Plus, Bowman boosts Fuentes
Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Ben Shapiro walks the red carpet at the Turning Point USA Inaugural-Eve Ball at the Salamander Hotel on January 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Add JewishInsider on Google👋 Good Friday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we interview former Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov ahead of his address today at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest, and report on barbs exchanged between Ben Shapiro and Tucker Carlson at the confab’s opening night plenary. We have the scoop on an effort by Sen. Bill Cassidy to press the National Education Association on an alleged “deeply troubling” pattern of antisemitism, and report on the resignation of a senior official in the incoming administration of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani over past antisemitic posts. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Amy Latzer, Dana Rubinstein and Kinney Zalesne.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by Jewish Insider Executive Editor Melissa Weiss, with assists from Danielle Cohen-Kanik and Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
For less-distracted reading over the weekend, browse this week’s edition of The Weekly Print, a curated print-friendly PDF featuring a selection of recent Jewish Insider and eJewishPhilanthropy stories, including: Norman Podhoretz remembered as visionary of neoconservative thought; Serving faith and nation: The rabbis bringing light to U.S. troops on Europe’s front lines; and The new book urging young Jews to take inspiration from Soviet Jewish dissidents. Print the latest edition here.
What We’re Watching
- White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is meeting in Miami today with senior officials from Qatar, Egypt and Turkey to discuss the continued implementation of the Trump administration’s Gaza peace plan. Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty are slated to attend the meeting, the first convening at such a senior level since the ceasefire went into effect in October. The meeting comes as The Wall Street Journal reports on the challenges — namely Hamas’ refusal to disarm — facing the Trump administration as it attempts to implement the second phase of the agreement.
- Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest continues today in Phoenix, Ariz. Former Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov will take the main stage today (more below), as well as Heritage Foundation CEO Kevin Roberts, former HUD Secretary Ben Carson, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Erika Kirk, Steve Bannon, Vivek Ramaswamy, Megyn Kelly and James O’Keefe.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MATTHEW KASSEL
In recent weeks, James Fishback, a 30-year-old Republican investor who last month launched a long-shot campaign for governor of Florida, has drawn online attention for a series of incendiary social media posts attacking Israel and invoking antisemitic tropes.
In addition to praising followers of the neo-Nazi influencer Nick Fuentes, comments for which he has refused to apologize, Fishback has promoted a range of extreme anti-Israel positions, including in a recent campaign ad vowing to defend those who accuse the Jewish state of genocide. He has taken repeated aim at the pro-Israel organization AIPAC, which he calls a “foreign lobbying group,” saying its supporters are “slaves” and that his own “allegiance is to America.”
“I’ll be the first to admit that I fell for the ‘Israel is our greatest ally’ scam and the lie that criticizing Israel is ‘antisemitic,’” he wrote in a social media post this week. “It wasn’t until I was offered a paid trip to Israel this summer (which I never took) that I realized how cringe and pathetic the propaganda was.”
In using such inflammatory rhetoric, Fishback, a political newcomer, is likely seeking to channel the views among a younger audience of far-right voters increasingly fueling anti-Israel as well as antisemitic sentiment in the GOP, which has recently forced the party to confront a growing schism within its ranks over its ideological direction.
But while Fishback has sought to cast next year’s Republican primary as “very clearly a two-person race” between him and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) — the pro-Israel GOP front-runner now dominating the polls while reporting a $40 million fundraising advantage — political operatives in both parties are skeptical his insurgent bid will ultimately amount to any sort of meaningful on-the-ground traction even as he continues to provoke controversy from behind the screen.
