Politico’s latest spin against Israel
Plus, Brad Schneider calls for Dems to shun Piker
Add JewishInsider on Google👋 Good Wednesday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on a call from Rep. Brad Schneider, the head of the New Dems, for the party to distance itself from far-left streamer Hasan Piker, and cover the criticism from Washington, D.C., mayoral candidate Kenyan McDuffie over a pledge by rival Janeese Lewis George to boycott Zionist events. We report on a call from a senior Department of Homeland Security official for increased vigilance for Jewish communities ahead of Passover and several major summer events, and talk to Senate Republicans about the Trump administration’s efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: King Charles III, Steven Fulop and Nickolay Mladenov.
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
- President Donald Trump will give the keynote address tonight at the NRCC’s annual President’s Dinner.
- The president’s speech comes amid efforts to secure a meeting in Pakistan tomorrow between senior U.S. and Iranian officials, amid a looming deadline to reach an agreement with Tehran to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and after the U.S. sent Iran a 15-point proposal to wind down the war. Tehran, for its part, has denied talks with the U.S., with an Iranian military spokesman saying the U.S. is “negotiating with itself.”
- The House Homeland Security Committee is holding a hearing this morning on the impact of the Department of Homeland Security’s shutdown.
- FII PRIORITY kicks off in Miami today, with Trump expected to speak on Friday afternoon. Other speakers at the three-day Saudi-organized gathering include White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, White House advisors Jared Kushner and Massad Boulos, Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. Princess Reema Bandar Al Saud, Meta’s Dina Powell McCormick, the Inter-American Development Bank’s Ilan Goldfajn, former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, developer Stephen Ross and FIFA head Gianni Infantino.
- Washington, D.C., mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George, who last week held a private meeting with local Jewish leaders to apologize for her response to a Democratic Socialist of America questionnaire in which she pledged to boycott Zionist events, is appearing at a Metro DC DSA rally tonight with Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).
- The Middle East Institute is holding its 80th anniversary gala tonight in Washington, honoring Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the United Arab Emirates’ minister of industry and advanced technology.
- Elsewhere in Washington, Ruth Wisse is slated to deliver the annual Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities tonight at the Kennedy Center.
- Jonah Platt will host tonight’s 75th National Jewish Book Awards Gala in New York City.
- The annual CPAC conference begins today in Dallas.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR
You would think the media wouldn’t need to twist Democratic candidates’ views on Israel, given the challenges pro-Israel supporters are already facing within the party. But in a Politico story suggesting that Democrats are running away from AIPAC, the publication misrepresented the views of two leading presidential contenders — and ignored the latest pro-Israel comments made in its own pages by a top-tier candidate.
The story leads by noting pro-Israel Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) said he’s not taking PAC money from anyone and then twists his comments to suggest that he had shifted his views on AIPAC or his support for Israel. The omission (buried at the end of the story) is particularly egregious because in the same interview, Booker told Politico that he was troubled by the “singling out of AIPAC” compared to other American advocacy groups.
“Somehow, AIPAC seems to be drawing a lot of attention, and that’s problematic to me,” Booker said. That doesn’t sound like an example of someone turning on the pro-Israel advocacy group.
The story then cites Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, one of the leading supporters of Israel in the party, as someone who’s flip-flopping on AIPAC for noting that as a governor, he’s never taken or solicited money from AIPAC. (Which is true, as a matter of fact, because AIPAC only spends money in federal races, not statewide campaigns.)
But that narrow, semantic statement was taken as evidence that Shapiro has changed his tune, when in reality he’s been speaking on left-wing podcasts in defense of the Jewish state, testing a measured, pro-Israel message as he mulls over a presidential campaign.
And perhaps most notably, the story avoids referencing Politico’s own interview with California Gov. Gavin Newsom published the same day, where he backtracked from his anti-Israel comments on the “Pod Save America” podcast earlier in the month. In the interview, Newsom said he “revere[s]” Israel and is “proud to support the state.” And he walked back his earlier comments that seemingly called Israel an apartheid state, saying he was only referencing a column by the New York Times’ Tom Friedman.
This latest article appears to fit a pattern of anti-Israel content from Politico that stands in contrast to the pro-Israel stance of its parent company, Axel Springer.
strait talk
Senate Republicans express confidence, but say they haven’t heard plan for reopening Strait of Hormuz from admin
Multiple Senate Republicans said Tuesday that they haven’t heard from the administration specific plans for restoring free trade through the Strait of Hormuz, though most emphasized that doing so is a critical goal, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Diverging views: “I can just tell you, the Pentagon has, for years, been playing out their plans,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) told JI. “The question is which plan is next, and that’s based on conditions — the same thing with Kharg Island,” he said, referring to potential U.S. military operations against the Iranian regime’s primary petroleum export hub. “I’m sure that when the time comes, we’ll all know.” One Republican, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), however, argued that the onus is not on the United States to reopen the strait, despite the closure’s impact on global, and domestic, oil prices, but instead on the countries in the region that rely on it.
