Plus, Georgia Jews’ Senate quandary
Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on July 30, 2021 in Washington, DC.
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In today’s Daily Kickoff, we talk to friends and colleagues of Sen. Lindsey Graham, who died on Saturday, and spotlight how Georgia’s Jewish community is approaching the state’s Senate race. We report on the confrontation between Rep. Ro Khanna and a group of West Bank settlers during his trip to Israel last week, and cover New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s response to an attempt by top staffers to meet with Iran’s envoy to the United Nations. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Sen. Mitch McConnell, Dennis Baum and French President Emmanuel Macron.
We have also launched a new on-demand Live Briefing that you can access throughout the day via our new app (on Apple and Android) and on our website.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with assists from Danielle Cohen-Kanik and Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi arrives in Washington today, where he is slated to meet this week with President Donald Trump and other senior administration officials. The trip comes as Washington has sought to pressure Baghdad to crack down on Iranian militias operating in the country, and as the U.S. and Iran continued to trade fire over the weekend, with the U.S. striking Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz overnight after Iran hit a Cyprus-flagged container ship, prompting Iran to fire barrages of drones and missiles at Qatar, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
- Current and former government officials and policy wonks are arriving in Aspen, Colo., today ahead of the start of the Aspen Security Forum tomorrow. Will you be in Aspen? Say hello to JI’s Marc Rod, who will be covering the forum this week.
- Israelis will go to the polls in new elections on Oct. 27, MK Ofir Katz, the head of the Knesset’s House Committee, announced on Sunday. Katz’s announcement kicks off the official countdown to elections, even as candidates have for months been campaigning as the date has remained uncertain.
- The House Rules Committee is meeting today to discuss the Sunshine Protection Act, legislation that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent and has been opposed by Orthodox Jewish groups. The committee is also set to discuss legislation about State Department funding when it meets at 4 p.m.
- The Justice Department’s Leo Terrell, Reps. Brad Schneider (D-IL) and Greg Stanton (R-AZ), author Dara Horn and the Philos Project’s Luke Moon are among those slated to speak today at the National Coalition Against Antisemitism & Hate Conference, hosted by the American Muslim and Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council at the National Press Club.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S EMILY JACOBS
Following the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who was 71, this weekend, tributes poured in from lawmakers, administration officials and Jewish organizations, while Republicans and Democrats alike predicted Graham would be remembered as a legendary American political figure known for his ability to take political risks and find common ground in unexpected places.
Morgan Ortagus, the former deputy presidential envoy for Middle East peace in the second Trump administration and one of Graham’s closest confidantes in Washington, spoke to the senator on Saturday afternoon, hours before paramedics were called to his Capitol Hill home after he experienced an aortic dissection caused by arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
“He was extremely jazzed up in our last conversation,” Ortagus told JI. “He had just gotten off the phone with the president, and he was super excited about the Russia sanctions bill and the president deciding to go back into Iran. He could not have been happier when I spoke to him last night. He was in the best mood and in a great place. He spoke about how he felt like he was doing consequential work.”
“Nobody was expecting this. That’s for sure. Not even Lindsey was, or he wouldn’t have been running for another term,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), who has had close relationships with both Graham and President Donald Trump, said of the senator’s sudden passing. “When a person cuts as wide a swath as Lindsey cuts, it is shocking. It will take some time to process the reality of it. It should really hit on Monday when we show up for work.”
“He was not afraid to be critical and he was never uncritical of friends. He believed that friends owe it to each other to try to enable them to do better,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said. “He had a vision, which was in effect the normalization of relationships throughout the Middle East, an extension of the Abraham Accords. He pursued it relentlessly.”
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) credited Graham with doing “a masterful job of pulling” senators from across the ideological spectrum “in the same direction” in the immediate aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, swiftly organizing a bipartisan congressional delegation alongside former Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) to Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt as he sought to salvage his long-standing efforts to achieve Saudi-Israeli normalization.
PEACH STATE PROBLEMS
In Georgia’s Senate race, tough choices ahead for the state’s Jewish community
For some Jewish voters in Georgia, this year’s Senate race offers no comfortable choice. Sen. Jon Ossoff’s (D-GA) votes to block weapons shipments to Israel have alienated some longtime supporters, while Republican nominee Rep. Mike Collins’ (R-GA) history of inflammatory rhetoric and controversial staffing choices has made him a nonstarter for others, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
The dilemma: The Jewish community remains divided on the race — some prominent community leaders, including prominent longtime Democrats, say they can’t see themselves voting for Ossoff given his record. But they also say that Collins is an unpalatable choice for them given his own history. Yet, both candidates also maintain strong supporters: Ossoff supporters argue that the response to his votes against weapons shipments have been overblown, or support the stances he’s taken. Collins supporters say that, despite past controversies, he’s the more reliable advocate for Israel and the Jewish community, in part because of his evangelical Christian background.
‘Rogue’ rhetoric
Abdul El-Sayed calls Israel a ‘rogue state’
Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan running in the race’s far-left lane, on Sunday described Israel as a “rogue state” that has committed genocide and apartheid. El-Sayed made the comments in an interview with Manu Raju on CNN’s “Inside Politics Sunday,” Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
What he said: Asked whether he thought the Israeli government should be considered by the U.S. to be a foreign terrorist organization, El-Sayed answered, “It’s certainly a rogue state.” He continued, “I mean, they did a genocide. What about doing a genocide is not evil in your book? At baseline they do apartheid.”
Endorsement alert: Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) endorsed Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) over El-Sayed for the seat he is vacating, touting Stevens’ having demonstrated “time and time again that she’s a fighter” and adding that the U.S. Senate “is not a place for on-the-job training.”
SETTLER SCRUTINY
Khanna calls for investigation into West Bank altercation
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) on Sunday called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to launch an investigation after the lawmaker said he was harassed by Israeli settlers in the West Bank last week, an incident Netanyahu attributed to a small group of “vigilantes,” Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
Khanna’s claim: During his first known trip to Israel and the West Bank since October 2024, Khanna said that his delegation’s van had been surrounded, stopped and taunted last Wednesday by Israeli settlers. Israel Police said that officers on the scene did not witness any violence and that the group was stopped in a restricted zone. Police added that Khanna’s tour group leader was warned of a possible arrest and that the group was told that civilians were not permitted in the area, before being released.
Bonus: The New York Post reports that Khanna ignored efforts by the Israeli Embassy in Washington to arrange a meeting with former hostages and survivors of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks.
MEETING MISHAP
Mamdani pleads ignorance of commissioner’s plan to meet Iranian ambassador
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani told reporters on Friday that he had been unaware that top officials in his administration planned to meet with Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations earlier this month — calling the decision “an error” on the part of one of his most prominent and politically active commissioners, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports.
Mayor’s comments: Speaking after an unrelated event, the mayor maintained he only learned from a request for comment from City Journal that International Affairs Commissioner Ana Maria Archila and what the publication described as “two other senior officials” working under her had planned to sit down on Tuesday with Amir-Saeid Iravani of the Iranian Mission to the U.N. City Journal, affiliated with the right-of-center Manhattan Institute, reported that the State Department stepped in to preempt the meeting.
FOLLOW THE MONEY
Radical GOP governor hopeful got cash from backers of far-left Dems
James Fishback, the GOP candidate for Florida governor whom critics call “openly racist” and “openly antisemitic,” ostensibly sits at the opposite end of the political spectrum from the likes of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan. But the far-right and far-left politicians share more than just an aversion to Israel — they also overlap in donors, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman has found.
