Daily Kickoff
Good Tuesday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we cover Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Middle East trip and report from a press conference in Tel Aviv yesterday held by Sen. Lindsey Graham and a bipartisan delegation of U.S. senators. We also interview New York Rep. Dan Goldman about his efforts to reach across the aisle as the new co-chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force to Combat Antisemitism and speak to Conference of Presidents CEO William Daroff about Elbridge Colby, the evolving role of legacy Jewish institutions and social media activism during his organization’s 50th annual mission to Israel. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Steve Fulop, Deborah Lipstadt and Andrew Cuomo.
What We’re Watching
- Outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi is in the U.S. for an official three-day visit during which he will meet with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the commander of U.S. Central Command and other senior U.S. military officials “to discuss key strategic and operational issues,” the Israeli army said in a statement.
- A bipartisan delegation of senators, led by Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), wrapped up a visit to Israel today during which they met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other leaders and officials. The delegation includes Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). Yesterday, the senators and President Donald Trump’s deputy special envoy to the Middle East, Morgan Ortagus, met with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar. More on the delegation’s meetings in Israel below.
- Sa’ar also briefed an AIPAC delegation of Republican House members headed by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) about regional issues.
- Israeli President Isaac Herzog is on a state visit in Hungary today, marking 80 years since the murder of more than 500,000 Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust. Herzog will meet with Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán among other senior officials. Traveling with Herzog is the family of hostage Omri Miran, who was kidnapped from his home in Nahal Oz on Oct. 7, 2023. In addition, Holocaust survivor Aharon Shevo and his family are accompanying the president. Tomorrow, Herzog will travel to Rome.
- The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations’ annual leadership mission to Israel is underway, with meetings in the Knesset set for today with Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and other MKs. The delegation is also participating in discussions with the Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee and the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
- The Hertog Forum for National Security began yesterday in Tel Aviv. This year, the gathering is centered on the subject of “renewing the U.S.-Israel alliance.” Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) participated in a conversation at a reception yesterday with Martin Oliner about U.S.-Israel relations under Trump. Today’s schedule includes an address by former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and a conversation between Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Eli Groner, tech investor and former director-general of the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, about Israel’s economic future. Michael Doran is moderating a discussion with professor Eyal Zisser; former Ambassador to Turkey, Iraq and Albania James Jeffrey and nominee for assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs Joel Rayburn, about changing threats on Israel’s northern and eastern fronts. Later today, Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) is also slated to speak.
What You Should Know
Three top U.S. officials — Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff — are in Saudi Arabia today. The U.S. officials met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman yesterday to discuss efforts to end both the war in Ukraine and the war in Gaza, while also trying to make diplomatic progress in the Middle East.
The discussions come as President Donald Trump has been eager to push for an end to both wars, even if it means putting pressure on U.S. allies in order to do so.
Saudi Arabia is spearheading an effort by Arab states to come up with an alternative to Trump’s plan to take over Gaza and relocate its population — a proposal Arab states have strongly rejected. A planned summit of Arab leaders set to be held in Riyadh has reportedly been postponed from Thursday to Friday.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who together with Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) led a delegation of senators in Israel, suggested on Monday that Arab leaders would support a hybrid plan whereby Palestinians who wish to leave Gaza would do so and Arab states — rather than the U.S. — would rebuild and deradicalize Gaza. Read more below.
Rubio’s spokesperson, Tammy Bruce, said in a statement that Rubio and MBS, “reaffirmed their commitment to implementing the ceasefire in Gaza and ensuring that Hamas releases all hostages, including American citizens.” Rubio “underscored the importance of an arrangement for Gaza that contributes to regional security,” and the pair also discussed shared interests in Syria and Lebanon and security in the Red Sea, which has been under regular attack by the Yemen-based Houthi terror group since October 2023.
Rubio also met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and the two “discussed bilateral relations and explored ways to strengthen them in the interest of both nations,” according to the Saudi Foreign Ministry. “The two officials also exchanged views on regional and international developments, as well as ongoing efforts to address them,” the statement added.
Rubio’s visit to the region, which started in Israel and will end in the UAE, is focused on “freeing American and all other hostages from Hamas captivity, advancing to Phase II of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, and countering the destabilizing activities of the Iranian regime and its proxies,” according to his spokesperson.
