Daily Kickoff
Good Thursday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we talk to Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt about the Trump administration’s detainment of visa holders whom the government alleges support terror groups and spotlight a Democratic candidate for lieutenant government in Virginia whose record on Israel has raised concerns among Jewish leaders in the commonwealth. We also interview a Palestinian activist from Gaza about last week’s anti-Hamas demonstrations, and report on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s advancement of Mike Huckabee’s nomination to be U.S. ambassador to Israel. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Mosheh Oinounou, Chuck Todd and Mark Zuckerberg.
What We’re Watching
- President Donald Trump is expected to attend a dinner at the LIV Golf Pro-Am today at Trump National Doral in Miami.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Brussels today for a gathering of foreign ministers of NATO countries.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Budapest, Hungary, today. More below.
- Sens. Dave McCormick (R-PA) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) are holding a roundtable this morning with released Israeli hostages Keith Siegel, Aviva Siegel and Iair Horn, as well as several siblings of hostages who remain in Gaza.
- Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) plans to force Senate votes on two resolutions blocking $8.8 billion in U.S. aid to Israel this afternoon, the second time in recent months that Sanders has sought to block some arms transfers to Israel. Read more here from Jewish Insider‘s Marc Rod.
What You Should Know
Amid ongoing “Qatargate” revelations at home, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to take a break from the scandal and flew to Budapest, Hungary, on Wednesday night, where he was greeted with good news: Hungary is leaving the International Criminal Court.
Netanyahu is meeting with his Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Orban, at a time when Israel is tying itself to the European nationalist right more than ever before, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports from Budapest, where she is covering Netanyahu’s visit.
Netanyahu’s spokespeople don’t seem to have come up with talking points underscoring the urgency of a prime ministerial trip to Budapest while the IDF is actively fighting a war in Gaza, but he is apparently trying to project that Israel is not isolated and its leader can still fly abroad. Hungary is currently one of the only countries that not only said that it will not carry out the ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu — though pro-Palestinian groups are already challenging that — but also invited him to visit.
Netanyahu and Orban have long had a good relationship that has benefited Israel at times. When the European Union votes on its foreign policy, which must be determined by consensus between member states, Hungary has often been among the few holdouts blocking decisions that were potentially harmful to the Jewish state.
But the Israeli prime minister has also faced criticism over the past decade for cultivating ties with illiberal leaders like Orban and others while continuing to proclaim Israel as the only democracy in the Middle East. Some of these leaders, including Orban, have also downplayed their countries’ past participation in the Holocaust and glorified nationalist leaders who collaborated with the Nazis.
In recent weeks, the issue of Israel’s relations with parties that can be described as populist or nationalist right made repeated headlines. Israel’s Foreign Ministry decided to begin engaging with three such parties, the best-known of which is France’s National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen. Israel’s Diaspora Ministry hosted a conference on combating antisemitism last week, to which it invited National Rally’s other leader, Jordan Bardella, among other like-minded European legislators, pointing to the parties’ opposition to Islamist and far-left antisemitism. However, Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, U.K. Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and others pulled out of the event in protest of its guest list.
Jerusalem’s latest outreach to the European right has been buttressed by Washington doing the same. Vice President JD Vance sharply criticized European governments for what he viewed as democratic backsliding and suppression of right-wing voices in a speech at the Munich Security Conference in February. Vance also met with the leader of Alternative for Germany, a party that Israel has continued to boycott because of its neo-Nazi ties.
military option
House hearing suggests bipartisan support for strikes on Iranian if Tehran won’t end nuclear program
Lawmakers and witnesses on both sides of the aisle at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Tuesday appeared open to a deal to permanently end Iran’s nuclear program, but also sounded increasingly supportive of potential U.S. military strikes to prevent the regime from obtaining nuclear weapons, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What they’re saying: “To Ayatollah Khamenei … President Trump will work with you to peacefully end your nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program or President Trump will destroy your nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program,” Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), the committee chairman, said. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) said he wants to give Iran a deadline to end its nuclear program peacefully “or the United States should end it for them.” Witnesses who testified before the committee said Congress should begin discussions on potential authorizations for use of military force against Iran.
Bonus: Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said that Israel would not rule out diplomacy as a means of stopping Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
deportation debate
ADL’s Greenblatt now calling out ‘disturbing pattern’ in Trump’s deportation campaign
As questions mount about the detention and attempted deportation of a Turkish Tufts University student last week, the Anti-Defamation League, in something of a shift, is publicly raising concerns about due process violations in the Trump administration’s campaign to deport foreign students who engaged in antisemitic and pro-Hamas activity on American college campuses. After offering early praise for the ICE detention of Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil last month, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt is now urging the federal government to exercise caution. Greenblatt, in an interview with Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch on Wednesday, said he seeks greater transparency from the Trump administration as it pursues further deportations, arguing that standing up for Jewish students does not require trampling on the rights of others.
