Plus, Texas labels CAIR, Muslim Brotherhood as terror orgs
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Elon Musk attends a dinner hosted by President Donald Trump for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025 at the White House in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
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In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on yesterday’s meeting between President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and preview the Saudi leader’s schedule today in Washington. We talk to Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Mark Kelly about the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ seizure last weekend of a tanker that originated in the United Arab Emirates, and cover Texas’ designation of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Rep. Mike Lawler, Ambassador Charles Kushner and Noam Tibon.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by Jewish Insider Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve with assists from Marc Rod, Emily Jacobs and Danielle Cohen-Kanik. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- President Donald Trump is slated to deliver remarks at today’s U.S.-Saudi investment summit in Washington, being hosted by Saudi Arabia during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the capital. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Saudi Investment Minister Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih will kick off the daylong summit at this morning’s plenary. Others slated to speak today include Elon Musk, Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman, Salesforce’s Marc Benioff, IBM’s Gary Cohn, Alphabet and Google’s Ruth Porat, Andreessen Horowitz’s Benjamin Horowitz, Pfizer’s Albert Bourla, Palantir’s Alex Karp and Anduril’s Matthew Steckman.
- Following his White House sitdown and dinner yesterday (more below), MBS is slated to meet with House members today on Capitol Hill.
- Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is holding confirmation hearings this morning for Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the Trump administration’s nominee to be antisemitism envoy, and former State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce to be deputy U.N. ambassador. Kaploun was a last-minute addition to the SFRC’s schedule, first appearing yesterday afternoon, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
- Tonight in Washington, the Endowment for Middle East Truth is hosting its 16th annual Rays of Light in the Darkness awards dinner. This year’s honorees include Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), the Justice Department’s Leo Terrell, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, Hungarian Ambassador to the U.S. Szabolcs Takacs and Pakistani American journalist Anila Ali.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S GABBY DEUTCH
As 2,000 Jewish philanthropists, activists and professionals prepared to leave Washington on Tuesday as the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly wrapped up, they heard a stern warning from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): Americans must confront antisemitism on both sides, including the right; if they don’t, the nation will face an “existential crisis.”
“I do not want to wake up in five years and find that both major parties in America have embraced hatred of Israel and have tolerated, if not embraced, antisemitism,” Cruz said. Read JI’s coverage of his remarks here.
Cruz has become the most prominent Republican elected official speaking out against a rising tide of right-wing antisemitism. But the weeks following podcaster Tucker Carlson’s interview with neo-Nazi provocateur Nick Fuentes have sparked a reckoning for Republicans, including some who until recently considered antisemitism to be primarily a left-wing phenomenon.
That internal tension was on full display at a Tuesday afternoon conference hosted by the conservative National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism. The group was until recently affiliated with the Heritage Foundation, until the conservative think tank’s president came to Carlson’s defense. Earlier this month the task force members voted to cut ties with Heritage.
The NTFCA gathering, arranged in less than two weeks after the group’s split from Heritage, took place in a basement ballroom at The Line Hotel in Washington. About 100 people were in attendance, among them representatives from Jewish advocacy groups including the Anti-Defamation League, Jewish Federations of North America and Combat Antisemitism Movement.
The event’s organizers — NTFCA co-chairs Ellie Cohanim, who served as deputy antisemitism special envoy in the first Trump administration; Mario Bramnick, a Florida pastor and president of the Latino Coalition for Israel; and Luke Moon, a pastor and executive director of the Philos Project — took the opportunity to forcefully reject Carlson and other far-right media figures who are gaining clout among conservatives by attacking Israel and its backers, and to issue a call for conservatives to join them in calling out growing animosity toward Jews. They don’t think enough people are doing so.
“I remember Luke, early on, said, ‘Mario, keep your eye on the right.’ I said, ‘Well, look, that’s a fringe. It’s not really important,’” Bramnick said. “But now we’re seeing a very troubling development during President Trump’s second administration within the MAGA movement: antisemitic acts coming from MAGA movement leaders.” The Project Esther report that the task force developed with Heritage last year was focused solely on left-wing antisemitism.
BEST OF FRIENDS
Trump, MBS announce sale of advanced F-35 fighter jets, progress on defense pact
In an Oval Office appearance following their meeting on Tuesday, President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced progress on multiple bilateral initiatives, including a U.S.-Saudi defense pact and Riyadh’s purchase of F-35 fighter jets, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
What Trump said: Trump indicated Riyadh may receive a similar jet to Israel’s advanced F-35I Adir model: “When you look at the F-35 and you’re asking me ‘Is it the same [as Israel’s]?’ I think it’s going to be pretty similar,” said Trump. “This [Saudi Arabia] is a great ally, and Israel’s a great ally. I know they’d like you [MBS] to get planes of reduced caliber, but I don’t think that makes you too happy. … We’re looking at that exactly right now but as far as I’m concerned, [both countries are] at a level where they should get top of the line.”
Dinner guests: The White House dinner with MBS included, from the business world, Apple CEO Tim Cook; Tesla CEO Elon Musk; Palantir CEO Alex Karp; Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman and wife, Christine; Pershing Square founder Bill Ackman and his wife, former MIT professor Neri Oxman; Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff; Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla; BDT & MSD Partners Vice Chair Dina Powell McCormick; Paramount CEO David Ellison; and Washington Commanders owners Josh and Marjorie Harris. Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance; Donald Trump Jr.; and Tiffany Trump were also in attendance, as were Attorney General Pam Bondi and longtime partner John Wakefield; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth; Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and his wife, Allison Lutnick; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent; EPA Director Lee Zeldin; Interior Secretary Doug Burgum; Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Chairman of Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine. From Capitol Hill, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA); Sens. Jim Risch (R-ID) and Dave McCormick (R-PA); and Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee made the trip up Pennsylvania Avenue for the dinner. Fox News’ Bret Baier and Maria Bartiromo were also spotted at the dinner.
WEAPONS SALES SCRUTINY
Democrats raise concerns about Trump’s sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia
Senate Democrats echoed their House counterparts on Tuesday in expressing concern about President Donald Trump’s announcement of a deal to sell advanced F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod report.
