Plus, Raskin rewinds on MTG
Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Jack Schlossberg walks into the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library ahead of the annual gala on May 4, 2025.
Add JewishInsider on GoogleGood Thursday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at how Israel faded into the background of Saudi-U.S. normalization talks during this week’s trip to Washington by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and report on New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s backing of a Palestinian American state legislative candidate who downplayed the 9/11 attacks. We talk to Rep. Jamie Raskin about his comments that the Democratic Party could welcome Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene despite the Republican congresswoman’s espousing of antisemitic conspiracy theories, and report on concerns by Democratic House lawmakers over the Trump administration’s handling of the Nonprofit Security Grant Program. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Abigail Spanberger, Shira Haas and Jessica Tisch.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by Jewish Insider Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve with assists from Marc Rod and Matt Shea. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- President Donald Trump is meeting with recently returned hostages and their families at 2 p.m. today at the White House.
- Vice President JD Vance is joining Breitbart’s Matthew Boyle for a fireside chat in Washington this morning.
- Former Vice President Dick Cheney’s funeral is taking place at 11 a.m. at the Washington National Cathedral. Former President George W. Bush and former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) are among those giving eulogies for the former vice president.
- On Capitol Hill, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is set to hold a vote on advancing the nomination of Leo Brent Bozell III to be U.S. ambassador to South Africa.
- Elsewhere on the Hill, the Helsinki Commission is holding a hearing on lifting Caesar sanctions against Syria. Rabbi Yosef Hamra, the brother of the last chief rabbi of Syria, is among those slated to testify.
- In celebration of the holiday of Sigd, celebrated by Ethiopian Jews, the Israeli Embassy in Washington is hosting a reception this evening.
- The Hudson Institute is hosting a conversation with Caroline Glick, a senior advisor in the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, this afternoon at the think tank’s Washington headquarters.
- Catholic University is holding a remembrance ceremony tonight for legal scholar and professor Marshall Breger, who died in August. Breger served as Jewish liaison in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations.
- In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is meeting this afternoon with American Jewish Congress President Daniel Rosen and a delegation of mayors from around the world who are in Israel for the organization’s 34th Mayors’ Conference.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MATTHEW KASSEL
Jack Schlossberg’s decision to launch a bid for Congress in New York City last week was just the latest example of a Kennedy scion hoping to ascend to federal office, testing the continued strength of a hallowed family name whose political currency has dwindled over the years.
His unorthodox campaign also marked the most recent arrival of a new type of political candidate that has cropped up with increasing regularity this election cycle: the social media influencer vying for power beyond the screen.
Schlossberg, the 32-year-old grandson of John. F. Kennedy, is joining a growing crop of young House contenders with digital clout who have been seeking to convert online popularity into a seat in Congress. His campaign announcement follows, among other recent newcomers, Kat Abughazaleh, a 26-year-old left-wing social media influencer running in next year’s crowded Democratic primary to succeed retiring Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) in the Chicago suburbs.
And it’s not just young recruits trying to parlay their social media clout into political success. George Conway, the vocally anti-Trump conservative lawyer, is hoping that 2.2 million followers on X and his prolfic online attacks against the president will translate into Democratic votes as he seriously considers running in the Nadler district as well. To succeed, voters in the heavily-Democratic district would have to overlook his long record of traditionally conservative views on policy.
Both parties have tried to harness social media to advance their messages while courting influencers and content creators to broaden their appeal among younger online voters. But as influencers engaged in political commentary now pursue political office — most with few apparent qualifying credentials — it remains to be seen if their new efforts can translate to winning campaigns.
So far, the results have not been promising for such candidates. In a special election for a vacant House seat in Arizona this past summer, for instance, Deja Foxx, a 25-year-old influencer, fell short by a nearly 40-point margin, losing to a more well-known local lawmaker, Adelita Grijalva — a daughter of the late congressman who represented the district for more than two decades.
sideline chatter
Trump prioritizes Saudi partnership, leaving Abraham Accords on hold
During Tuesday’s meeting between President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the leaders strengthened their relationship and confirmed the completion of several deals. Any plan to utilize such transactions as part of normalization with Israel, however, was notably absent, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports. While taking questions from reporters in the Oval Office, Trump confirmed that the U.S. would sell Saudi Arabia F-35 fighter jets of similar caliber to Israel’s. At a dinner that evening, the president added that a strategic security agreement had crossed the finish line, while also formally naming Saudi Arabia a major non-NATO ally. On Wednesday, the two countries announced a strategic artificial intelligence partnership.
