Plus, Bianna Golodryga and Yonit Levi pen YA novel on antisemitism
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In today’s Daily Kickoff, we cover this week’s House Intelligence Committee trip to Israel, and interview Democrat Rebecca Bennett, who is challenging Rep. Tom Kean Jr. in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District. We report on a new young adult novel about antisemitism by journalists Bianna Golodryga and Yonit Levi, and cover a new report alleging a yearslong effort by Hamas to direct humanitarian assistance. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Brett McGurk, Stephen Levin and former Rep. Abigail Spanberger.
What We’re Watching
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is convening his Security Cabinet tonight for a vote on what Israeli media has described as a “full conquest” of the Gaza Strip. IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has warned against a full takeover of the enclave.
- We’ll be keeping an eye on the U.S. reaction to the vote, with several dozen legislators in Israel this week — and meeting with Netanyahu (more on those meetings below). In Washington, President Donald Trump, Axios reported on Wednesday, does not plan to intervene, despite opposition within the administration to a full Israeli takeover of Gaza.
- In Southampton, N.Y., Dynasty Partners wraps up its annual two-day Hamptons Investment & Philanthropy Forum today.
- Israeli singer Ishay Ribo is performing tonight at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in New York’s Catskill Mountains as part of B’nei Akiva’s Yamim Ba’im concert. Singers Avraham Fried, Zusha and Shmuel are also set to perform at the concert.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH ji’s JOSH KRAUSHAAR
Based on the latest wave of Democratic primary results, it’s looking more likely that the hard-left “resistance” faction of the Democratic Party, which was muted in the aftermath of the 2024 election, is reasserting itself in a consequential way — especially in the deep-blue cities that make up much of the party’s voting base.
Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani’s come-from-behind victory in the New York City mayor’s primary was a major wake-up-call for party leadership. His success came after a surge of progressive discontent with the Democratic establishment, a sentiment fueled by the Trump administration’s aggressive (and at times, unlawful) deportation push, the imposition of tariffs and the general sense that party leaders in Washington weren’t doing everything they could to oppose President Donald Trump’s polarizing policies.
The reason the Democratic Party brand is polling at historic lows is because a sizable share of younger, progressive voters are expressing their discontent with their own party leadership — even as most still plan to vote Democratic in a general election. We’re seeing the growth of the left-wing faction within the party, in real time.
The fact that Mamdani’s radical views on the economy, crime and antisemitism did little to dissuade a critical mass of rank-and-file Democrats is a sign of the changing mood of the party.
That same dynamic that drove New York City Democrats was apparent in the first round of results in Seattle’s local primaries Tuesday night.
In the early returns from the city’s all-party primary, moderate incumbents — serving as mayor, city attorney and council president — were all trailing left-wing challengers. The moderate city officials were elected in 2021, largely as a backlash to the crime, homelessness and disorder in the city under progressive leaders.
EXCLUSIVE
How Hamas directs the distribution of cash from aid groups in Gaza
Amid an international outcry over the humanitarian conditions in Gaza, Israel and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation have repeatedly pointed to Hamas’ practice of diverting and disrupting the distribution of aid that officials say has entered Gaza unimpeded as one of the culprits behind the crisis. In a new report given exclusively to Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov, NGO Monitor, which tracks the funding of anti-Israel organizations, claims to show evidence of Hamas controlling the destination of humanitarian aid given in cash for years before and during the Gaza war, including money coming from U.N. agencies and NGOs funded by European governments.
Follow the money: The report alleges that the groups distributed cash and vouchers to beneficiaries selected by the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Social Development (MoSD), which since 2019 has been led by Ghazi Hamad, a member of the Hamas politburo who was designated a terrorist by the U.S. last year and who, weeks after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, vowed that “there will be a second, a third, a fourth … one-millionth” Oct.7-style attack on Israel. In 2023, the EU provided $19.6 million, France donated $9.34 million and Spain $1.75 million “for the payment of social allowances to poor Palestinian families.” The EU stated that since 2008, it “has been a steadfast supporter of the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Social Development, collaborating to ensure that basic social allowances are extended to the most vulnerable families residing in the West Bank and Gaza.”
Bonus: The BBC reported on Wednesday that Hamas has continued to pay 30,000 salaries throughout the war in Gaza using “a secret cash-based payment system” even as Israel attempts to block the terrorist group from making payments.
