Daily Kickoff
Good Monday morning. It’s Inauguration Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on the release of three Israeli hostages yesterday following the implementation of a temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. We also interview outgoing Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog and talk to GOP senators about the potential for a new nuclear deal with Iran under the incoming Trump administration. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Matthew Segal, Dr. Elon Glassberg and Brian Abrahams.
What We’re Watching
- The inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump begins at noon ET. Our Washington team will be reporting from the Capitol. For the first time since President Ronald Reagan was sworn in for a second term in 1985, the ceremony will be held indoors.
- Later this afternoon, the Senate Foreign Relations and Homeland Security Committees will meet to vote on advancing the nominations of, respectively, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) to be secretary of state and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to be secretary of Homeland Security. Later in the evening, the Senate Intelligence Committee will vote on advancing John Ratcliffe’s nomination to head the CIA to a floor vote.
- The World Economic Forum kicks off this evening in Davos, Switzerland, with a discussion on the incoming Trump administration featuring historian Niall Ferguson and Time Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs.
What You Should Know
Israelis across the country were glued to the news yesterday, awaiting the moment that Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher were released from Hamas captivity after 471 days, first to the Red Cross, then to the Israel Defense Forces and finally to the arms of their mothers, Jewish Insider’s Israel editor Tamara Zieve reports.
Thousands gathered at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, the site that has been and continues to be the nucleus of support and solidarity for the hostages and their families, to view together the release of the three young civilian women.
News reporters laughed and cried with the rest of the nation as the long-awaited scenes of hostages regaining their freedom came into view; a Channel 12 TV reporter delivered the news from the shoulders of a friend of Damari’s who had hoisted her up there, jubilant that his friend had reached the protection of the Israeli authorities.
The first glimpse of the women was as they arrived at the handover spot in Gaza City in a Hamas vehicle transporting them to the Red Cross officials, still in the hands of their captors and surrounded by a sea of green-uniformed Hamas terrorists as well as a wider mob of Gazan civilians.
Many former hostages have described the handover from Hamas to the Red Cross as the most terrifying moment of their release, and the look of fear on Steinbrecher’s face reflected this as she ran from the Hamas vehicle into the one Red Cross officials received them in. Hamas men were photographed standing on top of the Red Cross vehicles.
Hamas provided its own version of events with a propaganda video of the three women smiling and laughing in the vehicle as they received “gift bags” that reportedly included a “release” certificate. They also wore necklaces with Palestinian flags.
From there, the Red Cross drove the hostages to a reception point where they were transferred to IDF and Israel Security Agency forces who returned them to Israeli territory, where they underwent an initial medical assessment and were reunited with their mothers.
Gonen, Damari and Steinbrecher were then flown together with their mothers in an IAF helicopter to Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, where they were deemed not to require immediate medical attention — despite Damari, who was shot in the hand while in her home on Oct. 7, losing two fingers — and reunited with the rest of their families. Doctors at the hospital found the women to be in stable condition and will keep them in for full medical examination over the next few days.
Damari’s friends told N12 TV news that she spotted them on the way from the helipad to the hospital and stopped the van in order to greet them. In an Instagram post, Damari said she is “the happiest person in the world” following her release. “Love, love, love,” she wrote, “I have returned to my beloved life.” Damari’s Instagram page now features the emoji hand sign that alternatively means “I love you” in American Sign Language and “rock on.”
Gonen sent a voice message to the residents of her hometown, Kfar Vradim, saying, “Here is Romi, back from captivity. Thank you very much everyone. I still have no idea what you did. I have only seen a tiny drop of it but there is nobody in the world like you, I appreciate you so much and am sending you all hugs and kisses.”
The release of Damari, Gonen and Steinbrecher came hours after the IDF retrieved the remains of IDF soldier Oren Shaul, whose body was taken by Hamas after he was killed during Israel’s Operation Protective Edge in 2014.
Meanwhile in Washington, ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, hostage families as well as former hostage Noa Argmani, whose boyfriend is still in captivity, gathered in front of the Washington Monument thanking Trump and urging him to ensure that all of the remaining 94 hostages are freed. A large banner read, “President Trump, you can make it happen. Bring them home now.”
