Plus, Riyadh's self-inflicted Houthi headache
(KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images)
A picture taken on July 1, 2022 in Brussels shows the frontpage of "Politico" newspapers.
Add JewishInsider on GoogleGood Wednesday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at Politico’s attack on a Jewish aide to U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, which was published on Yom Kippur, and talk to Seattle Jewish leaders about their concerns regarding rising antisemitism in the city. We report on a call from Jewish leaders in Michigan for former Vice President Kamala Harris to appeal to Abdul El-Sayed, the state’s Democratic Senate nominee with whom she campaigned, on his rhetoric on Israel and antisemitism, and talk to experts about the challenges, some self-inflicted, facing Saudi Arabia as it deals with ongoing attacks by the Houthis in Yemen. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Sen. Jacky Rosen, Palmer Luckey and Zibby Owens.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss, with assists from Tamara Zieve and Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
Today’s Agenda
The U.N. General Assembly’s high-level week continues today in New York. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is slated to address the gathering during this morning’s session.
The Trump administration’s Board of Peace is expected to unveil its $2.45 billion Gaza reconstruction and governance plan today at a meeting of its members. The 66-project proposal, a Board of Peace official told Axios, “shows how to stand up a government from nothing, an economy from shambles and a territory from disaster.”
UJA-Federation of New York, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the New York chapters of the Anti-Defamation League and American Jewish Committee and the Israeli American Council are among the groups holding a rally near the U.N. this evening calling on world leaders to scale up efforts to address antisemitism.
In Washington, American Friends of Lubavitch is hosting its annual Lamplighter Awards dinner. This year’s honorees include U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council Chairman Jeff Miller and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).
Elsewhere in Washington, the Anti-Defamation League is bringing survivors of antisemitic attacks to Capitol Hill for meetings with legislators.
The Senate Armed Services Committee is holding a classified briefing this morning with CENTCOM head Adm. Brad Cooper.
One Thing To Know
Schmear campaign
On Monday morning — as Jews around the world marked Yom Kippur — Politico published a pointed attack targeting David Milstein, an observant Jew who serves as senior advisor to U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, labeling his actions as a “national security threat” while failing to provide evidence for the claim.
In a recent WhatsApp message sent to wedding invitees, Milstein, who lives in Israel, wrote that those who wanted to give a “monetary wedding gift” in either “U.S. dollars or Israeli shekels” to the couple could do so through a provided QR code, Politico’s Adam Wren reported.
Politico’s Monday morning flagship newsletter “Playbook” led with the story, accompanied by the subject line: “Huckabee’s ‘walking counterintel red flag’” — using Milstein’s wedding message as a hook to cite anonymous intelligence sources who labeled him a national security threat.
An individual with knowledge of the situation told Jewish Insider that Wren messaged Milstein just before 7 p.m. ET on Sunday — or 2 a.m. local time on Monday in Israel, where Milstein was observing Yom Kippur — to inform him the story would run the following morning.
The Big Reads
CANARY CALL
Two of Seattle’s top Jewish leaders are sounding the alarm about the costs of ignoring rising antisemitism, offering up their own city as a “canary in the coal mine” — a warning of how Jewish communal apathy can allow individual acts of discrimination to slowly erode Jewish life. “I’ve been stunned by the effort to erase the Jewish community in so many parts of civic life across the country,” Joe Schocken, one of the authors of a new eJewishPhilanthropy op-ed laying out the stark warning, told Jewish Insider’s Danielle Cohen-Kanik in an interview last week. “I’ve been deeply involved in many aspects of the Jewish community, and sadly steeped in Jewish history. That this effort to push the Jewish community out, this effort to scapegoat the Jewish community, has happened so quickly is just stunning to me.”
VEEP APPEAL
Michigan Jewish leaders on Tuesday urged former Vice President Kamala Harris — who is set to campaign with the party’s Senate nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, in Michigan this week — to appeal to El-Sayed on issues related to antisemitism and Israel, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. The group of Jewish leaders, writing to Harris under the banner of the Nonnegotiable Michigan campaign, said that they are longtime supporters of her and the Democratic Party, and called on her to press El-Sayed to accept the five demands on Jewish issues and Israel that the Nonnegotiable campaign has presented.
Michigan maneuver: Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that she is endorsing El-Sayed after having previously voiced reservations over his views on Israel and antisemitism, JI’s Emily Jacobs reports.
RIYADH’S RECKONING
Saudi Arabia is facing an escalating Houthi offensive along the Red Sea coast and direct attacks on its own territory, in what regional analysts describe as a turning point in Riyadh’s conflict with the Iran-backed terror group — and a crisis they say was created in part by Riyadh’s own miscalculations. Regional analysts told Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea that Saudi Arabia’s current position stems in part from its failure to strategically prepare during a yearslong pause in fighting. Experts say that Riyadh’s rift with the United Arab Emirates has also weakened the anti-Houthi coalition in Yemen, making the challenge more daunting.
The Rundown
DAMASCUS DIARIES
UNGA UNFILTERED
CANDIDATE CALCULATIONS
BOOKSHELF
supper club
partnership pitch
money matters
POLAND IN FOCUS
ON THE HILL
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.
President Donald Trump signed a commission establishing Secretary of State Marco Rubio as national security advisor, a position Rubio has held in an acting capacity for more than a year following U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz’s departure from the role; Rubio is the first secretary of state since Henry Kissinger to hold both roles simultaneously…
The U.S. proposed a $5 billion investment — to be matched by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq and Jordan — in a new fund to rebuild energy infrastructure across the region that had been damaged or destroyed during the war with Iran…
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi pledged to disarm the Iran-backed militias operating in Iraq by June 2027 as Baghdad faces pressure from the Trump administration to take a stronger stance against the groups and as Tehran seeks to deepen its control in the region…
Palmer Luckey’s Erebor Bank is moving toward an expansion into Syria, a move that would help to reintegrate Damascus into global financial systems…
Yasser Abbas, a son of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, attempted to circumvent a State Department ban on Palestinian officials entering the country by using his Canadian passport to try to board a flight to the U.S.; Abbas was denied boarding due to a failure to produce requisite entry documents…
The New York Times interviews Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) about her 2028 plans, including whether she plans to seek reelection to her House seat, challenge Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for his Senate seat or pursue a White House bid; the New York Democrat told the Times of a presidential bid, “If I were to run in this cycle, and not win, I would be done”…
A superior court judge in California ruled that the Oakland Unified School District must take substantive steps to address antisemitism in the district, determining that the northern California district did not fully comply with a California Department of Education directive to implement corrective measures in the district’s schools…
RedBird IMI CEO Jeff Zucker will make a cameo in the upcoming A24 film “Primetime,” which looks at the 2000s-era “Dateline” investigation series “To Catch a Predator” and its host, Chris Hansen…
The Art Institute of Chicago will return a 1913 Jean Metzinger oil painting to the descendants of the work’s Jewish owner, after the work was forcibly sold by the Nazis in 1940 following the German invasion of the Netherlands…
The man accused of opening fire outside a synagogue in Belleville, Canada, on Sunday died from injuries sustained during an exchange of gunfire with police outside of the building; the man, 29-year-old Sean Ward, was a military veteran who had espoused antisemitic conspiracy theories blaming Jews for the COVID-19 pandemic…
U.K. police said that they foiled an “imminent” attack on the Manchester Jewish community following the arrest of two men just prior to Yom Kippur; the arrests came after a year after two Jewish men were killed during an attack on a synagogue in the city during Yom Kippur…
An Argentine court charged seven Iranians and one Lebanese national — all of whom remain at large — in connection with the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires in which 85 people were killed and more than 300 injured…
Microsoft named Ohad Jassin, the company’s corporate vice president, as the head of its research and development center in Israel; Jassin will assume the role in November, succeeding Michal Braverman-Blumenstyk…
Singer Boy George announced an upcoming concert in Tel Aviv, slated for Nov. 4; the performance comes nearly a decade after the artist’s last trip to Israel, when he performed at the same venue in 2017…
Worthy Reads
Find more Worthy Reads in our Live Briefing via our app (on Apple and Android) and website.
Different Collateral Damage: In The Wall Street Journal, former Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov responds to the recent film “NAZA,” a film about civilian deaths in Gaza resulting from the Israel-Hamas war whose title was taken from the term for collateral damage. “A dead Palestinian child isn’t made less dead by a statistic. But neither should we ignore what Israel risked to reduce that number. If Israel had cared less about NAZA, perhaps I would have come home sooner. Fewer Israeli soldiers might have died. Fewer hostages might have died. But more Palestinians would have.” [WSJ]
A House Divided, Again: The Atlantic’s Graeme Wood does a deep dive into the challenges facing Israeli voters ahead of next month’s elections, amid resurgent tensions between the country’s religious and secular communities. “The ambition of every gourd is to escape ephemerality, outlast its predecessors, and leave Israel less hapless than Jonah and more shaded from the scorching threats that go along with being a nation-in-progress. The parties fill a niche in a bewilderingly diverse ideological ecosystem … Better to stop trying to figure out who is right and just try to figure out how to get along. That pragmatic exasperation is the starting point of liberal democracy.” [TheAtlantic]
Picture of the Day
American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch (third from left) met on Tuesday with North Macedonia Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski (center right) on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly high-level week, one of dozens of sit-downs AJC officials are holding with leaders from more than 70 countries during the week — the group’s annual “diplomatic marathon.” Read more from JI’s Marc Rod here.
Birthdays
Eli Dershwitz, three-time Olympic saber fencer, he was the first American to claim gold in saber at the World Fencing Championships, turns 31
Rabbi Shubert Spero, pulpit rabbi in Cleveland for more than 30 years, then a professor at Bar-Ilan University, turns 103
Richard Bergman, Sarasota Jewish Federation executive
Julio Iglesias, Spanish singer, he has sold more than 300 million records and performed at more than 5,000 concerts for over 60 million people, turns 83
David Harris, CEO of the American Jewish Committee from 1990-2022, turns 77
Mark J. Dollinger, president at Trendlines America
Josh Fidler, co-chairman and COO of Chesapeake Realty Partners, he is also a founding partner of Boulder Ventures
Colin M. Winston, former deputy director of policy and government affairs at AIPAC
Seth Frisch, founder and director of Lerhaus/The New Shul of America
Jay Scott Greenspan, actor, famous for his role as George Costanza on “Seinfeld” and known professionally as Jason Alexander, turns 67
Darryl Nirenberg, U.S. ambassador to Romania
Marc Lasry, co-founder and CEO of hedge fund Avenue Capital Group and the co-owner of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks until 2023, turns 67
Angela Maddahi, past president of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, now a rabbinic student at the Ziegler School
Sheryl W. Kimerling, former vice chair of the Jewish Federations of North America, she is the president of the Birmingham (Ala.) Jewish Federation
Jonathan Peled, Israel’s ambassador to Italy, turns 65
Oren Zeev, Israeli American venture capitalist and head of Zeev Ventures, turns 62
Kristen Silverberg, former U.S. ambassador to the EU, now president and COO at the Business Roundtable, turns 56
Naomi Seligman, chief strategy officer at Whistleblower Aid
Jay Feldman, executive director of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Foundation
Joshua Foer, author of two best-selling books and co-founder of the nonprofit Sefaria, turns 44
Michael Schmidt, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington bureau reporter for The New York Times, turns 43
Gabriella Schwarz, principal designer at Google DeepMind
Abby Glassberg, VP of sales at Idomoo Personalized Video
Naomi Chaya Kutin, record-setting powerlifter, turns 25
Plus, Tisch's Turtle Bay test
Nic Antaya/Getty Images
Vice President JD Vance speaks during a rally at Universal Contracting and Urban Tree Trimming on August 31, 2026 in Sterling Heights, Michigan.
Good Friday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at how the NYPD is preparing for “multiple” daily protests around the U.N. General Assembly next week, talk to lawmakers about their concerns following a classified briefing with the Pentagon’s Elbridge Colby on the Trump administration’s National Defense Strategy and interview Deborah Lipstadt about the launch of her new institute at Emory University to train the next generation of policymakers fighting antisemitism. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: David Bashevkin, Amos Hochstein and Hanan Ben-Ari.
Ed. note: The next Daily Kickoff will arrive on Wednesday, Sept. 23 in observance of Yom Kippur. Become a premium Jewish Insider subscriber to receive our Daily Overtime newsletter as well as updates throughout the weekend and as the Yom Kippur holiday concludes, including regular updates on our in-app live briefing.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with an assist from Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
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: Erielle Reshef’s journey from Israeli TV to MS NOW; Houthi gains leave Saudi Arabia short on options and looking to Washington; and Supreme Court to hear case of man blocked from holding minyan in his home. Print the latest edition here.
Today’s Agenda
Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance are set to host a Shabbat dinner at the vice president’s residence tonight. The gathering comes as Vance continues to work to burnish his relationship with Republican Jews — including a meeting on Thursday with conservative radio host Sid Rosenberg, which Rosenberg said “went well.”
Axios released its full interview with far-left streamer Hasan Piker this morning, after releasing brief clips from the conversation yesterday. On the topic of Israel, Piker told Axios he believes “Zionism is fascism” and compared holding Zionist beliefs to being a “rabid neo-Nazi” — but said he was “not worried that [my listeners are] going to be violent against Zionists.”
Students from The Ramaz School and SAR High School in Riverdale, N.Y., will hold services today outside New York’s Gracie Mansion, the official mayoral residence. Mayor Zohran Mamdani noted earlier this week that he was unlikely to be at the residence during the event, but said, “Whatever it is intended to be, they have the room and space to do so outside of Gracie Mansion.”
The Atlantic Festival continues today in New York. Speakers today include New York Times Executive Editor Joseph Kahn, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX).
The U.N. General Assembly’s high-level week — which will see heads of state and senior officials from around the world travel to New York for speeches, events and sideline meetings — kicks off on Tuesday. President Donald Trump is slated to convene Gulf leaders on Tuesday to discuss postwar scenarios in Iran.
A State Department spokesperson said that senior Iranian officials had been granted visas to attend the UNGA, but will be under some restrictions that include a prohibition on purchasing luxury items while in the U.S.
Ahead of the start of the official UNGA proceedings, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz and Anwar Gargash, an advisor to United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed, will speak on Sunday at an Al-Monitor Live event in New York.
One Thing To Know
ON ALERT
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters on Thursday that her department expects a wave of protests around the U.N. General Assembly next week, set to feature President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Tisch and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani joined officials from the Secret Service and State Department at One Police Plaza to brief the press on security measures and what the mayor described as a “whole-of-department response” to head off any risks to the international gathering. This will include “full deployment” of patrolmen and elite police units, as well as restrictions on traffic, flight patterns and pedestrian access in the area around the U.N. headquarters.
But both emphasized that, despite ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran — and despite Mamdani’s since-abandoned threat to arrest Netanyahu if he visited the city — these precautions were largely the same as those the city always takes around the annual geopolitical conference.
The Big Reads
taking heat
Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s under secretary for policy, is once again facing criticism from senators who said he was evasive, unresponsive and even disrespectful at a classified briefing on Thursday regarding the implementation of the National Defense Strategy, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. Senators said that, among other issues, Colby had failed to provide clear answers regarding the war in Iran. “The most telling thing I can tell you is that he didn’t have an opening statement, and he’s there to give us an update,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) told reporters. “That seemed weird. You’re the policy under secretary and you come before the Armed Services Committee and you don’t have an opening statement? That seemed contemptuous.”
crossing the aisle
Amos Hochstein, a senior Middle East negotiator in the Biden administration, on Thursday argued in favor of the Trump administration’s nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, which opens the path for nuclear enrichment inside the kingdom, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. “Do I want to do this? No. Do I feel the American national security interest is that we must do this deal? One hundred percent, because the alternative is a lot worse,” Hochstein said during a conversation at the Council on Foreign Relations, organized by the nonprofit Open to Debate. He added that during the Biden administration’s negotiations, other countries, including U.S. allies, actively tried to coax the Saudis away from the U.S. by promising lower verification standards. The deal, he argued, would help keep Saudi Arabia, a critical ally, in the U.S.’s corner.
policy pipeline
When Deborah Lipstadt returned to academia last year after nearly three years navigating the State Department as the U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, she had a new mission: to turn what she learned in government into a training ground for the next generation of policymakers confronting antisemitism. Lipstadt, a longtime Emory University historian, announced last week the launch of the Emory Policy Institute on Countering Antisemitism, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports. “In academia, professors think they’re right more often than not. Very often they are right in their assessments. But in diplomacy, you want to be effective. Sometimes you’ve got to compromise, narrow your view and adapt without losing sight of what you want to do,” Lipstadt told JI in an interview on Thursday.
The Rundown
NUCLEAR NEWS
RIPPING ON RIYADH
CAMPUS BEAT
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 Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh said the FBI thwarted an intended mass casualty attack following the arrest last weekend of a Pennsylvania man who had been inspired by the Islamic State…
The State Department approved the sale of 48 F-35 fighter jets, worth $24.3 billion, to Saudi Arabia, a prospect that has raised concerns for some supporters of Israel; the State Department assessed that the deal would “not alter the military balance in the region.”
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said she is “still considering” whether to support the Trump administration’s planned $2.8 billion arms sale to Israel…
Automaker General Motors has begun building missile parts for Lockheed Martin’s Patriot missiles, in an effort to boost production of the critical interceptor whose stockpiles have been depleted by the Iran war and heavy demand from allies…
Russia and China vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution put forward by the U.S. that would have renewed the mandate of U.N. experts tasked with monitoring nuclear sanctions against Tehran…
Mahan Air announced the suspension of flights to Turkey and Oman, a week after the Treasury Department issued additional sanctions targeting one of Iran’s largest commercial carriers…
Pakistan’s army chief called on Tehran to make an effort to stop attacks by its Houthi proxies in Yemen on Saudi Arabia; the call from Field Marshal Asim Munir comes a year after Islamabad entered into a defense agreement with Riyadh…
Israel issued a tender for more than 2,000 new housing units to be built in the West Bank under its E1 settlement plan, on top of a tender for 1,234 units issued in late August…
The IDF said it killed two Hamas terrorists who took part in the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks in separate strikes earlier this week…
eJewishPhilanthropy‘s Jay Deitcher spotlights the newly launched Talmud Daily, a free 40-week, daily video breakdown of the Talmud from Rabbi David Bashevkin that offers an introduction to the central text of Rabbinic law…
The Criterion Collection is rereleasing Claude Lanzmann’s 1985 “Shoah” film; the new release will include three additional Lanzmann films and interviews…
RTÉ, Ireland’s national broadcaster, said it would boycott next year’s Eurovision Song Contest for the second year in a row, citing Israel’s participation in the annual competition…
i24NEWS’ Mike Wagenheim was named the next president of the White House Foreign Correspondents’ Association…
Former NBA player Michael Sweetney, who played for the Knicks and Bulls before becoming an assistant coach for the Yeshiva University Maccabees and The Ramaz School, died at 43…
Conservative writer Dovie Eisner died at 35…
Worthy Reads
Find more Worthy Reads in our Live Briefing via our app (on Apple and Android) and website.
