Will more Dem governors opt in for education tax credits?
Plus, Hollywood stars come out for Israel
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In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at efforts by Jewish groups to lobby Democratic governors to opt into a new federal education tax credit program, and report on IL-9 congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh’s comments at a debate last night expressing opposition to U.S. support for Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system. We cover D.C. mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George’s pledge to the DSA that she would reject interactions with the “Zionist lobby,” and report on a new lawsuit filed by Jewish groups against California for its failure to address antisemitism in K-12 schools in the state. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rep. Greg Landsman and Jay Solomon.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with assists from Danielle Cohen-Kanik and Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are back in Geneva for Omani-brokered talks with Iran. The meeting comes two days after Witkoff, speaking at AIPAC’s Congressional Summit in Washington, said that any future nuclear deal with Iran should last indefinitely — a departure from the Obama administration’s 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which included sunset clauses.
- President Donald Trump will receive an intelligence briefing at 11 a.m.
- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wraps up his two-day visit to Israel today. In a speech yesterday at the Knesset — which was also attended by former New York Mayor Eric Adams — Modi, who was the first Indian leader to address the Israeli body, pledged that “India stands with Israel firmly with full conviction in this moment and beyond.”
- In California, JCRC Bay Area, the Jewish Federation Los Angeles and JPAC are hosting the Jewish California 2026 Governor Candidate Forum at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles. Speakers at the forum are set to include entrepreneur Tom Steyer, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), political commentator Steve Hilton, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
- Jewish Alumni Strong is hosting a screening on Capitol Hill this afternoon of Duki Dror’s 2025 film “Unraveling UNRWA,” about the embattled U.N. organization.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR
A pair of new polls — one in a Democratic Senate primary in Maine and one in a Republican gubernatorial primary in Florida — should sound alarm bells about the political and ideological trajectory of Gen Z voters, and the younger generation’s creeping tolerance of antisemitism that transcends party ID.
While the top lines from the polls generated the most headlines, the more notable takeaway was just how different the preferences of Boomers and Gen Zers were — even among those affiliated with the same party. The younger voters gravitated toward the candidates with checkered (at best) records on antisemitism.
James Fishback, a 31-year-old Republican investor who made a name for himself with incendiary social media posts attacking Israel and invoking antisemitic tropes, is barely winning a following among most Florida Republicans as he runs for governor. But among younger Republican voters, he appears to be building a growing base of support.
Graham Platner, an anti-establishment oyster farmer who for years had a skull-and-bones Totenkopf tattoo on his chest, a symbol adopted by a Nazi SS unit, is barely facing any backlash from Maine voters in his outsider Senate campaign. (He had the tattoo covered up during the campaign, amid widespread controversy.) Indeed, he may soon become the favorite to win the Senate seat in Maine, fueled by near-universal support among younger Democratic voters.
The polling underscores the dramatic generational disconnect.
TAXING TALK
Democratic governors facing push from Jewish groups to embrace education tax credits
At the start of a pivotal campaign cycle, Democratic governors will face a politically high-stakes decision this year on a new education policy that President Donald Trump signed into law last year. One provision of Republicans’ sweeping spending package adopted in 2025 — dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” by Trump — was a measure that provides a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit for people who donate to approved scholarship organizations that can support a range of education expenses, including private school tuition and tutoring. Individual states must opt in for taxpayers to be eligible for the credit of up to $1,700 annually, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
The dilemma: Democratic governors, skeptical of school choice programs and wary of powerful teachers’ unions, face a tricky choice. They have to opt in by the end of the year for taxpayers to be eligible for the credit. The National Education Association urged lawmakers to vote against the bill last year, and has said that “voucher-inspired schemes” like the federal tax credit program “erode public education, the foundation of our democracy.” (An NEA spokesperson declined to comment on Wednesday.) Orthodox Jewish groups have long supported school choice efforts, including vouchers, while most non-Orthodox groups sat out those matters in the past or opposed them. Now, Orthodox leaders are being joined by the Jewish Federations of North America as the umbrella group urges Democratic governors to support the bill.
