Daily Kickoff
Good Monday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at the ties between Pentagon nominee Elbridge Colby and Obama administration foreign policy advisors, and preview this week’s AIPAC summit in Washington. We also cover Web Summit Qatar, which kicked off with an address by Israel critic and Web Summit CEO Paddy Cosgrave, and report on Barnard College’s expulsion of two students who disrupted a Columbia class on Israeli history. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Natan Sharansky, Yossi Kuperwasser and Alex Bregman.
What We’re Watching
- French President Emmanuel Macron is slated to meet this afternoon at the White House with President Donald Trump.
- The AIPAC Congressional Summit is taking place this week in Washington. More below.
- Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced a series of new resolutions last week to block some arms transfers and sales to Israel. We expect to find out more about Sanders’ plans, including whether he’ll force votes on the resolutions, this week. More below.
- Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar is in Brussels today for meetings with senior EU officials.
- Web Summit Qatar kicked off yesterday in Doha and runs through Wednesday. More below.
- In New York today, Israel’s mission to the U.N. will hold a ceremony for former hostages Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas and Oded Lipshitz, whose bodies were repatriated last week.
What You Should Know
The bodies of four Israelis expected to be released in the first phase are slated to be repatriated this coming Thursday — as negotiators work diligently to both maintain the already shaky cease-fire and reach an agreement on the parameters of the second stage of the deal, Jewish Insider Executive Editor Melissa Weiss reports.
Following Saturday’s parading of the five Jewish hostages ahead of their release — Bedouin-Israel hostage Hisham al-Sayed was released quietly the same day, without a ceremony — and the posting of a video depicting two additional Israeli hostages who were forced to watch the events unfold from a van near the staging area, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the Palestinian prisoners slated to be released over the weekend would no longer be released as planned.
Netanyahu cited “the repeated violations by Hamas — including the ceremonies that demean our hostages’ dignity and the cynical use of our hostages for propaganda purposes” in the decision to delay the next round of prisoner releases “until the next release of hostages is guaranteed, and without the humiliating ceremonies.”
Netanyahu’s announcement came hours after the final six living hostages included in the first stage of the agreement were transferred to Israel, and less than a day after Israel confirmed it had received the body of Shiri Bibas. The Israeli woman’s body was originally expected to be repatriated alongside those of her two young sons last Thursday, but DNA testing revealed that the coffin believed to be carrying her remains contained the body of a Gazan woman.
The White House backed the Israeli government, with National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes blasting the “barbaric treatment” of Israeli hostages by Hamas.
Whether the statement is enough to collapse talks aimed at reaching an agreement on the second phase — which would include a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, in addition to the release of the remaining living hostages — remains unclear.
Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel back to the region this week to continue discussions on the second phase of the deal.
“We have to get an extension of phase one. And so I will be going into the region this week, probably Wednesday, to negotiate that,” Witkoff told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday morning in the first open American acknowledgment of what Netanyahu has sought from the Trump administration. “And we’re hopeful that we have the proper time to finish off — to begin phase two and finish it off and get more hostages released and move the discussion forward.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) is making his own effort at diplomacy. The New Jersey legislator, who is also mounting a bid for governor in the state, traveled to Qatar last week to lobby for the release of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, who was taken hostage from his army base on Oct. 7 and would be freed under the terms of the second phase of a deal. Alexander is from Gottheimer’s district.
Gottheimer met with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and other Qatari negotiators, as well as U.S. negotiators, with a focus on Alexander, the last living American hostage.
Gottheimer told JI’s Marc Rod while en route back to the United States that his conversations centered around what the parties involved need to do to ensure that Alexander is freed, saying that all involved are “incredibly focused on doing everything we can to get it done.” Read the full interview with Gottheimer here.