“Social media is the only reason anyone has heard of Fishback, and 20 years ago no one would even be talking about him,” Steve Schale, a Democratic strategist in Florida, told Jewish Insider. “Unless he stumbles into a pile of cash, it’s hard for me to see this being more than just an effort to get clicks.”
center stage
Freed Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov to address Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest
Turning Point USA’s annual AmericaFest kicked off on Thursday with prominent names on its four-day agenda, including Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). Some speakers, such as Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon, have spread anti-Israel and even antisemitic messages through their platforms, while others, including Ben Shapiro and Glenn Beck, have been strong advocates for Israel. Joining them on the program on Friday is Omer Shem Tov, who was held hostage by Hamas in Gaza for 505 days, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
Courting the crowd: Shem Tov plans to tell the audience at AmericaFest the story of his captivity, in addition to paying tribute to Kirk and discussing the importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship. Shem Tov told JI that he’s speaking to TPUSA because “we can see on social media that something is changing on the American right. You can see more and more people coming out with all kinds of antisemitic statements and anti-Israel statements,” adding, “It’s very concerning, because these are people who vote for Trump, people who are supposed to be good for us.”
scene last night
At AmericaFest, Shapiro, Carlson clash over the future of the conservative movement
The ongoing dispute between Ben Shapiro and Tucker Carlson took center stage on Thursday during the opening night of Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest, the organization’s annual gathering and its first since the killing of TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk in September, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.
Shapiro’s slam: Shapiro began his remarks by warning that conservative commentators including Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly and Steve Bannon are “frauds and grifters” who are threatening the future of the Republican Party. “Today, the conservative movement is in serious danger, not just from the left that all too frequently excuses everything up to and including murder,” Shapiro said. “The conservative movement is also in danger from charlatans who claim to speak in the name of principle but actually traffic in conspiracism and dishonesty, who offer nothing but bile and despair, who seek to undermine fundamental principles of conservatism by championing aggravation and grievance.”
Tucker’s rebuttal: Carlson took the stage later on in the program, and began his remarks by revealing he had “laughed” while watching Shapiro take digs at him. He later criticized Shapiro’s push to purge fringe figures such as Fuentes and Owens from the conservative ecosystem. “To hear calls for, like, deplatforming and denouncing people at a Charlie Kirk event, I’m like, what? That’s hilarious.”
appointee unmasked
Mamdani appointee resigns after complaining about ‘money hungry Jews’ on social media
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s newly tapped director of appointments, Catherine Almonte Da Costa, resigned on Thursday afternoon after her history of antisemitic online posts — including complaining about “money hungry Jews” — was exposed. “Catherine expressed her deep remorse over her past statements and tendered her resignation, and [Mamdani] accepted,” Dora Pekec, the mayor-elect’s transition team spokesperson, told Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen. The recently unearthed posts come as several of Mamdani’s transition appointees have drawn scrutiny from Jewish leaders, who remain skeptical of the mayor-elect as he takes office on Jan. 1, and his commitment to fighting antisemitism.
Digital history: Da Costa, who previously served as executive assistant to former Mayor Bill DeBlasio and was appointed by Mamdani on Wednesday, posted a series of antisemitic comments in 2011 and 2012, which were shared by the Anti-Defamation League. Da Costa’s account — and the posts, which had remained online — was deleted once the antisemitism watchdog published her posts on Thursday. “Money hungry Jews smh,” Da Costa posted on X in January 2011, according to screenshots. “Woo! Promoted to the upstairs office today! Working alongside these rich Jewish peeps,” she posted in June 2011. In June 2012, Da Costa wrote that the “Far Rockaway train is the Jew train,” a reference to the neighborhood’s sizable Jewish population.
closing of the horseshoe
Former Rep. Jamaal Bowman, eyeing NYC school chancellor post, praised Nick Fuentes online
Jamaal Bowman, the far-left former House member who is pursuing an appointment as New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s public schools chancellor, recently posted a comment on Instagram supporting remarks from neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports. The unearthed comment comes weeks after Bowman said that he has been “pushing hard” for Mamdani to name him as schools chancellor so he could lead a “revolution in our public schools.”
Show of support: Bowman made the comment on an Instagram reel of Fuentes posted in September, which featured the antisemitic commentator making the case that Republicans weren’t a “better” choice than Democrats for working people, but were instead “better” for Israel, the oil and gas industry, Silicon Valley and Wall Street. The caption on the video, posted by an unnamed user, which has 2.6 million views and more than 239 thousand likes, reads: “The type of Racist ifw [I f*** with].” In a comment, Bowman wrote, “Finally getting it Nick. Now go a step further. This is the same playbook they use to divide and conquer us based on race to maintain their oligarchy. It’s us, against the oligarchy. Now no more racist bullshit from you.”
scoop
Senate education committee chair presses NEA over antisemitism complaints
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, sent a letter this week to the National Education Association accusing the largest teachers’ union in the country of a “deeply troubling” pattern of antisemitism within its ranks, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Emily Jacobs report.