Never Forget, Especially Now: In Moment Magazine, Menachem Z. Rosensaft considers the obligations of the children of Holocaust survivors in a time of increasing Holocaust denial and revisionism. “Our parents survived to bear witness. We, who grew up with them, who know or knew them better than anyone else, who listened to and internalized their stories, their memories, their silences and their nightmares, are more than their witnesses. We must be their attestors. … We are the guardians of their memories.” [Moment]
Influence Peddling: In Sapir, Aaron Kaplowitz raises concerns about the rise of an “influencer” class among Jewish and pro-Israel activists. “At the exact moment when Jews around the world need moral seriousness, parts of the communal establishment have fallen for the most opportunistic actors on the least serious platform. We are confusing visibility with leadership, and follower numbers with wisdom. The influencer economy now shapes how some of our institutions raise money and decide who speaks in the name of the community.” [Sapir]
Next-Gen Rising: In eJewishPhilanthropy, William Daroff and Betsy Berns Korn, respectively the CEO and board chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, call on the Jewish communal world to make space for next-generation leadership. “If we believe these young men and women belong in Jewish leadership now, our community has to find more ways to trust them with real responsibility. That means moving beyond encouragement, conferences, fellowships and invitations to observe.” [eJP]
Picture of the Day
Israeli singer-songwriter Hanan Ben-Ari posted a clip of his live performance of “Hashivenu” — which he released in October 2025 to celebrate the release of the hostages from Gaza — from his recent “Hindikim 360°” show. “Everything that has been happening with this song under the radar over the past year is completely crazy,” Ben-Ari wrote on Instagram. “Jews from all over the world are singing and praying it everywhere, as though it were an ancient melody hundreds of years old!!”
Birthdays
Billy Eichner, comedian, actor, producer and screenwriter, turns 48 on Friday
FRIDAY
Kathy Levinson Wolf, Marina Del Rey, Calif., resident
Dr. Ben Carson, retired Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon, he is currently the national advisor for nutrition, health and housing at the Department of Agriculture and previously served as U.S. secretary of housing and urban development, turns 75
Léo Apotheker, business executive who served as co-CEO of SAP and CEO of Hewlett-Packard, turns 73
Steven Pinker, Harvard professor of psychology, specializing in visual cognition and psycholinguistics, turns 72
Tommy Tuberville, U.S. senator (R-AL), he is the Republican nominee for governor of Alabama, he had a career prior to politics as a collegiate football coach, turns 72
Howard Tevlowitz, former CEO of the Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee (Fla.)
Brian Greene, former executive director of the Los Angeles Westside Jewish Community Center, now The J Los Angeles
Gali Baharav-Miara, attorney general of Israel, turns 67
Mark Lee Romanek, winner of three Grammy Awards for music videos, he is also a filmmaker and photographer, turns 67
Joshua Angrist, professor of economics at MIT and a 2021 Nobel Prize laureate in economics, turns 66
Yanki Margalit, one of the earliest Israeli tech entrepreneurs, he is best known for starting Aladdin Knowledge Systems in 1985, turns 64
Ezra Uzi Yemin, founder of Delek US, turns 58
Simone Dinnerstein, classical pianist, turns 54
Karen Paikin Barall, chief policy officer at the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law
Tali Farhadian Weinstein, CEO of New York’s Museum of Jewish Heritage, turns 51
Justin Ishbia, founding partner of Shore Capital Partners, he is a part-owner of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury along with his brother Mat Ishbia, turns 49
Jason Horowitz, Madrid bureau chief of The New York Times
Robin Anderson, director of operations at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin
Lisa Abramowicz, co-host of Bloomberg Surveillance on “Bloomberg Television,” turns 47
Bakari Sellers, author, CNN analyst and an ardent supporter of Israel within the Black community, he was a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, turns 42
Avi Mayer, founder of the “Jerusalem Journal” Substack following a stint as editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post
Nick Schulman, professional poker player whose total career live tournament winnings exceed $24.5 million, turns 42
Dan Kolko, baseball broadcaster for the Washington Nationals
Shoshana Bush, television and film actor, turns 38
Zak Sawyer, senior director at TLG Communications
Rabbi Joshua B. Cohen, West Coast regional director at Leket Israel
SATURDAY
Rabbi Haym Soloveitchik, professor of Jewish history and literature at Yeshiva University, he is the only son of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, turns 89
Jeffrey Salloway, member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives until 2022, he has served as synagogue president, turns 85
Barry Scheck, professor at Yeshiva University’s Cardozo School of Law and co-founder of the Innocence Project, turns 77
Harold Rhode, distinguished senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute, after a 28-year Pentagon career as a Middle East expert, turns 77
David Elliot Hoberman, producer of over 40 films in his career and executive producer of the television series “Monk,” turns 74
Bruce Alpert, freelance reporter, he was a writing instructor at Montana State University Billings
Jodi Magness, archaeologist and professor of early Judaism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, turns 70
Ronald Kass, Stockton, Calif.-based physician at the Pacific Sleep Disorders Center
Rabbi David J. Wolpe, rabbi emeritus of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, he is the inaugural rabbinic fellow for the ADL, turns 68
John Nathan “Janno” Lieber, chairman and CEO of NYC’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, turns 65
Ken Rosenthal, bow tie-clad field reporter for Fox Major League Baseball since 2005, he is also a senior baseball writer for The Athletic, turns 64
Michael Evan Horowitz, inspector general of the Federal Reserve Board and the CFPB, turns 64
Tim Scott, U.S. senator (R-SC), he chairs the Senate Banking Committee, turns 61
Ronald Halber, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington
Mike Michalowicz, author of nine popular business books, former small business columnist for The Wall Street Journal
John Harthorne, founder and managing director at Two Lanterns Venture Capital, he is also the founder of MassChallenge (a startup accelerator)
Jillian Schwartz, pole vaulter, she competed for the U.S. in the 2004 Olympics and for Israel in the 2012 Olympics, now an associate brand manager at Kraft Heinz, turns 47
Neal Urwitz, CEO of Enduring Cause Strategies
Danny Valencia, former MLB player for nine seasons, he was on Team Israel for the 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2023 World Baseball Classic, turns 42
Joseph Kristol, senior public affairs director at Elliott Investment Management
Charlie Burg, singer-songwriter and producer, he frequently wears a Magen David pendant when performing, turns 30
Sam Sloman, former NFL placekicker, his college teammates nicknamed him the “Kosher Cannon,” turns 29
SUNDAY
Candy Spelling, author, theater producer, television personality and philanthropist, turns 81
Curt Randy Grossman, wealth management advisor, he won four Super Bowls with the Steelers during his eight-year career as a tight end, turns 74
Rav Ahron Lopiansky, rosh yeshiva of the Yeshiva of Greater Washington, turns 73
Lloyd Blankfein, senior chairman of Goldman Sachs since 2019, prior to which he served as its CEO for 13 years, turns 72
Henry Samueli, co-founder of Broadcom and owner of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks, turns 72
Yosef Elron, former justice of the Supreme Court of Israel, turns 71
Lawrence Schreier, insurance agent in Tulsa, Okla.
Marc Roberts, real estate developer, sports agent and boxing promoter, turns 67
Rabbi Tovia Singer, former rabbi of Congregation Beit Torat Chaim of Jakarta, Indonesia, turns 66
Randolph Lipscher, emergency medicine physician in Austin, Texas, he was the goalkeeper for the U.S. field hockey team at the 1984 Summer Olympics, turns 66
Lisa Bloom, civil rights attorney, author and legal analyst, turns 65
Deborah Gavin Shemony, chief marketing and brand officer at BBYO
Keren Barak, former member of the Knesset for the Likud party, turns 54
Melissa Kronfeld, founder of PFAP (Passion for a Purpose) Consulting and COO of PizzaIDF
James Mazol, deputy under secretary of defense for research and engineering
Drew Singer, deputy news team lead at Bloomberg Law
Emily Grunewald, principal at Blue Laurel Advisors
Carter Lavin, climate activist in Oakland, Calif.
Alison Bogdonoff, senior director of strategic initiatives at Sony Music Entertainment
Zoe Plotsky, director of integrated marketing at Rent the Runway
Isabel Tsesarsky, Manhattan resident
Gabriel LaBelle, actor, best known for his leading role as young aspiring filmmaker Sammy Fabelman in Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical film “The Fabelmans,” turns 24
Jason Ian Drucker, theatre, film and television actor, turns 21
Lauren Ackerman
Plus, the MS NOW anchor who got her start in Israel
JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP via Getty Images
Abdul El-Sayed addresses supporters at his election night event at The Majestic Theatre in Detroit, Michigan, on August 4, 2026
Good Thursday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we have the scoop on a recent meeting between Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and rabbis from Michigan’s Temple Israel, which earlier this year was attacked by a pro-Hezbollah terrorist, and cover yesterday’s Capitol Hill rally supporting the passage of the Right to Worship Act. We report on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s remarks that he will not participate in protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during next week’s U.N. General Assembly, and profile MS NOW anchor Erielle Reshef, who got her start on Israeli television. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Michael Dell, Lacey Schwartz Delgado and Jonathan Powell.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with an assist from Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
Today’s Agenda
Vice President JD Vance is sitting down for an interview with Sid Rosenberg today, during which the conservative radio host said he intends to press Vance on his relationship with Tucker Carlson and his stance on the U.S.-Israel relationship.
The Hudson Institute is holding a fireside chat this morning focused on Iran-China relations and the U.S.’ Operation Economic Outcast effort to financially isolate Tehran that had initially featured Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA). Nunn, who is locked in a tight reelection bid and earlier this week voted in favor of a war powers resolution to force an end to the Iran war, no longer appears on Hudson’s promotional page for the event, which now features Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-WA).
Axios is releasing portions of its recent interview with far-left commentator Hasan Piker over the course of the day, ahead of the release of the full interview tomorrow. In the first released clip, Piker told the outlet’s Alex Thompson that he believed that the U.S. had committed more acts of terror than al-Qaida, saying, “Pound for pound as far as the number of deaths, yes,” adding, “We have caused tremendous terror all around the world.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is holding a briefing today alongside NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch about security around the U.N. General Assembly, which begins next week. More below.
The Atlantic Festival kicks off today in New York. The three-day convening begins this morning with a sit-down with former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (who was in New York’s Hudson Valley yesterday campaigning with NY-17 Democratic candidate Cait Conley). This afternoon, former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, who is mulling a 2028 bid, will take the stage for a fireside chat about the future of the Democratic Party.
We’re continuing to follow the fallout from Macklemore’s performance earlier this month at two Ed Sheeran concerts over the rapper’s anti-Israel remarks at previous concerts and past antisemitic incidents. Robert Kraft, who along with several other stadium owners banned the rapper from performing at their venues over his past antisemitic rhetoric and imagery — prompting several other opening acts to drop out of the shows in solidarity — pledged $2 million for aid to the Middle East on Wednesday, matching a donation of the same amount by Sheeran. Read more about the donation here.
One Thing To Know
SCOOP
In the most significant sign of his efforts to make inroads with skeptical Jewish voters in Michigan’s Senate race, Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee, recently met with rabbis at Temple Israel for a closely guarded conversation, according to two people familiar with the meeting.
Two rabbis who were said to have participated in the conversation, details of which were unclear, declined to comment when reached on Wednesday. El-Sayed’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
The covert nature of the meeting, which neither party has publicized, underscores the sensitivities felt among some Jewish leaders who have remained wary of publicly associating with El-Sayed because of their continued discomfort with his positions on Israel and remarks about antisemitism.
The Big Reads
show of support
Reps. Brad Knott (R-NC) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY) rallied outside the Capitol on Wednesday alongside more than two dozen representatives of religious community organizations in support of the Right to Worship Act, their federal bill establishing buffer zones outside of religious institutions to protect them from disruptions. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who has been involved in supporting the bill behind the scenes, also expressed his support for it in a statement to Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod. “Religious liberty is regarded as our ‘First Freedom.’ Our Founders listed it first in the Bill of Rights because they understood how essential it was to the foundation of our Republic. But that right rings hollow if worshippers must brave harassment or worry for their safety as they exercise their religion,” Johnson said.
First in JI: Over a year after the deadly firebombing attack targeting an Israeli hostage awareness march in Boulder, Colo., Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO), who represents the city, and Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) introduced legislation to modify Nonprofit Security Grant Program conditions to allow grantees to use funding for staffing costs.
PROTEST POLITICS
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani told reporters on Wednesday that he does not intend to participate in any demonstrations against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s appearance at the U.N. General Assembly next week — and maintained he did not endorse public agitation against the Jewish state’s premier, an apparent ratcheting-down of his remarks from earlier this summer, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports. Following an unrelated press conference, Mamdani confirmed information leaked to Politico that he would not take part in anticipated protests against Netanyahu’s scheduled arrival in New York on Sept. 23 or speech at the international summit the next day. He also stressed that he did not call for his anti-Israel allies on the left to take to the streets either. “I do not have any plans to attend any protest at the U.N. General Assembly,” Mamdani said. “To New Yorkers, I have never encouraged them to protest.”
anchor point
MS NOW anchor Erielle Reshef never planned to become a television journalist. After completing a master’s degree in diplomacy and conflict studies in Israel in 2010, she happened to be watching an English-language news program whose anchors were about to go on maternity leave. Her husband wrote down the email address on the screen and pushed her to apply. That opportunity launched a career that has taken Reshef from her hometown of Oklahoma City to local television, international news and eventually ABC News, where she spent eight and a half years, including as a national correspondent. In June 2025, Reshef left the relative comfort of a network news reporting job to join MSNBC, which was rebranded later in the year as MS NOW, where she is now a fill-in anchor for daytime cable news shows for the first time. In an interview with Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen, Reshef said her Jewish values — particularly curiosity, rigorous debate and a commitment to understanding people on the margins — are the “scaffolding” of her journalism.
The Rundown
ON THE HILL
not so fast
behind the veil
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.
President Donald Trump is planning to meet with Gulf leaders next week on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York to discuss a postwar strategy for Iran; the president held a similar meeting on the sidelines of last year’s UNGA to discuss Gaza, a week before publicly releasing his postwar plan for the enclave…
The State Department extended its visa ban on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and other senior Palestinian officials, preventing members of the delegation from attending UNGA next week for the second year in a row; State Department officials attributed the ban to Palestinian leaders’ efforts to “internationalize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”…
New photos obtained by CBS News indicate widespread damage at U.S. facilities around the Gulf resulting from Iranian attacks, including destroyed planes, buildings and vehicles in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
CNN reports that more than a dozen Russian spy satellites had operated over a U.S. base in Saudi Arabia two days before the facility was struck in an Iranian drone and missile attack in which 15 U.S. troops were injured…
The House passed, in a 262-159 vote, a major Russia and Iran sanctions package named for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), which targets Russia’s energy sector as well as Iran’s weapons and energy industries…
Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) filed a war powers resolution to block military action against Oman, in response to Trump‘s threats to bomb the U.S. ally if it does not cooperate with U.S. efforts to counter Iran in the Strait of Hormuz…
Former Vice President Kamala Harris is slated to campaign with Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed next week in the Wolverine State.
Meanwhile, the Detroit News endorsed El-Sayed’s opponent, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), citing in part El-Sayed’s history of deleting past social media content and noting that a “candidate who feels the need to hide his past from voters is not someone who can be trusted to be the same person after Election Day as he was on the campaign trail”…
A New York man who pleaded guilty to assaulting a Jewish man days after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks was sentenced to 90 days in jail; during sentencing, Yehia Amin was photographed smiling and flashing the peace sign with his hands, telling the judge through an interpreter that he wanted to look good in photographs from the courtroom…
Michael Dell listed his Boston penthouse in the city’s Millennium Tower for less than he purchased it a decade ago for $10.9 million…
The Hollywood Reporter reviews documentarian Lacey Schwartz Delgado’s “Re/Pair,” which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and pairs Black and Jewish figures, including David Schwimmer, Van Jones, Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors and Rabbi Sharon Brous, for conversations about Black-Jewish relations…
The Spectator reports that both U.K. National Security Advisor Jonathan Powell and London’s ambassador in Israel, Simon Walters, advised Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband against banning imports from Israeli settlements, warning that such a move would bolster support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government ahead of next month’s elections…
Air Canada removed an in-flight service director following a report that the employee had shared antisemitic content on social media; the Canadian carrier will also resume direct flights between Toronto and Israel at the end of November, earlier than its planned January resumption of flights…
A Kurdish-Jewish man with Canadian and Israeli citizenship who had traveled to the region to fight ISIS more than a decade ago was freed from an Iraqi Kurdish prison after he was convicted of killing a taxi driver in 2015; Aish announced that Ben Chasin will arrive at the organization’s yeshiva this week, where he will study…
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita in New York in a meeting convened by U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz, during which Jerusalem and Rabat agreed to a series of measures to boost bilateral ties, including appointing full ambassadors to each other’s countries, turning their diplomatic missions into embassies, increasing direct flights and holding high-level visits in the near future.
The night prior, Waltz hosted Sa’ar, Bourita, United Arab Emirates Ambassador to the U.S. Yousef Al Otaiba and diplomats from Bahrain and Kazakhstan for a diplomatic reception marking the sixth anniversary of the Abraham Accords.
While in New York, Sa’ar also met with senior leaders of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations for a wide-ranging discussion on Israel’s security, regional developments and U.S.-Israel relations…
Dalia Ziada is joining the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy as the director of the organization’s Washington office…
Artist and graphic designer Peter Max died on Monday at 88…
Worthy Reads
Find more Worthy Reads in our Live Briefing via our app (on Apple and Android) and website.
