Plus, Platner's problematic posts
Win McNamee/Getty Images
President Donald Trump (R) meets with Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on November 18, 2025.
Add JewishInsider on Google👋 Good Friday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner’s boosting of an antisemitic conspiracy theorist, and talk to Capitol Hill lawmakers concerns about a potential U.S.-Saudi nuclear treaty. We profile New Mexico gubernatorial candidate Sam Bregman (yes, the father of Chicago Cubs star Alex Bregman), and report on the upcoming release of a book of spiritual wisdom taken from conversations with Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who was killed in the December attack on a Hanukkah celebration in Australia. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Jared Isaacman, Oz Pearlman and Cindy McCain.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with an assist from Danielle Cohen-Kanik. 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: Democratic governors facing push from Jewish groups to embrace education tax credits; Atop a Tel Aviv tower, Israeli tech leader Yasmin Lukatz reflects on philanthropy, entrepreneurship; and State Dept. Shabbat dinner draws UAE, Saudi ambassadors and senior Trump officials. Print the latest edition here.
What We’re Watching
- Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al Busaidi is set to meet today in Washington with Vice President JD Vance and other senior White House officials, a day after Al Busaidi mediated nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran in Geneva. Vance told The Washington Post yesterday that there was “no chance” of the U.S. becoming involved in a yearslong war in the region, but added that he doesn’t know what PresidentDonald Trump will ultimately decide to do.
- Trump, who was briefed on Thursday afternoon by CENTCOM head Adm. Brad Cooper on options for potential military action in Iran, will miss today’s meeting with Al Busaidi as he flies to Corpus Christi, Texas, this morning before traveling on to Palm Beach, Fla., this afternoon for the weekend.
- The USS Gerald Ford is arriving in Israel today as the U.S. continues its military buildup in the region. This morning local time, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem announced voluntary authorized departures for non-emergency embassy staff and families of embassy staffers. An email from U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee to embassy staff stressed that if they wanted to leave the country, they “should do so TODAY.”
- Amid the escalating tensions, House Democratic leaders plan to force a vote “as soon as Congress reconvenes next week” on a resolution blocking military action against Iran without congressional authorization, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
- J Street’s annual convention kicks off in Washington tomorrow. Speakers at this year’s conference include Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Brian Schatz (D-HI); Reps. Sara Jacobs (D-CA), Sean Casten (D-IL) and Madeleine Dean (D-PA); Rev. Al Sharpton, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Israeli Arab MK Mansour Abbas.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S LAHAV HARKOV
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Jerusalem this week was an important geopolitical moment for Israel.
The biggest tangible outcome of the visit is that, according to Indian media, Israel plans to transfer Iron Dome and Iron Beam missile-defense technology to India, as part of a defense deal reaching as much as $8 billion-$10 billion. The governments only officially acknowledged “significant growth made in defense cooperation … both in scope and scale.”
As for confirmed deliverables, Israel launched expedited free-trade negotiations with the world’s most populous country and fastest-growing economy. The governments released a nine-page statement announcing agreements in a range of areas, including mineral exploration, AI, agriculture, cultural exchange and recruitment of up to 50,000 Indian workers to Israel in the next five years — fulfilling a major need for Israel, which revoked most work permits for Palestinians after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.
But the real impact is likely greater than any specific agreement. It’s the alliance on display between Israel and India — a “special strategic partnership,” as the countries are calling it — that bolsters Israel’s global position at a time when many of the Jewish state’s traditional partners have turned away.
Lauren Dagan Amoss of Bar-Ilan University’s Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies and a leading India analyst in Israel, characterized Modi’s speech to the Knesset as “a threshold moment … designed to justify an upgrade from cordial relations to a partnership with strategic depth and deliverables. … The message was aimed at external stakeholders … especially Washington, the Gulf states, and the broader economic-technological community … rather than treating Israel as a standalone bilateral track.”
PLATNER’S PLATFORM
Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner boosts antisemitic conspiracy theorist online
Graham Platner, a far-left Senate candidate in Maine, amplified a social media post on Thursday from a far-right conspiracy theorist well-known for viciously antisemitic commentary — before quickly deleting the statement, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
What he posted: In a comment to X late Thursday morning, Platner approvingly boosted a remark from Stew Peters, an extremist radio host who has frequently promoted antisemitic tropes and engaged in Holocaust denial, calling a war with Iran “the only thing Republicans and Democrats have both given a standing ovation for.” Platner, a 41-year-old Marine veteran turned oyster farmer who has sharply criticized U.S. military engagement abroad, wrote in his own post, “As always, there’s one thing that brings Republican and Democratic politicians together: sending other people’s children to die in stupid wars in the Middle East.” He deleted the post an hour or so after it had been flagged by online observers who noted that he was elevating a problematic figure with a long record of hostile rhetoric toward Jews.
SAUDI SPOTLIGHT
Lawmakers concerned by White House moves to allow Saudi nuclear enrichment
Democratic lawmakers are expressing concerns about the administration’s apparent moves toward a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia that would allow the kingdom to enrich uranium, lacking the safeguards that were included in a similar nuclear cooperation deal with the United Arab Emirates. There had previously been bipartisan support in Congress for including such safeguards, including intrusive International Atomic Energy Agency inspections, under an “additional protocol” of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and the “gold standard” commitment of renouncing nuclear enrichment and reprocessing included in the UAE deal, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Matthew Shea report.