Money matters: Among the 27 donors to give the maximum $3,000 contribution to Fishback’s bid for Tallahassee is New York-based philanthropist and financier Amed Khan. A longtime associate of the Clinton family and contributor to former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, as well as to the Democratic National Committee, Khan’s public commentary and political giving has pivoted leftward since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel. Besides maxing out to Fishback, this cycle the investment banker and Quincy Institute board member has donated $7,000 to former Maine Senate nominee Graham Platner, the progressive Democrat whose tirades against “oligarchs” and “the establishment” — not to mention his rhetoric on Israel — made him a favorite of the online left before a rape allegation derailed his campaign.
Targeting Fishback: The Front Line, a newly launched political nonprofit group aligned with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), is making a $400,000 ad buy in Florida targeting Fishback over his past antisemitic comments and suggestion that he would not enforce the state’s antisemitism law if elected.
Worthy Reads
AWOL on Antisemitism: In The Hill, Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and James Lankford (R-OK), the co-chairs of the Senate’s antisemitism task force, call on Congress to pass the Jewish American Security Act. “Every single attack represents a violation of Americans’ freedom to safely practice their religion. Failing to confront the moral rot of antisemitism in our country is an abdication of our responsibility to uphold this fundamental right. We cannot continue to allow discrimination and violence to go unchecked. Yet despite the disturbing rise in antisemitism, not a single piece of federal legislation focused solely and directly on combating it has been passed into law since the Oct. 7, 2023 attack.” [TheHill]
Lindsey’s Legacy: In The Atlantic, Mark Leibovich reflects on Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) death, looking at how the South Carolina Republican navigated the Beltway bubble, local politics and his relationship with President Donald Trump. “It is perfectly on the nose that Graham’s departure would occur just a few hours before he was supposed to appear on Meet the Press. It would have been his 64th appearance on America’s longest-running public-affairs program. In the Meet the Press greenroom there used to be a prominent photo of Graham yapping away alongside his Senate sidekick, John McCain. McCain, for his part, appeared 73 times on Meet the Press, more than any other guest in history — something McCain was especially proud of. In early 2019, a few months after McCain died, Graham joked to me that his main goal in his remaining time on God’s green Earth (or God’s greenroom) was to beat McCain’s record. He never will.” [TheAtlantic]
White House Inc.: Tablet’s Armin Rosen spotlights the overlap between business and personal dealings among members of the Trump administration, using as an example Massad Boulos, the father-in-law of Trump’s daughter Tiffany who serves as a senior advisor to the president on Middle East and African affairs despite his business interests in Africa. “The blurring boundaries between individual personalities and the basic functioning of the American government are characteristic of the second Trump administration, where jobs at the top of the system have been turned into prizes given out to allies and loyalists deemed worthy of having a shot at 10-figure prosperity. … But the result of this new ethos is that the pursuits of personal and public interest now bleed into one another with desensitizing frequency.” [Tablet]
A larger selection of Worthy Reads is available in our Live Briefing.
Word on the Street
In The Atlantic, former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, now the head of the country’s opposition, reflects on what he has learned about the American ethos during his time traveling the country, finding that “America is the place where the individual precedes the tribe and the story precedes history,” and as a place where loneliness “is not a glitch in the system; it is the raw material from which the system was built”…
Politico looks at how Vice President JD Vance’s rhetoric on Israel is alienating some Jewish Republican donors…
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who has been hospitalized and has not made any public statements since a fall that he said left him “briefly unconscious” last month, released a photo of himself amid speculation over the extent of his illness, saying that he developed pneumonia while recovering from the fall…
The Washington State Democratic Party is facing criticism from Jewish communal leaders over a change to its party platform that linked rising antisemitism in part to the actions of the Israeli government…
The New York Times looks at the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America in smaller cities in upstate New York as the group seeks to extend its footprint around the state…
Graham Platner officially withdrew his candidacy for U.S. Senate in Maine, clearing the way for the Maine Democratic Party to replace him on the November ballot…
The Anti-Defamation League took out a full-page ad in the Maine Sunday Telegram, declaring of Platner, “The tattoo should have been enough” and warning that those who “traffic in antisemitism” often are associated with other “misconduct”; ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt told JI, “At this pivotal moment, antisemitism is not only being normalized in our politics, it is at risk of becoming mainstreamed across society. When conspiracy theories, Nazi-linked symbols, ties to extremists or hatred toward Jews are excused or minimized, leaders cannot look away”…
PEN America President Dinaw Mengestu resigned after seven months in the role, following the organization’s publication of an article describing the harassment and isolation faced by Jewish and Israeli writers in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks and ensuing war in Gaza; Mengestu said that the decision was in part because of the group’s opposition to cultural boycotts by pro-Palestinian activists…
The Atlantic explores efforts by the sons of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg to learn the truth about their parents, who were executed in 1953 after being convicted of spying for the Soviet Union…
The U.K.’s Home Office announced it will spend £250 million ($335 million) over the next three years to increase security and policing at Jewish institutions…
The Australian royal commission of inquiry into antisemitism heard from students and faculty about the antisemitism they experienced at universities in the country that predated the Oct. 7 attacks…
Australia’s education minister announced an overhaul of the country’s education standards that will now require universities to adopt a definition of antisemitism and develop transparent processes for reporting incidents of racism…
Politico does a deep dive into efforts by Norway, led by a former national team star player-turned-activist, to oust Israel from FIFA…
European foreign ministers gathered in Brussels today to discuss a potential ban on the importing of goods from West Bank settlements…
Deutsche Welle spotlights efforts by Dennis Baum, the Jewish heir to the Simson automobile manufacturing empire, to fight back against the use of Simson vehicles in political materials distributed by the far-right Alternative for Germany party…
Counterterrorism officials in France are investigating after a military-grade weapon was discovered in a vehicle in a heavily Jewish neighborhood in the north of Paris…
The Qatar Investment Authority, which owns a 10% stake in Volkswagen AG, blocked a deal between the German automaker and Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems that would have seen Volkswagen produce vehicles supporting the Iron Dome missile-defense system….
Bloomberg looks at the challenges posed to global financial institutions by the growing rift between the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia that “has the potential to upend global investment flows”…
Former Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who oversaw the Gulf state’s transition into an era of massive growth that also saw Doha deepen ties with Iran, Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood and establish Al Jazeera, died at 74; The New York Times’ obituary of Sheikh Hamad included a photo of the former emir with senior Hamas officials…
Find on-demand Live Briefing updates throughout the day via our new app (on Apple and Android) and website.
Pic of the Day
French President Emmanuel Macron and Charles Dreyfus, a grandson of Alfred Dreyfus, on Sunday inaugurated a statue of the military captain, who was the target of the antisemitic campaign known as the Dreyfus Affair. The Paris ceremony marking Dreyfus’ 1906 exoneration was held on the country’s first national day dedicated to the recognition of his innocence.
Speaking at the ceremony, Macron acknowledged that “the old demons of antisemitism have never completely disappeared from our country.”
