Plus, Ireland draws Risch’s ire
Avi Ohayon/PMO
Good Monday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we preview Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with President Donald Trump that is slated for this evening, and talk to former Rep. Mike Rogers, who is mounting a Senate bid in Michigan, about the Trump administration’s approach to Iran. We also interview the chancellors of Washington University and Vanderbilt about their approaches to antisemitism and anti-Israel activity on campus, and look at the regional effects of the deepening relationship between Israel and Azerbaijan. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Sen. Jim Risch, Yoram Hazony and Dennis Ross.
What We’re Watching
- If it’s the week after July 4, all eyes are turning to Sun Valley, Idaho, for the annual Allen & Co. leadership retreat, which is set to kick off tomorrow. Attendees this year include Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Andy Jassy, Sam Altman, Barry Diller, Alex Karp, Evan Spiegel, Ynon Kreiz, Charles Rivkin, David Zaslav, Brian Grazer, Bob Iger, David Ignatius, Bari Weiss, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Mike Bloomberg, Govs. Wes Moore and Glenn Youngkin, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Casey Wasserman.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with President Donald Trump this evening at the White House. Earlier in the day, Netanyahu will meet at the Blair House, where he is staying, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to prepare for his sit-down with the president.
- Elsewhere in Washington, the Senate Armed Services Committee’s subcommittees will hold markups on the National Defense Authorization Act.
- Leaders from the BRICS alliance wrap up their two-day summit in Rio de Janeiro today. Absent from the gathering of officials from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa was Chinese President Xi Jinping, while Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has largely curbed his travel abroad since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, addressed the gathering by video.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MELISSA WEISS AND LAHAV HARKOV
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sits down with President Donald Trump today, one question will be on observers’ minds: What will each walk away with?
Netanyahu appeared to come away empty-handed from his April meeting in Washington, after the U.S. imposed tariffs on Israel, among other countries. Weeks later, Trump skipped Israel on his first trip abroad, while visiting three other countries in the region.
Few knew at the time about Netanyahu’s plans to take on Iran. Following last month’s joint U.S.-Israel military effort to degrade Iran’s nuclear program and military infrastructure, relations between the two leaders have improved to such a degree that last week Trump called twice for an end to the legal proceedings against Netanyahu. A post-strikes-on-Iran victory lap is top of the public agenda for Netanyahu’s White House visit today, while Trump’s other goals, as they relate to Israel, remain works in progress.
The White House wants to wind down the war in Gaza, as Trump has said many times in recent months. After the American bunker busters dealt Iran the final punch that Israel pushed for, the president has newly gained leverage to push Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza — a move the Netanyahu government has thus far resisted until it has achieved its goal of “total victory” against Hamas. Trump told reporters on Sunday night that “there’s a good chance we have a deal with Hamas during the week pertaining to quite a few of the hostages.”
ROGER THAT
Michigan Senate hopeful Mike Rogers underscores his support for Trump’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear program
Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), making his second bid for Michigan’s Senate seat, is leaning into his support for the Trump administration’s decision to strike Iran’s nuclear program on the campaign trail, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Iran angle: Rogers emphasized, in an interview with JI last week, that he has long been suspicious and concerned about Iran’s nuclear program and other malign activities dating back to his time as the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee in the early 2010s, when he had access to highly classified information. “I couldn’t have supported [the operation] more,” Rogers, who served in the House from 2001 to 2015, said. “I was for all of this when it wasn’t very cool to be for all of this. The former lawmaker said he believes that Iran was much closer to a nuclear weapon than many believe, noting that its development of advanced supercomputers would likely have allowed it to reliably simulate a nuclear weapons test, an undetectable alternative to actually testing a nuclear bomb.
Bonus: Rogers’ Senate campaign recently named a conservative influencer with an extensive history of anti-Israel posts as county chair for his campaign in five counties — but Rogers distanced himself from the volunteer’s views on the Middle East in an interview with Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod.
