Plus, Beth Israel’s first Shabbat since Mississippi arson attack
Brian Kaiser/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro during a panel discussion at the inaugural Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US, on Tuesday, July 15, 2025.
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In today’s Daily Kickoff, we cover Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s revelation that former Vice President Kamala Harris’ vetting team asked if he was an agent of the Israeli government, and talk to friends and colleagues of former Israeli Ambassador to Bahrain Eitan Na’eh, who died on Monday. We cover a meeting between Jewish groups and the civil rights office within the Department of Health and Human Services to discuss antisemitism in the medical field, and report on the Beth Israel Congregation’s first Shabbat service since the Mississippi synagogue was targeted in an arson attack earlier this month. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Julie Menin, Rep. Yassamin Ansari and Honduran President-elect Nasry “Tito” Asfura.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by Jewish Insider Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with assists from Danielle Cohen-Kanik and Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, which kicked off yesterday, will feature a number of conversations and addresses from world leaders today, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. In sessions throughout the afternoon, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Palantir’s Alex Karp, Alphabet’s Ruth Porat and Bank of Israeli Governor Amir Yaron are slated to speak.
- One high-profile speaker was removed from the schedule — Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was slated to speak this afternoon. The WEF had been facing blowback for hosting Araghchi, who had been quietly added to the lineup several days ago, amid Iran’s deadly crackdowns on protesters in recent weeks.
- On the sidelines of the WEF, White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to meet today with Kirill Dmitriev, an envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin, to discuss Gaza peace efforts. The meeting comes after Moscow was invited to join the Trump administration’s Board of Peace overseeing the rebuilding and new governance of a postwar Gaza Strip. Several additional countries, including China and Morocco, have also been extended invitations in recent days to join the board. Read more on the growing board — and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opposition to its makeup — here.
- President Donald Trump heads to Davos today, where he will speak tomorrow before holding a signing ceremony for the Board of Peace on Thursday on the sidelines of the confab.
- In New York, the Israeli consulate is hosting the premiere of the Israeli play “Jabotinsky’s Dream,” about Revisionist Zionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky, in Manhattan.
- And in nearby Newark, N.J., New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill will be inaugurated today. Sherrill traveled to Virginia over the weekend for the swearing-in of her former Washington roommate, Gov. Abigail Spanberger.
- Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) is being arraigned today on charges that she stole more than $5 million in misallocated federal funds during the COVID-19 pandemic prior to her 2021 election.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S Josh Kraushaar
Concerns over rising antisemitism and growing hostility toward Israel within the Democratic Party have long been on a slow boil.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s blockbuster revelation in his upcoming memoir that he was asked by Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign during the VP vetting process if he was ever an agent of the Israeli government underscores just how fraught the political environment has gotten for Jewish Democrats who support Israel.
Shapiro’s decision to go public with allegations that the last presidential nominee’s team exhibited bigotry underscores just how deep the divisions are within the party, especially as he considers a 2028 presidential run. These rifts pit the party’s moderate wing — which is generally supportive of Israel and harbors zero tolerance for antisemitism — against an ascendant left wing, exemplified by the disruptive anti-Israel protesters that Harris was pandering to at the time of her veepstakes deliberations.
Shapiro, if he runs for national office, is planting his flag in the mainstream wing of the Democratic Party, willing to call out antisemitism when he sees it, including on college campuses in his state, and supporting Israel — even while strongly criticizing some policies of the Netanyahu government. In his book, he proudly discusses his personal connections to Israel and the role Judaism plays in his life.
These were uncontroversial views within the Democratic Party, until the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks against the Jewish state emboldened an ugly strain of extremism that has, all too often, been accommodated by party leaders. (Shapiro also revealed that Harris insisted he apologize for his condemnation of intimidation targeting Jewish students at the University of Pennsylvania by anti-Israel protesters, which he refused to do.)
Anyone documenting the evolution of Democratic Party politics over the last few years can see the red flags. New York City, the epicenter of Jewish life in the United States, elected a mayor who refuses to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Jewish Democrats running for office in progressive constituencies buckle under pressure to call Israel’s war against Hamas a “genocide” or decide to suddenly condemn AIPAC to showcase their progressive bona fides. A majority of Democratic voters, according to recent polls, now have an unfavorable view of Israel.