Airing concerns: Asked about the situation this week, Democrats — across a broad ideological spectrum — expressed concerns, while Republicans generally avoided commenting, saying they weren’t familiar with the administration’s apparent plans. “I think we should be extremely cautious and scrutinize — very exactingly — any deal with Saudi Arabia that provides nuclear know-how or fuel, and certainly it has to be a part of a broader agreement for normalizing relations with Israel that expands the Abraham Accords,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).
Read the full story here with additional comments from Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Ed Markey (D-MA) and Jim Risch (R-ID), as well as Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA).
ATTACKING AIPAC
Illinois Democrat Robert Peters pivots from AIPAC outreach to anti-Israel crusade
Robert Peters, a far-left state senator from Illinois who is now competing in a crowded Democratic primary for a safely blue Chicago-area House seat, has made anti-AIPAC messaging a central focus of his campaign, castigating the pro-Israel group as a corrupting force in congressional elections funded by Trump-aligned interests scheming to promote a “right-wing agenda.” Not long after he had launched his campaign last year, however, Peters met privately with an AIPAC official in Chicago and then filed an Israel position paper at the group’s request, according to a person with close ties to the organization who reviewed the document at the time it was submitted, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
U-turn: The behind-the-scenes engagement — rumors about which have circulated among Peters’ opponents — raises questions about the sincerity of his hostile rhetoric toward AIPAC as he now is building support from prominent Israel critics. Most likely, the source familiar with the matter suggested to JI this week, Peters was “seeking AIPAC’s good grace” in a strategic effort to preempt attacks from its super PAC, United Democracy Project, which often targets candidates who stray from pro-Israel messaging.
FROM RANCH TO ROUNDHOUSE
The cowboy hat-wearing Jewish lawyer running for governor of New Mexico
Sam Bregman, a Jewish prosecutor with immigrant roots and a rancher’s swagger, is making his case to lead New Mexico. Bregman will face Deb Haaland, a former congresswoman who served as interior secretary in the Biden administration, in the Democratic primary on June 2. Seeking to win in a state that leans blue but isn’t a lock for Democrats, Bregman is positioning himself as a moderate who is focused on kitchen-table issues, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Roots and the road ahead: In an interview with JI, Bregman spoke about his family roots, his record on hate crimes and immigration, and why he sees a political opening for a self-described moderate in today’s polarized climate. “On the political spectrum, many people call me a moderate. I’m not part of the radical left of our party. It’s very frustrating to see the radical left and the radical right. I’m somewhere in the middle, [someone] who just wants to get things done, to better the quality of life for people, and very policy-oriented,” Bregman said. Bregman is a proud member of Albuquerque’s small Jewish community. Around 100 years ago, his grandfather fled to Baltimore from Russia. “He always said the greatest thing his parents ever did for him was to get him to America. I’ll never forget that,” Bregman said of his father, who was born in the U.S.
PARIS POSITION
France denies role in drafting Palestinian constitution enshrining ‘pay for slay’
France did not take part in drafting the Palestinian Authority’s proposed constitution released earlier this month, which enshrines payments to terrorists in Israeli prisons, the French Embassy in Israel told Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov, despite PA President Mahmoud Abbas and French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement of a joint committee on the matter last year.
Embassy’s explanation: The embassy told JI that the constitution’s “first draft was not written in coordination with France, and we were exposed to it with the broader public.” The embassy spokeswoman stated, “As part of the joint committee to strengthen the building of a Palestinian state … a delegation of French constitutional law experts is expected to examine the draft that was published and present recommendations.” Ofer Bronchtein, Macron’s advisor on Israeli-Palestinian affairs, told JI that the committee had met “here and there,” but like the embassy spokeswoman, did not know when they would meet next.
BOOKSHELF
New book to share wisdom of Chabad rabbi killed in Bondi Beach terror attack
A forthcoming book offers insights into the spiritual advice Chabad Rabbi Eli Schlanger — who was killed in the Bondi Beach Hanukkah terrorist attack in Sydney, Australia in December — imparted to a secular Jewish woman during her own near-death experience. In September 2022, Nikki Goldstein lay comatose, fighting for her life in a Sydney hospital. Her daughter spotted Schlanger, the Chabad emissary to Bondi, in the ICU halls and Goldstein’s husband desperately requested he pray for her. Schlanger blew the shofar beside her hospital bed and prayed for her recovery. One day later, Goldstein began recuperating from a life-threatening infection, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
Lasting legacy: As Goldstein, a best-selling author of more than a dozen books, regained her health, her bond with Schlanger grew and the duo decided to co-author a book. In January 2025, they began recording their conversations. Conversations With My Rabbi: Timeless Teachings for a Fractured World will be published in May — allowing Schlanger’s legacy to live on after he and 14 others were killed in December in a targeted terror attack on Sydney’s Jewish community.
