Tucker sticks it to the TLV tarmac
Plus, the spread of 'Epstein class' conspiracy theorizing
Add JewishInsider on Google👋 Good Wednesday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at the rise of the “Epstein class” turn of phrase that has increasingly come to describe politically and financially connected individuals with no links to the disgraced financier, and report on efforts by left-wing congressional candidates in Illinois to band together against AIPAC and pro-Israel groups. We talk to Rich Goldberg about what he characterizes as Iran’s posturing in negotiations with the U.S., and report on a call from the leading U.S. social work group denouncing efforts to expel Israel from the International Federation of Social Workers. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Josh Kushner, Eli Sharabi and Tracy-Ann Oberman.
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
- Tucker Carlson, who has frequently railed against the U.S.-Israel relationship and Christian Zionism, is in Israel today, where he is conducting an extensive interview with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. Israeli media reported that the interview is slated to take place at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, with Carlson arriving by private plane and not leaving the airport premises. Earlier this week, Huckabee, a Baptist minister, told the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, “I figure instead of him talking about me, he should talk to me.”
- The International Federation of Social Workers is holding a vote today on whether to expel members of the Israeli Union of Social Workers, a day after the U.S.-based National Association of Social Workers came out against the move. More below.
- In California, the trial of the man accused of killing activist Paul Kessler during an incident at dueling pro- and anti-Israel rallies in Los Angeles a month after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks is slated to begin.
- Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani is in Venezuela today for meetings with senior officials. The trip is the Qatari leader’s first since the U.S. apprehended former President Nicolás Maduro last month.
- The Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy is taking place today in Switzerland. Speakers at the daylong gathering, which is being co-sponsored by dozens of organizations, include UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer, who is giving opening remarks on behalf of the sponsoring organizations, Iranian dissident writer Masih Alinejad and the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights’ Brandon Silver.
- The Kigali Forum, a conference bringing together policy leaders and think tanks from the United States, Africa and Israel to discuss “the new Middle East,” is taking place today in Kigali, Rwanda. Attendees include representatives from AIPAC, the Hudson Institute, the Atlantic Council and the American Foreign Policy Council.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR
After AIPAC’s super PAC suffered an embarrassing setback in this month’s New Jersey special primary election — unwittingly helping boost the fortunes of Analilia Mejia, an anti-Israel, far-left candidate, with its attacks against former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) — all eyes will be on Illinois’ upcoming primaries, and the impact of a surge in pro-Israel spending on ads in four closely watched congressional contests.
AIPAC’s super PAC, the United Democracy Project, along with other outside groups boosting the fortunes of pro-Israel candidates, are betting big on four Chicago-area candidates in crowded Democratic primaries: Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller (for the seat of retiring Rep. Robin Kelly); Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin (for the seat of retiring Rep. Danny Davis); former Rep. Melissa Bean (for the seat of Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who is running for Senate); and state Sen. Laura Fine (running for the seat of retiring Rep. Jan Schakowsky).
The biggest beneficiaries of outside group spending are Fine and Bean, receiving about $1.25 million apiece in air cover from Elect Chicago Women, a super PAC formed to boost their campaigns (and which appears to be a vehicle for pro-Israel supporters).
Both of those primaries, in the affluent Chicago suburbs, are developing differently.
The race to succeed Schakowsky, in a progressive-minded but notably Jewish Lakefront district, is shaping up to be the most hotly contested primary in the state. The field is similar to a lot of emerging Democratic primaries this year — one mainstream pro-Israel candidate (Fine), one harsh critic of Israel (Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss) and one all-out anti-Israel activist (social media influencer Kat Abughazaleh).
Fine, fueled by support from pro-Israel allies, raised over $1 million in the last fundraising quarter and was the first candidate to spend money on the air. That jump-start helped give her early momentum, with an internal poll from her campaign showing her tied for the lead with Biss at 21%, with Abughazeleh lagging in third place. (A subsequent internal poll released by Biss’ campaign showed Biss leading with 31%, while Fine and Abughazaleh were tied in second with 18% apiece.)
