College Republicans gets cozy with Fuentes
Plus, Israel strikes back after 200-missile Hezbollah barrage
Add JewishInsider on Google👋 Good Thursday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at the ties between neo-Nazi influencer Nick Fuentes and Kai Schwemmer, the newly named political director of College Republicans of America, and spotlight the pro-Israel positions taken by Clay Fuller, who is expected to succeed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene following next month’s runoff in Georgia. We report on the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah following the terror group’s launching last night of 200 missiles at Israel, and look at the degree to which the United Arab Emirates is absorbing much of Tehran’s missile and drone attacks. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Howard Schultz, Adm. Brad Cooper and Dorothy McAuliffe.
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
- The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is holding a hearing this morning on the influence of foreign funding in higher education. National Association of Scholars President Peter Wood, Foundation for Defense of Democracies Senior Fellow Craig Singleton and The Asia Society’s Robert Daly are slated to testify.
- The annual weeklong SXSW festival kicks off today in Austin, Texas. Mahmoud Khalil, the controversial former leader of Columbia’s anti-Israel protest movement who is facing possible deportation over his activities, will, according to the festival schedule, participate in a conversation this weekend “on the cost of dissent,” alongside his lawyer and The Guardian’s Betsy Reed. More below.
- First in JI: The Republican Jewish Coalition is set to announce endorsements of 16 House Republicans running for reelection, mostly in swing districts: Reps. Tom Barrett (R-MI), Rob Bresnahan (R-PA), Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), Gabe Evans (R-CO), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ), Mike Lawler (R-NY), Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), Zach Nunn (R-IA), David Valadao (R-CA) and Derrick Van Orden (R-WI).
- RJC also endorsed the four incumbent Jewish House Republicans: Reps. David Kustoff (R-TN), Max Miller (R-OH), Randy Fine (R-FL) and Craig Goldman (R-TX) — the largest group of Jewish Republicans in the House since the 1980s, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MATTHEW KASSEL
In a low-profile electoral upset that defied the difficult national political environment facing the GOP, a Republican candidate declared victory this week in a down-ballot race for a seat on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors in Virginia — for the first time in nearly 40 years.
But while Republicans are now rejoicing over their narrow win, it otherwise largely demonstrated how Democratic leaders effectively sacrificed the seat to the GOP rather than elevate an extremist member of their own party who had claimed the nomination.
The result underscored the extent to which local Democrats had swiftly mobilized to oppose their own nominee, Muhammed Casim, who faced backlash over a series of recently uncovered past social media comments in which he used racist, misogynistic and antisemitic language. The posts, written more than a decade ago, used the n-word as well as demeaning rhetoric targeting women. He also accused Israel of genocide and promoted a conspiratorial post about U.S. financial assistance to the Jewish state, among other extreme comments.
More broadly, the outcome is an atypical example of how the Democratic Party worked to meaningfully confront extremism within its own ranks, even if its efforts came at the expense of an easily winnable local seat that instead flipped to Republicans for the first time in decades.
Casim apologized for his comments but refused bipartisan calls to drop out of the race, which had motivated a Democratic challenger to launch a write-in campaign that ultimately helped siphon votes away from his embattled bid. He lost to Republican Jeannie LaCroix by a margin of 258 votes. Write-in candidates pulled in 744 votes — a relatively sizable total that appeared to have made a difference in the closely contested race.
“Opposing antisemitism, racism or misogyny isn’t a partisan position,” Marc Broklawski, a Jewish vice chair of the Virginia Democratic Party, told Jewish Insider on Wednesday. “It’s a floor, not a ceiling, and the least we should expect from any party, official candidate or voter. When Democrats hold that floor even when it’s costly, that’s something to be proud of. When we don’t, voters notice that too.”