Worthy Reads
Mob Mentality: In his Substack “Between Us,” Israeli journalist Nadav Eyal compares the far-right protesters demonstration outside the home of Arab Israeli journalist Lucy Aharish to far-left protesters who have done the same outside the home of CNN anchor Jake Tapper. “All of this reminds me of the pro-Hamas group from Code Pink that ‘protested’ outside Jake Tapper’s house in the United States because they disliked his coverage of the war in Gaza. On the surface, these scenes look unrelated — far-right Israelis on one side, pro-Palestinian activists in America on the other. But there is a throughline connecting them. That line is the collapse of civility. The erosion of shared rules about what is legitimate and what is off limits, combined with a mob mentality and extremism. Worsened by some in power who wink and nod at the extremists, because they believe they can harness and control the energy of the mob for personal political gain at the expense of the country.” [BetweenUs]
Georgia on Her Mind: In The Hill, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Keti Korkiya warns that through its close ties with the ruling Georgia Dream party, Iran is using the Caucasus nation to evade Western sanctions. “Iran’s strategic objective is to ensure access to foreign markets despite American sanctions. Iranian officials describe Georgia as a favorable route for exporting Iranian goods to the European Union. In late 2021, Iran, Azerbaijan and Georgia agreed to cultivate a transit corridor linking Iran’s Persian Gulf ports to Georgia’s Black Sea ports of Batumi and Poti. In addition to moving licit goods, this corridor can facilitate sanctions-busting by obscuring the Iranian origin of illicit cargoes.”[TheHill]
The Purim Paradox: In Tablet, Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin considers how Haman’s words in the Book of Esther describing Jews as “a certain people, scattered and dispersed among the nations” whose “laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not obey the king’s laws,” carry a message to the present day. “The very practices that set Jews apart — dietary laws, Sabbath observance, a distinct sacred calendar — were the mechanisms that carried identity across continents and centuries. Difference became continuity. Which brings us, in an unexpected way, back to the simplest of things. Food. Time. Law lived out in the details of daily life. These were not trivial details. They were the architecture of a people. And perhaps this is the deepest irony in Haman’s speech. He thought he was identifying a weakness: a nation too committed to its own ways to blend in. What he was actually describing was a structure strong enough to survive exile, empire, and time itself.”[Tablet]
Word on the Street
A new poll from Gallup found that, for the first time, more Americans (41%) sympathize with the Palestinians than they do with the Israelis (36%), a marked shift from a year ago, when 46% said they sympathized more with the Israelis than the 33% that sympathized with the Palestinians…
In a meeting at the White House yesterday, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani urged President Donald Trump to authorize the release of an Azerbaijani student at Columbia University who had been detained by immigration officials earlier in the day; following the meeting, Mamdani gave the names of four students involved with anti-Israel protests on Columbia’s campus who have since been caught up in deportation proceedings — Mahmoud Khalil, Yunseo Chung, Mohsen Mahdawi and Leqaa Kordia — to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and asked for the administration’s help…
Vice President JD Vance said he had seen “bits and pieces” of Tucker Carlson’s interview with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, during which the commentator made false allegations about Israeli President Isaac Herzog and suggested Jews submit to genetic testing to determine their true origins, describing the interview as “a really good conversation that’s going to be necessary for the right, not just for the next couple years but for long into the future”…
The U.S. is threatening to cut off MBaer Merchant Bank AG’s access to the U.S. banking system over what Treasury officials allege is the Swiss bank’s facilitating of money laundering related to Russia, Venezuela and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Quds Force…
The husband and daughter of Francesca Albanese are suing the Trump administration over sanctions imposed on the U.N. special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories last year, saying the sanctions violate their First Amendment rights and have prevented access to their home in Washington…
Netflix dropped its deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery after Paramount’s David Ellison raised the company’s bid to $31 per share in an all-cash agreement, backed in part by $24 billion from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding Company; Warner Bros’ CEO David Zaslav said the Paramount deal will “create tremendous value”…
A group of 14 Congressional Black Caucus members is endorsing Rep. Haley Stevens‘ (D-MI) Senate campaign, including House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gregory Meeks (D-NY); the infusion of Hill support now gives Stevens the most congressional endorsements in her primary against state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and Abdul El-Sayed…
The New York Times interviews NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman about the space agency’s goal of launching the Artemis II rocket to circumnavigate the moon and a potential mission to Mars in the next decade…
The White House Correspondents Association announced Israel-born mentalist Oz Pearlman as this year’s headline entertainer at its annual dinner in April…
The World Food Program announced that Cindy McCain, who has led the organization since 2023, will step down, citing health issues, months after McCain experienced a mild stroke…
Israel indicted a Shin Bet intelligence agent on charges of smuggling items into Gaza during the more than two-year war between Israel and Hamas; the agent, as well as several other Israelis and a Palestinian, were charged with accepting “large amounts of money” in bribes and of “aiding an enemy during wartime”…
The Knesset approved legislation exempting new U.S. immigrants to Israel who are self-employed and pay Social Security from paying into Israel’s social security system during their first five years in the country…
Israel Aerospace Industries delivered its first autonomous submarine, the “BlueWhale,” to the German Navy amid deepening military cooperation between Jerusalem and Berlin…
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a selfie with the cast of the Israeli series “Fauda” during his two-day trip to Israel this week…
Former Norwegian Foreign Minister Børge Brende resigned as CEO and president of the World Economic Forum after an internal investigation found long-standing ties between Brende and Jeffrey Epstein…
Pic of the Day
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar spoke at an iftar meal hosted on Thursday night by Emirati Ambassador to Israel Mohamed Al Khaja in Tel Aviv. Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who also addressed the gathering, said, “We all agree, Mr. Ambassador, that the members of the Abraham Accords should be treated in an upgraded manner as they pursue the noble cause of people. And this I say especially when here are nations spreading hate, spreading blasphemy against nations who speak peace, against the Emiratis, against the Israelis.”