New concerns: “Jewish students need to be protected. They should be valued as much as anyone else,” Greenblatt told JI. “But on the other hand, protecting them shouldn’t require us to shred the norms that we use to protect other people. I don’t think it’s either or. I think it can be both and.” Greenblatt said. “We were glad to see the administration taking action. But the pattern of behavior since then has raised concerns that would be easy to address by being transparent about the charges, by creating a means by which the act of due process is clear.”He also outlined his concerns in an op-ed published in eJewishPhilanthropy on Thursday.
old dominion race
Virginia LG candidate raising Jewish community concerns over her record on Israel and antisemitism
A state senator in Virginia running for lieutenant governor is facing increased scrutiny from Jewish and pro-Israel leaders over her past involvement in anti-Israel activism and her record on combating antisemitism. Ghazala Hashmi, a leading progressive lawmaker who represents parts of Richmond and suburban Chesterfield County, is among several candidates seeking the Democratic nomination in Virginia’s June 17 primary. The race remains fluid with two and a half months until the election, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Dual concerns: But as polling has shown Hashmi could credibly advance to the general election, some Jewish community activists are privately raising concerns about her candidacy as antisemitism has increased in the state. Meanwhile, some pro-Israel Democrats are apprehensive that Hashmi’s record could fuel Republican attacks if she wins the primary, forcing Abigail Spanberger, a moderate Democrat and former congresswoman who is expected to win the gubernatorial nomination, into the potentially uncomfortable position of distancing herself from a fellow party member at the top of the ticket in a key swing state.
speaking out
Gaza protester: Demonstrations against Hamas show Palestinians ‘fed up’ with terror group
Palestinians have a responsibility to rise up against Hamas and to call to free the hostages and end the war in Gaza, Muhammad, a law student from Gaza City, told Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov this week. Muhammad, whose last name was withheld for fear of retribution, took part in demonstrations against Hamas in the last week in central Gaza, where he has lived for most of the time since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. He spoke to JI in a conversation facilitated by the New York-based Center for Peace Communications, a peacebuilding organization founded by author and Middle East analyst Joseph Braude that strives to build public support for reconciliation.
Behind the demonstrations: Muhammad said that while Hamas has portrayed the demonstrations as planned and funded from outside of Gaza, including by the Palestinian Authority, he sees them as grassroots with participants from different parts of the population. The common slogans on banners and chanted by protesters are against both Hamas and the PA, which many Palestinians view as corrupt, he said. “People are fed up with Hamas’ attempt to use their bodies, their lives, as a tool to make political and even financial gains from this war,” he said. “These protests were very openly and obviously asking Hamas to step down, get out of the political and military picture in Gaza.”
tehran talk
Republican senators divided over report that Trump admin open to Iranian offer for nuclear negotiations
Senate Republicans offered mixed reactions to reports that the Trump administration is considering dropping its demand for direct talks with Iran and acceding to Tehran’s offer of indirect mediated nuclear negotiations. Some Republicans are largely opposed to any talks with the regime, while others say they should come with strict conditions and demands, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod report.
Gloomy predictions: Several GOP senators expressed skepticism to the notion that Tehran was willing to meaningfully engage on the nuclear issue. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said he “100%” believed that any discussions with the Iranian regime would be the wrong move. “I don’t think there’s such a thing as a deal to be had with the mullahs. Yeah, I mean, they’re about as trustworthy as [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, and I think my position on Putin is pretty well understood.” Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) predicted that the talks would end in failure. “Well, I think if that’s what the president and Israel need to reach what I think is the correct conclusion, that they’re not interested in negotiating, they ought to go ahead and do that, but I think what they’ll find out is they aren’t. They are not willing to give up their nuclear program, and we ought to help Israel eliminate it,” Cornyn told JI.
Read the full story here including additional comments from Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), John Kennedy (R-LA) and Susan Collins (R-ME).
Defending dissidents: A new bipartisan bill aims to add another tool to the U.S.’ engagement with Iran: “maximum support” for the Iranian people. The Maximum Support Act, led by Reps. Joe Wilson (R-SC) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), requires the administration to formulate a cohesive and aggressive U.S. government policy for supporting dissidents on a variety of fronts, JI’s Marc Rod reports.
partisan procedure
Senate committee advances Huckabee nomination on party-line vote
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s nomination to be U.S. ambassador to Israel on a party-line vote on Wednesday, committee Chair Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID) told Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod.
