Bibi bites back in the Big Apple
Plus, APA's accreditation authority at risk
Add JewishInsider on GoogleGood Friday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at how Democrats on Capitol Hill are likely to legislate on Israel should they win control of either chamber in the midterms, cover Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the U.N. General Assembly and report on a recommendation by a federal panel to suspend the American Psychological Association’s accreditation authority over its handling of antisemitism. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Stephen Ross, Ohad Ben Ami and Argentine President Javier Milei.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss, with an assist from Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
For less-distracted reading over the weekend, browse this week’s edition of The Weekly Print, featuring stories from Jewish Insider and eJewishPhilanthropy, including: Sunkist Fruit Gems, a colorful staple of synagogue celebrations, discontinued; In new book, Zibby Owens weaves memoir with a reckoning of Jewish life after Oct. 7; and Saudi Arabia’s Houthi crisis is partly of its own making, analysts say. Print the latest edition here.
Today’s Agenda
Sukkot begins this evening at sundown.
We’re keeping an eye on President Donald Trump’s response to a proposal from Iran, announced on Thursday by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in New York, for a seven-day plan to end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and begin nuclear talks. Araghchi indicated he hoped to make a deal before the midterms, as Republicans — who are facing tough headwinds to hold both the House and Senate — are working to assuage voters concerned over high gas and cost-of-living prices.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are encouraging the White House to continue its economic pressure on Tehran and not to accept a deal that would ease either sanctions or its naval blockade of the Islamic Republic.
In Michigan, the annual Jewish Detroit Expat Reception is taking place tonight as part of the annual Detroit Homecoming events this week. Rebecca Blumenstein, president of NBC News editorial, will discuss her new book, The Last Free Women: A Daring Escape from Afghanistan and Coming of Age in America.
On Sunday, Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) and Democrat Rebecca Bennett are set to participate in the only NJ-07 general election debate taking place this cycle.
One Thing To Know
analysis
By Marc Rod
If Democrats take control of Congress next year — or even if they win back a majority in only the House of Representatives — expect a legislative agenda that’s a lot tougher on Israel than it has been in a long time.
With growing support among House Democrats for legislation restricting U.S. aid and arms sales to Israel, bills such as the Block the Bombs Act, the Ceasefire Compliance Act or measures similar to this summer’s vote on cutting aid to Israel could come to the House floor, and continued fights over the U.S.-Israel relationship in funding bills and other legislation seem likely.
But the top target for senior Democrats at the moment is targeting settlement activity and settler violence in the West Bank. Asked by Jewish Insider at a press conference on Wednesday what Israel-related legislation Democrats might bring forward for a vote, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) — who has generally been a reliable supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship — pointed to a bill imposing sanctions related to West Bank violence.
The Big Reads
taking aim
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back against criticism of Israel over the war in Gaza and settler violence in the West Bank in his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, taking aim at New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, French President Emmanuel Macron, Qatar and Turkey, Jewish Insider’s AJ Rodriguez reports. The prime minister also rejected accusations that Israel committed genocide in Gaza, directly addressing Mamdani, who has repeatedly called Netanyahu a war criminal. “Israel didn’t commit genocide. Israel prevented genocide,” Netanyahu said. He also raised that Mamdani’s wife, Rama Duwaji, had liked multiple Instagram posts celebrating Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. Netanyahu went on to accuse foreign countries of spending “untold billions” to spread anti-Israel messages through traditional and social media, singling out Qatar for “massively funding American universities and toxic media outlets.”
Tumult in Turtle Bay: Several far-left Democrats expected to be elected to the House of Representatives in November — New York’s Darializa Avila Chevalier and Brad Lander, New Jersey’s Adam Hamawy, Pennsylvania’s Chris Rabb and Colorado’s Melat Kiros — attended a protest on Thursday organized by Jewish Voice for Peace that blocked the streets outside United Nations headquarters during Netanyahu’s speech, JI’s Marc Rod reports. Chevalier was among those arrested by the NYPD for refusing to comply with an order to disperse.