Meta-morphosis: Bloomberg’s Riley Griffin and Alexandra Levine look at the role that Dina Powell McCormick plays at Meta, where she now serves as president, vice chairman and co-leader of Meta Compute after eight months on the company’s board. “While [Mark] Zuckerberg, 42, is the cerebral engineering leader obsessed with improving Meta’s products for the AI race, Powell McCormick, 53, has her pulse on the world outside of Silicon Valley, and can be Meta’s bridge to opportunities and fixer of challenges. ‘She is a close, trusted advisor of the whole senior leadership team, but especially of Mark,’ said CJ Mahoney, Meta’s chief legal officer. ‘She’s generally the last person who’s consulted on really important decisions.’” [Bloomberg]
Riyadh Ruminations: In War on the Rocks, Richard Nephew posits that the burgeoning nuclear agreement between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia is better than had initially been expected. “If it performs as promised, its provisions of exclusivity will provide benefits to the U.S. nuclear industry and lock Russia and China out of a potentially lucrative market that could have attendant political and security implications long term, especially in a Middle East where nuclear proliferation remains a serious threat. The U.S.-Saudi agreement is also innovative and imaginative, a credit to creative negotiations to unlock an issue that has been difficult for multiple administrations.” [WarontheRocks]
AI and the Archives: In The Washington Post, Daniella Greenbaum Davis explains how she used Anthropic’s Claude to recover and translate a 1946 Yiddish-language article that had been authored by her grandmother and detailed the day she was liberated from Bergen-Belsen. “Much of the debate concerning AI today is about scale and mortal threat, about destroying jobs and flooding social media with slop. It’s easy to forget that large language models, like all tools, are a thing human ingenuity has built to finish what human hands cannot. … I had spent years blindly feeling my way through archives; in a matter of days, AI had stitched together pieces of information that I couldn’t see, let alone put together.” [WashPost]
Picture of the Day
Birthdays
Stan M. Herman, fashion designer known worldwide for his leading-edge corporate uniforms, turns 98
Chuck Grassley, U.S. senator (R-IA) since 1981 and president pro tempore of the Senate, turns 93
Peter J. Solomon, investment banker who once served as a NYC deputy mayor, turns 88
Gail Carson Levine, Newbery Honor-winning author of many young adult books, some with Jewish themes, turns 79
Joshua Muravchik, author of 11 books and hundreds of articles on foreign policy and the Middle East, turns 79
T. Alan Hurwitz, former president of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf and then president of Gallaudet University, turns 79
Frank Hagelberg, Rochester, N.Y., attorney, he has held positions at the UJA-Federation of New York and the Rochester Jewish Federation
Jeremy Don Fogel, retired judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, turns 77
Harold Solomon, former professional tennis player who achieved a world ranking of No. 5 in 1980, turns 74
Rita Rudner, comedian, writer and actor, she was a frequent guest of Johnny Carson on the “Tonight Show,” turns 73
Daniel Fingeroth, author, comic book writer and editor, best known as group editor of the Spider-Man books at Marvel Comics, turns 73
Mody Kidon, Israeli businessman with real estate holdings in Israel and NYC, turns 72
Ellen Kahan Zager, author and graphic designer
Rina Frenkel, former member of the Knesset for the Yesh Atid party, turns 70
Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, rabbi emeritus of the New North London Synagogue and senior rabbi of Masorti Judaism UK, turns 69
Elliott S. Feigenbaum, former consultant at Quick Hits News
Richard Wolffe, journalist, best-selling author including two books on the Obama presidency and Emmy Award-winning executive producer, turns 58
Mandy Krauthamer Cohen, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the last 18 months of the Biden administration, turns 48
Adam Abrams, former regional communications director and spokesperson for former President Barack Obama, now a partner at Seven Letter
Nick Melvoin, member of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Board of Education, turns 41
David Litt, former Obama White House speechwriter who has since written a best-selling comedic memoir, turns 40
Adina Shatz, principal product manager for CathWorks
Rachel Roubein, national healthcare reporter The Washington Post covering the FDA
Natalie Edelstein Jarvis, editorial producer at Google
Max August, founder of the Israel Summit at Harvard, now a member of the partnerships team at OpenAI
Plus, Saudis stymied by Houthi gains
(Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Mayor Brandon Johnson participates in a May Day march on May 01, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois.
Good Wednesday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s targeting of AIPAC and a top Jewish donor in Illinois as he kicks off his reelection campaign, cover Vice President JD Vance’s comments on the U.S.-Israel relationship and talk to experts about the challenges in combating the Houthis as the Iran-backed terror group scales up its attacks on Saudi Arabia. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Fatema Al Harbi, Deborah Lipstadt and Rep. Tom Suozzi.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with an assist from Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
Today’s Agenda
Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) is holding a press conference at the Capitol today on the Right to Worship Act, which he is sponsoring. Suozzi told Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod this week in a wide-ranging interview, “The big thing in my head was that a person shouldn’t have to show particular courage just to attend a religious service.” Read the full interview with Suozzi.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is holding a nomination hearing today for a number of vacant ambassadorial postings across Africa, as well as for the position of ambassador to Malaysia. The hearing comes weeks after Malaysia expelled a dual American Israeli citizen over the country’s ban on Israelis entering the country, which prompted the State Department to summon Kuala Lumpur’s top diplomat.
The House Homeland Security Committee is holding a hearing this morning on counterterrorism efforts in the post-9/11 era.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Middle East subcommittee is slated to hold a hearing this morning on the evolving terrorism landscape with Lt. Col. (ret.) Joel Borkert, the deputy coordinator for programs and military coordination at the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism.
The House Natural Resources Committee is convening today for a markup on legislation to designate Fort Ontario, in Oswego, N.Y., as a unit of the National Park System, owing to its use from 1944-1946 to house nearly 1,000 Holocaust survivors from Europe.
One Thing To Know
WINDY CITY WEDGE
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is facing a long list of challengers in his reelection campaign next year — not to mention dismal job approval ratings and paltry fundraising. He kicked off his bid for a second term at an event on Sunday, however, directly targeting AIPAC as well as a Jewish Democratic donor who has contributed both to the pro-Israel group and, more recently, a top rival of Johnson’s.
“When you hear that someone wants to be your mayor and they claim to be progressive but they take money from AIPAC and Michael Sacks and corporate interests and shell PACs,” Johnson said at a rally over the weekend, “you know who has the power. It’s not you.”
The embattled mayor was likely making a thinly veiled reference to Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, the front-runner in a race that has so far drawn over a dozen candidates. But Johnson’s statement, which has faced criticism from local Jewish leaders for espousing what they decry as antisemitic tropes about Jewish influence, was misleading, as AIPAC is not involved in his race.
The Big Reads
waiting game
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s team vowed that it would produce its long-promised plan to fight antisemitism in the five boroughs “soon” — but declined to provide any specifics about when it might actually come out or why his administration failed to meet its original Rosh Hashanah deadline, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports. Sam Raskin, Mamdani’s deputy press secretary, told JI, “The mayor is fully committed to the safety of Jewish New Yorkers and to using every tool available to ensure that Jewish communities continue to thrive as an essential part of the fabric of the five boroughs.”
red sea reckoning
Saudi Arabia’s escalating conflict with the Houthis has revealed just how challenging it has become for the U.S. to deter the Iran‑backed terrorist group, former officials and regional experts told Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea, as Houthi gains along the Red Sea raise alarms about global shipping and give Tehran fresh leverage. Analysts said that while Israel could help Riyadh in combating the attacks, any cooperation is likely to be limited and politically fraught. Saudi Arabia on Tuesday issued an alert for a possible attack on the holy city of Mecca amid escalating strikes by the Houthis, a U.S.-designated terrorist group. A day earlier, Vice President JD Vance said the administration was “on top” of the issue and confirmed the U.S. is in direct talks with the group.
Bonus: CENTCOM head Adm. Brad Cooper convened a meeting last week in Germany between the military chiefs of Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt to discuss regional tensions.
the jd doctrine
Vice President JD Vance said on Tuesday that the U.S. must prioritize its own needs and “cannot let our Middle Eastern foreign policy be subservient to the State of Israel,” likening the dynamic to that of NATO during a virtual appearance at the All In Summit, Jewish Insider’s Melissa Weiss reports. Vance made the comments in conversation with “All-In Podcast” co-host Jason Calacanis, saying there are “obviously a lot of important relationships, a lot of important partnerships in NATO, but that doesn’t mean that we’re going to completely make our European foreign policy subservient to NATO in the same way that we cannot let our Middle Eastern foreign policy be subservient to the State of Israel.”
The Rundown
on the hill
designation push
digital danger
Q&A
austin speaker limits
PEOPLE OVER PARTY
minyan matters
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.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) ruled out a 2028 presidential bid, telling the Washington Examiner, “I have no intention of doing so, period”…
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) is moving forward with an effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, accusing Hegseth of “high crimes and misdemeanors” over the war…
The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee advanced the Pray Safe Act by a voice vote; Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement the move “bring[s] us one step closer to passing a bill that would ensure every house of worship, faith-based organization and nonprofit can access critical resources to protect themselves”…
More than 20 Senate Democrats joined a resolution seeking to force a vote on Israeli policy in the West Bank, including the top Democrats on the Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, as well as incoming No. 2 Senate Democrat Brian Schatz (D-HI) and pro-Israel stalwart Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)…
Former State Department antisemitism envoy Deborah Lipstadt, who returned to Emory University as a university distinguished professor after her departure from government at the end of the Biden administration, is founding the Emory Policy Institute on Countering Antisemitism, with a fellowship program set to begin in January…
The head of the Harvard Kennedy School rejected a call from the Harvard Jewish Alumni Alliance to revoke New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof’s invitation to speak at an endowed lecture at the school later this week, citing the HKS’ “commitment to free speech”…
The newly released fifth season of “Fauda,” which came out on Netflix earlier this month and covers the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks and their aftermath, scored the show’s highest streaming numbers to date, ranking as the top show last week in both Israel and Lebanon…
Several musical acts set to open for Ed Sheeran withdrew from the singer’s remaining U.S. tour dates after the production company overseeing the tour parted ways with rapper Macklemore over his political rhetoric during two recent performances; Sheeran and the production company had faced pressure from venue owners, including Robert Kraft, who said the rapper’s onstage comments and displays and “broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery” led to the decision…
The British government introduced legislation that would repeal a long-standing law barring Roman Catholic and Jewish prime ministers from involvement in appointments made by the Church of England…
Dennis Richardson, the former head of Australia’s domestic intelligence agency, criticized media coverage of “blatant antisemitism” in the country following the Oct. 7 attacks, saying he agreed “with those who argue that following 7 October we dropped the ball and failed to draw a line”…
Tanchum Portnoy, the composer of the popular melody for “Eitz Chaim,” died at 75…
Worthy Reads
Find more Worthy Reads in our Live Briefing via our app (on Apple and Android) and website.
Strait Talk: In The Wall Street Journal, Reuel Marc Gerecht and Ray Takeyh argue that the Trump administration needs to end Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz in order for the U.S. to win the monthslong war it has fought with Tehran. “Control of the strait gives Tehran leverage over many enemies but doesn’t provide a perfect defense (or offense), especially against Israel. But if the clerical oligarchs and the Revolutionary Guards lose the strait, they will stand before their angry people bereft of accomplishment and legitimacy. Power once demystified is harder to sustain. If the White House doesn’t deny the regime this victory by fighting and winning the Battle of Hormuz, then Mr. Trump has surely lost this war.” [WSJ]
Civil Rights and Wrongs: In The New York Times, James Loeffler argues that American Jews have been turned into a political football as both parties have long failed to adequately address antisemitism and the Trump administration uses the issue as a cudgel. “Progressives have failed to grapple with antisemitism among their own ranks. And now a conservative administration intent on undoing civil rights law has turned that ambiguity to its own advantage. The civil rights revolution was never finished. Now its contradictions have returned, sharper than ever. They won’t end with antisemitism, because debates about Jews are never just about Jews. They are the seismographs of a society’s deeper tremors: its fears of difference, its contested visions of nationhood.” [NYTimes]
Picture of the Day
Moshe Edri, director-general of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC), addressed the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 70th General Conference in Vienna on Tuesday. In his remarks, Edri said, “it’s clear that a public threat by the radical regime of the Ayatollahs in Iran to destroy the State of Israel is something we cannot ignore. Israel cannot, and will not, sit idle, in light of such a threat. We acted to ensure our survival, and we will do it again if needed.”
Birthdays
David Seth Kotkin, award winning illusionist, who has sold tens of millions of tickets to his shows worldwide, known professionally as David Copperfield, turns 70
Esther Vilar, Argentine German writer and physician, author of books on gender relations, turns 91
Elaine Bloom, Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives for multiple terms, in 2015 she became the president and CEO of Plaza Health Network, turns 89
Rubin Schron, NYC-based real estate investor and the founder of Cammeby’s International Group, turns 88
Richard Perle, defense policy advisor to Presidents Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43 and member of a number of DC-based think tanks, turns 85
Jon Olesen, Montebello, Calif., resident
Shari Goldberg, Pompano Beach, Fla., resident
Motti Lerner, Israeli playwright and screenwriter, turns 77
Jim Perelman, sheriff of Nantucket County, Mass., turns 76
Jonathan Medved, founder and former CEO of OurCrowd, an equity-crowdfunding platform focused on investing in Israeli startups, turns 71
Fern Wallach, former advertising account executive at The Forward, now a media sales consultant
Jonathan Boyarin, anthropology professor at Cornell, his work centers on Jewish communities and culture, turns 70
Dan Kohl, director of stakeholder engagement at the National Council of Jewish Women, he is a nephew of former Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI), turns 61
Rabbi Dov Linzer, president and rabbinic head of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School in Riverdale, N.Y., turns 60
Jason Zengerle, staff writer at The New Yorker
Gal Fridman, Israeli windsurfer, he won bronze in Atlanta 1996 and gold in Athens 2004, Israel’s first Olympic gold medalist, turns 51
Tzvi Avisar, mayor of Kiryat Motzkin, a city in the Haifa suburbs, turns 48
Josh Ginsberg, VP of corporate marketing at Meta
Koby Altman, president of basketball operations for the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, turns 44
Lauren Morgan Suriel, chief field officer at the Israel on Campus Coalition
Suzy Goldenkranz, VP of customer success at SimpliFed
Daren Maxwell Kagasoff, actor, best known for starring in “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” turns 39
Rachel Louise Ensign, NYC-based economics reporter at The Wall Street Journal
Niv Sultan, Israeli actor who played the lead role in Apple TV’s spy thriller “Tehran,” turns 34
Avishag Semberg, winner of an Olympic bronze medal for Israel in taekwondo at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, turns 25
Caryn Rosen Adelman, planned giving consultant
Plus, Houthi hits, Saudi sits — so far
(Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
Recording artists Ed Sheeran (L) and Macklemore perform onstage during the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 20, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Good Tuesday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we talk to senators about how the U.S. could respond to Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, report on New York GOP gubernatorial nominee Bruce Blakeman’s support for a long-shot House candidate who defended Ye’s antisemitic comments, and report on rapper Macklemore‘s removal from the remainder of Ed Sheeran‘s concert tour over his on-stage anti-Israel activism. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Rep. Wesley Hunt, Jessica Tarlov and Danny Meyer.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with an assist from Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
Today’s Agenda
Today marks the sixth anniversary of the signing of the Abraham Accords in Washington. The anniversary of the agreement between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain — which has held amid several years of war, during which Israel supplied missile-defense technology to Abu Dhabi — comes at a time of renewed tensions in the region as the Iran-backed Houthis continue to disrupt shipping routes and mount attacks on Saudi targets.
Riyadh — which was on the brink of normalizing relations with Israel prior to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks — now finds itself in what former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Michael Ratney described as the “worst-case scenario” for the Saudis as Iran and its proxies increasingly target the Gulf state. Earlier today, Riyadh vowed to respond “firmly” to the ongoing Houthi attacks.
Those regional tensions will form the backdrop to the Arab Media Summit, which kicks off today in Dubai. Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa is set to address the opening session of the annual gathering.
In Washington, Vice President JD Vance will address House Republicans today at a political conference meeting at the Capitol Hill Club.
Elsewhere in Washington, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Steve Bannon are slated to speak today at the Future of Life Institute’s AI-focused “Pro-Human Assembly.”
The three-day Eradicate Hate Global Summit begins today in Pittsburgh. Former National Amusements President Shari Redstone, Holocaust survivor Dr. Alfred Garfinkle, commentator Van Jones and political scientist Robert Pape are slated to speak at the annual conference.
At noon ET, the academic consortium CASJE and eJewishPhilanthropy will host a panel discussion, “Who Shapes Campus Conversation? What Research Tells Us About Faculty Attitudes Toward Israel and Jews.” Speakers include Hillel International’s Lisa Armony, the Academic Engagement Network’s Raeefa Shams, the Curricular Review Council’s Yuval Avnur and Leonard Saxe and Graham Wright of Brandeis University., while Vance will represent the White House in attending the memorial ceremony at Ground Zero.
One Thing To Know
ON THE HILL
By Marc Rod and Emily Jacobs
Senators returning to Washington on Monday offered mixed responses to the recent Houthi offensive inside Yemen and Saudi Arabia, with some Republicans telling Jewish Insider that the Iran-backed terror group’s moves warranted a response, while some Democrats framed the Houthi attacks as further fallout from the U.S. war against Iran.
The Iran-backed Yemeni terrorist group seized control of key port cities along the Red Sea coast, near the vital Bab el-Mandeb Strait, as well as Perim Island inside the waterway and the Hanish archipelago to the north. The U.S. has thus far declined to intervene.
Republicans who spoke to Jewish Insider said they had not been fully briefed on the situation since returning to Washington on Monday after being away for the Senate’s extended August recess. Still, they said a forceful response from the Saudis was warranted, while Democrats generally framed the Houthi offensive as an extension and expansion of the Iran war.
The Big Reads
mackle-no-more
Macklemore has been dropped from the remainder of singer Ed Sheeran’s U.S. tour after several venues objected to hosting the rapper, following the rapper’s chants of “Free Palestine” and comments and imagery on Gaza during two recent opening sets for Sheeran, Jewish Insider‘s Haley Cohen reports. Among the eight remaining shows on Sheeran’s tour, Macklemore was set to open for the singer at Massachusetts’ Gillette Stadium, which is owned by Robert Kraft. In an Instagram post, Macklemore claimed that Kraft, the founder of the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate, rallied the other stadium owners to get him dropped from the venues. Kraft responded that the decision came following Macklemore’s “recent actions” and “history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery,” adding that the rapper crossed a line the stadium would not platform.
YE SAYER
Long-shot Brooklyn Republican House candidate Joel Anabilah-Azumah got a boost last week with an endorsement from Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman — who hopes to unseat New York Gov. Kathy Hochul with an appeal to fellow New York Jews, particularly those discontented with Democrats’ declining support for Israel. But Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman found that Anabilah-Azumah has criticized Zionism while defending a string of antisemitic remarks by rapper Ye, also known as Kanye West, who the now-candidate hinted was at risk of assassination by Jewish music industry figures.
BOOKSHELF
In her new book, Fox News co-host Jessica Tarlov advocates for constructive disagreement — “acknowledge without accepting,” or hearing someone out, hard as it may be, without torching the relationship or one’s own beliefs. In an interview with Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen ahead of Tuesday’s release of I Disagree: Winning Arguments Without Losing Friends, Tarlov pointed to her closely watched sit-down last year with far-left streamer Hasan Piker as evidence that her framework holds even when strained against its limits. Piker was “incredibly nice and gracious,” she recalled, arguing that calls for him to be shut out of Democratic circles are misguided. The exchange highlights the balancing act central to both Tarlov’s book and her on-air image as the primary liberal co-host on the Fox News talk show “The Five.”
The Rundown
ROAD TO RIYADH
on the trail
delay deja vu
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 Pentagon’s inspector general released a congressionally mandated report — the first since the beginning of the conflict with Iran earlier this year — that found that the war has led to a munitions shortfall for the military, as well as some $208 million in damages to the State Department across Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates…
The U.S. filed a civil forfeiture complaint against Iran alleging that the Islamic Republic laundered some $1.5 billion in oil through cryptocurrency networks to benefit the Iranian military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps…
CENTCOM head Adm. Brad Cooper met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah on Monday, as Riyadh continues to face escalating attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen; the Saudi leader reportedly urged President Donald Trump last week to conduct strikes against the Houthis, which Trump refused…
Vice President JD Vance told reporters that the U.S. is in direct contact with the Houthis as well as in continued discussions with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, “so we actually feel like we are on top of the situation” amid growing tensions in the region…
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) returned to the Senate floor on Monday evening for the first time since he was hospitalized after a fall in June, appearing in a wheelchair; in a post on X, the Kentucky Republican wrote, “I’m still not quite back to 100%, but I’ve assured Leader Thune that, as I continue with physical therapy on the advice of my doctors, I will do my best to be present for tough votes when our Conference needs me”…
California Gov. Gavin Newsom told CNN’s Jake Tapper that he would not run for president in 2028 if former Vice President Kamala Harris chooses to mount another bid, saying that the Venn diagram of their personal and professional relationships “is just pure crossover. I wouldn’t do that”…
Former National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan cut an ad for his wife, Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-NH), for her reelection bid; in the TV spot, Sullivan recounts their meeting at the Munich Security Conference when she approached him “to raise her concerns about some of our foreign policies” while she was working for then-Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Sullivan was serving as an advisor to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during the Obama administration…
The New York Times profiles Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer ahead of the release of his new book, What Could Possibly Go Right?, which looks at his past business decisions — for better and for worse — and will be released later this month…
Columbia University anti-Israel protest leader Mahmoud Khalil and several of his fellow activists filed a federal lawsuit against the school, arguing that administrators failed to protect them against harassment they allege that they faced on campus due to their activism…
Widespread protests, the largest since the ouster of former President Bashar al-Assad in 2024, broke out across Syria after Damascus raised diesel prices by 40% and household gas prices by 9% over the weekend…
The New York Times looks at the Israeli pushback to the film “NAZA,” which premiered on Thursday at the Venice Film Festival; Israeli Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar called on Jerusalem to revoke the citizenship of the Israeli filmmakers, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, over the film’s content, which included interviews with anonymous Israeli military and intelligence officials regarding the deaths of Palestinian civilians in Gaza…
Bloomberg reports that Malaysian authorities have for more than a month held three shipments of electric bike parts bound for Israel’s Ashdod port that were seized in mid-August; earlier in August, Malaysia seized a shipment from the Philippines that was bound for Israeli defense manufacturer Elbit Systems…
Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel said that Israel’s continued settlement expansion efforts were incompatible with a two-state solution and undermined the prospects of Palestinian statehood…
Jon Gambrell is joining The Wall Street Journal as deputy Middle East bureau chief…
Worthy Reads
Find more Worthy Reads in our Live Briefing via our app (on Apple and Android) and website.