MONIKER MEANING
Anger at ‘Epstein class’ bleeds into conspiratorial finger-pointing
Since late last year, when the Justice Department began releasing millions of documents from its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, the well-connected financier and sex trafficker, each day seems to bring news of yet another luminary who had a relationship with Epstein. The revelations of Epstein’s ties to elite power brokers on both the political left and right has contributed to a deepening conspiratorial mindset among the public, as people understandably question why influencers and titans of finance stayed in close touch with a man who had been convicted of sex crimes. But the legitimate outrage at the powerful people who ignored and at times enabled Epstein’s crimes has spread beyond just those who appear in the chummy emails he exchanged. It has now, in some corners, bled into conspiratorial finger-pointing on issues that have nothing to do with the ethical concerns raised in the document dump, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Part of the conversation: Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), a Silicon Valley progressive, has begun referring to this hodgepodge of people as the “Epstein class.” But usage of the term is not precise. It’s an anti-elite message, and Khanna is applying it more widely than just the people with whom Epstein had a relationship. “These people were at the Davos conferences together, they were financing the same politicians together,” Khanna said in a recent interview. “It’s all the same club. It’s a club. And they don’t want that club to be broken.” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), an anti-Trump Republican who worked with Khanna on the legislation that forced the release of the files, said last week, “This is about the Epstein class,” when asked about President Donald Trump’s efforts to unseat him in this year’s midterm election.
JOINING FORCES
Left-wing congressional candidates band together in Illinois, aiming to counter moderate momentum and pro-Israel spending
Four progressive House candidates came together in the Chicago area on Tuesday to condemn reported pro-Israel spending in their districts, a sign of growing cross-district collaboration among candidates hostile to Israel as they seek to push back against pro-Israel interest groups, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. The joint press conference included Evanston, Ill., Mayor Daniel Biss, state Sen. Robert Peters, activist Junaid Ahmed and union organizer Anthony Driver Jr. All four are endorsed by the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC.
New voice: Driver’s attendance was particularly notable given that he has little public record on Israel policy issues. He’s running in the 7th Congressional District, where the AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project has spent $753,000 — and reportedly plans close to $3 million in spending — in support of Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin. He was endorsed by the CPC on Tuesday. Meanwhile, in the 9th District, Biss has been leaning aggressively into Israel and AIPAC-related attacks on state Sen. Laura Fine as a centerpiece of his campaign.
ROCK AND A HARD PLACE
In North Carolina’s Research Triangle, pro-Israel voters at a loss
Four years after their first showdown, progressive anti-Israel activist Nida Allam and Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC) are facing off for a second time in the Durham, N.C.-based 4th Congressional District — but under very different circumstances, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
No clear choice: While the pro-Israel community stepped in strongly to back Foushee against the stridently anti-Israel Allam, a Durham County commissioner, in 2022, Foushee has since shifted significantly to the left on Israel policy, leaving pro-Israel backers with no clear choice in the race between an incumbent who has abandoned her support of Israel and a challenger with a deeper hostility to the Jewish state. Foushee, in 2022, was backed by more than $2 million in outside spending by the United Democracy Project, marking one of the AIPAC-aligned super PAC’s early, defining victories. But this time, that pro-Israel support for Foushee is unlikely to materalize in what has become a sprint to the left. This time, Allam is benefiting from substantial outside spending.
Q&A
Former Trump admin official Richard Goldberg bullish on Trump enforcing Iran red line
Readouts from Iran on progress made in the latest round of negotiations with the U.S. are evidence of the regime “simply buying for time” and evidence that Tehran isn’t willing to make the concessions demanded by the Trump administration, Richard Goldberg, a former Trump administration official and senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea in an interview Tuesday. Following the second round of nuclear negotiations, which Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called “serious, constructive and positive,” Goldberg made the case for why he thinks there’s a high likelihood of future U.S. military action against Iran, and why he sees the negotiations as diplomatic theater.
Talks takeaway: “If this was operating in a vacuum, and I saw that readout from the Iranian foreign minister, I would tell you that I thought this was a readout of one of the many rounds the regime held with [Special Envoy for Iran under President Joe Biden] Rob Malley or other diplomats from past administrations, Obama or Biden, with the sort of silliness of the readout of ‘We’ve agreed to terms in principle of what we might talk about,’” Goldberg said. “It is one of the clearest signs of a regime that’s not willing to make the tough concessions that the president has demanded, and instead is simply buying for time.”
AGAINST THE TIDE
Leading U.S. social work org comes out against efforts to expel Israel from international body
The leading membership organization of U.S. social workers called on Tuesday for the field’s largest international body to oppose efforts to expel Israel’s association of social workers, ahead of a planned vote on that question slated for Wednesday, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports. The International Federation of Social Workers will vote on Wednesday on a contentious effort to expel the Israeli Union of Social Workers, after some European members complained that Israeli social workers had served in combat roles during Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. A petition, organized by several Jewish social work associations, circulated last week urging the U.S.-based National Association of Social Workers and the Canadian Association of Social Workers to come out against the measure garnered more than 12,000 signatures.