Birthdays
Television writer, David X. Cohen turns 60…
Scottsdale, Ariz., resident, retired teacher, Howie K. Kipnes… Actor whose films have grossed more than $10 billion, his maternal grandmother was Anna Lifschutz, a Jewish immigrant from Minsk, Harrison Ford turns 84… Ridgefield, Conn., resident, Louis Panzer… Lecturer on the federal budget process following 37 years at various federal agencies, Johnny Cahn… Co-host of “Pardon the Interruption” on ESPN since 2001, Anthony Irwin “Tony” Kornheiser turns 78… Actor, best known for her role as Frenchy in “Grease,” Edith “Didi” Conn turns 75… Author of crime and suspense novels, he is also a conservative commentator, Andrew Klavan turns 72… Guide and educator at Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, Rabbi Dr. Eric Marshall Lankin… Senior manager of regulatory and legislative affairs at PJM Interconnection, Stuart Widom… Country music artist, Victoria Lynn Shaw turns 64… Television executive and producer, she was the president of HBO’s network’s entertainment division until 2008 and was responsible for commissioning “The Sopranos,” “The Wire” and other hit shows, Carolyn Strauss turns 63… Film director and screenwriter, Shari Springer Berman turns 63… Author and journalist, Katie Roiphe turns 58… Chief legal officer and chief policy officer at HackerOne, Ilona Cohen… Owner of the D.C. area franchises of SafeSplash Swim Schools, Jennifer Rebecca Goodman Lilintahl… Founder of Omanut Collective, Sarah Persitz… Director of major gifts for the Southeast region at American Friends of Magen David Adom, Yishai Mizrahi… Creator, writer and producer of the TV show “Casual,” which ran from 2015 to 2018, Alexander “Zander” Sutton Lehmann turns 39… Former CEO at Art of Air Events and Entertainment, Ariana Gradow… Managing director at BDT & MSD Partners, Nicholas Avery Newburger… Managing partner at Surround Ventures, Jared Kash… Television and film actor, Wyatt Jess Oleff (family name was Olefsky) turns 23… Technology investor and executive, Eric A. Kohlmann… Reporter at Punchbowl News, Max Cohen…
‘An overriding goal that has been one of my most profound concerns since coming to the United States Senate is to preserve bipartisan support for Israel,’ Blumenthal told JI
Heather Diehl/Getty Images
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) holds a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on March 03, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), one of just seven Senate Democrats to vote last week against resolutions to block U.S. arms sales to Israel, said that he wants to maintain and restore bipartisan support for Israel.
“An overriding goal that has been one of my most profound concerns since coming to the United States Senate is to preserve bipartisan support for Israel,” Blumenthal told Jewish Insider in a brief interview on Wednesday. “I partnered with [former Sen.] John McCain (R-AZ) on traveling to the Middle East and to Israel a number of times. He believed powerfully, as I do, that the cause of Israel’s security has to be bipartisan, and I will adhere to that goal as long as I’m in this body.”
Asked how that support on the Democratic side can be restored, he said that he doesn’t have a silver bullet, but he’s “going to work at it every day,” reaching out to colleagues on both sides of the aisle, even those who disagree with him, to work on the issue and travel to the region.
“I will take advantage of every opportunity to make sure that we are as bipartisan as possible, and I resent and oppose anyone who tries to use Israel as a wedge issue politically,” he said. “We need to make decisions on the merits of our own national interests and security.”
He said that he has family in Israel and in the IDF, but his support for Israel comes from it being one of the U.S.’ closest allies and the U.S.-Israel relationship being “vital to our own national security” through military cooperation, intelligence sharing and technological, academic and educational cooperation.
“My argument to my colleagues is that Israel is an ally in a dangerous world,” he continued.
He said he’s also working “fervently” toward normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, a goal he said was “very close” prior to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.
“But it’s a very powerful, long-range dynamic that serves everyone’s interests, including our own,” Blumenthal said, describing normalization as an issue that “could bring us together again, to more robust bipartisan support.”
Asked during a Tuesday press conference about the anti-Israel shift in the Democratic Party, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), another one of the seven Democrats who opposed the effort to block weapons sales, pivoted to discussing the war in Iran.
“Our caucus is united and focused on ending the war in Iran,” Schumer responded.
Plus, supporters of Israel or Zionists?
Heather Khalifa/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Analilia Mejia, US Democratic House candidate for New Jersey, speaks to members of the media outside of the Montclair Municipal Building on the first day of early voting in Montclair, New Jersey, US, on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026.
👋 Good Friday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we cover the too-close-to-call special election race in New Jersey’s 11th District, where AIPAC’s super PAC invested heavily in recent weeks against former Rep. Tom Malinowski, who now trails far-left activist Analilia Mejia by several hundred votes. We report on antisemitism envoy Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun’s comments at the Hudson Institute yesterday, and cover the results of a Jewish Federations of North America survey of Jewish Americans that found a significant gap between respondents who said they were supportive of Israel and those who said they were Zionist. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Sen. Lindsey Graham, Martin Weil and Georgia state Sen. Esther Panitch.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with assists from Danielle Cohen-Kanik, Gabby Deutch and Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
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: Paige Cognetti running in Josh Shapiro’s footsteps in key Pa. swing district; Mississippi’s Jewish community rallies after antisemitic arson; and Amy Acton became a household name in Ohio — now, she wants to be governor. Print the latest edition here.
What We’re Watching
- We’re waiting for the official results of the special election Democratic primary in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, where far-left activist Analilia Mejia is leading former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), who had been targeted by AIPAC’s super PAC in a $2 million ad blitz in the weeks leading up to the election, by several hundred votes. More below.
- Indirect talks between senior U.S. and Iranian officials, mediated by Oman, began in Muscat this morning local time. White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are leading the talks from the U.S. side.
- Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi and said that Iran would defend itself against what he described as the U.S.’ “excessive demands or adventurism.” Al-Busaidi then met with Witkoff and Kushner. Oman’s Foreign Ministry said in an X post, “The consultations focused on preparing the appropriate circumstances for resuming the diplomatic and technical negotiations by ensuring the importance of these negotiations, in light of the parties’ determination to ensure their success in achieving sustainable security and stability.”
- Israeli President Isaac Herzog is set to travel to Australia on Sunday for a four-day visit to Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra at the invitation of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR
The results in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District last night may not make national headlines, but should be sending a shock wave across Democratic campaigns and pro-Israel institutions.
Analilia Mejia, the far-left, Bernie Sanders-endorsed activist, narrowly led in a crowded field of Democratic candidates in a primary election for an affluent, moderate-minded district, despite long odds.
With most votes counted, Mejia leads former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), who was considered the favorite, 29-28%. Former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, favored by pro-Israel groups and endorsed by Democratic Majority for Israel, finished in third place, winning just 17% of the vote.
Mejia’s apparent primary victory is another sign that the socialist wing of the Democratic Party — as exemplified by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s out-of-nowhere success across the Hudson River — is ascendant. Mejia was the only candidate to call Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza a “genocide” and condemned Israel just days after Oct. 7 without making a mention of Hamas’ terror attack against the Jewish state.
As early as Oct. 10, before the Israeli invasion of Gaza began, Mejia said: “Every fiber of my being is horrified beyond words at what is furthering in Gaza.”
The fact that a candidate as far to the left as Mejia could prevail in one of the most affluent, suburban districts in the country speaks volumes about the state of the party. This is a district, based in Morris County, filled with Wall Street bankers, venture capitalists and other wealthy white-collar workers that was a reliably Republican area not long ago.
Mejia is also beating the party machine-backed candidate, Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, on his home turf — an unprecedented dynamic for an underdog with next-to-no institutional support.
SUNKEN STRATEGY
AIPAC’s bet appears to backfire in New Jersey
In New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, the AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project made a $2.3 million bet against former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ). It was clear early on last night that the bet wasn’t paying off — but now the race could end up in what local Jewish leaders are calling a worst-case scenario, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Pac play: Though some were concerned about Malinowski’s growing criticism of Israel since leaving office, other Jewish leaders had been puzzled by UDP’s decision to attack a lawmaker they saw as an ally during his previous congressional term — particularly when a more strident Israel opponent such as Analilia Mejia, a Sen. Bernie Sanders-endorsed activist, was in the race. Now, some believe that UDP’s attacks on Malinowski, which attacked the former congressman’s vote in 2019 for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and his stock trading while in office, may have pushed voters toward Mejia, rather than toward a more moderate candidate, leaving pro-Israel advocates in an even worse position than if it had not intervened.