Outgoing President Joe Biden, in a message to his successor moments after the hostage release during a speech from South Carolina, said, “The pursuit of a lasting peace, while never easy or quick, must always be our calling.” Read more here on Biden’s speech on his last full day in office.
The 30 additional hostages set to be released in the first phase of the deal are expected to to be freed in groups every Saturday for the next six weeks. On the 16th day of the implementation of the cease-fire and hostage-release agreement, negotiations for the second phase of the deal are scheduled to begin.
herzog’s north star
Outgoing Israeli ambassador urges successor to continue his approach: ‘Talk to everybody across the aisle’
As Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Herzog wraps up his tenure in Washington this week, the diplomat and former peace negotiator is thinking about how he kept the peace on Capitol Hill — by talking to almost anyone, from the left to the right, about U.S. support for Israel. Herzog always held bipartisanship as his North Star. (Except when it came to the Squad; he thought talking to them would be a “waste of time.”) But as he prepares to leave Washington, Herzog told Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch in an interview on Sunday, he is worried about the increasingly leftward tilt of some Democrats, and the once-extreme policy ideas that have become normalized during the Israel-Hamas war following the Oct. 7 terror attacks.
Focus on bipartisanship: “I’m concerned by the fact that this very discourse of whether or not to condition aid to Israel has become part of the political bloodstream here in America,” Herzog said. “I’m happy to say that the majority of legislators voted with us, but this is an ongoing challenge.” He urged his successor, Yechiel Leiter, a former aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to continue his strategy of talking to everyone — including the Democrats, even if they currently lack power in Washington.
tehran talk
Senate Republicans signal reservations about prospect of a new Iran deal
Senate Republicans indicated last week that they had reservations about the prospect of a new round of talks and a potential new nuclear deal with Iran, a prospect that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) floated at his confirmation hearing to be secretary of state, while remaining largely noncommittal on the prospect, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What they’re saying: The idea of talks is not meeting with enthusiasm from some Senate Republicans, whose backing would be critical for such a deal and who have spent the past decade inveighing against the Iran nuclear deal signed by the Obama administration in 2015. None of the five Senate Republicans that JI spoke to last week were willing to directly endorse a diplomatic approach, though none ruled it out either. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) went further on Sunday, saying that diplomacy with the Iranian regime is not a viable option and that the U.S. should instead back Israeli strikes on the Iranian nuclear program.
Read the full story here with additional exclusive comments from Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Ted Budd (R-NC) and James Lankford (R-OK).
hitting the houthis
Top Senate Republicans push to reimpose Houthi terror designation
A group of top Senate Republican lawmakers introduced legislation on Friday to reimpose a Foreign Terrorist Organization designation on the Houthis, a signal that the issue is likely to be a top priority for GOP hawks coming into the Trump administration, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Path ahead: Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is the lead sponsor of the bill, and will have the ability to push the legislation, entitled the Dismantle Iran’s Proxy Act, forward in his committee. The bill would almost certainly receive bipartisan support, given that multiple Senate Democrats have urged President Joe Biden to reinstate FTO status and several voted for similar legislation in the House. Other sponsors include the chairs of several other Senate committees.
Read the full story here.
Inking orders: President-elect Donald Trump is expected to sign a barrage of executive orders immediately after being sworn in at the Capitol today, before signing additional EOs in front of thousands of supporters at the Capitol One Arena, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports. Several Republican staffers who have spoken to Trump transition officials since the election have told JI that they expect the Houthis FTO re-designation to be an early action from the 47th president, though none could provide a timeline.
doctor defended
UMD medical school stands by Israeli surgeon after CAIR claimed victory over canceling his talk
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security, committed at her confirmation hearing on Friday to prioritize efforts to prevent domestic terrorism and counter the surge in antisemitism nationwide, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.
