Daily Kickoff
Good Monday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we preview how the Senate Judiciary Committee is planning to approach the issue of campus antisemitism in the new Congress, and report on efforts by universities and the Biden administration to reach Title VI settlements before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. We also report on Sen. Ted Cruz’s recent call for American airlines to resume flights to Israel, and look at the state of ongoing cease-fire and hostage-release negotiations in Doha, Qatar. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Chris Martin, Keith Kellogg and Ben Stiller.
What We’re Watching
- President Joe Biden will give a capstone address on his administration’s foreign policy this afternoon at the State Department.
- Also this afternoon, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will make an appearance at the White House daily press briefing.
- Cease-fire and hostage-release negotiations are continuing today in Doha. More below.
- Iran is participating in another round of nuclear talks with the U.K., France and Germany.
- The Israel Democracy Institute is holding its annual Conference on Shared Society today in Jerusalem.
What You Should Know
As senior Republicans on Capitol Hill start organizing their legislative agendas, one item for the Senate Judiciary Committee will be responding to the surge in antisemitism on college campuses since Oct. 7, Jewish Insider congressional correspondent Emily Jacobs reports.
Two GOP sources on the committee say they expect Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the panel’s newly installed chairman, to convene a hearing on campus antisemitism, though a specific timetable is unclear. Five Senate Republicans on the Judiciary Committee told JI that they view the issue as a top priority, especially after Senate Democrats avoided the subject for much of the last Congress (and later held a hearing that minimized the unique scourge of rising antisemitism).
Grassley, who at 91 is the oldest member of the Senate, is reclaiming his role as the top Judiciary Republican from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in the new Congress.
One Republican senator on the committee told JI that they had spoken to Grassley last week about holding another antisemitism hearing and came away reassured that one would happen. The senator, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss committee business, said that Grassley was previously unaware that so many of his members wanted the committee to hold a hearing on the subject.
Asked in the Capitol last Monday if he was going to make the civil rights violations of Jewish students a priority as Judiciary chairman, Grassley said, “There’s so many things that are a priority, but it’s something that I’m very interested in, not only antisemitism but the whole subject of free speech on college campuses,” he told JI.
Judiciary Committee Republicans have been pushing for a hearing on campus antisemitism since late 2023, with every member writing a letter in May to Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the then-Judiciary Committee chairman, asking him to convene a hearing “on the civil rights violations of Jewish students” and “the proliferation of terrorist ideology — two issues that fall squarely within this Committee’s purview.”
Durbin instead organized a broader hearing on religious-based hate crimes in September in which he invited witnesses who held positions that were largely out of step with Jewish community leaders. One of the witnesses, Maya Berry, the executive director of the Arab American Institute, declined to say that Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran seek to destroy the Jewish state.
Most Judiciary Democrats focused their questions on Islamophobia or religious hate crimes in a general sense during their questioning, and Republicans were repeatedly heckled by anti-Israel agitators in the audience as they tried to specifically ask witnesses about antisemitism. At one point, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was forced to pause during his remarks so security could escort a man who was shouting that he did not care about “f***ing Jews” out of the hearing room.
The hearing was met with criticism by Jewish leaders, while Republicans on the committee vowed immediately after to hold a hearing solely on the surge in antisemitism in the next Congress if the GOP retook control of the Senate.
Cruz told JI at the time: “If there is a Republican majority in the Senate, you can be confident we will see a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee focused directly on antisemitism on campus. And if President Trump is reelected, I also have complete confidence that the Department of Justice and the FBI will follow the money [funding anti-Israel campus protests]. What is amazing is there’s been no effort that is discernible to follow the money, whether it is from Iran, whether it is from Qatar, whether it is from major Democratic donors.”
campus beat
Universities work to settle discrimination cases before Trump takes over
Universities across the country are scrambling to prepare for a tougher legal environment before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House next week, with some settling antisemitism complaints — with resolutions that have faced criticism for their perceived weaknesses — with the Biden administration’s Department of Education in its final weeks. “We’re seeing what appears to be a rush to issue weak resolution agreements at a time when stronger treatment might be at hand,” Kenneth Marcus, founder and chairman of the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and former U.S. assistant secretary of education in the Bush and Trump administrations, told Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen.
