Plus, Fetterman rips fellow Dems on Iran
Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Ron Dermer, Israeli ambassador to the United States, seen speaking at an AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, DC.
Add JewishInsider on Google👋 Good Wednesday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at former Israeli Strategic Affair Minister Ron Dermer’s return to the Prime Minister’s Office to assist Jerusalem during the war against Iran, and report on concerns from two of New York City’s largest Jewish groups over Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s recent hosting of Columbia anti-Israel protest leader Mahmoud Khalil at Gracie Mansion and ties to an activist who called to “strike” Tel Aviv. We spotlight Democratic Majority for Israel’s efforts in three under-the-radar House races in California and Colorado swing districts, and report on moves by a new super PAC looking to blunt far-left congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh’s last-minute surge in a Chicago-area district. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Sen. John Fetterman, Noah Pollak and Aaron Parnas.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with an assist from Danielle Cohen-Kanik. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- President Donald Trump is speaking at an event today in Hebron, Ky., the home turf of Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), the House GOP’s leading isolationist and anti-Israel voice who has also opposed key Trump administration policies. Massie won’t be at the Hebron event, but Ed Gallrein, who is mounting a primary challenge to Massie and has already been endorsed by the president, will be in attendance. Read more here.
- Fox News’ Bret Baier will discuss his years covering the White House and Pentagon in conversation with Gary Rosenblatt tonight at the Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center in New York City.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S LAHAV HARKOV
When Israel and the U.S. launched their first strikes on Iran, Ron Dermer was in Australia, about as far as one could get from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem or the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv. He soon found himself, like many other Israelis wanting to get home from abroad, on a plane to Taba, Egypt, from which point he would cross back into Israel, where airspace remains restricted.
Since November, when he resigned from his official post as strategic affairs minister, Dermer has spent most of his time traveling for speaking engagements. But now, two sources with knowledge of the matter confirmed to Jewish Insider, Dermer is back again in public service.
He may not have an official title, but he is doing what he has done for the previous three years — serving as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s closest and most trusted advisor. Israel’s Walla News quoted a source in the Prime Minister’s Office who said Dermer was reporting for “reserve duty,” like over 100,000 other Israelis since the outset of the war with Iran.
Netanyahu and Dermer’s relationship has been so close for the past 26 years that Dermer has been called the prime minister’s third son and nicknamed “Bibi’s brain.” With a very small inner circle and few advisors whom he truly trusts, Netanyahu views Dermer as a critical asset to his team at a time when the U.S. and Israel are making decisions that will determine the future of the Middle East for years to come.
Dermer is also known as having a good relationship with the Trump administration, and has reportedly been taking part in Netanyahu’s nightly calls with President Donald Trump.
TAX TACTIC
Trump official says tax code could be tool in fight against campus antisemitism
The next frontier for the Trump administration’s war with higher education might be the U.S. tax code, a senior Education Department official said on Tuesday. Speaking at a conference about antisemitism organized by the Republican Jewish Coalition and National Review, Noah Pollak, a senior advisor to Education Secretary Linda McMahon, said that making changes to American tax policy could be a useful vehicle to fight antisemitism on campuses, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Pollak’s position: Pollak’s argument was a wonky one, suggesting that changes to IRS rules regulating nonprofits could increase transparency — and require the organizations fomenting antisemitism at U.S. universities to reveal much more information about their operations and staff. Pollak called for the federal government to create limits on fiscal sponsorship, a tool by which an existing nonprofit incubates a new one. This allows a new nonprofit organization to launch quickly, with donations passing through a larger, more established organization. The idea is that once the new nonprofit has a steadier foundation, it will eventually incorporate as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with the IRS, after which point it must meet certain federal requirements and make information about its finances and activities publicly available.
Raising the alarm: Antisemitism is rising on the American right, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) warned on Tuesday at the same conference, expressing concern that efforts to combat it are not doing so quickly or effectively enough.
DEMOCRATIC DIVIDE
John Fetterman offers scathing criticism of his own party’s foreign policy views
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) is criticizing his fellow Democrats over their opposition to President Donald Trump’s decision to launch the U.S. war in Iran, arguing that his party should celebrate efforts to bring down the Iranian regime and its military and nuclear capabilities as a “positive development,” Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod report.
What he said: “First, let’s get to history. Every single Democratic presidential candidate or Democratic president all agreed, we can never allow Iran to acquire a nuclear bomb. Everyone has run the gamut: sanctions, treaties, proxies, other kinds of negotiations. It never worked,” Fetterman told JI in an interview on Tuesday. “But you know what it actually produced? Nine hundred pounds of just pure, weapons-grade uranium.”
Escalation alarm: Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), following a classified briefing for the Senate Armed Services Committee on the war in Iran on Tuesday morning, said he’s concerned that the U.S. is headed toward putting ground troops in Iran — echoing and elevating concerns he voiced following a classified briefing last week. But other colleagues have, at this point, not affirmed Blumenthal’s view.
TROUBLING TIES
Leading NYC Jewish groups raise ‘deep concerns’ over Mamdani’s latest extremist associations
Two of New York’s largest Jewish community groups voiced consternation Tuesday night over New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s recent fraternizing with activists who had defended and even advocated violence against Israel, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports. The criticism from the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York and the UJA-Federation of New York came after Mamdani shared a photo on social media Monday night of himself and his wife hosting former Columbia University campus activist Mahmoud Khalil at Gracie Mansion — and after reports that an activist who led a chant to “strike Tel Aviv” during a 2024 protest in New York City had introduced the mayor at an event in Staten Island.
What they said: JCRC CEO Mark Treyger highlighted federal findings that the protests that Khalil helped lead created a hostile environment for Jewish students at Columbia. He acknowledged Khalil’s legal fight to avoid deportation, but urged the mayor to also open Gracie Mansion to those subjected to harassment on the Ivy League campus. The UJA-Federation statement noted that Khalil had rationalized the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks as a means of preventing Israeli-Saudi normalization, and noted the “strike Tel Aviv” chant Abdullah Akl, the political director of the Muslim American Society of New York, had led, which also lauded now-deceased Hamas spokesperson Abu Obeida.
Additional condemnation: A spokesperson for the the Anti-Defamation League told JI’s Haley Cohen, “Welcoming someone known for justifying the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks as an honored guest at Gracie Mansion — while some in the Mayor’s inner circle have amplified antisemitic content and posts dismissing the atrocities of that day — sends a deeply troubling message.”
PRIMARY PRESSURE
DMFI focusing ire on anti-Israel Democrats running in swing districts
As Democratic Majority for Israel prepares for the midterms amid growing divisions in the party over Middle East policy, the pro-Israel group is now focusing much of its energy on three under-the-radar House races for swing seats in California and Colorado that could be key to the party’s chances of reclaiming the majority in Congress. In those primaries, DMFI’s political arm recently endorsed a trio of relatively moderate, pro-Israel Democrats facing opponents whom, the group feels, have demonstrated anti-Israel records or questionable positions on Middle East policy — qualities that could hamper their odds of winning Republican-held districts in the November election, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Who they’re backing: DMFI’s political arm is backing Marni von Wilpert, a San Diego councilwoman seeking the nomination in California’s 48th Congressional District; Jasmeet Bains, a California assemblywoman and a physician competing in the state’s 22nd District; and Shannon Bird, a former Colorado legislator running to unseat a vulnerable freshman Republican in the state’s 8th District. “These definitely rank high on our list of priorities,” Brian Romick, DMFI’s president and the chair of its super PAC, said in an interview with JI on Tuesday. “These are all strong places where this matters.”
PAC PUSHBACK
New super PAC looks to blunt Kat Abughazaleh’s surge in Chicago-area district
With one week to go until the hotly contested Democratic primary in Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, a new, well-funded super PAC is spending big on an ad campaign against Kat Abughazaleh, a far-left social media influencer who has staked out strong anti-Israel stances, Jewish Insider’ Marc Rod reports.
Line of attack: The group, Chicago Progressive Partnership, has reportedly spent around $1 million since its campaign against Abughazaleh began last week. A new television ad appears designed to sow doubt about her progressive credentials, referencing her writings from high school, when she backed Marco Rubio, then a senator, in the 2016 presidential primary and expressed conservative views on Social Security. Other ads from the group accused her of taking donations from billionaires, Republicans and Trump supporters, an issue that has become a major point of attack in the race, primarily targeting moderate state Sen. Laura Fine. “Who is the real Kat Abughazaleh? We don’t really know,” one ad states.
LAW AND ORDER
Former Columbia law dean says Jewish students treated differently on campus
In trying to strike a balance between free expression and anti-discrimination, universities must do a better job at providing a consistent standard, David Schizer, the former dean of Columbia Law School, said on Tuesday during his keynote address at the fifth annual “Law and Antisemitism” conference at Yeshiva University’s Cardozo School of Law, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
Different response: “The rules need to be the same for everyone,” Schizer said. “This means that if a university takes a step to shield Black or female students from harassment, the university needs to take a comparable step to protect Jewish and Israeli students, and vice versa. Unfortunately, universities have not always been consistent … but after Oct. 7, when Jewish and Israeli students complained, the response was different. Instead of deferring, universities invoked free speech principles. Likewise, instead of condemning this offensive speech, many universities adopted institutional neutrality.”
Worthy Reads
Russia-Iran Axis: In The Washington Post, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) argues that the U.S. must address the looming threat posed by Russia as it bolsters Iran in the current war against the U.S. and Israel. “That Russia-Iran partnership is now shaping the war in the Middle East as well. According to The Washington Post, U.S. officials believe Russia is sharing intelligence with Iran as Tehran targets American and allied interests in the region. Russia is not a bystander in this crisis. It is helping Iran challenge the United States. … Stopping Iran’s attacks on Americans must go hand in hand with tightening pressure on the Kremlin. Enforcing sanctions on Russia’s oil exports, cracking down on the shadow fleet that funds Putin’s war and deepening cooperation with Ukraine’s battle-tested military are not favors to Kyiv. They are steps that protect American troops and interests.” [WashPost]
School Daze: The New Yorker’s Nicholas Lemann looks at tensions between universities that have long relied on federal funding and the government as the Trump administration cracks down on campuses over social issues and schools’ alleged failures to address antisemitism. “The Trump Administration has deployed a brutally effective, previously unused technique for getting these institutions’ full attention: suspending their funds, even those appropriated by Congress and legally committed to in contracts. The Trump Administration is unusual in its disregard for the law, rough way of doing business, and heedlessness about the effects of its actions. Still, it isn’t completely out of touch with political reality. These actions are not nearly as unpopular as universities think they should be.” [NewYorker]
The Hamas Caucus: Commentary’s Seth Mandel reflects on the growing tolerance in some political circles for individuals who support Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. “Most of all, it’s just a strange feeling to know how many of the people you interact with would be unmoved if you were to go up in flames right in front of them. Essentially, October 7 became the kind of dividing line that made a lot of Jews understand history. So it’s a useful question to ponder: How should we act? After all, not only must we maintain precisely the values we did before, but we also should work toward returning society to a place in which support for October 7 brings public shame.” [Commentary]
Lev’s Lefty Son: USA Today’s Jay Stahl profiles Gen Z Democratic influencer Aaron Parnas, the son of former Trump associate and congressional candidate Lev Parnas. “From his front-facing iPhone camera, the low-key lawyer, formerly a practicing civil litigator, amassed more than 7.5 million followers on Instagram and TikTok. His fan base eclipses the entire following of progressive American media companies such as The Huffington Post and Mother Jones. … His TikTok has nearly 600 million all-time likes. His Parnas Perspective newsletter on Substack is ranked No. 1 in the news category. He wakes up every day by 7:45 a.m., pours a cup of coffee and releases his first Substack morning report by 9:30 a.m. ET. His loyal fan base is diverse, ranging from Gen Z political observers to White MS NOW moms and Black TikTokers who praise his go-go-go posting schedule.” [USAToday]
Word on the Street
With no clear path to confirmation in the Senate, Jeremy Carl withdrew his nomination to be assistant secretary of state for international organizations on Tuesday, a month after he was grilled at a confirmation hearing and struggled to explain his past antisemitic, anti-Israel and otherwise inflammatory comments, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…
The Senate confirmed Gen. Joshua Rudd as head of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command in a 71-29 vote…
The Pentagon said that approximately 140 U.S. servicemembers have been injured since the start of the war with Iran, the majority of whom have suffered minor injuries…
A U.S. diplomatic facility in Baghdad was struck in a drone assault believed to have been launched by a pro-Iran militia; five of the six drones fired at the logistics hub were shot down, with one hitting the compound…
The State Department ordered the evacuation of U.S. diplomats and their families from a consulate in the southern Turkish city of Adana and suspended all consular services at the branch after two missiles aimed at Turkey were shot down…
Iranian and Israeli officials said that newly named Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was wounded during the opening salvos of the war last month, though the extent of his injuries was unknown…
Israeli officials told the Financial Times that they expect the country’s conflict against Hezbollah in Lebanon to continue on after the conclusion of the war with Iran…
The New York Times’ Bret Stephens considers the possible scenarios going forward in Iran, including regime change, regime modification and potential state collapse…
The Washington Post looks at an Iran-backed propaganda effort using the conspiracy theory that the U.S. and Israel jointly launched the war against Iran to distract from the Epstein files in an effort to draw attention to Tehran’s talking points…
The Financial Times reports on the use of a “number station” in western Europe that is transmitting what appear to be Farsi codes to receivers in Iran as part of what former U.S. intelligence officials have suggested could be a way for Washington to connect with agents inside the Islamic Republic…
FIFA head Gianni Infantino said that President Donald Trump had provided assurances that the Iranian national soccer team would be “welcome” to participate in this year’s World Cup, which is taking place at a number of venues across North America…
The Wall Street Journal spotlights Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline and the United Arab Emirates’ Habshan-Fujairah pipeline, both of which were built to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, which is effectively controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and is where Iran has begun to lay mines…
A federal judge is weighing whether to force the University of Pennsylvania to turn over records of Jewish students and faculty to the Trump administration as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission attempts to conduct a probe into antisemitism at the Ivy League school; read more about the legal battle here…
Clay Fuller, a Trump-endorsed district attorney, easily advanced to a runoff in the special election to replace former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) in Congress; Fuller will face off next month against a long-shot Democratic candidate, veteran Shawn Harris…
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is endorsing former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn in the race to replace retiring Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD); Hoyer, who served with Pelosi in House Democratic leadership, has endorsed state Del. Adrian Boafo…
Populist political neophyte Allison Ziogas launched a bid for Congress in New York City’s only red district, which covers Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn and is currently represented by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY); Ziogas has tapped Democratic consultant Morris Katz, who has worked with far-left candidates including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner…
CNN significantly changed a story and removed a social media post on Tuesday that downplayed an attempted terrorist attack over the weekend outside of Manhattan’s Gracie Mansion, initially writing that the suspects traveled from Pennsylvania for “what could’ve been a normal day” during the city’s “abnormally warm weather,” Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports…
Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman filed for an initial public offering to take his hedge fund public in tandem with a new investment fund, Pershing Square USA…
J., The Jewish News of Northern California spotlights the newly formed Garry’s List, the self-described “radically centrist,” nonpartisan group formed by Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan that seeks to influence California state politics and is attracting Jewish and Israeli tech and business professionals…
Police in San Jose, Calif., are investigating a violent attack against two adult men outside an upscale restaurant as an antisemitic hate crime, a spokesperson for the police department confirmed on Tuesday, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports. Tali Klima, a spokesperson for the grassroots advocacy group Bay Area Jewish Coalition, urged elected officials in the Silicon Valley community to speak out against the attack, which occurred in Rep. Ro Khanna’s (D-CA) district…
The Secure Community Network said that there is no known threat to the Jewish community following an active shooter incident Tuesday afternoon near the Agudath Israel of Baltimore synagogue in which a Baltimore Police officer and a suspect were shot, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports…
Police in Teaneck, N.J., arrested a teenager accused of shooting a Jewish man with a gel pellet gun from a car after stopping to ask the man his views on the Israel-Palestinian conflict…
U.K. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood approved a request from London’s Metropolitan Police to ban the annual Al Quds Day march, which had been slated for Saturday and had faced criticism for organizers’ support for assassinated Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei…
Australia assisted two additional members of Iran’s national women’s soccer team in seeking asylum after granting asylum to five of their teammates; one of the women changed her mind and contacted the Iranian Embassy to assist in repatriation efforts, disclosing the team’s location to Iranian officials and prompting those who planned to stay in Australia to have to move…
Former Heritage Foundation staffer Daniel Flesch is joining the Foundation for Defense of Democracies after departing Heritage amid a mass exodus in response to Heritage President Kevin Roberts’ defense of Tucker Carlson…
Pic of the Day
United Hatzalah President Eli Beer (left) on Tuesday visited a site in central Israel where a fragment of an intercepted Iranian ballistic missile landed.
Birthdays
Composer and conductor, he has composed the music for nearly 100 feature films, David Louis Newman turns 72…
Pioneering investor in high-tech startups, he was the chairman of Compaq Computer for 18 years, Benjamin “Ben” M. Rosen turns 93… Professor emeritus at Princeton University whose research focused upon the Cairo Geniza and Jewish life in Muslim countries, Mark R. Cohen turns 83… Doctor of nursing practice, Hermine Jan Warren… Film producer, director and writer, Jerry Gordon Zucker turns 76… Retired office administrator at Creative Wealth Management in Islandia, N.Y., Glenda Kresh… Culinary writer, television host and novelist, Steven Raichlen turns 73… Suzanne Dreyfus… Co-owner of One Oak Vineyard in Sonoma, Calif., Laura Zimmerman… Chairman of Lions Gate Entertainment and head of MHR Fund Management, Mark Rachesky turns 67… President of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Abu Dhabi, popularly known by his initials MBZ, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan turns 65… CEO of The Carlyle Group, the world’s sixth-largest private equity firm, Harvey M. Schwartz turns 62… Managing director of Rockefeller Capital Management, Alexandra Lebenthal turns 62… College physician at Stony Brook University, internal medicine specialist, Richard E. Tuckman, MD turns 61… CEO of Weiss Public Affairs, Amy Weiss… President of JCS International, a global media company, she was a journalist for over two decades with Yedioth Ahronoth, Michal Grayevsky… Singer-songwriter, she also promotes an eponymous line of eyeglasses, Lisa Loeb turns 58… Keyboardist for the rock band Foo Fighters, Rami Jaffee turns 57… Technology executive and data scientist, Jon Cohen… CEO of Campus Apartments and a limited partner of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, David J. Adelman turns 54… Chief of staff at American Friends of Magen David Adom, Daniel Kochavi… United States District Court judge based in Atlanta since 2019, Judge Steven Daniel Grimberg turns 52… Israeli singer-songwriter and pianist who has twice been recognized as Israel’s Singer of the Year, Keren Peles Toor turns 47… Film, theater and television actress, Lucy Chet DeVito turns 43… Partner at Ridgewood Energy, an energy-focused private equity firm, Samuel J. Lissner… CEO of Flowcarbon, Dana Stern Gibber… Financial consultant at Wells Fargo Advisors, Lev Beltser… Assistant director of Ramah Sports Academy, Ayala Wasser… Director of the Israel office at Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre, Richard Pater… Principal and chief strategist at MCS Group, Sharon Polansky…
Plus, Trump says Iran operation 'very complete'
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speaks at the 62nd Munich Security Conference on February 13, 2026 in Munich, Germany.
This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump praised Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for assisting the members of Iran’s women’s soccer team, who are in Australia competing in the Women’s Asian Cup, amid fears for their persecution should they be forced to return home.
The president had called for Albanese to grant the athletes political asylum, saying they would “most likely be killed” if they were repatriated to Iran, and later commended him for “doing a very good job having to do with this rather delicate situation,” with five athletes “already taken care of, and the rest are on their way”…
Trump disputed reports that the U.S. is preparing to deploy ground troops to secure nuclear material at the Isfahan enrichment site in Iran, telling the New York Post, “We haven’t made any decision on that. We’re nowhere near it.” He also told CBS News that “the war is very complete, pretty much,” and the U.S. is “very far” ahead of his initial four-to-five-week timeline…
Trump has communicated to aides that he would support the assassination of Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new supreme leader, if Khamenei does not acquiesce to U.S. demands, including ending Iran’s nuclear program, U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal…
The Lebanese government has requested direct negotiations with Israel, sending the message through U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, Axios reports. Washington and Jerusalem were reportedly skeptical about the idea, with Beirut thus far failing to disarm or rein in Hezbollah activities as the terror group continues to launch missiles into Israel…
NATO missile defense systems intercepted another Iranian missile heading for Turkey, a spokesperson announced today, the second time Iran has attempted to strike the NATO country’s territory…
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) threatened to impose “consequences” on Saudi Arabia for its unwillingness to join the U.S. campaign against Iran, as the U.S. evacuates its embassy in Riyadh and the kingdom continues to endure Iranian attacks, which have so far resulted in the deaths of two civilians and one U.S. servicemember. “Question — why should America do a defense agreement with a country like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that is unwilling to join a fight of mutual interest?” Graham wrote on X…
Talks to advance Trump’s 20-point peace plan in Gaza, including the issue of Hamas’ disarmament, have been at a standstill during the campaign against Iran, Reuters reports, as Gulf countries that pledged funds to help rebuild the enclave have come under fire and flight disruptions have prevented mediators from traveling…
The criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of New York today against the two Pennsylvania men who allegedly hurled improvised explosive devices toward a protest against New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Saturday stated that both men explicitly identified ISIS as their inspiration, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports.
“This isn’t a religion that just stands when people talk about the blessed name of the Prophet [Muhammad],” Emir Balat, 18, told police, according to the charging documents. He also said he had hoped to pull off something “even bigger” than the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, which he noted had caused “only three deaths”…
The White House moved today to designate the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity and announced plans to impose a Foreign Terrorist Organization designation on March 16, JI’s Matthew Shea reports, in the Trump administration’s latest crackdown against Muslim Brotherhood affiliates…
A new poll from the campaign of Rushern Baker, former executive of Maryland’s Prince George’s County, found him leading the crowded Democratic field seeking to succeed retiring Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD). Though a plurality of likely primary voters (28%) said they’re still undecided, Baker polled at 22% compared to former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn’s 15% and Hoyer-endorsed state Del. Adrian Boafo’s 3%…
Rep. Kevin Kiley of California officially switched his party affiliation from Republican to independent — he had filed for reelection as an independent, but said today he would leave the party for the rest of his term as well. The move narrows the GOP majority even further, 217-214, but Kiley said he’ll continue to caucus with Republicans, blunting the impact…
Politico looks at the flurry of independent candidates seeking to unseat congressional Republicans in GOP-leaning districts, clashing with local Democratic establishments in the process…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider — we’ll have a profile of Dario Amodei, the Jewish CEO of Anthropic, which sued the Pentagon today over its decision to label the AI company a “supply chain risk.”
The Senate Armed Services Committee is expected to receive a classified briefing on the status of the U.S. and Israeli campaign against Iran.
The Republican Jewish Coalition and conservative magazine National Review will hold a daylong symposium on antisemitism, with remarks from Sens. Jim Banks (R-IN), Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Ted Cruz (R-TX); Noah Pollak, senior advisor at the Department of Education; Kenneth Marcus, founder of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law; Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the State Department’s antisemitism envoy; Leo Terrell, senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights; and Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
Georgia’s 14th Congressional District will hold its special election to fill the seat vacated by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), with more than a dozen candidates on the all-party ballot. The district leans strongly Republican but the GOP field is split among nine candidates, raising the possibility that the Democratic front-runner — retired Army Brig. Gen. Shawn Harris — could slip into the April runoff.
