Good Tuesday morning.

In today’s Daily Kickoff, we do a deep dive into the controversial background of Darren Beattie, who this week was named to a senior State Department role, and cover Sen. Lindsey Graham’s concerns about the growing isolationist movement in the Republican Party. We also report on a handful of campus antisemitism investigations proactively launched by the Department of Education, and report on the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values’ rebranding as the North American Values Institute. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Ben Black, Robert Kraft and Joe Lonsdale.

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• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump are slated to meet this afternoon at the White House. They’ll hold a joint press conference at 5:10 p.m. ET following their meeting. More on Netanyahu’s visit below.
• Trump is expected to sign executive orders today withdrawing the U.S. from the U.N.’s Human Right Council and cutting off future funding to UNRWA, the U.N. agency tasked with working with Palestinians. Funding to UNRWA had previously been halted by the Biden administration and Congress through March 2025.
• The Senate Intelligence Committee is holding a closed briefing this afternoon. Members of the committee are slated to vote on Tulsi Gabbard's nomination to be director of national intelligence. More below.
• The Senate Finance Committee will vote on advancing Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination to be secretary of Health and Human Services. Elsewhere on the Hill, the full Senate could vote as soon as today on Pam Bondi's nomination to be attorney general. 
• Fresh off a trip to Saudi Arabia earlier this week, Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is in Turkey today, where he is meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nearly weeklong trip to Washington — he has now extended his stay through Saturday night — is focused on strengthening relationships with the new Trump administration, building ties with key lawmakers and maintaining a strong connection with evangelical leaders who are key backers of strong U.S. support for the Jewish state.

On Monday night, Netanyahu met with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, President Donald Trump’s pick to be U.S. ambassador to Israel; Christians United For Israel leader Pastor John Hagee and other prominent Christian leaders. The meeting took place at the Blair House, where Netanyahu is staying, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov and Marc Rod report.

Netanyahu also met with the administration’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, to begin talks on the second stage of the Gaza cease-fire and hostage-release deal. Following the meeting, which lasted several hours, Netanyahu’s office announced that he would send a team to Qatar over the weekend to discuss “technical matters related to the continued implementation of the agreement,” and Israel’s security cabinet would subsequently convene to determine its stance to guide negotiations for the second stage. 

The prime minister has a narrow political needle to thread, as the further stages of the deal mean the release of more hostages, which is what Trump has vowed to do and most of the Israeli public wants. However, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has threatened to topple Netanyahu’s government if the war in Gaza is brought to an end, which is what the deal currently requires in the final stages of the agreement. 

The Israeli prime minister met on Sunday with Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency, with whom he appears to share a willingness to go head to head with entrenched government institutions. Netanyahu and Musk have met several times in recent years; the billionaire visited Israel after the Oct. 7 attack and attended Netanyahu’s address to Congress last summer.  

This afternoon, Netanyahu and Trump will meet in the White House, and then hold a joint press conference.

Tomorrow, Netanyahu is set to meet with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon.

Netanyahu will spend much of Thursday on Capitol Hill, first meeting with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and then members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, followed by a meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Foreign Affairs Committee members.

There’s less of a focus on meeting with Democratic leaders, with the party now out of power in Washington and Netanyahu on the receiving end of much criticism from them in recent years. 

Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), but has no meeting on the calendar with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Schumer’s office did not respond to a question about whether he will be meeting with the Israeli prime minister.

Also of note: The prime minister has yet to schedule a meeting with Jewish communal leaders, according to several sources familiar with Netanyahu’s schedule, despite his lengthy stay in the United States. A source traveling with the prime minister said that he may meet with Jewish student leaders later in the week.

Netanyahu’s entourage includes his new international affairs advisor, conservative Israeli-American columnist Caroline Glick, as well as three doctors — in addition to one usual physician, there was a cardiologist and a urologist, following Netanyahu’s recent prostate surgery, from which he said last week that he is still recovering.

Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, who has been living in Miami the past two months, joined him in Washington at the Blair House, but was not at Joint Base Andrews when Netanyahu’s plane arrived on Sunday.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) expressed concern on Monday about the isolationist arm of the Republican Party, making him one of the most high-profile administration allies to publicly criticize a key faction of President Donald Trump’s base. “On the right, there’s a growing isolationist movement that I fight all the time,” Graham said at an Orthodox Union Advocacy Center attorneys conference in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.