apa fray
A federal advisory board to the Department of Education recommended that the department suspend the accreditation authority of the American Psychological Association over the APA’s failure to address a “pervasive culture of antisemitism within the programs it accredits,” Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. The recommendation comes after years of concerns by Jewish students and professionals about pervasive antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment in psychology education, which in some cases paints Zionism as a mental illness to be treated. A final decision on the issue will be made in the coming months by the Department of Education, and the exact implications and consequences may depend on the decision made. But the recommendation could create significant uncertainty for hundreds of programs and internships and throw into question the licensing of psychology students and professionals across the country.
regime reckoning
Pressed during an event at the University of Michigan on Wednesday to condemn the Iranian regime’s massacre of tens of thousands of protesters earlier this year, Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed sidestepped the question, focusing his answer on criticizing the U.S. war in Iran, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. A Persian American student — who said that his cousin had been “hunted in the streets” by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for wearing her hijab improperly and that his uncle was “sentenced to die [and] received 50 lashings” — pressed El-Sayed to “renounce” those who supported assassinated Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. El-Sayed responded by criticizing the U.S. for taking the role of the “world’s policeman,”adding, “Here’s my point: one can disagree with the governance of a foreign country. One can stand in solidarity with freedom and democracy movements, but my worry is when one decides that we are going to go in and take out the leadership of a foreign government.”
The Rundown
war powers woes
medical moves
On Our Radar
● The Live Briefing. Word on the street, clips, podcasts and quick updates — the items we’re tracking all day in our Live Briefing on the app (on Apple and Android) and website.
In attendance at President Donald Trump’s state dinner last night for Chinese President Xi Jinping: First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance; Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Ivanka Trump and Arabella Kushner; Tiffany Trump and Michael Boulos, Jensen Huang, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Tim Cook, NYU President Linda Mills, Larry Fink, Sam Altman, Stephen Schwarzman, Dr. Miriam Adelson, Jeff Bezos, Jamie Dimon, Michael Dell, David Solomon, David Ellison, Albert Bourla, Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Reps. Jason Smith (R-MO) and Rich McCormick (R-GA).
Musk, Cook and Huang were among those seated at the president’s table…
The Committee to Protect Journalists removed the names of 22 individuals it had listed as media workers or journalists who were killed during the Israel-Hamas war due to their ties to terror groups; among those removed from the list was Abdallah Iyad Breis, who was the lead photographer for the Hamas Education Ministry’s TV channel when he was killed in January 2024. Read more here…
Alex Soros attended a breakfast hosted by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani at Gracie Mansion on Wednesday titled “Building an Economy for the Many” that featured an address from Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez…
A federal court ruled that a Jewish charter school in Oklahoma can operate amid an ongoing legal battle with the state’s charter school board that had rejected the institution’s application earlier this year…
The University of California, Berkeley will honor its long-delayed agreement to rehire an Israeli dance professor whom it declined to reappoint over her nationality…
Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is moving forward with talks to sell a 20% stake in Formula 1’s Miami Grand Prix, part of Ross Sports & Entertainment, to Otro Capital…
French President Emmanuel Macron said Paris would send “soldiers, radars and defense systems” to Saudi Arabia in an effort to help Riyadh protect energy facilities amid ongoing attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen…
The Washington Post spotlights the fighting taking place in Yemen between the Houthis and forces aligned with the country’s internationally recognized government…
Former Mossad head Yossi Cohen was named the president of Quantum X Labs’ Scientific Advisory Board…
Former Israeli hostages Ohad Ben Ami, Elkana Bohbot and Yosef-Haim Ohana celebrated at the wedding of Ben Ami’s daughter on Thursday night; also in attendance were former hostages Bar Kupershtein and Segev Kalfon, as well as Israeli President Isaac Herzog and his wife, Michal…
The IDF said two reservists were killed in the Gaza Strip after the first-person view armed drone they were operating crashed into their base…
Worthy Reads
Find more Worthy Reads in our Live Briefing via our app (on Apple and Android) and website.