Speaking out: NASW — which boasts more than 120,000 members and claims to be the largest national social work organization in the world — weighed in for the first time with a statement on Tuesday urging IFSW members to vote against the measure in order “to uphold the profession’s core values of unity, dialogue and compassion.” The NASW said in a statement, “We are deeply surprised and disappointed that our European colleagues, who have not experienced circumstances comparable to those faced by their Israeli counterparts, are now seeking to judge and exclude them. We hope that, should they ever face similar challenges, they are met with the compassion, understanding, and empathy that they are currently denying to their Israeli colleagues.”
brussels debacle
Sole Jewish lawmaker in Belgium faces backlash amid spat with U.S. over mohels
The long-simmering controversy over whether mohels can perform ritual circumcisions in Belgium broke dramatically into international public view this week, over a case involving the prosecution of three mohels. The controversy, which touches on sensitive religious, legal and diplomatic matters, has ensnared the only Jewish lawmaker in Belgium, Michael Freilich, as well as the U.S. ambassador to Belgium, Bill White, who accused the country of antisemitism over the legal action. And it stretches from Antwerp, home to a large Orthodox Jewish community, to Washington, to Jerusalem, where Israel’s foreign minister has weighed in, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
The matter at hand: It comes after Belgian police arrested the mohels, Jewish religious authorities who conduct circumcisions, during a series of raids last May in Antwerp. The individuals have been charged with performing a medical procedure without a license. While Brussels has not specifically outlawed ritual circumcision, it requires a doctor to perform the procedure. There are no mohels who are also doctors in Belgium, a source close to Freilich told JI, and Jewish law requires a mohel to be Jewish. Freilich has become the target of accusations from his fellow lawmakers, in light of a recent interview to a Yiddish-language newspaper Der Yid, in which he recounted raising the matter at a roundtable discussion with members of Congress during a visit to Washington.
Worthy Reads
Ignoring Red Lines: The editorial board of The Wall Street Journal warns that Iran is hoping the Trump administration will follow in the footsteps of the Obama administration and only focus on Iran’s nuclear program in talks, even as President Donald Trump has pledged to come to the defense of Iranian protesters. “Mr. Trump prizes flexibility, and he could ignore any red line he has drawn, as Mr. Obama did at great cost in Syria. But given the ideas Iran has floated so far, a deal would likely require Mr. Trump to cave. Why would he do that while the regime is afraid of its own people, badly weakened militarily by Israel and under financial pressure? The main concession Iran is discussing is to suspend uranium enrichment for a time. But Iran isn’t enriching now, thanks to U.S. bombers, and it isn’t ready to resume. In exchange for that status quo, Tehran wants U.S. sanctions relief, which would be a lifeline to the regime and a betrayal of the protesters.” [WSJ]
Vance’s False Idol: Tablet’s Liel Leibovitz shares a letter he wrote to an unnamed Catholic friend about his concerns around antisemitism and anti-Zionism in the Catholic Church, following the controversy last week resulting from comments by a Catholic member of the White House’s Religious Liberty Commission. “I admire Vice President JD Vance’s journey, and I want to believe that he respects my people and faith as much as I respect his. But watching him in public these days sends shivers down my spine. With one morally clear statement, he could disempower this entire emerging false idol. Instead, he’s doing the opposite. … That the Vice President would choose to center his faith not in deep, meaningful, personal, and evocative ways but as a facile and misdirected talking point is concerning. When we say we want more faith in public life, I’m not sure even the most ardently observant among us has in mind a world in which our elected officials are guided by theological urges rather than by America’s cold, hard interests.” [Tablet]
Word on the Street
Vice President JD Vance said that Iranian officials were still unwilling to acknowledge “some red lines” set by the U.S. in negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program, as Axios reports that a war between the U.S. and Iran, likely with Israeli involvement, “could begin very soon”…
A week after Carrie Prejean Boller was removed from the White House Religious Liberty Commission after making stridently anti-Zionist comments at a hearing on antisemitism last week, Sameerah Munshi, a member of the commission’s advisory board, came to Prejean Boller’s defense. “It is my hope as an American that ‘America First’ prevails for Carrie and ordinary Americans over an ‘Israel First’ project bent on eroding the constitutional protections that belong to every American,” Munshi said on Monday. She remains an advisor to the commission…
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, is releasing a book later this year focused on his Christian faith…
House Democrats are mulling a forced vote to censure Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) for recent Islamophobic comments made on social media if House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) does not take action…