NORTHERN FRONT
Israel expands strikes in Lebanon after major Hezbollah barrage
Israel continued extensive strikes on Lebanon on Thursday morning, after Hezbollah shot about 200 projectiles at northern Israel the night before. About 120 of the rockets and missiles crossed from Lebanon into Israel during the Wednesday night barrage, with those not intercepted mostly striking Israel’s north, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
State of play: The Magen David Adom emergency service treated two individuals with mild injuries following the missile fire from Lebanon. A home, with the exception of its safe room, was destroyed, and two others were damaged in Moshav Haniel in Emek Hefer, a region of Israel 70 miles from the Lebanon border. Soon after, Iran launched missiles at Israel, a move officials said likely indicated that the two Wednesday night barrages were coordinated between Tehran and Beirut. A senior Israeli official briefed the media on Thursday morning that a significant expansion of operations in Lebanon would soon take place, but did not say whether that would include a broad ground invasion.
Bonus: In Al Arabiya, former White House Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt calls on Beirut to decisively crack down on and disarm Hezbollah, arguing that the Iranian proxy is at a particularly weak moment: “The aura of invincibility that Hezbollah cultivated for decades has faded. The pillars that sustained Hezbollah for years, money from Tehran, military dominance and political intimidation, have dramatically weakened.”
CAMPUS CONTROVERSY
Conservative students alarmed about College Republicans leader with Nick Fuentes ties
Some pro-Israel conservative students are voicing concern over the College Republicans of America’s new political director, citing his ties to neo-Nazi influencer Nick Fuentes as evidence of the party’s increasingly “alarming” shift towards extremism, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports. Kai Schwemmer was tapped last week as political director of the campus group, which has grown to more than 200 active chapters across U.S. universities since it was established in 2023 as an offshoot from the College Republican National Committee.
Friend of Fuentes: Schwemmer, known on social media as Kai Klips, has a channel on Fuentes’ invitation-only streaming platform Cozy, which he launched with far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Schwemmer appeared in a 2021 video promoting Fuentes’ “White Boy Summer” tour and was featured as a “special guest” at Fuentes’ 2022 APFAC III conference, the progressive advocacy organization People for the American Way reported. Schwemmer has also been outspoken about his affiliation with Fuentes’ political movement, “America First.” “It’s alarming but not surprising,” College Republicans of America would select a Fuentes ally as its leader, Felipe Avila, a senior studying nursing at Catholic University of America, who identifies as conservative, told JI.
FRESH PERSPECTIVE
Israel supporter Clay Fuller expected to replace MTG on Capitol Hill
Clay Fuller, a veteran and district attorney, is expected to succeed former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) in the House, bringing a pro-Israel voice to replace one of the House’s most anti-Israel Republicans, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. Fuller led all Republicans on the all-party primary ballot in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, winning 35% of the vote. Even though he finished narrowly behind Democrat and military veteran Shawn Harris, the Republican vote is likely to consolidate behind Fuller in next month’s runoff election.
Fuller’s positions: Fuller has expressed support for Israel and for the U.S. strikes on Iran. “President Trump tried the peace route with Iran not once, not twice, but THREE separate times — and they refused. He’s the peace President, but you can’t negotiate with a death cult,” Fuller said in a post on X last month, emphasizing he had supported operations against Iran during his time in the military and that the regime and its proxies had killed many Americans. The day after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, Fuller blasted the Biden administration for unfreezing $6 billion in Iranian funds as part of an earlier hostage deal, highlighting Iran’s support to Hamas.
President’s pitch: President Donald Trump ripped into Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) during a campaign rally in Hebron, Ky., on Wednesday to support Ed Gallrein, his endorsed candidate to take on the incumbent, describing Massie as “disloyal,” a “loser,” the “worst person” and a “disaster as a congressman,” JI’s Emily Jacobs reports.
ON THE TRAIL
Pro-Israel Democrats walking a fine line on U.S. operation in Iran
Remarks by pro-Israel stalwarts Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Brad Schneider (D-IL) on a Jewish Democratic Council of America webinar on Wednesday highlighted the delicate line that some pro-Israel Democratic lawmakers are walking on the war in Iran, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Notable quotable: “I can tell you assuredly: had I been presented with an Authorization for Use of Military Force, that made sense, and that we were properly briefed, and there was a demonstrative, imminent threat — which we have really yet to be shown — I am someone on our side of the aisle that likely would have voted for an AUMF if all of those things were in place,” Wasserman Schultz said. “Instead, [President Donald Trump] has blown an opportunity to go in in the most prepared way. … I have been careful about just blanket-ly condemning everything [Trump is] doing here, but most certainly, the way that we got into this was really unacceptable, and my constituents are very concerned.”