Shaheen’s statement: Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who will have some ability to obstruct or slow the deal, was deeply critical of multiple announcements made by Trump during his White House summit with MBS. Shaheen said in a statement that the F-35 deal “raises major concerns about protecting U.S. military technology and the military edge America shares with our allies” and demanded the administration “fully explain to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee why this sale is in the vital national interest of the United States.”
Read the full story with additional comments from Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK).
MARITIME SECURITY
Blumenthal, Kelly alarmed by IRGC seizure of tanker in the Strait of Hormuz
Two Democratic senators expressed concern on Tuesday about the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ seizure of an commercial oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical international shipping route, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod report. The IRGC took credit on Friday for the seizure of the Talara, a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker, for what state media described as alleged cargo violations. The tanker, which began its journey in the United Arab Emirates, was carrying petrochemicals through the Strait of Hormuz to Singapore when it was diverted by the IRGC into Iranian territorial waters.
On alert: “It’s like the 1980s all over again,” Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), a former fighter pilot, said. “The first time I was there was 1989, in the Strait of Hormuz, with the Iranians doing that same old shit, where they would harass shipping. A couple times, I felt like we were on the edge of getting in the conflict.” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said that the U.S. needs to remain vigilant against Iran’s other malign activities in spite of the setbacks to its nuclear program. “Iran is Iran. They are the toxic element in the Middle East. We have no reason for complacency. Just because we set them back in their nuclear program, they remain a malevolent force, and the seizure of that tanker is just one indication of that,” Blumenthal said.
TEXAS TAKEDOWN
Texas designates Muslim Brotherhood, CAIR as terrorist, criminal organizations
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a declaration on Tuesday designating the Muslim Brotherhood and Council on American-Islamic Relations as foreign terrorist groups and transnational criminal organizations — a move that some lawmakers are pushing on the federal level, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What it does: Abbott’s proclamation notes the Muslim Brotherhood’s support to groups, including Hamas, that conduct terrorism in various countries, some of which have already been designated as terrorist groups, and that a series of countries have already imposed restrictions on their local Muslim Brotherhood branches. The proclamation describes CAIR as a “successor organization” to the Muslim Brotherhood and an effective front group for Hamas in the United States and accuses the group of seeking to spread Sharia law in the country by infiltrating public office and other areas of public life.
EXCLUSIVE
Booker, Goldman urge Trump to pressure Israel to crack down on West Bank settler violence, settlement expansion
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) wrote a letter to President Donald Trump on Wednesday urging him to pressure the Israeli government to intervene to stop attacks on Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the West Bank and to oppose settlement expansion. The clear-cut criticism of Israel is notable coming from two lawmakers generally seen as strong supporters of the Jewish state. The two urged Trump to reimpose Biden-era sanctions — withdrawn by the Trump administration — on those involved in the settler attacks if the Israeli government does not act, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What they wrote: “The Netanyahu government’s lack of action to address extreme settler violence emboldens Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist groups, and builds resentment in the West Bank, while putting increased pressure on the fragile ceasefire agreement in Gaza that your Administration secured,” the two lawmakers wrote. “More must be done to stop settler violence and ensure that those who perpetrate acts of violence against civilians in the West Bank are not allowed to operate with impunity.”
SUIT SETTLED
Virginia private school reaches settlement with Jewish parents over antisemitic harassment
A private K-8 school in Northern Virginia reached a settlement on Tuesday with the parents of an 11-year-old Jewish student who say their daughter faced months of antisemitic harassment that went unaddressed by school officials, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports. According to the complaint, filed in July with the Office for Civil Rights in the Virginia Attorney General’s Office by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights under Law and Washington-based firm Dillon PLLC, the student faced several antisemitic incidents while a student at Nysmith School for the Gifted in Herndon, Va., including a history class in which students collaborated on a large artistic rendering featuring Adolf Hitler’s face. The student was also told that Jews are “baby killers” and that they deserved to die because of the Israel-Hamas war. Kenneth Nysmith, the headmaster and owner of Nysmith, told the parents to tell their daughter to “toughen up” when they asked the school to take steps to address the bullying, according to the complaint. Two days later, the headmaster sent the parents an email stating all three of their children were expelled effective that same day.
Terms and conditions: Under the terms of the settlement, in addition to monetary relief to the family, Nysmith School agreed to establish a committee to review and investigate discrimination complaints — with an independent monitor evaluating the committee’s work. It also agreed to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism and to provide staff with annual antisemitism training and students with annual education on antisemitism and the Holocaust for the next five years. The training will be led by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington. Nysmith also agreed to issue a public statement apologizing for expelling the children and making them feel unwelcome based on religious identity.
