Daily Kickoff
Good Thursday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we cover Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff’s comments last night about negotiations on the second phase of an Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal and potential normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and talk to Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt and Kind founder Daniel Lubetzky ahead of the ADL’s Never is Now summit next week, where Lubetzky will receive the Courage Against Hate award. We also report on the upcoming Senate Judiciary Committee hearing focused on antisemitism, and talk to Rep. Ritchie Torres about his backing of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s potential mayoral bid. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Robert Kraft, Agam Berger and GWU professor Joseph Pelzman.
What We’re Watching
- President Donald Trump will host his first Cabinet meeting of his second term this morning.
- The House Oversight Committee is holding a hearing today on foreign aid. The Heritage Foundation’s Max Primorac and the Middle East Forum’s Gregg Roman are slated to address legislators during the hearing, which begins at 11 a.m. ET.
- The Washington Wizards will host Jewish Heritage Night when they play the Portland Trail Blazers tonight at the Capital One Arena.
- Former hostage Iair Horn will speak this afternoon in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square in his first public comments since his release earlier this month from Hamas captivity.
What You Should Know
Steve Witkoff, the White House envoy who has led Gaza hostage-release and cease-fire talks for the U.S., said on Tuesday evening that talks for phase two of the deal between Israel and Hamas remain in flux but that he’s hoping for progress by the weekend, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Witkoff said at an American Jewish Committee event in Washington that he’s “not entirely sure yet” how Israel and Hamas will get to phase two of the deal, “but we are working, we’re making a lot of progress.” If enough progress materializes in the next few days, Witkoff said he’ll travel to the region on Sunday to help finalize a deal. “People are responsive,” Witkoff said. “Doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.”
In the longer term, Witkoff suggested that Lebanon and Syria could join the Abraham Accords, the regional peace agreements between Israel and Arab states, without providing further details.
The Trump administration envoy repeatedly criticized President Joe Biden’s May 2024 proposal for Gaza — which undergirds the cease-fire deal — because it assumed that reconstruction and rehabilitation of the territory was feasible under a five-year timeline. Witkoff, who noted that he was the first American official to visit the territory in years, said that a 15- to 25-year timeline is much more realistic. The original timeline, he argued, had ultimately hampered talks about the future of Gaza and regional normalization.
Regarding Trump’s proposal to remove the Palestinian population from Gaza, Witkoff said that “it’s not an eviction plan, it’s about creating an environment that — whoever should live there — is better than it’s ever been in the last 40 years.” He said that the Trump administration is not seeking to create a mass Palestinian diaspora, which he said would only drive further radicalization.
Trump, Witkoff continued,is not focused on reaching a two-state solution, but instead on “how you get to a better life” for Palestinians, including changing the Palestinian education system and providing better career and quality of life prospects for the Palestinians. He suggested that the people in Gaza are not interested in waiting 20 years to reestablish normal lives. “Maybe we should be talking about the ability to come back later on, but right here, right now, Gaza is a long-term redevelopment plan.”
Normalization efforts between Israel and Saudi Arabia could resume once a viable Gaza redevelopment plan has been more fully articulated, Witkoff predicted. He said he expects that Saudi Arabia and others in the region will put forward development plans in line with the Trump administration’s proposal once they accept that Gaza cannot be rebuilt in the short term.
Read JI’s full coverage of Witkoff’s remarks at the AJC event here.
scoop
Senate Judiciary Committee to hold antisemitism hearing on March 5
The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing examining the rise in domestic antisemitism next Wednesday, March 5, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the committee’s chairman, told Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs. The title of the hearing, “Never To Be Silent: Stemming the Tide of Antisemitism in America,” was inspired by Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel’s famed 1986 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, during which he said: “I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation.”
Grassley’s statement: “Since Hamas’ horrific Oct. 7 attack on Israel, antisemitic incidents have exploded in the United States, particularly on our college campuses. The Senate can’t turn a blind eye to these atrocities. We must confront antisemitism head on, and with moral clarity. I look forward to chairing this long-awaited hearing in the Judiciary Committee next week,” Grassley told JI in a statement.
Michigan moves: As Democrats consider how to regroup from their electoral losses after President Donald Trump’s victory last year, the newly elected chair of the Michigan Democratic Party has given an early indication that he will throw a lifeline to far-left activists unhappy with the party’s support for Israel during the 2024 election, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports. Michigan Democratic Chair Curtis Hertel’s pick for corresponding secretary, Hind Omar, threatened last year to break with the Democratic Party over former President Joe Biden and presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris’ support of Israel.