Question Mark: Colossus magazine’s Jeremy Stern profiles Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. “Unlike the Boomers and Gen X, he is the only trillion-dollar founder of his generation, and Millennials are cringe. He is Jewish and uncool, yet impervious to humiliation. He is, in one man, the personification of responsibility for alt-right populism; leftwing authoritarianism; the death of journalism; polarization; political propaganda; political censorship; the dangers of free speech; human rights violations; teenage depression; body dysmorphia; and male loneliness. He is an emperor for life. He is, in a word, an easy mark.” [Colossus]
No Choice: Politico’s Daniella Cheslow looks at the challenges facing the U.S. as the Iran-backed Houthis scale up their attacks in the Gulf. “The administration could join the fray after Yemeni forces, supported by Saudi Arabia, failed to repel the Houthis’ capture of the Red Sea port of Mokha and three islands key to controlling the waterway. Or the White House could leave the region to sort out the Houthis alone, and bear the pain of oil prices that spiraled up to $109 a barrel Monday. … Neither policy choice for the U.S. is terribly appealing, and one Arab diplomat in the region sensed inaction from the U.S., or ‘a kind of disregard.’” [Politico]
How Not to Teach Your Children: In The Washington Post, Dana Stangel-Plowe, the chief program officer of the North American Values Institute, raises concerns about the increasing politicization of the National Education Association under the leadership of its new president, Princess Moss, who has promoted teacher activism. “In saying so, the president of the nation’s largest teachers union advanced a specific vision for her profession: activism all the way down, no matter how much students struggle to keep up. Her union colleagues are citizens, too, free to have and act on their own political views. But Moss’s vision has no place in the classroom. A teacher’s job isn’t political organizing; it is to educate the nation’s youth.” [WashPost]
Picture of the Day
Noah Wyle celebrated his second consecutive Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a drama series on Monday night for playing Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch in “The Pitt,” which also won outstanding drama series for the second year in a row.
Birthdays
Josh Charles, actor, best known for his roles on “Sports Night” and “The Good Wife,” turns 55
Jac Holzman, founder and former CEO of Elektra Records, he is a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, turns 95
Emanuel Tov, professor emeritus at the Hebrew University and a leading scholar of the Dead Sea Scrolls, turns 85
Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman, chief rabbi of Migdal HaEmek, in northern Israel, known as the “Disco Rabbi,” turns 80
Diane Levin, professor emerita of counseling psychology at Boston University’s Wheelock College, turns 79
Ned Rothenberg, composer and multi-instrument musician, turns 70
Michael L. Reiss, television comedy writer, he served as a showrunner, writer and producer for “The Simpsons” and co-created the animated series “The Critic,” turns 67
Aron Uri Raskas, shareholder of law firm Gunster, turns 64
Nina Jacobson, film executive, she produced “The Hunger Games” film series, turns 61
David Magerman, managing partner and chief technology officer at Differential Ventures in Philadelphia, he is also the founder of a series of kosher restaurants, turns 58
David Folkenflik, NPR’s media correspondent, turns 57
Kira Soltanovich, comedian, writer and actor, turns 53
Deborah Leipzig, former VP of leadership at the Anti-Defamation League
Shayla Rosen, customer success manager at Screencastify, event organizer and fundraiser
Anya Kamenetz, author and longtime education correspondent at NPR, turns 46
Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, data scientist, economist and author of the 2017 New York Times bestseller Everybody Lies, turns 44
Evan D. Goldberg, screenwriter, film producer and director, often in collaboration with his childhood friend Seth Rogen, turns 44
Yael Markovich, model and Israeli beauty pageant winner, turns 42
Jonah Raskas, CEO of Harmon Face Values
Josh Gruenbaum, senior advisor to the Board of Peace, he was the commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service, turns 41
Amanda Bresler, chief strategy officer at PW Communications
Eliza Shapiro, reporter at The New York Times covering NYC affordability issues
Roni Dalumi, singer and actor, she was the 2009 winner of the Israeli version of “A Star is Born,” turns 35
Shani Hazan, beauty pageant titleholder, she was crowned Miss Israel 2012, turns 34
Jeff Lewis, Arizona philanthropist and founder of the Froth and Bubble Foundation
Plus, Bibi's Big Apple trip tests Mamdani
Philip Dulian/picture alliance via Getty Images
Several AI applications can be seen on a smartphone screen, including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot, Meta AI, Grok and DeepSeek.
Good Monday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at the political and logistical challenges facing New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the NYPD ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to the city for the U.N. General Assembly, spotlight a new report from Anthropic that revealed that Iran-linked actors used AI tools to target Jews and develop weapons, and talk to GOP Reps. David Kustoff and Craig Goldman about their party’s position on U.S. aid to Israel. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Robert Kraft, Stuart Zimmer and Judge Judith Sheindlin.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve.
Today’s Agenda
Members of Congress are back in Washington today for the final week before the House goes on recess until the November midterms. The Senate is also back in session today, and is slated to remain so until early October.
The International Atomic Energy Agency is holding its general conference in Vienna today, where Energy Secretary Chris Wright is expected to deliver a speech in which he will reiterate U.S. opposition to Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Mohammad Eslami, Iran’s vice president for nuclear affairs, had been slated to address the gathering convened by the U.N. nuclear watchdog, but was denied entry to Austria, Bloomberg reports, following pressure from the Trump administration. In Tehran, Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Austrian envoy over Vienna’s move to bar the Iranian nuclear chief.
We’re also keeping an eye on tensions in the Middle East as the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen scale up their attacks on Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government launches its own attacks on the Houthis. The escalation comes after the Houthis’ capture last week of the Yemeni port city of Mokha and an island on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, as well as Riyadh’s shutdown on Friday of its East-West pipeline amid the escalation.
Elsewhere in the region, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said on Sunday that a meeting between Iran and Gulf countries over the Strait of Hormuz — intended to be held in Oman today — had been indefinitely postponed, citing “the interests of consensus.”
U.S.-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon in Rome that had been slated for this week have been postponed to October, with an Israeli official saying that the rescheduled meeting was due to scheduling conflicts. The Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors in Washington are still slated to meet in Foggy Bottom ahead of the October talks to discuss the implementation of a framework agreement to wind down the conflict in Lebanon and disarm Hezbollah.
One Thing To Know
Analysis
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to New York City for the U.N. General Assembly next week is expected to set up political and logistical challenges for Mayor Zohran Mamdani, one of Netanyahu’s foremost U.S. critics, experts tell Jewish Insider — a challenge that protests, which Mamdani has tacitly encouraged, may only exacerbate.
The Israeli leader is scheduled to arrive in New York on Sept. 23 and address the annual gathering the following day, during which time the NYPD’s dignitary protection detail will help ensure Netanyahu’s personal protection, its intelligence and counterterrorism teams will work to secure the gathering as a whole and an array of its officers will manage the Manhattan streets. The department reports to the mayor’s office.
The various law enforcement veterans who spoke to JI all underscored the scale of the department’s annual efforts to head off potential threats to the diplomatic summit, even without this year’s furor around Netanyahu’s attendance, the ongoing conflict with Iran and the proximity to both the Jewish High Holy Days and the 25th anniversary of 9/11.
The Big Reads
CLAUDE CONTROLS
Anthropic disclosed in a new report released on Thursday that it had over the past eight months disrupted efforts by Iran and other state-aligned groups and actors to use the AI giant’s artificial intelligence tools for “malicious activity” such as tracking U.S. forces, developing weapons guidance software and waging “cognitive warfare” to spread propaganda, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports. The 154-page report also said it had identified an “Iran-nexus threat actor” using Claude, Anthropic’s chatbot, to target “hundreds of individuals in Israel and the Jewish diaspora.” The report did not specify the purpose of the activity or confirm whether it had been disabled.
AI alert: Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published an essay on Saturday, calling on the AI industry to slow down and was met with agreement by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google DeepMind Chairman Demis Hassabis and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
SELF SCRUTINY
A new survey of 470 Middle East scholars finds that nearly three-quarters believe American academia is less equipped to pursue truth than it was at the time of the 9/11 attacks, while two-thirds lack confidence that their students understand the attacks and say American academia has provided cover for ideologies, regimes or groups hostile to the United States, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports. The findings, released last week by the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa ahead of the 25th anniversary of 9/11, reflect what ASMEA’s executive director, Asaf Romirowsky, described as a broader failure by American universities to maintain objectivity and intellectual rigor in the quarter century since the attacks.
AID CONVERSATION
Jewish House Republicans said during the Republican Jewish Coalition’s leadership summit in Las Vegas earlier this month that there’s little appetite among Republicans to end U.S. aid to Israel as the two sides look toward the end of the current memorandum of understanding on military aid, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. “I think the message is that the majority of the members of the House want to see the aid continue, want to see this alliance continue, but elections have consequences, and we don’t know what the makeup of the next House is going to be on the Republican side and on the Democrat side,” Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN) told JI. Rep. Craig Goldman (R-TX) emphasized that Israel and the United States are facing threats not only from Iran and its nuclear program but also from the terrorist groups that Iran has spent decades funding. “I certainly will fight tooth and nail as long as I’m a member of [the] U.S. Congress to continue aid to Israel,” Goldman said.
The Rundown
NUCLEAR NEWS
EXCLUSIVE
Doha Dealings
FLAGGING FICTION
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.
President Donald Trump, speaking in Ireland on Sunday, suggested that the U.S. “ultimately get out” of Iran “unless we decide to stay and keep the oil, like Venezuela,” adding that Iran “wants to make a deal so badly, and is calling constantly”…
Jared Kushner said in virtual remarks to the Yalta European Strategy conference on Friday that the U.S. used Israel’s September 2025 “errant strike” targeting Hamas officials in Qatar to pressure Jerusalem to reach a deal to end the war in Gaza, saying that the strike “led to Israel being globally isolated,” creating a dynamic the U.S. “used … in order to push them into a deal that now, today, they’re quite happy with.” Watch the conversation here.
In response to Kushner’s comments, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party issued a statement pushing back on the remarks, saying that Netanyahu’s “decision to send the IDF into Gaza City and to strike the Hamas leadership in Qatar, together with the intense pressure exerted by President Trump” led to Hamas dropping its demands as well as the release of the remaining hostages.
The New Yorker does a deep dive into Kushner’s approach to diplomacy as he represents the Trump administration in a voluntary capacity in negotiations to end a number of conflicts around the world while continuing to manage his own business interests, finding that “as [Kushner] has traversed the globe for Trump, he has grown more entangled in the commercial affairs of countries where he works”…
France and Lebanon are pushing to extend the mandate of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, which is slated to expire at the end of this year, calling the move to end the decades-long U.N. presence in southern Lebanon “premature”…
The National Security Agency is planning a massive internal restructuring that will see the creation of five organizations within the agency that will focus on artificial intelligence, China, cybersecurity, combat support and global intelligence…
Front Line Action, a group linked to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), released an AI-generated ad titled “Family Values” that spotlights relatives of Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed who have made anti-Israel and anti-America statements…
Sen. Jon Husted’s (R-OH) reelection campaign fired its political director following a Washington Post report last week that he had in 2018 used an image of Nazi SS soldiers as his Facebook profile picture…
The Boulder Valley School District in Colorado settled a federal civil rights complaint with the Anti-Defamation League and the family of a Jewish middle schooler in the district who faced what the ADL described as years of “persistent, escalating, and severe antisemitic harassment” that went unaddressed by administrators in the district…
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft donated $10 million to Brandeis University to name a new 28,000-square-foot facility for Jewish life, expected to open in spring 2028, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim reports…
Philanthropist Stuart Zimmer, who with his wife in 2018 had pledged $100 million to Harvard University but froze the gift in response to the school’s handling of campus anti-Israel activity in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks while their daughter studied at the school, quietly resumed funding; the gift will help expand kosher dining options on campus and will include the renaming of the school’s Science Center to honor Zimmer’s father…
CBS’ “60 Minutes” premiered its 59th season with an interview with the U.S. Air Force officer who was shot down over Iran and stranded in the Islamic Republic for two days before being rescued during the conflict earlier this year…
The Hollywood Reporter spotlights SHOOQ, a new online platform designed to boost Jewish filmmakers and help connect them to funding streams and financial backers; among those backing the initiative are former NBC Co-chair Ben Silverman, 30 West CEO Micah Green, Made by Us Co-CEO Tanya Cohen, actress Emmanuelle Chriqui and producer Anthony Bregman…
Singer-songwriter Pink published a lengthy statement explaining her criticism of rapper Macklemore, who led “Free Palestine” chants while opening for Ed Sheeran at a concert earlier this month, saying that the artist “stood in front of a stadium full of music-loving families, with violent images from a war on the screens, dedicated a song to the movement of his choice, and then took the mic to tell all of the Jews in the stadium that it wasn’t about them”…
Judge Judith Sheindlin — known as Judge Judy — is stepping back from the cameras after a decades-long television career as Amazon Prime stops releasing new episodes of her “Judy Justice” show; Sheindlin will serve as an executive producer for a new show starring her son, attorney Adam Levy…
Germany’s federal prosecutor said in an indictment filed last week that Hamas had planned terror attacks in Berlin and Vienna on the second anniversary of its Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks in Israel; authorities in Germany made several arrests last year in connection with the alleged plots…
A Jewish Iranian-American man from New York who had been held in Tehran’s Evin prison was released from the notorious facility after serving approximately half of a two-year sentence but remains banned from leaving the Islamic Republic…
The New York Times spotlights the wedding of Adriana Fernandez, who has gained an internet following as “Now-Jewish Nanny,” and Jordan Langer…
Kimberly Colchamiro was announced as the new chief development officer of the Jewish Broadcasting Service…
Israeli planetary scientist Adi Ninio Greenberg died at 50… Longtime political columnist Roger Simon died at 78… Rachel Rabin Yaakov, the sister of assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, died at 101… Luthier Jonathan Cooper, who designed a quartet of string instruments to honor slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, died at 76… Photographer Jay Maisel died at 95… Yehuda Widawski, believed to be the oldest Holocaust survivor in Israel, died at 107…
Worthy Reads
Find more Worthy Reads in our Live Briefing via our app (on Apple and Android) and website.
Hard-liners in Charge: The New York Times’ Farnaz Fassihi does a deep dive into the effort by Iranian hard-liners earlier this year to derail the ceasefire between Washington and Tehran. “The hard-liners succeeded in part because the only figure with the authority to resolve such disputes — the new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei — has been a phantom since taking office in March. … Three Iranian officials said inquiries by the government and security forces traced the decision to strike the three commercial ships in July to the cleric Hossein Taeb, an influential spymaster who had opposed the peace deal with the United States from the outset.” [NYTimes]
Definition Debate: In The Wall Street Journal, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Orde Kittrie and Andres Munoz-Mosquera, a former NATO chief legal advisor, warn of an effort tied to an International Court of Justice case involving Gambia and Myanmar that would change the definition of genocide. “The Myanmar judgment, expected in October, would establish the lower threshold before the ICJ judgment on Israel. It would change the rule first in the less-watched case against Myanmar rather than seemingly invent it for Israel. … ICJ judges who vote to lower the genocide threshold will damage the court’s credibility, invite an avalanche of politicized cases, and undercut democracies’ ability to fight terrorists and autocrats.” [WSJ]
Lambasting London: In Haaretz, Peter Lerner, director general of international relations at the Histadrut and a former IDF spokesperson, argues that Britain’s move to impose sanctions targeting Israeli settlements in the West Bank may prove to be politically counterproductive. “Britain has handed Netanyahu and his coalition an electoral gift. Extremists in the current government will present the sanctions as proof that the world is hostile to Israel and Israelis. … At the very moment Israelis must decide whether to replace the most extreme government in the country’s history, London has provided that government with an external enemy.” [Haaretz]
Picture of the Day
Birthdays
Walter Koenig, actor, writer and director, first known for his role as Chekov in the original “Star Trek” television series, turns 90
Lawrence Harvey “Larry” Brown, the only basketball head coach to have won both an NCAA national championship and an NBA championship, turns 86
Larry A. Mizel, founder of MDC Holdings (parent company to Richmond American Homes), CEO of the Mizel-Mandarich Foundation and the primary supporter of the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem, turns 84
Frederick A. Schenk, San Diego-based attorney, a specialist in mass torts, turns 73
Daniella Levine Cava, mayor of Miami-Dade County, turns 71
Pope Leo XIV, born in Chicago as Robert Francis Prevost, turns 71
Dr. Terry Dubrow, plastic surgeon and television personality, turns 68
Thomas Scott Kaplan, chairman and chief investment officer of The Electrum Group, he is the world’s largest private collector of Rembrandt’s works, turns 64
Amy Kauffman, founder of Mindchat Research
Paul Budnitz, founder of Vermont-based Kidrobot, a retailer of art toys, apparel and accessories, and Ello, an ad-free social network, turns 59
Sir Grant Shapps, British secretary of state for defence until 2024 and knighted in 2025, he was a national president of BBYO, turns 58
Richard Strauss, president of Strauss Media Strategies, during the Clinton administration he became the first-ever White House radio director, turns 57
Ketanji Brown Jackson, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, turns 56
Mark A. Semer, managing director at Gasthalter & Co., he is a past president of the Young Israel of New Rochelle
Elon Gold, comedian, television actor, writer and producer, turns 56
Elliot S. Berke, managing partner of Berke Farah LLP, his clients include Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas
Jennifer Jacobs, senior White House reporter for CBS News
Dana Sheanin, CEO of San Francisco-based Jewish LearningWorks
Courtney Cohen Flantzer, senior booking producer at CNN’s “Inside Politics with Dana Bash”
Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida and former 2024 POTUS candidate, turns 48
Hani Furstenberg, Israeli-American Actor, turns 47
Marisa Scheinfeld, artist, photographer and educator, turns 46
Russell Berman, staff writer at The Atlantic since 2014
Leah Greenberg, co-founder and co-executive director of the progressive Indivisible movement
Roxana Pourshalimi, Los Angeles-based attorney working as a contracts supervisor at MarketCast
Matt Flegenheimer, New York Times reporter since 2011, now focused on in-depth profiles
Jeremy Moskowitz, EVP at Voyager Global Mobility
Arkadiy Abramovich, founder and owner of ARA Capital, a British firm with holdings in e-commerce and energy, he is the son of Roman Abramovich, turns 33
Julia Savel, MSW graduate at Yeshiva University
Lihie Raz, artistic gymnast, she represented Israel at the 2020 (Tokyo) and 2024 (Paris) Summer Olympics, turns 23
Plus, the rabbi who lost his voice at Ground Zero
Joshua Lott/Getty Images
Hasan Piker speaks during a campaign rally for Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong on August 2, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Good Thursday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at the reaction of Jewish community leaders to Norm Eisen’s alliances with critics of Israel, and cover the blowback from University of Texas College Dems’ invitation to Hasan Piker to speak on campus. We report on a new poll that finds low support among Jewish voters for Vice President JD Vance, and ahead of the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, we interview, through written correspondence, Rabbi Ronald Kaplan, whose service as a spiritual first responder at Ground Zero during the aftermath of the attacks ultimately cost him his voice. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, Rep. Brad Knott and Jeffrey Katzenberg.