Stories You May Have Missed
SCOOP
Zohran Mamdani’s wife liked social media posts celebrating Oct. 7 attacks
NYC First Lady Rama Duwaji showed support for far-left orgs applauding Hamas rampage
POWER PLAYER
The progressive operative nudging Democrats toward a hostile line on Israel
Ad maker Morris Katz has been instrumental in elevating Israel antagonists into office as part of a move to reshape the Democratic Party
Plus, Tehran attacks Azerbaijan
Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for Entertainment Industry Foundation
Governor Gavin Newsom attends a pep rally to celebrate the second year of the Roybal Film and Television Production School on October 13, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
👋 Good Thursday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on yesterday’s failed war powers resolution vote in the Senate and preview a similar vote in the House today. We take a closer look at the leftward shifts on Israel by both California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) as both men gear up for potential 2028 presidential bids, and spotlight a series of recent public opinion polls in Israel and the U.S. about attitudes toward the war in Iran. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: former Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Ahmad Vahidi.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI 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 House is slated to vote on a war powers resolution today, a day after a similar effort was blocked by Senate Republicans. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), an isolationist-leaning lawmaker, said he plans to vote with most Democrats in support of the resolution, joining Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY). A few Democrats are expected to oppose the resolution. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), a moderate House Democrat, said he will also support the resolution. With razor-thin margins in the House, the ultimate outcome could come down to the number of Democratic defections, and potential absences, though Republicans have expressed confidence that the vote will fail.
- The House will separately vote on a Republican-led resolution affirming that Iran remains the leading state sponsor of terrorism.
- Elbridge Colby, the Trump administration’s under secretary of defense for policy, is testifying this morning on the U.S. National Defense Strategy before the House Armed Services Committee.
- The House Foreign Affairs Committee is holding a hearing this morning with Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers.
- Elsewhere on the Hill, the Muslim World League is hosting an interfaith iftar gathering later today.
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom is slated to be interviewed by anti-Israel podcaster Jack Cocchiarella in New Hampshire today for a conversation that is expected to heavily focus on Israel. More below on Newsom’s sharp left turn on Israel in recent months.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S LAHAV HARKOV AND TAMARA ZIEVE
More than 80% of Israelis support the war against Iran, polls by two major Israeli research institutions found this week, while several U.S. polls found that a majority of Americans oppose it.
The Israel Democracy Institute found that 82% of Israelis — 93% of Jewish Israelis and 26% of Israeli Arabs — support the war with Iran. Among Jewish Israelis, the war has strong support across the political spectrum, with 76% of respondents on the left backing it, 93% of voters from the center and 97% from the right.
Similarly, the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University found that 81% of Israelis back the war against Iran, and 63% support continuing military efforts until the Iranian regime falls. Among Jewish Israelis, support for the war was at 92%, while only 38% of Israeli Arabs support it. About half (49%) of Israeli Arabs oppose the war, while the rest said they did not know.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., a CNN poll, conducted by SSRS shortly after the war began on Saturday, found that nearly 41% of Americans approve of the U.S. military action in Iran, with a sharp divide between Republicans, Democrats and independents — 77% of Republicans approve of the launch of the operation, compared to 32% of independents and 18% of Democrats. The poll found that 59% of Americans disapprove of the U.S. decision to strike.
Similarly, an NBC poll found that 41% of American registered voters approve of President Donald Trump’s approach to Iran, while 54% disapprove and 5% aren’t sure. Just 8% of Democrats approve of the president’s handling of the situation, while 79% of Republicans and 28% of independents approve of it. In addition, the poll found that 52% oppose the current U.S. military operation. A sizable majority of Republicans (77%) agree with the U.S. decision to strike Iran, while 89% of Democrats and 58% of independents disagree.
There is a further divide between self-identified MAGA-aligned Republicans and other Republicans, the poll found: 90% of the former back the strikes, while 54% of the latter support them. The CNN poll found that MAGA Republicans are 30 points more likely than non-MAGA Republicans to strongly approve of the decision to take military action.
MILITARY UPDATE
Day 6: Repatriation flights briefly delayed in the air as Iran shoots missiles at Israel
Some of the first repatriation flights carrying Israelis who had been stranded abroad were briefly held mid-flight on Thursday morning as Iranian missiles were fired at central Israel. El Al, Arkia, Israir and Air Haifa repatriation flights began departing for Israel on Wednesday evening from dozens of destinations in Europe, the U.S. and Thailand, and began landing Thursday morning. Several flights needed to briefly detour while en route to Ben Gurion Airport after Iran shot missiles toward central Israel. The flights are expected to continue through the weekend, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
Developments: Iran also attacked Azerbaijan for the first time Thursday morning, launching drones that injured two at Nakhchivan International Airport. Shortly after, Baku vowed to respond to the attack. Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands said they would send naval vessels to Cyprus, after an Iranian UAV struck a British base on the island state. The IDF has been preparing for the possibility that the Houthis will begin striking Israel as they have done sporadically since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, Israeli media reported. The Houthis have threatened to fire at Gulf States if they attack Iran, and Saudi Arabia increased security for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in case of a Houthi attack, according to Israeli public broadcaster KAN.
FINGER IN THE WIND
Gavin Newsom shifts hard left on Israel policy amid presidential primary considerations
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Tuesday night on a popular liberal podcast that the U.S. should reconsider its military support for Israel, a marked evolution for a politician who traveled to Israel less than two weeks after the Oct. 7 terror attacks in 2023 and who said in an October interview that he would not consider eliminating U.S. military aid to Israel, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports. Asked by Jon Favreau, the co-host of “Pod Save America,” if the U.S. should, in the future, rethink its military support for Israel, Newsom responded, “It breaks my heart because the current leadership in Israel is walking us down that path where I don’t think you have a choice.”
Zoom out: Newsom’s move away from military support for Israel is a shift even from his recent positions. In October, during an interview with the “Higher Learning” podcast, Newsom said he would not support ending U.S. military aid to Israel. He touted his decision in December 2023 to send humanitarian aid to Gaza, while also defending Israel’s right to exist. Newsom is widely considered a 2028 presidential contender, and he has been shifting his public stances on Israel to the left in recent months in response to questions from progressive interviewers.
Bonus: The Free Press’ Peter Savodnik writes that Newsom “seems congenitally incapable of rising above his tribe and conceiving of the war [in Iran] as anything other than yet another opportunity for politicking, for taking a few shots, scoring some points.”
ABOUT FACE
Ruben Gallego transforms from pro-Israel moderate to face of antiwar opposition
With a series of pugnacious tweets and media appearances, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) has made himself a face of the Democratic opposition to the war in Iran, issuing one of the first comments from a U.S. lawmaker opposing the effort in the early hours of Saturday morning. Gallego’s outspoken commentary, which has repeatedly pinned blame for the operation on Israel — a notion that colleagues on both sides of the aisle have disputed — also coincide with Gallego’s endorsement of Graham Platner, the progressive Maine Senate candidate who has faced a series of scandals related to antisemitism, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Current messaging: The high-profile moves come as Gallego, who claimed victory in Arizona in 2024 even as President Donald Trump won the state, is seen by political observers as positioning himself for a 2028 presidential campaign — and as anti-Israel policies have become a litmus test for the progressive left. “So Netanyahu now decides when we go to war? So much for America First,” Gallego said earlier this week, in response to comments by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that seemed to suggest that the timing of the war was dictated by Israel. “What the f*** happened to America First?” Gallego wrote in another post, adding that the U.S. should have left Israel to go ahead with the operation alone.
VOTED DOWN
Senate defeats resolution to halt Iran war, largely along party lines
With the U.S.-Israel operation against Iran widening, the Senate voted 53-47 on Wednesday afternoon — largely along party lines — to block a procedural vote on a war powers resolution that would have forced the immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from combat with Iran, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What happened: Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and John Fetterman (D-PA) broke with their respective parties as expected, with Paul voting for and Fetterman voting against the motion, with all other lawmakers voting along party lines. The vote showcased how the Iran war has quickly become a partisan issue, despite lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressing long-standing concerns about the threat from Iran and its malign activities and some Democrats offering a degree of positive commentary about the U.S. strikes. Though widely expected to fail, Democrats view the resolution, and a similar one up for a vote in the House tomorrow, as a critical avenue to go on record with their opposition to the Trump administration’s military offensive.
STEERING CLEAR
Lawmakers keep arm’s length from WH’s reported Kurdish insurgency push in Iran
Lawmakers are largely keeping an arm’s length from the administration’s reported discussions with Kurdish leaders in Iraq about supporting an armed offensive against the Iranian regime, as an on-the-ground force aligned with U.S. interests in the ongoing American and Israeli air campaign, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What they’re saying: Many Republican senators indicated Wednesday that they knew little about the effort. Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) told JI he couldn’t comment on the subject due to classification issues, but said generally that “the Kurds know how to fight — you don’t want to tangle with the Kurds.” Some seemed broadly supportive, while not commenting on the specifics of the reported moves. Democrats are generally skeptical of the reported plan. “I am struck by the hypocrisy of pulling the rug out from under the Kurds in Syria and then asking them to fight again for Iran. Kurds deserve better,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said.
NOT CONVINCED
Iran ‘catastrophically’ miscalculated in striking Arab countries, experts say
Leading Middle East foreign policy experts warned that Iran’s decision to expand its response to the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign by striking neighboring Arab states could prove to be a major strategic miscalculation — one that risks isolating Tehran further and potentially drawing Gulf countries to take action, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports. In the days following the launch of the campaign, Iran carried out widespread drone and missile strikes at multiple Arab nations, striking all members of the Gulf Cooperation Council — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — as well as Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Oman.
Tehran ‘encircled’: Alexander Gray, a former National Security Council chief of staff under President Donald Trump and a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told JI that Iran’s decision to attack Arab countries was an “extraordinary strategic miscalculation.” Gray said, “Not only has Iran forced the region’s Arab states to openly support the U.S. and Israeli operation, but it has encircled itself far more effectively than any American diplomacy could have accomplished.” Michael Koplow, chief policy officer at Israel Policy Forum, called the action a “risky move at best.”
Ankara angle: Iran and Turkey moved to de-escalate tensions between them in the immediate aftermath of the downing of an Iranian missile over Turkey on Wednesday, but the development signals dangerous potential if the conflict heats up between them, experts told JI’s Lahav Harkov.
Worthy Reads
A New Middle East: In Semafor, Jason Greenblatt, who served as White House Middle East envoy in the first Trump administration, posits that shifting regional dynamics have created an environment for a new power structure in the Middle East. “For the first time in decades, there is a convergence of strength in the Middle East: A US president willing to confront threats directly; an Israel capable of degrading proxy networks and striking hard at Iran’s military infrastructure; and Arab leaders who have built dynamic economies focused on modernization and long-term competitiveness. Working together, they can isolate the Iranian regime diplomatically, dismantle much of its proxy infrastructure, severely degrade its military reach, and strip it of the intimidation it has used to dominate the region.” [Semafor]
Why America Went to War: In The Free Press, Haviv Rettig Gur considers the broader global geopolitics at play amid debates in the U.S. over the main drivers of the war with Iran. “There is a regional chessboard, on which Israel, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the other Gulf states all play. Iran’s proxies, its drones and ballistic missiles, its nuclear ambitions, its funding of Hezbollah and the Houthis: All of that belongs primarily to this smaller game. … But there is a second chessboard, vastly larger, on which the United States and China are the primary players. … America went to war in Iran because Iran made itself a Chinese weapon. It didn’t need to do this, to invest so much of the administration’s political capital and of the military’s firepower, just to shore up a second-run Israeli operation.” [FreePress]
Lonely is the Head…: In The Wall Street Journal, RealEye CEO Kevin Cohen looks at Israel’s strategy of targeting the top echelon of Iranian leadership. “The logic is straightforward. Authoritarian systems recover from shocks by quickly re-establishing hierarchy. If that re-establishment becomes dangerous, decision-makers hesitate. Hesitation spreads uncertainty through the entire structure. A regime can survive sanctions. It can survive airstrikes. It can even survive the death of a supreme leader. What it struggles to survive is doubt about who holds authority next. That doubt ripples outward. Commanders delay orders until legitimacy is confirmed. Rival factions position themselves cautiously. Security services turn inward, searching for infiltration. Decision cycles lengthen. Under pressure, elongated decision cycles become fragility. This strategy depends on intelligence rather than brute force.” [WSJ]
Word on the Street
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the accomplishment of several key objectives, including that “the leader of the unit” responsible for the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump in November 2024 “has been hunted down and killed,” Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports…
Seventy-five retired U.S. generals and military officials signed onto an open letter from the Jewish Institute for National Security of America supporting the U.S. and Israeli strikes in Iran…
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, and Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-RI), the top Democrat on the Counterterrorism and Intelligence Subcommittee, expressed concerns about reports that the FBI had fired staff involved in countering threats from Iran in retaliation for their involvement in investigating President Donald Trump…
First in JI: Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) endorsed James Leuschen, a former staffer for Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) running for Congress in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District. “Americans are getting squeezed by high grocery prices, health care, child care, rent, and utility bills,” Gottheimer said in a statement. “They want results, not rhetoric. James Leuschen knows that serving the district where he was born and raised means working with anyone to lower costs and deliver real solutions — and to stop Donald Trump’s chaos”…
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) dropped his reelection bid hours before the deadline to file in Montana; Daines endorsed U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana Kurt Alme, who filed to run for the seat shortly after Daines withdrew from the ballot…
Far-left Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam conceded to Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC) in the Democratic primary in North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District after falling short in her second bid for the seat…
Former Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) is expected to step down as inspector general of the Labor Department as soon as today and announce a comeback bid for the Long Island House seat he lost to Rep. Laura Gillen (D-NY) in 2024…
A federal judge in Florida ruled that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ move to declare the Council on American-Islamic Relations a terrorist group was unconstitutional and violated the group’s First Amendment rights…
A New York State Supreme Court justice who also serves as an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s law school dismissed the punishments — including expulsions, degree revocations and suspensions — of Columbia students who participated in the takeover of the school’s Hamilton Hall in 2024 to protest Israel’s war in Gaza, determining that the school could not use sealed arrest records as evidence in disciplinary proceedings; the ruling came as a result of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s decision to drop criminal charges against the students, thereby sealing their records…
Florida International University is conducting a criminal investigation into a group chat of students associated with Miami-Dade County’s Republican Party in Florida where participants repeatedly used racial slurs, praised Nazi ideology and discussed violent acts against Black people…
Jewish leaders in Chicago are calling on Mayor Brandon Johnson to follow the recommendation of the city’s Commission on Human Relations and create an antisemitism task force…
A local Democratic candidate in Northern Virginia’s Prince William County is under fire for recently unearthed racist and antisemitic social media posts from 2012 and 2015…
The U.K. is undertaking an official review into antisemitism at British schools and universities, following a report from the Community Security Trust that showed that school-related antisemitic incidents had doubled since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks…
Poland repatriated more than 90 artifacts from Greece’s Jewish community that had been looted by the Nazis’ Rosenberg Taskforce during Germany’s occupation of the country during World War II…
The New York Times reports on how the Australian Jewish community, and specifically the Sydney Jewish Museum, is memorializing the victims of the December terror attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach…
Ahmad Vahidi, a key suspect in the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was named the new head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps…
The Wall Street Journal looks at how Iran’s decision to build underground “missile cities” to store munitions has backfired, with U.S. and Israeli jets poised to strike missile launchers as they emerge from the underground caverns…
Pic of the Day
A delegation of the American Jewish Committee, led by CEO Ted Deutch (center) and President Bobby Lapin, met Tuesday with Paraguayan President Santiago Peña (far left) in the group’s first-ever visit to Paraguay.
Birthdays
Actor and screenwriter, Jason Isaac Fuchs turns 40…
Particle physicist and astrophysicist, he is a professor emeritus at the University of Michigan, Carl William Akerlof turns 88… Retired university counsel for California State University, Donald A. Newman… Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, he is an associate fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Roy Gutman turns 82… Retired partner of Los Angeles law firm, Gordon, Edelstein, Krepack, Grant, Felton & Goldstein, LLP, Mark Edelstein… President of Los Angeles PR firm Robin Gerber & Associates, Robin Gerber Carnesale… Managing partner at Lerer Hippeau, a NYC-based VC firm, he co-founded Huffington Post and was the longtime chair of BuzzFeed, Kenneth B. Lerer turns 74… Political philosopher and professor at Harvard Law School, Michael Joseph Sandel turns 73… Founder and retired CEO of the DC-based News Literacy Project, Alan C. Miller… Author of Judaism: A Way of Being and former professor of computer science at Yale University, David Hillel Gelernter turns 71… Maryland state senator since 2019, Benjamin F. Kramer turns 69… Actor, screenwriter and film producer, he has been a contestant on three seasons of CBS’ “Survivor,” Jonathan Penner turns 64… Retired tennis player, she won 10 doubles tournaments, Elise Burgin turns 64… Former senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former NPR reporter, Sarah Chayes turns 64… Professor at Université de Montréal, most noted for his work on artificial neural networks and deep learning, Yoshua Bengio turns 62… Chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, former president and board chair of AIPAC, Betsy Berns Korn turns 58… President and founder of West End Strategy Team, Matt Dorf turns 56… Los Angeles-area builder and developer, Michael Reinis… Renewable energy executive, Michael N. Kruger… Recording music industry executive, best known for his association with the game show “Jeopardy!,” Austin David “Buzzy” Cohen turns 41… Chief communications officer at Jenner & Block, Daniel S. Schwarz… Managing director at Portage Point Partners, Steven Shenker… Disgraced and jailed founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried turns 34… Manager of operations support at TEKsystems, Andrew Leiferman… Singer and influencer, her career started with a song she performed at her own bat mitzvah, Madison Elle Beer turns 27…
Plus, in new memoir, Shapiro leans into his faith
Amber Arnold/Wisconsin State Journal via AP
UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin during an interview at Vilas Hall in Madison, Wis., Aug. 4, 2022.
👋 Good Tuesday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at the central role that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s faith plays in his life, according to his new memoir, out today, and look at incoming Columbia President Jennifer Mnookin’s record as the University of Wisconsin chancellor prepares to become Columbia’s first Jewish president in decades. We break down the tensions between the University of Pennsylvania and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as the Trump administration seeks to get contact information for the school’s Jewish faculty, and report on concerns from leading Jewish organizations over Saudi Arabia’s recent Islamist turn. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Deni Avdija, Amer Ghalib and Edi Rama.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI 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
- Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Across the world, memorial events will be held commemorating the day, chosen to coincide with the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Over the weekend, the Claims Conference released the results of a new demographic study that found that fewer than 200,000 Holocaust survivors are still alive.
- In New York, Holocaust survivor Sara Weinstein will address the U.N. General Assembly at 11 a.m. ET today in a special session. Later in the day, Weinstein will join three other survivors in ringing the closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange.
- In Washington, the Counter Extremism Project’s ARCHER at House 88 is putting on a concert at the Kennedy Center titled “Enduring Music: Compositions from the Holocaust,” which will feature performances of works that were written in the ghettos and concentration camps of World War II Europe.
- Elsewhere in Washington, the Washington Wizards are celebrating Jewish Heritage Night during their game tonight against the Portland Trail Blazers. More below.
- In Israel, the Diaspora Ministry’s second annual conference on antisemitism wraps up today in Jerusalem.
- Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat is speaking today at the 17th annual WELT Economic Summit, being held this year at Axel Springer’s offices in Berlin.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S GABBY DEUTCH
Each time Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro gets on a plane to visit different communities as he begins his reelection campaign, he’ll silently recite Judaism’s foundational prayer, the Shema, before takeoff, according to his new memoir.
Shapiro has always kept his Jewish faith at the center of his public identity. But in Where We Keep the Light, which comes out today, the swing-state Democrat provides the most intimate look yet at the centrality of Judaism to his understanding of the world. Widely expected to be eyeing a bid for the White House in 2028, Shapiro makes clear in his new book that he will not back away from his Jewish identity as his national profile grows.
“My faith has never been something I thought about doing a whole lot. Not because it’s not important. The opposite, really. It’s elemental,” Shapiro writes. “It’s why I sometimes sound a little vague when I get asked about my religion in interviews or when I try to put it into words. Kind of like when you get asked to explain how you fall asleep or blink. You just know to do it. It’s part of you, without thinking. All essence and instinct.”
The book begins with the story of the arson attack on the governor’s residence in Harrisburg last year, hours after Shapiro hosted a Passover Seder there. It’s clear that the incident, in which the assailant said that he targeted the governor because of what Shapiro “did to the Palestinians,” impacted him deeply.
“No one will deter me or my family or any Pennsylvanian from celebrating their faith openly and proudly,” Shapiro writes.
The next night, his family began their Seder by reciting Birkat Hagomel, which he described as “a prayer expressing gratitude for surviving a dangerous situation.” Shapiro again sought comfort in those days in the Shema, and its straightforward declaration of faith in God.
Along with his deep identification with Judaism, Shapiro doesn’t shy away from his support for Israel in his memoir.
The Democratic Party has become more critical of Israel in recent years, and it is easy to imagine Shapiro deciding that the politically savvy move would be to talk less about his connection to the Jewish state.
Instead, Shapiro appears to have decided that the right move — a result, surely, of both political and moral calculations — is to reveal exactly what role Judaism and Israel have played in shaping him.
CAMPUS BEAT
Jennifer Mnookin takes over Columbia presidency with mixed record on dealing with antisemitism at Wisconsin
Columbia University tapped University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin this week as the school’s fourth president in two years — and first Jewish leader in three decades. While the New York City campus, which was roiled by antisemitic turmoil for nearly two years following the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel, has been quieter in recent months, Jewish student leaders who worked closely with Mnookin at Wisconsin expressed optimism that she could help Columbia repair its strained relationship with the federal government and ongoing division among students and manage the implementation of recent recommendations made by the school’s antisemitism task force, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
But: Mnookin, a legal scholar who served as dean of the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law before moving to Wisconsin in 2022, faced some criticism over concessions she made with Students for Justice in Palestine protesters during an anti-Israel encampment on the Madison campus in April 2024. Mnookin initially sent law enforcement to shut down the student encampment — resulting in the arrest of roughly three dozen demonstrators — then negotiated with protesters after they established a new encampment.
Bonus: Jonathan Dekel-Chen, who gained international attention for his efforts to secure the release of his son, Sagui, who was taken hostage during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, is joining the faculty of Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs, where he will teach classes on Jewish legacies in Europe and modern Israeli history.
CATALOGING CONCERNS
Why UPenn and the federal government are battling over lists of Jewish faculty members
A burgeoning legal battle between the University of Pennsylvania and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission escalated last week when the Ivy League university called the agency’s methods of investigating whether the school permitted an antisemitic work environment “extraordinary and unconstitutional.” The EEOC subpoenaed the university to turn over lists of Jewish employees and members of Jewish organizations, along with detailed identifying and contact information, saying the information is needed for the agency to contact potential victims of antisemitic discrimination, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
University’s response: The university’s president and trustees — with the support of Jewish campus organizations Hillel, Chabad and Meor, as well as the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia — refused to do so. Handing over those names would disregard “the frightening and well-documented history of governmental entities that undertook efforts to identify and assemble information regarding persons of Jewish ancestry,” the university asserted in a legal filing last Tuesday.
PROBLEMATIC POST
Top Michigan Democratic fundraiser shared Veterans Day post honoring Nazi officer grandfather
Kelly Neumann, a prominent Michigan Democratic fundraiser who is supporting several major Democratic candidates in the state, shared a social media post on Veterans Day in 2024 honoring her grandfather, who served in the Nazi regime’s army in World War II, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. The post includes multiple photos of Neumann’s grandfather in Nazi regalia, including what appears to be an officer’s uniform.
What she said: “Happy Veterans Day to all my family and friends who serve/served! Without you, America would not be here today,” the post, shared on Facebook and Instagram by Neumann, a local attorney, reads. “Interesting story, I do not talk much about but my Grandfather, Albert Neumann was on the German side in WWI & WWII. He escaped to Brazil with my Father after Germany lost in WWII.” Neumann is serving as a co-chair of the finance committees for state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, running for U.S. Senate, and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who is running for governor, and has also hosted fundraisers for Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), prior to her Senate run, Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI) and state Sen. Jeremy Moss, a House candidate.