CAMPUS BEAT
Vanderbilt, WashU leaders pitch Jewish students on a winning post-Oct. 7 strategy
Many universities are still navigating the post-Oct. 7 maelstrom, trying to handle competing concerns from students, parents, alumni and faculty — all while facing civil rights investigations by the federal government. In March, Education Secretary Linda McMahon wrote a letter to 60 schools under investigation for antisemitic discrimination, including Harvard, Yale, Northwestern, Stanford and Princeton. Vanderbilt University and Washington University in St. Louis were not on the list. That presents an opening for them to reach Jewish students with concerns about what they’re seeing elsewhere, particularly as the Jewish student populations at many top universities have shrunk. Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier and WashU Chancellor Andrew D. Martin talked to Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch about why they’re pushing back against “creeping politicization” on college campuses.
Political play: The two university leaders have joined together in something of an informal pact — a joint effort to promote principled leadership in higher education, presenting their two schools as a refreshing counterweight to the dysfunction plaguing higher-ranked competitors like Harvard and Columbia. Martin and Diermeier see themselves and their institutions as the stewards of a forward-looking case for higher education at a time when the institution is under attack, both from Washington and from Americans, whose trust in higher education has plummeted. It’s not just about values: It’s a savvy political move. After all, both Vanderbilt and WashU would be in trouble if federal research dollars stopped flowing to the schools, or if President Donald Trump made the call that they could not admit international students, as is the case with Harvard.
BAKU BUSINESS
With gas deal, Israel-Azerbaijan ties grow, sparking Iran’s ire
Following the Israel-Iran ceasefire and amid questions about the extent of the damage Israel and the U.S. inflicted on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, an important piece of news flew under the radar: Azerbaijan’s national energy company, SOCAR, finalized its purchase of a 10% stake in Israel’s Tamar gas field. The deal and its timing amid hesitation from other countries that have considered investing in Israel, reflect a growing strategic partnership between Jerusalem and Baku — one that has garnered increasing pressure from Iran toward Azerbaijan, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
Details: The day after the ceasefire between Israel and Iran was announced toward the end of last month, Union Energy, owned by Israeli businessman Aharon Frenkel, received the final approval from Israel’s Petroleum Council and Competition Authority to sell half its shares of the gas field in the Mediterranean, which provides 60-70% of Israel’s electricity each year, to Azerbaijan’s SOCAR. Chevron owns 25% of the Tamar field and the UAE’s Mubadala sovereign wealth fund owns an 11% stake. Azerbaijan supplies as much as two-thirds of Israel’s oil, and Israel was the largest supplier of arms to Azerbaijan from 2016-2020. Israel continued to sell drones and missiles to Baku during its war with Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in 2020, as well as satellites and a missile-interception system in 2023, during another war between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
DUBLIN WARNING
Risch threatens economic consequences if Ireland continues ‘antisemitic path’
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Harris urged the U.S. to end the war in Gaza at the American Embassy in Dublin’s Fourth of July party, days after the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), warned that the U.S. may reconsider its economic ties with “antisemitic” Ireland. Harris, who is also Ireland’s deputy prime minister and defense minister, began his speech by focusing on the close relationship between the U.S. and Ireland, according to Dublin-based The Journal, before pivoting to the war in Gaza, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports. Harris said at the event on Thursday that his country “want[s] the bombs to stop, the killing to stop … because the cry of a child is the same in any language.”
U.S.-Ireland tensions: “It compels us to provide comfort and protection from harm. As human beings in positions of power, we can no longer bear the heartbreaking cries of the children of the Middle East,” Harris added. “And I join, I know, with everyone here in urging everybody involved to support and engage in efforts underway to reach agreement on a new ceasefire and hostage release agreement, to redouble those efforts and to end the violence once and for all.” U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Ed Walsh did not applaud the remarks, The Journal reported. Harris has previously called Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza a “genocide.” Earlier last week, Risch posted on X that “Ireland, while often a valuable U.S. partner, is on a hateful, antisemitic path that will only lead to self-inflicted economic suffering.” The post came after Harris introduced legislation to ban trade with Israelis operating in the West Bank and parts of Jerusalem.