Pre-Trump rush?: Trump ran on a promise that, if reelected, U.S. universities would lose accreditation and federal support if they fail to stop the rising level of antisemitism that has roiled campuses nationwide since the Oct. 7 terror attacks in Israel. In a statement to JI, an Education Department spokesperson declined to address whether the recent influx of settlements were related to the incoming Trump administration. “The Office for Civil Rights works as expeditiously as possible to resolve investigations,” the spokesperson said, pointing to case resolution letters, which provide specific explanations for each case resolution. But Marcus noted that the Brandeis Center, which represents Jewish students in their lawsuits against universities, is “hearing from a lot of colleges and universities that are much more motivated to discuss settlement than they had been before the election.”
Read the full story here.
cruz control
Sen. Ted Cruz: ‘It is time for American airlines to resume flights to and from Israel’
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), the chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, is calling on U.S. airlines to resume flights to and from Israel after they suspended service last summer amid an escalation in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Cruz, who has been tracking this issue since Oct. 7 in his capacity as the top Republican on the committee, made the comments during an appearance on the “Nothing But The Truth” podcast, hosted by NORPAC New York’s co-president, Trudy Stern, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.
Podcast playback: “I think it is time for American airlines to resume flights to and from Israel. At this point with every day that goes on, it appears more and more to be a politically motivated boycott instead of a genuine safety concern. It was one thing right at the outset of the war when it was unclear what was going to happen,” Cruz told Stern. “It was one thing to take a step potentially in terms of preserving safety.”
Pompeo’s push: Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo echoed Cruz’s call in a social media post over the weekend, writing on X on Saturday that the Commerce Committee chairman was correct in pushing for U.S. carriers to resume service. “Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz is right: it’s past time for airlines to resume flights to Israel. There’s no excuse not to,” Pompeo said.
Across the pond: The European low-budget carrier Ryanair intends to restart flights to and from Israel, with flight options beginning in late March.
doha dialogue
Netanyahu mobilizes political support as hostage deal gets ‘very, very close’
Intensive talks aimed at finalizing a cease-fire and hostage-release deal continued into Monday in Doha, Qatar, following the arrival of an Israeli negotiating team and as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu works to lay the political groundwork among his coalition members for support for a deal. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said on Monday that “there is progress in the negotiations to release the hostages,” Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
Significant movement: The full Israeli negotiating team, led by Mossad chief David Barnea, flew to Doha on Sunday for the first time since August in an effort to finalize the deal. Joining Barnea were Shin Bet head Ronen Bar; Maj.-Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, who is heading the IDF’s intelligence efforts to locate the hostages; and Netanyahu’s diplomatic advisor, Ophir Falk. Brett McGurk, White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa,, incoming Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and CIA representatives were also in Doha.
Vance’s view: Vice President-elect J.D. Vance predicted in an interview over the weekend that there will be a deal struck for the release of some of the hostages in Gaza sometime in the final days of the Biden administration, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.
Coldplay shoutout
In Abu Dhabi, Coldplay’s Chris Martin dedicates song to Palestinians in West Bank, Gaza
During a performance on Thursday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Chris Martin, lead singer of Coldplay, dedicated a song to “our brothers and sisters” in Gaza, the West Bank, Jerusalem, Pakistan and Iran, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
Special mentions: The British rock star’s comment introduced the song “Everglow,” when he invited a Pakistani fan onstage. Martin went on to mention several other locations around the world undergoing crises — including Los Angeles, where wildfires continue to rage — but was drowned out by fans cheering at the mention of Gaza and the West Bank.