Malaysia’s Meddling: In The Wall Street Journal, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Mark Wallace, respectively the chairman and CEO of United Against Nuclear Iran, call on the Trump administration to crack down on Malaysia over the support that entities in the country are providing to Iran. “While the focus has been on the Strait of Hormuz, a lower-profile maritime front thousands of miles away affects how much control Iran retains. The site is the Malaysian Exclusive Economic Zone of the South China Sea, 100 nautical miles offshore from the Singapore Strait and Malaysia in the Eastern Outer Port Limits. Here lies a floating city of more than 200 tankers, cargo ships and bulk carriers, nearly all of which are linked to Iran. Many of these ships trade energy products in defiance of U.S. sanctions and serve as a lifeline for the regime.” [WSJ]
The ‘Fauda’ Factor: In The Atlantic, Palestinian British writer John Aziz considers the cross-cultural appeal of “Fauda,” the newest season of which — which grapples with the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks — has gained traction in Arab audiences. “Drama is a universal language; in its own way, it can bring people together even if they drastically disagree with one another. Viewers don’t need to share Doron’s politics or nationality to understand his grief, loyalty, recklessness, fear, or love for his family. The same is true of the Palestinian characters. We all share the same vocabulary of human emotions and mistakes.” [TheAtlantic]
Picture of the Day
Argentine President Javier Milei — pictured wearing a yarmulke with his name written in Hebrew — on Thursday visited the Ohel, the burial site of the Lubavitcher Rebbe in Queens, N.Y., where he met with Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, the executive director of Chabad World Headquarters. Chabad Global Networks
Wine of the Week
2001 Ben Haim Merlot
Opening any aged bottle of Israeli wine is a wager. The cork comes out, the glass fills, and in an instant the wine declares itself: spoiled, merely drinkable or something closer to a revelation. Last Friday night, over a spectacular Shabbat dinner with dear friends from Rome and New Hampshire, we scored twice, and I was urged to share the highlights with my dear readers. The first bottle was a 2001 Ben Haim Merlot, a masterpiece on release and only more extraordinary for the quarter century it has spent quietly composing itself in the cellar. All port all the time, was the thought that crossed my mind as it touched my palate: deep, plummy, warm, its edges rounded by patience into something almost confectionary. Few of us will ever hold this bottle again. Take heart. The second wine on the table that evening remains within reach.
The Tulip Fingerprint 2014 is a work of art in a bottle. Five grapes married over 36 months in oak, it opens with a certain hauteur, rigid and demanding, presenting all five varietals for inspection in a single nanosecond, and every one arriving in full dress. The mid-palate yields to wild berries, and the finish unfolds at leisure into dark chocolate and hot fudge. For all its age, this wine will hold another 15 years with grace. Serve it alongside sautéed short ribs over a bed of farro, and give it the evening it deserves.
Birthdays
Jonathan Goldsmith, stage, film and television actor, he is best known as “The Most Interesting Man in the World” appearing in Dos Equis beer commercials, turns 88 on Saturday
FRIDAY
Vivien Stern, former member of the U.K.’s House of Lords, turns 85
Yehuda Lancry, former member of Knesset, he also served as Israel’s ambassador to France and then the United Nations, turns 79
Dvora Millstone, Lakewood Ranch, Fla., resident, turns 78
Yardena Arazi, Israeli television anchor and popular singer, turns 75
Ruth Calderon, founder of ALMA, which seeks to acquaint secular Israelis with Hebrew culture, she served as a member of Knesset for Yesh Atid from 2013 to 2015, turns 65
Boaz Levy, chairman and former CEO of Israel Aerospace Industries, turns 65
Marc Benioff, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Salesforce, he acquired Time magazine in 2018, turns 62
Marissa Levin, best-selling author and serial entrepreneur
David Friedman, director and co-creator of the award-winning HBO series “Game of Thrones,” known professionally as David Benioff (Benioff is his mother’s maiden name), turns 56
Rabbi Pinchas Eliezer “Pini” Dunner, son and grandson of leading British rabbis, he is the senior rabbi at the Beverly Hills Synagogue, turns 56
Inbal Gavrieli, former member of the Knesset for Likud, she has appeared on multiple Israeli reality television shows, turns 51
Tamara Keith, White House correspondent for NPR, turns 47
Jesse Gabriel, member of the California State Assembly where he serves as chair of the Legislative Jewish Caucus, turns 45
Carmiel Arbit, nonresident senior fellow for Middle East programs and the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council
Lila Shapiro, features writer at New York magazine and its culture magazine Vulture