Worthy Reads
Tragedy in Tamra: In The Wall Street Journal, Fania Oz-Salzberger reflects on how the death of her student, an Israeli-Arab woman whose home was struck by an Iranian ballistic missile, underscores the ways in which the Israeli government has fallen short in protecting citizens. “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacked Iranian nuclear and military sites to defend the country — rightly, in my view. But the current Israeli government has failed in multiple ways to defend its citizens, both Jewish and Arab. … The Khatib family was killed by Iran, and they represent the exact opposite of the ayatollahs’ regime. They are democrats, moderates — crucial partners in any future Israeli society that might emerge from the current ruins and smoke.” [WSJ]
China First: In The Free Press, Yoram Hazony posits that President Donald Trump is guided by a doctrine that prioritizes alliances with regional powers and stunting China’s global ambitions. “According to the Trump Doctrine, America’s role in such a world is focused on countering China and on rebuilding itself at home. Beyond that, America will be interested in alliances with powerful, independent nation-states that can take care of themselves and their regions, coordinate with each other where beneficial, and look to America to supplement their strategic capabilities where necessary.” [FreePress]
Bibi Still Needs a ‘Day-After’ Plan: In The Washington Post, Dennis Ross suggests that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will need to end the war in Gaza and present a viable plan for the enclave’s future in order to cement his own legacy. “Almost a decade and a half later, Netanyahu has now acted on what he considered to be his primary mission as prime minister. He has done so after the Israeli military, on his watch, transformed the regional balance of power by devastating Hamas and Hezbollah, Iran’s most formidable regional proxies, with the Assad regime in Syria collapsing soon thereafter. But these admittedly breathtaking decisions will not automatically vault Netanyahu ahead of Israel’s founder in the history books. To surpass [founding father David] Ben-Gurion, Netanyahu will need to take these great military achievements and turn them into enduring political outcomes.” [WashPost]
Word on the Street
The Wall Street Journal reports on a letter from a group of sheikhs from the West Bank city of Hebron to Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat calling for “cooperation” and “coexistence” with Israel as well as the city’s break from the Palestinian Authority in an effort to bolster ties with the Jewish state…
The Financial Times looks at initial plans for a “Trump Rivera” in Gaza that included the creation of “MBS Ring” and “MBZ Central” highways named after the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as an “Elon Musk Smart Manufacturing Zone” for electronic vehicle production along the Israel-Gaza border…
Nvidia is planning to expand its footprint in Israel as it looks to build a high-tech campus in the country with building rights up to 180,000 square meters…
Columbia University is continuing negotiations with the Trump administration to restore hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding and grants; recent conversations have not included discussion of a “consent decree” that had previously been considered, under which a federal judge would have oversight of the school’s compliance with the terms of a potential agreement…
The New York Times reports that New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani identified as “Asian” and “Black or African American” on his application to Columbia University; the Queens assemblyman, who was born in Uganda to parents of Indian descent, told the Times last week he “did not consider himself either Black or African American”…
Victoria, Australia, Premier Jacinta Allan announced the creation of a new anti-hate task force following the weekend firebombing of a Melbourne synagogue and the vandalism of an eatery in the city owned by Shahar Segal, a spokesperson for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation; Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese vowed to apply the “full force” of the law against “those responsible for these shocking acts”…
Former U.K. Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn said he is in “ongoing” discussions about the creation of a new political party, a day after MP Zarah Sultana announced that she was leaving Labour to form a new party with Corbyn…
The New York Times looks at an ongoing effort to locate and return a Stradivarius violin to the descendants of the Jewish family who had owned the violin until it was looted near the end of World War II…
The Bank of Israel will hold its interest rates at 4.5% for the 12th consecutive time, amid the shekel’s rally following last month’s ceasefire between Israel and Iran…
The Washington Post looks at efforts by members of the Syrian Jewish diaspora to restore sites and rebuild connections inside Syria, whose Jewish population was just six people by the end of the Assad regime…
