Plus, Ziv and Gali Berman's second birthday in captivity
(Photo by JACQUELINE PENNEY/AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images)
This frame grab taken from an AFPTV footage shows smoke billowing after explosions in Qatar's capital Doha on September 9, 2025.
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In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report the latest on the Israeli strike targeting senior Hamas officials in Doha, and look at how Capitol Hill is responding to the operation. We report on Texas state Rep. James Talarico’s criticism of Israel following the launch of his Senate campaign, and talk to friends of Israeli hostages Gal and Ziv Berman, who are marking the twins’ second birthday in Hamas captivity. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Elizabeth Tsurkov, Scarlett Johansson and Amb. Mark Wallace.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by Jewish Insider Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with assists from Marc Rod and Danielle Cohen-Kanik. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- We’re keeping an eye on the situation in the Middle East and Washington following Israel’s targeting of senior Hamas officials in Doha yesterday. More below.
- The California Senate’s Education Committee is holding a hearing this afternoon on AB 715, legislation meant to address antisemitism in the state’s K-12 schools. One of the legislators supporting the bill told The Jewish News of Northern California that the text had become “narrower” after the bill’s backers “compromised on numerous things with our colleagues who expressed concerns” over the legislation.
- Yeshiva University’s Rabbi Ari Berman will serve as the Senate’s guest chaplain today. C-SPAN’s Howard Mortman, author of When Rabbis Bless Congress, notes that Berman, who delivered the benediction at President Donald Trump’s inauguration earlier this year, will become the third rabbi to have prayed both in Congress and during a presidential inauguration.
- Elsewhere on Capitol Hill today, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce’s subcommittee on early childhood, elementary and secondary education is holding a hearing on antisemitism in K-12 schools. The Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Brandy Shufutinsky, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law’s Rachel Lerman, Defending Education’s Nicole Neily and T’ruah’s Rabbi Jill Jacobs are slated to testify.
- Brandeis University is unveiling its “New Vision for American Higher Education” this afternoon at the National Press Club. Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) is slated to speak at the event. Across town, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is speaking at a Heritage Foundation event focused on the Muslim Brotherhood.
- The American Jewish Committee is holding an event this morning marking the upcoming fifth anniversary of the signing of the Abraham Accords.
- This afternoon, the Jewish Democratic Council of America is hosting “Israel and Gaza: Two Years Later and What Comes Next” with Israel Policy Forum’s Michael Koplow.
- Elsewhere in DC, the National Union for Democracy in Iran and MEAD are continuing their conference in Washington today.
- Some MEAD attendees are heading to Israel for the Jefferies TechTrek conference in Tel Aviv, which kicked off with a welcome reception last night. Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides, Paul Singer, Bill Ackman, Shaun Maguire and Dan Loeb are among those gathered for Jefferies.
- The Climate Solutions Prize Tour kicks off today in the United Arab Emirates, before moving to Israel on Sunday.
- Israeli President Isaac Herzog arrived in London today for a two-day visit.
- In Canada, “The Road Between Us,” about Israeli Maj. Gen. (res.) Noam Tibon’s efforts to rescue his son’s family from their Gaza envelope home on Oct. 7, 2023, will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, after it was previously removed from the slate of films over what organizers said was a failure to get Hamas to approve the use of its videos of the attacks.
- In Pennsylvania, representatives from the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh will deliver a victim impact statement at the sentencing of Talya Lubit, who pleaded guilty in May to charges of conspiracy and defacing and damaging Chabad of Squirrel Hill.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MELISSA WEISS AND Lahav harkov
Nearly a day after an Israeli airstrike targeted a meeting of high-level Hamas officials in Doha, Qatar, there are more questions than answers, both in Jerusalem and Washington. Israel has not confirmed which officials were killed in the strike, while Hamas has said that five officials from the group, including the son of Hamas’ chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, were killed in addition to a member of the Qatari security forces.
Israeli reports earlier today indicate that the strike did not kill the most senior echelon of the terror group, which for years has been based in Qatar, a U.S. ally.
Amid ongoing uncertainty over the success of the strike, the operation was met with rare condemnation from the White House, first from Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and then from President Donald Trump himself, who said he “was very unhappy about it, very unhappy about every aspect” — perhaps, in part, because the operation is not believed to have taken out the most senior Hamas officials.