EXIT INTERVIEW
Moshe Davis expresses concerns for future of NYC antisemitism office upon his departure
Moshe Davis, who served as the first-ever executive director of the Office to Combat Antisemitism created by former Mayor Eric Adams, offered advice and even some praise for the administration that replaced him — but also warned that fear of violence has gripped many observant Jewish New Yorkers, who may now feel excluded by their city government in favor of the city’s secular and progressive Jewish population. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced on Wednesday he intended to appoint Phylisa Wisdom of the progressive New York Jewish Agenda in Davis’ stead. Davis wished his successor well in an interview on Thursday with Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman, but highlighted her history as a leader in Young Advocates for Fair Education (Yaffed), an organization that criticizes the quality of secular education in Hasidic schools.
Hope and concern: “It’s a fence that needs to be mended, a bridge that needs to be built, between the work that she’s been previously engaged in, and now making sure that Jewish New Yorkers are safe,” Davis, who is Orthodox, said. “I would hope that she’s able to overcome those challenges.” Davis voiced concern that the present administration is mainly interested in working with Jewish organizations for whom progressivism is their main or even exclusive priority. Meanwhile, he noted that an increasing number of antisemitic hate crimes in New York City have targeted “visibly Jewish New Yorkers” from the Orthodox and Hasidic communities.
Political pushback: News that employees in the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene had launched an anti-Israel “working group” inside the agency’s headquarters provoked outrage among both progressive and conservative leaders in the New York City Council.
GLOBAL CHALLENGE
Antisemitism envoy Yehuda Kaploun pitches education-first strategy in first months on the job
Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the newly confirmed U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, was interrupted three times during a Thursday afternoon think tank event about his new role. The first was a phone call from Harmeet Dhillon, the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, which he sent to voicemail. The next two were protesters who had somehow made it through security at the conservative Hudson Institute to loudly chant “free Palestine” in the midst of Kaploun’s remarks before being escorted out. Those unexpected interruptions framed Kaploun’s pitch as he settles into his new role at the State Department, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
What he said: First, that he will be successful because he is working on behalf of an administration that is committed to fighting antisemitism (“If you want to know how the administration works together, that was Harmeet Dhillon,” he said as he silenced his phone). And second, that education — and pushing back on false narratives about Israel and the Holocaust — is the most important way to combat antisemitism. “The hardest job that I have is how you effect a change in education across the board, by teaching people not to hate, and that’s the battle,” Kaploun said in a conversation moderated by Hudson senior fellow Michael Doran.
SURVEY SAYS
Poll: American Jews overwhelmingly support Israel as Jewish and democratic state, but less than half call themselves Zionists
Young American Jews have less of an emotional attachment to Israel than older Jews, but the overwhelming majority of all American Jews, across age groups, believes in Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state, new survey data from Jewish Federations of North America reveals. The results from the survey, which was conducted in March 2025 and released this week, makes clear that a baseline belief in Israel’s existence is still a consistent feature of American Jewish life among at least three-quarters of all Jews in the United States. At the same time, illustrating the complexities of the post-Oct. 7 landscape, one-third of young Jews describe themselves as anti-Zionist or non-Zionist, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Breakdown: Overall, nearly 9 in 10 American Jews believe in Israel’s right to exist, though there is a disparity among age groups. Ninety-eight percent of Jews between the ages of 55 and 74 believe in Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish, democratic state, compared to 76% of American Jews between 18 and 34. According to the survey, fewer than half of American Jews — across nearly all age categories — identify as Zionists. Among those between the ages of 18 and 34, 35% identify as Zionist. Among Jews over 75, just 33% identify as a Zionist.
RED LINE
Lindsey Graham hints at reducing U.S. support for Lebanese Armed Forces over general’s Hezbollah stance
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) abruptly ended his meeting with Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, the head of the Lebanese Armed Forces, on Thursday after Haykal declined to refer to Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.
What happened: Graham met with Haykal in his Senate office for a planned discussion on the latest military developments in Lebanon and the LAF’s approach to Israel and Hezbollah. The South Carolina senator wrote on X that he asked the Lebanese military official at the start of the meeting if he viewed Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, and did not appreciate the response he received. “I just had a very brief meeting with the Lebanese Chief of Defense General Rodolphe Haykal,” Graham said. “I asked him point blank if he believes Hezbollah is a terrorist organization. He said, ‘No, not in the context of Lebanon.’ With that, I ended the meeting.”
MOVE AGAINST MASSIE
Two top Kentucky Republicans endorse challenger to anti-Israel GOP Rep. Massie
Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) and Nate Morris, two of the leading Republican candidates for Kentucky’s Senate seat, on Thursday endorsed Ed Gallrein, the GOP challenger to Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), one of the leading GOP critics of Israel in Congress, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What they said: “Ed will never side with AOC or the radical-left against President Trump. He is exactly the kind of conservative warrior we need in Congress, and I’m proud to endorse him,” Barr said. “I’ve said repeatedly President Trump won a historic mandate in Kentucky and he needs allies he can trust in the House and Senate to deliver his agenda,” Morris said. Massie, in a statement, brushed off the endorsements as more geared toward gaining Trump’s favor in the Senate race, rather than his own campaign.
Worthy Reads
Backlash Building: The Wall Street Journal’s Margherita Stancati and Benoit Faucon report on a second wave of anger across Iran toward the regime in Tehran. “Mourning families are shouting antiregime slogans at funerals and memorials. Students are refusing to sing patriotic songs at school. Medical workers are publicly condemning the arrests of colleagues who treated people injured in the protests. And groups of local activists are openly calling for the fall of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The shows of defiance — sometimes loud and risky, other times quiet and personal — come as Iranians reckon with the full extent of January’s violence and the government that ordered it. And they are cropping up even as the regime has carried out waves of arrests targeting protesters and their sympathizers, from relatives to medical workers to civil-rights activists.” [WSJ]
Attention to Detentions: In The Washington Post, Pedro Pizano, the director of the John McCain Freedom for Political Prisoners Initiative, and New America’s Sarah Moriarty, whose father, Bob Levinson, has been held hostage longer than any American in history, call on the Trump administration to utilize an executive order signed last year to designate Iran, Russia and Afghanistan as State Sponsors of Wrongful Detention in an effort to deter the taking of American hostages in those countries. “Authoritarian regimes across the world have made state hostage-taking a routine tactic. Innocent Americans are arrested to extract concessions from the U.S. government, to offer authoritarian governments a point of leverage or to incentivize prisoner swaps. … Americans traveling, working or reporting abroad deserve a proactive response to hostage-taking. They deserve a policy that makes their safety nonnegotiable. The SSWD designation is a significant step toward that goal. Whether it realizes its potential depends entirely on if Washington decides to make it count.” [WashPost]
Word on the Street
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Thursday condemned a pro-Hamas rally that took place in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square last weekend. “Hamas is a violent terrorist organization whose stated goal is the destruction of Israel and the murder of Jews. Support for Hamas and the antisemitism the group foments has no place in Pennsylvania,” Shapiro spokesperson Will Simons told JI, adding, “The governor will continue to call out all forms of antisemitism and hate”…
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), the chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, announced on Thursday that he’s launching an investigation into New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, prompted by the mayor’s rescission last month of executive orders from the prior administration related to Israel and antisemitism, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Emily Jacobs report…
A bipartisan group of 82 House lawmakers wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday, urging her to roll back new conditions placed on applications for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program amid rising antisemitic attacks, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…
Puck looks at the backlash that Sephora is facing for its continued support for beauty influencer Huda Kattan, despite her recent social media activity in which she appeared to support the Iranian government, weeks after she posted conspiracy theories blaming Israel for the 9/11 attacks and both World Wars…
The New York Times spotlights former Washington Post reporter Martin Weil, who was among the hundreds of staffers laid off earlier this week after having worked on the Post’s local news desk for more than 60 years…
A North Carolina man was sentenced to five years in prison for sending antisemitic threats to a Macon, Ga., rabbi and Georgia state Rep. Esther Panitch…
The MetroWest Jewish Day School in Framingham, Mass., is slated to close at the end of this academic year after more than 20 years; administrators from the school, which serves the Boston area, said the decision to close was a financial one…
The New York Times interviews Olympic athlete AJ Edelman, the captain of Israel’s first-ever bobsled team, about his efforts to build and finance a team to represent the Jewish state in bobsledding at the Winter Games in Milan, while the Associated Press profiles what the team has dubbed as its “Shul Runnings” bid…
The news editor of the Australia Broadcasting Corporation instructed staffers who cover issues that could come under the remit of the country’s antisemitism commission not to use disappearing messages on communications apps following the implementation of a disposal freeze order from the National Archives of Australia…
Israel announced plans to build a new international airport in the northern Negev, near the Ziklag archeological site…
Iranian state media reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized two oil tankers carrying “smuggled fuel” that were transiting through the Gulf…
Ted Berger, the former head of the New York Foundation for the Arts, died at 85…
Pic of the Day
American Jewish Committee leaders met on Wednesday with Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, United Arab Emirates deputy prime minister and foreign minister, in Abu Dhabi.
