AP Photo/Abbie Parr
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, left, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, right, arrive at a press conference ahead of the U.S. Gymnastics Olympic Trials Monday, June 24, 2024, in Minneapolis.
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In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on House Minority Whip Katherine Clark’s walkback of her previous comment that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, and spotlight the Democratic primary in California’s 32nd District, where Rep. Brad Sherman is facing challenges from two millennial political neophytes. We talk to Gaza Humanitarian Foundation head Johnnie Moore about recent threats made against him by anti-Israel activists, and report on a campaign to boycott Israel within the American Association of Geographers. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Rabbi Berel Wein, Santa Ono and Pierre Poilievre.
What We’re Watching
- We’re keeping an eye on ceasefire efforts in Cairo, following Hamas’ acceptance of a Qatari- and Egypt-proposed deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Monday night to move forward with plans to take over Gaza City, saying that “enormous pressure” had pushed Hamas to accept the partial-ceasefire proposal.
- In a post to his Truth Social site on Monday, President Donald Trump said that “we will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed.”
- Today marks the first yahrzeit, or Hebrew anniversary, of the deaths of six hostages in Gaza, including Israeli American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose family is holding a memorial this evening in Jerusalem.
- With the House and Senate out for the August recess, a number of legislators are making trips abroad. Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), as well as Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO), are among the legislators in Jordan this week. The delegation met with King Abdullah II yesterday in Amman.
- U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee is holding a virtual briefing at noon ET today with the American Jewish Congress.
- In Washington, the Hudson Institute is hosting the White House’s Seb Gorka for a conversation about counterterrorism and the U.S.’ approach to addressing global terrorist threats.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR
If there is one word to describe the political mood in dealing with rising antisemitism, it would be apathy. Even the most jaw-dropping displays of anti-Jewish hatred — from abject Holocaust denial on far-right podcasts to support for Hamas’ atrocities on the extreme left — are increasingly responded to with shrugs from mainstream political leaders.
The most recent example of obvious antisemitism being ignored by a party’s political class came out of Minnesota, where we reported about Minneapolis Democratic mayoral candidate Omar Fateh — running as a democratic socialist against sitting Mayor Jacob Frey — hiring top staff who celebrated Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attacks.
In normal times, a candidate would be ashamed to be associated with extremists, and would immediately cut ties with the offending staffers. Not long ago, having ties to that type of extremist rhetoric would be disqualifying for the candidate as well.
But these are not normal times. Not only has Fateh, a state senator, ignored the controversy entirely, but the local and national media has been uninterested in following up on Jewish Insider’s reporting about the radical operatives on Fateh’s team.
Even more shocking: Two of Frey’s most prominent backers, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — have remained silent when asked about their thoughts about the antisemitism stemming from an endorsee’s political rival. It’s a sign that many mainstream Democrats fear that speaking out against antisemitism or anti-Israel extremism could lead to a backlash from other grassroots supporters.
At best, it’s a sign that speaking out against hate carries few political benefits these days.
CLARK’S CLARIFICATION
AIPAC stands by Katherine Clark as she walks back ‘genocide’ comment
After a video surfaced last week of Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA), the House minority whip, referring to Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide, Clark walked back the remark on Monday — and maintained her endorsement from AIPAC amid the controversy, a spokesperson for the group told Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch. “Last week, while attending an event in my district, I repeated the word ‘genocide’ in response to a question,” Clark told the Jewish News Syndicate on Monday. “I want to be clear that I am not accusing Israel of genocide. … We all need to work with urgency to bring the remaining hostages home, surge aid to Palestinians and oppose their involuntary relocation, remove Hamas from power and end the war.”
Sticking by her: AIPAC spokesperson Marshall Wittmann told JI on Monday that the organization will stick by Clark, the No. 2 Democrat in the House. “We appreciate that the congresswoman clarified her remarks, as Israel is fighting a just and moral war against a barbaric terrorist enemy. Our endorsement is unchanged and based upon her long standing support for the U.S.-Israel relationship,” Wittmann said.
CALIFORNIA COMPETITION
Brad Sherman keeps a wary eye on younger primary opposition
When Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) was first elected to Congress in 1996, his two opponents in the current race, Democrats Jake Rakov and Jake Levine, were 8 and 12 years old, respectively. Both candidates are making a generational appeal: They argue that California’s 32nd Congressional District, which encompasses several tony neighborhoods on the west side of Los Angeles, including Malibu and the Pacific Palisades, as well as much of the San Fernando Valley, needs bold new representation to respond to the challenges of the moment. Neither Rakov, 37, nor Levine, 41, has held elected office before, and both have spent the past several years away from Los Angeles. They will each face a tough, drawn-out fight if they hope to have a chance against a battle-tested incumbent in a primary election that’s still more than nine months away, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Primary pressure: The San Fernando Valley district is solidly blue, but it’s also an affluent constituency that isn’t all that enamored with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. That doesn’t mean Sherman, who is 70, is automatically safe from an upstart candidate who might excite the base in his district. “At this point, he’s pretty much become background noise. There’s no animosity against him. His constituents are perfectly content to continue sending him back to Congress, and most of them believe that he does a perfectly serviceable job,” said Dan Schnur, a political analyst in L.A. who teaches at both the University of Southern California and the University of California, Berkeley. “But that’s exactly the type of incumbent that’s vulnerable to a generational challenge in this landscape.”
VIOLENT DISSENT
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation head Johnnie Moore facing death threats, vandalism at Northern Virginia home
Rev. Johnnie Moore, executive chairman of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, has spent the past two weeks under “24/7 protection while evil wants to kill me,” he told attendees of the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute’s annual National Jewish Retreat, held last week at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington. Moore was referring to some 50 anti-Israel demonstrators who have protested outside of his Northern Virginia home multiple times in recent weeks — making death threats and painting graffiti. Moore told Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen he has received “two credible death threats,” which are currently under investigation, adding that police have “done an extraordinary job taking it seriously” and made one arrest for destruction of property.