NO COMMENT
Spanberger avoids addressing anti-Israel rhetoric from top Virginia Democrat
As concern mounts in the Virginia Jewish community about anti-Zionist rhetoric posted on social media by a state lawmaker who leads the Education Committee in the House of Delegates, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat who is favored in this year’s governor’s race, has avoided weighing in on the matter, taking heat from her opponent in the process. Spanberger’s campaign did not respond to several calls and emails from Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch on Wednesday inquiring about state Del. Sam Rasoul, a Roanoke Democrat who has in recent weeks called Zionism “evil.” Rasoul is the chair of the House Education Committee in Richmond.
On record: Winsome Earle-Sears, Virginia’s lieutenant governor and the Republican nominee for governor, described Rasoul’s rhetoric as antisemitic and called on Spanberger to address his comments. His recent Instagram posts have drawn criticism from prominent Democrats in the state, including former Virginia House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, who said Rasoul’s language is “fueling one of the oldest forms of hatred in the world,” as well as Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA).
communal concern
Fire-bombing targeting Jewish family and IDF veteran rocks St. Louis Jewish community
St. Louis’ Jewish community is reeling after a targeted antisemitic attack in the predawn hours of Tuesday morning on a family whose college-aged son served in the IDF, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What happened: The family, living in a quiet suburban neighborhood with a significant Jewish population, found three of their cars burned and a message spray-painted on the street which read, in part, “Death to the IDF.” Another part of the message specifically targeted the IDF veteran, local news reports and members of the local Jewish community said, but has not been publicly disclosed. The attack has shaken a Jewish community that has faced frequent and heated protests since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel. This is the first time that activity has turned openly violent. Local and federal officials are investigating the attack as a hate crime.
BOOK TALK
CNN, Channel 12 anchors debut book on antisemitism for middle schoolers
The rise of antisemitism has dominated breaking news headlines, films and books in recent years. But two leading journalists noticed a void — a lack of resources in how to address the subject matter with young readers. Concerned about what they observed, CNN anchor Bianna Golodryga and Yonit Levi, an anchor on Israel’s Channel 12, joined forces to write Don’t Feed the Lion, a new novel geared towards middle schoolers, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
Timely release: The book tells the story of three children in Chicago who experience antisemitism firsthand at school when a soccer star makes an antisemitic remark and a swastika appears on a locker. Theo, his sister Annie and their new friend Gabe each struggle with how to speak up and confront hate. The book comes as antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment has increasingly impacted K-12 classrooms nationwide in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks on Israel and ensuing war in Gaza.
flight path
From the Strait of Hormuz to the halls of Congress: Rebecca Bennett aims to take on Rep. Tom Kean Jr.
Rebecca Bennett is the kind of Democrat — combat-tested, pragmatic, pro-Israel — who moderates hope can be a balm to a battered Democratic brand, especially in competitive swing districts. The Navy veteran is hoping that her military background — which included stints as a helicopter pilot over the Strait of Hormuz and as a test pilot — will help her clinch victory over incumbent Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, one of those purple districts, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Military minded: Bennett told JI in a recent interview that national security, alongside affordability and health care, would be one of her core focuses if she’s elected. “There’s two key areas in this bucket that I think about,” Bennett said. “One is, how are we preparing the United States and our allies for 21st-century conflicts? … And then the other piece of it is, what are we doing to support our veterans and military families, both when they’re serving and then when they come home?” Bennett, 37, brings a personal perspective to the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, having flown missions over the Strait of Hormuz to ensure the safe travel of an aircraft carrier strike group through the region.
trip talk
House Intelligence Committee members visit Israel, meet with top officials
A group of House Intelligence Committee members visited Israel this week, meeting with top Israeli leaders as well as visiting one of the sites of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation staging site and the Kerem Shalom border crossing, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. The group included Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Rick Crawford (R-AR) and Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Ronny Jackson (R-TX).
Itinerary: The group met with leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mossad Director David Barnea, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, IDF officials and Palestinian Authority officials. They also visited Kibbutz Kfar Aza near the Gaza border, which was hard hit during the Oct. 7 attack, and met with hostage families, including the family of Evyatar David, the emaciated Israeli hostage forced by Hamas to dig his own grave in a Gaza tunnel in a video released by the terrorist group last week.
