Further fallout at Heritage over Carlson defense
Plus, Moulton turned on AIPAC after seeking its endorsement ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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In today’s Daily Kickoff, we preview the elections to watch today, and report on the wait-and-see approach that the chairs of an antisemitism task force affiliated with the Heritage Foundation are taking in the wake of Heritage President Kevin Roberts’ recent defense of Tucker Carlson. We talk to GOP senators about the parallels between the right’s embrace of Carlson and left-wing antisemitism, and report on Rep. Seth Moulton’s about-face on AIPAC over the summer after the group failed to guarantee support for his Senate bid. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Rahm Emanuel, Walt Weiss and Tulsi Gabbard.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by Jewish Insider Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with an assist from Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- Former Vice President Dick Cheney, a towering figure in Republican politics who led the “war on terror,” died last night, his family said in a statement. Cheney, who was vice president for both of President George W. Bush’s terms, previously served as White House chief of staff, congressman representing Wyoming and secretary of defense. He was 84.
- It’s Election Day in a number of states and cities around the country. In New York City, voters head to the polls today to cast their ballots for mayor and city council. We’re also watching the gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, as well as the redistricting ballot initiative in California and the mayoral races in Minneapolis and Seattle. More below on the races to watch.
- In New York City, the World Zionist Organization and Temple Emanu-El are holding an event marking the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Rabin’s grandson Jonathan Benartzi, Shalom Hartman Institute President Yehuda Kurtzer, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, Jewish Council for Public Affairs CEO Amy Spitalnick and peace activist Alana Zeitchik are slated to speak.
- Elsewhere in New York, the La’Aretz Foundation is holding its third annual benefit to support Israeli families in crisis. Israel’s consul general in New York, Ambassador Ofir Akunis, is slated to give remarks at the event, which will include food by Eyal Shani and will include Israeli “spokeskid” Ben Carasso and a performance by an IDF soldier in an elite unit who is known only as “M.”
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S Josh Kraushaar
The stakes for Jewish voters are high for today’s off-year elections. All the major contests — in New York City, New Jersey, Virginia and California — are taking place in parts of the country where Jews make up a significant constituency. At a time when both parties are facing rising antisemitism in their own midst, we will be keeping a close eye on the results for trends affecting the Jewish community.
Here’s what we’ll be watching most closely:
New York City mayor: Polls consistently show Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani with a comfortable lead, but there’s less consensus on how decisive his winning margin will be. Most polls show Mamdani under 50%, though a few show him hitting a majority. Some show the combined anti-Mamdani vote — represented by former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa — outpacing Mamdani’s share.
Whether Mamdani surpasses a 50% majority will go a long way in determining how big his mandate will be. A narrower victory would mean that downballot Democrats — from members of Congress to local city council members — would have less to fear in response to the Mamdani movement.
President Donald Trump’s last-minute endorsement of Cuomo on Monday night could help the former Democratic governor pick off some Republican voters that had been leaning toward Sliwa. But for Cuomo to score an upset victory, he’d need to win over the vast majority of those Sliwa voters.
Pay close attention to the results in Rep. Jerry Nadler’s (D-NY) heavily Jewish Manhattan district for signs of where the progressive-minded Jewish vote ends up landing. Cuomo won the first round of balloting over Mamdani in the district (37-33%), which includes the Upper East and Upper West Sides, but Mamdani narrowly prevailed in the final round of ranked-choice voting. Nadler notably backed Mamdani after his victory in the primary, but his district featured a significant share of backers for Brad Lander, the progressive city comptroller, as well. Cuomo will need a solid showing in Nadler’s district to do well.
New Jersey governor: The race between Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) and Republican Jack Ciattarelli is competitive, though Democrats hold a small edge, according to public polls. The county we’ll be watching closely as a bellwether is Bergen County in north Jersey, which has one of the largest Jewish constituencies in the state and saw a significant pro-Trump swing from 2020 to 2024.
It’s also home to Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), the pro-Israel stalwart in Congress who carried the county in the Democratic gubernatorial primary and campaigned with Sherrill at a Jewish event in his home base last month.
Former President Joe Biden won 57% of the vote in Bergen, while former Vice President Kamala Harris barely won a majority (51%). New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, won 53% of the Bergen County vote in his narrow victory over Ciattarelli in 2021. Ciattarelli would probably need an outright win in suburban Bergen to secure a victory.