Worthy Reads
Heritage’s Right Turn: The editorial board of The Wall Street Journal weighs in on the departure of Robert George from the Heritage Foundation’s board of trustees over the think tank’s relationship with Tucker Carlson and approach to far-right antisemitism. “Mr. George’s departure from the Heritage board means that the institution may be less likely to heed his call to be ‘unbending and unflinching’ in its fidelity to these principles. But a decision this serious may be owed in some part to his sense that Heritage’s commitments were already deteriorating during Mr. Roberts’s tenure. Others in the institution are confronting this same dilemma. Some of Mr. Roberts’s defenders are celebrating Mr. George’s departure as a victory for their form of conservatism. For them, it may be. But that is a reflection of a worldview that doesn’t resemble the conservatism for which Heritage has long stood. A ‘conservatism’ that plays footsie — or worse — with antisemitism and white identity politics, and those who traffic them, doesn’t merit the name.” [WSJ]
The GOP’s ‘Corroded’ Soul: In the Washington Reporter, Pastor John Hagee, the founder of Christians United for Israel, warns of the rise of right-wing antisemitism. “Regardless of who the bigot may be, and whether they are declaring hatred for millions of Christian Zionists, blaming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for ‘duping’ President Donald Trump into bombing Iran, accusing Israel of killing J.F.K., and/or Charlie Kirk, and/or implying that Hitler wasn’t as bad as we think — there are evil elements on the right who’ve discovered what many Democrats on the formerly fringe left have known for some time: there is both cash and cache in attacking Israel and her people. … People of faith and conscience cannot allow the same spirit that flowed through Haman and Hitler to corrupt and corrode the soul of the GOP. Whether it is in our communities, in our churches, on college campuses, or in Congress, antisemitism in our society must be confronted at every turn.” [WashingtonReporter]
Taking on the Brotherhood: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s Matthew Levitt and Michael Jacobson consider the ways in which the Trump administration can counter the Muslim Brotherhood’s global influence. “The evidence validates U.S. concerns about the Muslim Brotherhood, particularly as the Trump administration aims to move beyond the Gaza ceasefire to build a more stable, peaceful Middle East. But taking sweeping action against the entire group will be both counterproductive and ineffective. Instead, the administration should look closely at Brotherhood entities that provide financial support for Hamas as potential SDGT targets. It should also designate those branches that are tied to violence as FTOs. At the same time, it should provide a strong legal framework to go after Brotherhood organizations using both sanctions and law enforcement tools.” [WashingtonInstitute]
Word on the Street
The Department of Education is moving several of its offices to other departments within the administration as part of President Donald Trump’s effort to dismantle the agency altogether; the Office for Civil Rights will remain within the DoE, but could be moved elsewhere in the future…
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) introduced legislation to provide diplomatic privileges to the Gulf Cooperation Council, allowing it to establish a de-facto embassy in Washington; the legislation was previously approved by the House Foreign Affairs Committee as an amendment to its State Department reform package in September…
U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Kushner presented his credentials to Prince Albert II of Monaco this week…
The Free Press explores antisemitic conspiracy theorist Nick Fuentes’ efforts to get involved in the 2026 midterms through his America First Foundation…
A Gustav Klimt painting from the collection of the late philanthropist Leonard Lauder was sold for $236.4 million, becoming the most expensive work of modern art to be sold at auction…
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is accusing the University of Pennsylvania of obstructing efforts to identify complainants and victims of campus antisemitism as part of the EEOC’s probe into the school’s handling of antisemitism…
Harvard’s undergraduate student population is voting this week on three Israel divestment proposals…
A Maryland man is facing up to 169 years in prison after pleading guilty to dozens of federal charges in connection with more than 40 threatening letters and postcards sent to 25 Jewish institutions spanning multiple states…
The Council on American-Islamic Relations has given tens of thousands of dollars in interest-free loans to students who lost “scholarships, housing or other support” due to their anti-Israel campus advocacy…
The Canada Revenue Agency revoked the tax-exempt status of Herut Canada, 15 months after revoking the statuses of the Canadian arm of the Jewish National Fund and the Ne’eman Foundation of Canada…
France posthumously promoted Alfred Dreyfus to the rank of brigadier general, 130 years after the French army captain was wrongly convicted on charges of treason…
The Wall Street Journal reports on the ongoing discovery of hundreds of mass graves across Syria and the efforts to identify the bodies discovered in them…
Nvidia joined the Lightspeed-led $200 million funding round for AI startup AA-I Technologies, founded by Mobileye’s Amnon Shashua…
One person was killed and three others injured in a car-ramming terror attack in the West Bank…
Maj. Gen. (res.) Noam Tibon, who rose to international prominence after he rescued of his son’s family and others during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, is joining Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party ahead of next year’s elections…
The New York Times reports from the southern Israeli facility from which U.S. and Israeli military personnel, diplomats and Arab interlocutors are overseeing the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and are working to prepare the Gaza Strip for post-Hamas administration…
The U.S., France, Germany and the U.K. submitted a draft resolution to the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency calling on Iran to provide “precise information on nuclear material accountancy and safeguarded nuclear facilities” and allow nuclear inspectors access to those facilities…
The Wall Street Journal spotlights the Ukrainian corruption probe targeting former business associates of President Volodymyr Zelensky…
Combat Antisemitism Movement appointed former U.S. Deputy Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Aaron Keyak, Republican Jewish Coalition board member Barbara Feingold and former Democratic Governors Association Executive Director Noam Lee to the organization’s advisory board, whose new chair will be Arie Lipnick, senior advisor to Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY)…
Pic of the Day
The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations hosted a roundtable in New York on Tuesday with recently released hostages, including Omri Miran (pictured with microphone).
Birthdays
Professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour, John Maxwell Homa turns 35…
Retired New York state Supreme Court judge, his tenure on “The People’s Court” was shorter than that of his wife “Judge Judy,” Jerry Sheindlin turns 92… Attorney, investment banker and former U.S. ambassador to the U.K., Louis B. Susman turns 88… Professor of chemistry at Stanford University, Richard Neil Zare turns 86… Fifteen-term member in the U.S. House of Representatives (D-NY) until 2013, he is now a partner in Gotham Government Relations, Gary Ackerman turns 83… Fashion designer whose name appears on clothing, perfumes, watches and jewelry, Calvin Klein turns 83… Founder and president of the Washington-based Arab American Institute, James J. Zogby turns 80… U.S. ambassador to Germany from 2022 untilJuly 2024, following 18 years as president of the University of Pennsylvania, Amy Gutmann turns 76… Los Angeles-based real estate investor, Sydney Ilene Cetner… Owner of Patty’s Piano Studio in Santa Monica, Calif., Patricia Fiden… Cosmetic dentist and chairman of pharma company Akelos, Inc., Steven Fox, DDS… California state senator until 2022, Robert Myles “Bob” Hertzberg turns 71… Dean and professor of Jewish history, literature and law at Yeshiva University, Rabbi Dr. Ephraim Kanarfogel turns 70… Past chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces and president of Millennium Properties R/E Inc., Daniel Hyman turns 70… Academy Award-winning screenwriter, producer, director and lyricist, best known as the writer of “Being John Malkovich,” Charlie Kaufman turns 67… Angel investor, investment banker and president of Sunrise Financial Group, Nathan Low… Retired member of the Knesset for the Kulanu party, he served as Israel’s minister of finance for five years, Moshe Kahlon turns 65… Officer of NORPAC New York and a partner in a New York law firm, Trudy Stern… Co-president of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, Lisa Eisen… Director of state and local government affairs for SAIC, Eric Finkbeiner… Co-founder of Optimistic Labs, Seth Cohen… Member of the New York state Assembly since 2005, Andrew D. Hevesi turns 52… New York Times best-selling novelist, she is also a professor at Rutgers University-Camden, Lauren Grodstein turns 50… Gymnast, she was a member of the Magnificent Seven, the women’s U.S. gymnastics team at the 1996 Summer Olympics, Kerri Allyson Strug turns 48… Editor-in-chief of Time magazine, Samuel P. Jacobs… Senior program director at M²: The Institute for Experiential Jewish Education, Rachel Hillman… Former congressional staffer, Michael Dale-Stein turns 38… Managing director at Climate Power, John D. Axelrod… European deals reporter at the Financial Times based in London, Ivan Levingston…
The Senate Democrats said the Iranian moves were indicative of Iran’s broader continued malign activity
Mariam Zuhaib/AP Photo//Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Fair Share America
Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
Two Democratic senators expressed concern on Tuesday about the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ seizure of an commercial oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical international shipping route.