Bonus: eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim does a deep dive into the program and how it could impact the Jewish community.
EXCLUSIVE
Rep. Greg Landsman: U.S., allies ‘may very well need’ to carry out targeted strikes on Iran
Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH) said that the U.S. and its allies “may very well need to take defensive action, targeting military assets in Iran,” in a statement shared with Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod on Wednesday.
Notable quotable: “Targeted strikes on known ballistic missiles and rocket infrastructure and other weapons depots, including nuclear assets, may very well save lives,” Landsman said. “The region and world would be a much safer place if the regime’s military capacity was leveled. These targeted strikes could prevent war, which should be the goal of any effort.” While Landsman didn’t explicitly say in the statement that he intends to oppose the war powers resolution on Iran that may come to a vote before the House next week, his position suggests that he’s skeptical of that effort.
Schedule check: Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) told reporters on Wednesday that a Senate resolution blocking the use of military force against Iran without congressional authorization is likely to come up for a vote next week, though it could come as early as Thursday.
Veep’s view: Vice President JD Vance urged the Iranian regime on Wednesday to take President Donald Trump’s diplomatic overtures “seriously,” cautioning that the president has “a number of tools at his disposal” to keep the “craziest and worst regime in the world” from acquiring nuclear weapons, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.
PRAIRIE STATE DEBATE
Abughazaleh says she doesn’t support Iron Dome, dodges on Israel’s right to exist
At a televised debate in Illinois’ 9th Congressional District on Wednesday evening, far-left activist and social media influencer Kat Abughazaleh said she would not support continued aid for Israel’s Iron Dome, dodged a question on Israel’s right to exist and said that President Donald Trump is only considering strikes on Iran because he wants to “bomb more brown people,” Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What she said: Asked whether she supports Israel’s right to exist, Abughazaleh responded, “I think that this question is said as if it doesn’t exist. What we need is to ensure that any solution, whether it is a two-state, a single secular state, whatever it is, is negotiated not by America, but by the people that actually live there.” Asked whether she would support conditioning defensive systems like Iron Dome, Abughazaleh responded, “Defensive weaponry is an oxymoron. Weapons are inherently offensive.”
Exclusive: Amid attacks from anti-Israel activists and groups over her support for Israel and backing from pro-Israel supporters, Illinois state Sen. Laura Fine, a Democrat running for an open Illinois House seat, unapologetically championed her backing for the Jewish state in a position paper obtained by Jewish Insider.
DRAWING LINES
D.C. mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George vows to reject ‘Zionist lobby’ in seeking DSA endorsement
Washington, D.C., mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George told the Metro D.C. chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America that she will not attend events focused on “promoting Zionism and apartheid,” according to a questionnaire from the group that she filled out prior to earning its endorsement earlier this month, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Candidate commitments: “I will refrain from going on any political junkets to Israel. I will also not attend events focused on obfuscating the realities of occupation or promoting Zionism and apartheid,” Lewis George wrote in her answers on the questionnaire, which the local DSA group posted to its website. Lewis George described herself as “a proud member of Metro DC DSA.” The DSA questionnaire asks candidates to publicly support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, and to refrain from engaging with “the Israeli government or Zionist lobby groups” — a category that it said includes AIPAC, Democratic Majority for Israel, Christians United for Israel and the more liberal J Street.
EDUCATION CONSTERNATION
Jewish groups file suit against California for widespread failure to address antisemitism in K-12 schools
Jewish legal groups filed a lawsuit on Thursday against the State of California over an alleged failure to address antisemitism — some of which is stemming from teachers’ unions — in K-12 public schools across the state. Filed by the Louis D. Brandeis Center For Human Rights Under Law and StandWithUs, with outside counsel from veteran California plaintiffs’ attorney Michael Sherman, the suit also names the California State Board of Education, the State Department of Education and Superintendent Tony Thurmond, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
Details: It highlights several complaints from Jewish parents and children statewide, in school districts including Berkeley, Los Angeles, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Campbell Union, Fremont, Etiwanda and Oakland. In the Berkeley Unified School District, which has been a hotbed for antisemitic incidents since the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, a ninth grader said his art teacher displayed a Star of David with a fist punching through it. The same teacher promoted a walkout filled with chants that included, “F*ck the Jews,” according to the complaint, which states that when the student’s mother reported the teacher’s conduct, the school’s solution was to separate the Jewish student from his class in the library and health center.