NEBRASKA NOS
Most Democratic candidates in key Nebraska swing seat say they’ll reject pro-Israel support
A majority of the Democratic candidates running in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, a key swing seat centered in Omaha that Democrats hope to flip in November, said at a candidate forum hosted by the Nebraska Young Democrats last week that they would reject support from pro-Israel groups, based on video of the event obtained by Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod.
What they said: Asked whether they would accept support from AIPAC or Democratic Majority for Israel, state Sen. John Cavanaugh committed to not taking any funding from either group, while activist Denise Powell said that she would not accept any funding from any special interest groups. Navy veteran Kishla Askins offered a less definitive answer, saying she is “right now … not taking” funding from J Street, AIPAC or DMFI, while also noting that she had been to Israel and served alongside the IDF while she was in the military and understands how dangerous the region is. James Leuschen, a longtime former senior staffer for Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) — a staunch Israel supporter — was the only candidate to definitively say he would not commit to turning down support from the groups.
ALARM BELLS
Leading Jewish organizations disturbed by Saudi Arabia’s Islamist turn
Several leading Jewish and pro-Israel advocacy groups are expressing concerns about the impact of the recent rise in antisemitic and Islamist messaging out of Saudi Arabia, as the Gulf kingdom’s rhetoric is increasingly raising questions about its standing as a reliable U.S. ally in the region. The new posturing, part of a broader pivot from what national security experts had seen as Saudi Arabia’s moderating influence in the region, has fueled surprise and frustration among Jewish American advocacy organizations that have pushed for the kingdom to normalize relations with Israel, an objective now regarded in some circles as unlikely for the foreseeable future, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
ADL alarm: Last week, the Anti-Defamation League said in a sharply worded social media statement that it was “alarmed by the increasing frequency and volume of prominent Saudi voices — analysts, journalists and preachers — using openly antisemitic dog whistles and aggressively pushing anti-Abraham Accords rhetoric, often while peddling conspiracy theories about ‘Zionist plots.’” The statement continued, “This is harmful on many levels, diminishing the prospect of peaceful coexistence in the region and weakening regional initiatives promoting tolerance, understanding and prosperity.”
Bonus: Saudi Arabia is suspending work on its Mukaab skyscraper project in Riyadh as the Gulf state faces mounting financial issues.
SABRA SLAM
Deni Avdija to make triumphant DC return as star NBA player
On Tuesday night, the Washington Wizards will host the Portland Trail Blazers for Jewish Heritage Night in a game that carries significance beyond the standings. The matchup coincides with International Holocaust Remembrance Day, giving it added weight amid heightened antisemitic sentiment across the political spectrum. But despite that backdrop, the evening’s focal point for the local Jewish community may actually be what transpires on the court. Deni Avdija, the 6-foot-8 small forward from Beit Zera, Israel, returns to Capital One Arena, where his NBA career began, no longer as a developing young player, but as one of the NBA’s breakout sensations, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
Higher profile: Selected ninth overall by Washington in the 2020 NBA Draft, Avdija spent the first four seasons of his NBA career with the Wizards before being traded to Portland in July 2024. This season, he has found his footing in the league, making a dramatic leap that has drawn attention from fans and NBA stars alike. With that higher profile, however, has come online backlash — “hate,” he has called it — focusing on his Israeli roots.
Worthy Reads
Back the Protesters Now: In The New York Times, Iranian dissident and writer Masih Alinejad calls on the U.S. to take action in support of Iranian anti-government protesters. “Too often, the argument about the dangers of intervention is less about prudence than paralysis. It turns failures into a permanent permission slip for every dictator watching: Kill enough people and the world will be too afraid of past mistakes to stop you. The argument is dishonest because it pretends that intervention means invasion. Iranians are not asking for foreign tanks to roll down the streets of Tehran. They are asking for the world to stop acting as if the only options are occupation or indifference. Inaction gives a regime time to regroup, rebuild its machinery of repression and return with a cleaner narrative and a longer list of prisoners.” [NYTimes]
How to Disarm Hamas: In Foreign Affairs, Elliott Abrams, Eric Edelman and Rena Gabber suggest that private security contractors could serve as a stabilizing force in the Gaza Strip in the absence of countries willing to contribute troops to an international stabilization force. “Top-level security contractors are a viable but overlooked option for ridding postwar Gaza of Hamas. They are staffed by well-trained, highly capable military personnel with experience serving in elite units. They will not shy away from potential conflict with Hamas terrorists. In fact, they are perhaps the only force besides the IDF itself willing to directly confront Hamas and do the hard work of demilitarizing Gaza. A demilitarizing force composed of private contractors could also come together quickly, particularly compared to the ISF. That would allow it to push Hamas back before the group gains even more power.” [ForeignAffairs]
What Elie Wiesel Taught Me: In The Free Press, German-born physician Suzanne Lentzsch reflects on her time treating Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel in the final years of his life. “I thank fate that Wiesel’s and my own paths crossed for a time; that I, a German, could for even a brief time help the man who had been the voice of the German-murdered Jews of this world. I still feel the guilt of my home’s history like a weight on my shoulders. But Wiesel taught me there is a choice in how one carries that burden. I spent the first 25 years of my life trapped voiceless behind the wall of a dictatorship that surveilled and murdered its own citizens. Wiesel dedicated his life to testifying against the depravity that results when human decency collapses. As democracy again seems to teeter, his story and the history of my country ought not to be carried like a burden but as a covenant. They warn against the numbing indifference that allowed my neighbors to look on as starving children were marched past their houses from Sachsenhausen.” [FreePress]
Reform Holocaust Ed: In The Wall Street Journal, Casey Babb and Naya Lekht argue that existing Holocaust education must undergo reforms to more effectively address antisemitism. “In most school curricula, the Holocaust serves as the primary, often exclusive, lens through which the demonization of Jews is understood. Within this framework, Jews are recognized as victims only when their oppressors depict them as subhuman, racially inferior or treasonous. … Until Jewish institutions, schools and Holocaust educators update their curricula and language, meaningful progress in protecting Jewish students and families from antisemitism will remain limited. What’s needed is a pragmatic and courageous paradigm shift, one that begins with naming and recognizing the contemporary libels used to demonize Jews.” [WSJ]
Word on the Street
The IDF announced on Monday that it had uncovered the remains of deceased hostage Ran Gvili at a Muslim cemetery in eastern Gaza City and brought them back to Israel for burial — recovering the final hostage of the Gaza war and marking the first time since 2014 that no Israeli captive, alive or deceased, is being held in the enclave, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports…
Jewish groups welcomed the return of Gvili’s remains, offered their condolences, thanked political figures involved in hostage negotiations and expressed a sense of closure, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim reports…
President Donald Trump said on Monday that the situation with Iran is “in flux” and that a “big armada” was headed to the Gulf, but that Tehran had expressed willingness to engage in talks; the president had reportedly received multiple intelligence reports indicating that the Iranian government’s position is at its weakest since the 1979 overthrow of the shah…
Trump’s comments come as the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group arrived in the Indian Ocean, positioning it to potentially assist in any military action in Iran…
Queen Rania of Jordan, who has downplayed the role of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks in the ensuing war in Gaza, attended the White House’s private screening of the new film “Melania” hosted by the president and First Lady Melania Trump…
The Trump administration deported roughly a dozen Iranians to the Islamic Republic as part of a broader illegal immigration in the U.S.; the deportation flight was the first to Iran since protests erupted across the country last month…
Hamtramck, Mich., Mayor Amer Ghalib, whose nomination to be U.S. ambassador to Kuwait had been stalled over concerns regarding his past promotion of antisemitic ideas, is joining AmeriCorps as the organization’s senior advisor for strategic partnerships…
The New York Times reports that the Department of Justice under the Biden administration began an investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) finances and ties to an unnamed foreign citizen; the case stalled shortly after it was opened in 2024 for a lack of evidence…
The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum warned against “making false equivalencies to [Anne Frank’s] experience for political purposes,” days after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz invoked the young author and Holocaust victim as he compared the ICE raids in his state to Nazi actions during World War II…
Far-left operative Waleed Shahid announced on Monday morning he would assume a newly created role of deputy communications director of economic justice in New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports…
Kanye West, now known as Ye, took out a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal to apologize to the Jewish community for past antisemitic comments, including praise for Adolf Hitler, days before the release of his new album; the rapper said he suffered a brain injury in a car accident 25 years ago that damaged his frontal lobe, resulting in his erratic behavior…
Los Angeles’ Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills apologized for the cancellation of a show by Guy Hochman after demanding the Israeli comic condemn Israel’s actions in Gaza; Hochman rejected the apology from Michael Hall, the theater’s president, saying it came only after pushback from the Jewish community…
The Washington Post reviews Alex Gibney’s new documentary “Knife,” about the attempted assassination in 2022 of writer Salman Rushdie, which premiered at Sundance earlier this week…
The Wiener Holocaust Library in London recently received a donation of artwork and writing from Czech Jewish artist Peter Kien, who passed on the works before he was transported to Auschwitz, where he died in 1944; the trove of artwork had been confiscated by Czech officials in the 1970s and recently recovered by the daughter of a friend of Kien’s….
Former U.K. Home Secretary Suella Braverman is joining Nigel Farage’s Reform party, saying she had felt “politically homeless for the best part of two years” as a member of the Conservative party, citing Conservatives’ stances on immigration and Brexit…
The Financial Times talks to Brig. Gen. Gil Pinchas, the outgoing chief financial advisor to the IDF and Israel’s Defense Ministry, about Israel’s plans to negotiate a new memorandum of understanding with Washington that will see less reliance on U.S. military aid…
Reuters reports on Iranian efforts to ship jet fuel to Myanmar’s military in violation of international sanctions for use against civilians in the Southeast Asian nation that has been mired in civil war for five years…
Iranian banking tycoon Ali Ansari, who is sanctioned by the U.K. for sending money to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has reportedly amassed a real estate portfolio worth more than 400 million Euros ($475 million) that includes properties across Europe, including multiple Hilton properties in Germany and a resort in Mallorca…
Calgary, Canada, philanthropist Al Osten died at 95…
Shelley Holt, who with her husband, Allan, the vice chair of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, was a major donor to the USHMM as well the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and a range of medical causes and institutions, died at 72…
Pic of the Day
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama delivered an address at Israel’s Knesset on Monday during a two-day visit to the country. In his speech, Rama blasted “well-meaning international public figures or associations who rightly described Gaza as an open air prison, but failed to identify the true jailer of the people of Gaza. They mistook the finger for what it was pointing at and, in doing so, failed to recognize that the jailer of Gaza is Hamas, no one else but Hamas: its ideology of terror against its own people and toward the Jewish nation, its totalitarian dogma that no Palestinian life is worth living until the State of Israel is annihilated and the last Jew is wiped out from the Holy Land.”
Birthdays
Television writer and producer best known as the creator of “Everybody Loves Raymond,” more recently he stars in the Netflix series “Somebody Feed Phil,” Philip Rosenthal turns 66…
Businessman and real estate investor, Paul Sislin turns 91… Winner of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics, he is a professor emeritus at California Institute of Technology, Barry Clark Barish turns 90… Builder and operator of luxury casinos and hotels, Steve Wynn (born Stephen Alan Weinberg) turns 84… Corporate venture capitalist and scientist, he served as VP at Intel Corporation where he co-founded Intel Capital, Avram Miller turns 81… Topanga, Calif. resident, Joseph Helfer… Columbia, S.C., resident, Charles Geffen… VP at Elnat Equity Liquidity Providers, following 20 years as COO at the Orthodox Union, Eliezer Edelman… Professor of medieval Judaism and Islam at the Los Angeles campus of HUC-JIR, Reuven Firestone turns 74… Cookbook author and attorney, she is a co-founder of Foundation for Jewish Camp, Elisa Spungen Bildner… Chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, John Roberts turns 71… Member of the Missouri state Senate until 2023, Jill Schupp turns 71… President and CEO at MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, Abby Jane Leibman… Founder, chairman and former CEO of Och-Ziff Capital, now investing through Willoughby Capital, Daniel Och turns 65… Communications director at C-SPAN and author in 2020 of When Rabbis Bless Congress, a history of rabbinical invocations in Congress, Howard Mortman… Founder and managing member of Liberty Peak Capital and co-founder and lead investor of Multiplier Capital, Ezra M. Friedberg… Chief growth officer at Coordinated Care Services after five years as CEO of the JCC of Greater Rochester, Josh Weinstein… Editor-in-chief of The Foreign Desk, Lisa Daftari… Jerusalem-born rapper and YouTuber with 502 million views, Rucka Rucka Ali turns 39… English fashion model, Daisy Rebecca Lowe turns 37… Former basketball point guard, including for the Israeli women’s national basketball team, she is now a coordinator at Herzl Camp in Wisconsin, Jacqui Kalin turns 37… Community engagement coordinator at the Raleigh-Cary (NC) JCC, Grace Fantle Kaplan… Managing partner of Netz Capital, Lia Michal Weiner Tsur… Manager at Deloitte, Joshua Henderson…
Plus, a preview of Davos 2026
Amir Levy/Getty Images
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speaks at a press conference on US-Israel relations on February 17, 2025
👋 Good Friday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at what Cameron Kasky’s withdrawal from the NY-12 congressional race says about the influence of social media on political campaigns, and preview the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, which begins on Monday. We profile Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton, who became a household name during the COVID-19 pandemic when she led the state’s department of health, and talk to Israeli bobsled team pilot AJ Edelman as the Jewish state appears set to send a bobsledding team to the Winter Olympic Games for the first time. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Josh Harris, Rachel Goldberg-Polin and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz.
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.
Ed. note: The next Daily Kickoff will arrive on Tuesday, Jan. 20. Enjoy the long weekend!
For less-distracted reading over the weekend, browse this week’s edition of The Weekly Print, a curated print-friendly PDF featuring a selection of recent Jewish Insider and eJewishPhilanthropy stories, including: Marine vet Ryan Crosswell aims to flip GOP-held Pennsylvania congressional seat; Mamdani’s antisemitism strategy: Reluctant to confront extremist threats while pledging to protect Jews; and Saudi Arabia’s talks to acquire Chinese-Pakistani JF-17 jets could complicate its pursuit of U.S. F-35s. Print the latest edition here.
What We’re Watching
- Mossad Director David Barnea is in the U.S. today, where he’s slated to meet with White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in Miami to discuss Iran.
- Jacob Helberg, the U.S. under secretary of state for economic affairs, is in Israel today, where he will sign a joint artificial intelligence statement this afternoon with Israel’s National AI Directorate head, Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Erez Eskel. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar will attend the event, being held at Jerusalem’s City of David.
- Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) yesterday announced a last-minute trip to Israel, where he’ll meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The trip comes days after President Donald Trump opted against immediate military action in Iran (more below) at the behest of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and Oman — as well as Israel, which reportedly asked Trump to delay any strikes on Iran in order to give Jerusalem more time to prepare for an Iranian reprisal targeting Israel.
- New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, the first Jewish speaker of the council, is slated to announce a new legislative package to combat antisemitism in the city that includes an expansion of security funding for guards and safety officers, cameras for Jewish schools, mandating and funding security training at religious institutions, the creation of a hotline to report incidents of antisemitism to the city’s Commission on Human Rights, a call for the NYPD to establish perimeters around schools and places of worship, and over $1 million to support Holocaust education. Menin will make the announcement this morning at the Museum of Jewish Heritage.
- Iran International is hosting a town hall event this afternoon with former CIA Director Gen. (Ret.) David Petraeus.
- The Israeli American Council’s annual summit continues today in Hollywood, Fla.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MATTHEW KASSEL
Cameron Kasky’s announcement on Wednesday that he was ending his bid for a coveted open House seat in the heart of Manhattan and pivoting to focus on advocating for human rights in the West Bank didn’t come as much of a surprise — given the 25-year-old progressive political activist’s almost exclusive fixation on targeting Israel as a first-time candidate.
Kasky, a Democratic upstart who was among a range of contenders vying to succeed retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) in the 12th Congressional District, had recently returned from a visit to the West Bank, and his experience meeting with Palestinians had left him with “one concern,” he said, motivating his decision to drop out of the primary and seek to promote legislation to counter Israeli settler violence in the territory.
Without providing specifics, Kasky said he looked forward to sharing more details of what he called a “West Bank human rights emergency plan” and said he had “consulted with experts extremely well-versed in the matter” to ensure that “the t’s are crossed and the i’s are dotted.”
Still, while Kasky framed his so far loosely defined next act as a “chance to do what must be done” in the wake of his brief “human rights-centered campaign,” as he described it, his explanation about the sudden withdrawal avoided mentioning that he had been seen as an unserious candidate struggling to gain any traction in the crowded race.
His harsh criticism of Israel generated online attention and helped him to build a relatively sizable and enthusiastic following on social media.
But Kasky’s early exit from the June primary, just two months after launching his bid, illustrates how digital clout is not a reliable indicator of meaningful voter support, particularly as a growing number of influencers has sought unsuccessfully to convert online popularity into a seat in Congress in a range of recent primaries.
It also underscores how Kasky’s anti-Israel views were likely alienating to many voters in one of the most heavily Jewish districts in the country — even as several far-left challengers across New York are taking on pro-Israel incumbents. One Democratic operative familiar with the district, which covers the Upper East and West Sides, called Kasky’s hostile positions on Israel a form of political “kryptonite.”
TO STRIKE OR NOT TO STRIKE
The red line that wasn’t: Will Trump back down from attacking Iran?
Even as President Donald Trump backed away from taking immediate military action against Iran, several leading foreign policy analysts believe a U.S. strike against the Islamic Republic remains a possibility, arguing that the administration may be deliberately keeping Tehran off balance and preserving its military options, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
Options open: “Even though Trump did not direct strikes on Wednesday, he is keeping options open,” said Dana Stroul, the research director at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, pointing to the administration’s decision to reposition the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier from the Indo-Pacific to the Middle East. “The buildup of military posture in the region over the coming weeks keeps plenty of military options on the table and maintains pressure on the Iranian regime.”
On the Hill: A bipartisan group of 59 House lawmakers sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday urging the State Department to continue condemning Iran’s crackdown on protesters across the country, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.
TIES TESTED
Graham questions Saudi alliance amid reports that Gulf states urged Trump against Iran strikes
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) warned on Thursday that he would be “dramatically rethinking” the “nature of” the U.S. alliance with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states if they “intervened on behalf of Iran to avoid decisive military action” by President Donald Trump against the Iranian regime. Graham made the comments in a post Thursday morning on X in response to reports that Gulf states including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman urged Trump against striking Tehran to avoid disrupting oil markets and sparking broader regional conflict, and without a clear succession plan for regime change, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.
What he said: “All the headlines suggesting that our so-called Arab allies have intervened on behalf of Iran to avoid decisive military action by President Trump are beyond disturbing. The ayatollah’s regime has American blood on its hands. They are slaughtering people in the streets,” Graham wrote on X. “If it is accurate that the Arab response is ‘action is not necessary against Iran’ given this current outrageous slaughter of innocent people, then there will be a dramatic rethinking on my part regarding the nature of the alliances now and in the future.”
DOCTOR’S ORDERS
Amy Acton became a household name in Ohio — now, she wants to be governor
Amy Acton is running for governor of Ohio this November as an outsider: a Democrat challenging 15 years of Republican gubernatorial rule, a medical doctor with no political experience, a “scrappy kid” from Youngstown who experienced homelessness as a child. But over a three-month period in the spring of 2020, she became a household name across the state. Every night, Ohioans watched Acton, then the statewide health director, in a white lab coat, describing the state’s COVID-19 precautions and trying to calm the anxiety people felt at the start of a new pandemic. Now, Acton is mounting her first political campaign — a bid for governor in a former swing state that has trended redder and redder in recent elections, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Affordability focus: Acton, perhaps cognizant of the angst that followed pandemic shutdowns and mask mandates, is not making her COVID-era fame the focal point of her campaign. In a statement to JI, Acton said her campaign will focus on one of the most animating issues for voters and politicians alike right now: affordability. “I’m running for governor because people in my state are struggling with rising costs. There’s no breathing room,” Acton, who would be Ohio’s first Jewish governor if elected, said. “I refuse to look the other way while special interests and bad actors try to take our state backwards on nearly every measure. Everywhere I go, Ohioans are ready for change.”
TRADITION AMID TRANSITION
At Davos 2026, much change — but Shabbat dinner remains
The World Economic Forum kicks off in Davos, Switzerland, on Monday, with topics set to address a world that has been much changed since the last gathering a year ago. For one thing, founder Klaus Schwab will no longer be front and center, following his departure as WEF chair last spring; instead, attendees will hear from WEF President and CEO Børge Brende, WEF co-chairs André Hoffmann and Laurence Fink, and Swiss President Guy Parmelin when the first plenary convenes on Tuesday morning, Jewish Insider’s Melissa Weiss reports.
Admin attendance: Marking a shift from the Biden administration, during which only senior White House officials attended the forum, President Donald Trump will travel to Davos, where he is slated to speak on Wednesday afternoon local time. Joining Trump is a delegation that includes White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and AI and crypto czar David Sacks.
A fixture: Some attendees will depart Davos on Friday following the conclusion of official events, but others will stay for the annual Shabbat dinner, attended by a who’s who of Jewish — and non-Jewish — guests.
CASE CONTINUES
Court rules protest leader Mahmoud Khalil can be rearrested
A federal appeals court ruled on Thursday that former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, a leader of the school’s anti-Israel protest movement, could be rearrested. Khalil was released in June from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Louisiana, where he had been held for three months, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
Panel ruling: A three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reopened the case on Thursday, instructing the lower court to dismiss Khalil’s habeas petition, a court filing that challenged his incarceration and eventually secured his release. In a 2-1 ruling, the panel decided that the federal district court in New Jersey that issued Khalil’s release did not have jurisdiction over the matter and that it should have been handled in immigration court, which is part of the executive branch overseen by the Justice Department, meaning Khalil is now liable to be rearrested.
MILAN 2026
Israel set to send a bobsledding team to the Winter Olympic Games for the first time
The Israeli bobsled team’s road to the Winter Olympics in Milan has been as twisting and winding as the Eugenio Monti Sliding Centre course in Cortina that will take sleighers hurtling down a mountain in the Italian Dolomites. The four-man team is part of a small group of Israeli winter athletes who have been training hard to qualify to compete at the highest level, but they have faced additional challenges on their road to the elite competition. In contrast to their fellow competitors, most of the Israeli team has been serving in IDF reserve duty during the Gaza war, missing key training days and competitions. The team has also faced obstacles from the Israeli Olympic Committee. Now, despite it all, the athletes are likely to qualify for the Milan games, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
AJ’s aspirations: Israeli bobsled team pilot Adam “AJ” Edelman, 34, grew up in an Orthodox family in Brookline, Mass.; his older brother is Emmy-winning comedian Alex Edelman. Playing competitive winter sports since preschool, Edelman made aliyah in 2016 and represented Israel in skeleton in the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games. After that, he set a goal to bring the first Israeli bobsled team to the Olympics. On Sunday, the four-man Israeli team finished fifth in the North American Cup at Lake Placid, N.Y., likely clinching a spot in Milan. Edelman said that an Israeli bobsled team would stand out and be remembered, “a legacy performance. It’s like the actual talented version of ‘Cool Runnings,’” he said, referring to the John Candy film about an unlikely Jamaican bobsled team competing in the 1988 Olympics.