Pictured (from left): Reva Gorelick, deputy director of AJC Abu Dhabi; Huda Raphael Sievers; AJC Abu Dhabi Director Ambassador (ret) Marc J. Sievers; al-Nahyan; Jason Isaacson, AJC chief policy and political affairs officer; and Benjamin Rogers, director of Middle East and North Africa initiatives and deputy director at AJC’s Center for a New Middle East.
Birthdays
Boston attorney, author and podcast host, his 2013 book on Jews and baseball was turned into the 2016 play “Swing, Schmendrick, Swing,” Larry Ruttman turns 95 on Sunday…
FRIDAY: Israeli pediatric endocrinologist, winner of the 2009 Israel Prize, in 1966 he described the type of dwarfism later called Laron syndrome in his name, Dr. Zvi Laron turns 99… Advertising entrepreneur and founder of Global Water Resources, William Levine turns 94… Member of the New Jersey Senate for 17 years including 10 years as majority leader, Loretta Weinberg turns 91.. Rosalyn Kaplan… Cantor of Congregation Hugat Haverim in Glendale, Calif., Harvey Lee Block… Syndicated columnist for The Washington Post for 43 years (ending in 2019), he had worked at the Post since 1968, Richard Martin Cohen turns 85… Actor, best known for his role in the 172 episodes of the television series “L.A. Law,” Michael Tucker turns 81… Pulitzer Prize-winning author and vice chairman of S&P Global, Daniel Yergin turns 79… Professor at McGill University since 1975, Yitzchak M. “Irv” Binik turns 77… Louisiana commissioner of administration for eight years, after serving as lieutenant governor of Louisiana for the prior six years, Jay Dardenne turns 72… Professor concurrently at both Harvard and the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, Michael Pollan turns 71… Past chair of the board of UJA-Federation of New York and a part owner of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, David Lewis Moore… Los Angeles attorney specializing in criminal and civil appeals, Paul Kujawsky… President of Brown University since 2012, Christina Hull Paxson turns 66… Former longtime foreign correspondent for NPR in many capitals including Jerusalem, author of the New York Times bestseller The Geography of Bliss, Eric Weiner turns 63… Special events producer at Ballas Bloom Creative, Jacquelyn Ballas Bloom… NFL long snapper for 18 seasons between 1994-2011, David Aaron Binn turns 54… Television and film actress, writer and producer, best known for her role as Pepper in the FX series “American Horror Story,” Naomi Grossman turns 51… Rabbi and author of eight books, Danya Ruttenberg turns 51… Former tenured professor at MIT, she is the co-trustee of the Pershing Square Foundation with her husband, Bill Ackman, Neri Oxman turns 50… Israeli-French singer-songwriter whose hit single “New Soul” was used by Apple in a 2008 advertising campaign for its MacBook Air, Yael Naim turns 48… Equestrian show jumper who competes for Israel, Danielle “Dani” Goldstein-Waldman turns 41… Vice president for national political campaigns and strategy at AIPAC, Stephen Knable… Investigative journalist, his work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and many other outlets, he is also a data science manager at EDO, Steven I. Weiss… Deputy director of foreign affairs at the Israeli Ministry of Health, Adam Cutler… Member of the Australian parliament, Joshua Solomon Burns turns 39… Corporate procurement director for IKO North America, Yadin Koschitzky…
SATURDAY: Director of training for the Bulfinch Group, a financial planning firm based in Needham, Mass., Michel R. Scheinmann turns 78… Rabbi emeritus of Beth Tzedec Congregation in Toronto, Baruch Frydman-Kohl turns 75… U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO) turns 74… Majority leader of the Illinois House of Representatives, Robyn Gabel turns 73… PFAS practice group leader at Sundance Consultants and part time instructor at Carnegie Mellon University, Rick Wice… American businessman and investor arrested in Bolivia in July 2011 and held for 18 months without charges, freed through public outcry and the efforts of Sean Penn, Jacob Ostreicher turns 67… Actor, humorist, comedian and writer known for his “Saturday Night Live” “TV Funhouse” cartoon shorts, Robert Smigel turns 66… President of The Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC, Dr. David L. Reich turns 66… Baseball columnist for the New York Post and a baseball insider for MLB Network, Jon Heyman turns 65… Director general of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2020 to 2023, Alon Ushpiz turns 60… Former professional hockey player who played in 418 regular and post-season games in the NHL spanning 13 seasons, Mike Hartman turns 59… Rabbi at Beth Chai Congregation in Bethesda, Md. and author of nine Jewish children’s books and teen novels, Deborah Bodin Cohen… Principal consultant at Saxon Strategies, Jennifer Diamond Haber… Author of 24 fiction and non-fiction books, some of which have been made into feature films, Ben Mezrich turns 57… Executive director of the UJA and JCRC-NY’s Community Security Initiative, Mitch Silber turns 56… Israeli actor, model and musician, he played Yonatan Netanyahu in the 2018 film “Entebbe,” Angel Bonanni turns 54… Executive director of the Aviv Foundation (Chani and Steve Laufer), Adam Simon… SVP at Material+, Jonathan Weiss… Chassidic singer and recording artist, Shloime Daskal turns 47… Former member of the Knesset for the Yisrael Beiteinu party, Mark Ifraimov turns 45… MLB pitcher from 2005 until 2017, he played for the Rangers, Cubs, Orioles, Astros, Blue Jays and Reds, he is now an angel investor in the San Francisco area, Scott Feldman turns 43… Professional basketball player in Germany, Italy and Israel, he is now a VP at Lightspeed Venture Partners in Menlo Park, California, Dan Grunfeld turns 42… NFL player for six seasons until 2015, he is now the safeties coach for the Washington Huskies, Taylor Mays turns 38… Senior director of advancement field services for Hillel International, Rachael Fenton… David Israel… Michael Harris…
SUNDAY: Winner of 25 Emmy Awards as a broadcast journalist, best known as the anchor of ABC’s Nightline from its inception in 1980 until his retirement in late 2005, Ted Koppel turns 86… Stage, television and film actor, stand-up comedian and singer, Robert Klein turns 84… Chair of the Morris A. Hazan Family Foundation, Lovee Arum turns 82… Therapist and life coach based in Wake County, N.C., Sheila Kay… Columbus, Ohio-born attorney and president of Schottenstein Legal Services, James Mark Schottenstein turns 79… Former CEO of the Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York (Albany), now an executive coach and nonprofit consultant in Venice, Florida, Rodney Margolis… Village justice in Red Hook, N.Y., Judge Jonah Triebwasser turns 76… CEO of NYC-based Cohen Brothers Realty Corporation, owner of more than 12 million square feet of office space and design centers, he also produces films and owns theatres, Charles S. Cohen turns 74… Active private investor and business operator, he is on the board of Tel Aviv University, Marc Lauren Abramowitz turns 73… President of NYC-based BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm, he is a past chair of the board of UJA-Federation of New York, Robert S. Kapito turns 69… Chief rabbi of the IDF, Brig. Gen. Eyal Moshe Karim turns 69… Senior director of synagogue affiliations and operations for United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, Barry S. Mael… Chair of the board of trustees of the Hudson Institute, Sarah May Stern… British businessman and former longtime chairman of the Premier League’s Tottenham Hotspur, Daniel Levy turns 64… Former member of the Knesset for the Jewish Home and New Right parties, Shulamit “Shuli” Mualem-Rafaeli turns 61… Chairman of Andell Inc., a private investment firm and family office he controls with his wife, Ellen Bronfman Hauptman, Andrew Hauptman turns 57… Chess grandmaster, then derivatives trader, now a retirement planner, Ilya Mark Gurevich turns 54… Attorney, rabbi and New Jersey political consultant, Benjamin G. Kelsen… Popular Israeli musician, singer and songwriter, Eviatar Banai turns 53… Actor and filmmaker, Seth Benjamin Green turns 52… Member of the Knesset for the Labor party until 2021, he is now director-general of the Israeli office of the UJA-Federation of New York, Itzik Shmuli turns 46… Founder of DC-based JTR Strategies, she is the former head of aviation and international affairs at USDOT under President Barack Obama, Jenny Thalheimer Rosenberg… Senior advisor in the office of the Inspector General at USAID, Adam Kaplan… Partner at Sidley Austin, he was previously chief of staff to then-Attorney General Bill Barr, William Ranney Levi… Retired professional ice hockey center for five NHL teams, now a real estate executive, Trevor Smith turns 41… Synchronized swimmer on behalf of Israel at the three Olympic games: 2004 (Athens), 2008 (Beijing) and 2012 (London), Inna Yoffe turns 38… Yale Law School graduate, she clerked for Judge Marsha S. Berzon on the 9th Circuit and is now a senior attorney at Public Justice, Alexandra Brodsky… Vice president of policy and government affairs for AIPAC, Celia Glassman… Canadian jazz-pop singer-songwriter, who performed at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics, Nicole “Nikki” Rachel Yanofsky turns 32… Pitcher for Team Israel in the 2020 Olympics as well as the 2017 and 2023 World Baseball Classics, Jake Layton Fishman turns 31… Associate attorney in the NYC office of Heidell, Pittoni, Murphy & Bach, Samantha Grosinger… Director of global brand and marketing at Olami, Michal Nordmann…
Plus, Mamdani's first mayoral moves rankle Jewish community
Nicole Combeau/Bloomberg
A resident holds a newspaper with news about ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro during a celebration at El Arepazo in Doral, Florida, US, on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.
Good Monday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at what the Trump administration’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro could mean for Iran’s influence in South America, and report on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s first days in office, which included the revocation of executive orders on supporting Israel and combating antisemitism. We have the exclusive on AIPAC’s appointment of Deryn Sousa as the organization’s new spokesperson, succeeding Marshall Wittmann, and report on Jewish communal priorities on Capitol Hill in the new year. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Julie Menin, Rabbi Zvi Hershcovich and Este Haim.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by Jewish Insider Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with assists from Danielle Cohen-Kanik and Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- As Congress returns this week, we’ll be keeping an eye on the Hill’s response to the ongoing wave of protests across Iran, the ripple effects of the Trump administration’s arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the emerging rift among the U.S.’ Gulf allies.
- Following the winter break, lawmakers’ top priority now will be finalizing a deal on government funding before the end-of-month deadline. It’s looking less likely that we’ll see a repeat of last year’s extended government shutdown. There are still plenty of areas to be negotiated between the two chambers, including security grant funding, United Nations funding and funding levels for U.S.-Israel cooperative programs.
- We’re keeping an eye on the ongoing protests in Iran. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One last night, President Donald Trump reiterated his recent comments that the U.S. would intervene if Iranian officials were to kill protesters, having said on his Truth Social site on Friday that “If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue.”
- Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is scheduled to make his first appearance in U.S. federal court at 12 p.m. ET today, where he will appear before Judge Alvin Hellerstein, a 92-year-old Orthodox Jewish federal judge.
- Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who had been planning a 2026 reelection bid, is set to make an announcement regarding his political future this morning, a day after meeting with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). The impromptu press conference comes as Walz’s administration faces criticism and an investigation into widespread fraud centered around the state’s Somali diaspora population.
- U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Syria envoy Tom Barrack is mediating talks in Paris today between senior Israeli and Syrian officials, aimed at reaching a security agreement between the countries.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MELISSA WEISS
As protests continue to spread throughout Iran and the geopolitical repercussions of the Trump administration’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro ripple across world capitals, the sentiment around the Middle East and in Washington is that renewed conflict with the Islamic Republic may well be on the horizon.
While smaller than previous nationwide protests in 2019 and 2022, the newest demonstrations come as Iran is facing economic instability, crushing international sanctions and record droughts. The protests that have spread across the country in recent days are the first major demonstrations since the 12-day war between Iran and Israel, with an assist from the U.S., last June that damaged the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program and further destabilized Iran.
The protests in Iran were already gaining steam at the time a Delta Force team apprehended Maduro and his wife on Saturday and brought them to the U.S. to stand trial on drug trafficking charges. But the Trump administration’s decision to send elite forces into Caracas and forcibly remove Maduro signals to Tehran — as well as Moscow and Beijing — that Washington is taking a tougher approach to regimes it sees as destabilizing and threatening to U.S. interests.
The world is watching this geopolitical high-wire act with wariness. In Israel, officials are closely monitoring the instability in Iran, concerned that the regime in Tehran could move to strike Israel in an effort to consolidate domestic support and quell the protests; Israel could also see a window of opportunity to strike Iran at a weak moment, either of which could reignite warfare between Jerusalem and Tehran.
It was less than a week ago that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and discussed the threat posed by Iran’s ballistic missile program.
In his weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday, Netanyahu addressed Iran in the context of his Palm Beach meeting last week, saying that Israel “reiterated our joint position of zero enrichment on one hand, and the need to remove the 400 kilograms of enriched material from Iran and oversee the sites with tight and genuine supervision.”
Noting that his sit-down with Trump was taking place as anti-government protests broke out in Iran, Netanyahu added, “The Government of Israel, the State of Israel, and my policy, we identify with the struggle of the Iranian people, with their aspirations for freedom, liberty, and justice. It is very possible that we are standing at the moment when the Iranian people are taking their fate into their own hands.”