Q&A
Kraft explains Snoop Dogg-Tom Brady Super Bowl ad
When Robert Kraft sponsored a Super Bowl ad earlier this month through the nonprofit he founded, Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, the commercial was in line with the group’s goal of reaching a non-Jewish audience that isn’t engaged in the day-to-day incidents of antisemitism but would be alarmed by the scourge of racism and hate of all kinds. But the 30-second commercial, called “No Reason to Hate,” sparked criticism from some Jewish activists for not focusing on — or even mentioning — antisemitism. The ad featured rapper Snoop Dogg and NFL great Tom Brady exchanging deliberately vague insults. In an interview with Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen — Kraft’s first time speaking publicly about the ad since it aired on Feb. 9 — the billionaire philanthropist and owner of the New England Patriots argued the advertisement achieved its intended goal.
Kraft’s justification: “The challenge is that we just can’t explain the complexity of Judaism or antisemitism in a 30-second ad. But what we can do is invite Americans into a conversation about something they do have experience with: hate,” Kraft told JI. “And as a result, we saw tens of thousands of people who had never engaged with us before coming to our website and following us on social media,” he told JI. “We’re bringing people who had no exposure to our mission into a lasting conversation about the fight against antisemitism.”
words of caution
In Cuomo endorsement, Rep. Ritchie Torres warns New Yorkers about far-left mayoral candidate
In announcing his endorsement on Monday of Andrew Cuomo for mayor of New York City, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) singled out one candidate, Zohran Mamdani, an assemblyman from Queens, as a source of concern. Torres cited Mamdani’s close ties to the Democratic Socialists of America, which has faced backlash for promoting a rally after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks where some participants were seen glorifying the violence and voicing antisemitic sentiments. In an interview with Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel on Tuesday, Torres suggested his words of caution had in some ways been confirmed as a new poll showed Mamdani emerging from the crowded field to claim second place behind Cuomo, who is preparing to announce a comeback campaign in the coming days.
‘Mainstreaming of extremism’: Mamdani, whose outspoken criticism of Israel and support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement has raised alarms among the city’s Jewish leaders, claimed only 12% among likely Democratic primary voters, trailing Cuomo, with 38%, by a wide margin. But Torres still warned that the far-left candidate’s growing popularity represents a major threat as the June primary draws closer. “The mainstreaming of extremism into the New York City mayor’s office is a greater danger than people realize,” he told JI, even as the 2024 presidential election showed a distinct shift to the right among voters across New York City. “The DSA candidate is treacherously smart and should not be underestimated.”
ceos against antisemitism
ADL’s Greenblatt condemns Bannon Nazi salute, praises Trump executive orders on antisemitism
Nearly 4,000 attendees are expected to pack the Jacob Javits Convention Center in Manhattan on March 3-4 for the Anti-Defamation League’s annual Never Is Now summit at a contentious moment, as the global Jewish community contends with historic levels of antisemitism and political fault lines exacerbated by a second Trump administration, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports. JI spoke to ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt and Kind Snacks founder and former CEO Daniel Lubetzky, who is being honored with the group’s Courage Against Hate award, one week ahead of the ADL’s signature event. “What I do know is following Oct. 7, it’s time to say what needs to be said — speak upfront about the issues, don’t be diluted,” Lubetzky told JI. “Support builders and make sure you stand up against destroyers.
Talking Trump: Greenblatt praised President Donald Trump for several actions that he has taken in the month since returning to the White House. “The executive order on antisemitism was incredibly important. The new task force by the DOJ is important. It shows the full force of the Justice Department is on this issue. And the announcement of investigating universities is also incredibly important. They are demonstrating a proactive posture and one that is appropriately aggressive,” he said. “There may be things related to the fight against antisemitism that we disagree with, and as appropriate we’ll call that out. Right now we’re pleased by some of the early signs that relate to fighting antisemitism.”
Read the full interview here.
relationships tested
Trump administration ‘insisted’ Israel vote against Ukraine at U.N.
The Trump administration pressured Israel to vote against a U.N. resolution on Monday affirming Ukraine’s territorial integrity and condemning Russia’s invasion of the country on its three-year anniversary, according to a source familiar with the discussions. “There was a lot of pressure from the U.S., they really insisted,” an Israeli official told Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov on Tuesday. “It came at all levels, at the U.N., in Washington and in Israel.”