Opposite effect: As well as demonstrating outside Moore’s home, the Palestinian Youth Movement has also protested outside the nearby home of John Acree, the interim executive director of the GHF. “I never thought that it would be so life-threatening to do something so obviously right,” Moore told supporters of JLI, an educational arm of Chabad-Lubavitch, at a VIP reception Thursday night, referring to his work with GHF. “If they’re doing this to try and force us to quit, in fact it’s going to have the exact opposite effect because every attack, every threat, every lie is only more proof that what we’re doing is right and it’s essential,” Moore, a member of President Donald Trump’s evangelical advisory committee, told JI.
SCOOP
American Association of Geographers wants to take Israel off the map
The Association of American Geographers became the latest professional association to face pressure to adopt a boycott of Israel after a recent member petition urged the association “to endorse the campaign for an academic boycott of Israeli academic institutions,” Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
On the agenda: The campaign also calls for “financial disclosure and divestment of any AAG funds invested in corporations or state institutions profiting from the ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people.” A special member meeting is scheduled for Oct. 3 to move toward a vote on the resolution after the group behind the petition succeeded in reaching the required 10% of member signatures. An AAG spokesperson told JI that the organization has “no statement or resolution about Israel-Palestine.” AAG did not respond to a follow-up inquiry asking which Israeli institutions the association currently invests in.
NEW GIG
Santa Ono to become inaugural director of Ellison Institute of Technology
Santo Ono, the former president of the University of Michigan, is set to become the inaugural director of the Ellison Institute of Technology, a research and development center, he announced on Monday. “I am humbled to share that I’ve been appointed Global President of the Ellison Institutes of Technology (EIT), reporting directly to its founder and chairman, Larry Ellison,” Ono wrote in a social media post. Ellison is also the founder and chairman of the software company Oracle and a major donor to Jewish and Israeli causes, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
Background: The appointment comes two months after Ono was rejected by the Florida Board of Governors as the University of Florida’s next president. At a board meeting in June, Ono, who resigned from his position at the University of Michigan in May, was questioned by the board, which oversees the state’s 12 public universities, about an anti-Israel encampment last year that remained on the Michigan campus for a month. Board members also scrutinized his response to antisemitism on campus after the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, which some called inadequate.
BARUCH DAYAN EMET
Rabbi Berel Wein, lawyer, scholar and lecturer who was ‘constantly doing and thinking and writing and reinventing,’ dies at 91
Rabbi Berel Wein, the influential Orthodox rabbi, historian and “Voice of Jewish History,” died Saturday in Jerusalem at 91, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Jay Deitcher reports. Born in Chicago in 1934, Wein descended from seven generations of Lithuanian rabbis. He was educated in both secular studies and religious studies, receiving a bachelor’s degree from Roosevelt University and a law degree from DePaul University while completing his rabbinic ordination at Hebrew Theological College. After moving to New York City, Wein began his journey of constant reinvention, first serving as executive vice president of the organization now known as the Orthodox Union. Then he became rabbinic administrator of OU Kosher and founded Congregation Bais Torah and Yeshiva Shaarei Torah in Monsey, N.Y.
Life-shaping moment: As a boy studying at a Chicago yeshiva in 1946, Wein heard Rabbi Isaac Herzog, then the Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the British Mandate of Palestine, recount a plea he had made to the pope to help retrieve the thousands of Jewish children who had been hidden in Catholic institutions as a way to protect them from the Nazis. The pope refused saying the children had already been baptized. After telling his story, Herzog, his eyes still wet with tears, looked into the crowd of nearly 250 people. “I cannot do anything more for those 10,000 children,” Wein recalled Herzog saying. “But what are you going to do to build the Jewish people?” In the years that followed, Wein became a lawyer, rabbi, historian, dean, producer and writer whose lectures have been purchased on tape, CD and streaming platforms over 1 million times worldwide.
Read the full obituary here and sign up for eJewishPhilanthropy’s Your Daily Phil newsletter here.
Paying respects: Israeli President Isaac Herzog, the grandson of Rabbi Herzog, attended the shiva for Wein.