ON THE STAGE
Hollywood stars highlight link between Jews and Israel at Carnegie Hall performance
Call it a mash note to Jewish identity, and to the Jewish homeland. Hollywood heavyweights took to New York City’s world-renowned Carnegie Hall stage on Tuesday night to highlight the link between the Jewish people and the land of Israel, spanning thousands of years, in the form of recounting historic love letters to the Jewish state, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
Letters of legacy: “Letters, Light and Love” made its U.S. premiere in a one-night only performance hosted by UJA-Federation of New York as Jewish celebrities including Amy Schumer, David Schwimmer, Debra Messing, Tovah Feldshuh, Jonah Platt and Michael Aloni read excerpts of letters written about Israel across centuries. The notes came from writers such as Julius Caesar, Maimonides, Golda Meir, Sir Moses Montefiore, Albert Einstein, Harry Truman, John Adams, Winston Churchill and Leonard Bernstein.
On the air: The first episode of “David: King of Israel,” a new four-part Fox Nation docudrama, premieres on Thursday, offering a dramatic reenactment of the biblical coming-of-age story of King David that provides relevant lessons in a time of conflict, actor Zachary Levi, the series’ host, told Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen.
Worthy Reads
The Brown-Bag Candidate: The Atlantic’s Mark Leibovich interviews former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) as Brown aims to flip the seat that he — and Democrats — see as a possible pick-up in the midterms. “I asked Brown why he thought Democrats had lost so much credibility with blue-collar, lower- and middle-income citizens. In a historic flip of party identity, voters are now more likely to view Republicans as better attuned to the concerns of working-class people, whereas Democrats are more associated with affluent, college-educated elites. ‘From your perspective, what has that evolution been like over the years?’ I asked. Brown blew off my question. ‘I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it,’ he said. ‘This might surprise you.’ … But it is perhaps another element of Brown’s appeal that he tends not to get bogged down in hifalutin theories or sociology (his Yale degree notwithstanding). He prides himself on being an unglamorous advocate, who has earned enough trust with enough voters to defy Ohio’s Republican trend lines. At least until he didn’t.” [TheAtlantic]
Angst Over AIPAC: In The Times of Israel, Rabbi Stuart Weinblatt, the chair of the Zionist Rabbinic Coalition, raises concerns about recent pledges by candidates and elected officials not to take donations affiliated with AIPAC. “This approach feeds stereotypes about Jewish money and political influence that can lead to antisemitic targeting of Jews. No other community is similarly vilified for donating money to candidates who support their policy priorities, nor would it be tolerated. Most candidates have no problem accepting funds from special-interest groups or corporations who have a particular cause to promote, including those who overtly advocate for policies from which they will personally benefit. Perhaps the time has come to pay more attention to candidates who support certain oil-rich countries in the Middle East who have sought to buy influence and the source of their funding, rather than American Jews.” [TOI]
Word on the Street
The NYPD declared before the New York City Council on Wednesday that it has “no objections” to Council Speaker Julie Menin’s proposal compelling the department to develop a policy for establishing “buffer zones” outside houses of worship during protests, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports…
Protests tied to the San Francisco chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America at an event on tax reform with San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie included chants to “Tax the rich” that morphed into calls to “Tax the Israel” and at least one person shouting “Tax the Jews”; the X account for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office called the incident “[d]isgusting,” while former Obama administration advisor David Axelrod called it “really alarming. Echoes of another, very dark time”…
The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating an incident in which a swastika was found at a recruit training facility in Cape May, N.J.; the incident comes months after the Coast Guard temporarily downgraded the image’s designation as a hate symbol…
Attorneys for rapper Kanye West, now known as Ye, are appealing a lower court ruling that rejected his effort to squash a workplace discrimination lawsuit filed by a former employee who alleged she was subject to antisemitism while an employee of West; attorneys for the rapper are arguing that West’s comments, which including describing himself as a “Nazi” and “Hitler,” are protected as artistic expression…
