A new battle in Persia as Purim arrives
Plus, conflict expands as Hezbollah strikes Israel
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In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on the ongoing joint U.S.-Israeli military operations against Iran that began Saturday morning, and look at the responses from Gulf states, Capitol Hill and U.S. allies as the conflict enters its third day. We cover Columbia University’s effort to distance itself from the Columbia University Apartheid Divest group that called for “death to America” over the weekend, and report on Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner’s recent appearance on a podcast hosted by antisemitic conspiracy theorist Nate Cornacchia. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
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
- Purim begins tonight, in which Jews around the world will read from the Book of Esther and recount the Jewish people’s victory over Haman in ancient Persia.
- Our teams in Israel, New York and Washington are covering the latest news and reports as the U.S. and Israel carry out operations targeting Iran, and as the Islamic Republic launches strikes across the region, with the majority targeting Israel and the United Arab Emirates. More below.
- Overnight, Hezbollah launched its first attacks on Israel in more than a year, firing projectiles toward population centers in northern Israel and prompting retaliatory Israeli strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. More below.
- The International Atomic Energy Agency is convening a special session of its Board of Governors in Vienna today, which was requested by Russia to focus on the joint U.S.-Israeli military operations targeting Iran, following a board meeting that was scheduled prior to the start of the weekend hostilities.
- President Donald Trump will posthumously award the Medal of Honor to Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds, who during World War II saved the lives of the hundreds of Jewish soldiers under his command at a POW camp in Nazi Germany. Trump is expected to take questions from the media at the event.
- The J Street national conference continues today in Washington. More below.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MELISSA WEISS
As joint U.S.-Israeli operations against Iran and the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile and drone attacks continue into a third day, all parties are planning for what could be a conflict that stretches across weeks, despite the decapitation of nearly all of Iran’s senior-most officials in the opening salvos of the war.
On his Truth Social site, President Donald Trump doubled down on his push for Iranian protesters to take action, calling on “all Iranian patriots who yearn for freedom to seize this moment, to be brave, be bold, be heroic and take back your country. America is with you. I made a promise to you, and I fulfilled that promise. The rest will be up to you, but we’ll be there to help.”
Trump said on Sunday that the U.S. had sunk nine Iranian warships and destroyed Tehran’s naval headquarters as it works to dismantle the country’s entire naval fleet.
The president told numerous media outlets over the weekend that the time frame for operations would take four to five weeks, but said that Iranian officials “want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them.” Read more here.
Ali Larijani, the head of Iran’s National Security Council, refuted the claim, saying, “We will not negotiate with the United States.”
With the status of talks and any potential off-ramps in question, strikes continue in Israel and Iran, with Iranian proxy Hezbollah entering the hostilities early this morning with missile barrages targeting northern Israel.
The last 48 hours have scrambled and deepened alliances across the Middle East as a number of Arab states coalesced behind the U.S. In a joint statement released Sunday night, the U.S., Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates slammed Iran’s “indiscriminate and reckless missile and drone attacks against sovereign territories across the region” and said the countries “stand united in defense of our citizens, sovereignty, and territory, and reaffirm our right to self-defense in the face of these attacks.”
NORTHERN FRONT
Day 3: Israel-Iran conflict expands to southern Lebanon
Israel expanded its war effort against Iran to southern Lebanon on Monday after Iranian proxy Hezbollah launched rockets and drones at Israel overnight, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
What he said: “We have launched an offensive campaign against Hezbollah,” Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF’s chief of staff, said in a situational assessment on Monday. “We are not only operating defensively — we are now going on the offensive as well. We must prepare for many prolonged days of combat ahead.” The war against Iran and Hezbollah “requires strong defensive readiness and sustained offensive readiness, operating in continuous waves while constantly utilizing opportunities,” Zamir said.
By the numbers: The U.S. and Israel have suffered casualties throughout the weekend, including 12 civilians killed in Israel and three U.S. servicemembers killed during operations. Three U.S. F-15 fighter jets were accidentally shot down in a friendly fire incident over Kuwait late last night, CENTCOM announced, but all pilots ejected safely.