Worthy Reads
How Would Mamdani Govern?: The Atlantic’s Michael Powell considers what strain of socialist governance New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani would, if elected, bring to City Hall. “Mamdani, 33, conveys that he is a man prepared to work with the organs of capitalist democracy to progressive ends and not to demand ideological litmus tests. But the Mamdani who takes great pride in his identity as a member of Democratic Socialists of America and who told ‘Meet the Press’ in late June that ‘I don’t think we should have billionaires’ — to the alarm of Wall Street donors — has hardly disappeared. By his own account, his political journey from state assemblyman to mayoral nominee owes almost entirely to his umbilical connection with DSA. … The political left from which Mamdani emerges is a collection of disorderly tribes, sheltering self-styled revolutionaries alongside those who prize compromise and electoral victory, and those who want to sand the edges off capitalism alongside those who want to replace it altogether.” [TheAtlantic]
Still On Guard: Bloomberg’s Golnar Motevalli looks at how Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has become “more critical” to Tehran’s survival following the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June. “The Guard comprises a navy, ground troops, aerospace, an elite unit called the Quds Force and the Basij volunteer paramilitaries. It also has its own intelligence organization that’s known to directly compete with — and sometimes work against — the government’s Ministry of Intelligence. … Now, the galvanizing impact of Israel’s attacks on nationalist sentiment in Iran may have already helped improve public support for the IRGC, according to Narges Bajoghli, associate professor of Middle East Studies at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University. ‘People are angry at them, but they also realize that there is no other force in the country,’ she said. ‘What they’re committed to today, is about sovereign independence and the idea of resistance to Western and Israeli imperialism.’” [Bloomberg]
Ending Hostage Diplomacy: In The Washington Post, Diane Foley, whose son James Foley was killed in Syria by ISIS after two years in captivity, suggests how the U.S. government can more forcefully address the taking of American hostages by rogue and enemy regimes. “The Trump administration should swiftly exercise this new authority to signal that engaging in hostage diplomacy has consequences. Designated states could face visa restrictions, sanctions, controls on U.S. exports, reductions or elimination of foreign assistance, and asset seizures. … Eleven years after Jim’s murder, the use of Americans as political leverage remains a tragic feature of international relations. A coordinated effort to deter and prevent unjust captivity abroad is the necessary next step to ensure that our government not only never again abandons its citizens, but also places their safety and security at the forefront of U.S. foreign policy.” [WashPost]
Word on the Street
President Donald Trump said on Monday afternoon that he had begun making arrangements for a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, following his meeting with Zelensky and foreign heads of state in Washington earlier in the day…
The State Department pulled the visas of some 6,000 foreign students, the majority of whom had overstayed their visas or committed crimes while in the U.S.; between 200-300 of the visas revoked were due to terror ties, including fundraising for U.S.-designated terrorist groups…
Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ) is mulling joining the state’s 2026 gubernatorial race, potentially setting up a high-stakes contest in the state’s purple 1st Congressional District, where five Democrats have already entered the race…
Soho House reached a $2.7 billion deal in which it will be taken private by a group of New York-based investors led by MCR Hotels; as part of the deal, Apollo Global Management, led by partner Reed Rayman, will contribute $800 million in debt and equity financing…
CBS News spotlights the Chicago chapter of “Lox & Loaded,” a group that trains members of the Jewish community and allies on firearm use, amid a rise in antisemitic attacks and concerns about personal safety among community members…
George Washington University suspended its campus chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace through May 2026, following a series of complaints over misconduct, harassment and Title VI violations by the group; a member of the JVP chapter told GWU’s Hatchet that the group planned to disaffiliate from the university over the multiple clashes with the school’s administration in recent years…
Canadian Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre won a byelection to a rural Alberta-based House of Commons seat, four months after losing his seat in an Ottawa-area district; Poilievre won the seat, which was vacated by Conservative MP Damien Kurek so that Poilievre could run, with 80% of the vote…
Norges, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, sold off six Israeli companies in addition to the half dozen it had previously announced divesting last month; Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg told reporters that “there might be more exclusions to come” as Oslo’s central bank makes more referrals to the fund’s external ethics council…
Former U.K. Labour MP Zarah Sultana said that Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader who was ousted over the party’s handling of antisemitism and formed a new party with Sultana last month, had made a “serious mistake” in “capitulating” to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism…
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation unveiled a pilot program that will allow Palestinian families to reserve food parcels in advance, in an effort to increase order at the distribution sites, which have faced crowding, violence and supply issues…
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who is also serving as Syria envoy, called on Israel to comply with a phased plan to end its military operations in Lebanon in exchange for the disarmament of Hezbollah by the end of the year…
Israel’s Foreign Ministry revoked the visas of Australian diplomats to the Palestinian Authority, who live in Israel, following Canberra’s decision last week to cancel the visa of hard-right MK Simcha Rothman…
South Sudanese officials privately confirmed talks with Israel regarding the potential resettlement of Palestinians in Gaza in the East African nation, despite public denials that talks are taking place…
Qatar Airways plans to open its first exclusive lounge in the U.S. in John F. Kennedy Airport’s new international terminal; the 15,000-square-foot lounge will be built in the airport’s new Terminal 1…
Bloomberg looks at the logistical, financial and construction challenges facing Saudi Arabia’s Trojena ski resort project, located within the country’s broader Neom project, as Riyadh works to have the resort constructed in time to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games…
Graphic designer Joe Caroff, whose most famous works included James Bond’s 007 logo and the posters for “West Side Story” and “Cabaret,” died at 103…
Linguist Robin Lakoff, who focused on gender and language, died at 82…
Pic of the Day
Israeli President Isaac Herzog (second from right) and Israeli First Lady Michal Herzog (center) met this week with IsraAid CEO Yotam Polizer (left); Ruthie Rousso, the head of World Central Kitchen’s Israel operations (second from left); and World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés during Andrés’ trip to Israel and Gaza.