Birthdays
Television writer, director and producer, he is best known for co-creating the comedy-drama “Glee,” Brad Falchuk turns 55 on Sunday…
FRIDAY: Performance artist and filmmaker, she is a professor emerita at UCSD, Eleanor Antin turns 91… Investor and trader, founder and chairman of CAM Capital, he is the chair of Juilliard, vice chair of Lincoln Center and on the board of the Metropolitan Opera, Bruce Kovner turns 81… Haverford, Pa.-based attorney, mediator and arbitrator, Judith Meyer… NYC-based real estate developer, Michael Gervis… Professor of physics at MIT, Alan Harvey Guth turns 79… Member of the British House of Lords, she is a retired rabbi and the chair of University College London Hospitals, Baroness Julia Neuberger turns 76… Historian, syndicated columnist, investigative journalist and talk show host, Edwin Black turns 76… U.S. senator (D-NH), Maggie Hassan turns 68… Stand-up comedian, Wendy Liebman turns 65… Suzanne “Suzy” Appelbaum… Writer and producer for television and film, David Krinsky turns 63… President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford, David S. Waren… Film and television actor, he starred as FBI Agent Stan Beeman on the FX series “The Americans,” Noah Emmerich turns 61… Founder of Spanx, an intimate apparel company, she is a part owner of the Atlanta Hawks, Sara Blakely turns 55… Founder and executive director of Toldot Yisrael, Aryeh Halivni turns 53… Director of Georgetown University’s journalism program, Rebecca Sinderbrand… Singer-songwriter, composer and prayer leader, Sam Benjamin “Shir Yaakov” Feinstein-Feit turns 48… Finance minister of Israel, he is the leader of the Religious Zionist Party, Bezalel Smotrich turns 46… President of baseball operations for the St. Louis Cardinals, Chaim Bloom turns 43… Senior counsel at WilmerHale, he is a former Obama White House aide where he was one of the originators of the White House Seder, Eric P. Lesser turns 41… Senior segment producer for “The Late Show with Steven Colbert” (and host of Chabad West Village’s “Hineni: Here I Am” speaker series), Neil Goldman… Video journalist for The Daily Wire, she completed her seven-year conversion process to Judaism in 2023, Kassy Dillon, now known as Kassy Akiva, turns 30… Alana Berkowitz…
SATURDAY: Israeli jurist, she was the first woman to serve as president of the Israeli Supreme Court, Dorit Beinisch turns 84… Professor emeritus of mathematics at the University of California, San Diego, Linda Preiss Rothschild turns 81… Retired executive director of the Montreal chapter of ORT, Emmanuel Kalles… Actress and singer, Ilene Susan Graff turns 77… State Department antisemitism envoy during the second Obama administration, now a visiting professor at Georgetown, Ira Niles Forman turns 74… Former New York Times op-ed columnist, he is a 2008 winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, Paul Krugman turns 73… Professor of medicine at Washington University in St. Louis, he is the brother of ZOA President Morton Klein. Dr. Samuel Klein turns 73… Founding engineer and a large shareholder of Facebook, Jeffrey Jackiel Rothschild turns 72… Greensboro, N.C., businessman, he is a past chairman of Hillel International, Randall Kaplan… Self-described as “America’s most notorious lobbyist,” at the center of an investigation that led to 21 convictions, Jack Abramoff turns 67… President of The New York Public Library since 2011, Anthony W. Marx turns 67… Editor-at-large of The Jewish Week, Andrew Silow-Carroll turns 65… Owner of a commercial lavender farm in New Jersey, she served as a member of the New Jersey state Senate until 2008, Ellen Karcher turns 62… Jerusalem-born businessman, he started and sold several companies in the automotive field, Mordechai “Moti” Kahana turns 58… President and CEO of The New York Times Company, Meredith Kopit Levien turns 55… Political commentator, Peter Beinart turns 55… Former member of the Knesset for the Blue and White party, Ruth Wasserman Lande turns 50… Former mayor of Jersey City, N.J., now head of the Partnership for New York City, Steven Fulop turns 49… National political correspondent for The New York Times covering campaigns, elections and political power, Lisa Lerer… Former professional ice hockey goaltender, he played for 10 years in North America and Europe, Dov Grumet-Morris turns 44… Head of analysis and insights at Prologue, Erica Goldman… Partner in the Los Angeles office of Davis Wright Tremaine, Adam Sieff… Director of international innovation and partnerships at the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, Andrew H. Gross turns 37… Director of digital assurance and transparency at PwC, Li-Dor David… Israeli national fencing champion and fashion model, she represented Israel at Miss Universe 2015, Avigail Alfatov turns 30…
FEB. 29: Executive director of AIPAC from 1980 through 1993, Thomas A. Dine turns 86… French fashion photographer featured on the reality television series “America’s Next Top Model,” Gilles Bensimon turns 82… Polish-born economist and professor at New York University, Roman Frydman turns 78… Professor at Columbia Business School, she is a former board chair at Jewish Theological Seminary, Abby Joseph Cohen turns 74… Former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, Paul D. Rosenthal turns 66… Co-founder of Biebelberg & Martin in Millburn, NJ, he was previously the chair of the Golda Och Academy in West Orange, Keith N. Biebelberg… Professor of Bible at Bar-Ilan University, Joshua Berman turns 62… Denver-based attorney at Recht Kornfeld, Richard K. Kornfeld… Born in Kyiv, former U.S. Supreme Court law clerk known for his eponymous legal blog “The Volokh Conspiracy,” Eugene Volokh turns 58… Israeli mountain climber, search and rescue professional, best known for his heroic rescue of an unconscious Turk he found near the summit of Mount Everest in 2012, Nadav Ben Yehuda turns 38… Political operations project manager at AIPAC, Samantha Friedman Fallon…