GETTING GRILLED
Jewish leaders condemn ‘classic antisemitism’ in Josh Shapiro’s account of Harris VP vetting
In the summer of 2024, when Vice President Kamala Harris was vetting potential running mates for her expedited campaign for president, a senior member of her team asked Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro whether he had ever been a “double agent for Israel,” Shapiro writes in a new book that will be published later this month. “Was she kidding? I told her how offensive the question was,” Shapiro recounts in the book. The exchange — which Shapiro describes in an outraged tone — has prompted sharp criticism from Jewish leaders, including some who served in the Biden-Harris administration, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Vetting process problems: “The more I read about [Shapiro’s] treatment in the vetting process, the more disturbed I become,” Deborah Lipstadt, who served as the State Department’s antisemitism envoy under President Joe Biden, said in a post on X. “These questions were classic antisemitism.” Shapiro suggests in the book that he was being treated unfairly as a Jewish contender for the role of vice president: “I wondered whether these questions were being posed to just me — the only Jewish guy in the running — or if everyone who had not held a federal office was being grilled about Israel in the same way,” he writes.
SCOOP
Daniel Biss sought AIPAC’s support before turning against Israel in congressional bid, sources say
Evanston, Ill., Mayor Daniel Biss, running in the state’s 9th Congressional District on a platform deeply critical of Israel, sought support from AIPAC before he announced his run for Congress last year, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod has learned.
Behind the scenes: One source familiar with multiple candidates’ outreach to pro-Israel political organizations intending to mobilize in the state’s 2026 Democratic primaries told JI that Biss had reached out to AIPAC in the spring of last year, before Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) announced her retirement, to solicit AIPAC’s support for a prospective congressional bid should Schakowsky retire. Niles, Ill., Mayor George Alpogianis, who owns a popular neighborhood diner, told JI he began hearing from multiple visitors to the restaurant that Biss had begun putting feelers out to AIPAC about a run around April of last year, weeks before Schakowsky announced her retirement.
LINE OF FIRE
AIPAC’s super PAC comes out swinging against former Rep. Tom Malinowski
The AIPAC-affiliated United Democracy Project super PAC launched a $500,000 ad campaign this weekend targeting former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), who is running in a special election for the seat formerly held by Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Target: “There are several candidates in this race that are far more supportive of the U.S.-Israel relationship than Tom Malinowski,” UDP spokesperson Patrick Dorton told JI. Malinowski said, “If AIPAC’s definition of pro-Israel now excludes even someone like me, who passionately supports Israel but won’t commit to a blank check for anything [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] might want, there won’t be enough pro-Israel people left in America to sustain the relationship.”
EXCLUSIVE
Jewish groups meet with HHS civil rights office to confront antisemitism in medicine
Representatives from several Jewish groups met with Paula Stannard, the director of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights, last week to discuss potential action to counter antisemitism in health care and medical education, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
In the room: The meeting, organized by the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, also included representatives from the American Jewish Medical Association, Hadassah (The Women’s Zionist Organization of America), the Anti-Defamation League, Jewish Federations of North America and StandWithUs. Kenneth Marcus, the founder of the Brandeis Center, told JI that the meeting was the second sit-down between the Brandeis Center and HHS leadership, given an “an extraordinary surge in health sector related antisemitism reports” to Brandeis and a “greater involvement by HHS in antisemitism and other civil rights issues than we’ve seen before, so meeting with HHS has become much more important.”
IN MEMORIAM
Eitan Na’eh, first Israeli envoy to Bahrain, UAE, remembered as dedicated diplomat
Veteran Israeli diplomat Eitan Na’eh, who had a long career in key posts representing Israel in the Arab world, died of a heart attack on Monday. He was 62. Na’eh’s most recent role was as the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s representative to the U.S.-led Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in southern Israel, established in October to coordinate humanitarian relief efforts and the stabilization of Gaza, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
Abraham Accords actor: Na’eh played a key role in growing and preserving Israel’s relations with Abraham Accords signatories. He was Israel’s first envoy to the United Arab Emirates in 2021, setting up Jerusalem’s diplomatic representation in Abu Dhabi. His last posting abroad was in Bahrain, where he served as Israel’s first ambassador to the country from December 2021 until August 2025. In 2022, Na’eh told JI: “I sit here in Manama and look outside to a beautiful view of the Gulf, and I am still pinching myself. I feel lucky to work in these countries.” The ambassador said at the time that he was optimistic about expanding the Abraham Accords and the potential in Israel-Bahrain ties.