Behind the decision: The resolution “is not our position,” the official added, and the vote, the first time Israel voted against Ukraine and with Russia since the beginning of the war, “wasn’t easy for us … We preferred to avoid this situation. We had no choice but to take a side.” The official, who was granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue, said that Israel “could have abstained, but I think because we asked for a lot from [the Trump administration] in recent weeks and days, the decision was to go all the way with them.”
bearing witness
Eisenhower descendant, Mauthausen survivor meet at launch of March of the Living Eisenhower Family Initiative
Supporters of efforts to boost Holocaust education gathered at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington on Tuesday evening to celebrate the launch of the International March of the Living Eisenhower Family Initiative, which will “spearhead impactful programs that promote awareness, education, and action against antisemitism worldwide,” Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports. The night was organized by the International March of the Living and the Eisenhower Family Initiative, and featured speeches from Merrill Eisenhower, the great-grandson of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Eva Clarke, a Holocaust survivor born at the Mauthausen concentration camp in the days prior to its liberation by U.S. forces under then-Gen. Eisenhower’s command.
Symbolic meeting: Eisenhower and Clarke’s meeting, according to a release provided by organizers of the initiative, “symbolizes the profound connection between those who ensured liberation and those who survived, underscoring the importance of preserving memory and standing against hatred.” Eisenhower told the crowd that his great-grandfather was responsible for documenting the horrors that occurred in the concentration camps, noting that preventing another Holocaust required educating the public about what was done to the Jewish people during World War II. Referencing a famous quote attributed to his great-grandfather, Eisenhower said, “Take pictures, because one day they will say this never happened,” to explain why “it’s important for us” to “give people an opportunity to try to understand” what occurred during the Holocaust.
Worthy Reads
Let’s Make a Deal: The Financial Times’ Polina Ivanova and Anastasia Stognei spotlights the role that Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, has played in building Moscow’s ties with Gulf states. “A U.S.-educated former Goldman Sachs banker, with no formal diplomatic role at the time, Dmitriev cut an unexpected figure at the talks next to more conventional members of the Russian delegation such as foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. But it is Dmitriev’s unofficial role as Russia’s bridge-builder with the Gulf and his longtime relationship with the Crown Prince that seems to have played a role in paving the way for the talks, the U.S. team said. Dmitriev has remained both plugged into the world of international finance and a regular in the Kremlin’s halls. He works closely with the sovereign wealth funds of the Middle East. He has been reported, in the past, to have had contact with key players around Donald Trump. ‘We got reach-out from someone in Russia, who you know. Kirill,’ Steve Witkoff, a member of the US delegation, told Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner at a public panel event after the negotiations in Riyadh. ‘That was in large part engineered by his Highness Mohammed bin Salman.’” [FT]
Iran’s Shrinking Orbit: The Atlantic’s Arash Azizi looks at Iran’s dwindling influence across the Middle East — including in Iraq, where popular opinion is increasingly turning against Tehran. “Iran’s influence in Baghdad runs through the country’s Shiite militias and political parties. Iraq’s prime minister can hardly govern without the support of Shiite groups. And yet, the degree of Tehran’s control over Baghdad is always changing. Pro-Tehran parties can’t form a government on their own; they have to form coalitions with other parties, including those dominated by Kurds and Sunnis, who have little ideological affinity with the Axis. And even among Iraq’s Shia, the pro-Tehran position is heavily contested — all the more so, surely, now that the region’s balance of power has shifted away from Iran. … Many issues divide Iraqis, but one unites many of them: They don’t want Iraq to be a battleground for Iran’s conflicts with the United States and Israel. Nor, given the declining fortunes of Tehran’s Axis, do they wish to be on the losing team in the region.” [TheAtlantic]
The Rebel President: The New York Times’ Ben Hubbard profiles Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara as the new Syrian leader aims to establish relations in the region and beyond. “Even before he was named president last month during a closed-door meeting with allied rebel leaders, Mr. al-Shara was working at home and abroad to rebrand both Syria and himself. He has toured Syrian provinces and met with representatives from the Christian, Alawite and Druse minorities. While Islamist in outlook, his government has not banned alcohol or imposed dress codes on women. … He has spoken cautiously of Israel, which has occupied territory in southern Syria, calling on it to adhere to a decades-old truce along the countries’ shared frontier, and of Russia, even though its military backed Mr. al-Assad and heavily bombed rebel communities. He has lashed out at Iran, which also backed the former regime, but has said that Syria will pose no threat to its neighbors.” [NYTimes]