Witkoff, who is also zigzagging the region this week, and who is seen as Trump’s personal foreign policy negotiator and dealmaker, said in an interview with Fox News on Sunday that phase two of the cease-fire and hostage-release agreement between Hamas and Israel — the status of which has been shrouded in uncertainty — is “absolutely going to begin.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Witkoff on Sunday and said that in coordination with Witkoff’s office, he sent a negotiating team to Cairo to “discuss the continued implementation of the first stage of the deal,” according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office.
Netanyahu convened a security cabinet meeting on Monday to discuss the second stage of the agreement. Ahead of the meeting, his office said that the negotiating team “will receive instructions for the continuation of the negotiations regarding the second stage,” but the cabinet ministers did not make any decision that could be relayed to negotiators. The prime minister has sought to extend the first stage to allow for more hostages to be released before the IDF is expected to withdraw further from Gaza, as stipulated in the second phase of the deal.
At the end of Rubio’s visit in Israel, he said in an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” that the U.S. does not want to wait “weeks and weeks” for the release of all of the hostages in Gaza. “There are some [hostages] that are supposed to be released coming up next weekend,” Rubio said when asked about the second phase of the hostage-release and cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas. “We expect that to happen. But we’d like to see them all come out. We are not in favor of waiting weeks and weeks.”
Read more here about Rubio’s meetings in Israel.
Hamas is set to release three living hostages on Saturday and the final three on the following Saturday, in accordance with the first stage of the cease-fire deal, but Israeli officials have said there are talks with Hamas to release all six as soon as possible. The six living hostages in phase one of the deal are said to include Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who have been held hostage in Gaza for 11 years. Hamas is also set to transfer the bodies of four hostages on Thursday and four more next week. Seventy-three hostages remain in Gaza, 501 days after the Oct. 7 attack.
postwar plan
Arab leaders open to hybrid Gaza evacuation plan, Graham says
Arab states are working on a hybrid plan for postwar Gaza that would incorporate voluntary migration from the enclave alongside reconstruction for those who wish to stay, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said during a press conference in Tel Aviv on Monday, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports. Graham said that a summit set to be held by Arab leaders in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Friday seeks “to come up with a plan that would allow Palestinians to leave if they would like, but if they don’t, [to] stay in place while there’s reconstruction.” Graham noted that the leadership of the UAE and Saudi Arabia have “the same view of radical Islam as Israel does” and reject Hamas.
Alternative offer: “President Trump started a conversation that was long overdue,” Graham said. “I’m quite optimistic that the Arab world will come up with a plan to show President Trump how to deal with the Palestinian issue without driving them all out.” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said he spoke with Jordan’s King Abdullah II recently, who said “the plan the Arab states will offer to President Trump provides a realistic prospect for normalizing relations, self-determination for Palestinians and security for Israel. If those components are part of a realistic plan, it could be a game-changer for the region.”
reaching across the aisle
Rep. Dan Goldman wants to set partisanship aside on House antisemitism task force
Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), the new co-chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, said that, though he’s made headlines as a critic of President Donald Trump, he wants to find ways to work with Trump and his GOP colleagues on an issue he believes is of shared concern. But he also already sees areas of concern where he says the administration’s executive actions are jeopardizing the fight against antisemitism. Speaking to Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod in his Capitol Hill office last week, Goldman also laid out his vision and goals for the task force, including better engagement with GOP members, rebuilding alliances with other groups facing hate and a range of legislation he hopes to bring to fruition.
Other goals: The New York congressman said he’s always been concerned about antisemitism, and that the rise in antisemitism since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel “was really alarming to me and really scary.” He said that, as a Jewish lawmaker with grandparents who escaped the pogroms and who represents a New York City district with a sizable Jewish population, he wanted to use his platform and take a leadership role to “do everything I could to address and combat the issue.”
mission musings
CoP leader Daroff: ‘Legacy organizations should and will adapt, and if they don’t, they will die’
The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations is holding its 50th annual mission to Israel this week at a time of transition, with a new Trump administration in Washington and an Israeli government and Jewish community representatives trying to find the right way to work with the president and his appointees. Among those appointees is Elbridge Colby, the Trump administration’s nominee for undersecretary of defense for policy, whose accommodationist approach to a nuclear Iran and ties to isolationist figures recently hired at the Pentagon have caused consternation among many of the Conference’s member groups. In an interview with Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov, Conference of Presidents CEO William Daroff said that the group “does not opine on nominations for public office — that’s a long-standing policy. That being said, we do engage with nominees and talk to them to try to ensure that they understand the interests of the American Jewish community. We also try to speak to public officials when there are concerns or we have information to share.”