Resilience over ruins
Mississippi’s Jewish community rallies after antisemitic arson
As the sun went down Friday night, Mississippi’s Jewish community packed the pews of Northminster Baptist Church in Jackson to welcome Shabbat. Aside from the unusual location, the weekend’s schedule was typical — Friday evening prayers to bring in Shabbat, followed by a meal and oneg; a bat mitzvah service on Saturday morning; Havdalah to conclude Shabbat and Sunday school classes the next day. But this week, each service was also an act of defiance, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
Silver lining: For members of Beth Israel Congregation — the only synagogue in the state’s capital city — this was their first Shabbat since an arson attack on Jan. 10 heavily damaged their place of worship. Synagogue leaders estimate it will take two or three years to rebuild. But throughout Shabbat services, which were also attended by Jackson Mayor John Horhn and members of various local churches in a show of solidarity, “the feeling was not sadness, it was joy,” Zach Shemper, the congregation’s president, told JI. “The silver lining of all of this is Jews who weren’t members or necessarily active before are coming in and saying they want to be members.”
Worthy Reads
Donald Does Davos: Politico’s Kathryn Carlson looks at the “sharp shift” in the World Economic Forum’s focus areas, away from the environment and diversity and toward emerging tech and AI, which she attributes to the global influence of the Trump administration. “After limp Covid-era editions, a sharp jump in participation costs and leadership turmoil for the WEF, Trump’s star turn — flanked by many of MAGA’s most powerful players — amounts to a vote of confidence in a forum some had written off as outdated or adrift. … It’s ‘entirely reasonable to focus on environmental, social justice concerns, but right now the world is much more concerned with the thorny questions of geopolitics,’ said Clayton Allen, practice head for the United States at the Eurasia Group. Mike Rubino, a former Trump administration official, now a partner at Forward Global and Ballard Partners, said the shift in focus is ‘kind of part and parcel of the new world order.’” [Politico]
Bank Shot: In The Wall Street Journal, Mike Doran suggests that the U.S. target Iran’s shadow banking system that has long allowed the Islamic Republic to evade sanctions. “What’s required now is a strategy that targets not shell companies but banks that knowingly host and move Iranian funds. This means freezing Iranian assets already in hand and forcing the banks involved — especially in Dubai — to choose between compliance and punishment. Any financial institution that facilitates Iranian transactions should face immediate and substantial fines. Further misbehavior should be answered with sanctionings against at least one bank — a move that would leave no doubt about the consequences. Compliance would be swift. Banks understand the risks. They will end the charade.” [WSJ]
Word on the Street
President Donald Trump said over the weekend that it is “time to look for new leadership in Iran,” following a series of social media posts by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticizing Trump; Khamenei, meanwhile, over the weekend publicly acknowledged that thousands of protesters had been killed in recent anti-government demonstrations in Iran, including some, he said, “in an inhuman, savage manner”…
Tucker Carlson made a pair of visits to the White House in the last two weeks, having lunch with Trump two Fridays in a row,Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports…
Robert Garson, a personal attorney for Trump, told The Telegraph that he had been in discussions with the State Department about potentially allowing British Jews to apply for asylum in the United States…
The New York Post found that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) skipped every meeting of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum board since he was appointed to the body in 2007; Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reported last month on concerns by board members over Sanders’ lack of involvement as he continued to use rhetoric that ran counter to the museum’s mission…
Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) and a bipartisan group of seven House members introduced a resolution expressing support for Iranian protesters and condemning the regime’s threats and crackdowns; the resolution “implores the Government of the United States to work in coordination with its allies to consider and implement concrete measures to deter further lethal violence against protesters”…
Forty-five percent of respondents in a new Wall Street Journal poll said that the U.S. government was too close to Israel; 32% said the relationship is about right, while 9% said it should be closer…
Julie Menin, the recently elected speaker of the New York City Council, announced a comprehensive plan to confront rising antisemitism on Friday, unveiling several initiatives that notably include an emerging legislative proposal to establish buffer zones around houses of worship to keep protesters from harassing congregants,Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports…