Takeaways: “The main takeaway of the visit was the normalization of the U.S.-Saudi relationship,” said Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former State Department negotiator. “[There was] very little, it seemed to me, not surprisingly, on the side of normalization to Israel. It’s almost as if Israel was sort of an afterthought this visit.” Dan Shapiro, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel under former President Barack Obama, told JI, “By the way this was done, President Trump seems to have elevated the partnerships with Saudi Arabia and maybe, to some degree, with other Gulf states, above pretty much all other U.S. partnerships, including Israel.”
Saudi summit: Congressional lawmakers met Wednesday with MBS included Sens. Jim Risch (R-ID), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Tim Sheehy (R-MT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Jim Banks (R-IN), James Lankford (R-OK), Katie Britt (R-AL), Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Rep. French Hill (R-AR), Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Emily Jacobs report. On the House side, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Reps. Rick Crawford (R-AR), Jim Himes (D-CT), Mike Rogers (R-AL), Adam Smith (D-WA), Tom Cole (R-OK), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Brad Schneider (D-IL) reportedly participated in a separate meeting with MBS.
on the hill
Antisemitism envoy nominee Kaploun emphasizes need for education in Senate hearing
Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the Trump administration’s nominee to be the State Department’s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, emphasized the importance of education as the critical tool to combat antisemitism during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What he said: “We must, educate, educate, educate about the history of the Jewish community in America and the Judeo-Christian values our country was founded on,” Kaploun told lawmakers. He also emphasized the importance of understanding the history of the Holocaust. Kaploun responded to a question about Trump’s recent comments on Tucker Carlson’s interview with neo-Nazi influencer Nick Fuentes by emphasizing the Trump administration’s policies against antisemitism while also noting, “freedom of speech is something that’s a right.”
endorsement choice
Mamdani champions Palestinian American legislative candidate who downplayed 9/11 attacks
Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City, is facing scrutiny for reportedly throwing his support behind a local state Assembly candidate with a record of controversial remarks about 9/11, Israel and other related topics. Aber Kawas, a Palestinian American activist running for an open Assembly seat in a largely Hispanic Queens district, came under the spotlight this week after several of her past online posts and comments resurfaced, Jewish insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Background: Kawas is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel and was involved in efforts to promote failed legislation led by Mamdani that sought to strip Jewish nonprofits of their tax-exempt status, according to a candidate questionnaire solicited by the Democratic Socialists of America, which is reportedly moving to back her campaign. Elsewhere in the questionnaire, which was shared with JI this week, Kawas said she would “refrain from any and all affiliation with the Israeli government and Zionist lobby groups” such as AIPAC and J Street, a left-wing organization that has defended Mamdani.
NOT EASY BEING GREENE
Raskin tempers support for MTG, after being asked about her antisemitism
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) told Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod on Tuesday that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) would need to reject antisemitism and other forms of bigotry if she wanted to join the Democratic coalition, tempering his recent comment that the Democratic Party should be enough of a “big tent” to accommodate Greene.
Backpedaling: Asked about Greene’s ongoing promotion of antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories, Raskin told JI in a statement, “Before I would welcome Rep. Greene or any other leaders who might flee from Trump’s autocratic personality cult, I would of course want to see them repudiate all the forms of authoritarianism, antisemitism, racism, transphobia and bigotry that they have promoted as Republicans and that have become so intertwined with the MAGA Republican brand under Trump.” Jewish Democratic groups urged Democrats to keep Greene at a distance, even if she happens to vote with them on certain issues.
speaking out
Democrats blast DHS, FEMA over alleged mismanagement of NSGP program
A group of more than 30 House Democrats wrote to leaders at the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday criticizing their management of the 2025 Nonprofit Security Grant Program, saying that a lack of information provided by DHS is severely hampering applications to and implementation of the critical program, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Laundry list: Among the litany of criticisms outlined by the Democrats were DHS’ delay in publishing applications for the grants was: failing to provide specific deadlines and timelines for the grants; failing to engage in legally required outreach and education programs for prospective applicants; ignoring from Congress to share the names of recipient organizations of recent funding rounds; adding burdensome new requirements for those seeking reimbursements from previously allocated grant funds; new language potentially requiring cooperation with immigration authorities; and alleged discrimination against Muslim groups.
