Markey mops Moulton
Plus, Fine’s election spending suspicions
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In today’s Daily Kickoff, we cover the results of the Massachusetts Senate primary and highlight Rahm Emanuel’s call for Democrats to unequivocally condemn Hasan Piker’s antisemitic rhetoric. We also cover a House vote to adopt a Republican-led resolution condemning socialism and the Democratic Socialists of America, and report on allegations made by Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) that an unregistered spending campaign illegally interfered in his congressional race, to aid his neo-Nazi opponent. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Alberto Barbera, Yair Saban and Niv Hoffman.
Curated by Israel Editor Tamara Zieve and U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
Today’s Agenda
We’re monitoring the escalation between the U.S. and Iran after the U.S. completed a wave of strikes against Iranian military targets on Tuesday evening, following Iranian attacks on U.S. forces in the region over the weekend as well as two strikes on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.
U.S. forces struck Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps air-defense sites, radar systems, maritime assets and facilities, mine-laying capabilities and communications sites, according to a statement by CENTCOM.
Tehran retaliated by firing missiles and drones at U.S. targets in Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq and Bahrain.
Meanwhile, overnight, Hezbollah launched two explosive drones toward Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon, the IDF said. Troops downed one of the drones and no IDF injuries were reported. In response to the attack, the military said it struck Hezbollah infrastructure in the area of Nabatieh.
In the lead-up to the Israeli elections, the Yedioth Ahronoth Group and the Israel Democracy Institute are holding a conference today titled “Decision Time: Democracy and Society,” moderated by TV host Sharon Kidon. Among the speakers are: Defense Minister Israel Katz, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Yashar chair Gadi Eisenkot, Together Chair Naftali Bennett, Democrats Chair Yair Golan, Yisrael Beiteinu Chair Avigdor Liberman and Ra’am Chair Mansour Abbas.
The J50 Forum, a body of Jewish organizations from around the world established by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, concludes its meeting in Jerusalem today. Attendees include J50 chair William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations; Betsy Berns Korn, chair of the Conference of Presidents; Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League; Eric Fingerhut, CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America; Evan Bernstein, CEO of B’nai B’rith International; Daniel Mariaschin, honorary CEO of B’nai B’rith; and Marina Rosenberg, senior vice president of international affairs at the ADL.
One Thing To Know
ANALYSIS
Markey’s victory caps strong night for Massachusetts progressives
Ideological progressivism and incumbency proved to be more potent advantages than an argument for generational change in the Massachusetts Senate primary, where Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) easily dispatched a challenge from more-moderate Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), who nonetheless swung leftward during the primary campaign.
Markey, a lifelong politician first elected to Congress in 1976, locked down support from the state’s leading progressives, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) — and won backing from the stars of the socialist wing of the party, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
That progressive show of support was more than enough to inoculate Markey over questions Moulton raised about the 80-year-old senator’s age — the challenger’s most frequent line of attack that ended up falling flat. Markey won a sweeping victory, tallying nearly two-thirds (65%) of the Democratic vote and winning the vast majority of towns and cities in the state.
The Big Reads
SOCIALISM SHOWDOWN
Eight Democrats join Republicans in resolution condemning socialism, DSA
The House voted 220-192 on Tuesday to adopt a Republican-led resolution condemning socialism and the Democratic Socialists of America, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports. The vote fell largely along party lines after GOP leaders attached language to the resolution backing President Donald Trump’s priority voting rights legislation, the SAVE America Act, which would mandate proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. But eight moderate Democrats still broke ranks to vote with Republicans in favor: Reps. Don Davis (D-NC), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Kathy Castor (D-FL), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA), Jared Golden (D-ME), Darren Soto (D-FL), Gabe Vasquez (D-NM) and Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX). In addition, Reps. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) and Maggie Goodlander (D-NH) voted present.
FINE PRINT
Randy Fine says illegal spending campaign boosted neo-Nazi opponent
Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) alleged this week, without providing evidence, that an unregistered spending campaign to the tune of millions of dollars illegally interfered in his congressional race to aid his neo-Nazi opponent, influencer Dan Bilzerian. Fine added that the money backing that campaign may have come from foreign sources. Fine, speaking to Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod on the sidelines of the Republican Jewish Coalition summit this weekend, said that the group, Florida First Action Network, spent millions on television and mail advertising attacking him without registering with the Federal Election Commission, as required by law.