Worthy Reads
Fear Factor: In The New York Times, Stanford University professor Abbas Milan posits that the Iranian leadership’s leveraging of fear and repression to maintain control over the country for decades is no longer as powerful as it once was. “The fearlessness shown by the demonstrators is why this uprising may prove enduring. Western powers should take this into account in supporting them; ignoring these increasingly powerful movements means forfeiting the chance to help the people of Iran rid themselves of this nightmare and to bring about a more peaceful and democratic Middle East. Fear is the cement of every authoritarian structure. Not ideology, not theology, not even brute force on its own can keep the towering edifice in place. Fear does. When it dissipates, the usual tools of oppression, from prisons and thugs, to murder and official media, lose their power to dissuade a disgruntled population from rising up. Bereft of fear, the question is no longer whether authoritarian rule will collapse, but when.” [NYTimes]
Wrong on Iran All Along: Foreign Policy’s Steven Cook considers the faulty beliefs underlying decades of U.S. foreign policy vis-à-vis Iran. “The revolutionary ardor of its leadership was actually a rhetorical cover for an Iran that was practical and realistic. This framing led to the notion that Iran’s leaders were susceptible to American, or Western, diplomacy and financial incentives. … A full-on Foucauldian ‘archaeology of knowledge’ is not necessary to figure out where these ideas come from and how they have been reinforced. They stem from the preferences of people who have power in Washington (both Democrats and Republicans), who they choose as their interlocutors, and how they imagine the world. The result is that certain Iranian expats get to share their views with senior U.S. officials, opine on the media, and participate in war games and other simulations with various U.S. government agencies.”[FP]
Oh, Canada!: In Newsweek, Jesse Brown warns that rising anti-Israel activity in Canada and Ottawa’s response to it are laying the groundwork for more attacks targeting the country’s already vulnerable Jewish community. “Statistics confirm the extent of the crisis. Though Jews comprise less than 1 percent of Canada’s population, we are now the number one target of police-reported hate crimes targeting religion. A comparison of Statistics Canada data against FBI data shows that a Jew in Canada is significantly more likely to be the target of a police-reported hate crime than a Jew in America. The weak responses from Canadian leaders to antisemitism stand in stark contrast to their forceful condemnations of Israel. [Canadian Prime Minister Mark] Carney has even promised to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu should he ever set foot on Canadian soil. The protesters are emboldened by these high-level validations and have shifted their targets from elected officials to their Jewish neighbors.” [Newsweek]
Word on the Street
President Donald Trump announced the creation of the Board of Peace, adding that names of the group’s members would soon be made public; Jared Kushner, who served in the first Trump administration and has been a key player in ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, hailed the board’s creation as “a historic new beginning in the Middle East”…
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz said during an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council meeting on Thursday that “all options are on the table” in terms of a U.S. response to Iran’s crackdowns on protests; Iran’s deputy envoy to the U.N. criticized what he alleged was Washington’s “direct involvement in steering unrest in Iran to violence”…
The Treasury Department announced new sanctions on Iranian officials, including Ali Larijani, the head of Iran’s national security council, over the country’s violent crackdown on protesters…
The U.S. criticized South Africa’s allowance of Iran’s participation in naval exercises off the coast of Africa this week; the exercises included several members of the BRICS nations, including China and Russia…
Paul Atkins, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, is in Israel this week; Atkins met yesterday with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee…
Reps. Greg Landsman (D-OH) and Max Miller (R-OH) wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging the Department of State to support efforts by Israel’s Magen David Adom to acquire U.S.-built armored ambulances…
Reps. Dave Min (D-CA) and Claudia Tenney (R-NY) sent a letter, signed by 15 additional House members, to Trump, calling on the State Department to work with the congressionally funded Open Technology Fund to help restore internet access in Iran…
Gothamist does a deep dive into efforts by the Mamdani mayoral administration in New York to fast-track its appointments process, resulting in the hiring of at least one official who was found to have made antisemitic remarks on social media…
Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris purchased the historic Halcyon House in Washington’s Georgetown neighborhood for $28 million…
eJewishPhilanthropy’s Jay Deitcher spotlights a new initiative by a St. Louis rabbi that uses AI to map Torah commentary…
A London art gallery is putting up for sale four sketches by British art and spy Brian Stonehouse, who was captured by the Nazis while working undercover with the French Resistance and sent to Dachau; Stonehouse’s works, drawn in charcoal the day after he was liberated from Dachau, depicted both victims of the Holocaust as well as their surroundings…
Random House announced the upcoming publication of Rachel Goldberg-Polin’s memoir, When We See You Again, about the effort to free her son from Hamas captivity; the book, which she said “recounts the first steps of a million-mile odyssey that will take the rest of my life to walk on shattered feet,” will hit stores on April 21…
Senior Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad members, including a local commander of the al-Qassam Brigades, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip on Thursday…
Israel’s Defense Ministry reported a 40% increase in cases of post-traumatic stress disorder among soldiers since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, with more than half of soldiers being treated for war injuries having been diagnosed with PTSD…
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office announced that Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who was killed at a TPUSA event in September, will be posthumously honored at the upcoming International Conference on Combating Antisemitism in Jerusalem later this month…
The Financial Times reports on the Iranian regime’s efforts to quell the country’s anti-government protests, which included training live fire on unarmed demonstrators and cutting off internet access and international phone calls…Attorney Leonard Jacoby, who with his law school friend Stephen Meyers started a firm to provide low-cost legal support to the majority of Americans who either couldn’t afford quality legal counsel or qualified for government-assisted legal services, died at 83…
Pic of the Day
Survivors of the Nova Music Festival massacre gathered on Wednesday, together with families of victims of the attack, for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and guided site visit at the Diane Goldman Kemper & Robin Kemper Home for Inclusivity, located in the Ilanot Forest outside of Netanya, Israel. The event marked the public unveiling of Beit Nova, a permanent home dedicated to recovery, support and remembrance for survivors and bereaved families, funded primarily by UJA-Federation of New York. Pictured at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, from left: Mark Medin, the federation’s executive vice president; Eric Goldstein, its CEO; Ofir Amir, co-founder and survivor of the Nova Music Festival; and Reef Peretz, chairperson of The Tribe of Nova Foundation.
Birthdays
Film and stage actor best known for his roles on “The West Wing” and “The Big Bang Theory,” Joshua Malina turns 60 on Saturday…
FRIDAY: Founder of Jones Apparel Group (including Jones New York, Stuart Weitzman and Nine West) and film producer, Sidney J. Kimmel turns 98… Author of 12 novels for young adults, sports journalist for The New York Times, ESPN, CBS and NBC, he served as the ombudsman for ESPN, Robert Lipsyte turns 88… Real estate developer, a superfan of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, he is known for sitting courtside at every home game, Alan “Sixth Man” Horwitz turns 82… Socially conservative talk radio host and relationship advisor since 1975, on Sirius XM Radio since 2011, author of over 20 books, Dr. Laura Schlessinger turns 79… Chef, food writer, culinary editor for the Modern Library, host of PBS’ “Gourmet’s Adventures With Ruth,” recipient of six James Beard Awards, Ruth Reichl turns 78… Sephardi chief rabbi of Israel until mid-2024 and dean of Yeshivat Hazon Ovadia, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef turns 74… Uzbekistan-born Israeli entrepreneur and industrialist, Michael Cherney turns 74… Longtime VP for government affairs and director of the Washington office of Agudath Israel of America, Abba Cohen turns 70… CEO of Belfor Property Restoration with more than 14,000 employees spanning 34 countries, he appeared in an Emmy-nominated episode of CBS’ “Undercover Boss,” Sheldon Yellen turns 68… Founder, chairman and CEO of RealNetworks which produces RealAudio, RealVideo and RealPlayer, Robert Denis “Rob” Glaser turns 64… First employee and subsequently first president of eBay, internet entrepreneur, philanthropist and movie producer, Jeffrey Skoll turns 61… Educational entrepreneur with a Ph.D. in behavioral psychology, she is the founder and CEO of Cognition Builders, Ilana Kukoff… Senior editorial producer at CNN, Debbie Berger Fox… Chair of the Cheviot Hills chapter of WIZO USA, The Women’s International Zionist Organization, Amy Graiwer turns 53… Former U.S. ambassador to Jordan, now VP for outreach at the Middle East Institute, Yael Lempert turns 52… San Francisco-based technology reporter for The New York Times, Sheera Frenkel… Assistant professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, he is a former speechwriter for Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and former Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), Rob Goodman… Canadian actor and singer, Jacob Lee “Jake” Epstein turns 39… Attorney working in South Florida real estate development, David Ptalis… Left wing for the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, he won the NHL’s 2019 award for leadership based upon his philanthropic efforts, Jason Zucker turns 34… Israeli actress and singer, the eighth winner of “Kokhav Nolad,” the Israeli version of “Pop Idol,” Diana Golbi turns 34… Israeli professional Muay Thai and kickboxing fighter, Nili Block turns 31… Joseph Bornstein…
SATURDAY: Former two-term member of Congress from Iowa, he is the father-in-law of Chelsea Clinton, Edward Mezvinsky turns 89… Host of television’s tabloid talk show “Maury,” now a podcaster, Maury Povich turns 87… Former reporter, columnist and editor covering religion, education and NYC neighborhoods for The New York Times, he is the author of four books, Joseph Berger turns 81… Retired president of the Supreme Court of Israel, now teaching at University of Haifa Law School, Asher Dan Grunis turns 81… Actor who has appeared in over 100 different television series and commercials, Todd Susman turns 79… Australia’s chief scientist until 2020, he is an engineer, entrepreneur, philanthropist and former Chancellor of Monash University, Alan Finkel turns 73… Economist, professor, New York Times best-selling author and social entrepreneur, Paul Zane Pilzer turns 72… President and co-founder of Bluelight Strategies, Steve Rabinowitz turns 69… Journalist-in-residence at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Joanne Kenen… Chair of zoology at the University of Wyoming, she was the Democratic nominee in the 2020 U.S. Senate election in Wyoming, Merav Ben-David turns 67… Majority owner of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, founder and chairman of Quicken Loans, Dan Gilbert turns 64… Professor of Law at Harvard University, Jesse M. Fried turns 63… Former first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama turns 62… Film director, television director, screenwriter and film producer, Bartholomew “Bart” Freundlich turns 56… Founder and CEO at NYC-based Rosewood Realty Group, Aaron Jungreis… President of the Jerusalem-based Israel Democracy Institute, he was previously a member of the Knesset for the Kadima party, Yohanan Plesner turns 54… DC-based partner at PR firm FGS Global, Jeremy Pelofsky… Professional dancer who has competed in 17 seasons of Dancing with the Stars, Maksim Chmerkovskiy turns 46… Film and television actor, Scott Mechlowicz turns 45… Director of foundation relations at J Street, Becca Freedman… Executive director at SRE Network, promoting Safe, Respectful and Equitable Jewish workplaces and communal spaces, Rachel Gildiner… Legal director at Hillspire and lecturer at Columbia University, Perry Isaac Teicher… Film and television actor, Max Adler turns 40… Retired player for MLB’s San Diego Padres, he also played for Team Israel in 2013 and 2017, now an on-air radio and television host, Cody Decker turns 39… Winner of the $1 million prize as the “Sole Survivor” on Season 26 of Survivor, he has since become a writer for three television shows, John Martin Cochran turns 39… Chief growth officer at Non-Profit Organization, Jason Freeman… SVP of communications at Better Medicare Alliance, Rebecca Berg Buck turns 36… Senior digital support strategist at ACLU, she was social media lead for VPOTUS-candidate Tim Walz during the 2024 presidential campaign, Alyssa Franke… Ohio Statehouse reporter for Cleveland’s ABC News 5 WEWS, Morgan Rachel Trau turns 28…
SUNDAY: Rosh yeshiva of Ner Israel Rabbinical College, Rabbi Aharon Feldman turns 94… Israeli insurance and banking executive, he served as a member of the Knesset from 1978 until 1981, Shlomo Eliahu turns 90… Retired executive director of the Israel on Campus Coalition of Greater Washington, Judy Novenstein… Publisher of a weekly community newspaper in Boston founded in 2016, David Jacobs… Executive editor at The 74 Media, JoAnne Wasserman… Microbiologist and professor of biology at Wichita State University, Mark A. Schneegurt turns 64… Former commissioner of the Social Security Administration, governor of Maryland and mayor of Baltimore, Martin O’Malley turns 63… Executive chairman of Aspen Square Management, Jeremy Pava turns 63… Executive director of Ohr Yisroel, Rabbi Yitz Greenman… Journalist and author of two New York Times bestsellers on personal finance, Beth Kobliner turns 61… Stand-up comedian, actor and writer, he is best known as the host of an eponymous Comedy Central program, Dave Attell turns 61… Senior rabbi of Golders Green United Synagogue in London for 20 years until 2023, Rabbi Dr. Harvey Belovski turns 58… President of the World Mizrachi movement, dean of the Jerusalem College of Technology (Machon Lev), he is also the rabbi of the Gush Etzion Regional Council, Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon turns 58… NYC real estate entrepreneur, Andrew Heiberger turns 58… VP of government and airport affairs at JetBlue, Jeffrey Goodell… Former MLB All-Star and Gold Glove catcher, now a real estate investor, Mike Lieberthal turns 54… VP for communications and government affairs at Princeton University, Gadi Dechter… Samara Yudof Jones… Actor and screenwriter, best known for his role in the CBS sitcom “How I Met Your Mother,” Jason Jordan Segel turns 46… Baltimore-born basketball player, dubbed by Sports Illustrated as the “Jewish Jordan” in a 1999 feature, Tamir Goodman turns 44… Israeli-born comedian and actor, best known for his web series “Jake and Amir” (with Jake Hurwitz), Amir Shmuel Blumenfeld turns 43… Chief development officer at Cleveland-based The Centers, Stacey Rubenfeld… British actor, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd turns 38… Senior associate consultant at Evolve Giving Group, formerly deputy political director of the Midwest Region of AIPAC, Talia Alter Gevaryahu… Cellist and music professor, he has performed as a soloist with more than 30 symphonies, Julian Schwarz turns 35… Singer, songwriter, actress and dancer with more than 9.1 million followers on TikTok, Montana Tucker turns 33… All-Star pitcher with the New York Yankees, Max Fried turns 32… Linda Rubin…
Plus, Trump favors strikes on Iran over diplomacy
Russell Yip/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
California State Senator Scott Wiener addresses the SF Chronicle Editorial Board on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018 in San Francisco, Calif.
Good Monday afternoon!
This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
It’s me again — Danielle Cohen-Kanik, U.S. editor at Jewish Insider and curator, along with assists from my colleagues, of the Daily Overtime. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
The suspect in the arson attack that destroyed Mississippi’s largest synagogue early Saturday morning confessed to targeting the building because of its “Jewish ties,” Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
In an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Mississippi more than 48 hours after the attack, the FBI said the suspect, Stephen Spencer Pittman, 19, admitted to starting the blaze at Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Miss., due to “the building’s Jewish ties” and referred to the institution as the “synagogue of Satan” in an interview with the Jackson Fire Department. Pittman was charged with “maliciously damaging or destroying a building by means of fire or an explosive”…
President Donald Trump said Iranian officials made contact with the U.S. over the weekend and proposed restarting nuclear negotiations, telling reporters, “A meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting,” referring to the U.S. potentially taking military action in Iran over its violent crackdown on protesters around the country.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also spoke with White House special envoy Steve Witkoff in recent days about the protests, Axios reports; White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters today that an Iranian government official who spoke to Witkoff “express[ed] a far different tone than what you’re seeing publicly.”
Trump is currently leaning toward authorizing military strikes rather than engaging in diplomacy, The Wall Street Journal reports, and he is scheduled to hold a briefing tomorrow with advisors, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, to make a determination…
California Jewish communal organizations released a joint statement today condemning state Sen. Scott Wiener’s remarks on Israel, after the Jewish House candidate said in a video statement yesterday that he is changing his position and will now call Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide.
“We recognize that Senator Wiener has been a strong supporter of the Jewish community throughout the Israel-Hamas war and his many years of public service, and that he has directly experienced antisemitic attacks simply for being Jewish. Unfortunately, Senator Wiener’s newly stated position is both incorrect and lacks moral clarity. … We call on the Senator and our elected, civic, and education leaders to recognize and reflect on the consequences of their words in this fraught and polarizing environment,” the statement read…
In a major recruiting win for Senate Democrats, former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) announced her run against Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) today, JI’s Marc Rod reports, giving Democrats an outside chance of picking up the red-state Senate seat.
Peltola maintained a strongly pro-Israel voting record during her one term in the House, breaking on numerous occasions with a majority of her party to vote for measures supporting the Jewish state post-Oct. 7, including supporting a stand-alone Israel aid package opposed by many Democrats. Sullivan, for his part, has been a hawkish pro-Israel voice in the Senate, and has pushed for a more aggressive stance toward Iran…
Democratic Maryland state Del. Adrian Boafo is launching a bid to succeed his former mentor, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), as the former House majority leader retires. Boafo, who served as campaign manager for Hoyer, is expected to be the party favorite in the primary, Politico reports. Former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, who rose to prominence after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, is also considering joining the race…
In another race to watch, Rep. Nellie Pou (D-NJ) in New Jersey’s 9th Congressional District gained another opponent in Tiffany Burress, a Republican political newcomer and wife of former NFL wide receiver Plaxico Burress. On the first day of her campaign, Burress has already secured the backing of several GOP county chairs, as the party looks to flip the seat away from Pou after Trump unexpectedly carried the district in 2024…
Former Obama administration officials and Crooked Media hosts Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett and Ben Rhodes are hosting a fundraiser in Hollywood, Calif., on Thursday for Abdul El-Sayed, a far-left, anti-Israel candidate running for Senate in Michigan, JI’s Marc Rod reports.
El-Sayed, a physician and former director of the Wayne County Department of Health, has made his criticisms of Israel a centerpiece of his campaign, blasting other candidates in the race as being insufficiently hostile to the Jewish state. Favreau, Lovett and Rhodes, on their “Pod Save America” and “Pod Save the World” podcasts, have also emerged as a vocal force against Israel and AIPAC in the Democratic Party, and have boosted prominent anti-Israel candidates in other hot-button primaries…
The future of the Israeli Lounge at the Trump-Kennedy Center is reportedly in peril, eJewishPhilanthropy‘s Judah Ari Gross reports, “unless a major donor from the Jewish community steps up and makes a large donation,” far-right commentator Laura Loomer said over the weekend. The center’s president, Richard Grenell, is seeking to renovate the space; Loomer has suggested Qatar may look to provide the funds for the room’s overhaul…
The New York Times reports on the brewing fight between states over the order of 2028 Democratic presidential primary elections…
Dina Powell McCormick, a banking executive, former deputy national security advisor to Trump and wife of Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA), was named president and vice chair of Meta, reporting to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Axios reports. Zuckerberg said in a statement that Powell McCormick will focus on “partnering with governments and sovereigns to build, deploy, invest in, and finance Meta’s AI and infrastructure”…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for more details on the motives and background of the suspected arsonist who set fire to the Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Miss., over the weekend.
President Donald Trump will receive a major briefing on avenues for responding to Iran’s violent suppression of protests, including cyber, economic and military options.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will deliver her State of the State address in Albany, where she plans to announce her proposal to create a 25-foot buffer zone around houses of worship and health-care facilities. (The legislation, while welcomed by major Jewish groups, would not have prevented the pro-Hamas protest that disrupted a Queens community last week, which took place approximately 300 feet away from the targeted synagogue.) New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is expected to be in attendance.
Stories You May Have Missed
VENEZUELAN VIEWS
After years in exile, Venezuelan Jews celebrate the fall of Maduro
Some Venezuelan Jews see similarities in the response of far-left activists to Trump’s capture of Maduro and their criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza
ON ALERT
Hezbollah’s continued presence in south Lebanon alarms Israel, despite disarmament claims
The Lebanese Armed Forces said it took operational control south of the Litani River, but has fallen well short of fully disarming the terrorist group
Plus, how Jewish Venezuelans are viewing Maduro's ouster
(Iranian state TV via AP)
This frame grab from a video released Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, by Iranian state television shows cars driving past burning vehicles during a night of mass protests in Tehran, Iran.
👋 Good Friday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at the growing pressure facing the Iranian regime as the protests sweeping the Islamic Republic expand into all of the country’s 31 provinces, and talk to legislators about President Donald Trump’s threats to Tehran over its crackdown on the demonstrations. We report on New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s successful effort to kill a resolution that would have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, and talk to Venezuelan Jews living in South Florida about the Trump administration’s arrest of Nicolás Maduro. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Rep. Steny Hoyer, Steven Spielberg and Massad Boulos.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by Jewish Insider Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with an assist from Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
For less-distracted reading over the weekend, browse this week’s edition of The Weekly Print, a curated print-friendly PDF featuring a selection of recent Jewish Insider and eJewishPhilanthropy stories, including: U.S. lawmakers weigh in on fears of Saudi Arabia accommodating Islamists; New York Jewish leaders hope Menin will serve as check against Mamdani; and Why Israel recognized Somaliland — and what the rest of the world might do next. Print the latest edition here.
What We’re Watching
- President Donald Trump is meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio this morning, followed by a lunch between the president and Vice President JD Vance. Trump will meet in the afternoon with oil and gas executives to discuss the situation in Venezuela.
- Jacob Helberg, the undersecretary of state for economic affairs, is traveling to the Middle East through next weekend. He’s slated to meet with senior officials in Israel, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In the UAE, he’ll lead the U.S. delegation to the U.S.-UAE Economic Policy Dialogue.
- We’re continuing to monitor the situation in Iran, where protests escalated last night as the regime cut off internet and international phone calls, limiting the amount of information that could leave the Islamic Republic. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a video address that Trump’s hands were “stained with the blood of Iranians” for having voiced support for the protesters.
- Ongoing current events coincide with the long-delayed release of the third season of the Israeli series “Tehran,” which drops today on Apple TV in the U.S.
- Tomorrow, Rabbi David Wolpe will sit in conversation with the Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt at Los Angeles’ Sinai Temple, where Wolpe is the Max Webb Rabbi Emeritus.
- Awards season kicks off on Sunday night with the Golden Globes. Up for Best Motion Picture and Best Screenplay is “Marty Supreme,” based on the life of table tennis player Martin Reisman (with star Timothée Chalamet nominated for Best Actor). “It Was Just An Accident,” a thriller by acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi (who also received nominations for Best Director and Best Screenplay), and “The Voice Of Hind Rajab,” about a young Palestinian girl who died during the Israel-Hamas war, are both nominated for Best Film in a non-English language. Adam Brody was nominated for Best Actor for his starring role in the TV show “Nobody Wants This,” and Jason Isaacs was nominated for his “White Lotus” performance in the Best Supporting Actor category. Comics Sarah Silverman and Brett Goldstein are both nominated for their stand-up specials.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MATTHEW SHEA
The United States, Israel and their regional allies are watching closely as sustained unrest in Iran puts renewed pressure on the regime at a moment of economic strain, international isolation and lingering fallout from the 12-day war with Israel last June.
Recent demonstrations have spread across all 31 of Iran’s provinces, fueled by public anger over a collapsing economy, inflation exceeding 40% and aggressive crackdowns by security forces. Economic pressure — intensified by costly proxy wars and United Nations sanctions — have sent Iran’s currency into a sharp decline.
Jonathan Ruhe, a fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, said the regime’s “unwillingness to be responsive to its people’s basic demands and rights,” is also a factor. Adding that Tehran has a “clear preference to spend the country’s resources on military projects like its proxies, missiles and nuclear program instead of its citizens’ well-being.”
More than 400 demonstrations took place this week alone, with at least 743 recorded over the past month, according to a tracker from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. The death toll has reached at least 38, with more than 2,200 arrests reported. The demonstrations are the largest since April 2025 and among the most sustained since late 2022 as videos continue to circulate online of Iranians flooding the streets, burning regime flags and lighting fire to statues of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Ruhe said that uprisings by the Iranian people against the regime are not uncommon. “In 2009 it was political corruption, when the regime clearly stole the presidential election to get [former President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad reelected,” he said. “In 2017-18 it was economic and foreign policy issues, for instance Iranians being killed in the Syrian civil war and the regime’s lavish spending on its proxies instead of at home. In 2022 it was social and cultural issues, namely hijab enforcement.”