The IRGC took credit on Friday for the seizure of the Talara, a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker, for what state media described as alleged cargo violations. The tanker, which began its journey in the United Arab Emirates, was carrying petrochemicals through the Strait of Hormuz to Singapore when it was diverted by the IRGC into Iranian territorial waters.
“It’s like the 1980s all over again,” Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), a former fighter pilot, said. “The first time I was there was 1989, in the Strait of Hormuz, with the Iranians doing that same old shit, where they would harass shipping. A couple times, I felt like we were on the edge of getting in the conflict.”
“This was 40 years ago. It’s the same playbook with them, over and over and over again, harassing shipping, our planes, our naval vessels,” Kelly continued. “So what’s the solution? Hopefully, I think the solution is: The Iranian people get fed up with this at some point and just force out the ayatollah and his lackeys around there, because it has destroyed their economy.”
Asked if the development should impact the U.S. posture toward Iran, Kelly said it was too soon to determine that.
“We’ve got to stand on the side of the rule of law. The oil that comes through that Strait is critical to our economy, and we can’t let this become a major problem, but it’s one tanker,” Kelly said.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said that the U.S. needs to remain vigilant against Iran’s other malign activities in spite of the setbacks to its nuclear program.
“Iran is Iran. They are the toxic element in the Middle East. We have no reason for complacency. Just because we set them back in their nuclear program, they remain a malevolent force, and the seizure of that tanker is just one indication of that,” Blumenthal said.
Asked if this latest development should be viewed as escalatory given that Tehran targeted commercial shipping, the Connecticut senator replied: “I’m troubled by the lack of an aggressive reaction to it. Maybe it’s just, with the press of everything else that’s going on.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT): ‘There are very serious, potential negative impacts on our national security and they include changing the qualitative edge for Israel’
Tsafrir Abayov/AP Photo
An Israeli F-35 lands at Ovda airbase during the bi-annual multi-national aerial exercise known as the Blue Flag, at Ovda airbase near Eilat, southern Israel, Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021.
Senate Democrats echoed their House counterparts on Tuesday in expressing concern about President Donald Trump’s announcement of a deal to sell advanced F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), who serves on the Armed Services Committee, told Jewish Insider, “I think there are very serious, potential negative impacts on our national security and they include changing the qualitative edge for Israel, the possibility of a hostile use of them [the jets], the absence of any normalization agreement, which should be part of it, so I think there ought to be very close, critical scrutiny.”
The prospect of advanced weapons sales to Saudi Arabia — along with several other deals announced by Trump on Tuesday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — had previously been linked to Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords, something the kingdom is unwilling to do without a “clear path to a two-state solution,” MBS said.
Blumenthal said he was unsure if he would meet with the crown prince during his visit to Washington this week, citing scheduling conflicts. The Connecticut senator said that he’d like to ask MBS about the path forward toward normalization with Israel and the kingdom’s role in the future of Gaza.
“What’s the path to normalization? Realistically how can we get there as quickly as possible? Because it’s so important to peace and stability in the region,” Blumenthal told JI. “What are the Saudis willing to commit to do for the international security force and for reconstruction of Gaza and financial peace?”
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) described the jets as an “incredibly capable airplane” and noted that “Israel has F-35s, [as do] some of our other allies.” The Arizona senator said that while he supports the U.S. engaging with the Saudis, he had reservations about selling them the jets.
“Is this the step to some kind of bigger security arrangement in the Middle East? We’ll have to see. I think there’s some benefits for Israel and for Saudi Arabia and for the United States if that’s the case,” Kelly told JI. “I am always concerned about our best technology winding up in the proximity of any of our adversaries. The Chinese have been attempting to build a port there in the UAE, that’s pretty close. So I do worry about these things.”
Some in the Defense Department have reportedly expressed concerns that a sale of the jets to Saudi Arabia would provide China with an opportunity to take or compromise sensitive American technologies.
“I have concerns about it, and also about how the Saudis are going to use these planes,” he added.
Kelly said that if he were a member of the Foreign Relations Committee he would want assurances that China would not have access to U.S. technology before approving the sales.
“If I was on SFRC and had the ability to approve this, I’d want a lot of assurances that the Saudis are going to protect that technology,” Kelly said. “The Chinese would love to get close to these airplanes, to get the radar signatures, if they’re not stealing it from us already.”
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who will have some ability to obstruct or slow the deal, was deeply critical of multiple announcements made by Trump during his White House summit with MBS.
Shaheen said in a statement that the F-35 deal “raises major concerns about protecting U.S. military technology and the military edge America shares with our allies” and demanded the administration “fully explain to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee why this sale is in the vital national interest of the United States.”
The senior Democrat also said that any security agreement made with Saudi Arabia without Senate approval “is very troubling” and would be non-binding and “easily reversed” by a future administration.