Isolationist element: Graham’s remarks underscore concerns from some Republicans that the isolationist wing of the party is now targeting Israel, too, as it seeks to shape Trump’s foreign policy. “It's beginning to include Israel,” he said. “In the past it really hasn't, but now it's more open, and so there is an element of our party that's saying, We don’t want to get sucked into endless war because of Israel.”

Read the full story here.

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination to be director of national intelligence appears to be on more solid footing heading into a vote on Tuesday in the Senate Intelligence Committee to advance her nomination to the full Senate, but two key swing votes remain mum on their plans, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Emily Jacobs report.

The latest: The committee vote comes less than a week after Gabbard’s confirmation hearing, which exacerbated concerns from skeptical Republicans. Two former skeptics, Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and James Lankford (R-OK), affirmed on Monday that they plan to vote for Gabbard. Sen. Todd Young (R-IN), one of two potential swing votes, still has not announced his plans, telling reporters, “You’ll hear more from me tomorrow.” Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS), who also engaged in a heated exchange with Gabbard at her confirmation hearing, did not respond to a request for comment. If Republicans lose just one vote, Gabbard would not advance out of committee, though Senate GOP leadership has the procedural powers necessary to force Gabbard’s nomination to the Senate floor in such a scenario.

Read the full story here.

The Department of Education is taking its first major action under the new administration to combat antisemitism, launching investigations into alleged antisemitic discrimination at Columbia University; the University of California, Berkeley; Portland State University; Northwestern University and University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

New investigations: The Department of Education under the Biden administration pursued antisemitism cases after complaints had been filed by students and organizations representing them. These new cases, however, are being launched proactively, giving the Department of Education broader investigative latitude. Craig Trainor, the acting assistant secretary of education for civil rights, said in a statement the announcements serve to put “universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses, nor will it stand by idly if universities fail to combat Jew hatred and the unlawful harassment and violence it animates.”

Read the full story here.

Also: The Department of Justice announced a new multiagency task force on Monday whose “first priority” will be to “root out anti-Semitic harassment in schools and on college campuses,” according to an announcement by the department, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.

Weeks after the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks in Israel — and as anti-Israel rhetoric soared on U.S. campuses as the war between Israel and Hamas played out — diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) bureaucracy at colleges came under intense scrutiny for failing to address the rising anti-Jewish hate on campuses — and at times perpetuating it. Leading Jewish communal organizations, including the American Jewish Committee and Anti-Defamation League, defended DEI at the time, telling Jewish Insider that they still preferred to work within that system — urging universities to better incorporate Jews into a worldview that sought to uplift minorities, often imperfectly, instead of calling on them to dismantle the ideology behind it altogether. More than a year later, President Donald Trump, on his first day back in office, signed an executive order to dismantle federal programs that promote DEI. Jewish groups are now divided on their embrace of the DEI framework — but nearly all recognize shortcomings in the ideology, JI’s Haley Cohen reports.

JFNA position: In a statement to JI, Eric Fingerhut, CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, distanced the organization from DEI. “The Jewish Federations of North America work to build a culture of belonging that allows every individual in our diverse community to fully engage in Jewish life,” Fingerhut said. “We invite everyone to come view and participate in this work. We have never, and do not now, associate ourselves or adopt the practices associated with the DEI movement as that has come to be understood and practiced in recent years on campus and in other sectors.” 

Read the full story here.

Telling name change: In a sign of the political times, the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values rebranded under a new name on Monday — dropping both “Jewish” and “liberal” from its title. The group also said it will shift its mission to focus full-time on countering “radical ideology” and antisemitism in K-12 education, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen has learned.

President Donald Trump announced that he has nominated Ben Black to lead the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation. If confirmed by the Senate, Black will serve as chief executive officer of the DFC, which acts as the federal government’s primary lender and investor in development projects abroad, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.

Announcement: “I am pleased to nominate Benjamin Black to serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the United States International Development Finance Corporation,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Friday. “Ben will use his financial acumen and broad dealmaking expertise to ensure that our Investments around the World benefit our Citizens, and strengthen our Country.”

Read the full story here.