What she said: “We must remain vigilant against terrorism and against others who wish to do harm to our country and its great people. I will ensure that our intelligence and law enforcement agencies are working together, hand in hand, fully equipped to detect, prevent and respond to threats from radical ideologies or foreign adversaries,” Noem said in her opening statement. “This requires resources, coordination and collaboration across all levels of government. Once again, I will seek your wisdom and you input in the months ahead. For the sake of the people we both represent, we must get this right.”
homeland hearing
In hearing, Kristi Noem pledges to prevent domestic terrorism and counter antisemitism
The University of Maryland School of Medicine is pledging to stand by a renowned Israeli trauma surgeon whose scheduled lecture to the school’s department of surgery was canceled this week due to unspecified security threats. Dr. Elon Glassberg, who until last summer served as the surgeon general of the Israel Defense Forces, was slated to give a talk about saving lives on the battlefield, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Talk TBD: “The School of Medicine has invited Dr. Glassberg to speak at a future date while working to ensure a safe learning atmosphere for our surgical teams,” Deborah Kotz, a spokesperson for the medical school, told JI on Friday. Glassberg’s planned Jan. 16 lecture was canceled two days beforehand amid a pressure campaign spearheaded by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which claimed victory over canceling the talk. CAIR said that its supporters had sent more than 6,000 emails to the medical school.
Read the full story here.
Abrahams appointment
DMFI names Brian Abrahams to top leadership role
Democratic Majority for Israel has appointed Brian Abrahams, a longtime Jewish community activist and pro-Israel advocate, as vice president and chief advancement officer, the group announced on Monday in a statement first shared with Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel. “Brian’s proven track record as an effective fundraiser and organizational leader will be a huge asset for DMFI,” said Mark Mellman, the group’s president and CEO. “As DMFI enters its sixth year, he’s the ideal leader to help us in this moment.”
Background: Abrahams — who most recently served as the CEO of American Friends of Sheba Medical Center — previously worked for the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC, where he spent 12 years as Midwest regional director and helped grow the organization’s total fundraising from $2.2 million to $16 million, according to an online biography. He left AIPAC in 2015 and has since held several leading roles in the private and nonprofit sectors, including as the senior vice president for financial resource development at the Jewish Federations of North America.
Worthy Reads
Ritchie’s Recipe for the Left: In The Free Press, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) suggests how Democrats can win back voters from minority communities that have increasingly voted for Republicans. “The original sin of the new left is that it speaks for people of color without actually speaking to them — and listening. For if the new left actually spoke to people of color, it would never embrace movements like #DefundThePolice, it would never use terms like Latinx or Latine, and it would never have kept the Biden administration from acting decisively to secure the border in the face of an overwhelming migrant crisis that, in the end, cost us the election. Listening to working-class people of color means unshackling ourselves from self-anointed socialist saviors who speak falsely in their name. There is a difference between the beliefs of communities of color and the beliefs projected onto those communities by elites. The pattern of mistaking the latter for the former is what has made the Democratic Party lose touch with working-class voters of all backgrounds.” [FreePress]
His Toughest Deal: The Atlantic’s Shane Harris interviews outgoing CIA Director Bill Burns about his time in the administration and involvement in Israel-Hamas cease-fire talks. “‘In many ways, this [negotiation] was the hardest’ of his long career, Burns told me in one of two recent conversations — harder even than the secret talks with Iran that he helped lead and that eventually produced the 2015 agreement placing restrictions on the country’s nuclear program. For starters, Hamas’s military leaders were hiding in Gaza, making communications with them cumbersome. The parties debated for months over the presence of Israeli military forces on the Gaza side of the border with Egypt, a stretch through which Israel said Hamas was smuggling weapons. ‘And this had such an intensely human dimension to it,’ Burns said, speaking of the Israeli hostages as well as the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians whose homes have been turned to rubble in Israel’s campaign against Hamas. Burns told me that he had worked to ensure that these people were not mere ‘brackets in text’ of an official peace plan.” [TheAtlantic]