“Bypassing Congress on commitments of this scale sets a dangerous precedent, especially after a similar agreement with Qatar without Senate approval,” Shaheen said.
She also said that any nuclear deal with Riyadh, which Trump said on Tuesday he is pursuing, must ensure that it cannot enrich or reprocess nuclear material and include stringent inspections, and warned that “Saudi Arabia’s stated intention to acquire nuclear weapons if Iran does demands extreme caution.”
Shaheen also warned that any deal to provide advanced computer chips to Saudi Arabia must be made in consultation with Congress to protect America’s AI and technological edge over China.
Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), an Armed Services Committee member, indicated support for the deal, saying, “we have strategic partners around the region and this has been a discussion going on for a long time. … It’s, I think, a [move] in the right direction.”
Other Republicans have also backed the president on the issue.
Mullin said he’d also like to see the United Arab Emirates acquire F-35s. During his first term, Trump sealed a deal to sell the jets to the UAE — in connection with the signing of the Abraham Accords — but the Biden administration suspended the deal due to concerns about the UAE’s relationship with China.
The UAE has since expressed it is no longer interested in reopening the deal.
Mullin said he’s planning to meet with the Saudi crown prince on Wednesday if their schedules allow, to “continue [the] conversation” from past meetings.
Plus, a sit-down with Mike Huckabee ☕
MOHAMMED BADRA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
France's President Emmanuel Macron exits a polling booth, adorned with curtains displaying the colors of the flag of France, to vote in the second round of France's legislative election at a polling station in Le Touquet, northern France on July 7, 2024.
Good Friday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we talk to Republicans on Capitol Hill about France’s plans to recognize a Palestinian state later this year and report on the daylight between Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Arizona’s pro-Israel community as he throws his support behind candidates with histories of being critical of Israel. We interview U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee as he navigates his first months on the job, and report on Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s (D-NH) support for Mike Waltz to be U.S. ambassador to the U.N., bypassing a delay imposed by Sen. Rand Paul. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Mandela Barnes, Tanya Simon and Elad Gil.
What We’re Watching
- We’re keeping an eye on the unfolding dispute regarding humanitarian aid in Gaza, as Israel and the U.N. accuse each other of holding up distribution efforts in the enclave amid broader concerns of worsening malnutrition among the Strip’s most vulnerable.
- In Istanbul, Turkey, today, France, Germany and the U.K. are holding nuclear talks.
- And in Washington, the Israel on Campus Coalition’s National Leadership Summit kicks off on Sunday afternoon in Washington.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S GABBY DEUTCH
With a unanimous vote last week rejecting a measure that would’ve cut ties with the Anti-Defamation League, the board of directors of the National Education Association extended an olive branch to frustrated Jewish educators and parents who are concerned about creeping antisemitism within the union’s ranks.
ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt told Jewish Insider earlier this week that he was “pleased” to see the NEA reject the anti-ADL measure. But, he added, the union still has a “long way to go” toward making clear that it respects the Jewish community.
Greenblatt’s lingering concern is a sign that the NEA — the largest teachers’ union in the country, with more than 3 million members — has not entirely placated Jewish communal stakeholders. In fact, additional questions have continued to emerge in light of an NEA document that encourages teaching the “Nakba” and that erases antisemitism from the history of the Holocaust.
The Washington Free Beacon reported this week on the NEA’s 2025 handbook, a 434-page report outlining the organization’s “visionary goals” and “strategic objectives.” Among the items included in the dense document are dozens of measures that passed at last year’s “representative assembly,” a convening of the organization’s top leaders from around the country — the same group that, this year, voted to censure the ADL. Several of them have raised eyebrows in the Jewish community.
Q&A
Huckabee: United Nations more interested in self-preservation than getting food into Gaza
Since his arrival in Israel in April, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has made his mark as the first evangelical U.S. ambassador to Israel — and possibly the most effusive in his remarks about the Jewish state. Following issues with work visas for Christian organizations and several incidents involving Palestinian Christians, Huckabee issued some strongly worded statements directed toward Israeli officials. But with the visa issue resolved and the world’s attention on the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the latest round of collapsed negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage-release deal, Huckabee was back to standing firmly behind Israel in an interview with Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov in his office at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem on Thursday.
On the issues surrounding aid distribution: “Well, we just want people to get the truth and to get the food, but we don’t want Hamas to steal it, which is what they have done through the U.N. model, which has been an absolute disaster. Maybe the U.N. is more interested in preserving the machinery of the U.N. than they are in feeding people,” Huckabee said. “And I know that sounds harsh, but I absolutely am on the record for that, because when I see just thousands of pallets, thousands of tons of food sitting that could be consumed by people, it’s sitting there because the U.N. doesn’t really have any incentive to go out and actually get it to the people.”
SUPPORTER SCRUTINY
Cracks in the coalition: Pro-Israel Arizonans wary of Sen. Mark Kelly’s endorsements
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) is facing new scrutiny from some Jewish community leaders in Arizona who are frustrated by his endorsements boosting the activist left in a series of recent House primaries in which he has withheld support for pro-Israel candidates and has even worked to actively oppose their campaigns behind the scenes, according to people familiar with the matter, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Tensed-up ties: Kelly’s engagement has strained what had been seen as a positive relationship with the pro-Israel community in Arizona, according to multiple local Jewish leaders who have voiced disappointment with his approach. Meanwhile, his recent interventions have raised questions about the political motivations of the Democratic senator in a key battleground state who has long been associated with his party’s moderate, centrist wing. The most recent source of tension with Jewish and pro-Israel leaders stems from Kelly’s endorsement of Adelita Grijalva in a Tucson House primary this month to succeed her late father, former Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), a longtime critic of Israel who died in March.
PARIS POSITION
Top Republicans blast France for recognizing Palestinian state
Republicans and senior Trump administration officials are blasting French President Emmanuel Macron for announcing on Thursday that France will recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly later this year, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Pushback: “The United States strongly rejects [Macron’s] plan to recognize a Palestinian state at the [UN] general assembly,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. “This reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace. It is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7th.” Top Republican lawmakers largely argued that the decision constituted a reward for Hamas for its Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel and its intransigence in recent hostage talks, the most recent round of which collapsed just hours before Macron’s announcement.