More from Zamir: The U.S. and Israeli militaries planned attacks on Iran for months, marking “unprecedented cooperation,” Zamir said on Saturday, hours after the launch of what Israel has called Operation Roaring Lion and the U.S. has called Operation Epic Fury, JI’s Lahav Harkov reports.
WEIGHING IN
As Iran war continues, Senate and House set for long-shot votes to cut it short
As the U.S.-Israel air war against Iran continues, the Senate and House are set to vote this week on war powers resolutions that would aim to cut the operations short, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
On the agenda: The resolutions, if passed, would force the administration to end the war, withdraw forces and cease operations against the Iranian regime. It’s almost certain that the resolution will not pass the Senate; the House vote may be closer but it is also not likely to pass. And even if the resolutions were to pass, they would not have the two-thirds support necessary to overcome an inevitable presidential veto. But the resolutions will be an opportunity for Democrats — and a small number of Republicans — to go on record demonstrating their opposition to the war and dissatisfaction with the administration’s approach. The Senate is expected to vote on Tuesday or Wednesday, with the House voting on Wednesday or Thursday.
Congressional reax: A number of Republican lawmakers rallied behind President Donald Trump’s military strikes against Iran on Saturday, while leading Democrats expressed quick and strident opposition to the operations, JI’s Marc Rod reports.
closing ranks
Arab states unite as Iran strikes every member of Gulf Cooperation Council
Major Gulf powers are coming together in rare lockstep amid Iran’s strikes around the region, with the United Arab Emirates closing its embassy in Iran and the Gulf Cooperation Council declaring it retains the right to respond. After the U.S. and Israel launched a major operation against Iran on Saturday, the regime struck sites in at least nine countries around the Middle East, including Israel, Jordan, Syria and every member of the Gulf Cooperation Council — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Jewish Insider’s Danielle Cohen-Kanik reports. Despite claiming it is aiming at U.S. military assets in the region, Iran has struck widely at civilian infrastructure, including hotels, residential neighborhoods and airports in the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Iraq.
Putting differences aside: On Saturday, the first day of the operation, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed spoke by phone with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss Iran’s aggression and their response, a significant development and sign of the seriousness of the issue amid a regional rift between the two major powers. On Sunday, the ministerial council of the GCC held a meeting over video conference and issued a statement strongly condemning Iran’s attacks and affirming the countries’ “legal right to respond.”
Allies assemble: President Donald Trump’s decision to launch a military campaign against Iran has earned unexpected support from Western leaders who have otherwise sparred with Trump, particularly on trade policy. Canada and Australia, both of which are led by liberal parties, robustly backed the strikes that began on Saturday morning, JI’s Gabby Deutch reports.
TAKING AIM
Chris Van Hollen, in J Street address, calls AIPAC anti-American
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) took aim at the pro-Israel advocacy group AIPAC during an address on Sunday morning at the opening plenary of J Street’s convention in Washington and accused it of being un-American. Van Hollen elicited a loud chorus of boos in response to his description of AIPAC’s opposition to legislation he had sponsored seeking to place conditions on U.S. military assistance to Israel, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports from the conference.
What he said: “I put forward months and months ago a proposal that said, with respect to any country, any country that receives U.S. military assistance — has to agree to, No. 1, comply by American law and by international law. You know who came out against that? AIPAC came out against that,” Van Hollen said. Read more here.
Two-way street: The first speaker on the conference’s main stage on Sunday, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the president of the Union for Reform Judaism, took an unusual departure from J Street’s position on the U.S.-Israeli operations against Iran by noting that the organization’s positions are not the only ones that should be taken seriously in the Jewish community. J Street quickly came out against the attacks. “I’m certain that many in this gathering agree, as a matter of principle and foreign policy, with the J Street statement,” Jacobs said. “Many in our congregations might also agree. But America’s Jewish congregations are diverse, filled with good, moral people who differ on complex issues, as those raised by the Iran attacks.”
Info wars: The Congressional Progressive Caucus organized an “emergency convening” on Saturday evening for members to receive a briefing on Iran from the Quincy Institute’s Trita Parsi and former Obama administration official Ben Rhodes, according to an invitation obtained by JI’s Marc Rod.