Former Harvard President Larry Summers will resign from teaching at the university following the release of documents that showed a close relationship between Summers, a former Treasury secretary, and Jeffrey Epstein…
The U.K. is delaying a parliamentary vote on the decision to transfer the Chagos Islands, which houses the U.S.’ Diego Garcia military base that serves as a counterweight to Chinese influence in the region, to the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius, following criticism of the deal by President Donald Trump…
The New York Times interviewed dozens of medical professionals in Iran about treating patients who were injured in the recent widespread protests and violently suppressed by the government…
KLM announced a “temporary” suspension of flights between Amsterdam and Israel, effective March 1…
Legislation that would amend Israel’s 1967 Protection of Holy Places Law and effectively criminalize egalitarian prayer at the Western Wall in Jerusalem passed its first legislative reading, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross reports…
The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem announced it will set up for one day later this week in Efrat, the first time the embassy will offer consular services in a West Bank settlement; an embassy spokesperson said the move did not reflect a change in U.S. policy toward the West Bank…
Right-wing Israeli activists staged a third protest in as many weeks outside the home of Lucy Aharish, stemming from comments the Israeli Arab news anchor made earlier this month criticizing the government’s lack of response to a recent uptick in violence in the Israeli Arab community…
The New York Times spotlights the growing popularity in Australia of the One Nation party and its leader, anti-immigration activist Pauline Hanson, amid shifting public attitudes in the country around immigration that spiked following the December 2025 terror attack at a Sydney Hanukkah celebration…
Former Wall Street Journal reporter Jay Solomon is joining The George Washington University’s Program on Extremism as executive head of investigations…
Book publisher Ann Godoff, who led Random House before moving over to Penguin Press, died at 76…
Pic of the Day
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was honored yesterday by Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana with a medal for his “significant contributions to the State of Israel and the Jewish people.”
Birthdays
Founder and editor-in-chief of Tablet, Alana Newhouse turns 50…
Professor emeritus of sociology and Jewish studies at Rutgers University, Chaim Isaac Waxman, Ph.D. turns 85… Businessman, art collector and political activist, he is the president of the World Jewish Congress since 2007, Ronald Lauder turns 82… Professor emeritus in the sociology and anthropology school of Tel Aviv University, Yehouda Shenhav turns 74… Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter in multiple musical genres, he has sold over 75 million records, Michael Bolton turns 73… Former member of the Knesset for the Labor Party, she is now president of Beit Berl College, Yael “Yuli” Tamir turns 72… Julie Levitt Applebaum… Member of the Knesset for over 30 years, he is the former Israeli national security advisor, Tzachi Hanegbi turns 69… Former U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, now a partner at Arnold & Porter, Paul J. Fishman turns 69… Professor of sociology and bioethics at Emory University, he is the older brother of Rabbi David Wolpe, Paul Root Wolpe turns 69… CEO and Chairman at Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals, Jonathan Sporn, M.D. turns 68… U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) turns 68… Partner at Unfiltered Media, Alan Rosenblatt, Ph.D…. Theoretical physicist who works on astrophysics and cosmology, Abraham “Avi” Loeb turns 64… CEO at Rutgers University Hillel, Lisa Harris Glass… President of MLB’s Miami Marlins from 2002-2017, he was a contestant in the 28th season of “Survivor” in 2014, David P. Samson turns 58… Motivational speaker, focused on anti-bullying, Jon Pritikin turns 53… First violin and concertmaster (since she was 26) for the D.C.-based National Symphony Orchestra, Nurit Bar-Josef turns 51… Member of the House of Representatives (D-NY-10), he is an heir to the Levi Strauss & Co. fortune, Daniel Sachs Goldman turns 50… Entrepreneur, she launched “Student of Life, For Life” in 2020, Rebekah Victoria Paltrow Neumann turns 48… Special assistant to the president and director of Jewish engagement in the White House Faith Office, Martin J. Marks turns 45… Brett Michael Kaufman…
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