Read the full story here with additional comments from Sens. James Lankford (R-OK), John Cornyn (R-TX) and Tim Kaine (D-VA).
War of words: President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the United States had achieved “regime change” in Iran through the killing of Iranian leaders and teased a “very significant prize” provided by Iran to the U.S. in the course of ongoing negotiations, JI’s Emily Jacobs reports.
GUARDING THE GATES
Rep. Brad Schneider, New Dems chair, urges Democrats to disavow Hasan Piker
Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), who chairs the moderate New Democratic Coalition, called on Democrats on Tuesday to reject and distance themselves from Hasan Piker, the far-left media figure boosted by an increasing number of Democrats and Democratic candidates, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Notable quotable: “Hasan Piker is an unapologetic antisemite,” Schneider said on X on Tuesday. “Democrats risk losing our credibility to condemn those on the right who traffic in bigotry, antisemitism, & hate when our own Members of Congress & candidates are celebrating or, worse yet, platforming those who espouse hate of any kind.”
PARTY RECKONING
Michael Sacks calls out ‘double standard’ of AIPAC criticism in Democratic Party
A prominent Jewish Democratic donor in Chicago is raising alarms that growing efforts to demonize AIPAC and its engagement in political campaigns are part of a more sinister effort to make pro-Israel Jews feel unwelcome in a party they have long called home, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
What he wrote: In an opinion piece published in The Chicago Tribune on Tuesday headlined “Why I support AIPAC and a big tent Democratic Party,” Michael Sacks, an asset manager and longtime ally of former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, pointed to what he called a “double standard” for AIPAC’s political involvement, and warned of “a coordinated effort to make support for Israel a litmus test for Democratic primary candidates in 2026 and beyond.” He wrote: “Let’s be clear: The campaign against AIPAC is not a policy discussion. It’s a thinly disguised effort to make support for Israel politically toxic in the Democratic Party, to chase Jews and their allies out of our big tent coalition.”
DEM DIVIDE
Third Way calls out Abdul El-Sayed’s embrace of Hasan Piker
A prominent moderate Democratic think tank is continuing to call out Democratic candidates for being “too cozy” with antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker, who has been embraced by several left-wing Democrats in recent months, Jewish Insider’s Danielle Cohen reports.
Cozying up: In his latest statement, Jonathan Cowan, president of Third Way, condemned Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed for his upcoming rallies with Piker, first reported by Politico, set to take place on April 7 at Michigan State University and the University of Michigan alongside Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA). “It is morally repugnant and strategically self-defeating for Democrats like Abdul El-Sayed and Members of Congress like Summer Lee to cozy up to antisemitic extremists like Hasan Piker,” Cowan said.
Risk management: El-Sayed is taking flak over comments in an internal campaign call that issuing a statement on the attempted terrorist attack on Temple Israel in the Detroit suburbs was a “risk,” Punchbowl News reported Tuesday. In both the original statement and the internal comments, El-Sayed condemned the attack while also suggesting that it ultimately could be blamed on Israel’s operations in Lebanon, JI’s Marc Rod reports.
PRIMARY POLITICS
D.C. mayoral candidate slams opponents for pledging to boycott some Jewish events
Washington, D.C., mayoral candidate Kenyan McDuffie criticized his Democratic primary opponents for pledging to avoid campaigning with elements of the Jewish community — an apparent jab at Democratic Socialists of America-endorsed rival Janeese Lewis George, who is facing backlash from Jewish leaders over her pledge to boycott events she described as promoting Zionism, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
What he said: “Recent reporting has raised serious concerns about how some candidates for office in DC have pledged not to engage with the majority of Jewish organizations in exchange for political support,” McDuffie wrote in a campaign email on Tuesday. “That is wrong. Full stop.” McDuffie did not mention Lewis George or any specific candidates in his email.
COMMUNITY CONCERNS
DHS official calls for increased vigilance for Jewish communities ahead of Passover, World Cup, America’s Semiquincentennial
Matthew Kozma, under secretary for intelligence and analysis at the Department of Homeland Security, called on Tuesday for continued vigilance “given the threat that’s stemming from Iran, particularly in the Middle East, but also here at home,” in comments at a security briefing webinar hosted by the Secure Community Network, a leading Jewish security organization, ahead of the Passover holiday, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
High alert: Kozma said that Americans should remain cautious of threats from “malicious actors, particularly ones encouraged by or empathetic to Iran,” as two upcoming events in the country — the 2026 FIFA World Cup and America’s 250th anniversary — bring an influx of visitors into the U.S. The briefing was held during what Michael Masters, CEO of SCN, described as “an elevated threat environment from Iran and its proxies,” ahead of the start of the Passover holiday next week.