Zach Woods, actor and comedian, best known for his role as Gabe Lewis on the NBC sitcom “The Office,” turns 42
Mitch Malasky, former videographer for the State Department
Daniel Yadron, assistant appellate federal defender at Federal Defenders of San Diego
Jacob Greer Cohen, former center and power forward for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League and the EuroLeague, turns 36
Yanky Rodman, asset manager for Capital Realty Group
Destiny Albritton, creative director at BZ Media
Adam Basciano, strategic director at Laurel Strategies
SATURDAY
Robin Rosenblatt, CEO of Israel Longhorn Project, dedicated to bringing Texas Longhorn Cattle to Israel, turns 78
Barry Mandel, Five Towns (N.Y.) resident
Patrick Kron, former chairman and CEO of the French engineering conglomerate Alstom, he is the son of Holocaust survivors, turns 73
Doug Sosnik, senior political advisor to President Bill Clinton during his second term and co-author of a New York Times best-seller on the future of politics in the U.S., turns 70
Gary Torgow, chairman of Huntington National Bank, he is also the chair of the Jewish Federations of North America, turns 70
Paul Lustiger, Teaneck, N.J., resident with a Jersey City dental practice
Robert Kagan, historian, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, turns 68
Mark Isakowitz, chief of staff to Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA), turns 60
Josh Arieh, professional poker player with seven World Series of Poker bracelets, turns 52
Josh Pastner, men’s basketball head coach at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, he was the 2017 ACC Coach of the Year, turns 49
David G. Greenfield, CEO of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, a major charity in NYC, turns 48
Risa Beth Heller, former communications director for N.Y. Gov. David Paterson, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Jane Harman, she now heads a NYC-based PR firm, turns 47
Yaniv “Nev” Schulman, television host and producer, in 2020 he came in second on “Dancing with the Stars,” turns 42
Henry Seltzer, NYC-based editor at Bloomberg LP
Joshua Nason, senior director of political affairs at the Jewish Federations of North America
Joanna Weiss DiMarco turns 36
Alec Deer, senior director of development at Tamid Group
Marvel Joseph, director of strategic initiatives at the National Black Empowerment Council
SUNDAY
Arthur Blank, co-founder of The Home Depot and owner of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, turns 84
Stephen J. Landes, of counsel at the Jaszczuk law firm, turns 81
Ellen Sandler, board member of the Milken Family Foundation
Ralph Toledano, former chairman of the Victoria Beckham fashion brand, turns 75
Dan Raviv, longtime Washington correspondent, he is the author of books on Israel’s defense, intelligence and diplomatic services, turns 72
Jeffrey M. Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond until 2017, he was a chair of the Richmond Jewish Foundation, turns 71
Jeffrey Birnbaum, president of public relations firm BGR (Barbour, Griffith & Rogers), turns 70
Frank Hornstein, former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, he is married to a Minneapolis rabbi, turns 67
Marc Maron, comedian and author, turns 63
Rabbi Haïm Korsia, chief rabbi of France since 2014, turns 63
Debbie Wasserman Schultz, member of the U.S. House of Representatives since 2005, she was chairperson of the Democratic National Committee until 2016, turns 60
Judy Tashbook-Safern, literary and film publicist based in Israel, she is also the publisher of Intelligentsia Books
Michael Balaban, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, turns 60
Rebecca Blumenstein, president of NBC News Editorial, turns 60
Elliotte Friedman, hockey reporter for Sportsnet and as an insider for the NHL Network, turns 56
Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto, chief rabbi of Morocco, advisor to many leading businessmen and political figures in both Israel and the U.S., turns 53
Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, Israel’s special envoy for innovation, turns 53
Joseph Braude, author of four books on North Africa and the Middle East and president of The Center for Peace Communications
Carrie Rachel Brownstein, musician, actor, writer, director and comedian, turns 52
Josh Mandel, state treasurer of Ohio from 2011 to 2019, turns 49
Marc Kushner, architect, entrepreneur and author, turns 49
Daniel Isaac Helmer, member of the Virginia House of Delegates from the D.C. suburbs, turns 45
Rabbi Rori Picker Neiss, SVP and rabbi-in-residence at the Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Alexa Wertman, advisory manager for cyber and strategic risk at Deloitte, she was previously a Hebrew teacher and coordinator of Jewish programs at Zeta Beta Tau
Sam Lerner, actor best known for his role as Geoff Schwartz in 161 episodes of ABC’s “The Goldbergs,” turns 34
Please log in if you already have a subscription, or subscribe to access the latest updates.
Continue with Google
Continue with Apple