Laying out the evidence: “The Jewish people have suffered assaults on their identity, religion, culture, and lives for millennia. Disturbingly, we are witnessing a rise in antisemitic sentiment across the Western world, including in the United States,” Cassidy wrote. He said that the NEA has “lost sight” of its congressionally chartered purpose, adopting a “misplaced” focus on “political activism, foreign policy, and environmental and social justice causes” and becoming “hostile” to Jewish NEA members. The letter lists out a litany of incidents, including a map sent in a mass email to three million NEA members describing the entire land of Israel as “indigenous” Palestinian territory and linking to resources from Hamas-supporting organizations, an attempted boycott of the Anti-Defamation League and reported harassment of Jewish delegates at the NEA’s national conference.
Elsewhere on the Hill: A new bill introduced by several prominent House progressives — Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Becca Balint (D-VT) and Maxwell Frost (D-FL) — blasts the Trump administration’s agenda and actions on combating antisemitism, while also implementing new posts and requirements across a series of federal departments to fight Jewish hate, JI’s Marc Rod reports.
on the trail
Longtime Jewish activist mounts bid for D.C. congressional delegate seat
Kinney Zalesne, a longtime Jewish community activist, is one of a slew of Democratic candidates mounting a bid to unseat the District of Columbia’s longtime non-voting representative to Congress, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Background: Zalesne grew up in a Conservative synagogue in Philadelphia, learning to read Torah at age 16 and lead services at 25. She said she’s been doing both ever since, including leading Mincha services on Yom Kippur annually for 32 years — a fact she said would distinguish her from any other Jewish member of Congress. She also served as a board member and board chair of D.C.’s Jewish day school, serves on the American Board of the National Library of Israel and advised two hostage family groups, as well as worked with a group of Israelis trying to convene a constitutional convention prior to the Hamas terror attacks on Oct. 7, 2023. “My run for office is really motivated by my Jewish sensibility,” she told JI. “My whole career has been about expanding opportunity for people, and that, to me, has always felt like that’s always been a huge part of my Jewish identity, and so this run for Congress is really an extension of that.”
Read the full story here.District politics: D.C. City Councilmember and mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George, a self-identified democratic socialist, who spoke on a panel at a Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington breakfast on Thursday, committed to standing up for the Jewish community and taking proactive steps to ensure its security, JI’s Marc Rod reports.
Worthy Reads
The Women of Iran: In The Free Press, Roya Hakakian spotlights the Iranian women “quietly rebelling” against the regime in Tehran. “If the long struggle of Iranian women against mandatory dress codes is now succeeding, it is because it is the continuation of a historic effort toward secularization that began in Iran more than a century and a half ago. … In truth, the Iranian struggle for freedom is one of the country’s most enduring traditions. The women refusing the hijab, the workers on strike, the students demanding accountability are not importing foreign ideas. They are voicing old ones — from Tahireh, from the constitutionalists of 1906, from a native movement for secularism and civil rights that long predates the Islamic Republic.” [FreePress]
Survivor’s Story: In The Wall Street Journal, Arsen Ostrovsky, the head of the Sydney office of the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council, reflects on the terror attack earlier this week in Sydney, Australia, in which he was injured. “I’ve spent years telling stories of terror and resilience as a lawyer. I have advocated for victims, documented atrocities and fought for survivors. I never imagined I would become one. Doctors later told me it was millimeters between life and death, ‘a miracle’ I survived. Trolls, spreading AI-generated images, said I was faking it, something I first learned about as I was about to be wheeled into the operating room. God willing, I will make a full recovery. What I saw on Bondi was pure evil. The terror, screams and lifeless bodies. It felt like the Nova Music Festival all over again, except this time it was on the beach I’d grown up on — an Australian sanctuary. I’d moved my family here to escape war and was taking up a new job to help combat antisemitism.” [WSJ]