New York City Comptroller Mark Levine said the city may reinvest in Israeli government bonds, citing the financial benefits; the move could set up a showdown with Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who opposes the investments…
Miami Beach, Fla., nightclub Vendôme said it is conducting an investigation after the release of a video that showed far-right influencers, including Andrew Tate and Nick Fuentes, dancing to a song by Kanye West, the lyrics of which praised Adolf Hitler; Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner said he was “deeply disturbed and disgusted” by the videos…
The former chief constable of West Midlands, U.K., was referred to a police watchdog days after resigning over his department’s use of false information to justify a ban on supporters of Maccabi Tel Aviv at a recent match against Aston Villa…
An Israeli ministerial committee advanced legislation that would allow rideshare apps to operate in Israel; the law would allow companies such as Uber and Lyft to operate in addition to local companies Yango and Gett…
Saudi Arabia is finalizing an agreement with Somalia and Egypt that would see the three countries form a new military coalition…
The Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Hussain Abdul-Hussain notes the recent wave of Saudi social media accounts espousing antisemitism…
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa canceled a trip to Germany this week to meet with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier; the trip’s cancellation comes days after the Syrian government announced a new agreement with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces after government forces made military gains in Kurdish territory…
Jacob “Yasha” Grobman has been tapped as the new director of the Israel Museum…
Opera director Rhoda Levine, one of the first female opera directors and among the earliest to direct politically charged shows, including the premiere of Viktor Ullmann’s anti-Hitler work “Der Kaiser von Atlantis,” which he composed in a concentration camp, died at 93…
Henri Goldstein, the former head of the Jewish community in Denmark, died at 77…
Pic of the Day
Israeli President Isaac Herzog posed for a selfie with Honduran President-elect Nasry “Tito” Asfura, who traveled to Israel over the weekend following his trip to the U.S. last week.
Birthdays
Host of HBO’s political talk show “Real Time with Bill Maher,” William “Bill” Maher turns 70…
TUESDAY: Claremont, Calif., resident, Adar Belinkoff… Distinguished professor of physics at Texas A&M University, he won the 1996 Nobel Prize in Physics, David Morris Lee turns 95… Moroccan-French rabbi and founder of the organization Jewish-Muslim Friendship of France, Michel Serfaty turns 83… Pleasant Hill, Calif., resident, Daniel L. Fisher… Elected four times as a Republican at-large member on the Council of the District of Columbia, she also ran for mayor of D.C. five times, Carol Schwartz turns 82… Israeli politician, refusenik during the 1970s and 1980s who spent nine years in Soviet prisons, he served as chairman of the Jewish Agency, Natan Sharansky turns 78… Travel editor at CBS News, Peter S. Greenberg… U.S. representative from Nevada until 2013, then SVP for the Touro University system until 2023, now mayor of Las Vegas, Shelley Berkley (born Rochelle Levine) turns 75… Member of the board of governors of The Jewish Agency, he is the CEO of Chair King and Fortunoff furniture retailers, David Barish… Former deputy chief of the general staff of the IDF, Maj. Gen. (res.) Moshe Kaplinsky turns 69… Israeli singer specializing in Mizrahi music, Yishay Levi turns 63… Actress and television host, she is the only child of comedian Joan Rivers, Melissa Rivers turns 58… Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (D-MN), Dean Benson Phillips turns 57… Grief support specialist in Chicago, Diane Kushnir Halivni… Former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. and governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley turns 54… Founder and CEO of Everywoman Studios, Abigail “Abby” Greensfelder… Former U.K. cabinet minister and MP, he is a member of the House of Lords, Baron Frank Zacharias Robin “Zac” Goldsmith turns 51… Prime minister of Ukraine from 2016-2019, Volodymyr Groysman turns 48… Philanthropist, professional equestrian and author, Georgina Leigh Bloomberg turns 43… Israeli actress, model and musician, Hen Yanni turns 43… Deputy chief of staff for the office of the principal cyber advisor in the Pentagon, Paul Mandelson… Professional ice hockey defenseman until 2016, now a dentist in Maple Grove, Minn., Grant Lewis turns 41… Managing director at Purple Strategies, Alec Jacobs… Lead associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, Jason Berger…