Worthy Reads
A Mother’s Plea: In The Free Press, Rachel Goldberg-Polin makes a plea for a ceasefire and hostage-release agreement to end the war between Israel and Hamas. “With thousands and thousands suffering in our battered region, I would like to get up on the highest table in the area and, like Norma Rae, in the movie I was too young to understand, hold up a homemade sign that plainly says, ‘enough.’ Enough of the hostage families trying to convince the world that stealing our children is not an option. Enough of innocent people suffering from lack of resources: water, food, clothing, medical care. Enough of leaders who use their people as props. It’s time for this excruciation to end. The innocent people in Gaza, the ones who have lived there for a long time, and the innocent people in Gaza who were dragged there from Israel on October 7, 2023, have had it. We, the people who love them, are broken.” [FreePress]
Closing Doors: In The Wall Street Journal, Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, American Jewish Committee’s Europe director, raises concerns about France’s asylum policies regarding Gazans, following the deportation of a Palestinian master’s degree student over antisemitic social media posts. “For many French elites, humanitarianism seems to be moral performance. Bureaucracies aren’t built to detect ideology. Suffering is assumed to neutralize hatred — despite decades of documented indoctrination in Gaza’s schools. But ideology doesn’t dissolve at the border. It doesn’t disappear with a visa. … France still can — and must — set clear criteria for admission, funding and advancement that doesn’t endanger society. Humanitarian protection can’t mean subsidizing the glorification of Hitler or the celebration of mass murder.” [WSJ]
State of the Teachers’ Unions: In The Hill, Ken Marcus, the founder of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, looks at the role some teachers’ unions across the country have played in fomenting antisemitism in K-12 schools. “In many instances, teachers unions play a role in curriculum development, resolve disputes between teachers and administrators and address issues related to school resources. Unions are also the bargaining representative of teachers. As such, federal labor law imposes on a union the legal duty to fairly represent all its employees. Unions cannot choose to favor one protected identity over another or facilitate discrimination against a group of its members. By developing antisemitic curricula and encouraging teachers to include discriminatory materials and propaganda in the classroom, the bias is clear.” [TheHill]
Word on the Street
President Donald Trump is mulling getting involved in New York City’s mayoral race; Trump spoke with former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo after Cuomo’s primary loss to Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani…
New York City’s Campaign Finance Board denied New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ request for public matching funds, alleging that the campaign had violated the law and provided “incomplete and misleading” information…
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) announced a bid for governor; the Tennessee Republican won her Senate reelection bid last year with 64% of the vote…
The Chicago man accused of shooting and killing two Israeli Embassy employees outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington in May was indicted on federal hate crimes charges…
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said that the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation planned to scale up the number of distribution sites from the existing four to as many as 16…
The San Francisco Standard interviews former senior Biden administration official Brett McGurk about his post-White House pivot to VC as a venture partner at the defense- and AI-focused Lux Capital, as well as serving as a special advisor for the Middle East and international affairs at Cisco Systems; McGurk has made at least two trips to the Middle East since departing the administration earlier this year…
TikTok removed a video from Huda Kattan in which the beauty influencer accused Israel of orchestrating both world wars, the Sept. 11 attacks and Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel…
The University of Pennsylvania removed the name of alum and donor Stephen Levin from the school’s behavioral sciences building after Levin halted the remainder of his $15 million pledge to the university in November 2023 over administrators’ handling of campus antisemitism…
Gratz College launched a doctoral program in antisemitism studies, a year and a half after launching a master’s program on the subject…
The U.K.’s Royal Ballet and Opera canceled an upcoming collaboration with the Israeli Opera on a production of “Tosca” slated for next year, following backlash from more than 180 RBO staffers over the decision to perform in Israel…
A flotilla carrying families of Israeli hostages sailed toward Gaza this morning “to get as close as possible to their loved ones,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said…
Dozens of prominent Jewish philanthropists and communal leaders joined a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemning his government’s policies and rhetoric for causing “lasting damage” to Israel and Diaspora Jewry and calling for an end to the Israel-Hamas war, eJewishPhilanthropy‘s Nira Dayanim reports.