Read the full story here with additional comments from Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Reps. Brian Mast (R-FL), Randy Fine (R-FL) Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.
Bonus: In a tongue-in-cheek X post, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said, “Macron’s unilateral ‘declaration’ of a ‘Palestinian’ state didn’t say WHERE it would be. I can now exclusively disclose that France will offer the French Riviera & the new nation will be called ‘Franc-en-Stine.’”
LENT A LIFELINE
Shaheen bails out Waltz nomination, describing him as a ‘moderating force’
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, voted with nearly all committee Republicans to advance former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz’s nomination to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations to move to the consideration of the full Senate, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Notable quotable: “I recognize that Mr. Waltz represents a moderating force with a distinguished record of military service and an extensive background in national security policymaking,” Shaheen said in a statement. “Further, Mike Waltz did not represent himself to me as someone who wants to retreat from the world—and this is a quality I value in nominees. Simply put, in a Situation Room filled with people like Vice President [J.D.] Vance and Under Secretary [of Defense Elbridge] Colby, who want to retreat from the world, and like Secretary [of Defense Pete] Hegseth, I think we’re better off having someone like Mike Waltz present.”
PUT ON PAUSE
Senate committee delays ethics watchdog’s confirmation hearing amid GOP questions
The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee on Thursday delayed a confirmation hearing for Paul Ingrassia, the Trump administration’s nominee for a government ethics oversight role, amid questions about his record from some Senate Republicans, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. Ingrassia has a record of conspiratorial comments, including describing the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel and the ensuing war as a “psyop” and defending prominent antisemites, among other issues.
What they’re saying: Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) told JI he had more questions he wanted to ask Ingrassia and that the hearing had been delayed because “he had not met with a lot of members” and the lawmakers wanted the chance to do so. He said that the hearing will now likely happen in “September or later,” after the Senate’s August recess, to provide more time for these meetings.
Garden State race
Brian Varela running in the centrist lane in race against Rep. Kean
In a Democratic Party that has lost its grip on the working class — long its base of support and wellspring of its values — Brian Varela is offering a way back home. Varela, a small business owner and New Jersey political activist vying for the Democratic nomination for New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, is leaning in to his working-class Colombian roots, suggesting that the Democrats need candidates, like him, who are better connected to the middle-class voters in his district. Varela, 36, has firmly established himself as a serious contender for the Democratic nomination for New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District with his recent announcement of a $700,000 fundraising haul in his first three months in the race, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Positioning: “I consider myself more of a moderate,” Varela told JI in an interview. “I do believe that we do need to be tight around budgets, and we can’t just go and haphazardly be cutting programs, but we do need to understand that we cannot allow the deficit to continue increasing.” He said that he thinks his perspective coming from a working-class background can help Democrats appeal to working-class voters they struggled to attract in 2024. And he said that Israel has been a “strong ally for us, and I think it’s important to make sure that we are there for Israel, that we help Israel with their ability to defend themselves.”
Worthy Reads
Where’s the Outrage?: In The Washington Post, Stephen Rapp, who served as U.S. ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues from 2009-2015, raises concerns about global silence around Iran’s human rights violations. “The regime’s response to its perceived vulnerability in the wake of that conflict has become increasingly aggressive. While its failures may be attributed to incompetence and the foreign penetration of its security services, its fury is being directed at domestic political opponents. Thousands of Iranians are in danger as parliament now seeks to expedite death sentences in cases involving imagined collaboration with foreign entities.” [WashPost]
A New Gaza: In The Wall Street Journal, Yasser Abu Shabab, the commander of the Popular Forces in Gaza, makes the claim that he has developed a model for post-Hamas governance in the Gaza Strip. “Through our efforts, we have shown a glimpse of what a new Gaza could look like. … Within months, more than 600,000 people — nearly a third of Gaza’s population — could be living outside the cycle of war. We need only three things to make this vision a reality: financial support to prevent Hamas’s return, humanitarian aid to meet the population’s immediate needs for food and shelter, and safe corridors so people can move around. In a short time, we could transform most of Gaza from a war zone into functioning communities. When the rebuilding has begun, Hamas can negotiate with Israel for the release of hostages in exchange for safe passage out of Gaza. Let them go to Qatar, Turkey or wherever their enablers will have them. We don’t want them among us.” [WSJ]
‘Needling the Jews’: In National Review, Jamie Kirchick breaks down far-right commentator Tucker Carlson’s evolution from Fox News host to conspiracy theorist trafficking in antisemitic tropes. “After years of ‘just asking questions,’ he has reached the nadir to which such questions inevitably lead. Carlson has chosen to exploit the world’s oldest prejudice while pretending that it’s somehow edgy. Ultimately, the reasons why Carlson decided to become America’s leading purveyor of antisemitic ideas matter less than what this development says about our society. Why has ‘needling the Jews,’ the very thing Carlson condemned Pat Buchanan for a quarter century ago, been a safe career move? For the persistent acting out of his anti-Jewish obsession in the national discourse hasn’t put a dent in his popularity; on the contrary, it may have even boosted it.” [NationalReview]
Word on the Street
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, the Trump administration’s Syria envoy, convened a four-hour meeting in Paris on Thursday for senior Israeli and Syrian officials, including Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Sheibani, to discuss security issues; the meeting was the first high-level sit-down between Israeli and Syrian officials in 25 years…
U.S. and Israeli negotiators departed Doha, Qatar, following Hamas’ most recent response to a ceasefire proposal, with White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff saying that the terror group’s response “shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire”…