Friendly fire: A former top Obama administration foreign policy official said on Wednesday that any Democratic lawmakers who vote to support U.S. strikes on Iran should be primaried. “If you vote for the funding of this war, you should be primaried. I don’t want you in the Democratic Party,” said Ben Rhodes, co-host of the “Pod Save the World” podcast and former deputy national security advisor under President Barack Obama, JI’s Gabby Deutch reports.
CENTER STAGE
Mahmoud Khalil to speak at South by Southwest festival
Columbia University anti-Israel protest leader Mahmoud Khalil is scheduled to speak at this week’s annual South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports. Khalil will participate on Sunday in a conversation “on the cost of dissent,” with The Guardian Editor Betsy Reed and Baher Azmy, legal director of the Center For Constitutional Rights who was a lawyer for Khalil in his deportation proceedings, according to the SXSW schedule.
Details: The weeklong festival each March convenes around 300,000 guests, including film and media professionals, executives and politicians to discuss culture, technology and innovation. “Khalil joins The Guardian for an unflinching conversation on his ordeal, the system that tried to silence him, and the personal and political stakes of resistance,” SXSW’s website states. At Columbia, Khalil was a key organizer of the anti-Israel encampment in April 2024, a two-week demonstration in the center of campus during Israel’s war in Gaza.
FEELING THE HEAT
UAE, more than Israel, absorbing bulk of Iranian strikes in war’s early weeks
As Iran retaliates against the U.S. and Israel’s joint military campaign, findings have revealed that the United Arab Emirates — not Israel — has thus far faced the majority of Tehran’s missile and drone attacks, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea and Marc Rod report. As of March 11, the UAE’s Ministry of Defense reported that its air defenses had “engaged” 268 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and 1,514 UAVs.
Bearing the brunt: Iranian strikes have targeted American assets in the country, such as the U.S. consulate in Dubai, but also a range of civilian targets, including Dubai International Airport, where a drone attack wounded four people. Reports have indicated that Abu Dhabi has faced more than three times the number of Iranian drones and missiles launched toward Israel. The attacks come as Gulf allies are running short on missile interceptors. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Rick Scott (R-FL) argued to JI on Wednesday that, ultimately, the U.S. campaign against Iran will be to the benefit of the UAE and other Gulf allies, even if they’re feeling pain in the short term.
Winds of change: Despite Qatar’s anger with Iran over the regime’s continued attacks on its territory and civilian infrastructure, experts are divided over whether the conflict will ultimately force Doha to reconsider its long-standing policy of hosting Iranian-backed Hamas officials, JI’s Matthew Shea reports.