SUNDAY: President of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts in NYC since 2001, he served for 30 years on the Los Angeles City Council, Joel Wachs turns 87… Real estate developer, Tulane’s basketball arena is named in his honor, Avron B. Fogelman turns 86… Professor emeritus of Jewish studies at Los Angeles Valley College and the former editor of Shofar, a peer-reviewed academic journal of Jewish studies, Zev Garber turns 85… CEO of Mandalay Entertainment and a co-owner of both the LA Dodgers and Golden State Warriors, Peter Guber turns 84… Former chairman and CEO of IBM until 2002, Lou Gerstner turns 84… Former member of the Knesset for the Likud and then the New Hope party, he is a son of former Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Ze’ev Binyamin “Benny” Begin turns 83… Librarian at the Anti-Defamation League’s New York City headquarters, Marianne Benjamin… Israeli historian, author and journalist, he earned a Ph.D. from Boston University in the 1970s, Tom Segev turns 81… Israeli journalist, author, television personality and political commentator, Ehud Yaari turns 81… Industrialist, magazine publisher, film producer and art collector, Peter M. Brant turns 79… Cantor emeritus at the Jewish Community Center of Paramus / Congregation Beth Tikvah, Sam Weiss… U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) turns 75… Former executive of Viacom and longtime associate of the company’s former Chairman Sumner Redstone, Philippe Dauman turns 72… Previous president of Emory University, he is the son and grandson of Holocaust survivors, Gregory L. Fenves turns 69… Author and former U.S. military intelligence officer, she is now a human rights activist focused on Eastern Europe, Nina Willner turns 65… Chairman and president of Berexco, an oil and gas firm based in Wichita, Kan., Adam E. Beren… Ukrainian businessman and philanthropist, Andrey Adamovskiy turns 64… Satirist, novelist, short story writer and journalist, he is also a three-time “Jeopardy!” champion, Neal Pollack turns 56… AVP of corporate and community relations at Baltimore’s Kennedy Krieger Institute, Dara Schapiro Schnee… Six-time Emmy award-winning television journalist, he now works for CBS News, Dave Malkoff turns 50… Founder and principal at narrative/change, a Philadelphia-based media and communications firm, Jonathan Lipman… Israeli journalist and the former chairman of the Union of Journalists in Israel, Yair Tarchitsky turns 46… Principal at Mosaic Realty Partners and board member of both The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore and the Orthodox Union, Isaac Pretter… CEO of eToro, one of the world’s largest social investment networks, Yoni Assia… Former member of the U.S. national soccer team, now head of international recruitment and development at Atlanta United FC, Jonathan Spector turns 40… Co-founder of Roebling, Joshua Lachter… Senior political data reporter and the host of the “Margins of Error” podcast (both for CNN), Harry Enten turns 38… Litigation associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, Hannah Klain turns 35… Shortstop for Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, now playing for the New York Boulders of the Frontier League, Assaf Lowengart turns 28… Kevin Golden…
Plus, Qatar picks up another Beltway lobbyist
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 30, 2025 in Washington, D.C.
Good Wednesday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we talk to Sen. Lindsey Graham about recent incidents on and near Christian sites in Gaza and the West Bank, and interview Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt about the National Education Association’s recent rejection of a proposal to cut ties with his organization. We report from a conference this week in New York City hosted by Reut USA and The Rabbi Sacks Legacy focused on the future of Jewish education, and cover the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s vote to advance legislation that aims to expedite arms sales to Abraham Accords signatories. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Gal Gadot, Rom Braslavski, Eyal Shani and Shahar Segal.
What We’re Watching
- President Donald Trump is slated to give an address today on AI at a Washington summit co-hosted by the Hill & Valley Forum and the “All In” podcast.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio is meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi this afternoon in Washington.
- White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff heads to Rome today ahead of a meeting on Thursday with Israeli and Qatari negotiators to discuss ceasefire and hostage-release efforts.
- The House Appropriations Committee is holding a full committee markup this morning for the FY 2026 National Security, State and Related Programs bill.
- Also this morning, the House Foreign Affairs Committee is holding a hearing with Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker.
- In the afternoon, HFAC’s Middle East and North Africa subcommittee is holding a hearing with the State Department’s acting coordinator for counterterrorism, Greg LoGerfo.
- On the other side of the Capitol, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is holding a hearing on diplomatic strategies for the Middle East. Former Iran envoy Brian Hook, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro and RAND senior analyst Shelly Culbertson are slated to testify.
- Later today on the Hill, Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Don Bacon (R-NE), joined by Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, will announce bipartisan legislation to combat antisemitism and disinformation on social media platforms.
- Elsewhere on the Hill, footwear enthusiast Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) is celebrating the third annual “Sneaker Day.”
- Also this afternoon, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies is hosting a conversation on U.S. counterterrorism efforts between FDD Executive Director Jonathan Schanzer and Seb Gorka, the Trump administration’s deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism.
- Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar is in Ukraine today for meetings with senior Ukrainian officials.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR
One of the biggest challenges in our modern media ecosystem is breaking out of the echo chambers that so many are locked into.
Ezra Klein’s New York Times column this week, headlined “Why American Jews No Longer Understand Each Other,” is a worthwhile example of how even the best-intentioned columnists can struggle to understand the world outside their own social and informational bubble.
The column portrays a vocal minority of anti-Zionist sentiment within the Jewish community as much larger than it actually is. The characterization of a roughly even divide within the Jewish community between Zionists and anti-Israel Jews is at odds with numerous reputable polls tracking Jewish public opinion.
Public polling serves as a useful reality check to much of the framing in the column, and underscores the breadth of Jewish support towards Israel. An April 2025 Pew Research Center survey found 72% of Jewish Americans held a favorable view towards Israel. A fall 2024 poll of Jewish voters commissioned by the conservative Manhattan Institute found 86% of Jews considering themselves “a supporter of Israel.” A spring 2024 survey of Jewish voters commissioned by the Democrat-affiliated Jewish Electoral Institute (JEI) found 81% of Jewish respondents were emotionally attached to Israel.
