Klain has no disdain for Platner’s Nazi tattoo
Plus, the dark money op bankrolling Justice Dems' midterm push
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In today’s Daily Kickoff, we do a deep dive into the dark-money machine backing Justice Democrats PAC as the group boosts far-left candidates in the midterms, and report on former White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain’s defense of Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner’s Nazi tattoo. We cover the U.S.’ overnight strikes targeting Iran and the Islamic Republic’sattacks on U.S. military bases in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan as U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz travels to the region, and report on Brad Lander’s claim that he is not endorsing Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier, with whom he put out an ad. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Ambassador Mike Waltz, Lily Cohen and Tal Politis.
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 U.S. and Iran continued to trade strikes overnight, with the U.S. targeting Iranian military infrastructure, including air-defense systems, radars and drone command-and-control units, while Iran fired at U.S. bases in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain. More below.
- Amid the ongoing exchanges of fire, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz is in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain this week, marking the first public visit by a senior U.S. official to the Middle East since the war with Iran began on Feb. 28, Jewish Insider’s Melissa Weiss reports.
- On Capitol Hill, the House Appropriations Committee’s Defense subcommittee is holding its markup of next fiscal year’s defense bill.
- Reps. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and Don Beyer (D-VA) will speak this evening at a Progressive Policy Institute event billed as “Working Toward a New Era of Patriotism and Democratic Renewal” at the National Press Club in Washington.
- The Center for a New American Security is holding a daylong summit on Congress’ role in national security. Those slated to speak include Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Reps. Adam Smith (D-WA), Don Bacon (R-NE) and Jason Crow (D-CO); former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. (ret.) CQ Brown and the Hudson Institute’s David Feith.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MELISSA WEISS
The Likud party’s statement on Wednesday confirming that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would stand on the ballot this fall put to bed long-swirling rumors that the prime minister was considering forgoing another run — potentially in exchange for the government dropping its legal case against him.
That speculation had deepened earlier in the week, when President Donald Trump publicly mused whether Netanyahu, whom Trump referred to as “a wartime prime minister,” might decide to exit politics. A survey released this week by the Israel Democracy Institute found that 61% of Israelis — including 57% of Jewish Israelis and 87% of Arab Israelis — think Netanyahu should refrain from seeking another term.
With Netanyahu ending speculation about his political future, the focus now turns to the candidates seeking to unseat him.
Gadi Eisenkot’s ascent — earlier this week, a Channel 12 poll found for the first time that more Israelis favored him over Netanyahu as prime minister — comes as the former IDF chief of staff, who lost a son and two nephews in the Hamas war, becomes increasingly critical of Netanyahu, in whose war cabinet Eisenkot sat. As Israeli journalist Nadav Eyal points out, Eisenkot “isn’t seen as aggressive toward anyone but Netanyahu.”
Meanwhile, former Prime Ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid have experienced little momentum after they announced their merger into the “Together” slate in April.
The two made a risky bet in joining forces with many months to go before the election — one that can’t easily be undone. And while their broad coalition was successful in 2021, it’s unclear if Together’s tent is big enough for all the anti-Netanyahu voters — in a changed electorate post-Oct. 7 — whom Bennett and Lapid would need to pick up.
FOLLOW THE MONEY
The anti-Israel dark money group behind Justice Democrats’ midterm splurge
The Justice Democrats PAC, the outside group best known for elevating the congressional Squad to power in 2018, has become the driving force behind this cycle’s slate of far-left primary candidates. And powering the Justice Democrats this year is a dark-money machine operating out of a PostalAnnex in a strip mall near Anaheim, Calif: the Institute for Middle East Understanding, a fierce critic of Israeli policy, and its new political arm, the IMEU Policy Project, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports.
Paper trail: A review of financial disclosures from these three groups reveals that just as the Middle East conflict has become a defining issue for insurgent candidates on the left, it has also become increasingly crucial to Justice Democrats’ outreach and finances. With Israel at the center of this year’s primary debates, Justice Democrats has lent considerable resources — cash, staff and know-how — to an array of socialist-minded candidates and smaller committees, including American Priorities super PAC. And helping bankroll it is the IMEU Policy Project, which formed just five months after the Oct. 7 attacks and quickly took in $400,000 from its parent organization.
klain controversy
Ex-Biden chief Ron Klain defends Graham Platner’s Nazi tattoo
Ron Klain, the former chief of staff to President Joe Biden, defended Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner’s tattoo of a Nazi symbol in a comment responding to the Republican Jewish Coalition on Instagram, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Chain of events: The RJC, after Platner’s victory in Tuesday’s primary election, called on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to rescind his support for Platner. Klain, in a comment on the RJC’s Instagram post, declared, “This is just a partisan attack. The tattoo was a skull and crossbones to remember his fallen comrades from his service in Afghanistan.” Platner has denied that he knew what the symbol was until late last year, when the campaign was contacted by media about it, but has not claimed, as Klain did, that it was intended to memorialize fallen comrades. Platner was also deployed to Iraq, not Afghanistan, when he got the tattoo.