Curated by JI Israel Editor Tamara Zieve and U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik with an assist from Marc Rod.
Ed note: In observance of Rosh Hashanah, the next Daily Kickoff will arrive on Monday, Sept. 14. Chag sameach and shana tovah. We will be publishing stories and updates throughout the weekend on our Live Briefing, which you can access via our app and website.
For less-distracted reading over the weekend, browse this week’s edition — a curated PDF of recent Jewish Insider and eJewishPhilanthropy stories, including: › Rep. Jared Moskowitz: Pro-Israel Democrats are being ‘ostracized’ in the Democratic Party; After son’s remains returned from Gaza, Ruby Chen continues his fight in Washington and beyond; Birthright launches Global Business Summit, connecting Diaspora donors, Israeli financial figures.
Today’s Agenda
We’re monitoring developments in the Middle East after Iran reportedly damaged multiple U.S. military aircraft in overnight strikes at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, according to CBS reporter Jennifer Jacobs. The strikes took off the wing of an A-10 Thunderbolt II, known as the Warthog, while eight F-15s sustained light damage and were placed back into service, sources told CBS.
The Iran-backed Houthis have reportedly seized the Yemeni Red Sea port city of Mocha, Yemeni government sources told Reuters. Witnesses told AFP the rebel forces chanted “Death to America, death to Israel,” as they entered the city.
The GOP midterm convention concludes this evening with a keynote address from Vice President JD Vance and closing remarks from President Donald Trump. Also set to address the convening today are Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Michigan GOP Senate nominee Mike Rogers, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Donald Trump Jr.
Targeting Vance’s speech, Democratic Majority for Israel is running digital ads across mobile devices and websites in Dallas, raising questions about the vice president’s alliance with Tucker Carlson and what it described in a statement as his “conditional support” for Israel.
In commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History is displaying 40 artifacts from the three sites — New York, the Pentagon and the Flight 93 crash site in Shanksville, Pa. — through Saturday. The museum is also screening the 2011 Smithsonian Channel documentary, “9/11: Stories in Fragments,” hourly, through Friday, and the Udvar-Hazy Center is hosting a panel this evening with first responders and aviation personnel.
On Friday, Trump will attend the Pentagon memorial ceremony, while Vance will represent the White House in attending the memorial ceremony at Ground Zero.
One Thing To Know
Norm-alizing?
Norm Eisen, a former Obama White House lawyer and U.S. ambassador to the Czech Republic, has in recent months emerged as one of the Trump administration’s most prominent legal antagonists.
Through a nonprofit group he founded, Democracy Defenders Fund, Eisen has helped to wage a series of key court battles challenging the administration over issues like birthright citizenship, the Federal Reserve and the Kennedy Center, claiming some victories in a fight against what he calls President Donald Trump’s executive overreach.
But Eisen’s recent work with two vocal critics of Israel who have faced accusations of antisemitism has raised some eyebrows in the Jewish community, owing to his identification as a liberal Zionist whose record includes combating anti-Jewish prejudice at home and abroad.
The Big Reads
PIKER PUSHBACK
The University of Texas’ College Democrats chapter invited antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker to speak on campus at the end of the month, sparking outrage from Jewish leaders and students on campus and generating a potential political firestorm in a red state hosting consequential elections in November’s midterms, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports. The event is scheduled to be held on Sept. 30, amid the final stretch of Texas’ highly competitive Senate race between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico and a competitive gubernatorial contest between GOP Gov. Greg Abbott and Democrat Gina Hinojosa. “Hasan Piker said America deserved 9/11 and praised the brutal terrorist organization Hamas. University Democrats at UT Austin are choosing to amplify that disgusting rhetoric. Terrorist sympathizers have no place in Texas,” an Abbott spokesperson told JI.
BEYOND WORDS
For more than four decades, Rabbi Ronald Kaplan’s primary tool for his work was his voice. It was the instrument he relied on every Shabbat and holiday on the bimah, in the classroom, under the chuppah, at the cemetery and in the hospital — guiding congregants through both moments of celebration and grief. As he puts it, a rabbi’s task is to “pray, to teach, to inspire, to counsel and to lead” — and the voice is the means to do it, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports. But this year, as the nation marks the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks — a commemoration that falls as the major Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah begins on Friday night — that work of speaking and remembering holds particular resonance for Kaplan, whose service as a spiritual first responder at Ground Zero during the aftermath of the attacks ultimately cost him his “greatest sacrifice” — his voice.
SURVEY SAYS
A new poll of Jewish American voters commissioned by the nonpartisan Jewish Voters Resource Center found that Vice President JD Vance is viewed negatively by more than 80% of Jewish voters, including a sizable number of Jewish Republicans, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports. The poll finds Vance’s favorability rating at only 14% among Jewish voters overall, with 82% viewing him unfavorably. Only 61% of Jewish Republicans view Vance favorably, compared to the 89% of those who view President Donald Trump favorably, and the 93% of Jewish Republicans who hold a favorable view of Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The Rundown
SENSE OF SECURITY
BACKUP PLAN
Doha Dealings
FLAGGING FICTION
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.
President Donald Trump predicted on Wednesday that the Iran war “will end immediately after” the midterm elections because the Iranian regime is “desperate to affect the election,” though his top advisors are reportedly privately discussing the possibility that the war could run through the rest of his term…
Trump has begun tapping his super PAC’s $400 million war chest through a new group, No Going Back PAC — financially backed by his main super PAC, MAGA Inc. — which has reserved at least $47 million in ads across six contested Senate races and one House race, led by nearly $15 million in Michigan, $11 million in Ohio and $9.6 million in New Hampshire, The New York Times reports…
J Street is spending $3 million against five AIPAC-backed Republicans in the midterm races, Axios reports, naming Georgia Senate candidate Mike Collins; Reps. Max Miller (OH), Derrick Van Orden (WI), Ryan Mackenzie (PA) and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA) as targets of the J Street Action Fund. (Collins was endorsed by AIPAC as a House Republican running in a safe district; he hasn’t been backed by AIPAC in the Georgia Senate race)…
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) made a video appearance at the GOP midterm convention on Wednesday evening where he praised President Donald Trump and Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) for their work protecting the steel industry, Axios reports. While Fetterman is still not expected to announce he is switching parties, the move, made just weeks ahead of the midterm elections, is likely to further antagonize Democrats with whom the Pennsylvania senator has become increasingly estranged…
New CNN polls of the Maine and Michigan Senate races found the Democratic candidates holding narrow leads over their Republican opponents, though both were within the margin of error. In Maine, the survey found Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) trailing Democrat Troy Jackson, 48%-45%. In Michigan, the CNN poll found Democrat Abdul El-Sayed up 47%-44% over Republican Mike Rogers. Two-thirds of voters in each state view President Donald Trump unfavorably, according to the surveys…
The Congressional Black Caucus PAC endorsed El-Sayed on Wednesday. “CBCPAC will fight alongside Abdul to build a coalition to beat Mike Rogers and get a majority in the United States Senate that can bring down costs for all Michiganders,” said the PAC’s chair, Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY)…
Elon Musk’s America PAC has spent more than $1 million in the last week on digital ads and mailers to boost Rogers and attack El-Sayed…
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has privately told at least one person in recent months that he has “no plans at this time” to run for president in 2028, according to NBC News…
Jeff Miller, a Republican Jewish Coalition board member, wrote on X that while he wants Republicans to hold the House and Senate, he has no interest in “tearing down” Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), whom he described as “one of the few Democrats left willing to stand unapologetically with America and Israel.” Moskowitz is locked in a competitive reelection campaign against Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer, a Republican who is endorsed by the RJC…
Rhode Island state Rep. David Morales, a democratic socialist backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), unseated Providence, R.I., Mayor Brett Smiley in the mayoral Democratic primary on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. Issues of Israel policy and antisemitism had dominated the race, as Morales has backed an anti-Israel ballot initiative and criticized Smiley, who is Jewish, for attending a Combat Antisemitism Movement conference…
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee became the first U.S. governor since 2014 not to win renomination, losing to businesswoman Helena Foulkes by 24 points in the Democratic gubernatorial primary…
The Office of Congressional Conduct, a nonpartisan investigative entity, cleared Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) of wrongdoing in connection with documents she submitted to Congress that dramatically overstated her wealth, The Wall Street Journal reports. A disclosure filed last year showed Omar and her husband had assets of between $6 million and $30 million, indicating a massive jump in personal wealth over a short period of time, but the investigation concluded the numbers were inflated because of an accounting error…
Asked about the U.K., France and Canada enacting sanctions against Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Trump told reporters Wednesday afternoon on his way to Dallas for the GOP midterm convention that he’ll be “speaking to Israel” about the issue. “I understand exactly what’s going on, but I want to find out why all of a sudden does that happen,” he added…
Maryland state Sen. Cheryl Kagan and West Virginia state Sen. Jay Taylor, as well as Nevo Barchad, deputy chief of mission at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., spoke at the embassy’s Rosh Hashanah celebration on Wednesday night. Under Secretary of State Sarah Rogers, Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun and Department of Justice Senior Counsel Leo Terrell were among those in attendance…
Reps. Brad Schneider (D-IL), Craig Goldman (R-TX), Ann Wagner (R-MO), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) urged Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to take steps to ensure Hamas cannot “exploit” the economic instability in the West Bank, raising concerns about Israel’s decision to withhold tax revenues from the Palestinian Authority…
Israelis are divided on the importance of U.S.-Israel relations as a factor in their decision of which party to vote for in the October elections, with 55% of Jewish Israelis and 26.5% of Arab Israelis seeing it as an important issue, according to a poll published on Wednesday by the Israel Democracy Institute…
An Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday morning reportedly killed a family of four, including two children, health officials said. The IDF told The Times of Israel it was looking into the reports…
Joel Lion, Israel’s former ambassador to Ukraine, Moldova and Armenia, has been appointed as the acting chargé d’affaires to Turkey and presented his credentials to the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced…
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors voted on Wednesday for the first time in two decades to report Iran to the U.N. Security Council for violating its nuclear nonproliferation obligations, diplomats told Reuters. The move marks an escalation that opens Iran to possible U.N. sanctions, though Russia and China’s vetoes on the UNSC make actual punitive action unlikely…
DreamWorks Animation co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg, Bill Peebles, the former head of OpenAI’s Sora app, and former Dropbox CFO Sujay Jaswa are planning to launch a new AI video startup that would train its own models for filmmakers, and are in talks with potential investors including Andreessen Horowitz to raise funding, The Information reports…
The world-famous Carnegie Deli is reopening in Manhattan, and will be located in the space of the former Stage Deli, which closed in 2012…
Worthy Reads
Find more Worthy Reads in our Live Briefing via our app (on Apple and Android) and website.
The Blame Game: Wall Street Journal columnist Barton Swaim reflects on the tendency for anti-American activists to blame Israel as a stand-in for their antipathy of the United States: “In the years after 9/11, blaming America for the activities of Islamic terrorists became a mania among left-tilting scribblers the world over. When they couldn’t reasonably attach culpability to America — because the attack happened in France or Spain, which consistently oppose U.S. interventions — the enlightened blamed America’s stand-in, Israel. Somehow the jihadists always lacked agency. A corollary belief, equally resistant to evidence, holds that violent criminals commit their offenses because some societal inequity drove them to it.” [WSJ]
Some Things Are Nonnegotiable: Shalom Hartman Institute President Yehuda Kurtzer writes on his Substack about the need for Jewish leaders to set clear red lines for politicians who want to win their support: “When voters fail to use their leverage, they relinquish power to those who have not earned it, they forfeit the responsibilities of the citizen who is meant to be sovereign, and they allow politicians to be static when they should always be bendable. This exercise of power is best expressed through transparency… I see many Jews doing the opposite, searching for signs of what is in a politician’s heart, parsing their rhetoric, standing on the side to wait which way the wind is blowing, and lamenting their chosen condition of ultimately having to choose between imperfect choices.” [Substack]
Picture of the Day
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar (left) inaugurated the first Israeli Embassy in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana on Wednesday, alongside his Slovenian counterpart, Tone Kajzer. The two ministers also signed a multi-sector cooperation agreement ahead of a joint business forum, as their countries move to strengthen ties. Gideon Sa’ar/X
Birthdays
Eric Kaplan, television writer and producer whose work includes “The Big Bang Theory,” turns 55
Stanley Gold, chairman of Shamrock Holdings, Roy Disney’s private investment company, turns 84
Dianne Varon, retired realtor in Southern California
Gerald Fishman, former EVP and general counsel at Chicago’s futures broker Rosenthal Collins Group
Howard Penner, past president of Congregation Ahavas Israel in Passaic, N.J.
Henri Goettel, retired coordinator at Truman Heartland Community Foundation, she was a Hebrew teacher at Congregation Beth Torah in Overland Park, Kan.
Gary M. Polland, Houston attorney and Republican Party activist, turns 76
Joel Judd, Denver attorney and politician, he served in the Colorado House of Representatives for eight years, turns 74
Nancy Finkel, executive assistant to the office managing partner of the E&Y office in Tampa
Cynthia Lummis, U.S. senator (R-WY), turns 72
Matthew Fried, retired VP at Goldman Sachs, now a part-time elementary school teacher
Steven Greenspan, real estate attorney in South Florida
Amity Ruth Shlaes, writer, columnist and author of three NYT bestsellers, turns 66
Richard Behar, award-winning journalist and author, he wrote a 2024 book on Bernie Madoff
Charles Rosenberg, former acting administrator of the DEA, now a senior counsel at D.C.’s Crowell & Moring, turns 66
Andrew Shapiro, founder and managing director at Beacon Global Strategies, he serves on the New Leadership Council of the Jewish Democratic Council of America
Lawrence Garbuz, NYC trusts and estates attorney
Jonathan Soros, co-founder and partner of One Madison Group, he is a son of George Soros, turns 56
Ariel Sadwin, executive director of the Maryland / Mid-Atlantic region of Agudath Israel
Sarah Schneider, writer, actor and comedian, she was a writer for “Saturday Night Live,” turns 43
Charles Szold, principal at Blue Zone Partners and managing partner at Precision Infrastructure Management
Joshua A. Nass, PR strategist, crisis manager and media analyst
Trey Yingst, chief foreign correspondent for Fox News, his 2024 book, Black Saturday, covers the events of Oct. 7 and the war that followed, turns 33
Jennifer Meyer
Janeese Lewis George said she regrets committing not to attend events focused on ‘promoting Zionism,’ but hasn’t said so publicly
Craig Hudson for The Washington Post via Getty Images
D.C. councilmember and mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George is seen on Capitol Hill for a press conference in Washington, DC on March 10, 2025.
Janeese Lewis George, a Democratic Socialists of America-endorsed candidate for mayor of Washington, D.C., met with prominent local rabbis and Jewish community leaders last week amid fallout over a DSA questionnaire she filled out outlining her views on Israel and antisemitism.
The March 19 meeting, at the Orthodox Ohev Sholom Congregation in Shepherd Park, was arranged after her responses to a DSA endorsement questionnaire were made public last month, according to two sources familiar with the meeting.
In the questionnaire, Lewis George pledged not to attend events focused on “promoting Zionism and apartheid.” She also said that she had attended a D.C. Jewish Community Relations Council event in December only to talk about opposing Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s deportation measures in the region, and that she did not agree with JCRC’s stances on Israel, Zionism and antisemitism.
At the meeting at Ohev Sholom, Lewis George apologized for her statements in the questionnaire, one of the event’s attendees told Jewish Insider, and cried when someone in the meeting described feeling hurt by her answers in the questionnaire.
She blamed the anti-Israel responses on one of her staff members, and said she would have submitted a different response if she had seen it before it was submitted.
However, she has not expressed that same sentiment publicly. A spokesperson for Lewis George did not respond to multiple requests for comment on Monday.
Lewis George did not make any promises to apologize publicly or to further address her comments in the DSA questionnaire, according to the meeting attendee.
The meeting included rabbis and senior leaders from Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School, the Edlavitch D.C. JCC, Temple Sinai, Ohev Sholom, Adas Israel Congregation, Tifereth Israel Congregation, the JCRC and Tzedek DC, a legal services organization.
Lewis George will appear at a rally hosted by the Metro DC DSA chapter on Wednesday alongside Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), one of the most vocal detractors of Israel in Congress.
Ron Halber, the CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, wrote in an op-ed published Monday that Metro DC DSA threatens “the sense of attachment and belonging that we [Jews] have long enjoyed in D.C.”
“Their questionnaire for political candidates encourages the systematic erasure of Jewish and pro-Israel Americans from public life. It is an outrageous and revolting display of religious discrimination,” Halber wrote in Washington Jewish Week. He did not specifically mention Lewis George.
Correction: A previous version of this article identified Temple Micah as one of the participants in the meeting. They did not have a representative in the room.
The mayor’s comments responding to pro-Hamas protesters in Queens and an arson attack on a synagogue in Jackson, Miss., illustrate what Mamdani’s critics interpret as a core tension animating his assessment of antisemitism
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a press conference during moving day at Gracie Mansion on January 12, 2026 in New York City.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani sparked an uproar among Jewish community leaders when, on his first day in office, he revoked an executive order that adopted a definition of antisemitism equating some criticism of Israel with anti-Jewish prejudice.
But the mayor has yet to articulate which, if any, definition of antisemitism he will abide by, raising questions about his views toward escalating anti-Jewish hate in the city as he continues to weigh in on high-profile issues affecting the Jewish community.
His recent comments responding to pro-Hamas protesters in Queens last week and an arson attack on a synagogue in Jackson, Miss., over the weekend illustrate what Mamdani’s critics interpret as a core tension animating his assessment of antisemitism.
While Mamdani released a statement on Sunday calling the arson a “violent act of antisemitism,” his comment on the demonstration outside a synagogue in Kew Gardens Hills where protesters openly voiced support for Hamas was delayed and came only after he faced growing pressure from media outlets and Jewish community leaders to denounce the demonstration.
In contrast with several of his top allies on the left, Mamdani, who has long been an outspoken critic of Israel, ultimately chose not to the call the protesters antisemitic, even as he otherwise denounced Hamas as a “terrorist organization” and said that the chants heard at the demonstration “are wrong and have no place in our city.”