Birthdays
Actress and producer, known for her role as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson in the 109 episodes of the TNT crime drama “The Closer,” Kyra Sedgwick turns 60…
One of the earliest Silicon Valley venture capital investors with positions in firms like Intel and Apple, Arthur Rock turns 99… Ventura County, Calif., resident, Jerry Epstein… Past member of both houses of the South Dakota Legislature, Stanford “Stan” M. Adelstein turns 94… Retired president of Ono Academic College in Israel, she was Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations from 2008 to 2010, Gabriela Shalev turns 84… Photographer and director of television programs and movies, Neal Slavin… Professor emeritus of religion and philosophy at the University of Toronto, he is the author of 16 books, David Novak turns 84… 42nd president of the United States, William Jefferson Clinton turns 79… Retired reading teacher for the NYC Department of Education, she co-founded the kosher pantry at Bethesda Hospital in Boynton Beach, Fla., Miriam Baum Benkoe… Actor and director, Adam Arkin turns 69… Gavriel Benavraham… Managing partner at Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz, Mark C. Rifkin… Co-founder and CEO of Apollo Global Management, he is the board chairman of the UJA-Federation of New York, Marc J. Rowan turns 63… Chairman of the FCC in the Obama administration, he is now a senior advisor at the Carlyle Group, Julius Genachowski turns 63… Executive editor of The New York Times, Joseph Kahn turns 61… Managing partner and talent agent at William Morris Endeavor, he is active in the contemporary art world as a collector, Dan Aloni turns 61… Former member of Knesset, he is the son of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Omri Sharon turns 61… Executive administrator of the Ventura, Calif., accounting firm, Morgan, Daggett & Wotman, Carolynn Wotman… District attorney of Queens, N.Y., Melinda R. Katz turns 60… Founder and CEO of The Friedlander Group, Ezra Friedlander… Private equity financier and a founding partner of Searchlight Capital Partners, he recently joined the board of Estee Lauder, Eric Louis Zinterhofer turns 54… Chair of the Orthodox Union and past chair of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore, Yehuda L. Neuberger… Contributing editor for The Daily Beast and the author of three books, Molly Jong-Fast turns 47… Businessman and investor, Brett Icahn turns 46… Managing partner of Handmade Capital, Ross Hinkle… Laser radial sailor, she represented Israel at the 2008 (Beijing) and 2012 (London) Olympics, Nufar Edelman turns 43… Founder and principal at Aron’s Kissena Farms and Cedar Market, Aaron Yechiel Hirtz… President at Kansas City-based Eighteen Capital Group, Isaac Gortenburg… Rapper, singer and songwriter, known by his stage name Hoodie Allen, Steven Adam Markowitz turns 37… Team manager at HubSpot, Cassandra Federbusz…One of the earliest Silicon Valley venture capital investors with positions in firms like Intel and Apple, Arthur Rock turns 99… Ventura County, Calif., resident, Jerry Epstein… Past member of both houses of the South Dakota Legislature, Stanford “Stan” M. Adelstein turns 94… Retired president of Ono Academic College in Israel, she was Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations from 2008 to 2010, Gabriela Shalev turns 84… Photographer and director of television programs and movies, Neal Slavin… Professor emeritus of religion and philosophy at the University of Toronto, he is the author of 16 books, David Novak turns 84… 42nd president of the United States, William Jefferson Clinton turns 79… Retired reading teacher for the NYC Department of Education, she co-founded the kosher pantry at Bethesda Hospital in Boynton Beach, Fla., Miriam Baum Benkoe… Actor and director, Adam Arkin turns 69… Gavriel Benavraham… Managing partner at Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz, Mark C. Rifkin… Co-founder and CEO of Apollo Global Management, he is the board chairman of the UJA-Federation of New York, Marc J. Rowan turns 63… Chairman of the FCC in the Obama administration, he is now a senior advisor at the Carlyle Group, Julius Genachowski turns 63… Executive editor of The New York Times, Joseph Kahn turns 61… Managing partner and talent agent at William Morris Endeavor, he is active in the contemporary art world as a collector, Dan Aloni turns 61… Former member of Knesset, he is the son of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Omri Sharon turns 61… Executive administrator of the Ventura, Calif., accounting firm, Morgan, Daggett & Wotman, Carolynn Wotman… District attorney of Queens, N.Y., Melinda R. Katz turns 60… Founder and CEO of The Friedlander Group, Ezra Friedlander… Private equity financier and a founding partner of Searchlight Capital Partners, he recently joined the board of Estee Lauder, Eric Louis Zinterhofer turns 54… Chair of the Orthodox Union and past chair of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore, Yehuda L. Neuberger… Contributing editor for The Daily Beast and the author of three books, Molly Jong-Fast turns 47… Businessman and investor, Brett Icahn turns 46… Managing partner of Handmade Capital, Ross Hinkle… Laser radial sailor, she represented Israel at the 2008 (Beijing) and 2012 (London) Olympics, Nufar Edelman turns 43… Founder and principal at Aron’s Kissena Farms and Cedar Market, Aaron Yechiel Hirtz… President at Kansas City-based Eighteen Capital Group, Isaac Gortenburg… Rapper, singer and songwriter, known by his stage name Hoodie Allen, Steven Adam Markowitz turns 37… Team manager at HubSpot, Cassandra Federbusz…
AIPAC said its endorsement is ‘unchanged’ and based on the House minority whip’s ‘long-standing support for the U.S.-Israel relationship’
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA) conducts a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center on Wednesday, July 23, 2025.
After a video surfaced last week of Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA), the House minority whip, referring to Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide, Clark walked back the remark on Monday — and maintained her endorsement from AIPAC amid the controversy, a spokesperson for the group told Jewish Insider.
“Last week, while attending an event in my district, I repeated the word ‘genocide’ in response to a question,” Clark told the Jewish News Syndicate on Monday. “I want to be clear that I am not accusing Israel of genocide. … We all need to work with urgency to bring the remaining hostages home, surge aid to Palestinians and oppose their involuntary relocation, remove Hamas from power and end the war.”
AIPAC spokesperson Marshall Wittmann told JI on Monday that the organization will stick by Clark, the second highest-ranked Democrat in the House.
“We appreciate that the congresswoman clarified her remarks, as Israel is fighting a just and moral war against a barbaric terrorist enemy. Our endorsement is unchanged and based upon her long standing support for the U.S.-Israel relationship,” Wittmann said.
In a video from an event hosted on Thursday by the Friends Committee on National Legislation in Cambridge, Mass., Clark made a passing reference to Israel’s actions in Gaza. “We each have to continue to have an open heart about how we do this, how we do it effectively, and how we take action in time to make a difference, whether that is stopping the starvation and genocide and destruction of Gaza, or whether that means we are working together to stop the redistricting that is going on, taking away the vote from people in order to retain power,” said Clark.
Plus, the two-finger hustle that impressed Ari Emanuel
Senate Television via AP
In this image from video, House impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., becomes emotional as he speaks during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump in the Senate at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021.