STRIKE TWO
CENTCOM launches second wave of strikes in Iran
CENTCOM announced on Wednesday evening that it had begun launching additional “self-defense” strikes against multiple targets in Iran, after initially renewing its attacks on Tuesday. A U.S. official told Axios the latest targets included air-defense systems, radars and drone command-and-control units in southern Iran.
Escalation: The strikes came hours after President Donald Trump met with his national security team to discuss military options, and as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that CENTCOM would be “busy tonight” with “bombs dropping on key facilities in Iran.” The military action came as Qatari mediators were reportedly meeting with officials in Tehran in an effort to revive negotiations and close remaining gaps between the U.S. and Iran.
ALLY APPEAL
Rep. Dan Goldman: Jewish community needs non-Jewish allies to effectively fight antisemitism
Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), the chair of the House antisemitism task force, argued in an interview with Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod on Wednesday that the Jewish community needs non-Jewish allies to help fight antisemitism, following a press conference introducing the Jewish American Security Act (JASA), a bipartisan and bicameral package aimed at tackling attacks on Jewish institutions, campus antisemitism and online antisemitism.
What he said: “It’s really important that we gain and bolster allies from outside the Jewish community, because ultimately antisemitism is hate, and hate is easily transferable, and history has taught us that,” Goldman said. “The way we are going to combat antisemitism is not just through Jewish advocacy but through a broad coalition of people who support the democratic value of equal rights and social justice, and so we’re excited that this bill can be a vehicle towards bringing people of all backgrounds together to fight.”
Across the aisle
Stefanik praises Shapiro, Fetterman as exceptions on antisemitism
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) praised Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) on Wednesday, arguing that both Democrats’ forceful condemnations of campus antisemitism after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks made them outliers in their party on the issue, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.
Highlighting: Speaking on a webinar with the Jewish Institute for National Security of America to discuss her book on campus antisemitism, Poisoned Ivies: The Inside Account of the Academic and Moral Rot at America’s Elite Universities, Stefanik noted Shapiro was a rare Democrat to call for the resignation of Liz Magill, the former University of Pennsylvania president, after she struggled to answer Stefanik’s questions during a December 2023 committee hearing on whether calling for the genocide of Jews constituted bullying or harassment.
Bleak assessment: Fetterman, speaking at a conference hosted by the Culture for Peace Institute, warned on Wednesday that the outlook for Jewish voters within his party has become “bleak,” JI’s Matthew Shea reports.
CANDIDATE CHASM
Lander says he’s not endorsing congressional candidate with whom he put out an ad
Former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, now running to oust Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), denied he’s backing Democratic Socialists of America-affiliated Darializa Avila Chevalier in her race against Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) — even though the two appeared together in an ad paid for jointly by both of their campaigns, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports.
Lander’s response: Avila Chevalier has come under fire for promoting Russian propaganda lines and COVID-19 disinformation online, as well as for participating in an anti-Israel rally the day after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, a demonstration that Lander himself denounced as “vile” and “heinous.” But pressed about his choice to pay for and appear in an ad with Avila Chevalier that aired during the NBA Finals, Lander only talked about the man in the middle of the TV spot: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has endorsed both candidates. “I’m honored to have the support of Mayor Mamdani and to be part of his team in this congressional election,” Lander said.
Schlossberg shift: Jack Schlossberg, the Kennedy scion and social media influencer running for a coveted open House seat in Manhattan, came out on Tuesday in support of legislation that would impose unprecedented new restrictions on weapons sales or transfers to Israel, despite previously expressing skepticism of the bill, JI’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Worthy Reads
Cootie Culture: In The Wall Street Journal, Joel Engel connects bullying he witnessed as a child to the modern-day rise in antisemitism. “Decades would pass before Charles R. again crossed my mind. Then came the grotesque violence of Oct. 7, 2023, and the firestorm of Jew hatred it ignited, which still shows no signs of containment. Now I can’t stop thinking about him. … Is there a more fitting metaphor — or more incisive explanation — for antisemitism than ‘Jews have the cooties’? None of the grandiloquent exegeses on antisemitism ever cuts to the heart of the matter the way ‘Jews have the cooties’ does. Some people in the ancient world decided Jews were infected, and their decree reached critical mass, then rolled over through the ages the way Charles’s cooties followed him to a new school.” [WSJ]
Whither Islam in America?: In Sapir, Reihan Salam observes the potential trajectories for Islam in America, amid the growing popularity of American Muslim activists who advocate for anti-Zionist and anti-American causes. “Together, the integration paradox and religious attrition explain something that might otherwise seem puzzling: why the most committed and articulate voices of Muslim anti-Americanism in the United States are not marginalized, dispossessed, under-assimilated newcomers. Rather, they are privileged, cosmopolitan, first- and second-generation insiders who lead largely secular lives. Consider [New York City Mayor Zohran] Mamdani and Hasan Piker, two hyper-assimilated American Muslims who have risen to prominence on the strength of their anti-Zionism, one through electoral politics, the other through a mass cultural platform that has made him one of the most followed political voices in the country.” [Sapir]
Word on the Street
In an interview with CBS News, Vice President JD Vance said, when asked if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had gotten anything wrong, that the Israeli leader had “certainly gotten some things wrong,” but called Netanyahu “a good partner” who “aggressively asserts the interests of his country”…
The Associated Press reports that the White House has held conversations with U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra about potentially serving as director of national intelligence, as Democratic senators stonewall the renewal of a key part of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act over the administration’s tapping of Bill Pulte as interim DNI and refusal to swiftly nominate a permanent replacement….