This doesn’t paint the portrait of a community that is meaningfully divided over Israel — even amid the wave of negative, if not hostile, coverage towards the Jewish state in recent months.
Klein’s column quotes four Jewish voices — from anti-Israel polemicist Peter Beinart to the publisher of the anti-Zionist Jewish Currents publication to the rabbi of a deeply progressive Park Slope synagogue to self-proclaimed “progressive Zionist” Brad Lander — while just one (former Biden antisemitism envoy Deborah Lipstadt) reflects the mainstream Jewish majority.
foreign agent walking
Conservative commentator Bill Bennett registers as Qatar lobbyist
William Bennett, a former U.S. secretary of education under former President Ronald Reagan, registered in early July as an agent for Qatar, to advocate for the country on education-related issues, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Defending Qatar: Bennett, according to a Foreign Agents Registration Act filing first highlighted by analyst Eitan Fischberger, will receive a total of $210,000 over seven months to serve as a “senior education advisor” to the Qatari Embassy to “make efforts to publicize the fact that Qatari higher education efforts to do not support radical Islamicist movements or positions, and his engaging in publicized efforts — potentially including communications to U.S. political office holders — would help dispel contrary notions.”
WORDS OF WARNING
Lindsey Graham urges Israel to conduct itself in a way that maintains support in the U.S.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said that future military actions by Israel must be “conducted in a way to maintain support here at home” amid backlash to the Jewish state’s most recent operations in Syria and the strike that killed three at a Catholic church in Gaza. Speaking to Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs from the Capitol on Tuesday, Graham warned that Christians in the West Bank must not face the same fate as other Middle Eastern Christian communities, including in Syria, where as many as 1,000 Christians were killed between the fall of former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in November and March of this year under the new Syrian government.
Protecting the community: “Support for Christians throughout the region is eroded, and we need to make sure that doesn’t happen in the West Bank,” Graham told JI when asked how Israel had handled the backlash against its recent military actions in Gaza, last week’s fatal strike on the Holy Family Catholic Church, the only Catholic church in Gaza, and reports of an arson attack in the area of the fifth-century Church of St. George in the West Bank town of Taybeh — which an Israeli police probe found to be unfounded, stating that the fire had been “in an adjacent open area, with no buildings, no crops, and no infrastructure of the site damaged.”
union dues
Jonathan Greenblatt ‘pleased’ with NEA reversal but says ADL is ‘still in this fight’
Days after the National Education Association walked back a decision by its members to cut ties with the Anti-Defamation League, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt praised the move but cautioned that the union still has a “long way to go” toward making clear that it respects the Jewish community, he said in an interview on Monday. “I am glad that they recognize what’s wrong about calling out the most consequential organization fighting antisemitism at a time of rising antisemitism,” Greenblatt told Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch. “Yet at the same time, there are elements of even the statement that lead me to believe that we’re still in this fight. We’ve got a long way to go to make sure that the ADL and our community is respected for who we are.”
Caveats: While the board of directors of the NEA — the largest teachers union in the country — condemned antisemitism in the statement released last week, the board also stated that the organization’s rejection of the anti-ADL measure was “in no way an endorsement of the ADL’s full body of work.” Further, the NEA called on the ADL “to support the free speech and association rights of all students and educators.”
DOUBLING DOWN
Columbia anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil refuses to condemn Hamas in CNN interview
Anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was a prominent leader of the Columbia University protest movement, repeatedly declined to condemn Hamas in a CNN interview on Tuesday, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
No straight answer: “It’s disingenuous to ask about condemning Hamas while Palestinians are the ones being starved now by Israel,” Khalil told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown when asked whether he condemns the U.S.-designated terrorist organization. Khalil also accused the Trump administration of “weaponizing antisemitism” to “silence my speech” and denied that he engaged in any antisemitic activity.
250 years later
Experts champion Jewish education as the key to thriving Jewish communities
Making Jewish education more accessible is the key to many of the challenges facing American Jews today, several Jewish leaders said on Monday at a conference on the future of American Jewry, held at the UJA-Federation of New York headquarters in Manhattan, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports for eJewishPhilanthropy.
Community questions: Drawing inspiration from the teachings of the late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, some 100 rabbis, lay leaders, entrepreneurs and CEOs of Jewish organizations debated how to expand Jewish education — as well as a number of other issues facing American Jewry — at the daylong conference organized by Reut USA and The Rabbi Sacks Legacy. “A greater threat even than the antisemites is our own well-being internally, our own loss of identity, our own distance from our history, values and knowledge from our texts,” Elan Carr, CEO of the Israeli-American Council and former U.S. special envoy for monitoring and combating antisemitism in the first Trump administration, told attendees.
Read the full story here and sign up for eJewishPhilanthropy’s Your Daily Phil newsletter here.
MONEY MATTERS
House Appropriations Committee backs funding increase for antisemitism envoy
Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee’s National Security, Department of State and Related Programs subcommittee are backing a significant increase in funding for the State Department’s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
New provisions: The explanatory report accompanying the subcommittee’s 2026 funding bill, which it advanced last week, proposes $2.5 million for the office, up from the $1.75 million provided in 2024 and 2025. The report also includes provisions requesting new oversight mechanisms for U.S. funding abroad to combat the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement that targets Israel and prevent U.S. funding of political groups. It additionally raises concerns about Turkey’s relationship with Hamas. And it offers funding for cultural heritage projects in Israel, like the City of David.