Bridging the Gulf: In Mishpacha Magazine, Rabbi Efrem Goldberg reflects on his recent trip to the United Arab Emirates. “In the UAE, we discovered a modern echo of that golden age, made possible by a people who do not merely tolerate us, but who admire and respect us. They share many of our values, ethics, priorities, and even practices. They are deeply committed to their faith, yet they do not seek to impose it on others. The proof is in their actions. The UAE was the first Arab country to condemn Hamas after October 7. While airlines around the world stopped flying to Israel, Emirates Airlines never stopped once and, during that time, even increased their service. What moved me most were the stories we heard so often. Despite the message from the leaders, prior to the Abraham Accords and a meaningful Jewish presence in the UAE, many of those we met grew up with stereotypes about Jews, just as too many of us grew up with stereotypes about them. They were taught to feel hate until real encounters rewrote their hearts.” [Mishpacha]
Forging Ties: In Newsweek, former White House Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt calls for renewed ties between Jewish and Muslim communities, as well as Israel and Muslim-majority nations, in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack. “ISIS and its ideological offshoots are not Islam. They are a violent, nihilistic cult that hijacks religious language to sanctify the murder of innocents. What they practice is not faith — it is desecration. They strip Islam of its humanity, weaponize grievance and turn God into a justification for cruelty. … Grief does not require us to abandon clarity. Anger does not require us to abandon truth. And solidarity does not require silence about antisemitism. We can, we must, hold all of these realities at once. As a Jew, I say this plainly: The answer to terror cannot be retreat into tribal isolation. It must be a redoubling — a tripling — of efforts to build bridges between Jews and Muslims, between Muslim-majority nations and Israel, between communities extremists are determined to tear apart.” [Newsweek]
Word on the Street
The Senate voted to confirm Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun as the Trump administration’s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism on Thursday, as part of a package of nearly 100 nominees for various federal posts; the package was passed along party lines…
President Donald Trump nominated Air Force Lt. Gen. Patrick Frank to be the next deputy commander of CENTCOM; USMC Maj. Gen. Sean Salene, who had been filling the role on an interim basis, was nominated to be the U.S. security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian territories…
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions on two International Criminal Court judges, saying that the legal officials from Mongolia and Georgia “directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel’s consent”…
TheTreasury Department levied sanctions against 29 vessels alleged to be a part of Iran’s “shadow fleet” that helps the Islamic Republic transport oil and petroleum products in violation of international sanctions…
After pressure from Capitol Hill — including a blockade by Democratic senators of the confirmation of the Coast Guard commandant — the Coast Guard struck from its disciplinary policies language describing swastikas and nooses as “potentially divisive,” rather than as explicitly banned hate symbols, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…
Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) is urging the Senate to include the long-gestating Pray Safe Act in upcoming government funding legislation in the wake of the deadly shooting at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia…
Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ashley Moody (R-FL) and Peter Welch (D-VT) introduced legislation to repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which provides websites with broad immunity from liability for the content their users post…
Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) led a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent calling on the department to conduct a formal review of Spain’s recently enacted Israel boycott law; Tenney was joined by Reps. Sheri Biggs (R-SC), Earl “Buddy” Carter (R-GA), Scott Franklin (R-FL), Harriet Hageman (R-WY), Brian Jack (R-GA), Nicholas Langworthy (R-NY), Mike Lawler (R-NY), Barry Moore (R-AL), Andy Ogles (R-TN), John Rose (R-TN), Derek Schmidt (R-KS), Keith Self (R-TX), Jefferson Shreve (R-IN), Pete Stauber (R-MN), Daniel Webster (R-FL), Joe Wilson (R-SC) and Rudy Yakym (R-IN)…