Moving with the times: Asked if the Presidents Conference and some of its larger member organizations need to change their approach in a time when social media activism often gets more attention than the Jewish establishment, Daroff said that “it’s important for legacy organizations to adapt to the times … [to] engage in different ways to try to ensure messages are being heard and remain relevant … Legacy organizations should and will adapt, and if they don’t, they will die.”
definition doubter
Steve Fulop says he would not sign New Jersey IHRA legislation
New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate Steve Fulop, the Jersey City, N.J., mayor, said at an event last week — and later reaffirmed on social media — that he opposes pending legislation in New Jersey that would codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism and cast doubt on the definition itself. Fulop, who is Jewish and has touted his efforts to fight antisemitism in Jersey City and his support for Israel, has also recently come under scrutiny for campaigning with anti-Israel figures in the state, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What he said: “I’ve done lots of reading about this to come to the conclusion why I think that specific definition is counterproductive,” Fulop later wrote on social media. “I say this in the context of someone who is Jewish, as someone who has a Jewish education, as someone who is a descendant of Holocaust survivors. As someone who is [a] continued supporter of the NJ-Israel Commission and someone that opposes BDS legislation.”
reservations revealed
Deborah Lipstadt had concerns of a ‘double standard’ for Israel on arms sales during the Biden administration
Deborah Lipstadt, former special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, raised concerns Tuesday about a “double standard” when it came to the State Department’s treatment of Israel under the Biden administration, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports. Lipstadt shared the anecdote during an interview with historian Niall Ferguson at the Hoover Institution. During her tenure at the State Department, she said, there was “consideration of sanctions on arms going to an unnamed country, which we can all figure out what.”
Singled out: Lipstadt said her office “asked the question” of the State Department’s Office of Regional Security and Arms Transfers, “‘Is this [consideration of sanctions] a double standard? And what other countries have gotten these weapons from us?’” There were six other countries receiving the weapons, Lipstadt said, asking, “How many of them are living up to the standards that are being imposed” on the one country being singled out?
state solidarity
Black and Jewish legislators team up on anti-masking legislation in Maryland
A coalition of Black and Jewish lawmakers in Maryland introduced a bill this month to ban the wearing of masks to intimidate or harass, part of a campaign by the Anti-Defamation League and the Urban League that began in the New York State Assembly, where similar legislation is being considered. The bill, which bans “masked intimidation,” was written in response to the increasing incidence of protesters from across the political spectrum wearing face coverings to obscure their identity and cause disturbances, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Show of solidarity: “It criminalizes utilizing masks to intimidate, menace or harass folks, and it’s the same laws we had in place in the post-KKK era,” said Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher, a Montgomery County Democrat and one of the bill’s co-sponsors. The bill’s sponsors are billing it as a collaborative effort between the Black and Jewish communities in Maryland, meant as a show of solidarity after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks and the war in Gaza have tested the historic partnership between the two groups. “Marylanders in general, not just Black Marylanders, but we turned our backs, even in silence, to our Jewish brothers and sisters [after Oct. 7]. That’s why this bill is so important,” said Del. Adrian Boafo, a Prince George’s County Democrat, referring to what he saw as a lack of support for the Jewish community as Israel conducted a retaliatory war against Hamas. “This is a law that says we’re trying to protect our communities and Marylanders.”