Iran executed a nuclear scientist convicted of spying for Israel by providing information on one of the nuclear scientists killed during Israel’s 12-day war with Iran in June…
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian appointed Ali Larijani to be secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council; Larijani had previously led the council from 2005-07, when he was removed by then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad…
The Financial Times reports on a previously unknown trip to Russia by a group of Iranian nuclear officials, who visited scientific institutes in the country that focused on “dual use” nuclear technology that is used for both military and civilian purposes…
The New York Times covers the fragile calm that has settled on southern Syria following a wave of sectarian violence targeting the Druze community in Sweida…
Legal scholar and professor Marshall Breger, who served as White House Jewish liaison during the Reagan and Bush 41 administrations, died at 78…
Pic of the Day
The New York City-Israel Economic Council, a new joint initiative between the two governments aimed at building economic ties, hosted its launch event on Wednesday at New York City Hall, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports. The council is a reflection of “the long relationship we’ve had with [New York City],” Anat Katz (pictured), the outgoing head of Israel’s economic mission in the U.S., told the crowd, which included representatives from American and Israeli companies including Google and Electra as well as Israeli venture capitalists.
Birthdays
Emmy Award-winning political reporter for The New York Times, Jonathan V. Swan turns 40…
Brooklyn resident, Esther Holler… Former U.S. trade representative and then U.S. secretary of commerce, both positions during the Clinton administration, Michael (“Mickey”) Kantor turns 86… Co-founder of the worldwide chain of Hard Rock Café, his father founded the Morton’s Steakhouse chain, Peter Morton turns 78… Retired lieutenant general in the Israeli Air Force, he also served as chief of staff of the IDF, Dan Halutz turns 77… Former PR director for the New York Yankees and author of more than 20 books, Marty Appel turns 77… President of private equity firm Palisades Associates, former CEO of Empire Kosher Poultry, Greg Rosenbaum turns 73… Former U.S. intelligence analyst, he pled guilty to espionage in 1987 and was released from prison in 2015, Jonathan Pollard turns 71… Spiritual leader of Agudas Israel of St. Louis since 1986, Rabbi Menachem Greenblatt… Founder of the Cayton Children’s Museum in Santa Monica, Calif., Esther Netter… Former comptroller of the city of Rockville Centre, N.Y., Michael Schussheim turns 67… Television cook, YouTuber, restaurateur and cookbook author, known as Sam the Cooking Guy, Samuel D. Zien turns 66… Local and state government relations principal for Cleveland’s MetroHealth System, he is also the city council president of Westlake, Ohio, David S. Greenspan turns 60… Professor of computational biology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Liran Carmel turns 54… CEO at Capital Camps & Retreat Center, Havi Arbeter Goldscher… U.S. representative (D-VA-7) from 2019 until earlier this year, she is running to become governor of Virginia, Abigail Spanberger turns 46… Financial news anchor for CNBC, Sara Aliza Eisen turns 41… Public address announcer for both MLB’s Athletics and the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, Amelia Schimmel… Former MLB catcher, he batted .350 with two home runs for Team Israel at the 2020 Olympics, he is now a catching instructor for the Chicago Cubs, Ryan Lavarnway turns 38… An incoming professor of psychology at Israel’s Ariel University and director of research at Metiv: Israel Psychotrauma Center, Anna Harwood-Gross… Product management director at Signify Health, Estee Goldschmidt… Professional Super Smash Bros. player, known as Dabuz, Samuel Robert Buzby turns 32… Goalkeeper for Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer, he played for the U.S. in the 2009 Maccabiah Games in Israel, Zac MacMath turns 34… Founder of Love For Our Elders, a global nonprofit organization in 27 countries, Jacob Cramer turns 25… Scott Harrison…
Bennett is a former Navy helicopter and test pilot who served in the Middle East
Rebecca Bennett for Congress website
Rebecca Bennett
Rebecca Bennett is the kind of Democrat — combat-tested, pragmatic, pro-Israel — who moderates hope can be a balm to a battered Democratic brand, especially in competitive swing districts. The Navy veteran is hoping that her military background — which included stints as a helicopter pilot over the Strait of Hormuz and as a test pilot — will help her clinch victory over incumbent Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, one of those purple districts.
Bennett, a Democrat, told Jewish Insider in a recent interview that national security, alongside affordability and health care, would be one of her core focuses if she’s elected.
“There’s two key areas in this bucket that I think about,” Bennett said. “One is, how are we preparing the United States and our allies for 21st-century conflicts? … And then the other piece of it is, what are we doing to support our veterans and military families, both when they’re serving and then when they come home?”