From the Farhud to Oct. 7: In The Free Press, Matti Friedman reflects on the life of Shlomo Mantzur, who survived the farhud as a child in Iraq before moving to Israel with his family; Mantzur was the oldest hostage in Gaza, where he was killed shortly after being taken captive. “October 7, 2023, it turned out, wasn’t the first time killers came for him. He was 3 years old when thousands of Muslim rioters filled the streets of Baghdad in the early summer of 1941, some armed with swords and knives. They descended on Jewish streets and apartments and began to loot, rape, and kill. ‘They broke into our home, badly beating my father and dealing my mother, too, multiple hard blows,’ Mantzur wrote. When the family dog tried to protect her owners, the attackers killed her. As the rioters looted the house, he recorded, he ran upstairs to the roof. He heard screaming, and saw ‘a horrifying act that remains in my memory to this day.’ The diary describes the murder of a baby by assailants with knives. The screams were from the child’s mother. He was only 3, and recorded this scene eight decades later. This may be a personal impression or something he heard afterward from older relatives. We don’t know.” [FreePress]
Word on the Street
President Donald Trump posted a 30-second AI-generated video of “Trump Gaza” — a reimagined Gaza Strip with beachfront hotels, nightlife, an image of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lounging on beach chairs and a golden statue of himself…
Yair Lapid, the Israeli opposition leader and former prime minister, laid out a plan on Tuesday for Egypt to take temporary control of Gaza for eight to 15 years after the war in Gaza, in cooperation with various other regional powers, in exchange for international relief of its foreign debt obligations, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…
News that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had publicly refuted reports that he had put an end to the PA’s “martyr payments” was met with dismay and frustration on Capitol Hill, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports…
Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY), Dan Goldman (D-NY), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Nick LaLota (R-NY), Laura Gillen (D-NY) and Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) reintroduced the American Victims of Terrorism Compensation Act to ensure proper funding for the U.S. government fund supporting victims of state-sponsored terrorism…
Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) was reappointed to the House Foreign Affairs Committee…
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND)is recuperating at home in North Dakota after suffering a “severe concussion” in a fall…
The New York Times’ Bret Stephens called the U.S. vote in the U.N. General Assembly against condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to be “the single most shameful vote ever cast by the United States at the United Nations”…
Anti-Israel activists defaced the office door of George Washington University economics professor Joseph Pelzman earlier this week, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports…
Jewish communal leaders in Pittsburgh, as well as the city’s comptroller, filed lawsuits challenging an effort to put an anti-Israel ballot measure up for a vote this spring; the proposed measure seeks to end the city’s financial ties with companies that operate in Israel…
The Working Families Party endorsed New York City Councilmember Justin Brannan in the city’s comptroller race; the co-director of the state’s party said that “people did take notice of the fact that Justin was always very vocal in protecting, and saying I represent, a huge Palestinian constituency and they have a right to make their demands just as much as everybody else”…
The New York Times spotlights Emil Bove III, the acting deputy attorney general, who previously worked in the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, which the Justice Department is now at odds with as it demands prosecutors drop corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams…
The Wall Street Journal looks at efforts by the Namdar Realty Group, led by Israeli investor Igal Namdar, to profit from office buildings purchased during the COVID-19 pandemic at below-market prices, as companies reinstate in-office policies…
Testimony began in the trial of a Chicago landlord accused of killing the son of one of his tenants, who is Palestinian, weeks after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks…
The BBC is again facing criticism for altering translations of Arabic quotes to remove or change references to Jews in a recently aired documentary; the broadcaster was already under scrutiny for airing the controversial documentary, which it removed from its online player after the revelation that the film’s young protagonist is the son of a senior Hamas official…
The leadership of Universities Australia, which oversees the country’s 39 universities, agreed to adopt what is described as an Australian version of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism…