The statements on two separate issues in different states helped distill how Mamdani has traditionally reacted to individual instances of antisemitism. He has unequivocally condemned as antisemitic recent incidents where Jews have faced violent attacks and have been targeted by vandalism, among other acts. But the mayor has been slower to react decisively on protests near Jewish institutions involving anti-Israel activism.
Mamdani, who has long identified as anti-Zionist and refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, drew backlash last November after he admonished a Manhattan synagogue that was also targeted by anti-Israel demonstrators who chanted slogans including “death to the IDF” and “globalize the intifada,” a phrase he has declined to renounce.
Even as he distanced himself from the language used by protesters in objecting to an event about immigration to Israel, Mamdani said that “sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law,” a statement he later revised. He did not label the protest antisemitic, as other elected officials had done. On the recent Queens protest outside an Israeli real estate event, Mamdani used similar language when asked why he hadn’t condemned “both sides.” He answered, “I absolutely have an opposition to the sale of land in the West Bank. It’s a violation of international law and that comes from my belief in the importance of following international law.”
His ongoing reluctance to explicitly identify such protests as antisemitic underscores how his record of pro-Palestinian activism has long been central to his self-conception. While he moderated on several key issues in the election, Mamdani notably resisted softening even some of his most controversial views relating to Israel — such as a pledge to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on charges of war crimes.
“On an ideological level, it’s a very problematic issue to be a proud anti-Zionist — especially if you are the mayor of New York City,” Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, who leads Stephen Wise Free Synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, said. “On a practical level, wherever anti-Zionism has been normalized,” he said, “as night follows day, it leads to antisemitism, in every single case, and it is the case today. There won’t be an exception simply because the mayor, at this time, insists on being an anti-Zionist and is proud of it.”
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, who leads Stephen Wise Free Synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, said in an interview with Jewish Insider on Monday that he has spoken with Mamdani repeatedly about what he called a clear connection between anti-Zionism and antisemitism — which, he noted, the mayor has not acknowledged.
Even as Hirsch conceded “it’s not necessarily the case in every circumstance” that “anti-Zionism is, ipso facto, antisemitism,” he said such discussions are “completely divorced from reality,” disagreeing with Mamdani’s assessment of the Queens protest last week. “What Jews mean by anti-Zionism is not what Hamas means by anti-Zionism,” he explained. “If you are pro-Hamas, then you are, by definition, an antisemite.”
“On an ideological level, it’s a very problematic issue to be a proud anti-Zionist — especially if you are the mayor of New York City,” Hirsch argued to JI. “On a practical level, wherever anti-Zionism has been normalized,” he said, “as night follows day, it leads to antisemitism, in every single case, and it is the case today. There won’t be an exception simply because the mayor, at this time, insists on being an anti-Zionist and is proud of it.”
The working definition of antisemitism Mamdani rescinded, which is promoted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, has long been a target of anti-Israel activists and some progressives who believe it stifles legitimate criticism of Israel — even as it is widely accepted as useful guidance by mainstream Jewish groups.
A spokesperson for Mamdani did not respond to a request for comment from JI asking how he would define what he has frequently called “the scourge of antisemitism” while pledging to ensure the safety of Jewish New Yorkers.
Mamdani has yet to announce key administration hires for areas related to antisemitism, such as the office to combat antisemitism, which he has vowed to retain, and he has sent mixed messages regarding his efforts to fight antisemitism — voicing interest, for example, in a city curriculum embraced by leading Jewish groups that promotes a definition of Zionism seemingly at odds with his own views on Israel.
Shortly before his inauguration, Mamdani argued that a report issued by the Anti-Defamation League, which highlighted several members of his transition team who had used antisemitic tropes and justified Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, ignored what he called “the distinction between antisemitism and criticism of the Israeli government.” He did not address some of the most extreme comments made by appointees, but said the ADL report “draws attention away from the very real crisis of antisemitism we see.”
Mark Goldfeder, the director of the National Jewish Advocacy Center, said he suspects that Mamdani is now “gearing up to adopt” what he characterized as “one of the ‘IHRA-lite’ definitions” of antisemitism, citing those embraced by the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism and the Nexus Project — which he called “a little better than JDA,” though neither are widely accepted by mainstream Jewish organizations. Both definitions, he argued to JI, “provide more cover to those who wish to hide their antisemitism behind the curtain of anti-Zionism.”
Jonathan Jacoby, the president and national director of the Nexus Project, said in a statement to JI on Monday that Mamdani “and all public officials should be judged by the actions they take to protect Jewish communities — not by their adherence to any one controversial definition of antisemitism.”
According to Goldfeder, applying the Nexus definition to the recent incidents addressed by Mamdani “would mean that attacking Jews at a synagogue,” as in Jackson, “would be antisemitic — but harassing them, as long as no physical attack” took place, as in Queens, “would be fine.”
“I, for one, am not OK with either,” Goldfeder said. “Neither are the federal government, the majority of U.S. states and the vast majority of Americans both Jewish and non-Jewish.”
Jonathan Jacoby, the president and national director of the Nexus Project, said in a statement to JI on Monday that Mamdani “and all public officials should be judged by the actions they take to protect Jewish communities — not by their adherence to any one controversial definition of antisemitism.”
“Mamdani has expressed a clear commitment to engaging a wide range of Jewish voices in the fight against antisemitism and hate, and affirmed that the city will continue to operate an office to combat antisemitism,” Jacoby added. “Instead of getting hung up on fights over definitions like IHRA that were never intended to be enshrined into law, we need to see more security funding for vulnerable institutions, more support for more education about antisemitism and bias, and the enforcement of civil rights laws to prevent actual discrimination and harassment.”
Amy Spitalnick, the CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, said that the “biggest question” for her “is not whether the mayor personally adopts a specific definition but, rather, how he will respond to acts of antisemitism and invest in a comprehensive strategy to counter it.”
Rabbi Marc Schneier, who has spoken privately with Mamdani about issues concerning the Jewish community, said he was “pleasantly surprised” that Mamdani spoke out against the Queens protest and called Hamas a terror group, noting that the mayor had faced scrutiny for not even mentioning Hamas in his initial statement regarding the Oct. 7 attacks.
“We may be witnessing some evolution in terms of his understanding of Israel,” Schneier told JI, while adding that the Jewish community has “a long way to go.”
Amy Spitalnick, the CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, said that the “biggest question” for her “is not whether the mayor personally adopts a specific definition but, rather, how he will respond to acts of antisemitism and invest in a comprehensive strategy to counter it.”
“I’ve appreciated his willingness to engage with our community and evolve his position and I hope that he will continue to do so,” she told JI on Monday. “The pro-Hamas protests in Kew Gardens and the arson attack in Jackson are different examples of the many ways antisemitism is manifesting right now. All of it threatens Jews and our broader society and democracy.”
Plus, AIPAC travels to APEC
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) speaks at a press conference on taxes at the U.S. Capitol Building on August 03, 2022 in Washington, DC.
Good Thursday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we talk to New York Democratic officials and Jewish community leaders about the main threats that a Mamdani administration could pose to Jewish life in the city, and report on Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts’ apology for his controversial video defending Tucker Carlson after Carlson hosted a friendly interview with neo-Nazi leader Nick Fuentes. We also talk to key players in the two-year-long advocacy campaign for the release of the hostages about the days leading up to the return of all the living hostages from Gaza, and interview Sen. James Lankford about key policy issues, including next steps in Gaza. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Elliot Brandt, Yair Lapid and Ambassador Amy Gutmann.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by Jewish Insider Israel Editor Tamara Zieve and U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik, with an assist from Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- The Blue Square Alliance Against Hate (formerly the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism) is hosting its second Sports Leaders Convening at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts today. The full-day event will feature Robert Kraft, the organization’s CEO and owner of the New England Patriots; Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee; Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League; Adam Lehman, CEO of Hillel International; Michael Masters, CEO of the Secure Community Network; and leaders from major sports leagues.
- The 2025 Somos Conference, drawing New York Democrats to gather in Puerto Rico, continues today. New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is expected to attend, beginning his visit tonight with a cocktail reception hosted by New York Attorney General Letita James. JI correspondent Matthew Kassel is at the conference — send any New York political tips his way.
- This morning, the Senate Armed Services Committee is holding a nomination hearing for Alex Velez-Green to be deputy under secretary of defense for policy, coming days after committee lawmakers blasted the Pentagon office and its head, Elbridge Colby, during a contentious hearing for failing to communicate with them.
- The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act, a bill aimed at eliminating loopholes used by museums to possess Nazi-looted artwork that Jewish families have been trying to recover.
- The Edlavitch Jewish Community Center in Washington is beginning a run today screening the movie “The Floaters.” Read JI’s coverage of how the movie came together here.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S Josh Kraushaar and matthew shea
In addition to New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s race, we’ve been spotlighting two other mayoral contests where socialist, anti-Israel candidates were running competitively against more traditionally liberal standard-bearers: in Minneapolis and Seattle.
If Mamdani’s bare 50% majority in the three-way race signaled that a far-left candidate could prevail in a deep-blue city — even while dividing the Democratic Party — the underperformance of the two other far-left challengers on big-city ballots underscores the limited appetite even deep-blue constituencies have for radical politics.
In Minneapolis, Mayor Jacob Frey won reelection to a third term over Democratic Socialists of America-affiliated state Sen. Omar Fateh. The race was close: While Frey held a substantial 10-point lead in the first round of balloting, he narrowly secured a victory by six points (50-44%) in the second round of the city’s ranked-choice election system.
Fateh formed an alliance with two other left-wing candidates in the race, but ultimately enough people who didn’t back Frey in the first round chose him as a second or third preference.
Fateh, a progressive affiliated with the DSA, has accused Israel of committing genocide, among other anti-Israel views, and campaigned with Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who remains one of Israel’s harshest critics in Congress.
Members of Fateh’s staff had also expressed hostile views towards Israel; his communications manager, Ayana Smith-Kooiman, said in a series of now-deleted social media posts that Israel “does not have a ‘right’ to exist” and “must be dismantled,” and said she did not care about Hamas a month after the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks — statements that drew rebuke from Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).
The outcome is also looking favorable for the more-moderate incumbent in Seattle — though far from certain. Mayor Bruce Harrell, who trailed his socialist challenger Katie Wilson during the summer primary, is now leading her in the general election by eight points, 54-46%, with more than three-quarters of votes tallied.
COMMUNITY CONCERNS
New Yorkers elected democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday as the next New York City mayor, ensuring the city will be headed in a leftward ideological direction for the next four years. Mamdani’s election has also sparked widespread concerns in the city’s Jewish community about how the incoming mayor, who refused to condemn “globalize the intifada” rhetoric or acknowledge the State of Israel as a Jewish homeland, would impact the day-to-day life of Jewish New Yorkers. Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen asked senior New York Democratic officials and Jewish community leaders — granted anonymity to offer their candid thoughts — to discuss the top threats that a Mamdani administration could pose to Jewish life in the city.
Chief concerns: Respondents expressed worry that Mamdani’s anti-Israel worldview could lead to heightened antisemitism, bring a vanguard of leftist operatives hostile to Jewish concerns into City Hall, impact the effectiveness of the New York Police Department and fray ties between the city and Israeli institutions or businesses. He has even vowed to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits the city, though experts have voiced doubt on the legality of the move.
FACING THE MUSIC
Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts apologized in a staff meeting on Wednesday for his video last week defending Tucker Carlson and refusing to “cancel” neo-Nazi leader Nick Fuentes, saying that the video was the result of internal failures of communication and consultation that left too few people involved in its production, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. Roberts and other Heritage leaders also repeatedly made reference to a plan under development for how Heritage will approach its relationship with Carlson going forward, amid strong pressure from numerous staff members to forcefully disavow the right-wing podcast host and his activities, but provided little clarity about what that approach will entail and sidestepped the full-throated denunciation of Carlson that several Heritage staffers sought.
Notable quotable: “About ‘no cancelation,’ is there a limiting principle to that? I should have said that there was, especially in light of Tucker hosting not just Fuentes, but a handful of other people,” Roberts said. “You can say you’re not going to participate in canceling someone — a personal friend, an institutional friend — while also being clear you’re not endorsing everything they’ve said. You’re not endorsing softball interviews. You’re not endorsing putting people on shows. And I should have made that clear.”
Update: In a new public video posted following the staff meeting, Roberts delivered a similar message, saying, “everyone has the responsibility to speak up against the scourge of antisemitism, no matter the messenger. Heritage and I will do so, even when my friend Tucker Carlson needs challenging.”
THE INSIDE STORY
When several dozen people gathered at the Kennedy Center for a yoga class overlooking the Potomac River on Oct. 8, the class began with a practice familiar to anyone who regularly does yoga: intention setting. Among those taking part in the class were former hostages and the family members of those still held in Gaza, all of whom had gathered at the same spot a day earlier for a somber event marking two years since the attacks that reshaped their lives. “What do you do in yoga? You set your intention. You think about the release of the hostages,” recalled Matan Sivek, who until last month was the director of the Hostage Families Forum’s U.S. operation. As soon as the class ended, a cacophony of cellphones began ringing as news broke about a possible deal. Sivek, and other key players in the campaign for the hostages, spoke with Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch last week to reflect on the two-year-long advocacy campaign — spearheaded by Sivek, his wife Bar Ben-Yaakov and leading Jewish organizations.
Behind the scenes: Within the Trump administration, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was working behind the scenes on behalf of the hostages. His wife, Allison, was the driving force behind his advocacy. Allison Lutnick had gotten to know many of the families after a trip to Israel early last year, when she met the mother of Omer Shem Tov, a hostage who was freed in February. Allison then connected with Sivek when she moved to Washington this year, and soon after he facilitated a meeting between the Lutnicks and several freed hostages at the Lutnicks’ apartment in Miami. “We spent three three hours together in our apartment talking and sharing. They spoke of the horrors of what they’d been through and we spoke of the horrors of what we had been through 24 years earlier on 9/11,” Allison told JI on Wednesday.
postwar policy
As the global community looks to advance the ceasefire plan in Gaza, Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) emphasized the need for continued pressure from countries like Turkey and Qatar on Hamas to comply with the terms of the ceasefire requiring it to disarm, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. But he also warned that there should be limits on the ways in which Turkey and Qatar are involved in the future of Gaza, arguing that they should have no role in certain sensitive areas, even as they remain involved in reconstruction work.
Looking ahead: Lankford said that ensuring that Hamas disarms, something it has thus far refused to do, will require military, diplomatic and financial pressure, particularly from countries like Turkey and Qatar that have been Hamas patrons. “If the Turks want contracts to be able to rebuild in Gaza, which they do, then that’s not going to happen until Hamas is actually disarmed, so Turkey’s got to decide, ‘Do you want those contracts to be able to rebuild or not?’ If they do, then here’s what that requirement is going to be,” Lankford said. Turkey and Qatar’s roles in the future of Gaza should be limited to certain sectors, Lankford added, given the countries’ hostility to Israel and support for Hamas. He said he’s comfortable seeing Ankara assist with reconstruction, but it should not be involved in running hospitals, schools or mosques or in rebuilding the economy.
TRIP TALK
A delegation organized by AIPAC recently completed a nine-day visit to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea, Jewish Insider’s Danielle Cohen-Kanik has learned, as the pro-Israel lobbying group seeks to promote ties with Israel among key U.S. allies. Over 200 of AIPAC’s largest donors as well as its CEO, Elliot Brandt; board chair, Michael Tuchin; board president, Bernie Kaminetsky; and top professional staff traveled to the region from Oct. 22-30, according to a participant with knowledge of the trip’s background.
Boosting ties: Though Israel already has warm relations with all three countries, as both Israel and the U.S. look to increase ties in the Indo-Pacific region, the trip was meant to highlight the Jewish state’s relevance in its defense prowess, relationship to the U.S., shared democratic values, growing relations to the Gulf states — which have historically provided the Asian nations with much of their oil and gas — and acumen in the technology and business sectors, the participant said. The large group met with high-level leadership in each country, including the Taiwanese president, vice president and secretary-general of its National Security Council, Korean ministers and a Japanese senior diplomat.
New in town: Israeli chef Eyal Shani teased the imminent opening of a new branch of his Miznon restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan, in an Instagram post yesterday.
BOMBSHELL ANNOUNCEMENT
Yair Lapid, Israel’s opposition leader, said on Wednesday that he was pulling his centrist Yesh Atid party out of the World Zionist Organization and called for the “immediate nationalization” of the Keren Kayemeth Le’Israel-Jewish National Fund, which controls more than 10% of the land of Israel, describing the so-called “National Institutions” as hopelessly corrupt, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross reports.
Background: The announcement comes as the World Zionist Congress was nearing a power-sharing agreement that would have seen Yesh Atid split control of the WZO and KKL-JNF over the next five-year term. An initial arrangement was tentatively approved last week, but it fell apart after Culture Minister Miki Zohar of the Likud party, who negotiated on behalf of the center-right bloc, announced that he planned to name Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s divisive son, Yair, to a senior position within the WZO. A new deal was approaching completion, but Lapid’s decision to abandon the organization throws the negotiation process back into turmoil, with no clear path forward.
Read the full story here and sign up for eJewishPhilanthropy’s Your Daily Phil newsletter here.