The Pentagon informed staff on Thursday that it had indefinitely suspended the Department of Defense’s participation in think tank and research conferences and events; the announcement comes a week after the Pentagon pulled its affiliated speakers from the lineup at the Aspen Security Forum…
A new report from the Jewish Institute for National Security of America found that the U.S. launched nearly 14% of its THAAD interceptor stockpile during last month’s war between Israel and Iran; the report’s authors suggested it could take between three and eight years to replenish the stockpile…
Russia successfully launched an Iranian Soyuz communications satellite into orbit, months after signing a “strategic partnership” agreement with Tehran…
The Wall Street Journal reports on a 2003 birthday book given to Jeffrey Epstein that included messages from President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton…
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, announced he does not plan to seek a third term; former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who came within a percentage point of unseating Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) in 2022, said he is considering entering the race to succeed Evers, while Sara Rodriguez, the state’s current lieutenant governor, hinted she was interested in the seat…
Members of a New Jersey state Assembly panel advanced a bill that would adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism…
The FCC signed off on the $8 billion merger between Skydance Media and Paramount; The New York Times said that the merger “effectively ushers in the beginning of a new family dynasty for Paramount, which has been controlled by the Redstone family for decades. David Ellison, son of the tech billionaire Larry Ellison, plans to take control of the company when the deal closes”…
CBS News tapped network veteran Tanya Simon, who had overseen “60 Minutes” since the resignation last year of Bill Owens, as the weekly news program’s executive producer…
Israeli-American venture capitalist Elad Gil is raising a $1.5 billion fund for young startups; if closed, it would be one of the largest funds raised by a solo VC…
Two Jewish comics slated to perform at the upcoming Edinburgh Fringe next month had their shows canceled due to what organizers said were safety concerns…
Hungary issued a three-year ban on members of the Irish hip-hop group Kneecap from entering the country, citing the group’s “antisemitic hate speech and open praise for Hamas and Hezbollah as justification”; the ban comes ahead of the upcoming Sziget festival in Budapest, at which Kneecap was slated to perform…
Archeologists working at the Tinshemet Cave site in central Israel discovered what they believe to be, at 100,000 years old, one of the oldest burial sites in the world…
Eight Israeli soldiers were injured in a car-ramming attack on Thursday near the central Israeli city of Netanya; the assailant drove off and is believed to have abandoned his car near the West Bank town of Beit Lid…
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter distanced the Israeli government from recent comments by Israeli Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu, a far-right lawmaker who said that Jews would settle in the Gaza Strip and the government “is racing ahead for Gaza to be wiped out”…
Pic of the Day
Former hostages and family members of some of the remaining 50 hostages still in captivity were in Washington this week for meetings with Trump administration officials, including Justice Department senior counsel Leo Terrell, the chair of the department’s antisemitism task force. At far right are Keith Siegel and his wife, Aviva, who were both taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.
Birthdays
Actor, comedian and producer, Jeremy Samuel Piven turns 60 on Saturday…
FRIDAY: Warsaw Ghetto Uprising participant and Holocaust survivor, she is the subject of the 2021 documentary “I am Here,” Ella Blumenthal turns 104… Former publisher and editor-in-chief of Jewish Lights Publishing, he is an economist and religious scholar best known for his interfaith work, Stuart M. Matlins turns 85… Cinematographer, whose work includes “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and “The Empire Strikes Back,” Peter Suschitzky turns 84… Member of the New York City Council from 2014 to 2021, Alan N. Maisel turns 79… Born in Casablanca, Morocco, nightclub owner, entrepreneur and film producer, he produced “The Woman in Red” and “Weekend at Bernie’s,” Victor Drai turns 78… Former IDF brigadier general (he was part of Operation Entebbe in 1976), then a member of Knesset, Efraim “Effi” Eitam turns 73… Voiceover artist, he is also the writer, producer, director and narrator of a documentary about the restoration of a NYC synagogue, Peter Grossman… Chairman of Vibrant Capital Partners and chair emeritus of the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia, Philip Darivoff… Screenwriter, director and producer, best known for creating “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Sex and the City,” Darren Star turns 64… Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist, she is a staff writer at The Atlantic, Anne Applebaum turns 61… Retired MLB pitcher from a small Jewish community in the Dominican Republic, he maintains a kosher home, José Bautista turns 61… Israeli journalist, television news anchor and author of a nonfiction book and a novel, Oshrat Kotler turns 60… CEO of Friends of the Israel Defense Forces until earlier this week, Rabbi Steven Weil… NYC-based criminal defense attorney, Arkady L. Bukh turns 53… Head coach of the men’s basketball team at Kent State University since 2011, Rob Senderoff turns 52… Radio personality on Baltimore’s WBAL and 98 Rock, Josh Spiegel turns 50… VP of communications and PR for the National Association of Healthcare Quality, Erin Seidler… Experimental electronic music producer, composer and singer, known professionally as Oneohtrix Point Never, Daniel Lopatin turns 43… Film and television actor, Michael Welch turns 38… Senior policy advisor at Nelson Mullins, Jake Kohn turns 36… Pitcher for Team Israel at the 2020 Olympics and at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, he is also a real estate broker at CBRE, Joseph “Joey” Samuel Wagman turns 34…
SATURDAY: Former mayor of Las Vegas for 12 years, where he was succeeded by his wife who served for 12 more years as mayor, Oscar Goodman turns 86… Former administrator at the University of Illinois and the University of Houston, chancellor of the California State University system and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust, Barry Munitz turns 84… Journalist and author or co-author of nearly two dozen books, both of her parents were killed in Auschwitz, Paulette Cooper turns 83… Author, podcaster, columnist and rabbi, Shammai Engelmayer turns 80… Member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2012 to 2020, Richard Stark turns 73… Chief medical officer at F|42, Alan H. Spiro, MD, MBA… Film and television director, she is best known for her work on the Showtime drama series “Homeland,” Lesli Linka Glatter turns 72… Sports columnist, author, television and radio personality, he works for ESPN’s Charlotte, N.C.