On the Same Page?: In The Wall Street Journal, David Wurmser considers how President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can find common ground when they meet today. “Israel’s strategic shift toward strength aligns with Mr. Trump’s global vision. But establishing this new relationship requires that Israel emerge from the current war not only as a U.S. ally but as a powerful proponent of Western values. In the short term, the greatest support the U.S. can lend Israel is weapons and diplomatic cover. In the long term, the U.S. must provide steadfast moral support for the survival and self-defense of the Jewish people in their homeland. The alternative is a U.S. retreat from the region, which would invite attack and engender a global perception of American decline. Or the U.S. could revert to the policies of the past nearly six decades, when it increased its engagement while demanding Israeli weakness. Neither path has led to regional stability, reduced U.S. engagement in the Middle East, secured American interests, or enhanced global respect for the U.S.” [WSJ]

Trump’s Iron Dome ‘Gimmick’: The Atlantic’s Yair Rosenberg reacts to President Donald Trump’s executive order calling for an “Iron Dome for America,” signed days after he took office. “Given Trump’s exceptional instinct for indelible images, that he landed on the Iron Dome as his latest gimmick is no surprise. For both Israel’s supporters and its detractors, the country’s missile-defense system emblemizes the technological frontier of warfare, thanks to countless photos and videos of its dramatic mid-air interceptions of enemy projectiles. As someone who made his name in real estate and television by manipulating people’s perceptions, Trump intuitively grasped the power of the Iron Dome in the popular imagination, and crudely co-opted it. Whether the system’s details make sense for America is not particularly important. For his purposes, the symbolism supercedes the substance. … Again and again, Trump has managed to transmute political performance into the appearance of political achievement. Whether it’s promising a border wall or an Iron Dome, he may not be America’s most competent president, but he is its greatest showman, and in our broken political system, that might be enough to maintain his dominance over our collective attention and affairs of state.” [TheAtlantic]

Jason Carter (center) accepted on behalf of his late grandfather, President Jimmy Carter, the Grammy for Best Audio Book, Narration and Storytelling recording for "Last Sundays in Plains: A Centennial Celebration” at the Grammy Awards held on Sunday in Los Angeles. Standing alongside Carter are Doug Davis (left), Creative Community For Peace Advisory Board member; and Steve Schnur (second from right), Creative Community for Peace co-founder. Both men wore yellow ribbon pins in solidarity with the hostages held in Gaza.

Actress, best known for her award-winning role in the 1986 science fiction action film "Aliens," Jenette Elise Goldstein turns 65... 

Actor best known for his work as Herman "Hesh" Rabkin on HBO's "The Sopranos" and as Howard Lyman on CBS's "The Good Wife," Jerry Adler turns 96... One of the founders of the Jewish Community of Greater Stowe (Vermont), Barbara Gould Stern... Co-founder and chair of Sage Publications, an academic publishing company, she was international president of B'nai B'rith Girls at the age of 19, Sara Miller McCune turns 84... Attorney, bank executive and philanthropist, donor of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, Adrienne Arsht turns 83... Torrance, Calif., resident, Patrick B. Leek... Senior counsel at the global law firm Dentons, Evan Wolfson turns 68... Director of English-language programming at Herzog College in Alon Shvut, Israel, Shalom Berger turns 65... Member of the state Senate of Maryland, Brian J. Feldman turns 64... Former mayor of Anchorage, Alaska, Ethan Avram Berkowitz turns 63... Former kickboxing champion, ultra-distance cycling champion and IDF soldier, Leah Goldstein turns 56... President and COO of Blackstone Group and chairman of the board of Hilton Worldwide, Jonathan D. "Jon" Gray turns 55... The first elected Jewish mayor of Los Angeles, he then served as the U.S. ambassador to India until two weeks ago, Eric Garcetti turns 54... Television writer and producer, Edward Lawrence "Eddy" Kitsis turns 54... Executive director of the Baltimore Jewish Council, Howard Libit... Director of Jewish outreach and policy advisor for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, Ilan Goldenberg... Author, psychotherapist and group fitness instructor, Rebecca Alexander turns 46... Washington-based economic policy reporter for The New York Times since 2014, Alan Rappeport... CEO at Aeris Medical Group PLLC in Minneapolis, Noson "Nelson" Weisbord turns 42... Senior manager in the NYC office of Monitor Deloitte, Justin Meservie turns 42... Client operations and legal project manager at Ropes & Gray, Abigail Dana Cable... Professor emeritus at Northeast Forestry University in Harbin, China, Dan Ben-Canaan... Jan Winnick...