TikTok CEO Shou Chew said that the company had reached an agreement to divest its U.S. branch from its Chinese parent company ByteDance; under the terms of the agreement, the U.S. entity will be jointly controlled by Oracle, Silver Lake and the Abu Dhabi-based MGX, which will own 45% of the company, while another third will be held by affiliates of current ByteDance investors and the remaining 20% will stay with ByteDance…
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua apologized for performing an antisemitic dance on social media after Robert Kraft’s Blue Square Alliance and other leading figures and groups spoke out, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports…
Jewish leaders in California are calling for the resignation of Richmond Mayor Eduardo Martinez, who shared multiple social media posts suggesting that the Sydney terror attack was a “false flag” operation and suggesting that “the root cause of antisemitism is the behavior of Israel and Israelis”; Martinez had previously compared himself to Hamas while speaking at the People’s Conference for Palestine in Detroit over the summer…
In The Washington Post, presidential historian Tevi Troy reflects on the legacy of longtime Commentaryeditor Norman Podhoretz, who died earlier this week…
The Free Press talks to Jewish parents in New York City — and their children — who are split over the results of the New York City mayoral race and the election of Zohran Mamdani…
A French court sentenced an Algerian nanny to two-and-a-half years in prison for poisoning a Jewish family for whom she worked; the court dropped additional charges that ascribed an antisemitic motive to the acts, saying that the woman’s confession that she poisoned the family because they were Jewish was not made in the presence of an attorney…
eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross interviews Australian Jewish philanthropy leaders about their efforts to meet the needs of the country’s Jewish community following the terror attack on Sunday at Sydney’s Bondi Beach…
A hotel in Davao City, Philippines, confirmed that the two men accused of committing the Bondi Beach attack had stayed at the hotel for weeks last month, as investigators look into whether the father-and-son pair traveled to the region, known for its ties to ISIS, to prepare for the attack…
TheIranian rial hit a new record low against the U.S. dollar this week, dropping to just under 1.3 million rials to the dollar…
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is the subject of an alleged Iranian hacking plot; hundreds of Telegram messages and contacts from Bennett’s phone have been posted online by the hackers in recent days…
Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner told The Wall Street Journal that he is seeking to invest in new digital media but has not yet found businesses in the field that he wants to acquire…
Nvidia announced plans to build a 160,000-square-meter tech campus in the northern Israeli town of Kiryah Tivon, with construction expected to begin in 2027 and continue through 2031…
Ken Griffin’s Citadel will open an office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, as an increasing number of hedge funds establish offices in the Gulf nation…
Turkey is mulling returning the S-400 air-defense systems it purchased from Russia in an effort to deepen ties with the U.S. as Ankara seeks to purchase F-35 fighter jets from Washington and lift American sanctions on Turkish entities…
The New York Times’ Dana Rubinstein was named the paper’s City Hall bureau chief… Amy Latzer is joining the American Jewish University as chief operating officer…
Aviva Jacobs, the director for U.S. Jewish grantmaking at Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, will join Leading Edge next month to serve as its next chief impact officer…
Pic of the Day
The Brooklyn Nets, who hosted the Miami Heat last night, paid tribute to the 15 people killed in the Sunday terrorist attack at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia. From left to right: Rabbi Moshe Hecht of Chabad Windsor Terrace, Inspector Igor Pinkhasov of NYPD Brooklyn South, Rabbi Mendy Hecht of Chabad Prospect Heights, Eli Drizin, Director of CTeen International Rabbi Shimon Rivkin, Yair Elias and Rabbi Zevy Geisinsky.