scoop
Co-chairs of conservative antisemitism task force stand by Heritage — for now
The leaders of an antisemitism task force closely affiliated with the Heritage Foundation said on Monday that they would stand by the conservative institution for now as its president faces backlash for defending Tucker Carlson, following the conservative podcaster’s controversial interview with neo-Nazi influencer Nick Fuentes. The co-chairs of the National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, a right-wing group that played a key role in drafting Heritage’s Project Esther antisemitism plan last year, said in a Monday night email to task force members that they had spoken with Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts earlier in the day, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Working it out: “He shared his apology about how he has handled this issue, and was very open to our counsel,” the task force co-chairs wrote in the email, which was obtained by JI. “Because of this we are asking the members of the taskforce to give us additional time to work out the practical steps moving forward.” The four co-chairs are Mario Bramnick, a Florida pastor and president of the Latino Coalition for Israel; Victoria Coates, vice president of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at the Heritage Foundation; Ellie Cohanim, who served as deputy antisemitism special envoy in the first Trump administration; and Luke Moon, a pastor and executive director of the Philos Project. At least two organizations resigned from the antisemitism task force earlier Monday: Young Jewish Conservatives and the Zionist Organization of America.
NOT IN MY TENT
More GOP senators sound alarm on right-wing antisemitism
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) warned on Monday against the mainstreaming of antisemitic figures within the conservative movement in response to Tucker Carlson’s platforming of neo-Nazi influencer Nick Fuentes. Hawley, an ally of the national conservative movement who has advocated for the Trump administration to take an aggressive approach to combating campus antisemitism, made the comments while speaking to Jewish Insider about the controversy surrounding Fuentes’ appearance on Carlson’s podcast late last week, JI’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod report.
What he said: “I just think on the substance of what he says, I mean, it’s antisemitic. Let’s just call it for what it is, let’s not sugarcoat it,” Hawley said of Fuentes. “That’s not who we are as Republicans, as conservatives. Listen, this is America. He can have whatever views he wants. But the question for us as conservatives is: Are those views going to define who we are? And I think we need to say, ‘No, they’re not. No. Just no, no, no,’” he continued. “We need to be really clear, and I say that not only as a conservative, but also as a Christian. There is no place for antisemitic hatred, tropes, any of that stuff. I just think we’ve gotta say that stuff.”
Read the full story here with additional comments from Sens. James Lankford (R-OK) and Rick Scott (R-FL).
The X FACTOR
Conservatives resist blaming Musk for reinstating Nick Fuentes on X
Conservatives are largely giving Elon Musk a pass as criticism mounts over the spread of antisemitic content on X — where white nationalist Nick Fuentes, reinstated to the platform last year, is once again in the spotlight after a friendly interview with Tucker Carlson. X is the only mainstream social media site where Fuentes is still allowed to have an account, after being banned on Meta’s platforms and on YouTube for a long history of hateful rhetoric targeting Jews, women, Black people and many other minority groups. Many conservatives, even those who have sharply condemned Carlson for hosting Fuentes, believe banning people because of their beliefs, no matter how hateful, is wrong, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Content questions: “I believe that Nick Fuentes is odious and despicable, but I’ve never called for his cancellation, and in fact, I’ve called for his restoration to those services, despite the fact that I think he’s odious and despicable,” Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro said on Monday in a podcast. “The issue here isn’t that Tucker Carlson had Nick Fuentes on his show last week. He has every right to do that, of course. The issue here is that Tucker Carlson decided to normalize and fluff Nick Fuentes, and that the Heritage Foundation then decided to robustly defend that performance.”
SCOOP
Before denouncing AIPAC, Moulton sought group’s endorsement for Senate campaign, source says
Before making public denunciations and rejections of AIPAC an early pillar of his Senate campaign against Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) spent months seeking a promise that the group would endorse him upon the announcement of his Senate campaign, a source familiar with the situation said, Jewish Insider Marc Rod reports.
Behind the scenes: The source said that Moulton — who has been endorsed by AIPAC in previous races — began courting AIPAC leaders in Massachusetts in the spring this year and then made multiple explicit requests for an endorsement throughout the summer. AIPAC leaders were ultimately unwilling to provide such a guarantee before the race began, the individual said. On the second day of his nascent primary campaign, Moulton released an announcement rejecting AIPAC and saying that he would return any donations he had received from its members. He has continued to hammer the group since then, saying in a recent interview that his break with AIPAC was “a long time coming.”
PARTNERSHIP PROBLEMS
Rep. Jerry Nadler, state Sen. Liz Krueger silent as Mamdani entertains Cornell Tech boycott
As mayor, Zohran Mamdani has said he would reassess the partnership between Cornell University and Israel’s Technion, potentially kicking the joint Cornell Tech campus out of its home on Roosevelt Island in New York City. But two Jewish Mamdani backers who represent Roosevelt Island and have supported the project have been silent about his plans, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
State of play: Mamdani’s campaign told The New York Times and Ynet that he would reassess the partnership if elected. As mayor, Mamdani would have the authority to appoint new members to Roosevelt Island’s governing board, giving him influence over management of the island. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and state Sen. Liz Krueger, both of whom have been supporters of Mamdani, as well as active backers of the Cornell Tech campus, did not respond to requests for comment. Both have appointees on the community task force that supported the construction of the campus, which is within their districts.