Worthy Reads
The War on Antisemitism: In Time, State Department antisemitism envoy Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun explains the Trump administration’s approach to fighting antisemitism. “Antisemitism proliferates from an ever-multiplying list of sources: voices from all sides of the political spectrum spew antisemitic rhetoric; foreign terrorist organizations espouse violent antisemitic ideologies; and online radicalization increasingly incites real-world antisemitic attacks against Jewish individuals and institutions globally.” [Time]
This War Has Roots: In The Washington Post, Geoffrey Corn and Orde Kittrie argue that the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran is a continuation of hostilities that have been ongoing for years. “International law does not require a distinct self-defense justification for every attack conducted once the right of self-defense is triggered. Once that right is initiated, military action is justified to achieve the overall self-defense objective, in this case terminating Iran’s capacity to strike the United States and its allies. … These facts justify the conclusion that the U.S. and Iran were already engaged in an armed conflict when the current round began. As a result, international law does not require the U.S. to refrain from further military action against Iran until just before the IRGC launches another assault.” [WashPost]
Risk Assessment: The Wall Street Journal‘s Yaroslav Trofimov looks at the risks Washington and American allies face if the war ends with the Iranian regime intact. “But leaving in place Iran’s theocratic regime — angry, defiant and in possession of its nuclear stockpile and what remains of its arsenal of missiles and drones — would essentially grant Tehran control over the world’s energy markets. It would also sacrifice the security of America’s partners and allies, and possibly make another, more devastating, regional war likely.” [WSJ]
Get Out of Jail Free: The Atlantic’s Graeme Wood considers the utility of former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has evolved from being the face of the Islamic Republic to an opponent of the regime and was rumored to have been killed by Israel early in the war. “ Contrary to early reports, Ahmadinejad is alive, his associates say. … The circumstances of his survival may prove significant as the war drags on. Whatever the intent, Ahmadinejad’s associates say the strike was in effect a jailbreak operation that freed the former president from regime control. Their description of the chaotic sequence of events that began before the war suggests that Ahmadinejad has friends on the outside.” [TheAtlantic]
Word on the Street
President Donald Trump announced his endorsement of Brandon Herrera, the far-right social media influencer who is the presumptive Republican nominee in Texas’ 23rd Congressional District, following Rep. Tony Gonzales’ (R-TX) announcement that he was dropping his reelection bid, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…
The Cook Political Report moved the Pennsylvania governor’s race from “Likely Democrat” to “Solid Democrat,” citing Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s 60% approval rating, cash on hand and significant polling lead over his Republican challenger, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity…
Dorothy McAuliffe, the wife of former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, announced her bid for Congress in a potential new district that is expected to favor Democrats, the status of which will be determined in a statewide vote next month…
Nearly all Senate Democrats wrote to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Wednesday to raise “grave concern” about a strike on a girl’s school that killed at least 168 people in the opening phase of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…
The letter came amid findings from a preliminary U.S. military investigation indicating that the U.S. was at fault for the bombing, which took place on the same block as a number of buildings used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps…
Federal and state officials in California sought to assuage concerns after the FBI’s Los Angeles division sent out a bulletin that Iran could conduct retaliatory drone attacks on the West Coast, with a law-enforcement official telling CBS News that there was no credible intelligence that prompted the bulletin, which had predated the Iran war…
The Department of Justice is probing Iran’s use of Binance to evade U.S. and international sanctions after an internal investigation at the cryptocurrency company found that the platform had been used to funnel more than $1 billion to terror proxies…
The New York Times reports on Iran’s use of cluster bombs to strike Israel in violation of international law…
The Swiss Embassy in Tehran, which has historically served as an interlocutor for U.S. interests in the Islamic Republic, announced it is temporarily closing, citing “the war in the Middle East and the increasing security risk,” but “will continue to maintain an open line of communication” between Washington and Tehran…
The Wall Street Journal spotlights CENTCOM head Adm. Brad Cooper, whom associates described as “thoughtful, decisive and cool under pressure” as he leads U.S. operations in the Middle East…
Yeshiva University is establishing the first new dental school in Manhattan in more than a century, with plans to enroll 150 students in an accelerated three-year program on its Midtown Manhattan campus…
Starbucks owner Howard Schultz became the latest executive to relocate to South Florida, purchasing a $44 million penthouse in Surfside, Fla….
The California Department of Education filed a lawsuit against the Oakland Unified School District, alleging that administrators failed to address “pervasive antisemitism” in schools in the Bay Area district following a directive in January to do so…
A judge in the U.K. tossed out the government’s appeal of a court ruling dismissing its case against Irish band Kneecap over a group member’s support for Hezbollah; the lower court had dismissed the case over a governmental procedural error…
Google completed its $32 billion purchase of Israeli cybersecurity startup Wiz, started in 2020 by Unit 8200 veterans Assaf Rappaport, Yinon Costica, Ami Luttwak and Roy Reznik; the deal marks the largest purchase of an Israeli-founded company in nearly a decade…
Iran’s sports minister said that the Islamic Republic’s national soccer team could not play in this summer’s World Cup, a number of games of which are being played in the U.S….