Good Monday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on yesterday’s strikes across Israel to call attention to the plight of the remaining 50 hostages, and report on Rep. Jamie Raskin’s support for the “Block the Bombs” bill that calls for limiting offensive weapons sales to Israel. We cover comments from Rep. Katherine Clark, the No. 2 House Democrat, calling Israel’s actions in Gaza a “genocide,” and report on a new push from leading Jewish organizations for universities to pursue reforms to deal with antisemitism. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Mark Shapiro, Larry Fink and Liv Schreiber.
What We’re Watching
- President Donald Trump is convening European leaders at the White House today following his meeting on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump will meet privately with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at 1 p.m. ET, followed by a larger meeting with the European heads of state at 3 p.m.
- Leaders expected to be in attendance include U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, President of the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
- Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed Al Thani is meeting with senior officials in Cairo today to discuss a new ceasefire proposal. The trip comes days after Al Thani met in Doha with Mossad head David Barnea.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S TAMARA ZIEVE
The unrest could be felt everywhere — in traffic jams, on the airwaves, in WhatsApp groups, even in the waiting room of a dental clinic.
Across Israel yesterday, hundreds of thousands joined a nationwide unofficial strike, led by hostage families and bereaved families, demanding an end to the war in Gaza and the immediate release of the hostages still held there. According to the Hostages Families Forum, over 1 million people participated in protests throughout the day. As the government plans to escalate its military campaign against Hamas, emotions ran high across towns, cities and online spaces, deepening a national rift.
Police clashed with demonstrators blocking roads. In Ra’anana, a truck driver was arrested after allegedly attacking a protester. In a Tel Aviv neighborhood mothers’ WhatsApp group, several members condemned local cafés for staying open, while another defended them for “not strengthening Hamas.” At a dental clinic, a man berated staff for opening their doors, shouting, “What about the hostages!?”
At the heart of the tensions is a painful divide: Protesters — including the majority of the hostage families — argue that rescuing the captives must come before all else. Meanwhile, the government and its supporters, and even several hostage families, claim such demonstrations weaken Israel’s negotiating hand and embolden Hamas. Israeli President Issac Herzog, speaking at Hostages Square, said, “There’s no Israeli who doesn’t want them back home. We can argue about philosophies, but truly, the people of Israel want our brothers and sisters back home.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down on his government’s stance in a public statement, warning: “Those who are calling for an end to the war today without defeating Hamas, are not only hardening Hamas’s stance and pushing off the release of our hostages, they are also ensuring that the horrors of October 7 will recur again and again … to advance the release of our hostages and to ensure that Gaza will never again constitute a threat to Israel, we must complete the work and defeat Hamas.”
Yet recent polls show that a majority of Israelis support prioritizing the hostages’ release and bringing an end to the war.
BACKING THE BLOCK
Raskin backs bill severely restricting U.S. arms transfers to Israel
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), one of the most visible and well-known progressive Jewish lawmakers in Congress, late last week became a co-sponsor of the “Block the Bombs Act,” a bill led by far-left lawmakers that aims to severely restrict U.S. aid to Israel. The bill would impose unprecedented new conditions on weapons sales or transfers to Israel, requiring specific congressional authorization for each individual transfer of various weapons systems, and would require Congress to identify specific purposes for which those weapons would be used, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Arms embargo: Critics say that the bill would effectively constitute an arms embargo for the key weapons in question. Raskin has not issued any statement on his support for the bill, which aligns him with some of the most anti-Israel members of the House, and did not respond to a request for comment. Currently, 32 other lawmakers are co-sponsoring the legislation, but Raskin, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, is among the most recognizable sponsors. Three other progressive Jewish House members, Reps. Sara Jacobs (D-CA), Becca Balint (D-VT) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), are also backing the bill.
sound of silence
Klobuchar, Walz staying silent over Fateh staffers’ antisemitism
Leading elected officials in Minnesota are remaining silent in response to a top Minneapolis mayoral candidate, far-left state Sen. Omar Fateh, whose campaign has faced scrutiny for employing staffers who have celebrated Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and called for Israel’s destruction, among other extreme views he has yet to publicly address, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
No comment: Even as some of the state’s leading Democratic lawmakers have endorsed Fateh’s rival, incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey, who is seeking a third term, they have so far declined to weigh in on the staffers’ comments and Fateh’s decision to hire them, which has raised questions about his acceptance of extreme rhetoric on a particularly sensitive issue. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Gov. Tim Walz, who are Frey’s most high-profile backers in what is expected to be a hotly contested race, both avoided addressing the matter to JI. A spokesperson for Klobuchar declined to comment on Friday, and representatives for Walz did not return multiple requests for comment.
CLARK’S BARK
No. 2 House Democrat describes war in Gaza as ‘genocide’
Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA), who serves as the House Democratic whip, the No. 2 Democratic leader in the chamber, described the war in Gaza as a “genocide” at an event last Thursday, based on video of the event that has been shared online, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What she said: “We each have to continue to have an open heart about how we do this, how we do it effectively, and how we take action in time to make a difference, whether that is stopping the starvation and genocide and destruction of Gaza, or whether that means we are working together to stop the redistricting that is going on, taking away the vote from people in order to retain power,” Clark said in a brief clip from an event that was first reported by Axios.
CAMPUS BEAT
Leading Jewish groups urge universities to pursue reforms to deal with antisemitism
As students return to school in the coming weeks, four leading Jewish organizations are encouraging university leaders to adopt a new set of recommendations, released on Monday, designed to curb the antisemitism that has overwhelmed many campuses since the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen has learned.
The guidelines: The joint effort from the Anti-Defamation League, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Hillel International and Jewish Federations of North America calls for increased safety measures as well as long-term structural reforms and builds upon a four-page set of recommendations released last August. The recommendations urge university leaders to “consistently enforce” codes of conduct around protests; appoint a coordinator to address Title VI discrimination complaints; reject academic boycotts of Israel; conduct annual student and faculty surveys in regard to campus antisemitism; crack down on online harassment (in addition to physical safety concerns); and hold faculty accountable for political coercion and identity-based discrimination.