MONDAY: Surfer as a child, she is the real-life inspiration for the fictional character Gidget in a book written by her father, Kathy Kohner-Zuckerman turned 85… Retired after 40 years of service as a news reporter and White House correspondent for ABC News, Ann Compton turned 79… Rebbe of the Hasidic dynasty of Belz since 1966, Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach turned 78… Chair of Charleston, S.C.-based InterTech Group, a family-owned chemicals manufacturer, Anita Zucker turned 74… Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Amy Laura Wax turned 73… Former speaker of the Knesset following a stint as chairman of the Jewish Agency, Avraham Burg turned 71… Former president and CEO of PayPal, he is now CEO of Verizon, Daniel H. Schulman turned 68… Stoughton, Mass. resident, Hillery Bauman… Jay Susman… Los Angeles-based attorney and founder of the blog “American Trial Attorneys in Defense of Israel,” Baruch C. Cohen… Retired speaker of the U.K.’s House of Commons from 2009 to 2019, his family name was originally Berkowitz, John Simon Bercow turned 63… Former U.K. ambassador to Mexico, Jon Benjamin turned 63… Governor of Illinois, Jay Robert “J.B.” Pritzker turned 61… Chief Washington correspondent for ABC News, Jonathan Karl turned 58… Israeli-American social entrepreneur, she is the co-founder and former CEO of Circ MedTech, Tzameret Fuerst turned 55… Author, diplomat and Jewish educator, Scott Lasensky… United Arab Emirates’ minister of state and ambassador to the U.S., Yousef Al Otaiba turned 53.. Associate general counsel at Open AI, she is on Hadassah’s 2025 list of “18 American Zionist Women You Should Know,” Galia Zelda Amram… Television journalist and motivational speaker, Jessica Abo turned 45… DC-based senior vice president of policy and political affairs at the American Jewish Committee, Julie Fishman Rayman… Chief policy officer at Zero to Three, Melissa Boteach… Isaac (Ike) Wolf… Assistant director of policy and government affairs at AIPAC, Alex Bronzo… Gastroenterologist in Boston, she is a former ice dancing champion and beauty pageant titleholder, Loren Galler Rabinowitz, M.D. turned 40… Actor since early childhood, he has appeared in over 25 films and most recently a main character in Amazon’s “Hunters,” Logan Lerman turned 34… Midwest regional deputy director at AIPAC, Emily Berman Pevnick…
Top Talker: Senators Menendez, Kirk and Schumer Circulate New Iran Sanctions Bill: “Three top senators, including two Democrats, have begun circulating a draft of a new Iran sanctions bill that critics say could violate the terms of an agreement struck between Iran and the United States in Geneva last month. The bill, set for introduction by the Democratic chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Robert Menendez of New Jersey, along with top sanctions hawks Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Mark Kirk (R-IL), defies the Obama administration’s repeated requests for Congress to hold off on any new legislation that could imperil last month’s interim nuclear pact with Iran while talks continue towards a comprehensive final deal. (more…)
The Touro College and University System announced the appointment of former U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley to the position of CEO and Senior Provost of Touro’s Western Division.
Berkley will take the helm next month, replacing Dr. Michael Harter as the new CEO and senior provost of Touro’s Western Division. Harter started working for Touro in 2004, joining the Henderson campus at its inception. He was promoted in 2008 to oversee Touro’s Nevada and California schools.
The former congresswoman was picked after a national search for the position. Her appointment was approved earlier this month, and school officials plan to make the announcement today.
“(Berkley) is an accomplished professional, visionary, humanitarian and leader who has nobly served her country and state,” Touro President and CEO Dr. Alan Kadish said in a prepared statement. “We look forward to her building upon the great successes we’ve enjoyed in Touro’s Western Division and the Touro System as a whole.”
Berkley, a 50-year resident of Nevada, was the first person in her family to attend college. She graduated from UNLV with a degree in political science and then graduated from the University of San Diego’s School of Law. She worked as an attorney before launching her political career, which included being elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1998; she represented Nevada’s 1st Congressional District from 1999-2013. Prior to her election to Congress, she served as a member of the Nevada State System of Higher Education’s Board of Regents for eight years.
“I have spent my entire career dedicated to issues related to education and health care and am honored to have been given this remarkable opportunity,” Berkley said in a prepared statement. “I share Touro’s commitment to improve the quality of education worldwide and look forward to working with the dynamic faculty, staff and students.”
Touro is a private, Jewish school system founded in 1970 with additional campuses in the New York area and in Berlin, Jerusalem, Moscow, Paris and Florida. Its Henderson-based school system in Nevada specializes in medical studies.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said it was “wonderful news for Nevada that Shelley will continue her service to our state as CEO and Provost at Touro University. Her enthusiasm for her constituents and her work is infectious. Improving our education system has been a passion of hers and I know she will do great things at Touro.”