bridging worlds
Trump’s embattled Pentagon pick Colby holds close ties to Obama’s foreign policy advisors
In recent days, allies of Elbridge Colby, the Trump administration’s pick for a key Pentagon role, have vocally come to his defense as he continues to face skepticism from some top Senate Republicans over his accommodationist approach to a nuclear Iran and calls for a reduced U.S. military presence in the Middle East, among other sources of scrutiny. But while Colby worked as a defense official during the first Trump administration and has since been particularly eager to demonstrate his commitment to President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda, his newfound status as a MAGA favorite has come in spite of his deep professional ties to Democratic foreign policy circles — where his views, until not too long ago, found a more receptive home, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Background: Though he has always identified as a conservative, Colby, 45, has over the past several years held top positions at an influential foreign policy think tank aligned with Democrats and worked for a consulting firm that operated as a staffing pipeline to the Biden administration. Previously, Colby was an advisor on nuclear disarmament for the Obama administration and an assistant to Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), who earlier served in the CIA and Defense Department. In addition to Republicans, Colby has credited top Democratic national security officials from both the Obama and Biden administrations with shaping his positions — which have long provoked controversy among traditionally hawkish conservatives. Colby worked at the Democrat-aligned WestExec consulting firm and the center-left Center for American Security think tank, where his views on Iran were “to the left of most Democrats,” a Democratic national security expert told JI.
scoop
Barnard College expels students involved in anti-Israel class disruption
Barnard College has expelled two second-semester seniors who last month disrupted a History of Modern Israel class, banged on drums, chanted “free Palestine” and distributed posters to students that read “CRUSH ZIONISM” with a boot over the Star of David, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen has learned.
Ongoing investigation: During the demonstration, which occurred on Jan. 21 — the first day of the spring semester — two Barnard students, a Columbia student and a fourth person who remains unidentified also tried to plaster the walls of the classroom with a sign featuring an illustration of Hamas terrorists pointing guns and the words “THE ENEMY WILL NOT SEE TOMORROW.” Columbia University suspended the Columbia participant on Jan. 23, “pending a full investigation and disciplinary process,” according to the university. The investigation remains ongoing. Students have the right to appeal suspensions under the guidelines to the Rules and the Anti-Discrimination and Discriminatory Harassment Policies and Procedures for Students. Barnard College is an affiliate of Columbia University.
speakers lineup
Congressional leaders, Israeli officials, NSC’s Trager to address AIPAC summit
Top U.S. and Israeli leaders are set to address an AIPAC congressional summit in Washington this week, during which activists will also lobby lawmakers on a series of priority bills for the pro-Israel group, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Coming to town: All four top congressional leaders — House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) — are set to address the summit, joined by Eric Trager, the senior director for the Middle East and North Africa on the National Security Council. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address the meeting via video, with Opposition Leader Yair Lapid — who will be visiting Washington this week — speaking to the group in person.
paddy’s pals
Web Summit’s anti-Israel CEO kicks off confab in Doha
Web Summit, a major tech event led by a strident critic of Israel, kicked off a conference on Sunday in Qatar, a key sponsor of Hamas, in close cooperation with the Qatari government. Web Summit founder and CEO Paddy Cosgrave’s opening speech on Sunday evening was, in part, a paean to his “incredible host country” Qatar as “a gateway not just to the Middle East but to the world.” Cosgrave said in his address that the conference was not only for networking in the tech world, but to “tell the story of Qatar and its growing story in the world,” Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports. Days after Hamas released the bodies of a baby and young child who were kidnapped to Gaza in the Oct. 7 attacks and murdered, and as Qatar represents Hamas’ interests in negotiations to free the 69 remaining hostages, Cosgrave praised Qatar’s “remarkable diplomatic skills.”
The lineup: Among the featured speakers at this year’s Web Summit in Doha are Dow Jones CEO and Wall Street Journal Publisher Almar Latour, former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin. Also on the agenda are two sessions with Motaz Azaiza, a photographer from Gaza who shared video of Hamas terrorists kidnapping Israelis on Oct. 7 and another of them inside Israel along with the caption, “The Gazans entered the settlements!!!!!!!! With jeeps we see in the streets of Gaza.” Azaiza has compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler. Azaiza was declared one of Time‘s most influential people and one of GQ‘s Men of the Year in 2024. Another speaker at Web Summit Qatar is Amjad Masad, a Jordanian tech CEO who has peddled conspiracy theories about how Israel draws the U.S. into wars and unduly influences American government policies, and has claimed that Israelis hunt Palestinians for sport.
Read the full story here.
Round 2?