Worthy Reads
Pretoria Pressure: In The Wall Street Journal, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Mark Dubowitz and Elaine Dezenski posit that President-elect Donald Trump, upon entering office, should pressure South Africa to distance itself from an alliance of American adversaries. “Today, the ANC’s list of questionable partners includes Russia, China and Iran — the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. In 2023, South Africa hosted naval drills with Russia and China. That year, officials also let a Russian plane land at a South African air base, even though it was under U.S. sanctions for supplying weapons to the Russian military. The ANC has also joined Russia and China’s strategic anti-Western Brics trading bloc, which was organized to diminish the power of Western influence, including economic sanctions. … Mr. Trump should seize this rare chance to halt South Africa’s decline by delivering an ultimatum: The U.S. will support the country’s growth through investments and diplomacy but continued alignment with China, Russia, Iran, and Hamas will bring swift consequences. If the government persists with its reckless foreign policy, Mr. Trump should consider slashing American trade benefits, isolating Pretoria diplomatically, and imposing sanctions against ANC leaders that ally with America’s adversaries and engage in corruption.” [WSJ]
Biden’s Blind Spot: The Washington Post’s David Ignatius looks at how President Joe Biden handled the key foreign policy challenges of his administration. “I admire many of Biden’s decisions and applaud his careful stewardship of America’s interests. But even to a supporter like me, his foreign policy seems less than the sum of its parts. Biden defined America’s purpose as protecting the ‘rules-based international order.’ But for all his laudable effort, I fear that he left it weaker rather than stronger. What was missing in Biden’s attempt to steer a steady course through four years of international turmoil? The answer goes to the core of his character: He was a consensus builder in a world that had turned adversarial; he was a defender of the status quo at a time when people at home and abroad were screaming for transformation; he sought normal order in a global system that had become dangerously aberrant. The things that were most admirable about him as an individual were sometimes counterproductive on the world stage.” [WashPost]
Foreign Aid Fix: In an essay, Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale and investor Ben Black call for a reassessment of how U.S. foreign aid is distributed. “Much of our current foreign aid budget is waste and should be cut given our massive deficit. But if we are going to spend money abroad, let’s do so with an investment-driven model focused on strategic project finance initiatives, and pro-market SBA-like loans and equity for small business entrepreneurs. Engaging alongside best-in-class American businesses and investors is a better way to make sure U.S. resources serve our national interests and deliver real results, versus ideological NGOs and corrupt government grift. By reducing mission drift and cutting NGO-capture – and making a profit for the American taxpayer – we can align US foreign aid with the rest of our new administration’s priorities.” [Substack]
Sights on Sanaa: The Financial Times’ Neri Zilber and Andrew England spotlight the threats that the Houthis, as the region’s current strongest Iranian proxy, pose to Israel. “With Hamas, Hizbollah and the Islamic republic itself all weakened and humbled after 15 months of conflict with Israel, the Houthis have styled themselves as the Palestinians’ main regional defenders and the final bastion of Iran’s so-called ‘axis of resistance’ still attacking Israel. Despite morbid jokes on Israeli social media calling them the country’s new ‘alarm clock,’ the Houthis have become a painful reminder for Israelis that the war is not over. Their ballistic missiles have twice evaded air defences, injuring 16 people in the Tel Aviv area. ‘I call them “the last proxy,”’ said Amos Yadlin, a former head of Israeli military intelligence. ‘It took the Israeli system time but now it’s well understood . . . they need to be moved to the top of the priority list.’” [FT]
Word on the Street
Keith Kellogg, the incoming Trump administration’s Ukraine envoy, said that Iran must face a global “maximum pressure” effort to become a more democratic country…
The New York Times profiles incoming White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, a mainstay in President-elect Donald Trump’s inner circle for the last eight years, as she seeks to mitigate the challenges that plagued the first Trump administration…
A delegation of leaders from Israel’s settlement movement accepted an invitation to attend Trump’s inauguration next week…
Outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew sat for a wide-ranging interview with The Times of Israel’s founding editor, David Horovitz…