-based SEC Network since 2014, Paul Finebaum turns 69… Venture capitalist, James W. Breyer turns 64… Former correspondent at ABC News for 23 years, now a founder at Ten Percent Media, Daniel B. “Dan” Harris turns 54… Physician and attorney, he is the founder and chairman of the DC-based consulting firm Stonington Global, Nicholas Muzin turns 50… U.S. senator (R-OK), Markwayne Mullin turns 48… Actress best known for her role in the “Spider-Man” trilogy, Mageina Tovah Begtrup turns 46… Managing partner of the D.C. office of ColdSpark, Nachama Soloveichik… Political correspondent at Israel’s Walla News, Tal Shalev… Israeli-born classical music composer, Gilad Hochman turns 43… Israeli born R&B singer and songwriter, Hila Bronstein turns 42… Manager of advisor communications at Cetera Financial Group, Lauren Garfield-Herrin… Actress and filmmaker, Hallie Meyers-Shyer turns 38… Member of the comedy group “The Try Guys,” with almost 2.9 billion YouTube views, Zachary Andrew “Zach” Kornfeld turns 35… Associate policy director for complex care at United Healthcare, Drew Gerber… NFL running back who retired in 2024, Tarik Cohen turns 30… Pitcher on the Israeli Women’s National Softball Team, now a curriculum designer at Great Hearts Academies, Tamara “T” Statman Schoen turns 28… President at B&B Digital Media, Tomer Barazani…
SUNDAY: Real estate developer who founded Aspen Square Management, he heads an eponymous foundation known for its flagship program PJ Library, Harold Grinspoon turns 96… Forensic pathologist known for his HBO show and his work investigating high-profile deaths, Michael M. Baden turns 91… Managing partner of Access Fund Management Company, he is a past president of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, Harold Zlot… Former deputy secretary of defense and then CIA director in the Clinton administration, now a professor emeritus at MIT, John Mark Deutch turns 87… Steven M. Mizel turns 86… Former chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Stephen M. Greenberg turns 81… Artist and museum founder focused on Fusionism, Shalom Tomáš Neuman turns 78… Israeli author and television producer, he is best known for his documentaries of Israel’s intelligence agencies, Yarin Kimor turns 73… Israeli-born fitness personality, Gilad Janklowicz turns 71… Comedian, writer, producer and actress, Carol Leifer turns 69… Washington bureau chief and White House correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor, Linda Feldmann… Former VP of global communications, marketing and public policy at Facebook, he previously held a similar position at Google, Elliot Schrage turns 65… U.S. Army colonel (retired), Jeffrey Brian Carra… Israeli television and radio personality, Erez Moshe Tal turns 64… Heir to the Hyatt Hotels fortune, now a film producer, Jean “Gigi” Pritzker turns 63… Former CEO of the Rabbinical Assembly, she is now the founder of Insight Eldercare, Rabbi Julie Schonfeld… Member of the Hungarian Parliament for 20 years, then a member of the European Parliament since 2009, Tamás Deutsch turns 59… Rabbi at Kesher Israel: The Georgetown Synagogue, Rabbi Hyim Shafner… Former national platform director for the Democratic National Committee, now a political consultant and recruiter, Andrew Grossman… Former chief of staff of the House Republican Conference, he is now the managing partner at Capitol Venture, LLC, Jeremy Deutsch… Head of marketing at Jumplight and winner on “Jeopardy!” in 2019, Aaron Lichtig… D.C.-area political activist, Benjamin Rothenberg… SVP at Upland Workshop, Jeremy Adler…
Sens. Adam Schiff, Andy Kim and Tim Kaine announced plans to introduce an amendment to ensure that the U.S. can continue to share intelligence with Israel and to assist Israel’s defense
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) speaks to reporters on his way to a classified all-Senate briefing
A Senate war powers resolution aiming to block further U.S. military action against Iran appears to be building and solidifying support among Democrats ahead of an anticipated vote later this week.
Sens. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Andy Kim (D-NJ) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) announced on Tuesday they planned to introduce an amendment to Kaine’s resolution to specifically ensure that the U.S. can continue to share intelligence with Israel and to assist Israel’s defense and provide it with defensive equipment to counter attacks by Iran and its proxies.
A House resolution on the issue had prompted private divisions among Democrats earlier this week over a similar issue, with many lawmakers concerned that the resolution would prevent the U.S. from continuing to support Israeli missile defense, a Democratic staffer not authorized to speak publicly told JI.
The senators said in a statement they expect the full Senate will vote on the amendment prior to a final vote on Kaine’s resolution. They argued that the amendment makes clear to Iran that the U.S. will continue to defend Israel.
Kaine said that the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran announced Monday night doesn’t change the necessity of the vote, and “actually gives you the space to actually have a decision about, prospectively, should we be at war with Iran without a vote of Congress.”
Asked by Jewish Insider whether he still anticipates that most or all other Democrats will still support the resolution, Kaine said, “They believe we should not be at war without a vote of Congress. They may have different points where a war would be the right thing to do, but that should not happen without a vote of Congress.”
He said he still expects to have multiple Republicans supporting the resolution, but the number is unknown. Only Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has publicly voiced support.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), asked about the resolution, said that there was not a “clear and imminent threat to the United States, to our citizens” and the administration “should have come to us and talked about this,” as it did prior to Operation Desert Storm, in which he served.
“You’ve got a goal, you talk to Congress about it. You get the force ready to do this. You talk to the adversary and you say, ‘Here are our options: Get out of Kuwait or we’re going to kick you out,’” Kelly said. “That occurred with a full, transparent discussion with the United States Congress, per the Constitution.”
Kelly reviewed a classified Defense Intelligence Agency assessment indicating the U.S. strikes had a limited effect on Iran’s nuclear program, and said that the situation shows the “recklessness of just rushing forward when you don’t have the follow-on plan, and you don’t really consider the consequence.”
He said the strikes were risky because Iran may now take its program completely covert and race to a nuclear weapon. “This has been my concern since the second this happened. Does this push them forward?” Kelly said.
Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) said he hadn’t looked at the resolution but said “it seems like we had lots of time to be consulted.”
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) said she’s still examining the resolution but emphasized that she led legislation in 2020 to block military action against Iran following the killing of Quds Force head Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Tuesday proposed another amendment to Kaine’s resolution, commending President Donald Trump for a “successful mission” in damaging the regime’s nuclear program.
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