Moral Victory: In his “Clarity” Substack, former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren reflects on the strength of Israeli society in moments of crisis. “And yet, even when forced to decide between two massive evils, even when grappling with painfully conflicted emotions, Israelis can also claim victory. It is, in fact, the most basic and durable victory of all. It is the victory of a society that did not collapse when our state failed us — a society which, on the contrary, united and grew stronger. … Who is willing to pick up a gun and fight for Belgium today? For Spain? We are a people who fought not only on one front but on seven, overcoming insurmountable obstacles to achieve one of history’s greatest military successes. We are a people who stood in the face of a tsunami of hatred, accused of war crimes and genocide, yet never gave in to self-doubt. We know we are innocent of those charges, who we are, and what we are fighting for. Most importantly, we are a society that never abandoned our fundamental value, which is love of life, the principle that all Israel is responsible for one another. What Hamas sees as a weakness is in reality our greatest strength. The terrorists can claim a tactical victory, but our victory is moral, deep, and long lasting.” [Clarity]
Against Autocracy: In an interview with Politico’s Michael Hirsh, Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner explains his support for a Western trading alliance to oppose a growing autocratic alliance led by Russia and China, outlined in his new book. “I would mention three factors here. One is truly the German history of the Holocaust, which for me started when I was young, a kid basically, and saw the first movies about that, which was a U.S. [television] series called ‘Holocaust.’ I was exposed for the first time to the horrific deeds of the Nazis in the Holocaust, and there was this deep motivation to make sure that something like that can never happen again. And if we see the rise of antisemitism, all around the world, absurdly, after the attack of Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7, then it is something that is for me deeply disturbing. I think we have to do everything in order to turn that around and to stand by Israel and defend their right of existence and fight against all forms of antisemitism. That leads you automatically to this question of, how can we strengthen the non-authoritarian societies and their values, and how can we weaken the authoritarian societies in dictatorships.” [Politico]
Word on the Street
Dozens of senior State Department career diplomats will tender their resignations today at the request of President-elect Donald Trump; a spokesperson for the transition team said the request was to allow the incoming administration to “seek officials who share President Trump’s vision”…
In a Washington Post op-ed, former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel suggests that Trump has the opportunity to achieve a number of possible foreign policy successes that could make him a serious contender for the Nobel Peace Prize…
The Wall Street Journal reports on the hurdles facing former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as she works to drum up GOP support for her nomination to be director of national intelligence; a majority of K Street operatives and Capitol Hill staffers surveyed by Punchbowl News said they did not think Gabbard would be confirmed…
In an interview with The Free Press, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) suggested that U.S. airlines will resume direct flights to Israel in the next month, alleging that “politics” is what has driven airlines’ decisions to halt flights…
President Joe Biden appointed 12 new members to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, including Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff; Matthew Segal, the co-CEO of ATTN; Ron Klain, former Biden chief of staff; Susan Rice, former Biden domestic policy advisor; and Jon Finer, deputy national security advisor in the Biden administration…
Segal, who has dedicated significant resources to combating antisemitism online on his ATTN platform, told JI: “I’m honored to be appointed by President Biden to serve in this post. The promise to ‘never forget’ the horrors of the Holocaust is more urgent than ever in the age of online misinformation. I look forward to leveraging my skills as a storyteller and advocate to ensure this promise remains steadfast for generations to come”…
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced on Friday that he selected Lt. Gov. Jon Husted to fill the Senate seat vacated by Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, tapping a like-minded fiscal and defense hawk to replace one of the Republican Party’s leading populist voices, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports…
The former CIA analyst who leaked plans of a pending Israeli strike on Iran pleaded guilty to two charges of transmission of national defense information; the analyst, Asif Rahman, will be sentenced in May…
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who is mounting a bid for mayor, received a $500 donation from an outgoing Columbia University professor with a history of anti-Israel activism; Katherine Franke, who said her departure amounted to “termination dressed up in more palatable terms,” was found by an outside law firm to have violated university policies…
