filed legal actions against their workplace, alleging separate incidents of antisemitic harassment…
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese convened the country’s cabinet earlier today in response to an overnight antisemitic attack on a Sydney childcare center near a local synagogue; police in the country are investigating whether “overseas actors” are paying locals to carry out the attacks…
Irish President Michael Higgins rejected a plea from the country’s Jewish community to skip an upcoming International Holocaust Remembrance Day event, where he is slated to give an address, amid heightened tensions between Ireland and Israel and strained relations between Dublin and Irish Jews…
Speaking this morning at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Rafael Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, called on Iran to reach a new nuclear agreement with the Trump administration…
The Italian journalist imprisoned for three weeks in Iran detailed the conditions of her captivity, including solitary confinement and 10-hour interrogations…
Bloomberg reports on the Israeli shekel’s rising strength against the dollar following the implementation of the cease-fire and hostage-release deal between Israel and Hamas…
Spotted at the pre-inauguration Shabbat dinner hosted by the Combat Antisemitism Movement at Char Bar in Washington: Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), Florida congressional candidate Randy Fine, Liran Berman, Adam and Ellen Beren, Arie Lipnick, former Bal Harbour, Fla., Mayor Gabe Groisman, Israeli American Council CEO Elan Carr, outgoing Deputy Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Aaron Keyak, Brandeis Center President Alyza Lewin and House Education and the Workforce staffer Ari Wisch…
Pic of the Day
Second Lady Usha Vance, Vice President J.D. Vance, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump met the families of hostages during yesterday’s inauguration rally in Washington.
Birthdays
Owner of the NHL’s Boston Bruins and chairman of Delaware North, a global food service and hospitality company with 55,000 employees, Jeremy Maurice Jacobs turns 85…
Writer specializing in modern Judaism and women’s issues, Blu Greenberg… Philanthropist, co-founder and chair emerita of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, Lynn Schusterman… Literary critic, feminist, writer on cultural and social issues, Elaine Showalter (born Elaine Cottler) turns 84… Retired Israeli ambassador to Cyprus, New Zealand, Turkmenistan and Estonia, Shemi Tzur turns 80… Israeli visual artist, he taught at Jerusalem’s Bezalel Academy of Arts for 30 years, Zvi Goldstein turns 78… Attorney general of the U.S. during the Obama administration, now a senior counsel at Covington & Burling, Eric H. Holder Jr. turns 74… Actor, director and producer, he is the voice of Beast in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” Robby Benson (born as Robin David Segal) turns 69… Past chairman of the Zionist Organization of America and chair of the real estate group at the NY/NJ law firm of Sills Cummis & Gross, Mark Levenson turns 68… U.S. senator (R-ND), Kevin Cramer turns 64… Chairman and CEO of Norfolk, Va.-based Harbor Group International, Jordan E. Slone… Executive editor digital at the Washington Monthly, Matthew Cooper… Chief operations officer of OneTable, Andrea Greenblatt… Senior fellow at the USC Annenberg School, Cindi Leive turns 58… CEO at C-SPAN, Sam Feist turns 56… President and CEO of The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Rachel Garbow Monroe… Director, producer and screenwriter of films, best known as the producer or director of the eight films in the “Paranormal Activity” series, Oren Peli turns 55… Christian Zionist, television host and presenter of “The Watchman” sponsored by Christians United for Israel, Erick Stakelbeck turns 49… Dean of school at Yavneh Hebrew Academy in Los Angeles until last year, now CEO at Shpait.AI, Shlomo Einhorn… Peruvian model and TV host, she represented her country in Miss Universe 2009, Karen Schwarz turns 44… D.C.-based staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, Jennifer Haberkorn… Israeli actress, screenwriter and filmmaker, Romi Aboulafia turns 41… Deputy administrator at HHS’s Health Resources and Services Administration, Jordan Grossman… Samuel Z. Eckstein…
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