Exclusive: A first-of-its kind leaderboard evaluating how major video game companies address antisemitism and extremism in online games was released on Wednesday by the Anti-Defamation League, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen has learned.
Worthy Reads
Oy, Canada!: In The Atlantic, Jesse Brown reflects on rising antisemitism in Canada and Ottawa’s reticence to address the issue. “The awkward reality is that a main driver of these incidents is a very Canadian aversion to causing offense: The deference of many politicians and institutions to the views of a rapidly growing minority community is too often leading them to reject another minority community. … Among my Jewish friends and family, these efforts to intimidate and alienate Jews, to exclude them from civil society and from public life, and to close down private Jewish spaces are discussed with far more concern and frequency than the regular reports of graffiti and name-calling.” [TheAtlantic]
Tehran’s Calculus: In Foreign Affairs, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s Matthew Levitt posits that Iran could seek to attack soft targets in the West as it feels it has little to lose. “With its leadership badly damaged and its security establishment humiliated by deep Israeli and U.S. intelligence infiltration, Iran sees little downside in greenlighting a wide variety of attacks, from small scale plots to potential mass-casualty events, with little regard for potential repercussions. It is likely wagering that the American public and its politicians lack the stomach to withstand civilian losses, and that, should it successfully carry out a mass casualty event, the political cost of continuing the war will become prohibitive for the Trump administration.” [ForeignAffairs]
Mideast Muscle: The Free Press’ Eli Lake argues that despite Israel’s public image, the Jewish state is on “a generational run” in terms of military and diplomatic hard power. “In the recent past, American presidents have asked Israel to hold fire, fearing its participation in the previous Gulf wars against Iraq would poison cooperation with Arab allies. Under the old rules, Israel was the underdog, surrounded by enemies, protected and subsidized by America. Now Israel’s air force is helping shoot down Iranian missiles aimed at the Gulf States that once refused even to recognize its existence.” [FreePress]
Word on the Street
For the third time in a month, Senate Republicans on Tuesday evening blocked an effort by Democrats to halt U.S. operations in Iran, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…
The Pentagon ordered the deployment of several thousands paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division as the U.S. mulls a possible escalation in the Middle East…
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has reportedly been pressuring President Donald Trump to continue the war against Iran, amid speculation that Riyadh is considering taking a more active role in the fighting…
The Wall Street Journal reports that Israel struck a naval outpost in the Caspian Sea as part of an effort to disrupt a weapons smuggling route between Russia and Iran…
Lebanon expelled the Iranian ambassador in Beirut amid deteriorating relations between the countries owing to Iran’s backing of Hezbollah in Lebanon…
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said at the annual Hill & Valley Forum in Washington on Tuesday that the Iran war gives lasting Middle East peace “a better chance in the long run”…
Trump and the Republican National Committee are likely to select Dallas as the location for a midterm convention that will be held sometime after Labor Day and serve as a pre-Election Day rally for the GOP…
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), the chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, wrote to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday questioning if a city-run health agency was using federal resources in its initiative aimed at responding to the “ongoing genocide in Palestine,” JI’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod report…
Cassidy, in a letter to the president of San Jose State University, also raised concerns about threatening graffiti on the campus, saying the school has “done little to allay fears among Jewish students”…
The Wall Street Journal spotlights former Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop as he takes on a new role as head of the Partnership for New York City, countering Mamdani’s proposed tax hikes…
The Board of Peace’s Nickolay Mladenov presented to the U.N. Security Council a framework agreement for disarming Hamas that has been agreed to by the U.S., Egypt, Turkey and Qatar…
A Justice Department task force announced last year by Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Hamas, the group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and antisemitism in the U.S. is struggling to conduct its work following the firing or reassignment of a number of the dozens of staffers initially tapped for the task force…
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill is facing criticism for visiting a N.J. mosque last week and meeting with an imam who has called for a “new intifada” against Israel and who was convicted by an Israeli court of membership in Hamas…
The New York Times reviews “Giant,” the play about author Roald Dahl that opened on Broadway earlier this week…
The century-old Middletown, N.J., estate built by Macy’s heir Herbert N. Straus was listed for $10 million…
The U.K.’s Department of Health and Social Care is taking initial steps toward significant reform within the country’s General Medical Council, a move that is expected to result in an increase in suspensions of employees who use racist or antisemitic language or share social media posts containing antisemitic content…
Authorities in London arrested two men in connection with the arson attack earlier this week targeting Hatzolah emergency vehicles in the heavily Jewish suburb of Golders Green…
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party suspended a mayoral candidate who suggested that members of local Jewish security patrols were “cosplayers” who resembled “Islamics on horseback”…
The Community Security Trust, the major British Jewish group advising organizations on security issues, said that King Charles III accepted the group’s invitation to serve as the patron of the organization…
Officials in Antwerp, Belgium, arrested two teenage suspects in connection with the torching of a car that is being investigated as an antisemitic incident…
The arson in Belgium comes as investigators across Europe work to determine whether a string of recent attacks targeting Jewish communities on the continent are isolated incidents or the work of Iran or its proxies after a previously unknown Islamist group claimed responsibility for some of the attacks…
Volkswagen is in talks with Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems to convert the German car manufacturer’s Osnabrück factory to produce components for Rafael’s missile-defense systems…
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Israeli forces planned to continue its hold on territory in southern Lebanon, saying that residents of the area south of the Litani River will not return “until the security of northern [Israel] residents is assured”…
Pic of the Day
As 150 Reform, Conservative and Orthodox rabbis gathered at a luxury Palm Beach, Fla., resort this week for the third annual “Zionism: A New Conversation” conference, several described the event as a pivotal shift from “defense to offense” on Israel-related issues, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports for eJewish Philanthropy.