AID ALLEGATIONS
Whistleblower alleges U.N. and World Food Program refused IDF assistance
An aid worker in Gaza filed a whistleblower complaint with the inspector general of the U.S. Agency for International Development alleging that the World Food Program and U.N. refused security cooperation with the IDF, the whistleblower confirmed to Fox News last week. The complaint alleges “gross misconduct and misuse of humanitarian funds” by the WFP and U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and that the agencies had turned down support “including security protection and coordination” to distribute humanitarian aid from senior IDF officials, saying “they were not prepared to discuss such coordination,” Jewish Insider’s Danielle Cohen-Kanik reports.
What they said: The whistleblower told Fox News that the IDF has cleared thousands of tons of U.N. aid for distribution that are waiting inside of Gaza, and the “U.N. must be held accountable to pick up and distribute such aid.” They said that it must be determined “the extent to which U.N. agencies, by refusing to coordinate with the IDF on essential issues, including security, are abusing U.S. taxpayer funds rather than using them to deliver the aid the American people are donating — and whether such actions are being taken independently by U.N. officials in Gaza or at the direction of the U.N. Secretary-General or other senior U.N. officials in New York.”
EXCLUSIVE
Lawler bill would repeal decades-old provision on U.S. diplomatic facility construction in Israel
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) introduced legislation on Friday to repeal a decades-old provision in U.S. law relating to the construction of new diplomatic facilities in Israel and the West Bank, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. The provision, enacted in 1986 as part of a package designed to improve security for U.S. diplomats and combat terrorism, banned funding from that bill from being used for “site acquisition, development, or construction of any facility in Israel, Jerusalem, or the West Bank except for facilities to serve as a chancery or residence within five miles of the Israeli Knesset building and within the boundaries of Israel as they existed before June 1, 1967.”
Lawler’s law: Lawler’s bill, the Keeping Official Territories Eligible for Land-use (KOTEL) Act, named for the Jewish holy site, would repeal the language from the 1986 bill. “Israel is one of America’s closest allies, and this 40-year-old inactive prohibition serves no purpose. The KOTEL Act removes these outdated restrictions so we can continue to ensure the bond between the U.S. and Israel remains ironclad,” Lawler said in a statement. It’s not clear how much impact Lawler’s initiative would have on current efforts to acquire or build new diplomatic facilities — the funding to which the 1986 provision applies has expired. But it could head off future attempts to challenge such construction.
Worthy Reads
Aid Aide: In Foreign Affairs, Jack Lew and David Satterfield, respectively the former U.S. ambassador to Israel and U.S. special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues during the Biden administration, detail their efforts to send aid into Gaza and suggest how the Trump administration can prevent a worsening humanitarian crisis in the enclave. “When aid was flowing before the cease-fire, it did not arrive by chance. It came one border crossing and one truck convoy at a time, and it required overcoming political and battlefield challenges every step of the way. As the world watches the crisis unfolding today and demands a solution, it is important to learn from what worked and what did not, and to remember that it falls to all parties to find a solution. The stakes are too high to allow the delivery of critical assistance to be derailed by Israeli political dynamics, obstruction by Hamas or armed Gazan gangs, or infighting among aid providers. And Washington must remember that it uniquely has the tools and leverage to avert an escalating catastrophe.” [ForeignAffairs]
Northern Exposure: In The Wall Street Journal, Eugene Kontorovich calls on the Trump administration to use its United Nations Security Council veto power to nix an effort to extend the mandate of UNIFIL, arguing that the U.N. peacekeeping force has long failed in its goals to maintain peace and calm along the Israel-Lebanon border. “The first Trump administration considered nixing Unifil but was persuaded to compromise on a package reducing its size and supposedly introducing reforms. There will be temptations for the U.S. to compromise again. But if Unifil survives, it will eventually regrow under a less vigilant administration. Some in the administration argue the Lebanese army isn’t ready to take over for Unifil. But Unifil doesn’t keep the peace, so there’s nothing to get ready for. … If the U.S. doesn’t veto Unifil, it would undermine the credibility of Washington’s broader demands — both for genuine disarmament of terror groups in Lebanon and Gaza and for broader U.N. reform.” [WSJ]
What ‘Pro-Israel’ Means Now: In the Jerusalem Journal, Halie Soifer, the CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, considers what it means to be a pro-Israel American in a post-Oct. 7 era. “In 2025, being pro-Israel should mean standing with the Israeli people in the aftermath of October 7, supporting Israel’s security as it faces ongoing regional threats, remaining deeply committed to Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state, and recognizing there’s no future for Hamas as part of any solution to this conflict. It also means expressing concern about the war — and continued captivity of hostages — which has gone on for too long. Calls to address the acute humanitarian crisis in Gaza don’t make someone anti-Israel. American Jews are also concerned about the crisis in Gaza, though there’s a clear double standard when it comes to assessing support of Israel among Democrats.” [JerusalemJournal]
Fight Club: The Wall Street Journal profiles Mark Shapiro, TKO’s president and chief operating officer, following the $7.7 billion deal between Paramount Skydance and TKO to acquire the distribution rights to TKO subsidiary Ultimate Fighting Championship, which Shapiro orchestrated. “It was on a cross-country flight in 2002 that Shapiro had a chance meeting with [TKO CEO] Ari Emanuel, the Hollywood power broker. Emanuel spotted Shapiro frantically typing with his two index fingers. After watching him for a few hours, Emanuel was mesmerized. ‘I couldn’t take it anymore,’ Emanuel says. He persuaded the person sitting next to Shapiro to switch seats and asked, ‘what the f—k are you doing?’ Shapiro replied he worked at ESPN and was preparing a report for Disney bosses Michael Eiser and Iger. Emanuel and Shapiro, who are from neighboring Chicago suburbs, hit it off. Soon, they were talking regularly. Today, they are joined at the hip. Emanuel is executive chairman and chief executive of TKO and executive chairman of talent agency WME Group.” [WSJ]
Word on the Street
The Trump administration halted the issuance of all visitor visas to Gazans, following a social media post by Laura Loomer citing the entry of families of Palestinian children seeking medical treatment in the U.S….