campus beat
Virginia Jewish leaders scrutinize Spanberger’s engagement in education appointments
Conservative Jewish legal and education experts in Virginia are voicing concern over a request made by Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, for the University of Virginia to pause its presidential search until she takes office in January — and how such a move could impact campus climate for Jewish students, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
Background: The issue of selecting board members at the state’s leading public universities has been a politically charged one since Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, took office in 2021. Several board seats remain unfilled at George Mason University after Democrats in the state legislature blocked Youngkin’s nominees, including Ken Marcus, founder of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, whom Youngkin appointed in 2024. Earlier this week, the Supreme Court of Virginia upheld the ruling in favor of Virginia Senate Democrats blocking more than 20 of Youngkin’s university board appointments at several schools, including UVA and GMU.
Interfaith fiasco: The City College of New York is facing scrutiny after a Muslim spiritual leader delivered an antisemitic tirade against a CUNY Hillel director during a university-sponsored interfaith dialogue program last week, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
Worthy Reads
MBS’ Money Woes: The New York Times’ Rob Copeland and Vivian Nereim report that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is running low on cash as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman seeks to restructure the Gulf nation’s sovereign wealth fund. “But a different reality is being whispered about in the power corridors of Riyadh and Wall Street: The kingdom’s vaunted Public Investment Fund, which Saudi Arabia has typically used to fulfill commitments like the one it made this week in Washington, is running low on cash for new investments. That’s in large part because Prince Mohammed and his deputies have spent a vast portion of the nation’s bounty on projects that are in financial distress, and they are frantically trying to turn things around, according to 11 people briefed on its operations, including current employees, board members, investors and their representatives.” [NYTimes]
The Hamas Roadblock: The Washington Post’s editorial board, describing Hamas as “the primary obstacle to peace,” considers the challenges of implementing President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza. “Hamas clearly has no plans to surrender control over Gaza. … Any survey of Palestinians in Gaza should be viewed skeptically, but one recent poll suggests that Hamas has enjoyed a surge in popularity since the end of the fighting, because it is the only organization currently in Gaza providing security and preventing looting. That has to change for the other phases of the peace plan to have any chance of moving forward. If the Arab and Muslim countries like Indonesia, Turkey, Qatar and Egypt are unwilling to step up and do the tough business of disarmament, Israel may be forced to return.” [WashPost]
Succession Saga: Bloomberg’s Kate Sullivan, Catherine Lucey and Eric Martin compare and contrast the approaches taken by Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to foreign policy ahead of the 2028 election, when both could make a bid for the presidency. “Both the Republican stars, who have each chased White House dreams, have closely aided Trump as he sketches out the bones of a new foreign policy. Paying attention to their divergent styles and interaction offers clues to reading the emerging doctrine espoused by the US administration — as well as a gauge of who might take on the mantle for the 2028 race. … The recent Gaza ceasefire deal showcased the different roles of the two men. As the US closed in on the accord, it was Rubio who quietly slipped the president an urgent note during a public meeting, telling him it was ready. Some weeks later, as the fragile arrangement teetered, Vance was the one dispatched to Israel to keep it on track. Rubio arrived to reinforce it just hours after Vance’s plane left the country.” [Bloomberg]
Word on the Street
President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that he plans to meet with Zohran Mamdani — whom the president referred to as ‘Communist Mayor of New York City, Zohran “Kwame” Mamdani’ —in the Oval Office on Friday, after the New York City mayor-elect reached out to schedule a sit-down…
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch confirmed that she will stay on as the department head following Mamdani’s offer for her to remain in the role…
The House Ethics Committee announced plans to open an investigation into Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL), for allegations including incomplete financial disclosures, violations of campaign finance law, receipt of special gifts and favors, sexual misconduct or dating violence and misuse of congressional resources…
Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) was indicted and charged with stealing $5 million in FEMA funds during the COVID-19 pandemic and funneling the money to her campaign…
The Commerce Department signed off on the sale of up to 70,000 chips to two state-backed companies based in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia; the decision marks an about-face from the Trump administration, which had previously hesitated to approve the deals…
Harvard will not release the full results of a survey of undergraduate students regarding several Israel divestment proposals; university officials said that more than 80% of the school’s approximately 7,100 undergraduates did not answer the survey, skipped the questions on divestment or said they were uncertain, while 8.4% of the total undergraduate population voiced support for divestment…