Worthy Reads
McGurk’s Take: In the Washington Post, Brett McGurk, former deputy assistant to President Joe Biden and White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, reflected on his experience negotiating the cease-fire deal with Hamas and expressed support for President Trump’s handling of the deal thus far: “The talks ultimately succeeded because the military equation across the region changed, with Hamas isolated and no longer able to count on a multifront conflict. … This change in position came not from forceful diplomacy alone, but also from force of arms across the Middle East. … Trump was right to call [Hamas’] bluff. The deal is the deal. And the formula today is the same as it’s been since Oct. 7, 2023. The only way to end this war is for Hamas to continue releasing hostages and accept terms for a future that might allow Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side in peace. That means a Gaza without Hamas in charge. If Hamas cannot do that, even as Israel is meeting its essential commitments under the deal, then the war could restart. That would be tragic, but the responsibility would rest with Hamas.” [WashPost]
Hamas’ War Dividend: In Foreign Affairs, Scott Atran and Ángel Gómez, co-founder and senior fellow at Artis International, respectively, share their findings of a survey they conducted of Gazans in January: “The survey found that although Hamas’s popular appeal has declined precipitously since the early months of the war, current alternatives to the group draw even less support, which opens the way for Hamas to shore up its influence over Gaza again. The war has also strengthened rather than weakened Gazans’ commitments to maximalist political goals, while eroding support for a two-state solution. Perhaps most strikingly, the survey showed that the people of Gaza continue to retain strong core values related to their Palestinian and religious identity and their attachment to the land, values that they intend to uphold even if doing so requires great personal sacrifice. As the United States and its regional and international partners confront the reality of postwar Gaza, the survey findings may challenge the assumption that any movement toward peace with Israel can be found that does not satisfy — or at least symbolically recognize — some of these basic values.” [ForeignAffairs]
Rough Road to Recovery:The Wall Street Journal’s Carrie Keller-Lynn and David Luhnow interview former hostages who were released from Gaza over a year ago, as well as family members and psychologists, about the physical and psychological challenges they face in their recovery process. “Mia Schem, a 22-year-old French-Israeli citizen whose hostage video was one of the first to emerge in the days after the attack, and who has become a celebrity in Israel, said she is riding an emotional roller coaster. Some days her ordeal feels like a movie or a dream that happened to someone else. Other days, she said, ‘the feelings of Gaza won’t go away.’ ‘People think you are out, you are safe, and that it’s over,’ she said. ‘But it’s not. Every day is a battle to get up and fight.’ She said she vividly recalls piles of dead bodies at the Nova music festival, where nearly 400 people were massacred, and the harrowing cries of women she couldn’t see but that she believes were being raped.” [WSJ]
HIAS’ Original Mission: In The Times of Israel, Marjan Keypour Greenblatt — human rights activist, advocate for women and minorities in Iran and wife of ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt — called for HIAS to return to its original mission of assisting in the immigration of Jews around the world in turbulent countries. Greenblatt, an Iranian refugee who herself benefitted from HIAS, said as the organization seeks its next CEO, it should consider: “The global Jewish community faces an alarming rise in antisemitism and extremism. Whether that is far-right hate, the rise of jihadi extremism, or the uncertainty of undemocratic governments, the Jews are being targeted in ways that demand a renewed focus on their safety, security, and well-being. HIAS must prioritize at least 90% of its resources to support the global Jewish community, ensuring that the organization’s original mission — to aid Jews in crisis — is not diluted or overshadowed by broader humanitarian efforts.” [TOI]
Word on the Street
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is preparing to launch a widely anticipated campaign for New York City mayor by early March, according to two people familiar with his plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity to address private deliberations, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports…
Some Jewish Democrats in Georgia, frustrated with Sen. Jon Ossoff’s (D-GA) positions on Israel, have privately urged Republican Gov. Brian Kemp to run against Ossoff when he is up for reelection in 2026…
Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN), a pro-Israel moderate, said she’s seriously considering running for the open Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN)…
Vice President J.D. Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth came to the defense of Elbridge Colby, President Donald Trump’s embattled nominee to serve as the Pentagon’s undersecretary for policy. Colby’s nomination is facing concern from some GOP senators over his view that the U.S. should tolerate a nuclear Iran…
The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights employees told ProPublica that they have been “muzzled” in their investigations into alleged discrimination at colleges and universities since Trump took office. The OCR has reportedly only opened about 20 new Title VI investigations since Trump’s inauguration, compared with 110 in the Biden administration’s first weeks…
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy sent a message to Amazon employees on Saturday regarding Sasha Troufanov, a hostage released by Hamas that day who works at Amazon Web Services — the first comment Amazon has made about Sasha since he was kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023. Jassy said since Sasha’s abduction, “we’ve had a dedicated team working behind the scenes with experts to support efforts to secure their release and to ensure that we did the right thing for them and their safety (including painfully not commenting publicly for fear that we would negatively impact their ability to be released or how they were treated in captivity.)”…
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer traveled to the UAE over the past week with a delegation that included anti-Israel activist Osama Siblani. Siblani, publisher of Arab American News and a leader of the “Uncommitted” movement in the 2024 election, has repeatedly praised Hamas and Hezbollah leaders since Oct. 7…
Israel confirmed IDF troops will remain deployed in Lebanon in five strategic positions after its withdrawal today from southern Lebanese villages in accordance with the U.S.-brokered cease-fire deal…
Israel received a shipment of 1,800 2,000-pound bombs from the U.S. over the weekend after Trump lifted a Biden administration block on the export of the munitions...