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon received an $80 million bonus to stay on at the investment bank for an additional five years…
A Tennessee man with neo-Nazi ties was arrested for criminal trespassing after entering a Jewish community center in Nashville dressed as an Orthodox rabbi…
Australia’s opposition coalition governmentvowed to impose mandatory minimal prison terms for antisemitic crimes if it wins the upcoming national elections…
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned of “the poison of antisemitism rising around the world in [the] aftermath of Oct. 7” during a visit to Auschwitz over the weekend…
Amsterdam’s Boom Chicago club canceled an upcoming show featuring Israeli comedian Yohay Sponder, citing antisemitic threats made to the venue over its hosting of Sponder…
Argentinian President Javier Milei was awarded Israel’s 2025 Genesis Prize in recognition of his support of Israel…
The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, defended his decision to seek arrest warrants for top Israeli officials…
An Iranian court sentenced pop star Tataloo to death after convicting him of blasphemy; the singer was extradited to Iran from Turkey, where he had been living, in late 2023…
Iranian state television aired a report unveiling a new underground naval base with the capability to launch long-range missiles…
Two prominent hard-line Iranian judges with ties to the country’s 1988 mass executions of dissidents were killed in apparent targeted attacks…
Bloomberg looks at how Saudi Arabia and its leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, are poised to fill a power vacuum left in the wake of significant blows to Iran and its proxy network…
The United Nations announced a plan to combat rising antisemitism, including the formation of a working group to evaluate efforts to combat antisemitism and mandatory antisemitism awareness and Holocaust education programming for all of the organization’s personnel; U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield and Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt praised the move and called on the U.N. to “demonstrate its full commitment to its human rights mandate and take concrete steps that will lead to tangible progress”…
Ireland announced its support for the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism…
Rabbi Alvin Sugarman, longtime leader of The Temple in Atlanta, died at 86…
Former Village Voice editor-in-chief and publisher David Schneiderman died at 77…
Pic of the Day
Former hostage Romi Gonen reunited with her family at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel, last night after being released from Hamas captivity.
Birthdays
Israeli politician, refusenik during the 1970s and 1980s who spent nine years in Soviet prisons, he served as chairman of the Jewish Agency, Natan Sharansky turns 77…
Claremont, Calif., resident, Adar Belinkoff… Distinguished professor of physics at Texas A&M University, he won the 1996 Nobel Prize in physics, David Morris Lee turns 94… Moroccan-French rabbi and founder of the organization Jewish-Muslim Friendship of France, Michel Serfaty turns 82… Pleasant Hill, Calif., resident, Daniel L. Fisher… Elected four times as a Republican at-large member on the Council of the District of Columbia, she also ran for mayor of D.C. five times, Carol Schwartz turns 81… Travel editor at CBS News, Peter S. Greenberg… U.S. Representative from Nevada until 2013, then SVP for the Touro University system until 2023, now mayor of Las Vegas, Shelley Berkley (born Rochelle Levine) turns 74… Member of the board of governors of The Jewish Agency, he is the CEO of Chair King and Fortunoff furniture retailers, David Barish… Host of HBO’s political talk show, William “Bill” Maher turns 69… Former deputy chief of the general staff of the IDF, Major General (res.) Moshe Kaplinsky turns 68… Israeli singer specializing in Mizrahi music, Yishay Levi turns 62… Actress and television host, she is the only child of comedian Joan Rivers, Melissa Rivers turns 57… Member of the U.S. House of Representatives (D-MN) until a few weeks ago, he ran in the primaries against President Biden in the 2024 election, Dean Benson Phillips turns 56… Grief support specialist in Chicago, Diane Kushnir Halivni… Former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. and governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley turns 53… Founder and CEO of Everywoman Studios, Abigail (Abby) Greensfelder… Recent U.K. cabinet minister and former MP, he is a member of the House of Lords, Baron Frank Zacharias Robin (Zac) Goldsmith turns 50… Prime minister of Ukraine from 2016 to 2019, Volodymyr Groysman turns 47… Philanthropist, professional equestrian, author and daughter of former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Georgina Leigh Bloomberg turns 42… Israeli actress, model and musician, Hen Yanni turns 42… Deputy chief of staff for the office of the principal cyber advisor in the Pentagon, Paul Mandelson… Professional ice hockey defenseman until 2016, now a dentist in Maple Grove, Minn., Grant Lewis turns 40… Senior director at Purple Strategies, Alec Jacobs… Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, Jason Berger…
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