Former Harvard President Larry Summers is taking leave from teaching at Harvard and from his position as director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School following the release of Summers’ emails with Jeffrey Epstein that continued until the day before Epstein’s 2019 arrest…
The Koum Family Foundation is endowing the Israel Studies Program at Stanford, four years after the launch of a pilot program at the school…
Chapman University is facing a lawsuit from two recent alumni who allege that administrators at the California school did not adequately address incidents of antisemitism on the campus…
Actress Shira Haas was tapped to star in Peter Morgan’s upcoming limited Netflix series “The Boys from Brazil,” based on real-life efforts to track down Nazi officials who fled to South America following World War II…
Walmart is in discussions to acquire Israeli startup R&A Data, which tackles online scams related to digital marketplaces; R&A has been working with the retailer as a third-party vendor since 2024…
The Washington Post spotlights Israeli basketball player Yarden Garzon, the co-captain of the University of Maryland women’s basketball team…
A Bristol, U.K., music venue said that its cancellation of an Oi Va Voi show earlier this year was a “mistake” that was “not in line” with the venue’s values and came as a result of pressure from what the venue described as “activist groups” targeting the London-based klezmer band “because they are a Jewish band performing with an Israeli singer”…
Former Israeli hostage Guy Gilboa Dalal, who was released last month after more than two years, detailed the sexual assaults he endured while in Hamas captivity in Gaza…
The Wall Street Journal looks at concerns in Israel that Saudi Arabia’s acquisition of F-35 fighter jets could encourage other countries in the region to seek the planes and potentially erode Israel’s aerial advantage…
The New York Times reports on a previously undisclosed meeting in July between U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Jonathan Pollard, who spent 30 years in prison in the U.S. for passing classified information to Israel…
An Iranian-American Jewish man diagnosed with bladder cancer has been imprisoned in Iran’s notorious Evin prison after being sentenced to jail time earlier this year for a trip to Israel taken more than a decade ago for his son’s bar mitzvah…
Iran released a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker and its 21-member crew seized last week after departing from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates; the vessel’s high sulphur gasoil was offloaded by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps shortly before the tanker was released…
The Financial Times reports on a previously undisclosed trip by Iranian nuclear scientists to Russia last year, the second known visit of representatives from the Iranian military-linked Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research…
Hamas terrorists fired at Israeli forces in Khan Younis in violation of the ceasefire, prompting Israeli strikes on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip…
Paramount engaged with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign-wealth fund and other Gulf investors regarding potential investment in Warner Bros. Discovery as Paramount makes a bid for the company…
The Wall Street Journal looks at how Pakistani army chief Asim Munir is consolidating power following a series of changes to the country’s constitution that, according to the WSJ, “creates a new post that puts Munir in charge of all three branches of the armed forces as soon as the end of this month, and gives him lifelong immunity from prosecution”…
Pic of the Day
CNN commentator Van Jones was presented with a shofar by American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch on Tuesday during a panel moderated by former AJC President Harriet Schleifer during the AJC Westchester/Fairfield Fall Gala at Temple Israel Center in White Plains.
At the event, AJC honored Schleifer, who has served in a number of top lay leadership roles in American Jewish organizations, most recently as immediate past chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
Birthdays
Rapper and founding member of the hip-hop group the Beastie Boys, he is known as “Mike D,” Michael Louis Diamond turns 60…
Art dealer and former owner of MLB’s Miami Marlins, Jeffrey Loria turns 85… Professor of biochemistry and biophysics at the University of Southern California, he won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Arieh Warshel turns 85… Former president of the United States, Joe Biden turns 83… Singer and songwriter best known for writing and performing the song “Spirit in the Sky,” Norman Greenbaum turns 83… Short story writer and actress, she was a professor of writing at Columbia University and was a winner of a MacArthur genius fellowship, Deborah Eisenberg turns 80… Former national security advisor and U.S. ambassador to the U.N., John R. Bolton turns 77… Character actor who has appeared in more than 80 films, he served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild, Richard Masur turns 77… Major-General (reserves) in the IDF, he is a former combat pilot and head of Aman (the IDF’s Military Intelligence Directorate), Amos Yadlin turns 74… Longtime spokesman (now emeritus) to the foreign press at the Jewish Agency for Israel, Michael Jankelowitz turns 73… Pulitzer Prize-winning national affairs writer for The Wall Street Journal during the 1990s, he is the author of six well-regarded books, Ronald Steven “Ron” Suskind turns 66… Partner at Kirkland & Ellis, Jay P. Lefkowitz turns 63… Pianist, composer and author, Robin Spielberg turns 63… Vice chair of the board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and a trustee of the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles, Heidi