Looking ahead: The vote, which took place about a week after Huckabee’s confirmation hearing, suggests that Huckabee is likely to see minimal Democratic support when he comes to the Senate floor in the coming weeks, although Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) has said he’s likely to support Huckabee. “With the passage of these three qualified nominees, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has now approved the nomination of 10 of President Trump’s national security nominees,” Risch said, referring to Huckabee and two other nominees. Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) said she voted against Huckabee due to concerns about his support for Israel annexing the West Bank and his ability to keep the U.S.-Israel relationship bipartisan.
Exclusive: Reps. Brad Schneider (D-IL) and Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ) introduced the Promoting Education on the Abraham Accords for Comprehensive Engagement (PEACE) Act to ensure U.S. diplomats are provided with training on the Abraham Accords and other normalization agreements between Israel and Arab states. It would also create a fellowship program for foreign service officers focused on the Abraham Accords and a congressionally appointed advisory board to oversee such training.
Worthy Reads
Resisting Trump on the Quad: In The New York Times, former Harvard President Lawrence Summers raises concerns about the Trump administration’s approach to universities, following the recent deal between Columbia and the government to work toward restoring hundreds of millions of dollars of federal funding. “The White House has not confined its efforts to claims about discrimination. The administration seeks to dictate what universities do on matters ranging from student discipline to academic organization to campus policing. Universities facing those threats should make clear they are willing to negotiate with government officials only over matters covered by statute and through the procedures laid out in the law. … And to maintain the moral high ground, which universities have in large part lost, they need a much more aggressive reform agenda focused on antisemitism, celebrating excellence rather than venerating identity, pursuing truth rather than particular notions of social justice and promoting diversity of perspective as the most important dimension of diversity.That will not happen through universities’ usual deliberative processes, which give too much power to faculty members who have political agendas. It will require strong, determined leaders backed by confident and competent trustees. I wish Harvard and other universities had reformed much more rapidly after the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, so their changes did not appear to be a response to external pressure.” [NYTimes]
Choosing Life, With Gun in Hand: In an excerpt of his upcoming book published in The Free Press, Douglas Murray reflects on what he’s learned about Israeli society while covering the Israel-Hamas war. “Of all the Israeli soldiers I met, none took delight in their task. They could feel victorious on occasion, proud to have completed a mission and gotten their unit out alive. But from the south of Gaza to the south of Lebanon and the West Bank, none took pleasure in the task they had to do. They did it not because they loved death but exactly because they love life. They fought for life. For the survival of their families, their nation, and their people. Even the most secular of them knew that the lifestyle most of us take for granted must be protected. They know that you won’t have the ability to party, fall in love, grow a family, or live a meaningful life unless they are willing to fight for it. In the year after the October 7 attacks I went to weddings and bar mitzvahs and funerals in Israel. Sometimes on the same day. I heard tales of unbelievable suffering, but I also saw people grab for the light in the darkness. ‘Choose life’ is one of the most important commandments of the Jewish people. It is also one of the fundamental values of the West. Israelis, and all of us, can win, in spite of the enemy loving death — and that is because they love life so much.” [FreePress]
Word on the Street
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel was formulating the “necessary steps” in response to the Trump administration’s imposition of import tariffs; Israel faces a 17% tariff on exports to the U.S.…
Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered diplomats abroad to inspect the social media accounts of some student and exchange visa applicants; the order specified scrutiny of applicants who held visas following Oct. 7, 2023, or who are believed to have terrorist sympathies or ties…
Before a recent interview, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. asked Mo News’ Mosheh Oinounou about his family’s history; Oinounou’s father was born in Morocco before moving to Israel and then the U.S….