Israel’s Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Kalman Meir Ber sent a letter to Trump, congratulating him on his election and thanking him for his efforts to combat antisemitism, secure the release of Israeli hostages and “supporting our security forces… giving Israel more power to help it overcome those who seek its destruction”…
A South African government minister said the country could turn to Russia or Iran to expand its civilian nuclear power capacity…
Miami Beach Police arrested a man from Florida on charges of attempted murder after he shot and wounded two Israelis, having targeted them because he thought they were Palestinians…
A Utah man was arrested entering New York City on Friday for making threats online to open fire on Central Synagogue in midtown Manhattan…
Ben Terris is leaving his position as national politics reporter for the Washington Post to join New York magazine as Washington correspondent, replacing Olivia Nuzzi, who resigned last year amid revelations about her relationship with RFK Jr…
Margaret Brennan, host of CBS’ “Face the Nation,” said on Sunday to Secretary of State Marco Rubio that, in Nazi Germany, “free speech was weaponized to conduct a genocide.” Rubio responded, “I have to disagree with you. Free speech was not used to conduct a genocide. The genocide was conducted by an authoritarian, Nazi regime … because they hated Jews and they hated minorities.”…
Marc Thiessen and Ilan Berman joined the board of directors of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a publication dedicated to the coverage of the war in Ukraine and other unstable countries…
The Wall Street Journal detailed the fraught history between Sam Altman and Elon Musk, who co-founded OpenAI together in 2015 but are now reportedly at odds. The pair have clashed in court, on social media and now in the Oval Office…
Israeli AI cybersecurity startup Dream, co-founded by former spyware company NSO Group CEO Shalev Hulio, former Chancellor of Austria Sebastian Kurz and Gil Dolev, has raised $100 million at a $1.1 billion valuation, backed by Bain Capital Ventures and Abu Dhabi-based Tau Capital…
Attorney Tom Goldstein, revered for his dozens of arguments before the Supreme Court and co-founding the influential SCOTUSblog, was jailed last week for crimes connected to a secret gambling addiction, including evading taxes and using his law firm as a slush fund…
Jacqueline Sanders-van Maarsen, a Dutch author known for her friendship with Anne Frank, died at 96…
Pic of the Day
Hostage families gathered outside the Knesset building in Jerusalem yesterday to mark 500 days since their family members were kidnapped and to call on the Israeli government to complete the hostage-release deal.
Birthdays
Singer-songwriter and pianist, Regina Spektor turns 45…
Rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva University, he also has a Ph.D. in operations research from NYU, Rabbi Hershel Reichman turns 81… Former U.S. representative from New York for 32 years, he was chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Eliot Engel turns 78… Former national and Washington correspondent for The New York Times for 24 years, Michael Janofsky… Russian pharmaceutical oligarch, Boris Spiegel turns 72… Principal at NYC-based Liebman Advisors, Scott Liebman… Israeli singer and actress, Ilana Avital turns 65… Portfolio manager at Capital Group, she serves on the boards of directors of Bridging Voice and Hillel International, Hilda Lea Applbaum… Co-principal of the Institute for Wise Philanthropy, Mirele B. Goldsmith… Former mayor of Miami Beach from 2013 to 2017, Philip Louis Levine turns 63… Director of development for the western region of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Lori Tessel… Director of the digital diplomacy bureau at Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, David Saranga turns 61… Author and school safety activist who had a daughter, Meadow, who was killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018, Andrew Scot Pollack turns 59… Professor emeritus of the chemistry department at Stony Brook University, she was the Democratic nominee in 2020 for the 1st congressional district of New York, Nancy Sarah Goroff turns 57… President of Yeshiva University since 2017, Rabbi Ari Berman turns 55… CEO of an eponymous Baltimore-based branding, marketing, PR, advertising and design firm, David F. Warschawski turns 54… Fitness expert, nutritionist, media personality and author, Jillian Michaels turns 51… Actor, comedian, writer, director and producer, Isaac “Ike” Barinholtz turns 48… Co-founder of StockX, the stock market for high-end product resale, Joshua Eliot “Josh” Luber turns 47… SVP of development for J Street, Adee Telem… Instagram celebrity, with 9.4 million followers, known commonly as The Fat Jewish, Josh Ostrovsky turns 43… President of baseball operations for the New York Mets, David Stearns turns 40… Editorial writer and opinion columnist for the Washington Post, James P. Hohmann… Deputy director of strategic planning at NYC’s Housing Authority, Dylan Sandler… Political reporter at CBS Interactive, Rebecca R. Kaplan… French movie actress, Esther Garrel turns 34…
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