Monkarsh… Deputy assistant director at the National Science Foundation, Graciela Narcho… American-born former member of Knesset for the Likud party, Yehudah Glick turns 60… Hedge fund manager and founder of Greenlight Capital, David Einhorn turns 57… Boston-based real estate attorney at Goulston & Storrs, Zev D. Gewurz… Anchor for Yahoo Finance, Julie Hyman… Opposition research specialist and founder of Beehive Research, Devorah Adler… Executive director at Aish HaTorah, Rabbi Benjamin Gonsher… U.S. senator (D-AZ), Rubén Gallego turns 46… Outfielder for four MLB teams over eight years, he played for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic, he was the general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, Sam Fuld turns 44… Director for North America at the Saban Family Foundation and the Cheryl Saban Self-Worth Foundation for Women & Girls, Jesse Bronner… Actress and writer, her decision to convert to Judaism was the subject of a 2006 article in The Sunday Times of London, Margo Stilley turns 43… Actress and playwright, Halley Feiffer turns 41… Senior White House editor for Politico, Dan Goldberg… Alexis Weiss…
Plus, Hill hums along to F-35s for Saudi
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Tucker Carlson speaks at his Live Tour at the Desert Diamond Arena on October 31, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Good Tuesday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we preview Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s meeting with President Donald Trump today at the White House, and look at how Jewish Republicans are reckoning with resurgent antisemitism on the right. We report on the U.N. Security Council’s support for Trump’s plan for postwar Gaza, and cover Israel’s push for the International Criminal Court to drop its arrest warrants for Israeli leaders over claims the court’s chief prosecutor pursued the case to distract from sexual harassment allegations. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Gov. JB Pritzker, Robert George and Troye Sivan.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by Jewish Insider Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve with assists from Marc Rod and Danielle Cohen-Kanik. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- All eyes are on Washington today for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the nation’s capital and meeting with President Donald Trump, followed by a formal dinner in honor of the crown prince’s visit. More below.
- The National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism is holding a daylong conference on “Exposing and Countering Extremism and Antisemitism on the Political Right.”
- Elsewhere in Washington, the Aspen Cyber Summit is taking place at the Kennedy Center.
- The Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly wraps up today. Speakers at this morning’s closing plenary, which features a musical performance by The Tamari Project, include Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and “Call Me Back” host Dan Senor. JI’s Lahav Harkov will be moderating a session this morning on the future of the Middle East.
- The One Israel Fund is holding its annual gala tonight in New York. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) is keynoting this year’s event.
- In Turtle Bay today, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz will be joined by rapper Nicki Minaj as the two deliver remarks on the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
- Outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams concludes his trip to Israel today. Following a trip to Kibbutz Nir Oz in Israel’s south, Adams will depart Israel for Uzbekistan.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S Matthew Shea
President Donald Trump is hosting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman today at the White House, marking the first time MBS has visited Washington since 2018.
Trump plans to roll out the red carpet for the visit, which includes a welcome ceremony, bilateral meeting in the Oval Office and a black-tie dinner in the evening. Tiger Woods and Elon Musk are expected to be in attendance at the dinner, among other high-profile attendees. “We’re more than meeting,” Trump said late Friday. “We’re honoring Saudi Arabia, the crown prince.”
The visit is not an official state visit, as MBS is not Saudi Arabia’s head of state; however, the crown prince holds almost all responsibility in ruling the kingdom.
The bilateral meeting will feature high-stakes discussions on several key issues, including the sale of F-35 fighter jets, Saudi-Israel normalization and a possible U.S.-Saudi defense pact. Experts told Jewish Insider such an agreement is likely to be modeled after the assurances Trump gave Qatar in September, in the wake of an Israeli strike on Hamas in the Gulf state, when he issued an executive order stating that the U.S. will regard “any armed attack” on Qatar “as a threat to the peace and security of the United States.”
Trump announced on Monday he would approve the sale of the F-35s to Riyadh, helping the Saudis secure a long-coveted deal and making them the first country in the Middle East other than Israel to obtain the advanced fighter jets. “They want to buy. They are a great ally. We will be doing that. We will be selling them F-35s,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Concerns remain within the foreign policy community over the impact that the sale of F-35s will have on the military balance in the region and Israel’s qualitative military edge, which the U.S. is bound by law to uphold. Experts also cautioned the risks of transferring sensitive technology to Riyadh after Saudi naval forces conducted a joint military exercise with China last month. Israel has requested that such a sale be conditioned on the kingdom joining the Abraham Accords, however Trump made no mention of such a provision.