Worthy Reads
Steer Clear of Mamdani: The center-left Democratic Party think tank Third Way urged national Democrats “to resist the pressure to align” with the politics and agenda of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, offering 10 reasons why doing so “will fail in tough races.” “The DSA platform is extreme and is a Republican ad maker’s dream: Just a glance at the DSA platform makes clear how politically toxic it would be to any voter not deeply in the sway of socialist ideology. … Indeed, the Mayor-elect’s affiliation with the DSA is already being weaponized against his fellow Democrats, as Republicans have declared him to be their ‘single most effective foil’ as they seek to paint Democrats across the country as radicals. … Mainstream Democrats ran authentic campaigns and won big without being socialists: Two moderate Democrats, Abigail Spanberger (VA) and Mikie Sherrill (NJ) delivered historic victories in key gubernatorial races, with Spanberger flipping Virginia from red to blue. … While they shared Mamdani’s focus on addressing affordability, both Spanberger and Sherrill did so with ideas and narratives drawn from the center left, not the far left.” [ThirdWay]
The Fuentes Feud: The New York Times’ Ross Douthat argues that the older generation of conservatives have a role to play in constraining the younger, “groyper” antisemitic strain on the right. “Whatever share of Capitol Hill interns or think tank employees are actually Fuentes sympathizers, this is the scenario the institutional right needs to avoid right now: preventing radicalized junior staffers from steamrolling or puppeteering nominal superiors. But this isn’t just a matter of imposing discipline; the older generation also has to understand where the radical ideas are coming from, the true shape of the debate. You aren’t going to out-debate Fuentes himself — that’s not the business he’s in — but you still want to understand the chain of ideas that draws younger right-wingers toward antisemitism, and offer adult wisdom that’s responsive to its pull.” [NYTimes]
Kippah Quandary: Tevi Troy, a senior fellow at the Ronald Reagan Institute, writes in The Wall Street Journal about his decision to hide his kippah under a hat in anticipation of Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the New York mayoral race. “The reason openly identifiable Jews can walk around safely wearing religious garb is the social compact. There is an understanding that people will behave appropriately and that there are consequences for misbehavior. One reason for the spate of attacks on religious Jews in New York in recent years has been the belief that antisemitic assaults won’t be punished. … My fear is that Mayor Mamdani will encourage even more impunity. His antipathy to Israel, and his tacit support for ‘globalizing the intifada,’ may send a signal to the New York City Police Department that protecting Jews won’t be a priority for the city. That in turn could send another signal to people on the streets of New York — that it is open season on Jews.” [WSJ]
Word on the Street
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani named his transition team on Wednesday, an all-female group of advisors with experience in city government but lacking backgrounds in education and public safety, as has historically been included in mayors’ transition teams…
Robert Tucker, the Jewish commissioner of the New York City Fire Department, resigned, The New York Post reports, hours before he was set to fly to Israel to meet his counterpart there…
The Wall Street Journal considers the economics behind Mamdani’s largest campaign promises, including a state corporate tax hike, a “millionaires tax,” universal child care and rent stabilization…
The Times of Israel’s Editor-in-Chief David Horovitz rejects the argument that Mamdani’s victory is based on local issues and unconnected to his anti-Israel positions, describing it as “delusional”…
Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) announced on Wednesday that he will not seek reelection in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, citing the “increasing incivility and plain nastiness” in politics and rise of political violence. Golden is one of the few House Democrats to represent a district that President Donald Trump carried in the 2024 presidential election, and his district is now a prime GOP pickup opportunity…
Former Democratic National Committee Vice Chair Michael Blake announced a primary campaign against Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), and plans to run as an anti-Israel Democrat…
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz met Tuesday with Palestinian diplomats in New York to discuss a U.S.-sponsored U.N. Security Council resolution laying out an international security force to be deployed to Gaza, Axios reports. The U.S. is reportedly looking to bring it to a vote at the UNSC within two weeks…
The U.S. is seeking to strike a deal over dozens of Hamas terrorists “stuck” in tunnels on the Israeli side of the “yellow line” dividing Gaza, providing them safe passage to the Hamas-controlled side and amnesty in exchange for their disarmament, Axios reports…
The U.S. is preparing to establish a military presence at an airbase in Damascus in order to advance a security agreement between Syria and Israel, sources told Reuters…
An event with IDF veterans hosted by Students Supporting Israel at Toronto Metropolitan University yesterday was stormed by anti-Israel protesters, causing one person to be injured. The university’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) had publicized the event on social media, calling on its followers to demonstrate against it…
The body of Joshua Loitu Mollel, a Tanzanian citizen and agronomy student who was killed and kidnapped in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, was returned to Israel by Hamas last night…
Recently released hostage Rom Braslavski said he was sexually assaulted by his captors in Gaza, in an interview with Israel’s Channel 13 “Hazinor” program…
An Afghan national was arrested in Denmark on Wednesday on suspicion of promising to acquire weapons for an Iranian-backed attack on Jewish targets in Germany…
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund was named on Monday as the presenting partner for the inaugural America Business Forum, taking place now in Miami. President Donald Trump spoke at the event, which took place across the street from the future site of his presidential library, on Wednesday…
Saudi Arabia is in talks with Syria to build data cables to connect the Gulf state to Europe, according to Semafor…
Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Israel this week and discussed prospects for peace in the region. Balakrishnan also met with several Israeli lawmakers during his visit…
Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS fashion brand announced on Tuesday that it is entering the Israeli market through a partnership with the Ironi group, which owns Factory 54, and is set to open stores in Ramat Aviv Mall and Big Fashion Glilot, Israel Hayom reports…
Warner Bros. Discovery, under CEO David Zaslav, aims to decide by Christmas whether to sell the entire company or pursue a split. Paramount Skydance, according to NBC, has sent the WBD board multiple letters pressing for its $23.50 per share acquisition offer…
A Reddit rumor, flagged by Puck, claims that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has been planning to make a buyout offer for Warner Bros. to the tune of more than $70 billion…
Joel Pollak, formerly Breitbart’s senior editor-at-large, has been appointed as opinion editor of The New York Post’s new newspaper, The California Post…
Israel’s Hapoel Tel Aviv basketball team is facing off against the Dubai team today in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Round 9 of the EuroCup…
Pic of the Day
The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia last night honored Ambassador Amy Gutmann with the Only in America Award, lauding her “indelible contributions to our society.”
“She has been an outspoken advocate for Israel, and steadfast in her forceful opposition to antisemitism, hate, and discrimination in all its forms,” the museum said of the former ambassador to Germany and president emerita of the University of Pennsylvania.
Pictured from left: Weitzman Chair Emeritus Phil Darivoff, Weitzman Co-chairs Sharon Tobin Kestenbaum and Mark Oster, former Ambassador David L. Cohen, University of Pennsylvania President Dr. Larry Jameson, Gutmann, Weitzman Museum President and CEO Dan Tadmor, museum namesake Stuart Weitzman, NBC News Chief Washington Correspondent and Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell, Chair of the Penn Board of Trustees Ramanan Raghavendran.
Birthdays
Leading teacher in the Breslov Hasidic movement in Israel, Rabbi Yaakov Meir Shechter turns 95…
Belgian theoretical physicist, a Holocaust survivor and 2013 Nobel Prize laureate, François Englert turns 93… Former president and CEO of American Jewish World Service until 2016, prior to that she served as the Manhattan borough president, Ruth Wyler Messinger turns 85… Former commissioner of the Social Security Administration until 2021, Andrew Saul turns 79… Former aide to President Bill Clinton and a longtime advisor to Hillary Clinton, Sidney Blumenthal turns 77… Research scientist at NYU’s Langone Medical Center, Barbara Volsky turns 75… Senior chair of Sullivan & Cromwell, Joseph C. Shenker turns 69… Actress and cellist best known for her lead role in the 1984 film “Footloose” and the television series “Fame,” Lori Singer… and her twin brother, violinist, composer and conductor, he is the founder and music director of the Manhattan Symphonie, Gregory Singer both turn 68… Managing director of the NFL Players Association for 15 years until he retired five months ago, Ira Fishman turns 68… Editorial page editor and Op-Ed columnist for the Los Angeles Times until 2023, Nicholas Goldberg turns 67… Professional poker player from Las Vegas, he has won 10 World Series of Poker bracelets and his total tournament winnings exceed $45.5 million, Erik Seidel turns 66… Founder of Nourish Snacks, she is the host of NBC’s “Health & Happiness” and author of 15 New York Times best-sellers, Joy Bauer turns 62… Philanthropist, she is the founder and chair of Emerson Collective and XQ Institute, Laurene Powell Jobs turns 62… Principal and COO at Douglass Winthrop Advisors, Andrew S. Weinberg… SVP of investments in the Beverly Hills office of Raymond James, Seth A. Radow… Chairman at IDTFS Bank in Gibraltar, he is a partner in Covenant Winery, Geoffrey Rochwarger turns 55… Executive at Elliott Management, podcast host and author of Start-up Nation and The Genius of Israel, Dan Senor turns 54… Director of external affairs at the William Davidson Foundation, Kari Alterman… Film producer, together with her husband Robert Downey Jr., Susan Nicole Levin Downey turns 52… South Florida entrepreneur, Earl J. Campos-Devine… Head cantor of Lincoln Square Synagogue in New York City, Yaakov (“Yanky”) Lemmer turns 42… and his younger brother, the first Hasidic Jew to sign a contract with a leading record label, Shulem Lemmer turns 36… Producer on the Ben Shapiro Show, Jake Pollack turns 30… Former baseball outfielder in the Orioles and Angels systems, he played for Team Israel in 2012 and is now a manager of business development at Robson Forensic, Robert Eric Widlansky turns 41…
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and his wife, Allison, supported the creation of the sukkah through their family foundation
Liri Agami
Former hostages Noa Argamani (left) and Edan Alexander (center) stand with Daniel Neutra, brother of hostage Omer Neutra, and other hostage family members at a memorial event at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 7, 2025.
Oct. 7 bloomed warm and sunny in Washington this year as dozens of Jewish community leaders and bipartisan political officials gathered somberly at a pavilion at the Kennedy Center to mark two years since the Hamas terror attacks in Israel.
A large sukkah, deemed the “Sukkah of Hope,” had a simple message displayed: “Two years in captivity. We can bring them home,” with photos of the 48 people, living and dead, still held captive by Hamas in Gaza. Several former hostages and the family members of those still in Gaza walked up to the stage inside the sukkah, one after the other, all with variations on the same message: Thank you, President Trump, they said. Bring our loved ones home.
“President Trump, we are thankful for what you’ve done, for your determination, for the time and energy you’ve given to this cause,” said Liran Berman, whose twin brothers, Gali and Ziv, remain in Gaza.
“We are really grateful and hopeful. I’m glad that this man, Donald Trump, is behind us,” said Iair Horn, who in February returned to Israel after 498 days in Hamas captivity. His younger brother, Eitan, is still being held in Gaza.
Their appeal to the president’s dealmaking prowess came after the Hostages and Missing Families Forum nominated Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize, an honor he has long coveted. The president sent a letter to the former hostages and the hostage families early Tuesday thanking them for the nomination and expressing his commitment “to returning all the hostages home, and ensuring the total destruction of Hamas so these horrific acts may never be repeated.”
The Sukkah of Hope was supposed to be constructed on the Ellipse, outside the White House. But the government shutdown meant that could not happen. Still, its move to the Kennedy Center did not keep high-level government officials from visiting.
Before the memorial service, several Cabinet secretaries had breakfast with the former hostages and hostage family members. In attendance were Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Ronen Neutra, whose son Omer was killed on Oct. 7 and whose body is being held hostage by Hamas, said the Cabinet members sounded optimistic about the possibility of a deal.
“We are hearing from the Cabinet members their optimism that we might be getting closer to a deal,” Neutra said. “But I think what is more important for us, or as important, is to hear the commitment that [we] have been hearing from President Trump, that this has to happen, and this is on his top priority list, and I think it trickles down.”
Lutnick and his wife, Allison, supported the creation of the sukkah through their family foundation.
“Donald Trump is the driving force of peace in this world,” Lutnick said at the memorial event. “The United States of America is together with the hostages and the hostage families. We are part of you, we are with you and we will help get them home.”
In the crowd at the event were Noa Argamani, Edan Alexander, Keith Siegel, Arbel Yehoud, Doron Steinbrecher and Ilana Gritzewsky, all of whom survived Hamas captivity. Alexander, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, and the Neutra family met with Trump at the White House on Tuesday afternoon.
At the memorial, several outlined the torture they face and they fears they harbor for loved ones who remain in Gaza.
“There are no words in any language to describe what I went through,” said Yehoud, whose partner, Ariel Cunio, 28, remains in Gaza. “Even as I stand here before you, I’m not really there. A massive part of me is still there, trapped in that darkness, and I will remain there until my Ariel and everyone comes home.”
The Florida Democrat has shifted away from commitments he made to Jewish leaders during his first run for Congress, fueling frustration among former supporters
Courtesy
Maxwell Frost
When Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) won his first election to the House in 2022, Jewish leaders in his Orlando, Fla., district who had been encouraged by his personal outreach were optimistic he would follow through on a range of commitments he had made vowing to uphold support for Israel.
Despite some initial concerns about his history of involvement in pro-Palestinian demonstrations as well as relationships with anti-Israel activists, Frost had circulated a lengthy Middle East position paper in consultation, in part, with a top pro-Israel group that largely assuaged lingering reservations among Jewish community leaders over the sincerity of his views.
In the paper as well as a candidate questionnaire solicited by Jewish Insider during his first primary, the young progressive organizer, describing himself as both “pro-Israel” and “pro-Palestinian,” voiced opposition to conditioning aid to Israel — arguing that the security threats facing the Jewish state are “far too grave” to enact such measures. In backing a two-state solution, he clarified that any agreement should require “the basic recognition that Israel has a right to exist” as well as “an end to the antisemitic rhetoric and positions of Hamas.” And if elected, he pledged to visit Israel — which he called “one of the United States’ most important allies and strategic partners.”
Now, almost midway into his second term, Jewish and pro-Israel leaders are expressing some buyer’s remorse as Frost, 28, has embraced positions that put him at odds with his past commitments, fueling frustration among those who had believed he would be a more dependable ally on key issues concerning Israel.
Frost, for his part, insists that the humanitarian conditions in Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza have deteriorated so drastically during his tenure that he had no choice but to change his views, though that has not quelled discontent among his former allies.
“He has broken a lot of promises,” said one Jewish leader, echoing others who expressed dismay with Frost’s turn in Congress.
The most recent move to draw scrutiny from Jewish and pro-Israel leaders is a letter Frost signed urging the Trump administration to recognize a Palestinian state over growing concerns with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The letter, signed by several prominent House progressives and led by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) — who plans to introduce a similar resolution — said such a state “will need to fully recognize Israel” and guarantee “the disarmament of and relinquishing of power by Hamas.” But pro-Israel activists broadly see the renewed effort as a misguided concession to Hamas amid the ongoing war — as the terror group seeks to leverage international outrage over Israel’s military conduct.
Democratic Majority for Israel, whose political arm had provided input on Frost’s position paper during his primary, took issue with his decision to join the letter. While the group felt sufficiently comfortable with Frost’s Middle East policy views when he first ran for Congress, opting not to intervene on behalf of a top primary rival who had won an endorsement from its super PAC, it has become dissatisfied with his approach as he has continued to stake out more adversarial stances toward Israel during his time in the House.
“We strongly support a two-state solution that ensures Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state with recognized borders and upholds the right of Palestinians to live in freedom and security in a viable state of their own,” Brian Romick, DMFI’s president, said in a statement to JI on Tuesday. “But unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state at this time — as the terrorist group Hamas still governs parts of Gaza and continues to hold Israeli hostages — would not advance peace. It will instead prolong the war by incentivizing Hamas to reject any ceasefire deal, and reward the terrorism we saw on Oct. 7 while making future acts of terror more likely.”
In addition to the letter — which followed a similar resolution he co-sponsored in 2023 during his first term — Frost in May joined legislation to place unprecedented new conditions on aid to Israel by withholding offensive weapons over its alleged violations of international law.
Last year, he also voted against a widely approved bill to provide supplemental aid to Israel six months after Hamas’ attacks. In a statement explaining his thinking at the time, Frost wrote that he was “only able to justify aid for defense, not offense, and this legislation did not allow me to separate the two,” as the war “has claimed the lives of countless innocent Palestinian civilians and brought us no closer to the return of innocent Israeli hostages held by Hamas.”
“For me, the North Star here is having a two-state solution, and everything, all the decisions we make, have to point to that,” Frost said, arguing that he has remained consistent in upholding his core beliefs on the conflict even as his positions on specific policies have changed since he launched his initial campaign for Congress. “The thing I have in mind is the safety and security of everybody, of Israel, of Palestinians — of everybody.”
Meanwhile, Frost has yet to fulfill his campaign vow to travel to Israel, and has declined invitations to do so while in Congress, according to a person familiar with the matter.
In an interview on Wednesday, Frost acknowledged that his approach has changed since he entered the House, attributing his new positions to his revulsion at Israel’s behavior in Gaza — which he described as “completely unacceptable” and “abhorrent” in light of the civilian death toll. “In terms of specific policy points, things have changed,” Frost told JI. “Things have changed a lot — and unfortunately, not for the better.”
“For me, the North Star here is having a two-state solution, and everything, all the decisions we make, have to point to that,” he added, arguing that he has remained consistent in upholding his core beliefs on the conflict even as his positions on specific policies have changed since he launched his initial campaign for Congress. “The thing I have in mind is the safety and security of everybody, of Israel, of Palestinians — of everybody.”
Even as he condemned Hamas and said the terror group should have no role in rebuilding postwar Gaza, Frost said the conflict has evolved into what he regards as a “war on innocent people,” resulting in “massive loss of innocent life” that has fueled his decision to speak up against the Israeli government and its ongoing military campaign.
In the Middle East position paper he wrote in his first primary, Frost had rejected placing additional conditions on aid to Israel because, he wrote at the time, it would “undermine Israel’s ability to defend itself against the very serious threats it faces.” But he explained on Wednesday he had also felt such measures were “already written into the law” and “we didn’t really need to go further” in enforcing it at the time.
Now, however, “I do believe that the law is being violated,” he told JI, clarifying his recent support for legislation that seeks to withhold transfers of offensive weapons to Israel. “Because of that, we have to look at the way that we are both complicit but also encouraging the current behavior of the Netanyahu government,” he said.
Unlike a handful of his far-left House colleagues who have accused Israel of carrying out a genocide in Gaza, Frost hesitated to use the term himself, calling it a “difficult” word because of its historical connection to the Holocaust. Still, he said he would not seek to discourage others from such charges. “I’m not going to sit here and defend what is going on right now in any way, shape or form,” he said. “I understand why people use that word. But when we see what’s going on, it’s hard to find the words for it.”
“There’s a lot of things to hold, but the main thing is, yes, there are many things that have changed,” he reiterated. “But for me, what has not changed is the main goal, which is making sure that everyone’s safe and everyone’s secure.”
Frost is hardly alone among Democratic lawmakers who in recent months have become more critical of Israel’s behavior, with even some of the staunchest supporters of the Jewish state struggling to defend the Israeli government as the humanitarian situation in Gaza has continued to worsen nearly two years into the war.
“It’s a radical shift,” one community activist told JI, voicing frustration with Frost’s positions, even as he described their ongoing conversations as “very open and honest.”
His vacillating stances also illustrate some of the cross-pressures facing progressive Democrats who are not completely aligned with the party’s far left on its hostility toward Israel. Pro-Israel Democrats have recently voiced their concerns that anti-Israel policies could become a litmus test for the left in the midterms, particularly amid Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s moves to occupy the enclave.
But Jewish community leaders in Frost’s district, who spoke on condition of anonymity to address what they characterize as an increasingly delicate relationship with the congressman, explained they are particularly disappointed with his evolution on Middle East policy, given their initial hopes that he would be among a dwindling number of progressive allies committed to defending Israel in the House.
“It’s a radical shift,” one community activist told JI, voicing frustration with Frost’s positions, even as he described their ongoing conversations as “very open and honest.”
The activist noted that Frost, who had been a prominent gun control advocate before he was elected to Congress, has “a good heart and doesn’t want to see people dying.” But “as a result,” he said, Frost has “a lot of blind spots” in his assessment of the conflict. The activist argued that Frost’s critique of Israel’s conduct in Gaza has ignored Hamas’ role in perpetuating the crisis as it refuses to surrender.
“At the end of the day, he very much comes from the ‘oppressor-oppressed’ worldview and sees Israel as the oppressor,” the activist said.
Frost, for his part, said his statements have been misconstrued by a wide range of critics across the spectrum, including pro-Palestinian activists who allege that he made separate commitments during his first primary bid that he has failed to uphold in Congress.
He stressed that he does not “do tit-for-tat stuff” while addressing the war. “Whenever I post about the hostages, I’ll have people sending me messages. ‘What about this?’ No,” he said. “Whenever I post about Palestinians, I’ll have people saying, ‘What about this?’ No, I will post about it all. I will talk about it all. I will say how I feel about everything.”
“I’m very firm in that, just coming from a place of, since I was 15 years old, being involved in the fight to end gun violence, and have grown up through a movement of death,” he told JI. “I just don’t think that’s the way to live as a human, quite frankly.”
“We’ve been disappointed that he has not met the commitments he gave to us,” one DMFI source told JI. “At the same time, we’re grateful that he has come to realize he made a mistake in at least one case, but members of Congress should think through their votes fully and discuss them with knowledgeable people before casting them.”