But experts say what is unfolding now could be more significant than protests of the past, expressing to Jewish Insider that recent developments could pose an unprecedented challenge to a regime already under strain.
PROTEST PRESSURE
GOP senators back Trump’s threat to Iranian regime over protest crackdown
Multiple Senate Republicans voiced support for President Donald Trump’s threat that the U.S. would intervene directly should the Iranian regime crack down on the escalating protests across Iran — crackdowns that appear to have already begun, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Emily Jacobs report.
What they’re saying: “President Trump has been very clear: If the ayatollah harms the protesters, the consequences would be catastrophically painful,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) told JI. “The regime should understand that the president is deadly serious and will enjoy strong support in Congress.” Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) told JI that “what the president said … [is] one of the things that we can do to help protect the Iranians who are protesting.” Other senators spoke more broadly about offering U.S. support for the protesters without addressing direct intervention, with one noting that lawmakers haven’t discussed in detail at this point potential measures to respond.
Read the full story here with additional comments from Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), John Fetterman (D-PA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), James Lankford (R-OK), Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Andy Kim (D-NJ).
Strike support: Fetterman said on Thursday that he would support the U.S. striking Iran’s nuclear facilities again to prevent Tehran from rebuilding its nuclear program — if the regime is found to be making strides toward restoring sites damaged by U.S. and Israeli strikes last year, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.
VENEZUELAN VIEWS
After years in exile, Venezuelan Jews celebrate the fall of Maduro
When Valerie Stramwasser woke up on Saturday, Jan. 3, she glanced at her phone and saw hundreds of WhatsApp messages. “I’m like, ‘Oh my god, something happened.’ I first thought that it was something in the family, and then I opened up and I hear, ‘We’re free.’ We’re free. It happened,” Stramwasser told Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch on Thursday. “Literally tears of joy.” Stramwasser, 37, lives in Hollywood, Fla., with her husband and two children, but she grew up in Caracas, Venezuela. She was forced to flee the country as a teenager after a failed kidnapping attempt against her.
Miami move: Stramwasser is one of hundreds of thousands of those Venezuelans who now call Florida home, including several thousand Venezuelan Jews who have developed outposts of their once-strong Caracas community centers in Miami. “Growing up there, it was a community of about 28,000 Jews that were living there. It was a vibrant community, a very successful and respected community,” said Paul Kruss, a city commissioner in Aventura, Fla., who also owns a popular local bagel shop. His mother, who was from Warsaw, Poland, moved to Caracas after surviving the Holocaust. “Now there’s maybe 4,500 that live there, which should tell you all you need to know about the kind of brain drain that they had. It wasn’t only the Jewish community that fled.”
BILL BLOCK
Gov. Phil Murphy killed New Jersey antisemitism legislation, sources say
A high-profile New Jersey bill adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism is not expected to pass in the current New Jersey Assembly session, four sources familiar with the situation told Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod. Two sources said that Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, opposed the legislation and was a key obstacle to its passage.
Behind the scenes: The two sources blamed Murphy, the outgoing governor, for its failure, alleging that he did not want to be forced to make a decision whether to sign it. One source familiar with the situation emphasized that the legislation had the support to pass, but that Democratic leaders were reluctant to move the bill forward to a full vote — concerned that support for the bill would place some Democratic members in danger of progressive primary challenges in the future. Another source said that there had been significant finger-pointing between Murphy, Senate President Nicholas Scutari and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, with each blaming the others for the legislation’s failure to pass.
Meanwhile in Missouri: The Missouri state House is set to consider legislation adopting the IHRA definition in educational settings on Monday.
STORIED LEGACY
Rep. Hoyer’s retirement deprives Dems of leading pro-Israel stalwart
Democratic colleagues and leaders are lauding Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the longtime former No. 2 Democratic House leader, as a champion for Israel, and say that his retirement, announced Thursday, will deprive Democrats of one of the leading congressional advocates of a strong U.S.-Israel relationship, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Time in Congress: Hoyer, 86, has served in Congress since 1981, and was the second-most senior House Democrat from 2007-2023. A prominent voice respected by colleagues on both sides of the aisle, Hoyer has for years led AIPAC-linked American Israel Education Foundation’s trip to Israel for first-term Democrats. His retirement comes at a time of a sea change on Israel policy among Democratic lawmakers and the Democratic base.
NO COMMENT
Mamdani silent as pro-Hamas group protests near synagogue
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was silent regarding an anti-Israel protest in Queens on Thursday that caused nearby schools and a synagogue to close early in anticipation of the demonstration where protesters chanted “We support Hamas.” The radical group behind the protest, called Palestinian Assembly for Liberation [PAL]-Awda, wrote on social media Thursday afternoon that it would gather in the evening outside of an event held by CapitIL, a Jerusalem-based real estate agency, at the Modern Orthodox synagogue Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills. The post called it an “illegal event” promoting “blatant land theft and dispossession,” Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
What happened: Dozens of masked, keffiyeh-clad demonstrators gathered across the street from the synagogue and chanted, “We support Hamas here,” “There is only one solution, intifada revolution,” “Globalize the intifada” and “Death to the IDF” for more than two hours while banging on drums in the residential area in Queens’ heavily Jewish neighborhood of Kew Gardens Hills. One protester held a ripped Israeli flag that was painted red to resemble blood. The protest was also promoted by Columbia University Apartheid Divest.
Bonus: Mamdani met earlier this week with Steven Spielberg in the film director’s Manhattan home, in what The New York Times reported was a “friendly get-to-know-you conversation” between the new mayor and Spielberg, who became a New York resident the day of the inauguration.
HARGEISA HOPES
Somaliland’s top diplomat in Washington hopes for Jewish support in bid for additional recognition
Since Israel became the first state to formally recognize Somaliland as an independent nation last month, Bashir Goth, Somaliland’s top diplomat in Washington, was granted the opening he has been seeking since he began his posting in 2018: a chance to try to convince the United States to follow suit and recognize the independence of Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia that has governed itself for 35 years. “Our friends will be more active now, more vigorous, more encouraged by the Israeli recognition,” Goth told Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch in an interview on Wednesday.
Seizing the moment: Goth is hoping to capitalize on the rare occurrence of Somaliland being in the news, in part by attempting to rally American Jews to his cause. “We always built very strong relations and engagements with Jewish organizations in Washington, D.C., and they are more active now, more than any time before,” said Goth. “I think they will also be very, very helpful in pushing this forward.”
Bonus: Speaking to The National, Massad Boulos, the Trump administration’s senior advisor on Arab and Africa affairs said, “Somaliland is not a new issue. … [Israel is] free to have peace relationships and these partnerships. The United States so far has not changed its position on Somalia. For now, our policy is ‘one Somalia.’ Things may evolve in the future, I cant speculate. We’re continuously looking into these things and assessing these things. But as of now our policy has not changed.”
Worthy Reads
Softer Touch on Protesters: In The Wall Street Journal, Reuel Marc Gerecht and Ray Takeyh posit that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian are taking a less hard-line approach to the protests sweeping the country. “The government hopes a softer touch will cause the marchers to be satisfied with making their point. If not, the emollients favored by [Parliament Speaker Mohammad] Qalibaf and Pezeshkian will likely give way to the severity favored by the supreme leader and encouraged by Mr. Trump’s provocative challenge. For at least a century, the Iranian public has sought meaningful political participation while central governments resisted. With the exception of the 1979 revolution, the regimes prevailed. But Iranians have never remained satisfied with national bargains in which they forfeit political rights for economic dividends or social emancipation.” [WSJ]
Clash in the Gulf: In Foreign Policy, Marc Lynch looks at the dynamics between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as the countries clash in a number of theaters, including Yemen and Somalia. “[After the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks,] the UAE maintained its relations with Israel, positioning itself as the key Arab interlocutor for a post-Hamas Gaza and hoping to claim vindication for its strategy of tight alignment with Israel and Washington. Saudi Arabia, with a much more challenging domestic environment and its own ambitions for regional leadership, reverted to its traditional position of conditioning normalization with Israel on a credible path toward a Palestinian state. Unstated, but well understood, was that Riyadh never had any intention of joining an Abu Dhabi-led initiative. The crystallization of a divide between Saudi Arabia and the Emirati-Israeli alliance would force everyone in the region to take sides — something smaller states usually prefer to avoid. Most of the other Gulf states, such as Egypt, seem to be falling in line with Saudi Arabia. The competition could inflame civil wars, just as it did a decade earlier.” [FP]
Word on the Street
Five Senate Republicans — Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Susan Collins (R-ME), Todd Young (R-IN) and Rand Paul (R-KY) — voted with Democrats in favor of a war powers resolution limiting further military action in Venezuela without congressional approval…
Bloomberg reports on the White House’s exclusion of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard from the planning of the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro earlier this month due to Gabbard’s past opposition to U.S. military action in Venezuela…
Massad Boulos, the Trump administration’s senior advisor on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs, said that the U.S. will make an announcement about the Muslim Brotherhood in the coming days…
Politico looks at the wave of far-left Democrats critical of Israel who are who are mounting congressional bids, deepening divisions within the party and raising concerns that far-left candidates focused on Israel will drain campaign resources and damage eventual candidates’ efforts to win in the general election…
The Cooper Union settled a lawsuit brought forth by 10 Jewish students at the school who had been trapped in the New York university’s library for 20 minutes while anti-Israel students protested outside in an October 2023 incident …
Four former University of Rochester students pleaded guilty to intentionally damaging university property for their roles in posting “Wanted” posters accusing faculty and staff members of committing war crimes in Gaza; the students were expelled weeks after they were arrested…
New Jersey State Police are investigating an incident that took place on the New Jersey Turnpike on Wednesday in which a rock was thrown through a school bus window, fracturing the skull of an 8-year-old girl…
Approximately 30% of the workforce across the six locations of New York City eatery Breads Bakery is unionizing and making demands of the shop’s Israeli owners — including “a redistribution of profits, safer working conditions, more respect and an end to this company’s support of the genocide happening in Palestine”…
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a royal commission investigating antisemitism, following the terror attack targeting a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach last month…
The board of the Adelaide Writers’ Week festival in Australia disinvited anti-Israel activist and writer Randa Abdel-Fattah, saying her participation in the event would “not be culturally sensitive” during what the board described as an “unprecedented time so soon after Bondi”; Abdel-Fattah’s disinvitation prompted the withdrawal of several participants who had been slated to speak at the festival…
Politico breaks down the significance of the U.S.-brokered meeting between senior Israeli and Syrian officials in Paris this week, during which the parties agreed to create communications channels to more effectively coordinate on security, diplomatic and commercial issues…
The United Arab Emirates ceased funding scholarships for citizens who plan to study in the U.K.; the cut comes amid frustration from Emirati officials over London’s refusal to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization…
A new report from TRM Labs found that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps used two U.K.-based cryptocurrency exchanges to move approximately $1 billion over the last three years…
The Wall Street Journal does a deep dive into a shadow fleet with ties to Russia, Iran, China and Venezuela that moves oil around the world in violation of international sanctions…
Pic of the Day
Ahmed al-Ahmed, the Syrian-born man who tackled and disarmed one of the two gunmen in the Bondi Beach terrorist attack in Sydney that killed 15 people, visited Capitol Hill on Thursday, his arm still in a sling after being shot twice.
“What I want to say for the whole world around everywhere, in America, Australia, England, everywhere in the world, we must stand by each other and stay united, and peace for everyone. That’s my message,” al-Ahmed told Jewish Insider in between meetings with officials including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). Al-Ahmed was accompanied by Rabbi Yehoram Ulman (second from left), a Chabad leader in Sydney whose son-in-law was killed in the attack, and Rabbi Levi Shemtov (far left), the executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch. Al-Ahmed and Ulman also met jointly with Sens. Dave McCormick (R-PA) and John Fetterman (D-PA).
Birthdays
Actor with a recurring role in “Sex and the City” and author of two books on his recovery from acute myeloid leukemia, Evan Handler turns 65 on Saturday…
FRIDAY: Law professor at Georgetown University, Peter Edelman turns 88… Former member of the Swiss Federal Council and president of the Swiss Confederation in 1999, she is the first woman to ever hold this position, Ruth Dreifuss turns 86… Rabbi emeritus of Kehilath Israel Synagogue in Overland Park, Kan., Herbert Jay Mandl turns 81… Vice chairman of Gilbert Global Equity Partners, Steven Kotler… Pulitzer Prize-winning Supreme Court reporter for The New York Times for 40 years, she is now a lecturer and senior research scholar at Yale Law School Linda Greenhouse turns 79… Retired MLB umpire, he worked in 3,392 major league games in his 26-year career, his family name was Sklarz, Al Clark turns 78… Presidential historian, spokesman for the 9/11 Commission, and university lecturer, Alvin S. Felzenberg turns 77… Composer, singer, radio show host, and author, he has released seven albums under the name “Country Yossi,” Yossi Toiv turns 77… Actress, singer and songwriter, she is the half-sister of Barbra Streisand, Roslyn Kind turns 75… Australian author of more than 40 books of children’s and young adult fiction, including a five-book series about a 10-year-old Jewish boy in Nazi-occupied Poland, Morris Gleitzman turns 73… Former governor of the Bank of Israel from 2013 to 2018, Karnit Flug turns 71… International president of the Rabbinical Assembly, he is the rabbi of Beth El Synagogue in East Windsor, N.J., Rabbi Jay M. Kornsgold turns 61… Dean of the Bar-Ilan University law school, Michal Alberstein turns 57… Investment banker, Joel Darren Plasco turns 55… Justice of the High Court of Australia, James Joshua Edelman turns 52… Russian-born American novelist, journalist and literary translator, Keith A. Gessen turns 51… Filmmaker, she is the second lady of New York State, Lacey Schwartz Delgado turns 49… NFL insider and reporter for the NFL Network, Ian Rapoport turns 46… Chairman and CEO of Paramount Skydance and founder of Skydance Media, David Ellison turns 43… Israeli actress and model, best known for her role as Nurit in “Fauda,” Rona-Lee Shimon turns 43… Director of development and community relations at Manhattan Day School, Allison Liebman Rubin… Pulitzer Prize-winning staff writer at The New Yorker, Ben Taub turns 35… Enterprise account executive at Built, Madeline Peterson… Television and film actress, Nicola Anne Peltz Beckham turns 31…
SATURDAY: Physician and medical researcher, Bernard Salomon Lewinsky turns 83… Editor and publisher of Denver’s Intermountain Jewish News, historian and teacher of the Mussar movement, Rabbi Hillel Goldberg turns 80… President of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston for 30 years, now a professor at Brandeis, Barry Shrage turns 79… Former President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, Baron David Edmond Neuberger turns 78… Musician, singer-songwriter and co-founder of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band Steely Dan, Donald Fagen turns 78… World-renowned Israeli cellist, he has over 50 recordings on the Deutsche Grammophon label with many top orchestras, Mischa Maisky turns 78… U.S. senator (R-MO) from 2011-2023, Roy Blunt turns 76… Long-time editor at Bantam Books, Simon & Schuster and Crown Publishers, Sydny Weinberg Miner… Retired executive director at Beta Alpha Psi, the international honor society for accounting students, Hadassah (Dassie) Baum… Founder and CEO at Los Angeles-based Quantifiable Media and Tel Aviv-based Accords Consulting, Rose Kemps… Fellow for Religious Freedom at the Forum, Richard Thomas Foltin… Professor of American Jewish history at Brandeis University, he taught his last class in December 2024, Jonathan D. Sarna turns 71… President and CEO of the Nellis Management Company and past president of The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, Mark A. Levitt turns 70… Majority owner of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, Joe Lacob turns 70… Member of the Knesset for the United Torah Judaism party, Uri Maklev turns 69… U.S. senator (D-MD), Chris Van Hollen turns 67… Member of the U.K.’s House of Lords and advisor to the government on antisemitism, Baron John Mann turns 66… Theatrical producer, playwright and director, Ari Roth turns 65… Vice chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Naples, Beth Ellen Wolff… Author and journalist best known for his novels Gangster Nation, Gangsterland and Living Dead Girl, Tod Goldberg turns 55… Member of the Knesset for Likud, Galit Distel-Atbaryan turns 55… Film director and screenwriter, Joe Nussbaum turns 53… Caryn Beth Lazaroff Gold… Private equity executive and unofficial troubleshooter for the Trump administration, Jared Kushner turns 45… Communications manager for Ford Motor Company, Adam David Weissmann… Former spokesperson on terrorism and financial intelligence at the U.S. Treasury, Morgan Aubrey Finkelstein… Israeli rapper, singer and songwriter, Michael Swissa turns 30… Andrew Tobin… Debbie Seiden…
SUNDAY: Psychologist and the author of 27 books, he lectures at NYU, Michael Eigen turns 90… Retired judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in Chicago, author of 40 books on jurisprudence and economics, Richard Posner turns 87… Violinist and music teacher, Shmuel Ashkenasi turns 85… Film, television and theater director, best known for his TV series “Full House” and “Family Matters” and his films “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” and “Fat Albert,” Joel Zwick turns 84… Las Vegas resident, Stephen Norman Needleman… Economist and professor of banking at Columbia University, he was a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Frederic Stanley “Rick” Mishkin turns 75… Noted gardener and florist, Lynn Blitzer… Professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and chief of experimental medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, he is the author of five books, Dr. Jerome E. Groopman turns 74… Former member of the Canadian House of Commons, Susan Kadis turns 73… Former director general of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Avi Gil turns 71… CEO of Sense Education, an AI company, Seth Haberman turns 66… Attorney, author, speaker and activist, Brian Cuban turns 65… Partner at Magnolia Marketing LLC, Alan Franco… Rabbi at Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto (BAYT), Rabbi Daniel Korobkin turns 62… Former National Hockey League player for 12 seasons with the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames and San Jose Sharks, Ronald “Ronnie” Stern turns 59… Actress, socialite and reality television personality, Kyle Richards Umansky turns 57… Defensive tackle in the Canadian Football League for 12 seasons, he is a co-owner at Vera’s Burger Shack based in Vancouver, B.C., Noah Cantor turns 55… Film, stage and television actress, Amanda Peet turns 54… Hockey coach, he is a former goaltender with the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes, he also played in six other leagues, Josh Tordjman turns 41… Member of the Knesset for the Democrats party, Naama Lazimi turns 40… Executive chef and restaurateur, Yehuda Sichel… VP and head of strategic partnerships at Penzer Family Office, Michal (Mickey) Penzer… French-American actress, Flora Cross turns 33… Director of football strategy and assistant quarterbacks coach for the Baltimore Ravens, Daniel Stern turns 32… Founder when she was just 12 years old of Nannies by Noa, Noa Mintz turns 25…
Plus, New Jersey IHRA bill scuttled
Kamran / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images
Iranians gather while blocking a street during a protest in Kermanshah, Iran on January 8, 2026.
Good Thursday afternoon!
This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
It’s me again — Danielle Cohen-Kanik, U.S. editor at Jewish Insider and curator, along with assists from my colleagues, of the Daily Overtime. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Protests are escalating across Iran, with videos showing masses of demonstrators taking to the streets and security forces at times overwhelmed. Human rights groups estimate dozens of protesters have already been killed and reports indicate the country is experiencing an internet blackout. Storeowners are reportedly shuttering their businesses in an economic boycott, further deepening the economic crisis that spurred the unrest.
President Donald Trump reiterated his warning today that the Iranian regime will “have to pay hell” if “they start killing people, which they tend to do,” speculating that the deaths so far have been caused by stampedes and not law enforcement. Vice President JD Vance said at a press briefing that the Iranian regime “has a lot of problems” and that “the smartest thing for them to have done … is for them to actually have a real negotiation with the United States”…
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced today that he is establishing a royal commission into antisemitism in the country, after the deadly terror attack on a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney last month. The commission, considered a powerful tool in Australian governance, will investigate the scope and causes of antisemitism and make recommendations for law enforcement, in a report due on the year anniversary of the Dec. 14 attack…
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Spain would send “peacekeeping troops” to the Gaza Strip “when the opportunity presents itself.” Speaking to a gathering of ambassadors in Madrid today, he said, “Of course, we have not forgotten Palestine and the Gaza Strip … Spain must actively participate in rebuilding hope in Palestine.” Many countries remain wary of contributing troops to stabilize Gaza over concerns of being required to engage with Hamas…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met today with Nickolay Mladenov, former U.N. envoy to the Middle East and soon-to-be representative of the U.S.-led Board of Peace in Gaza…
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been silent thus far today about a protest taking place tonight organized by the radical anti-Israel group responsible for a similar protest outside the Park East Synagogue in November, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
The group posted the address of the real estate event they intend to protest, which is taking place at a synagogue in Queens’ heavily Jewish neighborhood of Kew Gardens Hills. The synagogue canceled prayer services and two nearby schools, Yeshiva of Central Queens and PS 165, announced early closures. Democratic state Assemblymember Sam Berger, who represents the area, told JI that local principals, staff and parents are “very concerned.” The surrounding area has been “completely upended,” he said…
The New Jersey Legislature will not give further consideration to a bill seeking to codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism into state law during this legislative session, the bill’s lead sponsor announced, after several years of the Jewish community’s urging for the measure to be adopted…
Rob Sand, the state auditor and Democratic candidate for governor of Iowa, announced he raised over $9.5 million in 2025, more than double the record for off-year fundraising for a gubernatorial election in the state. Sand told Jewish Insider in 2019, when he first took office as auditor, that he conducted what was “definitely the first audit” to ensure agencies were in compliance with a state anti-BDS law. “When you say [you are] willing to be supportive of your ally [Israel], you need to put your money where your mouth is,” he said at the time…
Far-left New York state Assemblywoman Claire Valdez joined the race to succeed retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) today in the progressive 7th Congressional District covering parts of Brooklyn and Queens. The Democratic Socialists of America and Mamdani are expected to endorse Valdez, a move that could prove consequential in the district that The New York Times said will “pit left against lefter.”
Valdez, who has already brought on several of Mamdani’s advisors, was a vocal critic of Israel’s war in Gaza and pro-Israel political groups; her opponent, Antonio Reynoso, takes similar stances but is viewed as a more “traditional progressive” and is expected to secure Velázquez’s support, the Times reports…
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) officially announced his retirement today after serving 23 terms, one of the longest-serving House members in U.S. history. Speaking on the House floor, the former majority leader and pro-Israel champion warned he was “deeply concerned that this House is not living up to the founders’ goals” and that the country “is heading not toward greatness, but toward smallness, pettiness, divisiveness, loneliness and disdainfulness”…
In his first State of the State address since 2020 — and final before his term ends next year — California Gov. Gavin Newsom heralded his state as a “beacon” and a “policy blueprint for others to follow.” He denounced Trump and laid out a policy agenda including clean energy, increased wages and lowered housing costs, in a speech seen as laying the groundwork for his potential 2028 presidential run…
The Qatar Investment Authority and Emirati-based MGX, linked to a UAE sovereign wealth fund, participated in the latest fundraising round for Elon Musk’s xAI, which raised over $15 billion total. Gulf investors including QIA and the Saudi and Omani sovereign funds have taken part in previous fundraising rounds for the company that owns the Grok AI chatbot on X…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at how legislation in New Jersey to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism was scuttled — and who was behind the bill’s demise.
The third season of the hit TV show “Tehran” will premiere in the U.S. on Apple TV tomorrow, after a delay of several years. The popular international thriller, which follows a Mossad agent operating undercover in Iran, was indefinitely postponed at the outset of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The season ran in Israel in December 2024, and Apple has announced the fourth season is already in production.
On Saturday, Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt will sit in conversation with Rabbi David Wolpe about the “golden age of American Jewry” at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles.
We’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat Shalom!