Birthdays
Acclaimed actor, Jake Gyllenhaal turns 45…
FRIDAY: Chair emeritus of the Democratic Majority for Israel, Ann Frank Lewis turns 88… Journalist and playwright, he worked as a foreign correspondent for The New York Times based in Saigon, London, Nairobi and New Delhi, Bernard Weinraub turns 88… NYC-based real estate investor, Douglas Durst turns 81… Ardsley, N.Y., resident, Ruth Wolff… Israeli computer scientist and high-tech entrepreneur, she is a director of technology at Google Cloud, Orna Berry turns 76… Former town justice in Ulster, N.Y. and a past president of Congregation Ahavath Israel, Marsha Solomon Weiss… Host of RealTalk MS Podcast, he was previously the publisher of Long Beach (California) Jewish Life, Jon Strum… SVP at the Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life, Eli Schaap… CFO at wine importer and distributor, New York Wine Warehouse, Jane Hausman-Troy… Former U.S. Senator (R-OH) Rob Portman turns 70… British cellist, distinguished for his diverse repertoire and distinctive sound, Steven Isserlis turns 67… Author of 25 best-selling thriller and espionage novels, Daniel Silva turns 65… Member of the Knesset for the Meretz party until 2022, Moshe “Mossi” Raz turns 60… Israeli high-tech entrepreneur, he is the founder and CEO of MyHeritage, Gilad Japhet turns 56… President and chief creative officer of Rachel G Events, Rachel L. Glazer… EVP of global government affairs at American Express, Amy Best Weiss… Film and television actress, Marla Sokoloff turns 45… Deputy Washington bureau chief for The Boston Globe, Tal Kopan turns 39… Head of premium content and community strategy at LinkedIn, Callie Schweitzer… Co-founder and CIO of Aption, Aaron Rosenson… Actress, known for her role in Amazon Prime’s “Sneaky Pete,” Libe Alexandra Barer turns 34… Member of the Minnesota Senate, Julia Coleman turns 34… Consultant at Boston Consulting Group, Haim Engelman… Reporter for The New York Times, Theodore Schleifer… Sarah Wagman turns 21… and her brother, Daniel Wagman, turns 19… David Ginsberg…
SATURDAY: Founder of an online children’s bookstore, Yona Eckstein… Former chair of the executive committee of the Jewish Federations of North America, Michael Gelman turns 81… Illusionist, magician, television personality and self-proclaimed psychic, Uri Geller turns 79… Television producer, he is the creator of the “Law & Order,” Chicago and FBI franchises, Richard Anthony “Dick” Wolf turns 79… Southern California resident, Carol Gene Berk… Owner of the Beverly Hilton Hotel and the Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills, Binyamin “Beny” Alagem turns 73… President of the University of Miami from 2015 until 2024, now chancellor of UCLA, Julio Frenk turns 72… Flushing, N.Y., resident, Bob Lindenbaum… Educational advocate and strategist at the Melmed Center in Scottsdale, Ariz., until 2024, Ricki Light… Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Yale since 2014, she is a professor of both philosophy and psychology, Tamar Szabó Gendler turns 60… Author of the 2019 book Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, she writes the “Dear Therapist” column for The Atlantic, Lori Gottlieb turns 59… Retired IDF general and commander of the Israeli Air Force until 2022, Amikam Norkin turns 59… CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, Jeremy Burton… Swiss-born British philosopher and author, Alain de Botton turns 56… Former tight end for the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints, now a senior sales rep for Medtronic, Scott Lawrence Slutzker turns 53… Israeli-American television and film writer and producer, Ron Leshem turns 49… Actor, producer, screenwriter and comedian, known by his first and middle names, Jonah Hill Feldstein turns 42… Director of development for Hadassah Metro (N.Y., N.J., CT), Adam Wolfthal… Program and special initiatives director at Kirsh Philanthropies, Megan Nathan… Humor and fashion writer best known as “Man Repeller,” Leandra Medine Cohen turns 37… Israeli singer who performs Hebrew, English, Arabic and Spanish songs and covers, Ofir Ben Shitrit turns 30… Pitcher in the Houston Astros organization, he pitched for Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Colton Gordon turns 27…SUNDAY: Former chair of the N.Y. Fed and a partner at Goldman Sachs, Stephen Friedman turns 88… Philanthropist, she has held many leadership roles at the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven, Helaine Lender… Producer of over 90 plays on and off Broadway for which she has won seven Pulitzer Prizes and 10 Tony Awards, Daryl Roth turns 81… Born in Auschwitz five weeks before liberation, she is one of only two babies born there known to have survived, Angela Orosz-Richt turns 81… Artistic director laureate of the New World Symphony, conductor, pianist and composer, Michael Tilson Thomas (family name was Thomashefsky) turns 81… Member of Knesset since 