The New York Times does a deep dive into the fractured relationship between the Black and Jewish communities following comments by Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died yesterday, to The Washington Post in 1984 in which he referred to Jews as “Hymies” and New York City as “Hymietown”…
Thrive Capital founder Joshua Kushner announced that Thrive was closing its 10th fund, with the majority of the more than $10 billion raised going to designated growth-stage investments…
Eric Trump is investing in Israeli drone maker Xtend in a deal that will merge the Israeli company with Florida-based construction company JFB Construction — which says it already has a multimillion-dollar Pentagon contract — with plans to take the new company public…
Scotiabank dissolved its remaining 165,000 shares in Israel’s Elbit Systems, after facing activist pressure, including protests outside branches of the Canadian bank and the disruption of an awards ceremony sponsored by the bank…
A federal judge blocked the deportation of Columbia University graduate student Mohsen Mahdawi, who led anti-Israel protests at the university, citing a procedural misstep by federal attorneys who failed to certify a document that was to be used as evidence against Mahdawi…
A U.N. committee under the body’s Human Rights Council rebuked the European countries that have in recent days called for the removal of Francesca Albanese as special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, saying that the moves against Albanese, who recently came under fire for comments in which she called Israel the “common enemy” of humanity, were “vicious attacks, rooted in disinformation”…
Radio Télévision Suisse removed commentary from one of its broadcasters covering the Olympic men’s bobsled races over his remarks regarding Israeli bobsled captain AJ Edelman’s support for Israel, which the commentator described as support for “genocide,” saying that Stefan Renna’s comments “may have appeared inappropriate due to its length within the context of a sports commentary”…
A new YouGov poll commissioned by the Council for a Secure America found majority support in Syria for both U.S. engagement (65%), as well as a security arrangement with Israel (64%)…
Syria is closing the al-Hol detention camp that previously housed tens of thousands of people, including Islamic State members and their families, weeks after the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish group that had been supported by the U.S. and had been overseeing it, withdrew amid a takeover of the region by Syrian government forces…
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday slammed Israel’s recent recognition of Somaliland, arguing that the recognition does not help any party…
Eli Sharabi’s Hostage, which recounts his 16 months in Hamas captivity, was named the book of the year at the Jewish Book Council’s National Jewish Book Awards…
Yoav Gonen, formerly a reporter at The City, is joining the office of New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin as communications director…
Jewish Currents tapped former Forward reporter Joshua Nathan-Kazis to join its staff…
Cato Institute co-founder Edward Crane, who established the libertarian think tank in 1977, died at 81…
Pic of the Day
British actor Tracy-Ann Oberman was named as a member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire from King Charles in a ceremony on Tuesday at Windsor Castle.
Birthdays
French movie actor, Esther Garrel turns 35…
Rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva University, he also holds a Ph.D. in operations research from NYU, Rabbi Hershel Reichman turns 82… Former U.S. representative from New York for 32 years, he was chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Eliot Engel turns 79… Former national and Washington correspondent for The New York Times for 24 years, Michael Janofsky… Russian pharmaceutical businessman, Boris Spiegel turns 73… Principal at NYC-based Liebman Advisors, Scott Liebman… Israeli singer and actress, Ilana Avital turns 66… Portfolio manager at Capital Group, she holds a master’s degree in economics from New York University, Hilda Lea Applbaum… Co-principal of the Institute for Wise Philanthropy, Mirele B. Goldsmith… Mayor of Miami Beach, Fla., from 2013-2017, Philip Louis Levine turns 64… National director of events at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Lori Tessel… Director of the digital diplomacy bureau at Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, David Saranga turns 62… 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 60… 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 58… President of Yeshiva University since 2017, Rabbi Ari Berman turns 56… CEO of an eponymous Baltimore-based branding, marketing, PR, advertising and design firm, David F. Warschawski turns 55… Fitness expert, nutritionist, media personality and author, Jillian Michaels turns 52… Actor, comedian, writer, director and producer, Isaac “Ike” Barinholtz turns 49… Co-founder (with Dan Gilbert) of StockX, the stock market for high-end product resale, it started as a secondary market for sneaker sales, Joshua Eliot “Josh” Luber turns 48… Singer-songwriter and pianist, Regina Spektor turns 46… Chief development officer for J Street, Adee Telem… Instagram celebrity, with 9.4 million followers, known commonly as The Fat Jewish, Josh Ostrovsky turns 44… President of baseball operations for the New York Mets, David Stearns turns 41… Editorial writer and opinion columnist for The Washington Post, James P. Hohmann… Deputy director of strategic planning at NYC’s Housing Authority, Dylan Sandler… Producer and off-air reporter on Capitol Hill for NBC News, Rebecca R. Kaplan…
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