The State Department has reportedly launched an investigation into Trita Parsi, a co-founder of the Quincy Institute, as federal officials mull whether to revoke the Iran-born activist’s green card…
Federal prosecutors indicted eight anti-Israel activists affiliated with the University of Michigan on Wednesday, accusing them of conspiring to run a campaign intimidating university officials seen as pro-Israel and vandalizing local Jewish organizations, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports…
A Zionist Organization of America delegation met with the Justice Department’s Leo Terrell during the group’s mission to Washington this week…
Despite his brush with Knicks guard Jose Alvarado during Game 3 of the NBA Finals earlier this week, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg returned to Madison Square Garden for last night’s Knicks comeback win over the San Antonio Spurs; Alex Soros was spotted two seats down from Bloomberg, who was flanked on his other side by actor (and MOT) Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner…
The British, Australian and Canadian governments jointly launched a $4 million fund aimed at supporting grassroots Israeli-Palestinian peace-building efforts…
The Czech Republic said it would block efforts in the EU to sanction Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, with Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka saying that sanctioning the far-right minister ahead of Israel’s elections later this year “would actually help” Ben-Gvir, whose actions and comments Macinka said “really goes beyond the pale,” among some voters…
Lily Cohen is departing her role as a press assistant at Third Way and joining the office of Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) as director of communications…
Tal Politis, Israel’s incoming defense attaché in Washington, who most recently served as Navy chief of staff, was promoted to vice admiral…
Pic of the Day
After the conclusion of Chabad-Lubavich’s Living Legacy Conference and Global Jewish Roundtable on Wednesday in Washington, a small delegation of attendees, which included shluchim and supporters of American Friends of Lubavitch-Chabad, met with Vice President JD Vance.
Birthdays
Hedge fund manager, he is the owner of MLB’s New York Mets, Steven A. Cohen turns 70…
Heir to the British supermarket chain Sainsbury’s, minister in two British governments under Prime Ministers Major and Thatcher, Sir Timothy Alan Davan Sainsbury turns 94… Former executive director of NYC-based government watchdog Citizens Union and former NYC public advocate, Elisabeth A. “Betsy” Gotbaum turns 88… Chief spokesperson for AIPAC from 2012 to 2025, Marshall Wittmann turns 73… Columbus, Ohio-based retail mogul, CEO of American Eagle Outfitters, Value City Department Stores, DSW and others, sponsor of ArtScroll’s translation of the Babylonian Talmud, Jay Schottenstein turns 72… Member of Knesset for the Agudat Yisrael faction of the United Torah Judaism party, Meir Porush turns 71… Past president and national board member of AIPAC, he is a senior advisor to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Lee “Rosy” Rosenberg… Former director of the Shin Bet, Yuval Diskin turns 70… Member of Knesset for the Shas party, Yoav Ben-Tzur turns 68… New Windsor, N.Y., attorney, Barry Wolf Friedman… Political and social justice activist, she served as Illinois state representative and as human rights commissioner, Lauren Beth Gash turns 66… Opinion columnist for The Washington Post until 2025, now writing on Substack, Jennifer Rubin turns 64… Partner in the D.C. office of worldwide consulting firm, Brunswick Group, Michael J. Schoenfeld… President of J Street, Jeremy Ben-Ami turns 64… Deputy director of the CIA in the Biden administration, he held the same role in the last two years of the Obama administration, David S. Cohen turns 63… U.S. attorney for Minnesota since October 2025, Daniel Noah Rosen turns 61… Associate dean and lecturer at George Washington University Law School, he previously served in the Biden administration, Matt Nosanchuk… Professor of Jewish thought at the University of Haifa, Josef Hillel “J.H.” Chajes turns 61… Founder of Shabbat[dot]com, he also serves as the national educational director for Olami Worldwide, Rabbi Benzion Zvi Klatzko… Dean of TheYeshiva[dot]net, he succeeded his father as editor-in-chief of the Yiddish weekly Algemeiner Journal, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak “YY” Jacobson turns 54… Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration from 2017 to 2019, now a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Dr. Scott Gottlieb turns 54… Budget director at the City Council of the District of Columbia, Jennifer Budoff… Israeli businesswoman and philanthropist, she participated in two seasons of the Israeli reality show “Me’usharot,” Nicol Raidman turns 40… Director of communications and programming at Academic Engagement Network, Raeefa Shams… Actor, performance artist and filmmaker, Shia LaBeouf turns 40… Retired figure skater who competed for Israel in the team event at the 2018 Winter Olympics, Aimee Buchanan turns 33… Olympic medalist in canoe slalom in London (2012), Rio (2016), Tokyo (2020) and Paris (2024), Jessica Esther “Jess” Fox turns 32… Israeli attorney and CEO of Dualis Social Venture Fund, Dana Naor…
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