The Guardian reports on Israeli court documents that detail Iranian efforts to recruit spies inside Israel…
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s inspectors left Iran, days after Tehran suspended cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog…
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made his first public appearance since last month’s war between Israel and Iran…
Hezbollah head Naim Kassem, speaking outside Beirut during an event marking the Shiite Muslim holiday of Ashura, doubled down on the terror group’s refusal to cease fighting until Israel withdraws from southern Lebanon…
Israel carried out strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen over the weekend, the first attacks on the Iran-backed terror group since Israel’s 12-day war with Iran last month…
The crew of a Liberian-flagged commercial vessel transiting through the Red Sea abandoned ship following an attack believed to have come from the Houthis in Yemen…
Broadway executive Paul Libin, who for many years ran Circle in the Square Theater, died at 94…
Pic of the Day
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier laid a wreath earlier today at the Paneriai Holocaust Memorial in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Birthdays
Cardiologist and former president of CRIF, the umbrella organization of French Jews, Richard Prasquier turns 80…
Retired president of The Seeing Eye, the world’s premier guide dog school for the blind, Kenneth Rosenthal turns 87… Early collaborator on object-oriented computer programming in the 1970s, Adele Goldberg turns 80… Michigan-based real estate developer, he served as U.S. ambassador to Slovakia during the Bush 43 administration, Ronald N. Weiser turns 80… Board member of the Israel Policy Forum, he spent 27 years as a bankruptcy attorney at Cooley LLP, Lawrence C. Gottlieb turns 78… Israeli businessman with vast holdings in energy (Delek Group) and real estate (El-Ad Group), Yitzhak Tshuva turns 77… Former president of Hebrew University and a past member of the Knesset, Menachem Ben-Sasson turns 74… Co-founder and CEO of the biotechnology company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Leonard Steven Schleifer turns 73… Pioneer of Israeli punk rock, nicknamed “HaMeshuga,” Rami Fortis turns 71… USAID official for 28 years until 2008, he now consults internationally on Rule of Law issues, Richard Gold… President of The Lapin Group, Avrum Lapin… Rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion located in Alon Shvut, Rabbi Mosheh Lichtenstein turns 64… Academy Award-winning screenwriter, director, and producer, Akiva Goldsman turns 63… President of the United Synagogue of the U.K., Michael Howard Goldstein turns 62… President and CEO of HIAS since 2013, he first joined HIAS in 1989 as a caseworker in Rome, Mark Hetfield turns 58… Comic book creator and a cappella singer, he published the Passover Haggadah Graphic Novel, Jordan B. Gorfinkel turns 58… Chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit, David Jeremiah Barron turns 58… Television and film actress, Robin Weigert turns 56… Azerbaijani-born businessman, he is a VP of the Russian Jewish Congress and the president of the International Charity Foundation of Mountain Jews, German Zakharyayev turns 54… Communications director for the Democratic Majority for Israel since 2019, Rachel Rosen… Consultant and project manager for nonprofits, Amy Handman… Head coach of the Florida Gators men’s basketball team that won the NCAA national championship last season, Todd Raymond Golden turns 40… WNBA player in her 13th season, she has also played on Israeli teams for six seasons, Alysha Angelica Clark turns 38… Ethiopian-born Israeli actress, Netsanet Mekonnen turns 37… Prime Video analytics expert on “Thursday Night Football,” Sam Schwartzstein turns 36… Olympic sports sailor, she competed for Israel in both the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics, Gil Cohen turns 33… Originally a figure skater and later a pairs skater, now a skating coach, Megan Wessenberg turns 27… Shalom Klein… U.S. editor at Jewish Insider, Danielle Cohen…
Plus, Israel's potential paths forward in Gaza
Ben Birchall/PA Images via Getty Images
Bob Vylan performing on the West Holts Stage, during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset.
Good Monday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at Israel’s options in Gaza as it faces a degraded but not-yet-defeated Hamas, and report on the weekend incident at Glastonbury music festival in which a performer led a “death to the IDF” chant. We report on the increasingly cratering political center as Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) announce their departures from Capitol Hill, and look at government and Jewish communal concerns regarding Iranian “sleeper cells” in the U.S. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Stephen Ross and Ari Emanuel.