Stories You May Have Missed
SAUDI SPOTLIGHT
U.S. lawmakers weigh in on fears of Saudi Arabia accommodating Islamists
The lawmakers downplayed reports of a serious Gulf rift, with Rep. Brad Sherman calling the increasing disputes between neighbors ‘tactical, not ideological’
MENIN’S MOMENT
New York Jewish leaders hope Menin will serve as check against Mamdani
Julie Menin was elected the first Jewish speaker of the New York City Council on Wednesday
The admin is leaning on J Street alum Josh Binderman
Angelina Katsanis-Pool/Getty Images
Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani speaks during a mayoral debate at Rockefeller Center on October 16, 2025 in New York City.
👋 Good Thursday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we talk to Jewish leaders in New York City about Julie Menin’s election to be city council speaker and look at how New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s staffing decisions signal how he’ll work with the city’s Jewish community. We talk to legislators about the possibility of the U.S. recognizing Somaliland, and have the scoop on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s meeting today with survivors of the Bondi Beach terror attack in Sydney, Australia. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: MK Dan Illouz, Tony Dokoupil and Marc Molinaro.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by Jewish Insider Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with an assist from Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- It’s the first day of New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin’s term after yesterday’s unanimous council vote. Menin, a centrist Democrat representing the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island, is expected to serve as an ideological counterweight to elements of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s agenda. More below.
- The Senate will vote today on a war powers resolution that would limit U.S. military action in Venezuela without congressional authorization.
- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will meet today with survivors of the Hanukkah terror attack in Sydney, Australia. More below.
- Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) will officially announce his plan to retire from Congress in a floor speech today. The 86-year-old Hoyer, who served as House majority leader from 2007-2011 and 2019-2023, told The Washington Post that he “did not want to be one of those members who clearly stayed, outstayed his or her ability to do the job.”
- Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro — who kicked off his 2026 reelection bid this morning — and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis are slated to speak today in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
- The Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center in New York City is hosting a screening this evening of “The Road Between Us,” a documentary about the efforts of Maj. Gen. (res.) Noam Tibon to rescue his son, journalist Amir Tibon, and Amir’s family from Kibbutz Nahal Oz during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks. Read our interview with Noam Tibon and director Barry Avrich, who will speak at the screening, here.
- In Beirut, Lebanese Armed Forces commander Rudolph Haikal is scheduled to brief Lebanese legislators on efforts to disarm Hezbollah in the southern region of the country, along Israel’s border. Lebanon’s army announced that it had completed the disarmament of Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon, with the exception of small areas under Israeli control. The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office called the efforts “an encouraging beginning, but they are far from sufficient, as evidenced by Hezbollah’s efforts to rearm and rebuild its terror infrastructure with Iranian support.”
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MATTHEW KASSEL
As New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani draws increased scrutiny for picking some top appointees whose past incendiary social media comments have provoked controversy and raised questions over his vetting process, Jewish community leaders are now watching closely for signs of how the administration will make staffing decisions on key issues connected to Israel and antisemitism.
One person to keep an eye on is Josh Binderman, who served as Mamdani’s Jewish outreach director during the campaign and transition. He has largely maintained a low profile in his time working for the candidate and now mayor, garnering just a small handful of mentions in the press, despite his critical position leading engagement with a community that in many ways remains deeply skeptical of Mamdani’s hostile stances on Israel and commitment to implementing a clear strategy to counter rising antisemitism.
Binderman, most recently a communications manager for New Deal Strategies, an influential progressive consulting firm, served until 2024 as a PAC manager and a senior associate for J Street, the progressive Israel advocacy group, according to his LinkedIn profile.
While Mamdani notably refused to work with the organization when he led a chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine as an undergraduate student at Bowdoin College, the mayor has since developed a friendlier rapport with J Street, which has defended him amid charges that he tapped transition advisors who engaged in anti-Zionist activism that crossed a line into antisemitism.
Mamdani’s decision to employ a former top J Street staffer during the election suggests he could follow a similar approach to key Jewish community posts for his developing administration. If so, it could help to at least dampen some concerns from Jewish leaders who fear the mayor will end up hiring even harder-left members in his coalition such as activists associated with Jewish Voice for Peace, an anti-Israel advocacy group that aggressively promotes boycotts targeting the Jewish state.
It is still an open question, however, how Mamdani will move forward on such issues. His decision last week to revoke two executive orders linked to Israel and antisemitism was widely seen as a discouraging maneuver that eroded goodwill among mainstream Jewish leaders — even as Binderman had reportedly given some advance warning to leaders about the effort before the inauguration.
MENIN’S MOMENT
New York Jewish leaders hope Menin will serve as check against Mamdani
Julie Menin’s election on Wednesday as speaker of the New York City Council was a reassuring sign to Jewish leaders who have long seen the 58-year-old centrist Democrat as a key ally and believe that she will act as a check on Mayor Zohran Mamdani with regard to issues involving Israel and antisemitism, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Track record: Yeruchim Silber, director of New York government relations at Agudath Israel of America, an Orthodox advocacy group, said that Menin “has a long history of working with the Jewish community,” calling her “an important part of the [former New York Mayor Bill] de Blasio administration,” when she led efforts to promote Jewish participation in the 2020 census. He told JI he was “confident she will be able to work collaboratively with” Mamdani’s administration “on all issues important to the community.”
FLASHPOINT AHEAD
Mamdani tested by planned protests targeting Jewish communities
A radical anti-Israel activist group responsible for the disruptive November protest outside of a historic synagogue in Manhattan announced it will hold a similar demonstration on Thursday, marking the first major test Mayor Zohran Mamdani will face in protecting the city’s Jewish community since he was inaugurated last week, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
Details: The group, Palestinian Assembly for Liberation [PAL]-Awda, initially announced two demonstrations against Israeli immigration events in New York City this week. “Nefesh B’Nfesh settler recruitment fair on Wednesday at 7 pm in Manhattan and illegal Stolen Palestinian Land sale on Thursday at 6:30 in Queens,” the group wrote Tuesday on social media, adding that it would disclose event locations on Wednesday. The group, which never posted the location of the Nefesh B’ Nefesh event, wrote on Instagram on Wednesday evening, less than an hour before the event started, that “our planned action tonight to protest the settler recruitment event is being cancelled.” Thursday’s demonstration, which PAL-Awda said it is still planning to hold, is protesting an event held by CapitIL, a Jerusalem-based real estate agency.
SAUDI SPOTLIGHT
U.S. lawmakers weigh in on fears of Saudi Arabia accommodating Islamists
Lawmakers in Washington are largely downplaying recent developments suggesting that Saudi Arabia is pivoting away from moderation and entertaining more hard-line Islamism, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Emily Jacobs report. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, who came away from the meeting indicating that potential disputes or shifts in the kingdom had been overstated.
In the room: Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) — who has been critical of Saudi Arabia in the past — told JI that Prince Faisal, in the meeting, sought to directly rebut claims that Saudi Arabia was pivoting away from a position of moderation. The overall message from Prince Faisal, Sherman said, was “the Saudis claim that they are anti-[Muslim] Brotherhood and that the disputes with the UAE are tactical, not ideological.”
Read the full story here with additional comments from Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mark Warner (D-VA), John Kennedy (R-LA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) and Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL).
SOMALILAND STRATEGY
Fetterman joins call for Somaliland independence, but many lawmakers remain wary
Some Republicans and at least one Democrat on Capitol Hill are voicing their support for the U.S. to follow Israel’s lead in recognizing Somaliland — but many lawmakers, even some who have supported expanded U.S.-Somaliland ties in the past, say such a step would be premature, if not misguided, at this point, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod, Emily Jacobs and Matthew Shea report.
The latest: Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), one of the most vocal pro-Israel Democrats in Congress, said in a statement to JI that he’s in favor of U.S. recognition of Somaliland, making him the first member of his party to do so publicly. “As an unapologetic friend of Israel, I fully support their decision on Somaliland. I support the U.S. doing the same,” Fetterman told JI. But others on both sides of the aisle — even some who have pushed for expanded U.S.-Somaliland ties in the past — are more reluctant, calling recognition either premature or a mistake entirely.
Read the full story here with additional comments from Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), James Lankford (R-OK), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ).
RED TAPE
Jewish House Democrats urge Noem to rescind new conditions on security grants
The members of the Congressional Jewish Caucus — every Jewish House Democrat — wrote to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem on Wednesday urging her to rescind new conditions — presumably related to immigration enforcement and diversity programs — instituted earlier this year on recipients of Nonprofit Security Grant Program funding, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Notable quotable: “[W]e reject any efforts to force Jewish and other houses of worship and institutions to choose between vital security funding and expression of their core religious freedoms, as well as their faith teachings and values,” the lawmakers wrote. “In this time of increased hate crimes against minorities, and in particular rising antisemitism, we believe it is crucial that NSGP remains a critical resource accessible to all communities in need and free from partisan politicization.”
SCOOP
Schumer to meet with survivors of Bondi Beach terror attack
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will meet at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday morning with two survivors of the deadly terrorist attack during a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, Jewish Insider has learned. The two survivors are Rabbi Yehoram Ulman, director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Bondi, and Ahmed al Ahmed, the civilian who tackled and disarmed one of the gunmen during the attack. Ulman hosted the Hanukkah event where 15 people were killed, including his son-in-law, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, JI’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod report.
On the agenda: Australian Ambassador to the U.S. Kevin Rudd, the country’s former two-term prime minister, will also be in attendance. A source familiar with the matter told JI that the Senate minority leader will “listen to their stories and discuss the work that he and the Australian government are doing respectively to combat antisemitism.”
Bonus: Al Ahmed was honored last night at Colel Chabad annual dinner in New York City, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim reports.
Worthy Reads
From Foggy Bottom to the Hill: Politico’s Jordain Carney spotlights Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s positioning on Capitol Hill, where he served as a senator for 14 years, as the point person for the Trump administration’s recent foreign policy moves. “Secretary of State Marco Rubio worked the phones in the wee hours of the morning and, in the days since, has played an outsize role in not only formulating the administration’s strategy in Venezuela but explaining it to skeptical lawmakers wary of a protracted military commitment. That outreach has been to his former Republican colleagues as well as Democrats, including those who see him as a rare Trump official with whom they can maintain a trusted and respectful relationship amid profound policy disputes. ‘Although I may disagree with him on a day-to-day or hour-to-hour basis … he has shown extraordinary competence,’ Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democratic leader, said in an interview. ‘I voted for him in this position; I still have confidence in his abilities.’” [Politico]
Silenced on Venezuela: The Atlantic’s David Graham considers the reticence of Vice President JD Vance and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, both of whom come from the isolationist camp, to give vocal backing to the White House’s arrest of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro. “What all of these figures understand is the importance of staying on Trump’s good side. [Steve] Bannon was exiled from the first Trump White House; he has since mastered the art of diverging just enough from the president that he sometimes takes flak but never gets banished from the fold entirely. Gabbard already saw the dangers of getting crosswise with the president when she implicitly warned against the bombing of Iran this past summer, before quickly falling back in line. One more break might get her sacked. No one has as much to lose as Vance, though. … Vance may not like what’s going on in Venezuela, though unless he says so, no one knows. Until then, his willingness to keep his mouth shut speaks loudly. For Vance, deeply held principles are fine, but staying in power is even more alluring.” [TheAtlantic]
States’ Rights: In The Wall Street Journal, Guy Goldstein and Daniel Arbess argue that Israel’s recognition of Somaliland is in line with the 1933 Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States that lays out the parameters for statehood — which the Palestinian Authority falls short of meeting. “[Somaliland] has a permanent population, a defined territory, effective government and the capacity to conduct foreign relations — the four tests of the 1933 Montevideo Convention. … Israel’s recognition of Somaliland affirms something deeply offensive to the professional virtue-signaling ‘peace’ industry. The entire regional narrative collapses once the Montevideo criteria are taken seriously. Somaliland passes. Kurdistan passes. South Yemen is close. Puntland isn’t far behind. The one project that dominates every United Nations agenda, every campus protest, every moral lecture, does not. Israel’s move isn’t a rejection of the two-state idea; it is a return of that idea to reality. It is what happens when you stop rewarding dysfunction and start recognizing good behavior.” [WSJ]
Word on the Street
President Donald Trump is expected to announce the members of the newly created Board of Peace next week amid efforts to move into the second phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas; Nikolay Mladenov, a former U.N. envoy to the Middle East, will serve as the board’s representative on the ground…
The White House announced its withdrawal from dozens of international organizations, including the Global Counterterrorism Forum, Global Forum on Cyber Expertise and more than 30 U.N.-affiliated groups…
The Senate passed, by unanimous consent, a resolution condemning the rise in ideologically motivated attacks against American Jews and condemning antisemitism…
FTA Administrator Marc Molinaro, who represented upstate New York in the House from 2023-2025, is mulling a run for the state’s 21st Congressional District, a seat being vacated by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) at the end of this year…
Qatar is the top country donating foreign funds to American universities, and Cornell University is its leading recipient, according to a new dashboard from the Department of Education that displays foreign gifts and contracts provided to U.S. educational institutions, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports…
The board of Warner Bros. Discovery recommended that shareholders reject a hostile bid by David Ellison’s Skydance Paramount, which had amended a previous bid in an effort to sway Warner Bros. from moving forward with a deal with Netflix…
People interviews Tony Dokoupil about his new role anchoring “CBS Evening News”…
The Richmond, Calif., City Council refused to take up an emergency resolution censuring the city’s mayor, Eduardo Martinez, for sharing conspiracies about the terror attack at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia, on social media…
The foreign desk chief of Spanish daily El País apologized for the newspaper’s characterization of Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who is presiding over the trial of deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro; the paper described Hellerstein as having “made efforts to maintain an impartial stance despite being a well-known member of the Jewish community,” a clause that was later deleted from the online version…
Reform U.K. leader Nigel Farage called allegations from numerous former classmates that he engaged in antisemitic and racist bullying as a teenager “complete made-up fantasies”…
Iranian army chief Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami threatened preemptive military action, days after Trump cautioned that the U.S. could act in Iran if protesters in the country were killed…
Iran said it executed a man convicted of spying on behalf of the Mossad, as the Islamic Republic continues its crackdown on alleged spies following the 12-day war with Israel in June 2025…
Deqa Qasim, the director of the political department in Somaliland’s Foreign Ministry, told Israel’s N12 that Jerusalem and Hargeisa are discussing setting up an Israeli military base in the African territory, contradicting a previous denial that such an agreement was on the table…
Likud lawmaker Dan Illouz, in a speech to the Knesset on Monday, warned the American right about the dangers of rising antisemitism within its ranks, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports…
The New York Solidarity Networkannounced that Sara Forman, the group’s inaugural executive director since 2022, will step down at the end of the month…
Josh Hammer is joining the David Horowitz Freedom Center as a Shillman Fellow…
Jay Stein, whose development of Universal Studios’ tram tour turned the company into an empire that competed with Disney, died at 88…
Swiss film producer Arthur Cohn, who won six Oscars for his films, including Best Documentary Feature for “One Day in September,” about the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, died at 98…
Rabbi Uri Lupolianski, the first Haredi mayor of Jerusalem and founder of Yad Sarah, died at 74…
Pic of the Day
Guillaume Cardy, the chief of the French National Police’s elite unit RAID (Research, Assistance, Intervention, Deterrence), paid his respects on Monday at Paris’ Hypercacher supermarket during a ceremony commemorating the 11th anniversary of the deadly Islamist attacks on the kosher market as well as the offices of the Charlie Hebdo satirical newspaper.
Birthdays
Member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a guitarist and founding member of the Doors, Robby Krieger turns 80…
Sociologist at the American Enterprise Institute, Charles Murray turns 83… Senior U.S. district judge for the Southern District of Florida, now on inactive status, Alan Stephen Gold turns 82… Moscow-born classical pianist, living in the U.S. since 1987, Vladimir Feltsman turns 74… Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award-winning composer, he is a professor of music composition at Yale, David Lang turns 69… Founder and chief investment officer of Pzena Investment Management, Richard “Rich” Pzena turns 67… Israel’s ambassador to the Republic of Korea, Rafael Harpaz turns 64… Co-founder of Pizza Shuttle in Milwaukee, Mark Gold… Violinist and composer best known for her klezmer music, Alicia Svigals turns 63… VP of wealth services at the Alera Group, he was an NFL tight end for the Bears and Vikings, Brent Novoselsky turns 60… Founder and president of DC-based Professionals in the City, Michael Karlan turns 58… Lobbyist, attorney, patron of contemporary art and philanthropist, Heather Miller Podesta turns 56… Anthropologist and epidemiologist, she is a professor of pediatrics at UCSF, Janet Wojcicki turns 56… Former state senator in Maine (2008-2016), Justin Loring Alfond turns 51… Singer-songwriter, musician, and actress, she was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the indie rock band Rilo Kiley, Jenny Lewis turns 50… Former director of U.S. public policy programs for Meta / Facebook, now a partner in Lev Collective, Avra Siegel… Editor, investigative reporter and screenwriter, Ross M. Schneiderman… Actor, screenwriter and director, he is a son of film director Barry Levinson, Sam Levinson turns 41… Retired professional soccer player, he is now a partner in Columbus, Ohio-based Main + High Investments, Ross Benjamin Friedman turns 34… Principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre, Skylar Paley Brandt turns 33…
Plus, the Coast Guard quietly walks back anti-swastika policy
(Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump greets Rabbi Levi Shemtov and Holocaust survivor Jerry Wartski during a Hanukkah reception in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025.
👋 Good Wednesday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report from Hanukkah receptions at the White House, on Capitol Hill and in New York, and cover concerns from U.S. lawmakers over Canberra’s failure to address concerns from Australia’s Jewish community prior to Sunday’s deadly attack in Sydney. We report on the Coast Guard’s quiet moves to reverse its policy on swastikas, and talk to Rep. Zach Nunn about his legislative work aimed at expanding the U.S.-Israel relationship. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Mark Zuckerberg and Galia Lahav.
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
- President Donald Trump will give a televised address at 9 p.m. ET.
- The Heritage Foundation is hosting a sit-down this afternoon between Heritage President Kevin Roberts and conservative commentator Ben Shapiro.
- Elsewhere in Washington, Jewish members of Congress are hosting the annual Capitol Hill Hanukkah party. Across town, the Israeli Embassy in Washington is hosting its annual Hanukkah reception tonight.
- Norman Podhoretz, the longtime editor of Commentary magazine and influential conservative thought leader, died on Tuesday. In a remembrance of his father, John Podhoretz wrote: “He bound himself fast to his people, his heritage, and his history. His knowledge extended beyond literature to Jewish history, Jewish thinking, Jewish faith, and the Hebrew Bible, with all of which he was intimately familiar and ever fascinated.”
- Australian police charged Naveed Akram, one of the suspects in the Sunday terror attack in Sydney, with 15 counts of murder in addition to dozens of other offenses, including committing a terrorist act; Akram is in stable condition at a Sydney hospital after spending two days in a coma.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH THE JI team
As Jewish communities are marking Hanukkah under the shadow of the deadly terror attack in Sydney that marred the beginning of the Jewish holiday, leaders in Washington and New York addressed growing concerns about antisemitism at several Hanukkah events held yesterday.
President Donald Trump warned that Israel and the “Jewish lobby” have lost their influence in Washington and that Congress is “becoming antisemitic,” in a holiday message delivered to attendees at the White House’s annual Hanukkah party.
Speaking from the East Room to a gathering of lawmakers and prominent Jewish figures ahead of a ceremonial menorah lighting, the president repeatedly cautioned that the Jewish community and its allies “have to be very careful because bad things are happening” to Jewish people and to Israel’s global standing, citing the shooting in Sydney and the ongoing denials of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel. Read the full story here.
Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz, speaking at a Hanukkah reception hosted by Israel’s U.N. mission at The Jewish Museum in Manhattan, said the U.S. “can and will confront antisemitism without apology, without hesitation and will do so everywhere around the world, including right here in the halls of the U.N.” Read the full story here.
On Capitol Hill, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s (D-FL) annual Hanukkah party featured remarks by Shira Gvili, sister of Ran Gvili, the last hostage in Gaza, JI’s Marc Rod reports. Gvili highlighted that her brother had always dreamed of being a police officer and ran into the fight on Oct. 7 — when he was killed — despite waiting for surgery for a broken shoulder. She also noted that he volunteered to support Holocaust survivors.
“On this celebration of light, of heroes, as we do on Hanukkah, Ran is not only my hero, he is our hero. For everyone lighting a candle tonight, may the glow of the menorah [brighten] the darkened moments. May the glow of the menorah’s light bring Ran home tonight,” Gvili continued.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) also delivered remarks, and nearly 40 lawmakers — a majority of them Democrats — stopped through the gathering. These included Reps. Ed Case (D-HI), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Sara Jacobs (D-CA), Daniel Goldman (D-NY), Craig Goldman (R-TX), Steny Hoyer (D-MD), David Kustoff (R-TN), George Latimer (D-NY), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), April McClain Delaney (D-MD), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Kim Schrier (D-WA), Shri Thanedar (D-MI), Grace Meng (D-NY), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) and Don Davis (D-NC).
Jeffries said that, after the attack in Australia, “it’s incumbent on all of us as leaders not just to, of course, authentically express our thoughts and prayers on behalf and directed at those families who have suffered from this unconscionable, unthinkable, unspeakable tragedy, but to make it clear that we all have a responsibility to combat antisemitism whenever and wherever it’s found, and make sure that no matter what it takes, we’re committed, not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans, to bury antisemitism in the ground never to rise again.”
Jeffries continued, “At the same time, we’ll also make clear that we will continue to stand up for Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and Democratic state and a homeland for the Jewish people.”
ON THE HILL
Australian Jews’ warnings about rising antisemitism were ignored, U.S. lawmakers say
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, multiple Jewish lawmakers emphasized that the Sunday massacre that killed at least 15 at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia, came after many warnings from the Australian Jewish community, and Jewish communities around the world, about the rising violent threats they face — warnings that have often gone ignored, the lawmakers said, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Notable quotable: “That threat, those warnings, have fallen on deaf ears, and we are living with those consequences now,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) said. “I hope that this tragedy is the wake-up call that world leaders need to truly stand up and protect their Jewish communities from antisemitism, whether that manifests online or in person. … Lives are at stake. This is not pretend. These enemies of the Jewish people are not playing games. They mean to end our existence as a people.” Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), a co-chair of the Congressional Jewish Caucus, emphasized that the attack was “not predicted” but “it was predictable,” adding, “For too long, the Jewish community in Australia was saying to the authorities, saying to the government, ‘Antisemitism is a cancer eating away at the soul of the nation, and it’s going to result in the death of Jews in the land,’ and that’s what we saw on Sunday.”
Exclusive: The co-chairs of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism urged Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to act more forcefully to protect Australia’s Jewish community and implement months-old recommendations from the country’s antisemitism envoy. They likewise highlighted the string of “warning signs” that preceded the attack.
SANDERS’ STATEMENTS
Bernie Sanders pivots from sympathy toward Sydney shooting victims to criticizing Netanyahu
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, after Netanyahu linked the terror attack in which 15 people were killed at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia, to Canberra’s support for a Palestinian state, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What he said: Sanders issued a statement in response on Tuesday: “No, Mr. Netanyahu. Speaking out on behalf of the Palestinian people is not antisemitic. Opposing the disgraceful policies of your extremist government is not antisemitic. Condemning your genocidal war, which has killed more than 70,000 people — mostly women and children — is not antisemitic. Demanding that your government stop bombing hospitals and starving children is not antisemitic.”
BETRAYAL ON THE HIGH SEAS
Democratic lawmakers outraged by Coast Guard’s reported reversal on swastika policy
Weeks after the Coast Guard commandant personally called lawmakers to reassure them that swastikas and nooses would remain banned hate symbols within the service, the Guard quietly broke its pledge and diminished the severity of such displays as “potentially divisive” instead — the very language that had prompted outrage from lawmakers and the Jewish community, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
The latest: Leading Democrats erupted in outrage on the news of the Coast Guard’s policy shift, while Republicans have thus far been silent. Several Republicans who spoke out against the initial policy change did not respond to JI’s requests for comment on the latest development on Tuesday. “The shocking news from the Coast Guard exposes a crisis of conscience enabled by the Trump administration’s stunning lack of moral clarity,” Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) told JI. “The Trump Administration lied right to the American people’s faces when they indicated last month that they weren’t going through with this policy change,” Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) said.