THE RIGHTS NEW DIVIDE
‘Confused young groypers’: Jewish Republicans reckon with resurgent antisemitism on the right
During a talk at a Turning Point USA event at the University of Mississippi last month, Vice President JD Vance listened carefully as a student took the microphone and asked him a question grounded in antisemitic tropes. Vance took the question at face value, declining to push back. The exchange came soon after right-wing podcaster Tucker Carlson hosted neo-Nazi provocateur Nick Fuentes for a decidedly friendly interview, a shocking but not altogether surprising cultural moment that catapulted an intra-party rift into the open: a shift among a small but growing contingent of young conservatives away from Israel and, increasingly, into a conspiratorial worldview that holds the Jewish state — and Jews — responsible for the world’s ills. The question facing party leaders is just how deeply this perspective has rooted itself among the right and how to deal with it: whether to fight it, accept it or stay quiet and hope it disappears, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Looking ahead: Vance’s response at the Turning Point event sparked concern among Jewish conservatives about how a potential future GOP presidential nominee plans to deal with a growing segment of the political right that is not just critical of Israel but of Jews — and why he has been willing to make excuses for the bigotry of some of his supporters. Earlier this month, at the RJC conference in Las Vegas, Republican fundraiser Eric Levine told JI that he has concerns about Vance, though he added that those concerns are balanced out by the fact that President Donald Trump remains “the most pro-Israel president in the history of the country.”
F-35 FACTOR
House Republicans largely supportive of F-35 deal with Saudi Arabia
House Republicans sounded largely supportive of President Donald Trump’s announcement on Monday that he plans to sign a deal to sell advanced F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, despite an apparent lack of progress toward normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. Democrats, meanwhile, were generally more skeptical of the deal.
What they’re saying: “I’m very supportive of the president in every effort to reach out to Saudi Arabia,” Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told JI. “Saudi Arabia has been so significant in addressing the regime change in Syria and so over and over again, Saudi Arabia is proving [itself].” Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), a co-chair of the Abraham Accords caucus, suggested that normalization should precede the sale of F-35s. Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords “would certainly require a reassessment of the assumptions underpinning our strategic outlook for the region and revisions to our policy doctrines, including provision of the F-35 platform to Saudi Arabia, while also preserving Israel’s qualitative military edge,” he said.
Read the full story here with additional comments from Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY), Ann Wagner (R-MO), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Brad Sherman (D-CA) and Adam Smith (D-WA).
Forceful feedback: The Lebanese Armed Forces is facing pushback from Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) over a statement it posted to social media on Sunday blaming Israel for flare-ups with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports. The Trump administration reportedly canceled an upcoming trip to the U.S. by Lebanese Armed Forces commander Gen. Rodolphe Haykal as part of Washington’s concern over the LAF’s moves.
PATH TO PEACE
U.N. Security Council backs Trump’s Gaza plan
The U.N. Security Council adopted a U.S.-led resolution on Monday backing President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza, including the creation of an international security force, in a move that could boost efforts to advance into the next phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports. In the first phase of Trump’s 20-point peace plan, originally presented in September, the Israel Defense Forces have partially withdrawn to a “yellow line” dividing Gaza, while Hamas has returned all of the living hostages and all but three of the deceased hostages’ bodies. However, the plan has faced significant roadblocks, and questions remain about the feasibility of implementing the following phases, including effectively disarming Hamas and determining who will govern Gaza.
What it means: Monday’s vote follows coordinated diplomacy between Washington and Arab partners aimed at reviving momentum behind the U.S. plan, including hosting a summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, last month and issuing a joint statement of support last week. With the adoption of the resolution, the U.N. showed a rare consensus on Gaza — 13 countries voted in favor and none against, with Russia and China abstaining. Experts told JI that moving to the second phase of the plan now becomes more plausible — even if challenges remain.