PROBLEMATIC PODCAST
Platner sat for lengthy interview with antisemitic conspiracy theorist, said he was ‘longtime fan’ of his show
Weeks before Graham Platner promoted an antisemitic conspiracy theorist in a now-deleted social media post on Thursday, the controversial Maine Senate candidate appeared on a popular YouTube show whose host has spread specious claims about Jews and Israel, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports. Platner faced blowback last week for boosting a social media comment about a looming war with Iran by Stew Peters, a neo-Nazi influencer who has frequently espoused antisemitic tropes and engaged in Holocaust denial. Platner’s team said the post was made in error and “immediately” removed it after learning it elevated a “despicable account.”
Yes, but: In late January, Platner sat for a lengthy online interview with Nate Cornacchia, a retired Green Beret who has also promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories. Near the end of their hour-long conversation, Platner, a fellow military veteran, called himself “a longtime fan” of Cornacchia’s YouTube channel, “Valhalla VFT,” and said it was “an absolute pleasure being” on the show.
Endorsement alert: Platner picked up the endorsement of Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), who became the second sitting senator to endorse the far-left candidate after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
CREATING DISTANCE
Columbia denies connection to student group posting ‘death to America’ over Iran strikes
Columbia University distanced itself from Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a coalition of over 80 university student groups, after it posted “death to America” in Farsi in response to U.S. strikes on Iran, denying that current students are behind the account, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
Back and forth: “Marg bar Amrika,” CUAD posted on X on Saturday after U.S. and Israel’s joint strikes killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader — using a phrase that was frequently invoked by Khamenei. The post was deleted, but CUAD doubled down, writing in a new post, “X forced us to delete our ‘marg bar amrika’ tweet in order to gain back access to our account but the sentiment still stands.” Columbia responded that “the group that calls itself ‘CUAD’ is not a recognized student group, or affiliated in any way with the University.”
Bonus: Columbia reached a settlement with Jewish students, represented by the StandWithUs Center for Legal Justice, Students Against Antisemitism and Kasowitz LLP, in which the school says it will commit “to additional programming on antisemitism and scholarships for students who have worked, studied or lived in Israel.”
Worthy Reads
Misjudging Trump: In The New York Times, Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the former head of U.S. Central Command, posits that Iran “misjudged” President Donald Trump’s willingness to deviate from decades of U.S. foreign policy vis-à-vis Tehran. “For decades, Iran managed to bluff American presidents. It deterred attacks from a superpower and carried out proxy campaigns against its neighbors and Israel. Our strikes on Iran on Saturday are evidence that this long-term strategy of negotiating in bad faith is bankrupt. The military campaign underway is the direct result of Iranian leaders’ foot-dragging, obfuscation and delay tactics. … The president is the unique advantage we have in the region. For the first time in decades, American military power in the Middle East deployed against Iran is coupled with a commander in chief who isn’t afraid to use it.” [NYTimes]
A Gulf Between Them: The Wall Street Journal’s Yaroslav Trofimov talks to diplomats and analysts who suggest that Iran erred in its calculus that targeting Arab nations would increase pressure to end U.S. and Israeli strikes on the Islamic Republic. “Gulf states, rattled by volleys of Iranian drones and missiles targeting their hotels, ports and airports, are concluding the Iranian peril must be confronted. Rather than seeking an offramp, the prevailing mood in the Gulf — at least for now — is that the Iranian regime can’t be allowed to get away with this unprecedented onslaught on its neighbors. … Meanwhile, [Saudi political analyst Ali Shihabi] added, Iranian attacks on Gulf states have removed any embarrassment that these monarchies had in cooperating with the U.S. military campaign. It is unlikely that Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E. and other Gulf states will just keep absorbing Iranian blows for long, officials in the region said. One possibility is to start targeting missile and drone launch sites inside Iran.” [WSJ]