BACKING BROOKS
Shapiro joins with progressives to back Dem recruit Bob Brooks in key Pennsylvania swing seat
With backing from both moderate Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and progressives like Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), firefighter union leader Bob Brooks has emerged as a front-runner in the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, a critical swing district that Democrats are aggressively contesting for next year’s midterms, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Endorsement insights: Christopher Borick, a political science professor at Muhlenberg College, said that Brooks’ background brings elements that appeal to various elements of the Democratic coalition, perhaps explaining his support from both sides of the party: his time as a leader in organized labor with a history on workers’ rights issues should resonate with progressive voters, while his “personal narrative fits if you’re trying to win over white working-class voters that might be more moderate or socially conservative.”
PUSHING PARTNERSHIP
Rep. Zach Nunn stands by U.S.-Israel relationship as ‘returning huge dividends’
At a time when an increasingly vocal minority on the right is questioning the future and the benefits of the U.S.-Israel relationship, Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA) led a pair of amendments to the 2026 defense policy bill aiming to expand the relationship, with a particular focus on new technologies. Asked how he responds to those on the right who question the value of the relationship, Nunn, the chair of the Republican Study Committee’s national security task force, said in an interview with Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod, “Israel is the lone bastion of democracy, freedom and Western values in a region where the U.S. has vital national security interests. For decades, Israel has been a strategic partner in kinetic and non-kinetic action against bad actors like Iran.”
Tech talk: Nunn added that programs such as the ones he championed would prepare the U.S. for all manner of challenges. “As our adversaries embrace low-cost options like drones and cyberwarfare, it’s more important than ever that we not only coordinate closely on joint security, but also on the underlying technologies that will define the next generation of conflict,” the Iowa lawmaker continued. “My amendments are about ensuring that partnership continues to evolve. They are strategic investments that strengthen American security, deter our adversaries and deliver real returns for U.S. taxpayers.”
Worthy Reads
⚠️ Shoulder to Shoulder: In The Times of Israel, Israeli President Isaac Herzog reflects on the Sydney terror attack and the meaning of Hanukkah. “Yet as we reflect on the miracle of the return home of our brothers and sisters, we also confront a deeply troubling reality beyond Israel’s borders. As the October 7th massacre in southern Israel was still ongoing, Jewish communities around the world began to experience a vicious wave of hatred. Institutional antisemitism, Holocaust inversion, conspiracies left and right, Jew-hatred platformed on social media, and moral bankruptcy masquerading as social justice have all disturbingly increased across the Western world. The deadly terror attack in Sydney this week demonstrates where these dangerous trends can lead.” [TOI]
👮 ‘Forever Changed’: In The New York Times, Alex Ryvchin, the co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, mourns those killed in Sunday’s terror attack in Sydney, as well as the sense of communal security that no longer exists for Australian Jews. “Now we have suffered a loss that is impossible to measure or articulate. It is a loss felt nationally for a country that is forever changed. It is a loss felt communally for a way of life defined by pride and open observance that no longer exists. And it is a loss we feel individually for the friends and relatives who died in our arms from hideous wounds inflicted by high-powered shells used for hunting game. … My community will never recover from this, I am sure. My rabbi, my friend, Eli Schlanger lived by a mission of being proud of who he was as a Jew. The annual Hanukkah event he hosted on the beach was the ultimate evidence of our acceptance, the proof that we were safe in our acts of community pride. That is all gone now. And with it, a man who had shown us the way.” [NYTimes]
⚖️ After Bondi: In the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack, The Atlantic’s Graeme Wood posits that governments need to take serious, tangible actions that go beyond antisemitism education to address threats to the Jewish community. “With an attack like this, the only effective response is the zealous prosecution of anyone who planned or supported it, and the protection of those who might be targeted in similar attacks in the future. Museum education is nice, but if an attack is under way, a police officer with a rifle has more stopping power. Self-study to determine whether Jews are systematically excluded or vilified is worthwhile but will take time. Restrictions on speech are another matter, and a distraction from real police work. It should not be a crime to inquire about the whereabouts of Jews, or even to say you wish to gas them. But if you spray-paint a Jewish school or set a car on fire, a government with its resources properly ordered will find and charge you before you graduate to violent crime.” [TheAtlantic]
Word on the Street
The Sudanese Armed Forces – backed by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Egypt and Iran – are the subject of a new CNN investigation that found them responsible for mass killing of civilians and dumping their bodies into canals…
United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed re-upped a 2024 Atlantic piece by Palestinian political activist Samer Sinijlawi calling for leadership changes in Israel and the Palestinian Authority…
Turkey was excluded from a CENTCOM-hosted conference in Doha, Qatar, focused on putting together an international stabilization force in the Gaza Strip…
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said that the Trump administration needs to put forward a new nominee for the post of ambassador for religious freedom as former Rep. Mark Walker’s (R-NC) nomination remains stalled in the Senate…
The widow of a security officer who was killed in a mass shooting at the Park Avenue building housing the headquarters of the NFL is suing the league, the real estate firm that owns the building and the building’s security company over their failures to prevent the attack, in which philanthropist Wesley LePatner and two others were also killed…
The NYPD is investigating an incident in which a group of Orthodox Jewish men were harassed and assaulted on a subway car after video of the confrontation was posted to social media; police are also investigating as a hate crime a separate incident, also filmed, in which a visibly Jewish man was attacked while walking down the street in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood…
Two members of the Heritage Foundation’s board resigned amid a series of high-profile departures from the think tank over its embrace of Tucker Carlson and failure to denounce extremist views; Abby Spencer Moffat said Heritage was “unwilling or unable to meet this moment with the clarity and courage it requires,” while Shane McCullar said the think tank was “unwilling to confront the lapses in judgment that have harmed its credibility, its culture, and the conservative movement it once helped shape”…
Warner Bros. Discovery is expected to reject Skydance Paramount’s hostile takeover bid due to concerns over financing; Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners, which had provided some backing to Paramount in its effort, withdrew its support for Paramount’s bid…
The Financial Times reports on Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s efforts to build out AI infrastructure as he looks to compete with OpenAI and Google…
Qatar Sports Investments-owned Paris Saint-Germain was ordered by a French court to pay more than $70 million to former PSG star Kylian Mbappé resulting from unpaid wages and bonuses…
Actress Sydney Sweeney wore a gown by Israeli designer Galia Lahav to the premiere of her new film, “The Housemaid”…
Iranian victims of the Women, Life, Freedom protests that swept through the Islamic Republic in 2022 are suing more than three dozen Iranian officials in an Argentine court, alleging the officials committed or were complicit in crimes against humanity…
PBS reports from Hezbollah’s secretive military installations following their seizure by the Lebanese Armed Forces…
Wall Street investment banker Arthur Carter, who would go on to purchase The Nation and found The New York Observer, died at 93…
Pic of the Day
Actor Jonah Platt sat in conversation with former Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi on Monday night at the American Friends of Magen David Adom’s Miami Gala.
Birthdays
Grammy Award-winning songwriter and musician, Benjamin Goldwasser turns 43…
Retired attorney and vice chair of the American Jewish International Relations Institute, Stuart Sloame turns 86… Former CEO of multiple companies including the San Francisco 49ers and FAO Schwarz, Peter L. Harris turns 82… VP of strategic planning and marketing at Queens-based NewInteractions, Paulette Mandelbaum… Professor of Jewish history, culture and society at Columbia University, Elisheva Carlebach Jofen turns 71… Retired chair of the physician assistant studies program at Rutgers, Dr. Jill A. Reichman turns 70… Former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. and senior foreign policy advisor to prime ministers Sharon, Barak and Netanyahu, Danny Ayalon turns 70… Longtime chairman and CEO of HBO, he now heads Eden Productions, Richard Plepler turns 67… Israeli film director, screenwriter, animator and film-score composer, Ari Folman turns 63… Former president of Freedom House, now the director at Voice of America, Michael J. Abramowitz turns 62… Chief of the General Staff of the IDF until this past March, Herzl “Herzi” Halevi turns 58… Founder and CEO of LionTree LLC, Aryeh B. Bourkoff turns 53… Pastry chef, television personality and cookbook author, Jeffrey Adam “Duff” Goldman turns 51… Israeli former soccer goalkeeper, then on the coaching staff for the national team, Nir Davidovich turns 49… CEO of the New Legacy Group of Companies, he is also founder and chair emeritus of Project Sunshine, Joseph Weilgus… Co-director of New Public, Eli Pariser turns 45… Senior writer at National Review and author of Unjust: Social Justice and the Unmaking of America, Noah C. Rothman… Director of foundation partnerships at the UJA-Federation of New York, Julia Sobel… National correspondent for Vanity Fair and author of the 2018 book Born Trump: Inside America’s First Family, Emily Jane Fox… State general manager for Maryland at Entyre Care, Daniel Ensign… Actor, singer-songwriter and musician, he starred in the Nickelodeon television series “The Naked Brothers Band,” Nat Wolff turns 31…
Plus, remembering Dem pollster Mark Mellman
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani answers questions on October 17, 2025 in New York City.
Good Friday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we break down the Democratic primary fields taking shape across New York City following New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s win earlier this month, and report on Mamdani’s suggestion that a New York synagogue event for Nefesh B’Nefesh promoted violating international law. We have the scoop on a new PAC being launched by Democratic lawmakers to fight antisemitism within the party, and remember Democratic Majority for Israel founder Mark Mellman, who died this week. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Caroline Glick, Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla and Justin Ishbia.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by Jewish Insider Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve with an assist from Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- President Donald Trump will meet with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani at 3 p.m. ET today at the White House.
- The three-day Halifax International Security Forum kicks off today in Nova Scotia, Canada. Speakers at the annual security confab this year include Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), John Hoeven (R-ND), Angus King (I-ME), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Peter Welch (D-VT), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Chris Coons (D-DE), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND); former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Kelly Craft; Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy, the chair of Israel’s civil commission investigating crimes against women and children on Oct. 7; former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Reichman University Institute for Policy and Strategy Executive Director Amos Gilead; Garry Kasparov; the McCain Institute’s Evelyn Farkas; HIAS President Mark Hetfield; former Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA); the American Enterprise Institute’s Heather Conley; and the National Democracy Institute’s Tamara Cofman Wittes.
- In New York on Sunday, the National Committee for Furtherance of Jewish Education is honoring the Department of Justice’s Harmeet Dhillon at its 85th Annual Awards Dinner.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MATTHEW KASSEL
As next year’s midterm elections approach, New York City is quickly emerging as an epicenter of Democratic conflict, with a growing number of left-wing primary challengers targeting pro-Israel congressional incumbents as well as an expanding roster of candidates vying for an open House seat that is home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the country.
In races spanning the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, new challengers are eyeing primaries to take on the moderate wing of the Democratic Party, which now finds itself on defense after Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral victory elevated a staunch democratic socialist and antagonist of Israel to executive office.
But even as challengers seek to capitalize on the momentum fueled by Mamdani’s rise, it remains to be seen if the mayor-elect will choose to weigh in on the upcoming primaries as he manages a diverse coalition to help advance his affordability agenda, which he has indicated is his top priority.
While Mamdani has publicly discouraged one fellow democratic socialist in Brooklyn from a brewing campaign to challenge House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), who endorsed Mamdani in the final weeks of the election, “the big unknown is the role that Mamdani is going to play” in the June primary elections, Chris Coffey, a Democratic strategist, told Jewish Insider.
It also is unclear whether pro-Israel groups such as AIPAC and Democratic Majority for Israel will engage in the upcoming primaries. A spokesperson for AIPAC declined to comment. DMFI’s political arm, for its part, is closely monitoring the emerging races and regards the challengers with varying degrees of concern, a person familiar with the group’s internal deliberations told JI.
The activist left, meanwhile, is also confronting its own organizational issues, including the prospect of some split primary fields that threaten to divide the opposing vote, as well as messaging struggles.
With Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) announcing on Thursday that she will not seek reelection, a crop of candidates is also sure to engage in a spirited competition for her deeply progressive district in Brooklyn and Queens.
Here’s a rundown of the races to watch in New York City as the primary cycle continues to take shape.
MANHATTAN MELEE
Mamdani: Nefesh B’Nefesh event at New York synagogue promotes ‘violation of international law’
Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City, distanced himself from a widely criticized demonstration outside a prominent synagogue in Manhattan on Wednesday night, where anti-Israel protesters were heard chanting “Death to the IDF” and “Globalize the intifada,” among other slogans, even as he suggested that the event, which provided information on immigrating to Israel, violated international law, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Condemnation with a caveat: “The mayor-elect has discouraged the language used at last night’s protest and will continue to do so,” a spokesperson for Mamdani, Dora Pekec, said in a statement to JI on Thursday. “He believes every New Yorker should be free to enter a house of worship without intimidation, and that these sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law.” The protest, organized by an anti-Zionist group, took place outside Park East Synagogue, a historic Modern Orthodox congregation, at which an event was being held by Nefesh B’Nefesh, a nonprofit that assists in Jewish immigration to Israel from North America. Asked to clarify the concluding caveat from Pekec’s statement, Mamdani’s team said it “was specifically in reference to the organization’s promotion of settlement activity beyond the Green Line,” which “violates international law.”
SCOOP
Dem lawmakers launch PAC to fight antisemitism within the party
A group of Democratic lawmakers is launching a political action committee to support candidates who have prioritized tackling antisemitism, alongside standing up against other forms of hate. Reps. Greg Landsman (D-OH), Laura Friedman (D-CA) and Ted Lieu (D-CA) will be chairing the committee, called the Alliance Against Antisemitism PAC. The PAC filed a statement of organization with the Federal Election Commission in October, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
PAC’s purpose: “We want to celebrate and lift up those leaders who are unapologetically going to fight back against hate in all of its forms, including antisemitism. Sometimes antisemitism gets lost,” Landsman told JI on Thursday. “This is our effort to root it out on our side, and I think it’s going to have an enormous impact.” The idea of a PAC focused solely on a candidate’s stance on antisemitism is new, and a contrast from political action committees devoted to advancing pro-Israel candidates.
TAKING IT TO THE FLOOR
Schumer announces he’s introducing legislation condemning Nick Fuentes
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced on Thursday that he will introduce a resolution condemning neo-Nazi influencer Nick Fuentes and his white supremacist views after President Donald Trump declined to condemn Fuentes or Tucker Carlson’s platforming of him. Schumer announced the move while criticizing Trump’s comments from over the weekend, in which the president noted that Carlson has “said good things about me over the years” and defended his decision to host Fuentes on his show, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.
What he said: After calling Trump’s remarks “disgusting, Schumer warned that antisemitism in the U.S. has “reached a dangerous tipping point. Jewish Americans are facing threats, harassment and violence at levels we have not seen in generations.” Schumer said from the Senate floor on Thursday, “For Donald Trump to continue to excuse and protect the spread of Nick Fuentes’ ideology, confirms what many of us have long said: white supremacy and antisemitism are taking deep roots, unfortunately, within the Republican Party.”
Also on the Hill: Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) told Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod on Wednesday that there was a broad consensus among members of the Senate Armed Services committee that two nominees — Alex Velez-Green and Austin Dahmer — tapped to serve under Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby did not yet have sufficient support to move ahead at a committee meeting on Wednesday.
Tagline
Maxine Dexter, recently championed by AIPAC, compares Gaza war to Holocaust
Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-OR) drew comparisons between the Holocaust and the war in Gaza, the latter of which she described as a genocide, in a speech on the House floor on Thursday, explaining her decision to support a resolution with far-left lawmakers, supported by anti-Israel groups, accusing Israel of genocide, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. Dexter was backed by AIPAC’s United Democracy Project super PAC in her 2024 primary race against an opponent viewed as further left.
Comment and backlash: The Oregon congresswoman began her speech by recounting a visit to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, the timing of which she described as “very intentional.” Dexter said, “After the Holocaust, the international community made a commitment that such evil can never happen again to any people, anywhere. Never again, they said. That is why I recently signed on to a resolution recognizing Israel’s actions in Gaza led by the Netanyahu government as a genocide.” Sara Bloomfield, the director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, criticized Dexter’s comments. “Exploiting the Holocaust to accuse Israel of genocide is unconscionable and adds further fuel to an already raging antisemitic fire,” Bloomfield said in a statement to JI.
Picking sides: Democratic Majority for Israel on Thursday announced its endorsements of Reps. Haley Stevens (D-MI), Angie Craig (D-MN) and Chris Pappas (D-NH) and former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper as they seek the Senate seats in their respective states.
SCOOP
Treasury Department adds new sanctions targeting Iranian oil exports
The Treasury Department implemented new sanctions on Thursday targeting what the agency described as a “network of front companies and shipping facilitators that bankroll the Iranian armed forces by selling crude oil” — a critical revenue stream for the regime, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Target list: The latest round of sanctions, one of several announced in recent months, also targets six vessels in Iran’s “shadow fleet” of tankers used to transport oil to international markets, joining a list of more than 170 such vessels that have been sanctioned this year. The Treasury is also adding sanctions on a subsidiary of Mahan Air, an Iranian airline used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to help supply proxies and allies across the region.
Syria sanctions update: A full repeal of human rights sanctions on Syria under the Caesar Civilian Protection Act is likely to pass Congress as part of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, after House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) signed off on the measure, according to a source familiar with the matter, JI’s Marc Rod reports.
IN MEMORIAM
Democratic pollster, Israel advocate Mark Mellman dies
Mark Mellman, a longtime Democratic political strategist and former president of Democratic Majority for Israel, died this week after a long illness. Mellman, CEO of the Mellman Group, led campaigns for more than 30 U.S. senators, including former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), as well as dozens of members of Congress, including Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Seth Moulton (D-MA). He worked on Sen. John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign and was the former president of the American Association of Political Consultants, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
Legacy: Mellman was also a fixture of election coverage and commentary, analyzing presidential debate performances for PBS and The Wall Street Journal, writing a longtime column for The Hill, and more. In Israel, Mellman was the longtime advisor to Opposition Leader Yair Lapid and his Yesh Atid party, including during Yesh Atid’s meteoric rise from a new party to the second-largest in the Knesset in the 2013 election and Lapid’s brief time as prime minister in 2022. Lapid paid tribute to Mellman as “a friend and a mentor. A man with a huge heart and a wonderful sense of humor. He was also a trusted advisor and a brilliant strategic mind. …He will be sorely missed by me, my family and everyone at Yesh Atid.”
Worthy Reads
The Gospel According to Tucker: The Wall Street Journal’s Barton Swaim considers how conservative commentator Tucker Carlson’s misappropriation of biblical teachings instructs his approach to the world. “Mr. Carlson is too intelligent to fall for the inanity that the Old Testament is full of violence and retrogressive values, the New full of sweetness and light. He must know that Paul endorses the retributive justice of the Hebrew Bible, that the New Testament constantly quotes its antecedent’s portrayals of God’s compassion and liberality, and that Jesus’ atonement is meaningless apart from the law and the prophets. … So little of Mr. Carlson’s recent verbiage bears scrutiny that I’m left to wonder what it’s all about. I don’t pretend to know, but this much seems plain: His use of the Bible and Christianity has some purpose he won’t, or can’t, explain.” [WSJ]
Texas-Size Critique: In the Dallas Morning News, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who is facing a primary challenge to his right, calls on Republicans to address growing antisemitism in the party, underscored by the response to a recent interview between Tucker Carlson and white supremacist Nick Fuentes. “Some prominent voices in our conservative movement have shied from condemning the evil ideology that this young podcaster is promoting. Tucker Carlson hosted Fuentes on his show, giving him a broader platform to push his abhorrent views with minimal resistance. It is disappointing to see even storied institutions like the Heritage Foundation, which has long been a strong supporter of Israel and the Jewish people, waver in their condemnation of those who openly promote antisemitism and racism. Now is not the time to waver. Now is the time to speak the truth with clarity and conviction, and to condemn these un-American and anti-conservative ideas for what they are.” [DMN]
Political Parties Under Siege: The Atlantic’s Idrees Kahloon reflects on the declining influence in democracies around the world of some of the most prominent political parties that defined the latter half of the 20th century. “Reformers reason that by importing features of other democracies — a direct popular vote for president, tight limits on money in politics, voting by ranked choice — we could heal ourselves. If only it were so simple. In democracies all across the world, the party system appears unhealthy: Trust in parties is low, partisan antagonism is high, and elections feel existential instead of routine. Many countries’ equivalents of the Democrats and Republicans — parties that have been dominant at least since World War II — are suffering similar decline. Some are on the precipice of extinction.” [TheAtlantic]
Word on the Street
The National Book Awards awarded its top nonfiction prize to author Omar El Akkad, who railed against Israel in his acceptance speech; El Akkad’s One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This takes a critical approach to American and European responses to the Israel-Hamas war…
A Washington Post report that the U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify the swastika as a hate symbol under a new policy set to be implemented next month garnered condemnation from Jewish groups and Democratic officials, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports; Coast Guard spokesperson Jennifer Plozai told the Post that the Coast Guard would be “reviewing the language” of the new policy and later published a new policy specifying that it sees swastikas and nooses as hate symbols and that they are prohibited…
Vice President JD Vance dismissed the suggestion that traditional conservative Republicans would “wrest control” of the GOP from supporters of the MAGA movement after President Donald Trump leaves office and “go back to the Republican Party of 20 years ago,” Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports…
The U.S. revoked the visa of former South African International Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor, who had previously faced criticism over her warm relations with Iran and Hamas and antipathy toward Israel…
Sens. John Curtis (R-UT) and John Fetterman (D-PA) wrote to the Trump administration praising efforts to isolate and push out Iranian proxy groups in South America…
Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC) introduced legislation to bar anyone who “endorses or espouses terrorist activities” by groups including Hamas or Hezbollah from the United States…
The Senate passed, by unanimous consent, legislation to ensure that Jewish soldiers buried under other religious markers receive the correct religious markers; the House already passed a separate version of the bill…
Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) will step down from her role as the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs’ Middle East subcommittee following her indictment on fraud charges relating to allegations that she funneled FEMA emergency funds to her congressional campaign…
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) launched his bid for governor of California, joining a field that includes former Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA), former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, former state Controller Betty Yee and former hedge fund manager Tom Steyer.…
An analysis of Elon Musk’s Grokipedia by two Cornell University researchers found that the online encyclopedia cited neo-Nazi and conspiracy theorist websites, including Stormfront and Infowars, dozens of times…
The New York Times reports on Bill Ackman’s now-viral dating advice to young men: the four-word prompt, “May I meet you?”…
The Wall Street Journal does a deep dive into Bari Weiss’ ascent to the top of CBS News and her first weeks on the job…
Chicago White Sox co-owner Justin Ishbia met this week with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, where he invited the Illinois-born pontiff and noted White Sox fan to throw the first pitch at the team’s eventual new stadium…
Netflix, Paramount and Comcast submitted bids to acquire all or part of Warner Bros. Discovery; the media conglomerate’s board is slated to make a decision on the future of the company by the end of the year…
French telecom companies Orange, Bouygues and Free are in discussions over the potential purchase of SFR that would include assets from Patrick Drahi’s Altice France…
CNN interviews former Israeli hostage Bar Kupershtein, who was shot and then taken from the Nova music festival after he stayed at the site to assist others who had been wounded during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Trump administration officials had assured Jerusalem that Israel’s qualitative military edge would not be affected by the U.S.’ just-announced sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia…
Israel has adopted a new mindset in its defense strategy since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, Caroline Glick, international affairs advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Thursday at a Hudson Institute event in Washington, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports…
Israel is moving forward on efforts to expropriate the West Bank archeological site of Sebastia, under which the ancient Israelite kingdom of Samaria is believed to have been, with plans to develop the 450-acre site as a tourist attraction…
Data released by the Global Nutrition Cluster’s State of Palestine department last month indicates that the U.N.-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system (IPC) inflated numbers related to malnutrition in the Gaza Strip by as much as 23%…
India and Israel are reopening discussions on a free-trade agreement between Jerusalem and Delhi; Israeli Economic Minister Nir Barkat signed onto the framework agreement with Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal that will serve as a framework for talks…
Iran is pulling out of an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency to allow inspectors access to the country’s nuclear facilities; the announcement came shortly after the IAEA, which has not been granted access to the Islamic Republic’s facilities since the 12-day war with Israel in June, passed a resolution calling on Tehran to give inspectors access and update the nuclear agency on enrichment work “without delay”…
Former CENTCOM head Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla is joining The Washington Institute for Near East Policy as the think tank’s Jill and Jay Bernstein distinguished fellow…
Scott Selig is joining Alpha Epsilon Pi as the fraternity’s new associate director of development for the Northeast region…
Jayne Zirkle is joining The Lawfare Project as its director of communications and outreach…
Translator David Bellos, who translated dozens of books, including Georges Perec’s Life: A User’s Manual, from French to English, died at 80…
Pic of the Day
President Donald Trump met on Thursday at the White House with a group of Israeli hostages — including many of those who were released from captivity last month — as the group wrapped up a week of meetings and events in New York and Washington.