Sanders introduces new set of resolutions to block Israel arms sales
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) filed a new set of four resolutions on Thursday to block U.S. arms sales and transfers to Israel, setting up a potential repeat of last year’s high-profile floor votes that split Senate Democrats, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
State of play: The exact text of the resolutions, which would detail which specific transfers Sanders is seeking to block, was not immediately available. Sanders’ office did not comment on whether he plans to force a vote on any or all of the resolutions, as he did last year. On at least one other occasion, in 2021, he introduced a similar resolution without seeking a vote. Despite current Republican control of the Senate, the resolutions are privileged, meaning that Sanders can force a vote on them at will.
doctor dismissed
Florida nonprofit parts with pediatrician calling for ‘elimination of the state of Israel’ after JI exposé
A Jacksonville, Fla., nonprofit that promotes diversity to build local civic engagement announced on Thursday that a pediatrician with a lengthy history of incendiary anti-Zionist posts on social media will step down from its board of directors, citing a recent investigation by Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch that uncovered the doctor’s offensive posts.
Ramifications: Dr. Mobeen Rathore, a pediatrician and infectious diseases expert at the University of Florida, had shared posts that referred to Zionism as “the root of all evil” and called for the elimination of the state of Israel. He has since made his account on X private. “Words are powerful and we should strive to use them as a tool for connection, not division,” OneJax CEO Elizabeth Anderson said in an email to the foundation’s supporters on Thursday. “We cannot and will not allow the actions of any single individual [to] undermine the decades of work OneJax has dedicated to fostering mutual respect and understanding.”
Worthy Reads
Sense of Sacrifice: In an interview with Tunku Varadarajan in The Wall Street Journal, author and political commentator Douglas Murray discussed his views on Israeli society in the post-Oct. 7 era. “He has a lot of young Israeli friends and contemporaries, and he was energized that they were ‘answering a question, one that in my mind haunts everyone in America and Britain to some extent.’ The question has to do with World War II: ‘What would we do if we found ourselves in the position that our grandfathers or fathers found themselves?’ Every family made sacrifices on a scale ‘unimaginable to us now. Would people say, “We couldn’t do that now”?’ Israel has answered in the affirmative: ‘A lot of people thought the young generation didn’t have it in them. They’d thought they’d gone soft. Decadent. They wanted to party in Tel Aviv and be on TikTok. And they stepped up. And wow, did they step up.’ Mr. Murray is filled with admiration for Israel at war. ‘See, I don’t like a society that has oriented itself toward victimhood,’ he says, in an obvious dig at the U.S. ‘I always thought it was a negative turn in society. And the Israelis didn’t do that. They oriented themselves with heroism again, defending their people, defending their country, defending their way of life.’” [WSJ]
Road Map for Syria: In Newsweek, former White House Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt posits that Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa (also known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani) has an opportunity to chart a new course for the country following the overthrow of the Assad regime. “Over the coming period, world leaders should look out for a few things. First, Jolani must demonstrate a sustained commitment to preventing his territory from being used for international terrorism. This means not only continuing to suppress ISIS and Al-Qaeda but also establishing transparent security cooperation with regional partners. Second, he needs to show genuine progress establishing the rule of law and protecting minority rights, including religious minorities. Third, his administration must develop real capacity for governance, moving beyond providing basic services to creating accountable institutions that show an investment in citizens, not merely in withstanding the next rebellion. … During my time as White House envoy to the Middle East, I learned that transformative regional change often requires engaging with complicated actors, including those with dark pasts. The key is establishing benchmarks for progress while maintaining safeguards against backsliding. In Jolani’s case, this means developing expectations for political reform, human rights improvements, and security cooperation.” [Newsweek]
Pols’ Pilgrimage:The Free Press’ Suzy Weiss spotlights the grave of the Lubavitcher rebbe in Queens, N.Y., known as the Ohel, which has become a must-visit spot for many politicians and candidates. “The squat brown awning jutting out from the door of one of the homes on the corner of 227th Street and Francis Lewis Boulevard, emblazoned with the words Ohel Chabad Lubavitch, isn’t where you might expect world leaders to congregate. The Ohel is situated on a residential block in Queens, out near JFK airport. There are no areas for press conferences, flags, teleprompters, or even central heating. But the site has become one of the most important places for politicians — whether to be seen by constituents, make a statement, or put in a word with the big guy, in a place regarded by many, both Jews and non-Jews alike, to be holy. … Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, tend to come late at night — the site is open 24/7. Not to mention senatorial and congressional hopefuls, and throngs of Israeli dignitaries and government advisors. Mayor Adams has made at least seven trips to the Ohel, and the three visits since he was indicted in September for corruption, including the one this past week. ‘When I go through difficult times I found that I visit their gravesites and their energy materializes things that I look for,’ he said.” [FreePress]