But it was Trump himself who said over the weekend on his Truth Social site that he had “warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting” the ceasefire and hostage-release deal that had been put forward by the U.S.
At the same time that Trump officials, including the president, were criticizing the operation, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee was embracing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the U.S. Embassy’s belated Independence Day celebration in Jerusalem, where the prime minister addressed a smaller group of VIPs attending the party.
HILL REACTIONS
Partisan divide emerges over Israeli strike on Hamas leadership in Qatar
A partisan divide quickly emerged Tuesday over the Israeli strike on Hamas leadership in Qatar, with senior Republican lawmakers expressing support for the attack, while top Democrats criticized it, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What they’re saying: Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told JI, “I support it.” He continued, “I think Hamas has got to be destroyed, and there’s no sense in doing half measures.” But Wicker’s Democratic counterpart, Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), called the strike “extremely disruptive, provocative and dangerous” and a “great strategic mistake.” He praised Qatar as “a strong ally of the United States” and argued that the strike, which targeted Hamas leaders who were part of negotiations with the U.S. and Israel, showed that Israel is not serious about reaching a ceasefire deal.
doha debate
Senate Republicans address differences with White House over Israel’s Doha strike
The Israeli strike targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar is dividing the White House, which strongly criticized Israel for attacking Qatari territory, and Senate Republicans, who have been overwhelmingly supportive of the Israeli action, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Emily Jacobs report.
Divisions: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), asked about the White House statement on the attack, told JI, “I understand we have troops there, but my focus is Israel. Hamas has had every chance. … Lay down your weapons, release the hostages — you live. If you don’t — it keeps going.” Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), the most outspoken supporter of Qatar among Senate Republicans, stood alone in offering a full-throated criticism of the Israeli strike.
Breaking rank: Breaking with many of his Senate Democratic colleagues, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) sounded a supportive note on the Israeli strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar on Tuesday. “I strongly support Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas,” Blumenthal told Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod. “I want to know more about the details of this particular strike — I’m learning about it in real time and anything done to destroy Hamas’ leadership or its terrorist capability or military capacity is a step in the right direction.”
HOSTAGE RELEASE
Elizabeth Tsurkov released after months of torture by Iraqi terror group, Trump says
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Elizabeth Tsurkov, an Israeli-Russian researcher at Princeton University, was released by an Iranian-backed terrorist group in Iraq to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What he said: “I am pleased to report that Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Princeton Student, whose sister is an American Citizen, was just released by Kata’ib Hezbollah (MILITANT Hezbollah), and is now safely in the American Embassy in Iraq after being tortured for many months,” Trump said on Truth Social. “I will always fight for JUSTICE, and never give up. HAMAS, RELEASE THE HOSTAGES, NOW!”
Talarico talk
Texas Democratic Senate recruit James Talarico takes critical view of Israel
James Talarico, a Democratic state representative in Texas seen as a rising star in his party, launched a campaign for Senate on Tuesday, joining a crowded primary to claim the seat held by veteran Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). The 36-year-old former public school teacher, who has studied to become a Presbyterian minister, has drawn national attention for openly embracing his Christian faith to connect with voters. In his launch video, he referred to Jesus, invoking him as “a barefoot rabbi who gave two commandments: love God and love neighbor,” Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Israel approach: Talarico, who is calling for a generational shake-up in a party he sees as largely out of touch with voter concerns, until this week had no apparent record of public commentary on Middle East policy, a subject that is likely to stir debate in the upcoming election cycle amid Democratic divisions over Israel’s war in Gaza. In interviews published on Tuesday, he indicated that he would adopt a more critical approach to Israel, calling the war a “moral disaster” that his party has failed to address. “One of the primary reasons that the Democratic Party lost young voters in particular last election was our party’s failure to recognize the moral disaster in Gaza, and I hope that we have leaders who recognize that mistake,” he said in comments to Punchbowl News that were echoed in an interview with The Washington Post.