Members of The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page talk to former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel about his opposition to the Democratic Party’s far-left flank as he mulls a 2028 presidential bid…
2020 Democratic congressional candidate Ammar Campa-Najjar is weighing a rematch against Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA). Read Jewish Insider’s 2020 profile of Campa-Najjar here…
The New York City Parks Department issued an order to vacate to the leaders of a Queens community garden who required prospective members to sign a “statement of values” that opposed Zionism…
New Yorker staff writer Doreen St. Felix deleted a series of social media posts about the Holocaust after coming under fire for calling Sydney Sweeney an “Aryan princess” following the release of a viral American Eagle ad campaign featuring the actress…
An Ohio man pleaded guilty to hate crimes charges connected to the November 2023 assaults of two Jewish students from Ohio State University; according to court documents, Timur Mamatov punched a student wearing a “chai” necklace after asking if the student was Jewish…
The Forward interviews “Bojack Horseman” creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg about his new animated series “Long Story Short,” about a Jewish family…
The World Economic Forum named Larry Fink a co-chair of the group’s board of trustees, alongside Andre Hoffmann; the two replace Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, who served as chairman on an interim basis…
The Wall Street Journal spotlights Camp Social, founded by entrepreneur Liv Schreiber, amid the rise in popularity of adult sleep-away camps…
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned as “antisemitic hatred” the cutting down of a tree planted in a Paris suburb in memory of Ilan Halimi, a French-Jewish man who was tortured and killed in 2006…
Australia canceled the visa of far-right Israeli lawmaker Simcha Rothman hours before he was scheduled to depart for a speaking tour in the country; Australian Foreign Minister Tony Burke confirmed the ban, saying that Canberra “takes a hard line on people who seek to come to our country and spread division”…
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted a video of himself in an Israeli prison warning Marwan Barghouti, the high-profile Palestinian political leader who is serving five life sentences for his role in the murders of numerous Israelis, “Whoever messes with the people of Israel, whoever murders children and women — we will wipe them out. You need to know this”…
The Wall Street Journal reports on the deepening clean water shortage in the Gaza Strip…
An investment group led by Israel’s Leumi Partners is acquiring the rideshare app Gett for $190 million…
The New York Times looks at Iranian efforts to recruit Israelis to commit espionage and acts of terrorism within Israel…
The Israeli military said it struck a Houthi energy infrastructure site south of the Yemeni capital of Sana’a over the weekend…
South Africa’s Foreign and Defense Ministries distanced themselves from comments by army chief Gen. Rudzani Maphwanya, made during his recent trip to Iran, praising the close ties between Pretoria and Tehran and condemning Israel; South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called Maphwanya’s trip to Iran “ill-advised” and said he planned to meet with the military leader over it…
Historian Rabbi Berel Wein, the founder of Yeshiva Shaarei Torah in Monsey, N.Y., who previously led the Orthodox Union’s kashrut division, died at 91…
Rachel Aliza Nisanov, the 13-year-old daughter of Rabbi Shlomo Nisanov, died in a jet-skiing accident in Florida last Tuesday…
Pic of the Day
Seventeen-year-old Pushpa Joshi, the sister of Nepali hostage Bipin Joshi, speaks at a hostage rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday night. The Joshi family arrived in Israel last week for the first time as they work to raise awareness about the plight of Bipin, a farming student who was taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023, from Kibbutz Alumim.
Birthdays
Auctioneer, television personality and sports card collector, he is featured on the Netflix TV series “King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch,” Kenneth Goldin turns 60…
Art collector, museum trustee in Chicago, Aspen, Colo., and Orange County, Calif. and former member of Cultural Property Advisory Committee to the U.S. State Department, Barbara Bluhm-Kaul turns 85… Baltimore resident, Jerome Seaman… Holocaust survivor, novelist, artist and producer, Sonia Wolff Levitin turns 91… Retired teacher of Talmud at Jerusalem’s Yeshiva Torat Shraga, Rabbi Noam Gordon, Ph.D…. Former two-term mayor of San Diego, the first Jewish mayor of San Diego, Susan G. Golding turns 80… Businessman and former chair of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, John D. Goldman turns 76… Partner in Chazan-Leipzig Consulting, Cindy Chazan… Retired judge of the Montgomery County (Pa.) Court of Common Pleas, Gary S. Silow turns 74… Dramatist, screenwriter and poet, Winnie Holzman turns 71… President at Wyckoff, N.J.-based Benefit Connections, Raphael Schwartz… President of Touro University, Alan H. Kadish, M.D. turns 69… Labor law attorney in the Los Angeles office of Ogletree Deakins, Stuart Douglas Tochner… U.S. Treasury secretary in the Obama administration, now president of Warburg Pincus, Timothy Geithner turns 64… CEO of the Future of Privacy Forum, a D.C.-based think tank and advocacy group focused on issues of data privacy, Jules Polonetsky turns 60… Executive director of the Maccabee Task Force, David Brog turns 59… Criminal defense attorney and media personality in Las Vegas, Dayvid Figler turns 58… Award-winning comic book writer and artist for both Marvel and then DC Comics, Brian Michael Bendis turns 58… Professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School, he served as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers during the Obama administration, Jason Furman turns 55… Sarah S. Bronson… Conservative political talk radio host on the Sirius XM Patriot channel, Andrew Steven Wilkow turns 53… Greek Orthodox priest, he serves as a judge in Israel’s religious court system and encourages Christians to enlist in the IDF, Gabriel Naddaf turns 52… Best-selling author, her novels have been translated into 35 languages, Nicole Krauss turns 51… Writer, actress and stand-up comedian from NYC, Jessi Ruth Klein turns 50… Washington director of the Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, Roger Zakheim… Actor, comedian, writer, producer and musician, David A. J. “Andy” Samberg turns 47… Commissioner of New York City Emergency Management, Zachary Iscol turns 47… Fellow at The Jewish People Policy Institute and managing partner of the Madad website, Noah Slepkov… Editor of Moment Magazine, Sarah Breger… Reporter for The Wall Street Journal covering the Justice Department and federal law enforcement, Sadie Gurman… Co-founder and CEO of Mostly Human, Laurie Segall turns 40… Mixed martial artist, she competes in the bantamweight and featherweight divisions, Olga Rubin turns 36… Israeli judoka who won Olympic bronze medals at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics, Or “Ori” Sasson turns 35…
Rep. Katherine Clark is the highest-ranking Democrat to have used the term, even as only a small number of other lawmakers have done so
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA) conducts a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center on Wednesday, July 23, 2025.
Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA), who serves as the House Democratic whip, the No. 2 Democratic leader in the chamber, described the war in Gaza as a “genocide” in an event this week, based on video of the event that has been shared online.
“We each have to continue to have an open heart about how we do this, how we do it effectively, and how we take action in time to make a difference, whether that is stopping the starvation and genocide and destruction of Gaza, or whether that means we are working together to stop the redistricting that is going on, taking away the vote from people in order to retain power,” Clark said in a brief clip from an event that was first reported by Axios.
Clark spokesperson Joy Lee has said in a statement provided to multiple outlets that Clark’s “position on the war has not changed,” including that she supports a permanent ceasefire, the return of all hostages and an increase of aid to Gaza.
“It should not be controversial to say that Israeli children did not deserve to be kidnapped and murdered by Hamas, nor should it be controversial to say that Palestinian children, who bear no responsibility for Hamas’ atrocities, do not deserve to be killed by war or starvation,” Lee’s statement reads. “A secure future for Israeli and Palestinian children demands a real two-state solution and a permanent end to efforts to deny their rights to exist.”
Clark’s office did not respond to a request for comment seeking further clarity.
Lee told The Boston Globe that Clark’s comments came in response to protesters at the event. The brief clip shared online does not include the context of Clark’s remarks.
Only a small number of far-left and far-right lawmakers have described the situation in Gaza as a genocide, and none who serve in leadership roles in Congress.
Clark was speaking at an event organized by the Friends Committee on National Legislation, a lobbying group of the Quaker movement, which has been heavily critical of Israel and supported efforts in the Senate to block arms sales to Israel.
Clark’s office did not respond to a question about whether she supports efforts to block some or all weapons sales.
The group’s criticism of Israel predates the war in Gaza, and it lobbied in favor of the Iran nuclear deal. It also advocates more broadly against militarization generally, including pushing for shrinking military spending.
Clark has been endorsed by AIPAC and is featured alongside each of the other top House leaders on the group’s PAC website.
Tlaib said the bill is ‘unnecessary because it is redundant with already existing federal law’
WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 07: U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) (R) and Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) speak at a press conference on the Israel-Hamas war outside of the U.S. Capitol on December 07, 2023 in Washington, DC. A group of Democratic lawmakers joined by members of Doctors Against Genocide called on a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Reps. Cori Bush (D-MO) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) broke with the rest of the House on Wednesday evening to vote against a bill barring participants in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel from entering the United States. Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL) voted present on the bill, while 422 other lawmakers voted in favor.
The “No Immigration Benefits for Hamas Terrorists Act” would designate any members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad and any other individuals involved in perpetrating, planning, funding or supporting the Oct. 7 attack on Israel as barred from the U.S. and from seeking any immigration relief from the U.S.
It would also expand existing immigration restrictions barring some representatives of the Palestinian Liberation Organization from the U.S. to include all PLO members.
Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA) described the bill as “widely duplicative of current law” in a memo to House Democrats. Hamas and PIJ members are already barred from the U.S., given that both are designated terror organizations, and any individual who provides material support to terrorism is also banned from the country.
In a statement, Tlaib said that the bill “is unnecessary because it is redundant with already existing federal law.”
“It’s just another GOP messaging bill being used to incite anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim hatred that makes communities like ours unsafe,” Tlaib said.
Bush offered a similar explanation, calling it “a redundant, empty messaging bill Republicans are using to target immigrants and incite anti-Palestinian hate.”
Wesley Bell, Bush’s primary opponent, condemned her vote in a statement to JI.
“Rep. Cori Bush’s vote today is shameful and reprehensible. She was one of only two people in the entire Congress to vote in favor of allowing terrorists who participated in the horrific October 7th attack on Israel to enter the United States,” Bell said. “Rep. Bush’s vote is offensive and embarrassing to our community. We will never be a safe haven for terrorists, and we need a Congressperson who knows better.”
Ramirez also called the bill “unnecessary” and a “waste of resources and time.”
“I voted PRESENT because I am done with political games. The majority is wasting time bringing a bill that is already current law. There are ALREADY no immigration benefits for Hamas terrorists,” she said in a statement. “After participating for 15 hours of a sham impeachment, I could not stomach another bill only introduced to score cheap political points, politicize immigration, and divide our communities. Like the Republican’s sham impeachment, this bill does not meaningfully address border security nor further protect our communities.”