Survivor’s Story: In AirMail, Lesley Blume spotlights “Prisoner 339, Klooga,” a little-known essay by Pulitzer Prize winner John Hersey about Holocaust survivor Ben Weintraub, who survived an Estonian prison camp where most inmates were killed to hide Nazi atrocities. “The shock is understandable: ‘Prisoner 339, Klooga’ is a tough read, even for those with strong stomachs for such fare. And it would have had to have been an exceptional account to capture Hersey’s attention — as a war correspondent since 1939 for Time and Life, he had seen the worst of the war and of human nature: smoldering citywide ruins, mass graves, desperate refugees, battle-shredded bodies, the works. … To the Germans, Weintraub had been simply a number, an animal to be worked to near death and then murdered, but Hersey was determined by that time to personalize these atrocities, to get behind anesthetizing statistics, to drive home the humanity of the masses. With the intimacy of ‘Prisoner 339, Klooga,’ he was able to accomplish what even the most appalling photos of piles of anonymous dead victims could not. And Weintraub was a perfect initial journalistic subject: a blameless, young civilian victim with whom practically any reader, in any Western country, could empathize.” [AirMail]
Word on the Street
President Donald Trump fired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown, replacing him with Air Force Lt. Gen. John Dan “Razin” Caine; shortly after, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the head of the Navy…
Trump named conservative podcast host and former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino deputy director of the FBI, reporting to newly confirmed Director Kash Patel…
Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is expected to announce his entry into Ohio’s gubernatorial race today…
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that President Donald Trump is a “peacemaker” who would “prefer to avoid” taking military action against Iran — while adding that Iran will not be allowed to get a nuclear weapon under the Trump administration, Jewish Insider’s Danielle Cohen reports…
Former refusenik Natan Sharansky raised concerns about Trump’s recent comments blaming the Russian invasion of Ukraine and ensuing war on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky; Sharansky said he hoped that Trump “will take the course of common sense and make it clear that he is against Russian aggression”…
In The Wall Street Journal, Lorenzo Vidino, who heads the Program on Extremism at The George Washington University, considers how a new task force created by the Trump administration to address the crimes of Oct. 7, 2023, could target supporters of Hamas domestically and abroad…
Curtis Hertel, who lost the House race to succeed Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) last year, won the race to chair the Michigan Democratic Party, beating Al Williams, who had come under criticism for recent antisemitic comments…
Politico looks at San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s approach to city governance, describing the political neophyte to a “Michael Bloomberg-style technocrat but without the business background”…
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) endorsed former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in New York City’s mayoral election; Cuomo has yet to formally enter the race but is expected to do so in the coming weeks…
The Wall Street Journal spotlights developer Stephen Ross’ $10 billion effort to revamp West Palm Beach, Fla….
MSNBC canceled political commentator Joy Reid’s nightly show and moved “Alex Wagner Tonight” host Alex Wagner to a correspondent role; both women frequently criticized Israel during their respective programs…
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled against a group of Holocaust survivors who had attempted to sue Hungary for payment over property taken by the state-owned railway during WWII…
eJewishPhilanthropy looks at World Jewish Congress head Ronald Lauder’s recent meetings and appearances in Europe and the Middle East, where he has “acted as an unofficial emissary of the United States” in meetings with senior Arab and European officials about the future of the Middle East…
The New York State Department of Education will end funding to two New York City yeshivas that were determined to not be teaching a “compulsory education” to its students; the department is forcing the re-enrollment of the schools’ students in other schools…
A jury in western New York convicted a 27-year-old New Jersey man of attempted murder in the stabbing attack that blinded writer Salman Rushdie in one eye; Hadi Matar, whom a federal indictment accused of having been inspired to commit the attack by a 2006 speech by then-Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, will face up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced in April…
The Boston Herald spotlights Alex Bregman, who hit a two-run home run in his spring training debut with the Boston Red Sox over the weekend…