CAMPUS BEAT
Faculty and staff drive antisemitism on college campuses, ADL/AEN survey finds
Much of the antisemitism on college campuses is fueled by faculty and staff — both on campus and within professional academic organizations — according to a survey released on Wednesday by the Anti-Defamation League and the Academic Engagement Network. Seventy-three percent of the 209 Jewish faculty members polled from universities around the U.S. reported observing antisemitic activities or statements from faculty, administrators or staff on campuses, including calls to boycott Israel and doxxing campaigns. Forty-four percent said they were aware of an organized Faculty for Justice in Palestine chapter on their campus, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
Testimony: “My chair is pro-Hamas (explicitly so) and has turned our department into an encampment, full of ‘river to the sea’ slogans and propaganda,” an anonymous faculty member shared in the survey. “When I and a few other Jewish faculty objected, the chair organized about 50 people to verbally attack us, including one who told me that we had all the money and power. Consequently, my department is a hostile work environment, and I can no longer attend events or participate in departmental life there.”
SOMBER DAY
‘We won’t normalize it’: Friends of Ziv and Gali Berman mark twins’ 28th birthday in Hamas captivity
As Israeli twins Ziv and Gali Berman mark their 28th birthday in captivity on Wednesday — their second since being kidnapped to Gaza from Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the Hamas-led terror attacks of Oct. 7, 2023 — their close-knit group of friends is quietly commemorating the day while continuing their public campaign for the brothers’ release. Known to their loved ones as inseparable, Ziv and Gali are not only the best of friends but also deeply connected to — and the center of — their childhood circle in Kfar Aza. Ziv, the more quiet and reserved twin, and also the funny one, and Gali, the loud, extroverted and charming one, complement one another and gravitate toward each other, friends say. But testimonies from released hostages suggest that the two have been separated from each other while in captivity, Jewish Insider’s Tamara Zieve reports.
Friends reflect: Their birthday, said Inbar Rosenfeld, a lifelong friend of the twins, “makes us stop for a moment and remember, and get a sense of the time that they haven’t been here — and this is the second birthday [in captivity.]” Rosenfeld told JI on Tuesday, “It’s crazy, it’s tough — we never thought we would get to this situation.” Ido Felus, another close friend of the twins from Kfar Aza, said that their second birthday in captivity fills him with a mix of pain and perseverance. “I am sure they are coming back, I have no doubt of that,” Felus told JI.
Another birthday in captivity: Another Israeli hostage, Yosef Haim Ohana, is also marking his second birthday, his 25th, in captivity in Gaza today. Ohana was kidnapped from the Nova music festival on Oct. 7 after he chose to stay and help the wounded instead of fleeing. “On your 25th birthday, we gather not to celebrate, but to remember, to pray, and to amplify your voice until you come home. Let us surround Yosef with love, with faith, and demand: bring them all home now,” his father, Avi Ohana, said in a message.
Worthy Reads
Empty Gestures: The New York Times’ Bret Stephens considers the ramifications of the “gesture politics” that politicians and activists engage in around the Israel-Palestinian conflict. “What, then, do these gestures accomplish? The legitimate needs of the Palestinian people are these: an end to this war; an end to being dragged into future wars by Hamas; an end to the chronic misgovernance of the Palestinian Authority; the establishment of a self-governing political order that improves the lives of Palestinians without endangering the lives of Israelis; the eventual creation, under conditions of mutual trust, of a Palestinian state. Immediate recognition of such a state advances none of this. It is the proverbial cart before the horse. France and its fellow travelers aren’t aiming to do much to help actual Palestinians. Mainly, they seek to congratulate themselves. Countries achieve irrelevance when moral onanism takes the place of serious policy as the principal instrument of national policy.” [NYTimes]
Bullish Economy: In The Wall Street Journal, Nimrod Sapir considers why Israel’s economy has “defied expectations and displayed remarkable resilience” over nearly two years of war and growing international isolation. “Demographics further bolster Israel’s prospects: a growing, youthful labor force. Israel has the highest population growth rate among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, and that growth goes far beyond the Haredi and Arab sectors. Surging global demand for Israeli defense systems likewise strengthens the export base and opens new markets. Israel’s military achievements — particularly in neutralizing Iran’s nuclear ambitions and diminishing threats from its proxies — are reshaping the geopolitical landscape. For the first time in decades, investors can anticipate a gradual easing of geopolitical risks that have long weighed heavily on Israel’s economic potential.” [WSJ]
New Stage of War: The Free Press‘ Jay Solomon spotlights Qatar’s years of engaging in “one of the Middle East’s most dangerous games of double-dealing” by hosting Hamas officials as it benefits from its allyship with Western nations. “Israel’s attack on Qatari soil, and the U.S.’s connivance, marks the crossing of another boundary in the Jewish state’s two-year war with Hamas, sparked by the October 7 attack. … Israel’s attack inside Qatar may open a new chapter of direct conflict between Netanyahu’s government and the Al Thanis, though likely not involving their militaries. Qatar is one of the world’s richest nations per capita and possesses vast resources to challenge the legitimacy of the state of Israel through Doha’s global media operations, including the Al Jazeera television network and support for international bodies like the United Nations and the International Criminal Court.” [FreePress]