Spain is permanently withdrawing its ambassador from Israel, months after Ambassador Ana Maria Salomon Perez was recalled to Madrid; the country’s embassy in Israel going forward will be led by a charge d’affaires…
Bloomberg looks at Israeli efforts to establish an intelligence base on the coast of Somaliland months after Israel became the first country to formally recognize the African nation, which is separated from the Yemen-based Houthis by the Gulf of Aden…
Axios reports on the role that hackers are increasingly playing in the war between the U.S., Israel and Iran, following a cyberattack on Wednesday targeting the U.S.-based medical device company Stryker that disabled employees’ phones and laptops…
The Qatari-backed Irth Capital Management submitted a bid to take over Papa Johns, in a deal that would give the pizza chain a $1.5 billion valuation…
Bernard Haykel is joining the Foundation for Defense of Democracies as a senior fellow…
Angelika Saleh, the namesake of the Angelika Film Center, which she opened in 1989 with her then-husband, Joseph Saleh, died at 90…
Pic of the Day
UJA-Federation of New York announced last night it was committing $1.3 million to build the Shalva Sharabi Family Center in Ashkelon, Israel, a new center dedicated in memory of the wife and daughters of former hostage Eli Sharabi, who were killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. The pledge for the center, which will support individuals with disabilities and trauma victims, was made at Shalva’s 36th anniversary gala, held at Gotham Hall in Manhattan, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports for eJewishPhilanthropy.
Birthdays
Born in Haifa, he served as president of the Central Bank of Brazil and is now president of the Inter-American Development Bank, Ilan Goldfajn turns 60…
Photographer, musician and author of 15 children’s books, Arlene Weiss Alda turns 93… Carol Margolis… Retired U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) turns 79… Director, producer and screenwriter of movies and television including directing the first of “The Fast and the Furious” film franchise, Rob Cohen turns 77… British sculptor, he won the 2017 $1 million Genesis Prize for “commitment to Jewish values, the Jewish community and the State of Israel,” Sir Anish Kapoor turns 72… Pitching coach who has worked for the Yankees, Reds, Braves, Marlins, Cubs and Padres, Larry Rothschild turns 72… Past president of AIPAC, he is the founder and CEO of R.A. Cohen & Associates, Robert A. Cohen… Former member of the Knesset for the Likud party, he is from the Israeli Druze community, Ayoob Kara turns 71… Founder of hedge fund Lone Pine Capital, Stephen Mandel turns 70… Sales representative at Paychex, Lynne Blumenthal… Director of constituency engagement at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Diane Saltzman… Senior attorney in the D.C. office of Squire Patton Boggs, Stacey Grundman… Sportscaster for ESPN and a host of “SportsCenter,” Steve Levy turns 61… U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) turns 58… Chief Washington correspondent for CNN and co-host of the Sunday morning program “State of the Union,” Jacob Paul “Jake” Tapper turns 57… Founder and CEO at Miller Strategies, Jeff Miller… Israeli film and television actor, Tzachi Halevy turns 51… SVP of communications at the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, Brian T. Weiss… Founder and publisher of Fleishigs, a kosher food magazine, Shlomo Klein… Actor and comedian, Samm Levine turns 44… Writer, artist and social media personality, she is best known for her Daf Reactions series of videos explaining passages from the Talmud posted to TikTok, Miriam P. Anzovin… Senior public affairs specialist at the Association of American Medical Colleges, Talia Schmidt… Member of Congress (D-NY-15) since 2021, Ritchie Torres turns 38… Senior Middle East intelligence specialist at Vcheck, Aaron Magid… Founder and CEO of Serotonin and co-founder and president of Mojito, Amanda Gutterman Cassatt turns 35… CEO and co-founder of Wonder Media Network, Jennifer Manning Kaplan… Figure skater who won the 2016 World Junior championship, he competed for Israel at the 2018 Winter Olympics, Daniel Samohin turns 28… Israeli internet personality, model and singer, Anna Zak turns 25…
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