Bennett, 37, brings a personal perspective to the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, having flown missions over the Strait of Hormuz to ensure the safe travel of an aircraft carrier strike group through the region.
“I really felt like I just needed to do everything I could to really fight for this country, because I love it, and I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution,” Bennett said.
While she was in the Navy, Bennett deployed to the Middle East with an aircraft carrier strike group in support of the war in Afghanistan, an experience she said showed her “how important Israel is as an ally, both from an intelligence perspective, but just how important Israel is as an ally for the United States. And so I will say it’s really shaped my worldview.”
She said she also worked with the Israeli military and Israeli contractors while serving as a test pilot. Bennett has never visited the Jewish state, but said she wants to.
“I just feel very strongly that Israel has a right to defend itself and has a right to exist, and that the United States needs to be able to support Israel, and it shouldn’t be partisan,” Bennett continued. “I think we should be supporting Israel as an ally, regardless of political party.”
Bennett said she supports continuing U.S. aid to Israel without restrictions or conditions.
Speaking to JI shortly after ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas fell apart last month, Bennett said she was disappointed by the development, emphasizing the need to free the hostages and end the war in Gaza.
“I think this is why it’s so important that we have serious, experienced leaders that are at the table having these conversations,” she continued.
In the long term, Bennett said she supports a two-state solution, adding, “it’s incredibly important that we make sure that Israel is safe and secure.”
Asked about the U.S. strikes on Iran, Bennett said that she believes that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, but said that she didn’t want to weigh in directly on the U.S. strikes without having access to the intelligence that prompted them. She added that the strikes highlight the need for “serious people” in power who understand the consequences of U.S. policies.
Going forward, she said the U.S. should lean on diplomacy when possible to de-escalate the conflict with Iran and move it further away from nuclear weapons capacity, “but it’s also necessary to make sure that we have all options on the table when we’re having these types of conversations.”
In her own district, Bennett said she’s seen and heard about the impact of rising antisemitism. The day before her interview with JI, Bennett said she had spoken to a mother who was worried about sending her children to a Holocaust museum after the deadly shooting at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington in May.
“It is just unacceptable that this is what’s happening in our country,” Bennett said. “I just want to make sure that is very clear.”
She said that leaders have an “obligation to try to bring down the temperature” on the rhetoric in this country, pointing as well to the shootings of Democratic state lawmakers in Minnesota. She said that such rhetoric must be taken seriously and denounced without hesitation.
“That’s something that I do feel very strongly about, because I think everyone has the right to feel free in this country,” she continued. “And I never want a mom to be worried about sending their kid to a Holocaust museum.”
Bennett told JI she joined the Navy to give back and noted that her husband is also a veteran. After her time in the military, she earned her MBA and worked in the healthcare field. She became politically active as a volunteer after her military service, and said she felt called to step up after the 2024 election.
“I really felt like I just needed to do everything I could to really fight for this country, because I love it, and I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution,” Bennett said.
Bennett said she’s running for Congress to “to stand up and fight for the version of the country that we want to live in and the version that I want to leave for my daughters in the next generation” as another form of service to the country.
She said her military background and experience with leadership in difficult environments it conveyed — as well as her role as a mother of two, and her time in the private sector — gives her the right profile to take on Kean.
She argued that military veterans like herself are “uniquely positioned” to win over independent voters — who she said make up around a third of the district — who might not otherwise vote for a Democrat.
During her interview with JI, Bennett made reference during to a group of Democratic women from the national security field who helped Democrats flip seats in the 2018 election, including Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) and former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA).
Bennett is reportedly a member of a group chat, the “Hellcats,” of Democratic women veterans running for competitive House seats.
New Jersey’s 7th is a swing district, represented by Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) prior to Kean. President Donald Trump won the district over Kamala Harris by two points, 50-48%, in the 2024 presidential election.
Bennett led the Democratic field in fundraising as of the close of the second quarter, with close to $1 million raised and $670,000 on hand. She’s trailed by businessman and political activist Brian Varela, who raised $693,000 and has $622,000 on hand; former Biden administration official Michael Roth who raised $302,000 and has $225,000 on hand; and Democratic activist Greg Vartan, who raised $150,000 and had $79,000 on hand.
All of them have a gap to close with Kean, who has raised nearly $2 million this cycle and has $1.5 million left on hand.