What We’re Watching
- Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer is slated to arrive in Washington today for meetings with senior Trump administration officials. Among the topics expected to be covered is a potential visit to Washington next month by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
- The annual Christians United for Israel Summit kicked off in Washington on Sunday, and continues into this week. Dr. Miriam Adelson is slated to address attendees at this morning’s plenary session. This afternoon, Auburn men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl (who is rumored to be considering a Senate bid in Alabama) will speak in conversation with CUFI Action Fund Chair Sandra Hagee Parker about his pro-Israel advocacy. Journalist Amir Tibon, whose book The Gates of Gaza recounts his family’s experience surviving the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, will speak later this afternoon. Hostage advocate Rachel Goldberg-Polin, whose son, Hersh, was killed by Hamas in captivity, will speak at this evening’s Night to Honor Israel reception.
- This morning at the Aspen Ideas Festival, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, former CIA Director David Petraeus, former National Security Advisors Susan Rice and John Bolton will speak at a session focused on the “new world order.” Later in the morning, former Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger will speak on a panel about cyber defense. This afternoon, Daniel Lubetzky and Jeffrey Sonnenfeld will join a panel on “business leadership in a new era.”
- In Israel, Defense Minister Israel Katz is expected to hold an emergency meeting with security officials to address the recent spate of extremist settler violence in the West Bank.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S LAHAV HARKOV
Two roads diverged for Israel’s Security Cabinet in a Sunday night meeting about Gaza, and since they could not travel both routes, the cabinet decided not to make a decision. The Security Cabinet met to discuss Israel’s next steps in Gaza after 633 days of war: ceasefire or escalation.
Some in the IDF high brass argued that the Gaza war’s objectives have been met — noting that the army had destroyed Hamas’ military infrastructure, killed nearly all of the senior Hamas commanders on its target list, dismantled tunnels, seized 60% of Gaza, blocked key smuggling routes — leaving Hamas weaker than it has been since its 2007 takeover of Gaza. They argued that now is the time to pursue an exit strategy, according to military analyst Amir Bohbot.
If there is no ceasefire, the IDF plans to continue its current operation in Gaza, calling up tens of thousands of IDF reservists and moving to conquer 80% of the territory. Officers in the cabinet meeting reportedly warned that doing so could bring about a large number of casualties, including some of the hostages. In the past week, the army has suffered near-daily losses of soldiers in Gaza.
President Donald Trump’s choice is clear: “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!” he wrote on Truth Social on Sunday. Two days earlier, he said there could be a ceasefire within a week.
But what a ceasefire would mean is less clear. The parties could agree to a temporary ceasefire, which Israelis have called the “Witkoff outline,” after Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. Such a ceasefire would last 60 days, with the release of half of the remaining 50 hostages, 21 of whom are thought to be alive, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including terrorists, and increased humanitarian aid flow into Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied a report last week that he and Trump discussed a sweeping plan to end the Gaza war and expand the Abraham Accords, but a source with knowledge of the matter told Jewish Insider on Monday that much of the details are, in fact, currently in talks, even if they may still be far from fruition.
BAD BEAT
Glastonbury organizers ‘appalled’ by ‘death to Israel’ chants at U.K. festival
The organizers of the annual Glastonbury music festival in the U.K. said they were “appalled” by chants calling for “death to the IDF” led over the weekend by the rap duo Bob Vylan during the five-day event, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports. “Their chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the Festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech, or incitement to violence,” Emily Eavis, the daughter of Glastonbury co-founder Michael Eavis, wrote Sunday on Instagram. “With almost 4,000 performances at Glastonbury 2025, there will inevitably be artists and speakers appearing on our stages whose views we do not share. However, we are appalled by the statements made from the West Holts stage by Bob Vylan yesterday.”
En route to the U.S.A.: In a statement to JI, Leo Terrell, senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights who chairs the Justice Department’s task force to combat antisemitism, said that ahead of Bob Vylan’s upcoming U.S. tour, the task force will be reaching out to the Department of State “to determine what measures are available to address the situation and to prevent the promotion of violent antisemitic rhetoric in the United States.”
Bonus: The BBC acknowledged that it should have ended its livestream of Bob Vylan’s performance and denounced the “antisemitic sentiments” promoted by the rap duo.