BIRTHDAY BASH
Birthright Israel Foundation celebrates 25 years with $220M raised toward new $900M campaign
In 1999, with the lofty goal of bringing every young Jewish adult to Israel free of cost, the nascent Birthright Israel Foundation launched its first trip to the Jewish state. Over the next 25 years, the organization would bring over 900,000 young Jews from some 70 countries to Israel. Last night, at a gala marking a quarter century of activity at Manhattan’s Pier Sixty, Birthright Israel Foundation’s CEO Elias Saratovsky announced two new goals: a $900 million fundraising campaign aimed at securing the organization’s future and bringing 200,000 participants to Israel over the next five years, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim reports for Jewish Insider.
Saratovsky’s sights: The campaign has already secured more than $220 million in commitments, Saratovsky said — $132 million toward its $650 million goal for trips, and $90 million toward its $250 million goal for legacy commitments. “We have a solid foundation of gifts,” he said. “We’re grateful to everyone who has given so far, and now the opportunity we have in front of us is to ask the entire Jewish community to support an organization that has impacted the entire Jewish world over the last two and a half decades.”
Worthy Reads
Hamas’ Miscalculation: In The Wall Street Journal, Ophir Falk, who was a member of Israel’s hostage negotiation delegation, posits that Hamas’ decision to take hostages on Oct. 7, 2023, was ultimately what led the terror group to agree last month to a ceasefire that demands its disarmament. “The hostage-taking prevented the conflict from dissolving into the traditional false narratives about ‘occupation,’ ‘resistance’ and ‘apartheid.’ Despite strenuous efforts to turn reality on its head, including through bogus international lawfare, many saw the truth — innocent people being held hostage by a genocidal terrorist organization committed to murdering Jews. Even Israel’s harshest critics struggled to argue that a nation should abandon its captive citizens. The hostage-taking provided what decades of legitimate Israeli grievances couldn’t: a broadly recognized imperative that eventually overcame the propaganda. The Palestinians’ greatest weapon — the ability to manipulate international sympathy — turned against them.” [WSJ]
What BDS is Really About: In Real Clear Policy, John Finley, the senior managing director and chief legal officer of Blackstone, argues that the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement has reached an “inflection point” in the U.S. “The goals of BDS, in addition to seeking an end to the ‘occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall,’ are often cloaked in terms of either support for an undefined Palestinian liberation or Palestinian’s inalienable rights such as equality and an inclusive democracy that celebrates diversity. … The acceptance of Israel as a Jewish state is foundational to peace in the region because the rationale for Israel’s existence is inseparable from it being a Jewish state. There is no Israel without Zionism and there is no Zionism without Israel.” [RealClearPolicy]
Israel at a Crossroads: The New York Times’ David Halbfinger does a temperature check on the national mood in Israel, which just marked the 30th anniversary of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination. “In conversations with ordinary Israelis, there is a palpable sense that the nation is at a crossroads — and not just over what to do about Gaza. Tens of thousands more people emigrated from Israel over the past year than immigrated to the country. Many Israelis across the political spectrum say they believe the election to be held sometime in the coming year will be climactic and decisive, with its outcome determining the future character of the country and whether more citizens will choose to stay or leave. … Much will hinge on what Mr. Netanyahu decides in the coming months: what he is pressured into doing or accepting, what he prioritizes above all else and what, at 76, he wants his legacy to be.” [NYTimes]
Word on the Street
The U.S. is circulating a draft U.N. Security Council resolution calling for the establishment of an international security force in Gaza that would operate in the enclave through the end of 2027…
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard met with senior Israeli military officials during a surprise two-day visit to the country earlier this week…
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) blasted the New Jersey Education Association over plans for an anti-Israel “Teaching Palestine” session scheduled during the union’s conference taking place this week, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…
Former Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz discussed a wide range of security challenges facing Israel, outlining his long-term vision for confronting Iran, expanding regional defense cooperation and managing Gaza’s postwar recovery. Speaking at a web event hosted by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Gantz called Iran a “global challenge and threat to the State of Israel” and proposed a five-point plan to ensure Iran’s abandonment of its nuclear ambitions by 2028, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports…
In a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Reps. Andy Barr (R-TN) and Jefferson Shreve (R-IN) called for the U.S. government to designate the Palestinian Conference for Palestinians Abroad, also known as the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad, as an affiliate of Hamas and a Specially Designated Terrorist group, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…
Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-IL) said yesterday he would not seek reelection next year; Garcia’s chief of staff, Patty Garcia, filed paperwork to run for the seat hours before the Monday filing deadline, in what critics said was an effort to deny voters in the Illinois district a fair open primary…