RESIGNATION RIPPLE
Heritage board member resigns amid continued fallout over Tucker Carlson controversy
Robert George, a prominent board member of the Heritage Foundation, said on Monday that he was resigning from the conservative think tank, in the latest sign of continued fallout over its president’s controversial defense of Tucker Carlson after his friendly interview last month with a neo-Nazi influencer, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
What he said: “I could not remain without a full retraction of the video released by Kevin Roberts, speaking for and in the name of Heritage, on October 30th,” George said in a Facebook post Monday morning, referring to the group’s president. “Although Kevin publicly apologized for some of what he said in the video, he could not offer a full retraction of its content. So, we reached an impasse.” His decision to step down indicates that Roberts is likely secure, for now, in his role atop Heritage, as its board remains split about his future, according to a former Heritage staffer familiar with internal discussions.
PARTING WAYS
Matt Gaetz producer fired for sharing virulently antisemitic video
A producer for former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-FL) weeknight show on the right-wing One America News Network has reportedly been fired after he shared a vehemently antisemitic social media post depicting Jews as cockroaches, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports. Vish Burra, who was a booker and script writer for Gaetz, had drawn widespread backlash for posting an AI-generated animated video last week showing him entering a “scheming room” with Stars of David on the door to find a group of cockroaches counting money, who scurry away upon his arrival. The post has since been deleted.
Additional hate speech: “I will expose the vermin in the venomous coalition and their transgression against MAGA, America First, and Kevin Roberts at The Heritage Foundation,” Burra said in another post to X, which has also been deleted. “It all starts with Susan Lebovitz-Edelman,” he wrote, referring to a Jewish trustee at the Manhattan Institute who is married to the hedge fund manager Joseph Edelman. Lebovitz-Edelman, he wrote, “is behind the entire campaign to oust Kevin Roberts from The Heritage Foundation by using her leverage as a recent big dollar donor to take control of the organization.” Burra’s firing was reported by The Wrap and The Independent on Monday.
TRIBUNAL TURMOIL
Israel petitions ICC to remove chief prosecutor from case, citing conflict of interest
Israel petitioned the International Criminal Court on Monday to remove chief prosecutor Karim Khan from its case, saying he pursued charges against Israeli leaders to distract from sexual harassment accusations lodged against him. Israel also asked the court to cancel its arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over Khan’s allegations that they perpetrated war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza including “starvation of civilians as a method of warfare” and “intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population,” Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
Background: The petition came after two women submitted complaints against Khan for workplace sexual misconduct. One is an ICC employee, who alleged the misconduct occurred as recently as 2024 and that Khan attempted to dissuade her from making claims against him. In a leaked recording of a phone call between Khan and the ICC employee, she lamented that she had been accused of being a “Mossad plant” over the complaint. Khan was recorded telling the woman that someone had leaked the complaint to the media to “get rid of the warrants for Palestine,” among other open cases. According to The Guardian, private investigators hired by Qatar had attempted and failed to find a link between the accuser and Israel.
Worthy Reads
A Magazine’s Missteps: In Commentary, Jamie Kirchick does a deep dive into the antisemitism within The American Conservative — underscored by the language of its opposition to the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities earlier this year that put it at odds with both the White House and the conservative movement. “The more one reads the American Conservative and listens to its contributors, the more one realizes how deeply ingrained the idea of Jewish perfidy is in the magazine’s Weltanschauung. … There is no greater rebuke to isolationism than Auschwitz. Isolationists know this, which is why they spend so much time relitigating World War II. It’s also why so many isolationists harbor antipathy toward Jews, the Holocaust’s chief victims and the stewards of its memory. The Jews are a living reminder of what happens when evil is not confronted, and their survival is deeply offensive to those who prefer not to confront the evil in our world.” [Commentary]
BBC Bias: The Wall Street Journal’s Gerard Baker raises concerns over the impact of the BBC’s biases on public opinion and policy. “There were — and are — many talented, honest people there. But in the past 10 years, it has, like other institutions worldwide, been captured by the cultural revolution that has swept the world of graduate-level work, seized by an activist class not content to report the news but insisting instead on telling people what to think. Their orthodoxy is familiar: on race, gender, sexuality, immigration and national sovereignty, climate alarmism, Western civilization and international affairs. I believe that the BBC’s coverage of Gaza is the most important factor in the recent rise of antisemitism in Britain. The daily repetition of Hamas propaganda about supposed Israeli atrocities has played in Britain (and around the world) for two years.” [WSJ]