Meta ended its major Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs, days after the social media company announced an overhaul of its fact-checking system…
Chuck Todd plans to leave NBC when his contract expires later this year…
In an interview with The New York Times, actor Ben Stiller discussed the “frightening” antisemitism he has seen and experienced since the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks…
The New York Times spotlights the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center’s first Shabbat service since their campus burned down in last week’s wildfires…
The Shine A Light on Antisemitism initiative announced the 19 winners of its 2024 Civic Courage Award…
A synagogue in Sydney was targeted with antisemitic vandalism on Saturday, a day after another synagogue in the Australian city was vandalized…
A synagogue in Bologna, Italy,was damaged in weekend riots stemming from the death of an Egyptian-Italian man who was killed in a police chase in November…
The Wall Street Journal looks at efforts by Mohammed Sinwar, the brother of former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, to rebuild the terror organization that suffered massive losses since launching its Oct. 7 attack on Israel…
Four IDF soldiers were killed in battles in northern Gaza over the weekend…
A 75-year-old Israeli woman who was injured in a Hezbollah missile attack on the city of Nahariya in November died from her injuries…
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that Israel plans to use the approximately NIS 2 billion ($544 million) in frozen funds collected in Palestinian tax revenue to pay down the Palestinian Authority’s debt to Israel’s state-run electric company…
Italy released from custody an Iranian businessman arrested at the request of American officials who alleged the man had played a role in the 2024 drone strike that killed three U.S. servicemembers in Jordan. The arrest of Mohammad Abedini last month had triggered the arrest of an Italian journalist in Tehran three days after Abedini’s apprehension in Italy; the journalist was released by Iranian authorities last week…
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps senior officials unveiled a new Iranian underground missile-storage facility and said the country had developed “new special missiles”…
Iranian media claimed that 1,000 new drones had been delivered to military outposts across Iran…
Rachel Brandenburg is joining Israel Policy Forum as Washington managing director and senior fellow; she previously served as a senior policy advisor to then-Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and at the Defense Department…
Pic of the Day
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Rasmussen (right) visited Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, where he was accompanied by the center’s chairman, Dani Dayan, earlier today in Jerusalem.
Birthdays
Argentine writer, he has authored 14 novels, 17 essay collections, four short story collections and two biographies, Marcos Aguinis turns 90…
Marriage and family therapist in Bakersfield, Calif., Kathleen Arnold-Chambers… Las Vegas resident, Cathy Nierenberg… Retired teacher, Lucia Meyerson… NYC pediatrician at Carnegie Hill Pediatrics, Barry B. Stein, MD… President of the Pritzker Traubert Foundation, she was the director of the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships during the Obama administration, Cindy S. Moelis turns 64… Actress and producer, winner of 11 Emmy Awards, she is best known for “Saturday Night Live,” “Seinfeld” and “Veep,” Julia Louis-Dreyfus turns 64… Kaileh Lynn Pistol… Founder of the Freelancers Union, she was a MacArthur genius fellow in 1999, Sara Horowitz turns 62… Retired member of the Senate of Canada for 12 years, she is a past chair of the UJA of Greater Toronto, Linda Frum turns 62… Partner in King & Spalding, he served as deputy attorney general of the U.S. following 12 years as U.S. attorney for Maryland, Rod J. Rosenstein turns 60… Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Israel from 2013 until last July, Rabbi David Baruch Lau turns 59… Lifelong resident of Greenwich Village, a two-time Emmy Award winner as a television producer, Susanna Beth Aaron… Executive assistant to the president and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits after 15 years at JFNA, Bruce Maclver… Senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he works on Middle Eastern political-military affairs, Kenneth M. Pollack turns 59… President and CEO of Amazon, Andrew R. Jassy turns 57… Social media professional and long-time activist for Israel, Heidi Krizer Daroff… French screenwriter and director, Alice Winocour turns 49… Statistician and writer who analyzes sports and elections, Nate Silver turns 47… Marriage and family therapist, Shira Berenson Feinstein… Israeli singer and rapper, known by his stage name Nechi Nech, Ravid Plotnik turns 37… Communications consultant based in Denver, Carly Freedman Schlafer… Rebecca Seider… Sandra Shapiro…
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