Word on the Street
Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Ritchie Torres (D-NY) wrapped up a bipartisan delegation to Italy, Tunisia and Morocco…
Democrat James Walkinshaw is won the special election in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District, succeeding Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), who died earlier this year and for whom Walkinshaw served as chief of staff until 2019…
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa is slated to travel to the U.S. for the U.N. General Assembly later this month; al-Sharaa, who will speak to the gathering on Sept. 24, is expected to meet with President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the annual confab…
Northwestern University announced the hiring of Henry Bienen to succeed outgoing President Michael Schill; Bienen previously led the school from 1995-2009, during which time he spearheaded the launch of Northwestern’s campus in Qatar…
The FBI is investigating threats made to several Pittsburgh-area Jewish organizations, including the Tree of Life…
Police in Oregon are searching for an individual who spray-painted swastikas on the Oregon Jewish Holocaust Museum earlier this summer…
Actress Scarlett Johansson said she intentionally cast Holocaust survivors in “Eleanor the Great,” her directorial debut, about an elderly American Jewish woman who assumes the childhood storyline of a deceased friend who had survived the Holocaust…
United Against Nuclear Iran CEO Mark Wallace sent a letter to the head of the U.S.-based Marriott International, inquiring about the hotel chain’s hosting of Hamas officials at the Ritz Carlton in Doha, Qatar…
The Wall Street Journal reports that Turkey and Egypt warned Hamas officials abroad in recent weeks to tighten security measures around their meetings…
Spain banned Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, amid rising tensions between Jerusalem and Madrid over the war in Gaza and a Spanish arms embargo on Israel…
Former National Security Council staffer Oliver North quietly married his former secretary, Fawn Hall, nearly four decades after the Iran-Contra affair both were involved in…
The son of a British couple detained since January in Iran said his parents’ situation is “dire” following their meeting with the British ambassador in Tehran…
The International Atomic Energy Agency reached an agreement with Iran to resume inspections of the country’s nuclear facilities, three months after cooperation ceased amid the 12-day Israel-Iran war…
Zachary Isakowitz, who previously worked at the Semiconductor Industry Association as head of government affairs and at the Treasury, is joining Nvidia as a director of government affairs.
Pic of the Day
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee (on guitar) and Paul Singer (on keyboard) jammed out to Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” at the embassy’s belated Independence Day celebration last night at the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem.
Birthdays
Writer, columnist and author of four New York Times bestsellers, Amity Ruth Shlaes turns 65…
Chairman of Shamrock Holdings, Roy Disney’s private investment company, Stanley Gold turns 83… Retired realtor in Southern California, Dianne Varon… Former EVP and general counsel at Chicago’s futures broker Rosenthal Collins Group, Gerald Fishman… Past president of Congregation Ahavas Israel in Passaic, N.J., Howard Penner… Retired coordinator at Truman Heartland Community Foundation, she had been a Hebrew teacher at Congregation Beth Torah in Overland Park, Kan., Henri Goettel… Houston attorney, and Republican Party activist, Gary M. Polland turns 75… Denver attorney and politician, he served in the Colorado House of Representatives for eight years, Joel Judd turns 73… Executive assistant to the office managing partner of the E&Y office in Tampa, Nancy Carol Finkel… U.S. senator (R-WY), Cynthia Lummis turns 71… Retired VP at Goldman Sachs, now a part-time elementary school teacher, Matthew Fried… Real estate attorney in South Florida, Steven A. Greenspan… Award-winning journalist and author, he wrote a 2024 book on Bernie Madoff, Richard Behar… Former acting administrator of the DEA, now a senior counsel at D.C.’s Crowell & Moring, Charles Philip “Chuck” Rosenberg turns 65… Founder and managing director at Beacon Global Strategies, Andrew Shapiro… NYC trusts and estates attorney, Lawrence Ira Garbuz… Co-founder and partner of One Madison Group, Jonathan Soros turns 55… Television writer and producer whose work includes “The Big Bang Theory,” Eric Kaplan turns 54… Executive director of the Maryland/Mid-Atlantic region of Agudath Israel, Ariel Sadwin… Writer, actress and comedian, she was a writer for “Saturday Night Live,” Sarah Schneider turns 42… Principal at Blue Zone Partners and managing partner at Precision Infrastructure Management, Charles Szold… PR strategist, Josh Nass… Chief foreign correspondent for Fox News, his 2024 book, Black Saturday, covers the events of Oct. 7 and the war that followed, Trey Yingst turns 32… Jennifer Meyer…
The newly minted candidate casts himself as a moderate, but called out his party for not criticizing Israel more in the 2024 election
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Democratic Texas State Rep. James Talarico speaks during a campaign launch rally on September 09, 2025 in Round Rock, Texas.