National Security Advisor Mike Waltz’s team reportedly used at least 20 Signal groups to coordinate the government’s efforts in issues relating to Gaza and Middle East policy, as well as a number of other foreign-policy areas…
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) raises concerns about the “lack of transparency and accountability” around the Signal chat leak, which he said was “deeply damaging to the intelligence-sharing relationships upon which our security depends”…
Sens. Jim Risch (R-ID) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the top lawmakers on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that the Lebanese Armed Forces have moved too slowly to fulfill its obligations to take control of Southern Lebanon under the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal and that further delays could risk reconsideration of U.S. aid…
Officials at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis removed items from a display commemorating female Jewish graduates ahead of a visit earlier this week by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth; a spokesperson for the academy said the items had “mistakenly” been removed…
Wilson Center President Mark Green resigned from his position following a visit to the center by representatives from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency; a third of the nonpartisan center’s workforce who are government employees are expected to be placed on administrative leave…
New York City Mayor Eric Adams is dropping out of the Democratic primary and will run for reelection as an independent…
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg purchased a home in Washington’s Woodland Normanstone neighborhood for $23 million in cash…
The New York Times spotlights Chuck Todd as the former “Meet the Press” host breaks into the podcast space with his new show, “The Chuck ToddCast”…
The U.S. Mission to the U.N. expressed opposition to the potential renewal of Francesca Albanese as U.N. special rapporteur and condemned the Italian lawyer’s “virulent antisemitism, which demonizes Israel and supports Hamas”…
A district judge in California ruled that a lawsuit filed by Jewish students against the University of California, Berkeley can move forward; the plaintiffs alleged that university administrators did not act to address antisemitic harassment of Jewish students…
The University Council-American Federation of Teachers, which represents faculty in the University of California system, is fighting the university system’s plans to comply with a subpoena issued by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as part of an investigation into allegations of antisemitism at UC schools…
Two Jewish students at DePaul University are suing the school, alleging that DePaul public safety officials failed to protect them from being assaulted by masked assailants during a discussion about the Israel-Hamas war…
Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen is mounting an effort to buy the ice cream company back from Unilever, which purchased it in 2000, amid disagreements over Ben & Jerry’s social activism…
A Hamas official said the terror group would not respond to a counteroffer made by Israel to an initial ceasefire and hostage-release plan that had been coordinated by Egypt and Qatar and agreed to by Hamas…
The Wall Street Journal looks at the increasing pressure on Hamas, both from the Israeli military, which has moved troops into southern Gaza, and from Palestinians in the enclave, citing the recent killing of a Hamas police officer believed to be behind the death of a Gazan man from a prominent family…
An Israeli toddler hiking with her family near the town of Bet Shemesh found a nearly 4,000-year old amulet believed to be affiliated with the Canaanites…
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that a military confrontation with Tehran was likely inevitable if a new nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers is not reached…
Former New York Times correspondent Richard Bernstein died at 80…
Pic of the Day
Former U.S. ambassadors Al Moses (Romania), Dan Shapiro (Israel), Deborah Lipstadt (antisemitism) and Marc Stanley (Argentina) gathered with friends and colleagues in Washington on Tuesday night at a party marking Lipstadt’s return to Emory University after nearly three years in the Biden administration.
Birthdays
Professional tennis player, Madison Brengle turns 35…
Democratic political strategist, founder in 2014 of GenderAvenger, Gina Glantz turns 82… Member of the Los Angeles City Council until 2022, he was previously a three-term member of the California State Assembly, Paul Koretz turns 70… Dean at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of the Johns Hopkins University and a contributing writer of The Atlantic, Eliot Asher Cohen turns 69… Singer, songwriter and music producer, Craig Reid Taubman turns 67… Jazz pianist, arranger and composer, best known for his film and television scores, James Gelfand turns 66… Rabbi, author, speaker and VP at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, Bradley Shavit Artson turns 66… CEO of Phase 2 Media, he is the former chairman of the Fox Television Entertainment Group, Sandy Grushow turns 65… President and CEO of MLB’s Toronto Blue Jays, Mark Shapiro turns 58… Defense attorney and CNN commentator, he has represented five U.S. governors facing impeachment proceedings, Ross H. Garber turns 58… Associate justice of the Washington State Supreme Court, Raquel Montoya-Lewis turns 57… Member of the Knesset for the New Hope party, Ze’ev Elkin turns 54… Chief public affairs officer at Jewish United Fund – Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, Daniel Goldwin… Washington correspondent for Israel’s public broadcasting corporation, Nathan Guttman… Author of two books and senior legal analyst for CNN, Elie Honig turns 50… Award-winning Israeli classical pianist who currently lives in NYC, Ran Dank turns 43… Israeli screen, stage and television actress, Dana Ivgy turns 43… NYC-based independent filmmaker, who, together with his younger brother Benjamin, directed and wrote the 2019 film “Uncut Gems” starring Adam Sandler, Joshua Safdie turns 41… Retired television and film actress, Amanda Bynes turns 39… Emmy Award-winning actress, comedian and writer, Rachel Bloom turns 38… Television personality, she was the lead on 10th season of “The Bachelorette,” Andi Janette Dorfman turns 38… Manager of developer programs at Block, Eva Sasson… Harry Zieve Cohen… Freelance director and journalist, Daniel Lombroso turns 32… Analyst at Balbec Capital, Zach Pearlstone…
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