Israeli computing startup Quantum Machines raised $170 million in a Series C round led by PSG Equity…
Kibbutz Nir Am, near the border with Gaza, signed a memorandum of understanding with a group of investors who plan to open a 55-room luxury hotel that will feature a restaurant led by Israeli chef Eyal Shani…
In one of the first interviews given by a hostage released since last month’s cease-fire went into effect, Agam Berger recounted the 16 months she spent in Hamas captivity…
The Hostage and Missing Families Forum announced on Wednesday the hiring of Danny Bar Giora as the new CEO of the group, which advocates for the release of the hostages in Gaza, Jewish Insider’s Melissa Weiss reports. Bar Giora succeeds Ori Hacohen, who has led the organization in an interim capacity since June 2024 and will return to his position as an executive at BDO Consulting…
The Atlantic’s Yair Rosenberg slams the “macabre theatrics” of Hamas’ hostage-release ceremonies…
The Wall Street Journal looks at how a weakened Hamas is regrouping as the terror group prepares for a possible return to fighting with Israel if the second phase of a cease-fire deal doesn’t materialize…
Speaking at the INSS conference in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Mossad head David Barnea pushed back against former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s criticism of Israel’s decision not to conduct its pager operation against Hezbollah in the first weeks after the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks…
Israeli forces conducted airstrikes in southern Syria, with Defense Minister Israel Katz warning both the Syrian government and militia groups that any effort to move into the area “will be met with fire”…
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior Iranian officials in Tehran on Tuesday, during which time they reportedly aligned their positions on Tehran’s nuclear program; Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi said following the meeting that Iran will not cave to U.S. pressure and sanctions…
Earlier today, Lavrov met with the emir of Qatar in Doha…
Jazz journalist and historian Larry Appelbaum died at 67…
Pic of the Day
In a funeral held earlier today in Kibbutz Nir Oz, Yarden Bibas eulogized his wife, Shiri Bibas, and their sons, Kfir and Ariel, whose bodies were returned last week to Israel from Gaza.
“Who will help me make decisions now?” Bibas said. “How am I supposed to make decisions without you? Do you remember our last decision together? In the safe room, I asked if we should ‘fight or surrender.’ You said fight, so I fought. Shiri, I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you all. If only I had known what would happen, I wouldn’t have fired.”
“I think about everything we went through together — there are so many beautiful memories. I remember Ariel and Kfir’s births. I remember the days we would sit at home or in a café, just the two of us, talking for hours about everything under the sun. It was wonderful. I miss those times deeply. Your presence is profoundly missed.”
Birthdays
First violin and concertmaster (since she was 26 years old) for the D.C.-based National Symphony Orchestra, Nurit Bar-Josef turns 50…
Professor emeritus of sociology and Jewish studies at Rutgers University, Chaim Isaac Waxman, Ph.D. turns 84… Businessman, art collector and political activist, he has served as the president of the World Jewish Congress since 2007, Ronald Lauder turns 81… Professor in the sociology and anthropology school of Tel Aviv University, Yehouda Shenhav turns 73… Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter in multiple musical genres, he has sold over 75 million records, Michael Bolton turns 72… President of Turkey since 2014, Recep Tayyip Erdogan turns 71… Former member of the Knesset for the Labor party, she is now president of Beit Berl College, Yael “Yuli” Tamir turns 71… Julie Levitt Applebaum… Member of Knesset for over 30 years, he has held eight different cabinet posts, he now serves as Israel’s national security advisor, Tzachi Hanegbi turns 68… Former U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, now a partner at Arnold & Porter where he heads the crisis management team, Paul J. Fishman turns 68… Professor of sociology and bioethics at Emory University, he is the older brother of Rabbi David Wolpe, Paul Root Wolpe turns 68… CEO and chairman at Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals, Jonathan Sporn, M.D. turns 67… U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) turns 67… Partner at Unfiltered Media, Alan Rosenblatt, Ph.D…. Theoretical physicist who works on astrophysics and cosmology, Abraham “Avi” Loeb turns 63… CEO at Rutgers University Hillel, Lisa Harris Glass… President of MLB’s Miami Marlins from 2002 until 2017, he was a contestant in the 28th season of “Survivor” in 2014, David P. Samson turns 57… Motivational speaker, focused on anti-bullying, Jon Pritikin turns 52… Founder and editor-in-chief of Tablet Magazine, Alana Newhouse… Freshman member of the House of Representatives (D-NY), he is an heir to the Levi Strauss & Co. fortune, Daniel Sachs Goldman turns 49… Former chief brand and impact officer at WeWork, Rebekah Victoria Paltrow Neumann turns 47… Brett Michael Kaufman…
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