DOMINO EFFECT
Toppling Maduro may weaken Iran’s hold in Latin America
The U.S.’ capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Saturday is expected to weaken Iran’s terrorism efforts, weapons production and economic activity in Latin America, experts say. With Vice President Delcy Rodriguez taking power — and the Trump administration expressing willingness to work with her — it remains unclear whether Maduro’s regime will largely remain intact with American supervision or if the government will ultimately be replaced by the democratic opposition, led by Nobel Peace Prize recipient Maria Corina Machado, or someone else, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
Expected impact: Emanuele Ottolenghi, senior research fellow at the Center for Research on Terror Financing, told JI that “if the regime remains in place [under Washington’s supervision], there will have to be adjustments in its regional posture and foreign policy. That means, of course, the role that nefarious foreign actors such as China, Russia, Cuba and Iran played in Venezuela will change.” Danny Citrinowicz, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, told JI that “the Iranians turned Venezuela into a strategic hub, and now that has disappeared.”
Bonus: Politico talks to Vandenberg Coalition head Carrie Filipetti, who served as principal deputy assistant secretary of state for Cuba and Venezuela during the first Trump administration, about the apprehension of Maduro and potential next steps for the U.S. vis-à-vis its Venezuela policy.
shifting alliances
Saudi Arabia pivots from moderation
Saudi Arabia is recalibrating its regional posture in ways that are challenging long-held assumptions about Riyadh’s role as a moderating force in the Middle East, as recent moves across Yemen, Sudan and the Horn of Africa expose the country’s widening rift with the United Arab Emirates and a growing alignment with Qatar and Turkey — two countries with openly hostile positions toward Israel, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs, Lahav Harkov and Matthew Shea report.
Series of events: The realignment has been most stark on the issue of Yemen, where Saudi Arabia led an airstrike on an Emirati shipment of vehicles last week that Riyadh claimed was intended for the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), which has consolidated power in the country’s south as Saudi-backed efforts to stabilize the war-torn nation have stalled. Hours after the strike, the Emirati government announced it would withdraw its remaining troops from the country. The Saudis’ decision to embrace Islamist-aligned factions in Sudan, where the UAE is aligned with rival forces, has caused additional fissures with the Emiratis, putting the two U.S. allies and Gulf power players at odds. The Gulf states have also taken opposite sides on Somalia, with the UAE quietly supportive of Somaliland, while Saudi Arabia condemned Israel for recognizing its independence.
Qatari condolences: Qatari Education Minister Lolwah Al-Khater publicly mourned the death of Huthayfa Samir Abdullah Al-Kahlout, a senior Hamas military spokesman who served as the public face of the group’s media strategy during the war in Gaza, drawing renewed scrutiny of Qatar’s ties to the militant group, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
DAY ONE DOOZY
Mamdani slammed for repealing antisemitism executive orders
Newly inaugurated New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing criticism for repealing executive orders issued by former Mayor Eric Adams aimed at tackling antisemitism, including implementing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism and an anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions order. The revocation of those orders came as part of a blanket repeal of all of Adams’ executive orders following his September 2024 indictment on federal corruption charges, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Community reaction: In a joint statement, the UJA-Federation of New York, Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, American Jewish Committee of New York, Anti-Defamation League of New York/New Jersey, Agudath Israel of America, the New York Board of Rabbis and the Orthodox Union said that the Jewish community “will be looking for clear and sustained leadership that demonstrates a serious commitment to confronting antisemitism and ensures that the powers of the mayor’s office are used to promote safety and unity, not to advance divisive efforts such as BDS.” The statement continued, “Singling Israel out for sanction is not the way to make Jewish New Yorkers feel included and safe, and will undermine any words to that effect.”
Bonus: The New York Times reports that Mamdani’s decision to issue a blanket revocation of Adams’ executive orders was made in an effort to alleviate anger by Jewish groups over the rescinding of the two orders related to Israel and antisemitism.
EXCLUSIVE
AIPAC appoints Deryn Sousa as spokesperson
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee appointed Deryn Sousa as spokesperson, replacing Marshall Wittmann, who retired at the end of 2025 after 13 years in the role. Sousa steps into the public-facing position during a time when AIPAC is regularly in the spotlight — and as the powerful pro-Israel organization faces outsized criticism from the far left and far right over its influence in the American political system, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Background: Sousa reflects a different career trajectory than that taken by Wittmann, who came to AIPAC toward the end of his career after decades working in politics in Washington, including as communications director for Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and John McCain (R-AZ). Sousa has worked for AIPAC for a decade, having joined the organization soon after she graduated from the University of Georgia, where she studied Arabic and international affairs. She moved to Washington for the spokesperson role from Houston, where she served until recently as AIPAC’s Southwest regional political director.
MONEY IN THE BANK
Massie challenger raises $1.2 million in final quarter of 2025
Ed Gallrein, the Republican primary challenger to Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) backed by President Donald Trump, said Friday that he had raised $1.2 million in the final quarter of 2025, a sizable sum that puts him in strong financial shape in preparation for a grueling race against Massie. Gallrein’s fundraising haul signals that he’s a more viable candidate than Massie’s previous challengers, and highlights the power of Trump’s endorsement, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Moving against Massie: Trump and his allies have also committed significant resources to the effort to defeat Massie, an isolationist Republican who has frequently opposed legislation to combat antisemitism and has broken with Trump on many key elements of his agenda, including on issues related to Israel and Iran. “This fundraising number reflects the overwhelming support Ed’s campaign has received right out of the gate,” Gallrein spokesperson Lance Trover said in a statement. “President Trump endorsed Ed because he knows Ed is fighting to put America First and will partner with him to unleash our economy, lower taxes, and stop the woke agenda.”
ON THE AGENDA
Security remains Jewish community’s top lobbying priority for 2026
Going into 2026, Jewish community groups said their advocacy priorities for Congress and the federal government remain largely consistent, with a focus across many of the major advocacy organizations on bolstering community security through the Nonprofit Security Grant Program and tackling antisemitism online, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
The hurdles: While Congress has increased its attention to Jewish communal issues in the years since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, including a string of high-profile hearings on antisemitism and several bills passed to support Israel and combat Iran, many key legislative priorities for the Jewish community — including bills on antisemitism and substantial increases to annual security funding for nonprofits — have remained stubbornly intractable.