1999 for the Likud party, now serving as minister of tourism, Haim Katz turns 78… Director of the LA Initiative at the UCLA School of Public Affairs, he was a member of the LA County Board of Supervisors for 20 years following 20 years on the LA City Council, Zev Yaroslavsky turns 77… Film, television and voice actor, he served as president of the Screen Actors Guild for seven years, Barry Gordon turns 77… Managing partner of WndrCo, he is the former CEO of DreamWorks Animation and chairman of Walt Disney Studios, Jeffrey Katzenberg turns 75… Former member of the Legislative Assembly of Victoria, where she became the first female Jewish minister in Australia, Marsha Rose Thomson turns 70… Atlanta-based criminal defense attorney, he is a behind-the-scenes fixture in the world of rap musicians, Drew O. Findling… Retired four-star general who served as chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, David L. Goldfein turns 66… Former U.S. secretary of the Treasury in the Trump 45 administration, Steven Mnuchin turns 63… Senior NFL insider for ESPN, Adam Schefter turns 59… Owner of Liberty Consultants, Cherie Velez… Former member of the Knesset for the Kulanu party, Rachel Azaria turns 48… President of France since 2017, Emmanuel Macron turns 48… Principal of Kona Media and Message, he is also the founder of Scriber, Brian Goldsmith… State scheduler for Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), Laura Benbow turns 40… Israeli actor and fashion model, he has appeared in the Israeli versions of “Dancing with the Stars” and “Survivor,” Michael Mario Lewis turns 38… Chief creative officer of Five Seasons Media, Josh Scheinblum… EVP in the financial services practice at Weber Shandwick, Julia Bloch Mellon… Assistant metro editor for The Boston Globe, Joshua Miller…
‘I want to make them understand that the friendship between the U.S. and Israel is one of the greatest things for both countries,’ said Shem Tov, who Hamas held hostage in Gaza for 505 days
Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Simon Wiesenthal Center
Omer Shem Tov speaks onstage at Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel on October 30, 2025 in Beverly Hills, California.
Turning Point USA’s annual AmericaFest, its first since the killing of its founder and leader Charlie Kirk in September, kicked off on Thursday with prominent names on its four-day agenda, including Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).
Some speakers, such as Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon, have spread anti-Israel and even antisemitic messages through their platforms, while others, including Ben Shapiro and Glenn Beck, have been strong advocates for Israel.
Joining them on the program on Friday is Omer Shem Tov, who was held hostage by Hamas in Gaza for 505 days.
Shem Tov, 23, arrived at the Nova Festival near the Gaza border on Oct. 6, 2023, with his friends, siblings Itay and Maya Regev. On the morning of Oct. 7, when they heard gunshots, they attempted to flee, but Hamas terrorists fired on them, loaded them onto a pickup truck and drove them to Gaza. Itay and Maya Regev were freed in the first hostage deal in November 2023, and Shem Tov was moved into tunnels, where he was held in darkness and with little to eat until his release in February of this year.
Since then, Shem Tov has regularly traveled abroad to advocate for the release of the rest of the hostages and speak about Israel and the war.
Shem Tov told Jewish Insider that he’s speaking to TPUSA because “we can see on social media that something is changing on the American right. You can see more and more people coming out with all kinds of antisemitic statements and anti-Israel statements.”
“It’s very concerning, because these are people who vote for Trump, people who are supposed to be good for us,” he added. “This is the time to go to them and explain to them what is really happening in the war and make them understand that the friendship between the U.S. and Israel is one of the greatest things for both countries.”
Shem Tov said it wasn’t until he was freed from Hamas captivity that he became aware of TPUSA and Charlie Kirk’s work. “To see someone who is not Jewish, not directly connected to Israel, go to universities and the largest audiences and fight for Israel was very touching,” Shem Tov said of Kirk. “He did a better job than most Israelis. It was amazing to see him.”
Shem Tov was in the U.S. when Kirk was murdered and said he was “shaken.”
“It’s scary because [public speaking] is what I’m doing now, too, but on the other hand, it should not silence us. We must continue to fight. We have been fighting for our freedom for thousands of years, and we will continue,” he said.
Shem Tov plans to tell the audience at AmericaFest the story of his captivity, in addition to paying tribute to Kirk and discussing the importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship.