LOUD AND CLEAR
Rahm Emanuel demands Democrats stop hedging on Hasan Piker’s antisemitism
Rahm Emanuel, the former mayor of Chicago and chief of staff to President Barack Obama who is now mulling a presidential bid in 2028, said he would go on Hasan Piker’s Twitch show to give the antisemitic streamer “a lesson in what he is perpetuating and the advocacy and the rhetoric of what he’s doing,” Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports. “I can give him a two-by-four upside his head because of what he said,” Emanuel said in a CNN interview on Monday, referring to recent comments in which Piker had claimed that Jews who support Israel are inviting violence against themselves.
The Rundown
TEHRAN TALK
As Trump renews attacks on Iran, debate over engagement hardens along party lines
HOUTHI HARASSMENT
Experts testify Trump’s Houthi campaign and ceasefire have failed to deter Red Sea attacks
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.
The New York Times reports that before Vice President JD Vance accepted the Republican Jewish Coalition‘s invitation to speak, intermediaries for the vice president reached out to prominent Jewish donors to gauge what kind of reception he would receive…
Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and a former GOP presidential candidate, called on Vance to “choose a side” between the “Tucker Carlson wing of the country” or the pro-Israel wing, after Vance failed to condemn the far-right commentator in his remarks at the RJC summit on Monday…
Conservative broadcaster Mark Levin similarly posted on X, “Re RJC and all the discussion. Let me help. If you truly oppose antisemitism say, ‘I reject and condemn antisemitism in all its forms and in every way.’ That wasn’t too tough. And this, ‘I will not tolerate those who say antisemitic things and promote Jew-hatred, and that includes Tucker Carlson and his ilk.’ Very easy”…
FBI Director Kash Patel hosted Shin Bet head David Zini in Washington on Tuesday, where they discussed counterterrorism efforts including breaking terrorist financing networks, intelligence sharing and counter-drone technologies, according to Patel…
The Justice Department announced on Tuesday that the FBI seized $560,000 in cryptocurrency donations intended for Hamas as well as fundraising and recruitment communication infrastructure belonging to the terror group…
Russia has been helping Iran develop advanced supersonic cruise missiles, according to a Financial Times investigation of leaked Russian communications. The highly sophisticated weapons technology, which can travel at several times the speed of sound, could assist Tehran in targeting U.S. aircraft carriers and other assets in the region…
A U.S. strike against Iran on Tuesday reportedly hit a wedding party, killing five and wounding dozens. CENTCOM spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins said, “We’re aware of the reports, which originated from Iranian state media. The U.S. military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC”…
The U.S. naval blockade on Iran has prevented Tehran from shipping meaningful crude exports through the Strait of Hormuz for about seven weeks — the longest stretch on record — draining one of its main sources of foreign income in a way that sanctions failed to do, Reuters reports…
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said at a press conference on Tuesday that Israel and Syria are engaged in negotiations mediated by the U.S. and that Damascus is “still committed” to reaching a diplomatic agreement, despite what he described as dozens of ongoing IDF incursions into Syrian territory…
California’s state Legislature passed a bill on Monday adding Jewish as an ethnicity option on state forms that collect demographic data. The bill, which now awaits Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature or veto, has raised some historical concerns around government records of Jews, while its proponents say the state’s privacy protections should prevent improper use of the data…
Israeli cybersecurity company AIR, which is building a firewall for AI agents, emerged from stealth on Tuesday with $50 million in funding led by Sequoia Capital and Greenoaks; the company was founded six months ago by Yair Saban and Niv Hoffman…
Israeli cybersecurity startup Huskeys, which is developing an AI layer for web application firewalls to secure autonomous AI agents online, raised $27 million in a round led by Blackstone, bringing its total funding to $35 million…
Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced on Tuesday that he is launching a defense tech company and that Palantir CEO Alex Karp will be its first lead investor…
A painting by Wassily Kandinsky, “The Colorful Life,” which was returned to the heirs of its Jewish owners in 2023 after Germany’s Nazi-looted art panel recommended restitution, will be put up for auction at Christie’s in London on Oct. 14, where it’s expected to fetch more than $30 million…
In an interview with Variety, Venice Film Festival chief Alberto Barbera said there are no Israeli films featured at the festival this year because there was only one Israeli submission. Asked if the festival is boycotting Israel, Barbera responded, “No, not at all. Never. It is absolutely important to say that we have no prejudice against anyone anywhere in the world. If there had been a Russian film, an Israeli film of good quality, we would undoubtedly have invited it”…
Sarah Rose Cohen, formerly chief of staff to the chief rabbi of the UAE, announced her new role as senior foreign policy advisor to Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL)…
Michael Brooks, veteran Hillel professional who led University of Michigan Hillel for many years as its executive director, died on Monday at 80…
Worthy Reads
Find more Worthy Reads in our Live Briefing via our app (on Apple and Android) and website.