Birthdays
Retired film and book critic, with regular appearances on NBC’s “The Today Show” from 1973-2010, Gene Shalit turns 100…
Feminist, journalist and social activist who became nationally recognized as a leader and a spokeswoman for the feminist movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Gloria Steinem turns 92… Former mayor of Las Vegas, she was elected in 2011 and reelected in 2015 and 2019, Carolyn Goodman turns 87… Actor and director, best known for his role as Det. David Starsky on the 1970’s television series “Starsky & Hutch,” Paul Michael Glaser turns 83… Senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, after 24 years at the U.S. Department of State, Aaron David Miller turns 77… Former member of the Knesset for the Yisrael Beiteinu party and then Israel’s ambassador to Belarus, Yosef Shagal turns 77… Chairman of Eastern Savings Bank in Hunt Valley, Md., and board officer at The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore, Beth H. Goldsmith… Internationally recognized Orthodox rabbinic leader, Rabbi Asher Zelig Weiss turns 73… Property manager and CPA in Los Angeles, Glynis Gerber… Founding director of the initiative on communication and sustainability at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, Andrew C. Revkin turns 70… Columbus, Ohio-based consultant in the sleep medicine field, Cynthia S. Levy… Executive director at Plum Community Center in Pittsburgh, Karen Hochberg… CEO and co-chief investment officer of Kintegral Asset Management, Mony Mordehai Rueven turns 69… Film producer, she formerly served as co-chair of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Amy Pascal turns 68… Senior correspondent for Kaiser Health News, Arthur Allen… Retired IDF major general, from 2014-2018 he served as the coordinator of government activities in the territories, Yoav “Poli” Mordechai turns 62… Emmy Award-winning actress, producer and designer, best known for her leading role on the HBO television series “Sex and the City,” reprised in two later films, Sarah Jessica Parker turns 61… Founding director of ATID and its WebYeshiva program, he is the editor of the Rabbinical Council’s journal Tradition, Rabbi Jeffrey Saks turns 57… Former prime minister of Israel, Naftali Bennett turns 54… East Side director and fellowship director at the Manhattan Jewish Experience, Rabbi Avi Heller turns 53… Managing director of ARI Investment Partners, in 2002 he founded Jconnect in Los Angeles devoted to creating Jewish connectivity, continuity and unity, Cheston David Mizel… Partner at D.C.-based Mehlman Consulting, focused on health care policy, Lauren Aronson… VP of public engagement at Oxfam America, Alissa C. Rooney… YouTube personality, filmmaker, co-founder of the multimedia company Beme, and founder of 368, a space for creators to collaborate, Casey Neistat turns 45… Actress, comedian and author, Jenny Slate turns 44… Washington correspondent at the Associated Press, Steven Sloan… Founder and editor of The Free Press and editor-in-chief of CBS News as of October 2025, Bari Weiss turns 42… Iraqi-born Chaldean Catholic, her husband is Jewish, she formerly served as counselor to President Trump and interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey, Alina Habba turns 42… Communications strategist based in Chicago, Meredith Shiner… Chief political officer of Democratic Majority for Israel, Joel Wanger… Legislative director for U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Grant Cameron Dubler… Senior manager of pricing strategy at American Express, Jordan Rossman… Winner of the 2025 Academy Award for Best Actress, known professionally as Mikey Madison, Mikaela Madison Rosberg turns 27…
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