A new poll released Monday by the Democratic Majority for Israel finds Democrats broadly support the ceasefire and hostage-release deal reached between Israel and Hamas and a majority of them think President Donald Trump played at least a “somewhat important role” in reaching the agreement, Jewish Insider’s Danielle Cohen-Kanik reports…
The Atlanta Braves named Walt Weiss as the team’s new manager, while the Miami Marlins promoted Gabe Kapler to become the team’s new general manager…
Far-right activist Laura Loomer, who is visiting Israel this week, received Pentagon press credentials, after the Defense Department instituted new, more stringent policies regarding press access…
The Washington Post reviews Jane Eisner’s biography of Carole King, which does a deep dive into the singer’s Jewish upbringing…
The World Zionist Congress reached a new tentative power-sharing deal that would see an even split between the center-left and center-right blocs in the control of the World Zionist Organization and Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross reports…
Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, said that 5 million of the approximately 6 million Jews killed during the Holocaust have now been identified by name…
The Washington Post looks at the disagreement between Israel and the U.S. over Turkey’s potential role in post-war Gaza…
Israel released the bodies of 45 Palestinians on Monday following Hamas’ repatriation of the bodies of three Israeli soldiers who were killed on Oct. 7, 2023…
The Wall Street Journal spotlights Abdulmalik Al-Houthi, who has led Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen for more than a decade as he has evaded multiple assassination attempts and directed the terror group’s destabilizing activity across the region…
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that nuclear negotiations with the U.S. would not be possible as long as Washington supports Israel and maintains military bases across the region…
Pic of the Day
Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel addressed attendees at the opening VIP reception at the Nova Music Festival exhibition in Chicago last night. The traveling exhibition, which has run in New York, Washington, Boston, Los Angeles and Tel Aviv, opens to the public today.
Birthdays
Professor at UCSF and winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in medicine, David Jay Julius turns 70…
Professor emeritus of Talmud at Bar-Ilan University, Daniel Sperber turns 85… Vice-chairman emeritus of AllianceBernstein, he is a former chairman of the Tikvah Fund, Roger Hertog turns 84… Political scientist who has published works on grand strategy, military history and international relations, Edward Luttwak turns 83… Member of Congress and chair of the House Budget Committee until 2023, he was Kentucky’s first Jewish congressman, John Yarmuth turns 78… Former chief of the general staff of the IDF, then minister of defense and member of Knesset for Kadima, Shaul Mofaz turns 77… Uruguayan biologist, he served as mayor of Montevideo and then as a national cabinet minister, Ricardo Ehrlich turns 77… Professor of medicine at England’s University of Birmingham and a leading British authority on organ donation and transplantation, James Max Neuberger turns 76… Board member of Jewish Funders Network and a member of the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency, Dorothy Tananbaum… Marketing and communications consultant focused on Israel advocacy and the Jewish community, Robert L. Kern… U.K. politician who served as a Conservative party MP and cabinet minister, he was chairman of the Conservative Friends of Israel, Baron Richard Irwin Harrington turns 68… Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives since 2013, Kenneth I. Gordon turns 66… Ombudsman at CBS and Japan chair at the Hudson Institute, Kenneth R. “Ken” Weinstein turns 64… Author of five books, comedic actress and television host, Annabelle Gurwitch turns 64… Professor of philosophy at Texas A&M University, she is known for her expertise on feminist theory and modern Jewish thought, Claire Elise Katz turns 61… CEO and Chairman of RXR Realty, he also serves on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Board of Directors, Scott Rechler turns 58… Israeli screenwriter and film director, Eran Kolirin turns 52… Partner at Paragon Strategic Insights, a consulting firm for non-profits, Jeremy Chwat… Co-founder of Semafor, Benjamin Eli “Ben” Smith turns 49… MLB pitcher who appeared in 506 games over his nine-year career, John William Grabow turns 47… Global head of strategic communications at McKinsey & Company, Max Gleischman… Opinion columnist at The Washington Post, she is also a commentator for CNN and a correspondent for the “PBS NewsHour,” Catherine Chelsea Rampell turns 41… Heavily favored to be elected to Congress tomorrow from New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District, Maggie Goodlander turns 39… Founder and CEO at Denver-based Fresh Tape Media, Jared Kleinstein… Founder and CEO of a health organization working for early detection and prevention of cancer, Yael Cohen Braun turns 39… Acting general counsel at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Addar Weintraub Levi… Senior coordinator for management at the Office of Management and Budget, she is a White House nominee as a CFTC commissioner, Julie Brinn Siegel turns 38… Former White House special representative for international negotiations, Avi Berkowitz… Recording artist, songwriter and entertainer known as Yoni Z, Yoni Zigelboum turns 34… Israeli professional stock car racing driver, he is the first Israeli to compete in one of NASCAR’s top three touring series, Alon Day turns 34… Founding editor of Healthcare Brew, a vertical of Morning Brew, Amanda E. Eisenberg… Bob Rubin…
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