Dressing Down the Met: The New York Times’ Bret Stephens weighs in on the Met’s canceled John Galliano retrospective, arguing the museum drew the wrong line by celebrating the designer rather than merely displaying his designs. “The error of the Galliano retrospective was not the desire to display his outstanding body of work for the public. A dress, assuming it doesn’t have a swastika stitched to it, doesn’t convey a prejudice, and curious visitors, including Jewish ones, could learn a lot from an excellent exhibition. The outrage was the highly personalized form of the honor being bestowed on Galliano himself, above all through the Met Gala, which violated the principle of separation by celebrating the execrable creator along with his extraordinary creations.” [NYTimes]
Where’s the Outrage?: In RealClearWorld, Ludovic Hood, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a former U.S. diplomat who served in the Middle East for 20 years, calls out what he describes as selective outrage and a double standard applied to bloodshed in the region. “Why didn’t students at Columbia and UCLA or Democratic Party and DSA politicians or many media outlets care about millions of dead and displaced Afghans, Iraqis, Syrians, Sudanese and Yemenis in the years leading up to October 2023? Why don’t students and activists take to the streets or wage political campaigns about the hundreds of thousands of people massacred in Sudan’s ongoing civil war? Or the thousands of dead Iranian youth gunned down by their own government little more than six months ago? … One can only deduce that it is Israel’s involvement in certain conflicts that triggers the outrage, the censure, and the hateful rhetoric — when all other conflicts in the same region, regardless of America’s participation or role, draw shrugs.” [RealClearWorld]
Picture of the Day
Shin Bet chief David Zini (second from right) visited the headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn on Tuesday, during a trip to the U.S. for meetings with officials. X/Rabbi Chanina Sperlin
Birthdays
Jon Feltheimer, CEO of Lionsgate film and television studio, turns 75
Robin L Marshall/Getty Images
Diane Troderman, trustee of a foundation she helped found with her husband, Harold Grinspoon, turns 85
Robert Shapiro, attorney who was part of the “Dream Team” that successfully defended O.J. Simpson in 1995, he co-founded LegalZoom, Shoedazzle and RightCounsel, turns 84
Yossi Vardi, one of Israel’s earliest high-tech entrepreneurs, turns 84
Rabbi Yaakov Hopfer, rabbi of Baltimore’s Shearith Israel Congregation since 1987 and president of the Baltimore Vaad HaRabonim, turns 82
Tobi Kelmer, Lincolnwood, Ill., resident
Richard Mandelbaum, tech entrepreneur and principal at Xynetics Group, turns 80
Yaakov Litzman, member of the Knesset for the United Torah Judaism party from 1999 to 2022, turns 78
Steven Kocen, SVP at Southern Bank & Trust, he is an honorary director of Ohef Sholom Temple in Norfolk, Va.
Harvey Levin, television producer, attorney, legal analyst and celebrity reporter, he is the founder of celebrity news website TMZ, turns 76
Lee Wunsch, retired president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston (1999-2017), turns 74
Nick Hanauer, author, entrepreneur and venture capitalist, turns 67
Daniel Klaidman, investigative producer for CBS News
James Rosen, chief Washington correspondent for Newsmax, turns 58
Guy Rolnik, founder of Israeli media organization TheMarker and a deputy publisher of the Haaretz daily newspaper, he is also a clinical professor at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, turns 58
Eric Lefkofsky, serial entrepreneur, co-founder and chairman of Groupon, he is also the founder and CEO of Tempus AI, turns 57
Raney Aronson-Rath, editor-in-chief and executive producer at PBS’ “Frontline,” turns 56
Eliyahu David “Eli” Groner, board member at the David Group and former director-general of the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, turns 56
Ohad Moskowitz, contemporary Jewish religious music vocalist, known by the mononym “Ohad,” turns 52
Jess Fassler, chief of staff for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Richard Rubin, D.C.-based U.S. tax policy reporter for The Wall Street Journal
Jonathan Kite, actor, comedian and impressionist, turns 47
Joseph Weisenthal, executive editor of news for Bloomberg, the co-anchor of “What’d You Miss” on Bloomberg Television and co-host of the “Odd Lots” podcast on Bloomberg Podcasts, turns 46
Ethan Zorfas, partner at Axiom Strategies, turns 41
Margot Edelman, lead of the global tech practice at Edelman
Seth Zweifler, chief of staff at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
Rob Kaminsky, professional baseball pitcher in the Los Angeles Angels organization, turns 32
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