Even as Jewish and pro-Israel leaders say their relationships with Frost have worsened in recent months, frustration over his approach to Israel has been mounting since his first term, when he called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza just days after Hamas’ terror attacks. As a freshman, he also voted against a resolution condemning rising antisemitic activity on college campuses, but he later said that vote had been a mistake after meeting with Jewish students in his district.
While Frost had shown contrition for his vote on the resolution in November 2023, DMFI still expressed dissatisfaction with his initial decision at the time — alleging he had not performed proper due diligence beforehand. “We’ve been disappointed that he has not met the commitments he gave to us,” one DMFI source told JI not long after the vote.
“At the same time, we’re grateful that he has come to realize he made a mistake in at least one case, but members of Congress should think through their votes fully and discuss them with knowledgeable people before casting them,” the source stated.
A spokesperson for Frost told JI at the time that the congressman “is trying to hold multiple truths all at once” as he receives input from constituents pushing opposing interests.
“I’m very comfortable with the decisions I’ve made,” Frost said of his approach to Israel. “As I walk the streets of my district, as I speak with the people in my district, this is where I find most people are at. They’re not really at the extremes that I’ve heard from.”
Speaking with JI on Wednesday, Frost said he has appreciated his ongoing discussions with pro-Israel leaders in his district — even if they have not been aligned on major policy questions in recent months. “Hearing their perspective is really important,” he confirmed. “What I always tell people is I might not always come to the conclusion that you agree with,” he said, “but I hope you’ll always feel I’ve engaged in good faith.”
He suggested that Jewish community activists who have been irked by his approach to the Middle East have not fully reckoned with his belief that Israel’s military actions have damaged its reputation in the United States. “It’s palpable across the country, and I think a lot of this has to do with the decisions that are being made by Netanyahu,” he argued.
“I’m very comfortable with the decisions I’ve made,” Frost said of his approach to Israel. “As I walk the streets of my district, as I speak with the people in my district, this is where I find most people are at. They’re not really at the extremes that I’ve heard from.”
When he assumed office in 2023, Frost had sought guidance from pro-Israel Democrats including Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), who enthusiastically backed his campaign, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), one person familiar with the matter told JI. But the congressman has since drifted away from the two lawmakers on Israel while staking out positions that have put him more in line with the far left.
More recently, Frost has built closer relationships with such leading Israel critics as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), the source told JI, even if he has resisted identifying as an official member of the so-called Squad of progressive House Democrats.
Owing in part to his network in Congress, Jewish community leaders are doubtful Frost will change his views on Israel. “It may be the best that we can hope is that he doesn’t become an actual member of the Squad,” said one activist, while noting that Frost is “totally safe” in his deeply blue district as he seeks a third term next year.
Still, the activist said, “his refusal to actually go and see” Israel “first-hand is a problem,” particularly in light of his primary vow to visit the Jewish state as a congressman.
Frost, who acknowledged the commitment that he had made, said he hopes to see the region “at some point,” but added that it has “been difficult to figure out the timing.”
After the interview, Frost asked his spokesperson to clarify that he would “like to travel to the region at a point where he’d be able to visit both Israel and the Gaza Strip,” indicating a potential visit is unlikely to occur in the foreseeable future.
The senator asked several pro-Israel organizations to refrain from involvement in races where he endorsed candidates without Jewish communal support
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) talks to campaign volunteers on Election Day on November 08, 2022 in Tucson, Arizona.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) is facing new scrutiny from some Jewish community leaders in Arizona who are frustrated by his endorsements boosting the activist left in a series of recent House primaries in which he has withheld support for pro-Israel candidates and has even worked to actively oppose their campaigns behind the scenes, according to people familiar with the matter.
Kelly’s engagement has strained what had been seen as a positive relationship with the pro-Israel community in Arizona, according to multiple local Jewish leaders who have voiced disappointment with his approach. Meanwhile, his recent interventions have raised questions about the political motivations of the Democratic senator in a key battleground state who has long been associated with his party’s moderate, centrist wing.
The most recent source of tension with Jewish and pro-Israel leaders stems from Kelly’s endorsement of Adelita Grijalva in a Tucson House primary this month to succeed her late father, former Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), a longtime critic of Israel who died in March.
While the younger Grijalva, a former Pima County supervisor, has a limited record of commentary on Israel and Middle East policy, her affiliation with a range of far-left leaders, including Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), has raised concerns among mainstream Jewish activists who favored one of her primary opponents, Daniel Hernandez, a former state lawmaker and pro-Israel progressive.
Grijalva, who struggled to articulate her positions on key issues such as conditioning aid to Israel — suggesting during the race, for instance, that U.S. involvement in the ongoing conflict “has not been helpful at all” — handily won the primary and is all but assured a seat in the deeply Democratic district.
“Senator Kelly supports Adelita because she’s ready to fight for his home district in Congress, and clearly the district agrees,” a spokesperson for Kelly said in a statement to Jewish Insider on Thursday. “He respects that some folks may have a difference of opinion, and values the strong relationships he has in the Arizona Jewish community.”
Still, the pro-Israel community in Arizona was troubled that Kelly had bolstered her campaign, owing in part to their differences in tone on Middle East policy. Among other issues, Grijalva called for a ceasefire just 10 days after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks, whereas Kelly expressed continued support for Israel in the aftermath of the incursion and faced protesters outside his Phoenix office who demanded he back an end to the war. While serving as a county supervisor, Grijalva had also reluctantly voted for a resolution condemning Hamas, voicing frustration that she “couldn’t talk about peace and humanitarian aid” for Gaza.
One Jewish activist in Tucson, who like others spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid reprisals, called Kelly’s endorsement “a slap in the face” to the pro-Israel community in Arizona. “He tries to make himself seem like a very moderate, pro-Israel guy — especially when he’s fundraising,” the local activist claimed. “There’s a lot of mistrust in the community right now.”
From an even more personal standpoint, the senator and his wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) — who also endorsed Grijalva — have long been close with Hernandez and his family. In 2011, Hernandez, who was then a 20-year-old intern for Giffords, had been credited with helping to save her life immediately after she was shot in the head by a gunman during a political event in the Tucson area.
Despite such history, Kelly privately urged a leading pro-Israel group, Democratic Majority for Israel, to stay out of the primary, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke with JI this week. The organization’s political arm, DMFI PAC, ultimately endorsed Hernandez a month before the election, but it did not invest financial resources in the race, where polling indicated he was unlikely to prevail. He came in third place with just 14% of the vote.
“If you know the story, your mouth was wide open,” one Jewish community leader in Arizona remarked on Kelly’s decision to oppose Hernandez. “It could easily have been ‘I can’t help you but I’m not going to hurt you.’ But it wasn’t — it was like a stab in the heart.”
In a statement to JI on Wednesday, a spokesperson for DMFI PAC — which has backed Kelly in both of his previous Senate races — said the group “makes its own decisions on endorsements and spending,” adding, “No one else does.”
Hernandez did not respond to a message seeking comment.
Thomas J. Volgy, a former mayor of Tucson and a professor of political science at the University of Arizona, pushed back against accusations that Kelly is now emboldening the party’s far left. He said that Kelly is “not a single-issue politician” and had likely endorsed Grijalva based on “his understanding that she was the most qualified candidate in the field” — and “because she is consistent with his position on a range of issues, including on Israel but also across the spectrum.”
In a more closely contested Phoenix House race last cycle, Kelly had also engaged in private outreach to AIPAC, asking the pro-Israel lobbying group to keep away from the open-seat race in which he endorsed Raquel Terán, a left-leaning former state lawmaker and party chair, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
Like Grijalva, Terán, a prominent progressive activist who drew support from Squad-aligned House members, refused to publicly clarify her views on key Middle East policy questions during the race, fueling concerns among Jewish leaders who had backed Yassamin Ansari, a former vice mayor of Phoenix endorsed by DMFI’s political arm. Terán had also drawn criticism from Jewish community members over her decision to oppose an antisemitism reporting bill that had been widely approved by the Arizona state Legislature while she was in office.
In his outreach to AIPAC, whose super PAC has engaged in several recent primaries, Kelly sought to allay reservations with Terán’s continued lack of clarity on Middle East policy issues, offering assurances that if she were elected, he would help to personally oversee her House votes related to Israel, according to people familiar with the situation.
A spokesperson for AIPAC, which chose not to get involved in the race last year, declined to comment.
Ansari, the first Iranian-American to hold public office in Arizona who had explicitly opposed placing conditions on aid to Israel, won the primary by just 39 votes after a closely watched recount, buoyed in part by nearly $300,000 in outside spending from DMFI PAC.
Jason Morris, a pro-Israel activist and attorney in suburban Phoenix who supported Ansari and was informed of Kelly’s conversation with AIPAC during the race, said he found the senator’s endorsement of Terán “baffling,” and he voiced skepticism about the senator’s apparent proposal to serve as a counsel on Middle East issues in Congress.
Morris acknowledged that he assesses candidates “from a much more narrow perspective than the senator,” a former NASA astronaut and Navy pilot who is perhaps best known for his advocacy on gun control. But he said that Kelly’s efforts have left an impression that the senator is largely unconcerned about rising hostility toward Israel within the party, arguing that his endorsements are, inadvertently or not, “fueling the left and the most progressive Israel haters in the Capitol.”
Jewish and pro-Israel activists in Arizona have been puzzled over Kelly’s moves, with some speculating that he is seeking to appease the left even as he continues to be identified as a moderate Democrat. “He’s watched the party shift to the left in Arizona,” one pro-Israel leader told JI, arguing that Kelly has helped “create a permission structure” in the state for establishment Democrats to support candidates who are not seen as dependable allies on Israel. “I think he thinks he can have his cake and eat it too.”
“He wants to make sure that he’s got cred with the lefties,” another Jewish community leader said of Kelly, who saw his national profile rise last year as he was cited among a handful of candidates under consideration to be former Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate. “In the Jewish community in Arizona, there’s a growing anxiety of, is this what’s to come?”
Kelly, who has visited Israel at least twice since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, has maintained his support for Israel in the Senate, even as he has been a critic of Israel’s military actions in Gaza and its handling of the unfolding humanitarian crisis in the enclave.
Last year, he raised the prospect of conditioning aid to Israel if the country did not “do better” to prevent civilian deaths in Gaza, though he later clarified that he was not yet ready to support such measures.
More recently, he has registered concerns with President Donald Trump’s decision to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities without congressional approval. In April, Kelly, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, was among just three Democrats who broke with his party to confirm Elbridge Colby as under secretary of defense for policy — despite the nominee’s public skepticism of support for Ukraine and comments on containing a nuclear Iran that had provoked anxiety in the pro-Israel community.
But while some pro-Israel leaders in Arizona have interpreted such activity as a sign that Kelly is now beginning to gradually move away from reflexively backing Israel, Morris, the Phoenix-based attorney, said he is more concerned about what he called the senator’s “indifference” to the pro-Israel community as it raises objections to his recent endorsements in key House races.
“Ultimately,” Morris told JI in a recent interview, “you have to conclude that this is about what’s best for the senator — and not necessarily what’s best for the pro-Israel community.”
Adams, in launching his campaign Thursday, said the race is between ‘a candidate with a blue collar’ and one with a ‘silver spoon’
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks during a press conference at City Hall on June 26, 2025 in New York City.
Days after New York state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani’s stunning upset in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City, an emerging effort to block his path to Gracie Mansion is now beginning to materialize among a coalition of Jewish community leaders, business executives and Republican donors who have expressed alarm about his far-left policies and strident opposition to Israel.
While still in its nascent stage, the anti-Mamdani coalition is coalescing behind Eric Adams, the embattled mayor who skipped the primary to run as an independent and launched his reelection bid on Thursday. The mayor, who a day before in an appearance on “Fox & Friends” had called Mamdani a “snake-oil salesman,” is gearing up for a public brawl with the 33-year-old assemblyman and democratic socialist aiming to unseat him.
“This election is a choice between a candidate with a blue collar and one with a silver spoon,” Adams said in his campaign announcement on the steps of City Hall, depicting Mamdani, the son of a Columbia University professor and a filmmaker, as privileged.
Political strategists say Mamdani, who upset former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary and would enter the general election as the presumptive front-runner, is a formidable nominee, particularly as the scandal-tarred mayor confronts dismal favorability numbers owing largely to the federal corruption charges he avoided while forging an unpopular alliance with the Trump administration.
But some opponents of Mamdani view Adams as the most effective vehicle to stop the presumptive Democratic nominee from winning in November, and are readying for a fight. Among other possible efforts now in the works is a “big push” to create an independent expenditure committee backed by real estate executives and other donors to boost Adams’ campaign, according to one consultant familiar with the matter.
“That’s definitely going to happen,” the consultant told Jewish Insider on Thursday, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing private deliberations. “People aren’t going to be taking this easy and just dealing with Mamdani,” he explained, noting the pro-Israel donor community could join the outside spending effort. “I’m sure some people are, but the people who have a lot to lose aren’t.”
Eric Levine, a top Republican fundraiser in New York City, endorsed Adams on Wednesday and said in an interview that he believes it is a “feasible” goal to reelect the mayor, provided that Cuomo stays out of the race and Curtis Sliwa, the GOP nominee, ends his campaign in order to avoid splintering the vote.
While Cuomo has yet to confirm if he will run on an independent ballot line, Sliwa has rejected growing calls for him to step aside. Jim Walden, a lawyer, is also running as an independent in what has become an unusually crowded race.
Levine, a board member of the Republican Jewish Coalition, said that he had received overwhelmingly positive responses since announcing his support for Adams in an email sent to 2,000 people — including from Democrats who backed Cuomo in the primary. “I’ve gotten feedback from a lot of people that this is a five-alarm fire and they’re going to line up behind Adams,” Levine told JI on Thursday, adding that he was “seriously considering” organizing a fundraiser for Adams and is hopeful Republican leaders would attend.
One strategist suggested that Adams could face backlash for campaigning with Republicans in the heavily Democratic city, especially as he has drawn scrutiny over his ties to the Trump administration. But the mayor will likely need to win support from a significant portion of GOP voters if he has any hope of building a viable coalition that has included Black and Orthodox Jewish residents whom Mamdani, with a long record of anti-Israel activism, has struggled to win over.
“Eric Adams has been a friend since his first days in office,” Leon Goldenberg, an executive board member of the Flatbush Jewish Community Coalition, said in a social media post. “Fighting antisemitism and standing with the Jewish community is in his DNA. The stakes are very high.”
The Jewish community, which overwhelmingly backed Cuomo in the primary, is expected to throw its support behind Adams, promising to deliver key voting blocs in November. Adams, who announced his reelection campaign alongside Orthodox leaders on Thursday, has long-standing ties to the community and during the primary engaged in a covert pressure campaign to try to influence the endorsement deliberations as Cuomo won backing from major Hasidic sects.
Leon Goldenberg, an executive board member of the Flatbush Jewish Community Coalition, said on Thursday he was supporting Adams’ campaign, the first endorsement from an Orthodox leader in what is anticipated to be many more heading into the fall.
“Eric Adams has been a friend since his first days in office,” Goldenberg, who has expressed concerns about Mamdani’s rise, said in a social media post. “Fighting antisemitism and standing with the Jewish community is in his DNA. The stakes are very high.”
Shabbos Kestenbaum, an Orthodox activist close to the Trump administration, has backed Adams and is also now seeking to rally support for his bid while urging Sliwa to drop out of the race. He said he was not yet at liberty to divulge specific names, but told JI he had been in communication with “Wall Street executives” as well as “young student activists” and a range of religious leaders about working to reelect Adams.
“There has really been a profound resurgence of a diverse coalition who truly, truly are terrified of Mamdani’s socialist dystopian future for New York City,” Kestenbaum said.
Still, no major financial commitments appear to have been made yet, even as Adams reportedly met with business leaders this week to discuss the race. “People haven’t made decisions,” said a person who has met with donors about the election. “Those types of decisions can’t be made in two or three hours.”
“A lot of people are talking about Eric. I just don’t see it in terms of being a contender,” George Arzt, a veteran political consultant, told JI. “Mamdani is very articulate. He is very likable. He’s got to prove himself to the real estate community and to the Jewish community.”
Jay Martin, executive vice president of the New York Apartment Association, said his organization “isn’t making any decisions for a little while,” but he added that his peers in the industry would likely be rallying behind the mayor. “I think they are going to see what they can do with Adams at the moment,” he told JI.
Mamdani, who has won some support from Democratic leaders since Tuesday’s primary, has dismissed the gestating efforts to corral support for Adams, saying that they will prove ineffective as his movement continues to gain traction. “What we have shown in this primary is our ability to overcome the same billionaires who may fund Eric Adams’s re-election campaign,” he told The New York Times, “and ultimately we’re able to do so because of the power of New Yorkers across the five boroughs.”
George Arzt, a veteran political consultant, said he was doubtful Adams would be able to win re-election as mayor, even as he acknowledged that there are “a lot of people” in the real estate industry and the Jewish community who are “very worried” about Mamdani, who has proposed rent freezes while defending calls to “globalize the intifada,” among other things.
“A lot of people are talking about Eric. I just don’t see it in terms of being a contender,” Arzt told JI. “Mamdani is very articulate. He is very likable. He’s got to prove himself to the real estate community and to the Jewish community.”
Jerry Skurnik, a senior consultant for Engage Voters U.S., a political consulting firm, said that “it will be very hard to defeat Mamdani in November,” noting that after the ranked-choice voting count is finalized, “he’ll have received over 500,000 votes.”
“That’s a pretty good start to a majority as he’ll have opportunity to then add votes from Democrats who didn’t vote in the primary and Democratic-leaning independents,” Skurnik added, before including a caveat. “On the other hand, I didn’t think Mamdani had a chance to win the primary until recently, so I don’t rule out anything.”
Mayoral Photography Office
Amid a dramatic wave of antisemitic violence, Jewish community leaders excoriated NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio during a roundtable — which was closed to the media — in Borough Park on Thursday, Jewish Insider has learned.
According to several attendees who spoke on condition of anonymity, community leaders challenged the mayor over his response to the situation and expressed their disaffection about a lack of coordination with local NYPD precincts.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, de Blasio said, “It’s going to take a lot of work at the grassroots to change hearts and minds. We have got to get to the day, and we’ve got to get there soon, where Jewish people in the city never have to worry about walking down the street, never have to worry about their safety.”
During the meeting, one of the leaders criticized the Democratic mayor for “politicizing” the issue of antisemitism by “pointing fingers” at President Trump, according to audio obtained by Jewish Insider. De Blasio pushed back, insisting that “the reality is” that the president “unleashed the forces of hatred” and it would be “dishonest” to claim that the threat doesn’t come from white supremacists and the alt-right.
De Blasio also defended critics of Israel in the Democratic Party, emphasizing that it is generally directed at the Netanyahu government. He added, “I am a Democrat, I am progressive, but I also went to the AIPAC [conference] purposely to make a message that all of us should be able to very clearly call out antisemitism, and we should be ready to oppose BDS and we should be ready to support Israel. But if see something that needs to be called out, I want to hear about it. I think we will probably agree 99 percent of the time. What I am not hearing so much is local leaders in New York City being antisemitic.”
De Blasio also defended the new state bail reform law which eliminates cash bail for those accused of committing misdemeanors and felonies, including non-violent hate crimes, though he pledged to work to change parts of the legislation.
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