CENTER FOLDS
Sen. Thom Tillis’ retirement another blow to the shrinking center on Capitol Hill
Sen. Thom Tillis’ (R-NC) sudden announcement on Sunday that he won’t seek reelection — following a threat by President Donald Trump to back a primary challenger — is kicking off one of the most competitive Senate contests of the 2026 cycle, and underscoring the precarious standing for moderate-minded lawmakers on Capitol Hill, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.
Bigger picture: Tillis, 64, who was first elected to the Senate in 2014, was already expected to face electoral headwinds from both directions in his bid for a third term. His pragmatic instincts angered right-winger Republicans back home while his willingness to ultimately support Trump’s agenda didn’t win him any goodwill with Democrats. Tillis is the second congressional Republican with a record of winning tough races to retire over the weekend, joining Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), who decided to leave Washington amid growing partisanship and polarization. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), another accomplished legislator who occasionally has antagonized his right flank, is also facing a difficult primary campaign against a right-wing opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
THREAT DETECTION
After U.S. strikes on Iran, officials warn of retaliation from ‘sleeper cells’ in the U.S.
In the aftermath of the U.S. strikes on Iran, officials and lawmakers are warning of potential threats from Iranian or Iran-affiliated “sleeper cells” embedded in the United States, a threat that could persist in spite of the ceasefire reached last week, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What they’re saying: Experts say that there is a real threat that Iran could seek to target the U.S. government, Jewish communities or other targets within the United States, either through networks of operatives in the country or individuals radicalized online against Israel and Jews. Matthew Levitt, the director of the counterterrorism and intelligence program at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a former counterterrorism official, told JI that homeland threats are very real, though he argued that the term “sleeper cells,” which he said invokes spy thriller TV shows, can trivialize the threat.
MESSAGE TO MAMDANI
Jeffries: Mamdani is ‘going to have to clarify his position’ on intifada slogan
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), in some of his first comments on presumptive Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s controversial remarks, said on Sunday that the state legislator will “have to clarify” his position on the slogan “globalize the intifada,” which Mamdani has defended in recent weeks, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What he said: “‘Globalizing the intifada,’ by way of example, is not an acceptable phrase, and he’s going to have to clarify his position on that as he moves forward,” Jeffries said on ABC’s “This Week,” adding, “With respect to the Jewish communities that I represent, I think our nominee is going to have to convince folks that he is prepared to aggressively address the rise of antisemitism in the city of New York.” Jeffries made clear that he was not yet endorsing Mamdani.
Antisemitism watch: Former Rep. Kathy Manning (D-NC), now the board chair of Democratic Majority for Israel, blasted the North Carolina Democratic Party leadership for what she described as allowing anti-Israel rhetoric and antisemitism within the state party, in a statement first shared with JI.
kaine mutiny
Senate Democrats’ Iran war powers resolution fails
The Senate voted down Sen. Tim Kaine’s (D-VA) war powers resolution that would have blocked additional U.S. military action against Iran without congressional authorization on Friday evening, with nearly all Democrats voting in favor of the resolution, and almost all Republicans voting against it, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Emily Jacobs report.
Final vote: The resolution failed, 53-47, with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) being the only Republican to vote in favor and Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) being the only Democrat to vote against. Kaine said in an address prior to the vote that while he acknowledged the need for U.S. military engagement in certain instances, any offensive actions required the approval of the legislative branch. In response, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), one of the most vocal supporters of the strikes in the Senate, said that requiring congressional approval would be a “disaster for the country” and upend the military command structure.
Politics of damage assessment: House lawmakers, like their Senate counterparts, remain divided over the U.S.’ strikes on Iran following a classified briefing Friday morning, with Republicans praising the strikes and most Democrats remaining skeptical, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
IRAN PIVOT
Trump suspends negotiations with Iran after defiant speech from ayatollah
President Donald Trump announced on Friday afternoon that he was suspending the possibility of sanctions relief efforts with Iran after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei defiantly proclaimed victory over the U.S. and Israel in a videotaped message, Jewish Insider’s Jake Schlanger reports.