Worthy Reads
Isn’t It Rich: On her podcast “Honestly,” The Free Press’ Bari Weiss interviews journalist and author Evan Osnos about the evolution of technology and industry and his new book, The Haves and Have-Yachts, which looks at American wealth in today’s society. “Not only is it going to mean that our jobs are suddenly in much shorter supply, that kids coming out of school, as we’re already seeing today, are finding themselves in a much harder position to find that first job and get that first rung on the job ladder, but also our whole sense of purpose as an individual. I mean, the first time that you pick up your phone and realize that it is able to do your job better than you are, to reach judgments, to parse complicated, conflicting pieces of information, that’s going to be also a crisis of meaning and purpose in our society.” [Honestly]
The Case Against Genocide: The New York Times’ Bret Stephens counters a recent NYT op-ed accusing Israel of committing genocide. “In short, the first question the anti-Israel genocide chorus needs to answer is: Why isn’t the death count higher? The answer, of course, is that Israel is manifestly not committing genocide, a legally specific and morally freighted term that is defined by the United Nations convention on genocide as the ‘intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such.’ … But bungled humanitarian schemes or trigger-happy soldiers or strikes that hit the wrong target or politicians reaching for vengeful sound bites do not come close to adding up to genocide. They are war in its usual tragic dimensions.” [NYTimes]
The Fruits of Brokering: The Guardian’s Nesrine Malik looks at Qatar’s efforts to become a “global middleman” that facilitates conversations aimed at resolving local and regional conflicts, as part of its broader ambitions to become a major global player. “‘This is a job that not many people do,’ minister of state Al-Khulaifi told me. ‘Sometimes we feel like we are doctors, trying to develop the right solution for the most complicated cases, trying to offer them the medicine they need.’ The rewards Qatar seeks from this work are not immediate, tangible ones. They’re not looking for investment opportunities, access to raw materials or a say in what happens after a deal is agreed. ‘They don’t ask anything from the participants,’ said one source who had recently been involved in a Qatari-brokered mediation process. The source’s counterpart on the other side echoed his comments: ‘All they wanted was to be recognised as a player.’ The fruits of the brokering – building status and trust, which in turn deepen international influence and relationships – are the prize.” [TheGuardian]
The “Z” Word: In The Wall Street Journal, Rabbi Avi Shafran considers how the term “Zionist” is used by both Israel’s supporters and opponents. “How Israel wages that war is rightly open to criticism, but it is subject, too, to reasoned defense. When someone angrily shouts ‘Zionist!’ at those who offer the latter, that person is using the word to portray defenders of Israel as monstrous murderers. It is meant to defame as evil the belief that Hamas and other terrorist entities need to be destroyed. … Civilians suffer and die in the prosecution of justifiable, even necessary, wars. That tragedy is intensified when you are fighting an enemy who hides behind human shields. Eradicating the engines of terror in Gaza requires attacking the places from which they operate: hospitals, schools and mosques. But whatever one thinks of Israel’s actions, this twisted definition of “Zionist” as evildoer fails the basic purpose of a word: It reveals nothing about its purported subjects, and everything about their accusers.” [WSJ]
Word on the Street
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who is also serving as the White House’s Syria envoy, is convening U.S., Israeli and Syrian officials on Thursday to discuss security measures in Syria following last week’s sectarian violence; ahead of the meeting, Barrack said he advised Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to reconsider some of Damascus’ policies regarding military structure and the integration of minority communities…
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee met on Tuesday in Ramallah with Palestinian Authority Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh; the meeting underscores the change in approach to the Trump administration by the PA, which had previously refused to meet with Ambassador David Friedman when he served as ambassador during the first Trump term…
Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and James Lankford (R-OK) led more than a dozen Senate lawmakers on a letter to X owner Elon Musk, raising concerns over his xAI’s inability to take “reasonable measures” to keep its Grok chatbot from engaging in hate speech…
The House Financial Services Committee voted Tuesday to advance a bill that would place a series of conditions on the lifting of U.S. human rights sanctions on Syria, after a debate over whether the U.S. should instead pursue complete sanctions relief for the new Syrian government, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…
The House Foreign Affairs Committee voted on Tuesday to advance legislation that aims to expedite arms sales to U.S. partners that are members of the Abraham Accords, as well as bills to review the U.S.-South Africa relationship and to combat the proliferation of Western-made parts in Iranian drones, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…
Columbia University suspended or expelled more than 70 students who participated in disruptive anti-Israel protests at the school’s Butler Library and at the campus’ encampment last year…
The New York Times reports on the controversy surrounding the funding behind the revitalization of Germany’s Hamburg State Opera; the funding for the project comes from German billionaire Klaus-Michael Kühne, whose family’s company collaborated with the Nazis during World War II to transport items looted from European Jews…
The Qatar Olympic Committee confirmed it is engaging in conversation with the International Olympic Committee as part of a bid to host the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games…
The planned launch of Gila and Nancy, a new restaurant in Berlin from Eyal Shani and Shahar Segal, was postponed by several weeks following anti-Israel protests outside the restaurant…
Palestinian Islamic Jihad said it lost contact with the captors of Israeli hostage Rom Braslavski, who is believed to be held alone; PIJ in April released a video of Braslavski, who was kidnapped from the Nova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023…
Avera Mengistu, who was held in Gaza for over a decade before his release earlier this year, was released from Tel Aviv’s Ichilov hospital after five months; the Ethiopian-Israeli man, who suffers from mental illness, will be moved into a special residential facility…
The New York Times reports on a string of near-daily fires and explosions across Iran in recent weeks that regime authorities increasingly believe are part of a coordinated sabotage campaign…
Saudi Arabia’s investment ministry said it will convene a Saudi-Syrian investment forum in Damascus to help spur economic development in the country…
The Wall Street Journal does a deep dive into the origins of the recent sectarian violence in Syria…
Pic of the Day
Actor Gal Gadot (second from left) met on Tuesday with former Israeli hostages (from left) Moran Stela Yanai, Doron Steinbrecher, Naama Levy and Liri Albag. Not pictured is Ilana Gritzewsky, who also joined the group.