Jordan Bardella, the leader of France’s far-right National Rally party, canceled his planned appearance at CPAC over the weekend over Steve Bannon’s use of a hand gesture that Bardella described as “referring to Nazi ideology”…
The Syrian man suspected of stabbing a Spanish tourist at Berlin’s Holocaust memorial on Friday had allegedly spent weeks planning an attack targeting Jews…
Germany’s Christian Democratsparty, led by Friedrich Merz, won the country’s federal elections on Sunday, and will attempt to form a party with Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats; Alice Weidel’s Alternative for Germany party came in second place with 20.8% of the vote, the German far-right’s best showing in an election since WWII…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Merz last night and congratulated him on his victory; Merz said he would invite Netanayhu for an official visit, “in overt defiance of the scandalous International Criminal Court decision to label the prime minister a war criminal,” Netanyahu’s office said…
Pope Francis remains hospitalized with pneumonia and signs of kidney failure; Cardinal Timothy Dolan said the ailing 88-year-old pontiff was “probably close to death”…
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas vowed to continue paying terrorists and their families “even if we have only one cent left,” despite reports earlier this month that he had stopped the PA’s “martyr payments,” Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports…
Speaking at a military graduation ceremony on Sunday, Netanyahu said that Israeli forces would not permit the new Syrian army or forces of the rebel group that overthrew the Assad regime to enter areas south of Damascus and demanded the “complete demilitarization” of southern Syria…
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz told IDF troops to prepare for an “extended stay” in the West Bank, as Israeli tanks entered the enclave for the first time since 2002…
The Washington Post reports on Hezbollah’s money woes as the U.S., Israel and Syria work to sever the Iran-backed terror group’s financial ties and access to weapons…
Hezbollah held a funeral for former leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike in September; Israeli fighter jets conducted strikes in other parts of the country and flew over Beirut as a show of force during the funeral proceedings…
The Wall Street Journal accompanied members of a delegation of Syrian-American Jews as the group traveled to the country to surveille what remained of their community…
IDF Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser was named the new head of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security…
Rhode Island judge Bruce Selya, the first Jewish federal judge in the state’s history, died at 90…
Ken Rosenthal, whose St. Louis Bread Company went nationwide as Panera Bread, died at 81…
Artist Mel Bochner, whose works combined art and language, died at 84…
Pic of the Day
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) spoke at a rally in New York’s Central Park on Sunday marking the more than 500 days that Hamas and other terror groups have held hostages in Gaza.
“More than 15 months — over 500 days. Instead of commending Israel for defending itself, the world should be pressuring [Hamas] to release the hostages and bring them home,” Torres said. “‘Never again’ is not just a slogan, it is a sacred covenant between the world and the Jewish people. We, as Americans, have a special role in making that covenant a reality, standing alongside the Jewish people.”
Birthdays
YouTube beauty guru known as RCLBeauty101, Rachel Claire Levin turns 30…
Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros until 2001, later chairman and CEO of Yahoo, Terence Steven “Terry” Semel turns 82… Moscow-born professor of mathematics at Yale University since 1991, Grigory Margulis turns 79… Encino, Calif., resident, Faye Gail Waldman… Rabbi and author of a book about chocolate and Judaism, Deborah R. Prinz turns 74… President of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Clifford D. May turns 74… Member of the New Jersey Senate since 2022 following 18 years in the N.J. General Assembly, Jon M. Bramnick turns 72… Head basketball coach in a Puerto Rican league, he coached in the Israeli Premier League and has been on NBA and college basketball staffs in the U.S., Brad Greenberg turns 71… Film critic for Entertainment Weekly and then for Variety magazine, Owen Gleiberman turns 66… Founder of the Baltimore Center of Advanced Dentistry, Gary H. Bauman, DDS… Former member of the Knesset for the Likud party, Nurit Koren turns 65… Managing director at SKDKnickerbocker, Karen Olick… Former Israeli minister of health and leader of the Meretz party, Nitzan Horowitz turns 60… Professor of piano and artist-in-residence at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Yakov Kasman turns 58… Author, survival expert, anthropologist and TV host, Josh Bernstein turns 54… Member of the Knesset for the Likud party, now serving as minister of science, technology and space, Gila Gamliel turns 51… Founder of WhatsApp in 2009, Jan Koum turns 49… Professor of history at the Hebrew University, his books has been translated into 65 languages and have sold over 45 million copies, Yuval Noah Harari turns 49… NYC-based independent filmmaker, who, together with his older brother Joshua, directed and wrote the 2019 film “Uncut Gems” starring Adam Sandler, Benjamin Safdie turns 39… Partner at MizMaa Ventures Limited, Aaron Applbaum… Israeli actress and model, Dar Zuzovsky turns 34… Mitchell Brown…
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