U-turn: “During the last few days, I was working on the possible removal of sanctions, and other things, which would have given a much better chance to Iran at a full, fast, and complete recovery – The sanctions are BITING! But no, instead I get [sic] hit with a statement of anger, hatred, and disgust, and immediately dropped all work on sanction relief, and more,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
Tough talk: Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, confronted the ambassadors of Rwanda, Jordan and Qatar, among other countries, over their relationships with U.S. adversaries in China and Iran, at a dinner last week, per a source familiar with the congressman’s remarks, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Worthy Reads
Axis of Instability: In The Atlantic, Leon Aron considers the benefits to the West afforded by the “asymmetric” relationship between Iran, Russia and China. “In calmer times, China, like Russia, is happy to use Iran as a battering ram against the U.S. and its allies. But when tensions turn into military confrontation and global stability is at risk, backing Iran looks like a far less sensible investment to Beijing than preserving its own economic and diplomatic relations with the West. … Since World War II, leaders of Western democracies have successfully collaborated in part because they have shared a common worldview. Whether Iran’s Islamic theocrats can say the same about Xi, the leader of an avowedly atheist state, or Putin, who now positions himself as the champion of Orthodox Christianity, is another question entirely.” [TheAtlantic]
Hostage Families’ Hopes: The Associated Press’ Melanie Lidman reports on the newfound hope among some hostage families that their loved ones could soon be freed from Gaza amid broader geopolitical developments that have undermined Hamas, its Iranian patron and its regional allies. “With Iran dealt a serious blow over nearly two weeks of fierce Israeli strikes, [Liran] Berman [whose brothers Ziv and Gali are hostages] believes Hamas, armed and financed by Iran, is at its most isolated since the war in Gaza began, and that might prompt the militant group to soften its negotiating positions. ‘Now it’s the time to pressure them and tell them, look, you are on your own. No one is coming to your help. This is it,’ Berman said. ‘I think the dominoes fell into place, and it’s time for diplomacy to reign now.’ [AP]
The Mamdani Risks: The Washington Post editorial board raises concerns about the candidacy of Zohran Mamdani, the presumptive Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City. “Zohran Mamdani, the charismatic 33-year-old who is now the front-runner to be the next mayor of New York, might seem like a breath of fresh air for a Democratic Party struggling to move past its aging establishment. In fact, New Yorkers should be worried that he would lead Gotham back to the bad old days of civic dysfunction, and Democrats should fear that he will discredit their next generation of party leaders, almost all of whom are better than this democratic socialist.” [WashPost]
A Win for Terror Victims: In The Wall Street Journal, Sander Gerber and Ezra Husney praise the Supreme Court ruling that will ultimately allow American victims of terror to sue the Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization. “For nearly a decade, the Palestinian Authority occupied an unusual position in American constitutional law. Foreign states aren’t ‘persons’ entitled to due-process rights, and therefore states like Iran can be held liable for acts of international terrorism. But because the U.S. doesn’t recognize the Palestinian Authority as a sovereign state, it enjoyed constitutional due-process protections, which left Congress powerless to hold it accountable for terrorism. … With Israeli cooperation, the plaintiffs should eventually be able to collect damages by attaching Palestinian Authority tax revenue and assets. Then justice will truly have been done.” [WSJ]
Word on the Street
The White House is expected to host Kentucky state Sen. Aaron Reed in the coming weeks, as the Trump administration looks to recruit a challenger to Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who opposed the White House’s proposed budget reconciliation bill…
An upcoming book by Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager and Isaac Arnsdorf focused on Trump’s 2024 reelection campaign reveals that Iran attempted to assassinate former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a Paris hotel in 2022…
Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) introduced a resolution nominating President Donald Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize for his handling of the Israel-Iran war…
The Senate Parliamentarian stripped the Educational Choice for Children Act, an educational scholarship tax credit program supported by Orthodox Jewish groups, out of Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill, ruling it noncompliant with restrictions on reconciliation bills…