Birthdays
Starting right fielder for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic, Zach Borenstein turns 35…
Banker who distributed $60 million to his 400 employees when he sold City National Bank of Florida in 2008, Leonard L. Abess turns 77… Former U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands, she was the chair of the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation until 2023, Fay Hartog-Levin turns 77… Retired after serving for 32 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, Judge Alex Kozinski turns 75… Businessman and real estate investor who made his fortune in the trade and manufacture of fertilizer in the former Soviet Union, Alexander Rovt turns 73… Senior rabbi of the Great Neck Synagogue for over 30 years, he served as president of the Rabbinical Council of America, Rabbi Dale Polakoff turns 68… President of the Marcus Foundation founded by the late Bernie Marcus of Home Depot, Jay Kaiman… Proprietor of Oy Vey Jewish Bakery and Delicatessen in Terre Haute, Ind., Chavah Stair… Freelance journalist, she is the widow of Daniel Pearl and wrote a book about his kidnapping and murder in Pakistan in 2002, Mariane Pearl turns 58… Director, producer and actor in movies and television, Shawn Adam Levy turns 57… Executive director and chief creative officer at the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream, Rachel Eva Goslins turns 56… U.S. senator (D-GA), Raphael Warnock turns 56… Dov M. Katz… Freelance television writer and author of two books, Joel Stein… Psychologist in private practice in both Manhattan and Great Neck, Long Island, Lynn Glasman, Ph.D…. Activist and fashion designer, Monica Lewinsky… Israeli film actress best known for her performances as a Jedi Master in the “Star Wars” prequel trilogy, Orli Shoshan turns 51… Music producer and songwriter, Jonathan Reuven “J.R.” Rotem turns 50… Professor at Georgetown University Law Center, Itai Grinberg… Singer, he represented Israel in the 2001 Eurovision Song Contest, Tal Sondak turns 49… Radio disc jockey, television show host and professional wrestling personality, Peter Elliot Rosenberg turns 46… Mayor of Minneapolis since 2018, Jacob Lawrence Frey turns 44… Sports studio host and play-by-play announcer for Westwood One, Sirius XM and ESPN, Jason M. Horowitz… Comedian and actor, Rick Glassman turns 41… Reporter for The Washington Post, Perry Stein… Joseph Stern…
By Jacob Kornbluh & JI Staff
SHOCKED! – The One Word To Describe How Everyone Felt Last Night When They Heard That House Majority Leader & Sole Jewish GOP Congressman, Eric Cantor, Lost His Primary Election – The First House Majority Leader to Lose Renomination Since The Office Was Created in 1899. Tea Party Challenger Dave Brat, an economics professor for the past 18 years at Randolph Macon College in Ashland, Va., defeated Cantor 55.5% to 44.5%.
Several Prominent ‘Jewish Insiders’ Sent Us Their Reactions… (more…)
Jewish Journal Publisher David Suissa debates political author Peter Beinart about Israel. Moderated by Rabbi David Wolpe
Four Jewish #Senate committee chairs–Levin, Feinstein, Boxer, Wyden–write against @SenatorMenendez #Iran bill http://t.co/Yu20EeMal6
— Laura Rozen (@lrozen) December 20, 2013
. @lrozen You are burying the lead: Nearly 25 percent of Senate Dems, incl perhaps the Leader, are willing to publicly buck POTUS.
— William Daroff (@Daroff) December 20, 2013
. @lrozen The leader of their party. That’s expected. This is a big deal – even if it runs counter to the narrative you’d prefer.
— William Daroff (@Daroff) December 20, 2013
No, but that it’s not irrelevant to the domestic politics of it. Deep misgivings about Iran bill with pro Israel Dems @eottolenghi
— Laura Rozen (@lrozen) December 20, 2013
This bill is not a juggernaut, significant opposition and significant who is opposing. Resistance not futile @eottolenghi
— Laura Rozen (@lrozen) December 20, 2013
Same as your point. You can be sure that Senate offices paying attention to four Jewish Senators against the Menendez bill @Daroff
— Laura Rozen (@lrozen) December 20, 2013
Otherwise, why would Jewish Federation bother to put out a statement in favor of the bill, if they thought doesn’t matter? @Daroff
— Laura Rozen (@lrozen) December 20, 2013
But you are putting out position on a bill that is before lawmakers. So how is it not relevant that 4 Jewish Senators oppose bill? @Daroff
— Laura Rozen (@lrozen) December 20, 2013
@lrozen Because it implies interests that are different than their non-Jewish peers.
— William Daroff (@Daroff) December 20, 2013
@lrozen We speak for the Jews. The Senators speak for their constituents. Again, their religion is immaterial to their view of US nat sec.
— William Daroff (@Daroff) December 20, 2013
. @PeterBeinart My point, Peter, is the danger of ascribing different motivations to Jewish Senators than to their non-J peers @lrozen
— William Daroff (@Daroff) December 20, 2013
Tweeps: My point was that Jewish Senators represent their constituents, whereas JFNA, among others, represents the Jewish community.
— William Daroff (@Daroff) December 20, 2013
Tweeps @lrozen is a friend. She is a good person, I didn't intend to imply otherwise; I merely disagree w/a syllogism she used. I'm sorry.
— William Daroff (@Daroff) December 20, 2013
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