James Talarico, a Democratic state representative in Texas seen as a rising star in his party, launched a campaign for Senate on Tuesday, joining a crowded primary to claim the seat held by veteran Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).
The 36-year-old former public school teacher, who has studied to become a Presbyterian minister, has drawn national attention for openly embracing his Christian faith to connect with voters. In his launch video, he referred to Jesus, invoking him as “a barefoot rabbi who gave two commandments: love God and love neighbor.”
“Two thousand years ago, when the powerful few rigged the system, that barefoot rabbi walked into the seat of power and flipped over the tables of injustice,” Talarico added. “To those who love our country, to those who love our neighbors: It’s time to start flipping tables.”
Talarico, who is calling for a generational shake-up in a party he sees as largely out of touch with voter concerns, until this week had no apparent record of public commentary on Middle East policy, a subject that is likely to stir debate in the upcoming election cycle amid Democratic divisions over Israel’s war in Gaza.
In interviews published on Tuesday, he indicated that he would adopt a more critical approach to Israel, calling the war a “moral disaster” that his party has failed to address. “One of the primary reasons that the Democratic Party lost young voters in particular last election was our party’s failure to recognize the moral disaster in Gaza, and I hope that we have leaders who recognize that mistake,” he said in comments to Punchbowl News that were echoed in an interview with The Washington Post.
He also declined to say, in an interview with HuffPost, if he believes that Israel’s military conduct in Gaza amounts to genocide, dismissing the question as a debate “within elite political circles” that distracts “from the immediate goal, which is stopping the human suffering in Gaza.”
And on specific legislation, Talarico passed on commenting on Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) recent resolutions seeking to block U.S. military aid to Israel, saying he was unfamiliar with the measures, which won support from a majority of the Democratic caucus. He said broadly that the party’s approach to Israel “needs to entail action,” but did not elaborate further.
His comments, notable for a Senate candidate in a solidly conservative and deeply evangelical state, underscore how the party is now shifting away from its long-standing support for Israel as it reckons with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and declining Democratic Party voter sympathy for the Jewish state, according to polls.
Talarico’s campaign said he was unavailable for an interview with Jewish Insider on Tuesday to expand on his new comments about Israel and the direction of the party.
His views could draw attacks from Republicans — who are already highlighting his favorable remarks regarding Zohran Mamdani, the far-left Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City and vehement critic of Israel.
In next year’s primary, Talarico, whose profile rose over the summer after he appeared on Joe Rogan’s popular podcast, is facing former Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX), who unsuccessfully opposed Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) last election, and Terry Virts, a former astronaut, among other Democrats.
While Allred has previously voiced strong support for Israel and its alliance with the United States, he argued last year that Israel’s military aims in its war in Gaza could not achieve any further practical goals and that the U.S. should consider withholding some aid to pressure Israel to finalize a ceasefire deal with Hamas.
Even as he has railed against billionaire Republican donors, Talarico has previously accepted campaign donations from a super PAC in Texas funded by the pro-Israel GOP megadonor Miriam Adelson, thanks to his support for legalizing casino gambling within the state.
Adelson, who was one of President Donald Trump’s biggest donors in the last election, has also donated to Cornyn, now seeking to fend off a challenge from Ken Paxton, Texas’ attorney general.
A representative for Adelson did not respond to a message from JI seeking comment on Tuesday.