Word on the Street
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker contributed $25.5 million to his campaign fund over the last two weeks as he makes a bid for a third term and as speculation mounts that he may enter the 2028 presidential race…
New York City Councilmember Chi Ossé filed paperwork to challenge House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) in New York’s 8th Congressional District; Ossé, an ally of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, is challenging Jeffries from the House leader’s left…
Former Harvard President Larry Summers will step away from his upcoming public commitments following the release of extensive email correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein that lasted until the day before Epstein’s arrest; Summers will continue teaching five classes this semester, and will stay on as director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School…
Federal prosecutors in New York are seeking an 18-year prison sentence for a neo-Nazi leader who pleaded guilty to soliciting hate crimes for his role in a plot to give poisoned candy to Jewish children…
Canadian officials said that worker error was the reason an Israeli-born woman applying for a passport was told that she could not list Israel as her country of birth; an employee had reportedly told the woman that the denial was due to “the political conflict”…
A collection of Gustav Klimt works owned by art collector and philanthropist Leonard Lauder, who died earlier this year, is expected to garner more than $400 million when they are auctioned by Sotheby’s today…
A German auction house canceled the planned sale of more than 600 items that belonged to Holocaust victims after coming under criticism by a Berlin-based organization for survivors…
The Washington Post spotlights the efforts of a Brazilian magazine publisher to uncover rumored underground tunnels in his hometown that had been constructed by Nazi officials who had fled to South America after World War II…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned recent settler violence in the West Bank following the release of video that showed dozens of settlers setting fire to vehicles and homes in the Palestinian village of Jab’a…
The New York Times reports on the shadowy effort that brought hundreds of Palestinians from Gaza to South Africa in the last month…
Parts of western Iran flooded after heavy rainfall, following months in which the Islamic Republic faced severe drought issues…
Singer Troye Sivan listed his home in Los Angeles’ Hollywood Hills, which he bought in 2017, for $2.545 million…
Rabbi Shlomo Porter, the executive director of the Etz Chaim Center for Jewish Learning, died at 78…
The New York Times spotlights psychoanalyst Sabina Spielrein, who was believed to have been killed by a Nazi death squad in Russia in 1942, in its “Overlooked” series…
Pic of the Day
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) spoke in conversation with Julie Platt, the immediate past board chair for the Jewish Federations of North America, at a Monday plenary session at the JFNA’s General Assembly in Washington.
Birthdays
Longtime former play-by-play sportscaster for the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, Marc Zumoff turns 70…
Theoretical physicist, at age 27 he became a professor and then later president of the Weizmann Institute, he is the founder of the Davidson Institute of Science Education at Weizmann, Haim Harari turns 85… Former president of East Bay Federation, Steve Goldman… Former national director of major gifts for the American Committee for the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, Paul Jeser… Lecturer at Boston University School of Law, he was formerly SVP and general counsel of Fidelity Management & Research Company, Eric D. Roiter turns 77… Atlanta resident, Lynda Wolfe… Israeli cantor and actor, known for his Broadway performance as Jean Valjean in “Les Misérables,” David “Dudu” Fisher turns 74… Professor emerita at Harvard Business School, Shoshana Zuboff turns 74… Professor of epidemiology and neurology at Columbia University, Walter Ian Lipkin turns 73… Former U.S. ambassador to South Africa, she is a luxury handbag designer, Lana J. Marks turns 72… Singer-songwriter, he is also the author of a popular Passover Haggadah, Barry Louis Polisar turns 71… Mayor of Dallas from 2002 until 2007, Laura Miller turns 67… SVP and general counsel of HSP Group and ARF Financial, Robert Bruce Lapidus… Moroccan-born, member of the Knesset since 2003 for the Shas party, he currently serves as the minister of welfare and social affairs, Yaakov Margi turns 65… NYC-based writer, activist and performer, Shira Dicker… Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington-based correspondent for The New York Times covering health policy, Sheryl Gay Stolberg turns 64… Retired Baltimore attorney who devotes her time to philanthropic and pro-Israel activities, Laurie Luskin… Rabbi of Burbank Temple Emanu El and former national coordinator of Rabbis Without Borders, Tsafreer “Tsafi” Lev turns 54… Chabad rabbi in Kyiv and executive chairman of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine, Raphael Rutman turns 53… President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Broward County, Audra P. Berg… Member of the Knesset for the Yesh Atid party, Michal Shir Segman turns 46… Freshman U.S. senator (R-MT), Tim Sheehy turns 40… Real estate agent at Coldwell Banker and a consultant for Bridals by Lori, Talia Fadis… Israeli singer-songwriter and music producer, Elisha Banai turns 37…