Israelis have come to know a story of Shem Tov’s heroism while in captivity, which he repeated for JI.
“During a difficult period [of the captivity], the IDF was right above me. I heard tanks over my head, and even soldiers speaking at night, through the air vents,” he recalled.
“[Hamas terrorists] set up bombs in the building above us and brought the cables underground,” Shem Tov said. “I asked what it was, and they told me. One of [the captors] said that when soldiers get to the house above us — there were cameras, so we could watch — I need to blow up the house.”
“I looked at him, the leader of the tunnel, and I said ‘I won’t do it.’ He looked at me and was in shock that I said no. He said, ‘If you don’t do it, we’ll shoot you in the head.’ I said, ‘So shoot me in the head. I won’t hurt my brothers.’ After that, they abused me,” Shem Tov recounted.
Debates on college campuses pale in comparison to the terror of captivity and the threat of immediate death, so Shem Tov said he is “always ready” for any anti-Israel audience members who may come for him.
“I know the facts,” he said. “If they come with a claim that sounds logical and rational, then I am prepared to debate and bring the truth. I know the truth, I saw it with my own eyes.”
Shem Tov recalled speaking at an event at University of California, Berkeley, where he was disappointed to find a totally supportive audience. He set up a table on campus the next day with an Israeli flag and a sign that read “I was a hostage in Gaza for 505 days, ask me anything.”
“Pro-Palestinian people came up to me with keffiyehs and watermelon pins. I think they were more calm and pleasant because I was a hostage. I told them my story, but I was open to hearing what they had to say. I think I succeeded in changing people’s minds. It was amazing to see,” he said.
Asked about Shem Tov’s address and the mix of pro- and anti-Israel voices appearing at AmericaFest, Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet said in a statement to JI, “You can recognize that there is a legitimate foreign policy debate within the right while simultaneously recognizing that abducting young people at a music festival and holding them hostage for 505 days is a horrific evil.”
“Omer’s heroism should absolutely be celebrated, and we pray that the peace in Gaza, made possible by President [Donald] Trump’s strong and steady leadership, proves durable and long-lasting,” Kolvet stated.
Shem Tov said he had no background in public speaking or Israel advocacy before being released from Gaza.
“I wasn’t a good student,” he said. “I would disturb in class and be kicked out a lot. I went to the army, and when I finished, I worked as a waiter to try to make money to go on a big trip, and then I was kidnapped.”
Shem Tov said he is often asked whether it is hard for him to speak so frequently about what he endured as a hostage.
“I do it for the hostages. Up to the very last one. … It’s not over until Ran Gvili” — the final hostage whose body remains in Gaza — “comes home,” he said.
“Second, it’s advocacy for Israel. It’s very important for people to understand what happened on Oct. 7,” he added.
Shem Tov said, “I thank God. God brought me home for a reason and with a story that I can tell so people will be strengthened and to spread light, love and truth. It’s hard, but it is fulfilling to see the change happening with my own eyes.”
“I think I learned to get some gifts from this terrible thing that happened. I learned not to just be sad, but to get up and strengthen others,” he said.
As to the terrorist attack on a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday in which 15 were killed, Shem Tov said “it really brought me back” to the Nova Festival.
“A month and a half ago, I was there in Bondi Beach. I know the area; I know what it looks like; I know a lot of people there. It was very painful to see that this had to happen to more people,” he said. “We went through this once in Israel. It should have brought a change and made people understand… but here, it’s happening again. It’s scary and painful and disappointing to people who don’t understand that we need to fight terrorism. It’s not fighting for freedom; it’s not resistance.”
Shem Tov expressed appreciation to Jewish communities around the world that advocated for his release.
“It’s a privilege to meet people who I don’t know and didn’t know me, but did whatever they could to pray for me and fight for me, to shout in the streets. … They dedicated so much of themselves and so much time that it is a privilege to look them in the eyes and say thank you,” he said.
Shem Tov added that he salutes all of the IDF soldiers who fought in the war: “I appreciate them so much for fighting, whether in their prayers or in the field.”