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and 14 other Senate Republicans introduced a resolution supporting the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran…
A group of House members introduced legislation on Friday that aims to bolster efforts by Holocaust survivors’ families to reclaim or receive recompense for art stolen from their relatives during World War II, addressing issues in past legislation that have hampered repatriation efforts in the courts, Jewish Insider‘s Marc Rod reports…
Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-WA) and four other House Republicans introduced a resolution supporting the U.S. strikes on Iran…
The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Friday that it had awarded $94.4 million in supplemental security grant funding to a total of 512 Jewish organizations nationwide, around half of a long-delayed supplemental funding round, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…
Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is closing in on a deal to purchase a 45% stake in the Miami Open alongside a group led by Ari Emanuel…
A lawyer employed by the City of Ottawa was fired after being charged with vandalizing the Canadian capital’s Holocaust monument earlier this month…
International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi said that while the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities caused significant damage, they failed to destroy core components of the program and Tehran could restore enrichment capabilities within months…
Iran’s judiciary said that 71 people, including dozens of prison workers at the country’s notorious Evin prison, were killed last week in an Israeli strike on the facility’s front gates…
The Wall Street Journal looks at the targeting of specific Iranian sectors during Israel’s 12-day war with Iran, including the efforts of an anonymous pro-Israel hacking group to cripple Iran’s banking industry, as well as Israel’s “Operation Narnia,” which targeted Iranian nuclear scientists…
Iran’s internal security forces are increasingly cracking down on dissidents and regime opponents following the 12-day war with Israel…
The New York Times spotlights the Ukrainian family that relocated to Israel in 2022 to seek cancer treatment for the family’s young daughter; the girl, as well as her mother, grandmother and two cousins were killed in an Iranian ballistic missile strike on the Tel Aviv suburb of Bat Yam earlier this month…
Jonathan Mayers, a co-founder of the Bonnaroo music festival, died at 51…
Conductor and composer Lalo Schifrin, who composed the theme song to the “Mission: Impossible” TV series, died at 93…
Jack Kleinsinger, the founder of the long-running Highlights in Jazz concert series, died at 88…
Pic of the Day
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and his wife, Janet, donated blood during a visit on Sunday to Magen David Adom’s national headquarters in Ramla, Israel.
Birthdays
Staff writer at The Atlantic, author of 10 books and former Bush 43 speechwriter, David Frum turns 65…
Rapid City, S.D., resident, Leedel Chittim Williamson turns 81… Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., resident, podiatrist, Dr. David Peter Bartos… Executive coach to nonprofit leaders, he was the founding director of the Museum of Jewish Heritage, Dr. David Altshuler… Former New York State assemblyman for 36 years, Dov Hikind turns 75… Former Harvard professor and author of books on the Holocaust and antisemitism, Daniel Goldhagen turns 66… Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, Stuart Jeff Rabner turns 65… Professor of astrophysics at McGill University, Victoria Michelle Kaspi turns 58… Founding executive director and now a senior advisor at JOIN for Justice: the Jewish Organizing Institute and Network, Karla Van Praag… Professor of Jewish studies at the University of Georgia, he is the co-editor of a handbook on 25 different Jewish languages, Aaron David Rubin turns 49… Columnist, author, poet and screenwriter, Matthew “Matthue” Roth turns 47… Former sports business analyst and reporter, now focused on the collectibles market, Darren Rovell turns 47… Reggae and alternative rock musician, known by his stage name Matisyahu, Matthew Paul Miller turns 46… Film and television actress, Elizabeth Anne (“Lizzy”) Caplan turns 43… Partner in OnMessage Public Strategies, Kyle J. Plotkin turns 43… Senior software engineer at Bloomberg LP, Noam Lustiger… Chief communications officer for Aleph Venture Capital, Erica Marom (Chernofsky)… Chief operating officer at the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Stephanie Hausner… Head coach of the men’s lacrosse program at Long Island University, Jordan Levine turns 39… Rhythmic gymnast who represented the U.S. at the 2012 Olympic Games, now a fitness coach and personal trainer, Julie Ashley Zetlin turns 35… English teacher in Tel Aviv, Michal Adar… Area director for the North Shore of Long Island at AIPAC, Abbey Taub…