Equal Partners: The Atlantic’s Eliot Cohen considers the key role that “sophisticated, creative, and bold allies, such as Israel,” are playing in operations against Iran. “Today, however, the Israeli air force is equipped with the latest American aircraft and its own and American munitions, and is operating on a scale that no U.S. European ally could match in this theater. That is an astonishing thing. … Behind the sounds of jets and explosions lies another dimension of this war, and one in which the Israelis, who have been preparing for this for decades, are equal partners with the United States. It is a campaign in the shadows, composed of intelligence gathering, assassination, covert action, and special operations.” [TheAtlantic]
Word on the Street
Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said that an Iranian attack drone hit a British air base in Cyprus overnight, causing limited damage and no casualties; two additional drones were intercepted on Monday morning, according to Cypriot authorities…
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani slammed joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran in a statement Saturday — without placing fault with Tehran in his reaction; Mamdani’s statement reiterated his police department’s earlier pledge to boost local security, and also attacked Israel and the United States for “an illegal war of aggression,” Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports…
As California’s gubernatorial race heats up, five leading candidates said at a forum on Thursday that they are committed to deepening the state’s partnership with Israel and fighting efforts to boycott the Jewish state, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports…
The FBI is probing whether a deadly shooting that occurred in Austin, Texas, over the weekend was prompted by the U.S. strikes on Iran, with sources saying that the suspect, a 53-year-old Senegalese immigrant, was wearing a sweatshirt that said “Property of Allah” over a T-shirt with an Iranian flag design…
The University of Toronto is investigating instructional materials used by the dean of the university’s dentistry school that displayed antisemitic imagery; in an apology email, Anil Kishen said he used the images “without appreciating” their context and potential impact on the Jewish community…
U.K. authorities arrested a man accused of vandalizing a statue of Winston Churchill in London’s Parliament Square last week with graffiti branding the British leader a “Zionist war criminal”; additional charges were levied against the man for his membership in the Palestine Action group, whose status as a terror organization is in limbo following a court’s ruling that the government’s designation was illegal…
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of the far-left La France Insoumise party, is facing accusations of antisemitism over a speech last week in Lyon in which he mocked the pronunciation of Jeffrey Epstein’s name…
Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, formerly the head of the American Jewish Committee’s Europe operations, is joining the Foundation for Defense of Democracies as the think tank’s senior envoy to Europe…
Historian Donald Makovsky, the father of JINSA’s Michael Makovsky and The Washington Institute’s David Makovsky, died last week…
Singer and songwriter Neil Sedaka died at 86…
Philanthropist and art collector Iris Cantor died at 95…
Pic of the Day
Members of the Iranian diaspora in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles celebrated on Sunday the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Birthdays
Former culture reporter for The New York Times, David L. Itzkoff turns 50…
Restaurateur, lawyer, financier and former owner of Braniff International Airlines, Jeffrey Chodorow turns 76… Comedian, actress and writer, she was part of the original cast of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” Laraine Newman turns 74… Former U.S. senator from Wisconsin, Russ Feingold turns 73… Member of the Knesset for the National Unity Party, Alon Natan Schuster turns 69… Anesthesiologist in Skokie, Ill., Samuel M. Parnass, M.D…. Director of Judaism and Israel education at the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas, Sally G. Abrams… Member of the New York State Assembly, Alec Brook-Krasny turns 68… Consultant in public affairs, Mitch Bainwol turns 67… Author and reporter for The New York Times where she covers power players in New York City, Katherine “Katie” Rosman turns 54… Executive director of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance, Daphne Lazar-Price… Editor and director of communications at Twin Cities, Minnesota’s TC Jewfolk (a Jewish news, events and culture online media hub), Lonny Goldsmith… Israeli hip-hop singer and rapper better known as Mooki, Daniel Neyburger turns 51… Former member of the Knesset for the Kadima party, Yuval Zellner turns 48… Director of marketing at Window Nation, Eric Goldscher… Chief of staff for Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL-10), Yuri Beckelman… Israeli journalist and radio newscaster, Dr. Hila Chaya Korach turns 42… VP at This Machine Filmworks in Los Angeles, Sally Rosen Phillips… Founding member of CoS Mastermind Network, a vetted community of chiefs of staff, Kaylee Berger Porco… Project manager at Halo Development, Donni Lurman…
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