Growing Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood
Plus, Pelosi panned for silence amid ally’s anti-Israel rhetoric
Good Friday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at how Rep. Mike Rogers is calibrating his Jewish outreach as he builds a broad coalition against Abdul El-Sayed in the Michigan Senate race, and report on efforts by Bay Area Jewish leaders to push outgoing Rep. Nancy Pelosi to address the anti-Israel rhetoric espoused by Connie Chan, whom Pelosi endorsed in the race to succeed her. We cover the local response to a Vermont synagogue’s fundraiser for Columbia anti-Israel activist Mohsen Madawi, and report on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s announcement that the city plans to soon release a municipal plan to combat antisemitism. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Tamar Rothstein and Omer Shem Tov.
We also have a new on-demand Live Briefing that you can access throughout the day via our new app (on Apple and Android) and on our website.
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.
For less-distracted reading over the weekend, browse this week’s edition of The Weekly Print, a curated print-friendly PDF featuring a selection of recent Jewish Insider and eJewishPhilanthropy stories, including: Jewish leaders build up local grassroots organizing to counter radical forces in politics; New AJC regional director looks to business community for allies in Mamdani’s New York; and ‘Shabbat with training wheels’: Sabbath app offers a modern take on unplugging. Print the latest edition here.
What We’re Watching
- While Washington is quiet during the August recess, the campaign season is kicking into high gear — both for the few remaining states to hold their primaries, and for general ballot candidates who have less than three months before Election Day.
- In Nassau County, N.Y., President Donald Trump will campaign today with N.Y. GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman.
- In Florida, where voters will cast their primary ballots on Tuesday, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) is campaigning on behalf of several left-wing candidates, including Elijah Manley and Oliver Larkin. Manley and Larkin are respectively challenging Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), two of Congress’ most pro-Israel lawmakers, following a redistricting that has scrambled both lawmakers’ districts. Tlaib is set to participate in several events today, including a rally this evening that was relocated after the initial venue canceled the event amid pushback from area residents.
- On Sunday, voters in California’s 14th Congressional District will head to the polls for the special election to replace Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA). More below.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MELISSA WEISS
A quarter century ago, when the late Sen. Joe Lieberman was tapped by Al Gore, the Democratic nominee for president, to be his running mate on the 2000 ticket, the question around many a Shabbat table was, “Is he too Jewish to be in the White House?”
There’s a different question being asked, largely in Democratic circles, of today’s potential Jewish presidential candidates: “Is he the ‘right’ kind of Jewish candidate to be president?” — a question that is almost entirely centered around a candidate’s position on Israel and how openly he identifies with his religious faith.
A long list of Jewish candidates are considering a presidential campaign or are being touted as credible contenders, ranging from moderates including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to progressives such as Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and those who straddle the ideological divide, like Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA).
In both 2026 and 2028, the debate over Israel is on the ballot: Congressional primaries are pitting pro-Israel candidates against those who don’t acknowledge Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, and already a clear divide is emerging in the prospective 2028 presidential field over the issues of the U.S.-Israel relationship and dealing with rising antisemitism.
Even in races where Israel policy is not front-and-center, invoking AIPAC has become something of a catch-all slur for progressives attacking the role of outside money in Democratic primaries. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a likely 2028 hopeful, proudly proclaimed in February that he’d never taken AIPAC money — which of course he hasn’t, given that AIPAC and its affiliated super PAC historically focus on federal, not state, races.
MR. ROGERS’ NEIGHBORHOOD
Mike Rogers calibrates Jewish outreach as he builds broad coalition against Abdul El-Sayed

More than a week after Abdul El-Sayed narrowly clinched the Democratic nomination in Michigan’s bruising Democratic Senate primary, his Republican opponent, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), is working to fine-tune his campaign’s outreach and messaging to disaffected Jewish voters who could play a decisive role in the closely contested race, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Sign of the times: In one of the first major signs of those efforts now materializing, three prominent Jewish Democratic bundlers in Michigan are hosting a fundraiser for Rogers next Tuesday, according to an email invite sent to Jewish community members on Thursday. “This is something that none of us has ever done,” said Hannan Lis, who is leading the fundraiser with Brian Hermelin and Rob Orley. “But we feel this is a departure in the direction of the Democratic Party,” he told JI of El-Sayed’s staunch opposition to Israel and refusal to recognize its right to exist as a Jewish state. “We’re taking a stand here,” he added. “This is beyond politics.”
Survey says: Rogers starts off the Michigan Senate general election race with a narrow advantage over El-Sayed, according to a new Fox News poll, aided by a lead with independents and making inroads with a small but significant number of Democrats willing to cross party lines, JI’s Josh Kraushaar reports.







































































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