Worthy Reads
American Muscle: Politico’s Sophia Cai, Felicia Schwartz, Dasha Burns and Eric Bazail-Eimil posit that the Trump administration is taking a more hawkish approach to foreign policy in its second term. “The Saturday morning raid is a brazen escalation of U.S. involvement in a foreign country that landed the same weekend Trump publicly threatened to defend Iranian demonstrators against their own government. It serves as a fitting coda to Trump’s first year back in power, one marked by dramatically more involvement in foreign conflicts than candidate Trump or first-term Trump predicted. … Still, the move against [Nicolás] Maduro would have been almost unimaginable during Trump’s first term and during the heat of the 2024 campaign, when Trump adopted the views of restrainers who were skeptical of unconditional aid to Ukraine and spoke of the need to stop engaging in ‘forever wars.’” [Politico]
The Ties That Bind: In The Wall Street Journal, Armin Rosen observes the relationship between Somaliland and Israel, the latter of which was the first country to recognize Hargeisa’s independence last month. “Across 1,600 miles of distance, there is a surprisingly deep kinship between Hargeisa and Jerusalem. … Both countries see themselves as global outsiders waging a long campaign for legitimacy and respect. Israeli citizens and products are still banned in dozens of Muslim countries. As an unrecognized state, Somaliland lacks access to the Swift system for clearing international financial transactions, and its government is effectively blocked from borrowing meaningful amounts of money. Like Israel, a poor, war-ravaged and diplomatically isolated desert outpost during its first decades of existence, Somaliland has to find its way without much help.” [WSJ]
Word on the Street
The New York Post interviews New York City Councilmember Julie Menin about New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani as Menin, who is Jewish, is expected to become city council speaker; Menin said she called Mamdani shortly after his revocation of Israel- and antisemitism-related executive orders to express her concern over the moves…
Florida GOP gubernatorial candidate James Fishback is facing resurgent allegations that he had an inappropriate relationship with a minor who worked at his nonprofit organization in 2022; Fishback called the allegations “completely false”…
Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch interviews Zvi Hershcovich, the Philadelphia-based Chabad rabbi running a digital clubhouse for Jewish hockey fanatics…
The Chabad house in Kathmandu, Nepal, is temporarily closed following a dispute with the building’s landlord; Rabbi Chezki Lifshitz and Rebbetzin Chani Lifshitz are looking for a new site for the Chabad house, which is a popular site for Israeli and Jewish trekkers and gained fame for hosting the largest Passover Seder in the world…
The New York Times reports on efforts to repatriate items that had belonged to Holocaust victims to their descendants…
A new report from the Israel Advanced Technology Industries Association found that more than half of the companies surveyed saw an increase in requests from employees to relocate outside of Israel…
Einav Zangauker, who gained prominence in Israel for her advocacy on behalf of her son, Matan, who was a hostage in Gaza, announced Matan’s engagement to Ilana Gritzewsky; Zangauker was released from Hamas captivity in October 2025, while Gritzewsky, who was also taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023, was freed in November 2023…
Former Israeli hostage Romi Gonen recounted multiple incidents of sexual assault during the 471 days she spent in Hamas captivity in Gaza, in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12…
The BBC reached a five-figure settlement with an Israeli family from the Gaza envelope whose home a BBC reporting team filmed from without permission in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks…
Egypt and Qatar inked an agreement that will see Doha sending gas to Cairo as Egypt works to diversify its national gas imports…
Swiss officials identified the bodies of Israeli teenager Charlotte Needham and Jewish sisters Alicia and Diana Gunst, who died in a fire at a Swiss ski resort on New Year’s Eve…
Singer Este Haim married tech entrepreneur Jonathan Levin in a New Year’s Eve wedding in Los Angeles…
eJewishPhilanthropy talks to friends and colleagues of philanthropist Morris Kahn, who died last week at 95…
Former Orthodox Union head Rabbi Julius Berman, who previously served as chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and chair of the board at Yeshiva University’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, died at 80… Holocaust survivor Eva Schloss, the stepsister of Anne Frank, died at 96… Holocaust survivor Edward Gastfriend, who was instrumental in the creation of Philadelphia’s Holocaust Memorial Plaza, died at 100… Record executive and political activist Howie Klein died at 77 (read Phil Klein’s obituary for his father in the National Review here)… Journalist Tatiana Schlossberg, the daughter of Amb. Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Schlossberg, died at 35… Former Rep. Dick Zimmer (R-NJ) died at 81… Richard Pollak, the founder and editor of More magazine, died at 91… Piano virtuoso Gary Graffman died at 87… Longtime Upper East Side veterinarian Lewis Berman, whose clientele included the pets of numerous celebrities and high-profile figures, died at 90…
Pic of the Day
Israel’s Noa Szollos finished 28th in the Women’s Slalom race in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, at the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup 2025-2026, earning Israel’s first-ever World Cup points in alpine skiing.
Birthdays
Tennis player ranked No. 1 in Israel for most of 2022, Yshai Oliel turns 26..
Author of 10 books including Mitzvah Man and collections of short fiction including Minyan: Ten Interwoven Stories, John Jacob Clayton turns 91… Sports journalist, author and former ombudsman for ESPN, Robert Lipsyte turns 88… NBA superfan who attends over 100 basketball games nationally each season, James F. Goldstein turns 86… Former member of the Knesset for the National Religious Party, Eliyahu Gabai turns 83… Former Philadelphia mayor for eight years, and then another eight years as Pennsylvania’s governor, currently a special counsel at Ballard Spahr, Ed Rendell turns 82… Retired attorney from Latham & Watkins, Paul Israel Meyer… San Diego-based attorney, she served as a member of Congress and as chief of staff for former California Gov. Gray Davis, Lynn Alice Schenk turns 81… Former attorney general of the U.K, now London co-managing partner and chair of the European and Asian litigation practice at Debevoise & Plimpton, Lord Peter Goldsmith turns 76… CEO of Legacy Interactive / Legacy Games, Ariella Lehrer, Ph.D…. Founder and principal of DC-based Mager & Associates, a boutique public policy and advocacy consulting firm, Mimi Mager… Retired chairman of the Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemet LeYisrael), Daniel “Danny” Atar turns 68… Journalist John F. Solomon turns 59… Actress and television personality, she is best known for her nine seasons on “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” Heather Paige Kent Dubrow turns 57… Partner of both the law firm Galper & Goldberg PLLC and the PR firm Trident GMG, Joshua P. Galper… Professional poker player with more than $29 million of winnings, including $10 million at the 2025 World Series of Poker Main Event Championship, Michael Mizrachi turns 45… NYC-based saxophonist, composer, bandleader and educator, Oded Tzur turns 42… Founder and creative director of Alsall Studio, a social media and web design firm, Alexandra Lauren Sall…
By Jacob Kornbluh & JI Staff
DAY 5: Netanyahu: It’s Going To Take Time: “We are here in the midst of a complex operation. We need to be prepared for the possibility that it may take time. This is a serious event and there will be serious consequences. We are working together in a considered, responsible and very determined manner.” Netanyahu urged the international community to decry the kidnapping: “I expect all responsible elements in the international community – some of whom rush to condemn us for any construction in this place or for enclosing a balcony in Gilo – to strongly condemn this reprehensible and deplorable act of abducting three youths.” After 5 days and without mentioning Hamas, the EU finally released a statement: “We condemn in the strongest terms the abduction of 3 Israeli students in the West Bank and call for their immediate release.” [Statement] (more…)
In tomorrow’s NYTimes Magazine, Mark Leibovich (author of the best-selling book This Town) interviews Sen. John McCain in a piece titled “How John McCain Turned His Clichés Into Meaning.” In it McCain talks about wanting to convert to Judaism, that is until his friend, former Sen. Joe Lieberman, reminds him about the necessary circumcision.
“Funny story about Lieberman,” he says to me. The Israeli ambassador in Washington honored him after he left the Senate. “Everyone was saying Joe’s the most wonderful guy, the usual crap you hear,” McCain says. “So I got up, I was the last guy, and I say: ‘I’m here to announce that I’m converting to Judaism. Because for all these years with Joe, I’ve had to eat that crappy salmon. I had to ride the damn Shabbat elevator. I’ve observed Shabbat to a point where I couldn’t even ride in a goddamn car. I’ve had all of the bull associated with this religion, and I’ve gotten not a single benefit. So I’m converting to Judaism.’ ”
Lieberman then stood up and announced that before McCain could convert, he must first have a proper bris. In the retelling, McCain pronounces it “brits” — which is how he pronounced it when he told me this story a week earlier.
Also in the article, Leibovich describes McCain’s experience as a POW in Vietnam.
In his book about five Naval Academy graduates, “The Nightingale’s Song,” the journalist Robert Timberg described what McCain looked like after two months of imprisonment — weighing less than 100 pounds, with collapsed cheeks and atrophied limbs. “His eyes, I’ll never forget,” McCain’s cellmate, Bud Day, told Timberg. “They were bug-eyed like you see in those pictures from the Jewish concentration camps. His eyes were real popeyed like that.”
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