Addressing the group, Trump said, “This is one of the best days I’ve had at the White House.”
Birthdays
Academy Award-winning actress, director, producer and occasional singer, she founded The Hawn Foundation to help underprivileged children, Goldie Hawn turns 80…
FRIDAY: Director-general of the Mossad from 1982 to 1989, Nahum Admoni turns 96… British entrepreneur and philanthropist, Baron Harold Stanley Kalms turns 94… U.S. senator (D-IL), Dick Durbin turns 81… Founder, chairman and CEO of Men’s Wearhouse for 40 years, currently holding these same positions at Generation Tux, an online tuxedo rental platform, George Zimmer turns 77… U.S. senator (R-LA), John Kennedy turns 74… Beverly Hills, Calif., resident, Julie Shuer… U.S. district judge for the Northern District of California, she is a past president of Peninsula Temple Beth El in San Mateo, Calif., Judge Beth Labson Freeman turns 72… Chairman of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group including Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures and Screen Gems, Thomas Rothman turns 71… Israeli media personality, Avri Gilad turns 63… Business development officer at the San Francisco office of Taylor Frigon Capital Management, Jonathan Wornick… VP of planned giving and endowments at UJA-Federation of New York, William Samers… CEO and national director of the Anti-Defamation League, Jonathan A. Greenblatt turns 55… Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist and editor-in-chief of Sapir, Bret Stephens (family name was Ehrlich) turns 52… President of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland and only the fifth person to serve in this role in the federation’s 120-year history, Erika B. Rudin-Luria… Founder and publisher of the business magazine The Real Deal, Amir Korangy turns 52… Former NFL running back for the Raiders, Rams and Bears, he is now a schoolteacher, Chad Levitt turns 50… Political director of ABC News, Rick Klein turns 49… Director of global government relations at the Hershey Company, she was previously a deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Transportation, Joanna Liberman Turner turns 49… Consul general of the U.S. in Quebec, Danielle Hana Monosson… Reporter at Bloomberg News and Businessweek, Max Abelson… Member of the New York City Council from the Bronx, Eric Dinowitz turns 40… MLB pitcher in five organizations, now playing for the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos of the Mexican League, he played for Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Robert Stock turns 36… Director of sports engagement at the American Jewish Committee, Alexander Freeman… Judy Brilliant… Ruth Shapiro…
SATURDAY: Majority owner of MLB’s New York Mets for 33 years ending in 2020, he was a high school teammate of Sandy Koufax and went on to a successful career as a real estate developer, Fred Wilpon turns 89… Professor at NYU Law School, she worked at OMB and the National Economic Council in the Clinton White House, Sally Katzen turns 83… Novelist and screenwriter, he is editor-at-large for The Epoch Times, Roger Lichtenberg Simon turns 82… Born to a Jewish family in Tunisia, he served as a member of the Canadian House of Commons until 2006, Jacques Saada turns 78… President emeritus of the 1.9 million-member Service Employees International Union, now a senior fellow at the Economic Security Project, Andy Stern turns 75… SVP of development for Hillel International, his bar mitzvah was at Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh, Tim R. Cohen… Member of the U.S. House of Representatives (D-NY), George Stephen Latimer turns 72… Television personality, previously an advertising executive, Donny Deutsch turns 68… IT specialist at the IRS, Martin Robinson… Chairman of Dynamo Kyiv (Kyiv’s soccer team) since 2002, Ihor Surkis turns 67… Author of multiple New York Times bestsellers, Peggy Orenstein turns 64… Classical composer, conductor and pianist, Benjamin Yusupov turns 63… President and CEO of Paramount Pictures, known professionally as Brian Robbins, Brian Levine turns 62… Israeli film and television actor, Ishai Golan turns 52… Senior editor at The City and columnist and editorial writer for the New York Daily News, Harry Siegel turns 48… Israeli rapper, blogger and political activist, his stage name is “The Shadow,” Yoav Eliasi turns 48… Former State Department spokesperson and former deputy to the U.S.’ United Nations ambassador, Edward “Ned” Price turns 43… Actress, she is the highest-grossing female box office star of all time, Scarlett Johansson turns 41… VP of communications and media relations for theSkimm, Jessica Sara (Turtletaub) Pepper… Actor, who has appeared in films directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Woody Allen, the Coen brothers and Warren Beatty, Alden Ehrenreich turns 36… Actor and comedian, he was on the cast of “Saturday Night Live,” Jon Rudnitsky turns 36… Social media personality known as Baby Ariel, she has 36 million followers on TikTok, Ariel Rebecca Martin turns 25… Former chief of staff to former Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, Yarden Golan…
SUNDAY: Former mayor of Pasadena, Calif., Terry Tornek turns 80… Senior U.S. district court judge in Massachusetts, Judge Mark L. Wolf turns 79… Senate minority leader (D-NY), Chuck Schumer turns 75… Phoenix resident, Richard S. Levy… Board member of the Yitzhak Rabin Center and former member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, Andrea Lavin Solow… President of Eastern Savings Bank in Hunt Valley, Md., Yaakov S. Neuberger… Emeritus professor of Jewish studies at the University of California Santa Barbara, Elliot R. Wolfson turns 69… Long Beach, N.Y., resident, Ellen P. Shiff… Graduate of Hebrew U, he is a Los Angeles-based cost and management accountant, Simon Ordever… Israeli-born entrepreneur, Raanan Zilberman turns 65… Television personality and author of both fiction and nonfiction books, Keith Ablow turns 64… Founder of Union Main Group, a private holding company focused on platform buildups of small companies, Marc Hanover… Professor of chemistry at Northwestern University, Chad Mirkin turns 62… Former owner of the NFL’s Washington Commanders, Daniel Snyder turns 61… Neurosurgeon specializing in the treatment of brain tumors and aneurysms, he is a professor at Indiana University School of Medicine, Aaron Cohen-Gadol turns 55… SVP at Glen Echo Group, Amy Schatz… Berlin-based journalist on the Bloomberg News automation team, Leonid Bershidsky turns 54… Executive at Hakluyt & Company, Keith Lieberthal… SVP and financial advisor at UBS Financial Services in Baltimore, P. Justin “P.J.” Pearlstone… Partner at Blueprint Interactive for digital strategy, Geoff Mackler… Senior tribal policy manager in the office of the attorney general of Washington State, Erin Ross… Independent art dealer, Hillel “Helly” Nahmad turns 49… Associate at Herbst & Weiss, Shmuel Winiarz… New England regional director for J Street, Jasmine Gothelf Winship… Rapper, singer, songwriter and recording artist, better known under her stage name Lanz Pierce, Alana Michelle Josephs turns 36… Former pitcher on the Israeli National Baseball Team, now working in renewable energy in Seattle, Corey A. Baker turns 36… Development and grant writer for Friends of Israel Disabled Veterans (Beit Halochem), Elise Fischer… Toronto-based lyricist, author and playwright, Naomi Matlow…
On the anniversary of Oct. 7, the lawmakers were joined by former hostage Ilana Gritzewsky and a cousin of deceased hostage Omer Neutra
Marc Rod
Rep. Josh Gottheimer speaks at a press conference on the second anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
Speaking at a press conference on the second anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel alongside a former hostage and the family member of a U.S. citizen still held in Gaza, Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Jewish organizational leaders slammed critics of Israel and emphasized that the responsibility for the continuation of the war in Gaza lies with Hamas.
“To all of the critics and naysayers who haven’t missed a chance to scream, yell and slam Israel, I say to them, ‘Where are your voices today? Where are your voices for peace?’” Gottheimer said. “You must push Hamas and take the deal that Israel has already accepted and that the Arab states and the U.S. support.”
He also emphasized the need to counter “social media cooked-up fiction” that has attempted to distort the memory of the attacks.
Hoyer, the former Democratic majority leader, condemned as outrageous the antisemitism that has targeted the Jewish community — whom he called “the victims” of the Oct. 7 attack — and emphasized repeatedly that Hamas is responsible for the attacks two years ago and everything that has followed.
“[The] trauma has grown with every hostage executed, every missile launched and every day this war has been drawn out — by Hamas,” Hoyer said. “Hamas’ crimes on Oct. 7, tragically have also led to the deaths, injury and displacement of thousands of Palestinians as well. Hamas has their blood on their hands.”
Hoyer, emphasizing the millenia-long history of antisemitism, said that people and leaders must speak up and take action against it.
“To young people: Do not fall into the trap of believing misinformation. Focus on who attacked, who abused,” Hoyer said. “America responded to the Japanese, we responded to Hitler’s actions in Europe. It was very tough: hundreds of thousands, indeed, millions of lives were lost. We thought perhaps that we may have, as mankind, learned a lesson of the cost of hate, the cost of bigotry, the cost of prejudice.”
Former Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL), the CEO of the American Jewish Committee, offered his thanks to Gottheimer and Hoyer for their clear stances in support of Israel and the hostages.
“In a world swimming in moral confusion, I want to extend our deep gratitude for the moral clarity with which you have consistently approached the events of Oct. 7, the need to speak up, the need to be clear about what happened and the need for us to always remember,” Deutch said.
He added that leaders have a responsibility to condemn antisemitism and Hamas unequivocally, and that their choice of rhetoric has “life or death consequences.”
“We’ve seen a terrifying surge in antisemitism, and in this upside-down world that we live in, Hamas is so often praised while its hostage-taking, atrocities and war crimes are ignored. Today is a reminder that we need to reset the truth,” he continued. “Words matter, and leadership matters. And when public figures slander Israel would normalize calls for violence, chants of globalizing the intifada, when there is open praise for Hamas — then they help to create the conditions for violence from Washington to Boulder to Manchester.”
Deutch also highlighted that, immediately after Oct. 7, before Israel had even begun its counterattack, people around the world marched in the streets in support of Hamas.
On the second anniversary, he continued, “there are some marches taking place around the world of the same people who were not interested in peace two years ago, when they supported Hamas. If they were serious about peace now, they will be marching to force Hamas to accept the terms of this deal. This is a moment when all of the people who claim to support peace have to be held accountable.”
Meredith Jacobs, the CEO of Jewish Women International, contrasted the sense of belonging she felt during a High Holy Days event at the White House in October 2022 with the widespread denial and ostracization that Jews and Israeli victims of Oct. 7 faced from the world following the attacks.
“October 2022 I was secure in my place in the world, secure in my safety and acceptance,” Jacobs said. “A year later, October 2023, that sense of belonging and safety was shattered. … I remember sitting with horror in the silence of the world and in the silence of other feminist organizations, and I remember what came after the silence, the effective malicious campaign of disinformation and denial.”
“When it came to Israeli women, those who were supposed to stand with us delegitimized the evidence, dehumanized Israeli bodies and applied a double standard when responding to the rape and mutilation of Israeli women,” she continued.
Former hostage Ilana Gritzewsky recounted the trauma she underwent in Gaza: “I was beaten … taken to Gaza on a motorcycle, with sexual abuse. For 55 days, I was held in captivity, living in fear and hunger, and deprived of all basic human grace. No fresh air, no sunlight, no showers, very little food or water. I lost 24 pounds. I lost hearing in my left ear. My hip was broken. My leg was burned. My jaw was dislocated and they took my soul.”
She said that she cannot heal until the other hostages, including her partner, Matan Zangauker, are released. And she emphasized that this is “a fight for all of us” — that the same terrorism could come for “any country.”
Speaking on behalf of deceased American hostage Omer Neutra’s parents, Neutra’s cousin Yasmin Magal said that the Trump plan has appeared to usher in a true shift.
“Today, two years later, we sense a shift for the first time. There is a real alignment. Recognition that the moral center of the war is not territorial politics but the fate of the hostages. We have seen bold leadership in recent days,” Magal said. “Willing to act with clarity, urgency and strength, President [Donald] Trump has demonstrated that kind of courage, understanding that resolving the hostage crisis is not just a humanitarian necessity, but the key to stability and peace. We need the same moral clarity from all leaders around the world, because peace cannot begin until the hostages come home.”
At the press conference, Gottheimer announced a series of pieces of bipartisan legislation aimed at commemorating the Oct. 7 anniversary.
One, cosponsored by Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), would bestow a Congressional Gold Medal, Congress’ highest honor, on the American hostages and victims of Oct. 7.
The second, cosponsored by Reps. Lois Frankel (D-FL), Joe Wilson (R-SC) and Young Kim (R-CA), would condemn the Oct. 7 attack, call for the release of hostages, reaffirm Israel’s right to self-defense, advocate for humanitarian aid and condemn antisemitism.
The third, cosponsored by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), would direct the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to create a model curriculum about the Oct. 7 attacks, the history of antisemitism and its role in the attacks and the denial and distortion of the attacks that followed Oct. 7.
Each of the pieces of legislation is supported by a range of Jewish ådvocacy groups.
Separately, in the Senate, Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and John Fetterman (D-PA) and every Senate Republican introduced a resolution condemning the Oct. 7 attacks and “destructive and antisemitic protests in the United States” and supporting the ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations brokered by the Trump administration.
Plus, the House Rs and Ds in Israel this week
NEVE DEKALIM, GAZA STRIP - AUGUST 16: Israeli police arrest anti-disengagement activists trying to prevent the entry of shipping containers August 16, 2005 into Neve Dekalim, the largest Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip. As Israel's disengagement of some 8000 settlers from the Gaza Strip enters its second day, diehard settlers dug in for the final fight against Israel's historic Gaza Strip pullout after 38 years of occupation. (Photo by Shaul Schwarz/Getty Images)
Good Tuesday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff we talk to key figures from the period of Israel’s disengagement from Gaza 20 years ago and report on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new plans to expand the war in Gaza. We also interview a cousin of Evyatar David, days after Hamas released a video of him being forced to dig his own grave. We review the latest round of fundraising reports filed by leading pro-Israel advocacy groups and interview James Walkinshaw, the favorite to win a special general election in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District in September. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Gideon Sa’ar, Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi, William Daroff and Elbridge Colby.
What We’re Watching
- Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar is in New York this morning for a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the situation of the hostages held in Gaza. Sa’ar prompted the special session after videos of two hostages — Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski — were released by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Before the session, Sa’ar will hold a meeting with American Jewish leaders. Read more here.
- Northwestern University President Michael Schill will appear before the House Education and Workforce Committee today for a closed-door transcribed interview about alleged failures to protect Jewish students on the Illinois campus.
- Also in Israel this week are two delegations of freshman House members, one from each caucus, organized by the AIPAC-affiliated American Israel Education Foundation. The Democratic trip is led by Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the former House majority leader, and Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA), the caucus chair.
- The Republican trip is led by House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN), and includes Reps. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), Michael Baumgartner (R-WA), Josh Brecheen (R-OK), Rep. Troy Downing (R-MT), Julie Fedorchak (R-ND), Randy Fine (R-FL), Brandon Gill (R-TX), Craig Goldman (R-TX), Harriet Hageman (R-WY), Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ), Mark Harris (R-NC), Jeff Hurd (R-CO), Brian Jack (R-GA), John McGuire (R-VA), Bob Onder (R-MO), Derek Schmidt (R-KS), Jefferson Shreve (R-IN), Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) and Tony Wied (R-WI). Their visit will include meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH ji’s josh kraushaar
A new poll of New York City Jewish voters commissioned by the pro-Israel New York Solidarity Network underscores the presence of a cohesive constituency opposed to Zohran Mamdani’s candidacy to become New York City mayor — but also illustrates some of the divisions preventing the city’s Jewish community from speaking with a loud, united voice.
The poll, conducted by the respected Democratic polling firm GQR, found Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, winning only 37% of Jewish voters, with 25% backing Mayor Eric Adams, 21% supporting former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and 14% preferring Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa. The results show that even though most Jewish voters identify as Democrats, a clear majority won’t support the Democratic nominee because of his record on issues of concern to the Jewish community — in a city where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 6-to-1.
Adams performs particularly well among Orthodox Jews, winning 61% of their vote, while Cuomo leads among Conservative Jewish voters with 35% support. But among unaffiliated and Reform Jews, Mamdani leads with a near majority of the Jewish vote.
Asked if Jewish voters were pro-Israel, two-thirds (66%) responded in the affirmative, while 31% said they weren’t. That’s a slightly larger share of non-Zionist Jews than we’ve seen in national polling. Nearly two-thirds (63%) also said that the “globalize the intifada” rhetoric that Mamdani has defended is antisemitic, with just 27% disagreeing.
policy reckoning
Lessons from Gaza disengagement remain relevant 20 years later
Twenty years ago this month, Israel dismantled 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip, in what was known as the disengagement, initiated and overseen by then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Two decades later, Israel is fighting its longest war in Gaza, after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks perpetrated by the Hamas terrorist organization that has controlled Gaza since 2006. In the interim years, Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza shot hundreds and sometimes thousands of rockets at Israeli population centers each year, prompting five major Israeli military operations in Gaza. Key figures from that period told Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov that the Israeli government’s failure to formulate a day-after plan for Gaza — a criticism that has been leveled at Jerusalem in the current war — is in part to blame for the unfulfilled promises of the disengagement.
Pressure point: Gilad Erdan, a former senior Israeli cabinet minister and ambassador to the U.S., was a freshman Likud lawmaker when the disengagement was announced, and became a leading figure in the party’s rebellion against Sharon. Erdan noted to JI that Sharon not only claimed the disengagement would improve Israel’s security, he said that “if Israel doesn’t take this step, there will be other diplomatic plans [that the world will] try to force on Israel, and this step will free us of pressure from the international community. It’s clear that it didn’t reduce pressure, it increased it.”
Not followed through: Elliott Abrams, who was deputy national security advisor to the George W. Bush administration at the time of the disengagement, told JI that Sharon did have a larger overarching idea behind the move, but subsequent prime ministers did not follow through with it. “Sharon said at the time that Israel needs to establish its borders, and I think he would have done something … with the West Bank. Whatever the future of Israel is, it doesn’t include Gaza, which has no use economically and no significance religiously,” was the logic, Abrams said.
WAR PATH
Netanyahu reportedly pushing for major expansion of war in Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to ask the Security Cabinet to back expanding Israel’s military efforts in Gaza, Israeli media reported on Monday. “We are going to conquer the [Gaza] Strip,” a senior source in Netanyahu’s office told Israel’s Channel 12. “The decision was made. Hamas will not free more hostages without us fully surrendering, and we will not surrender. If we don’t act now, the hostages will die of hunger and Gaza will remain under Hamas’ control,” the source added, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
A few caveats: Netanyahu did not use the term conquer or occupy with all of the Cabinet ministers to whom he conveyed his position, according to Israeli public broadcaster Kan. Maariv reported that Netanyahu has not made a final decision yet about whether the IDF should take control of all of Gaza, and noted that legally, he cannot decide on his own without the Security Cabinet.
COUSIN’S CRY
‘Evyatar became a skeleton in Hamas tunnels,’ hostage’s cousin says after video released
Days after Hamas released a video showing hostage Evyatar David emaciated and being forced to dig his own grave in a tunnel under Gaza, David’s family called on the Trump administration to do anything it can to ensure that the hostages are released. “Evyatar is fighting for his life with what little strength he has left,” Matan Eshet, David’s cousin, told Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov on Monday. “You can see it in his eyes. You don’t need a medical degree to understand that Evyatar only has a few days to live.”
Unrecognizable: David, 24, was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from the Nova Festival on Oct. 7, 2023. In a video released over the weekend, an extremely gaunt David was shown in a tunnel under Gaza digging, with his bones protruding. He wrote on a calendar documenting the small amounts of food — either lentils or beans — his captors have given him on some days, and on other days he wrote “no food.” Eshet said his family is “feeling broken” after seeing the new footage. “It’s not Evyatar. He doesn’t look like that or sound like that. That’s not how he moves. We see the distress in so many ways. He looks like a shadow of himself,” Eshet said. “He has to get medical care and food already.”
More from David’s family: Ilay David, brother of hostage Evyatar David, said on CNN on Monday, “Hamas is using my brother in this twisted, sick experiment on human lives. It’s not pressured enough … All leaders of all nations should stand up united and put every ounce of pressure they can on Hamas. Hamas must be begging for a deal.”
MONEY MATTERS
Pro-Israel groups post strong fundraising figures in first half of 2025
The latest round of fundraising reports filed by leading pro-Israel advocacy groups suggests that they are in strong financial shape as the midterms come into view, even as some of the top pro-Israel candidates have underperformed with their fundraising in key races. United Democracy Project, a super PAC affiliated with the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC, raised $13.5 million in the first half of 2025, according to its mid-year fundraising report filed late last week, with nearly $39 million on hand at the end of June, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Shot up: Those figures were far higher than the $8.8 million in contributions the group had pulled in during the same six-month period in 2023, at the beginning of the last election cycle. The group, which ultimately raised much more in the months following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, had $9 million on hand at the time, federal filings show. Among the top donors to UDP this cycle are Blair Frank, a portfolio manager at Capital Group, who gave $1.5 million — marking the only seven-figure contribution. The Kraft Group, a holding company led by Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, gave $500,000 — as did four other donors including Sanford Grossman, Michael Leffell, David Messer and Andrew Schwartzberg, according to the new filings.
DISTRICT DYNAMICS
James Walkinshaw sounds more supportive of Israel than his former boss
James Walkinshaw, a longtime former aide to Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), aims to follow in his late mentor’s footsteps as the strong favorite to win a special general election in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District in September, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Comparisons: Asked if he sees any major differences between himself and Connolly — whether on policy or his approach to the role of a member of Congress — Walkinshaw said that there are few, and that he was aligned with his former boss’ views on most issues. But when it comes to Israel, Walkinshaw sounds likely to adopt a more moderate tone on Middle East policy, something of a contrast from Connolly, who took an increasingly critical view of the Jewish state during his tenure in the House. “I think the U.S.-Israel relationship has immense historical importance. It has immense strategic importance to the United States, and I want to see a strong U.S.-Israel relationship with bipartisan support,” Walkinshaw told JI.
selective security
Harvard funding Hillel’s security costs but not doing the same for Chabad
Harvard University’s recent decision to cover security costs for Harvard Hillel was celebrated by many Jewish students as a way to alleviate growing security costs amid a surge in campus antisemitism. But for others, it raised questions about why the agreement did not extend to other Jewish groups affiliated with the school, such as Harvard Chabad, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
Left out: “Of course, there is a sense that there should be a responsibility” to cover Chabad’s security as well, Harvard Chabad Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi told JI, although he said that he has never directly asked the administration to do so. Alex Bernat, Harvard Chabad’s outgoing undergraduate student president who graduated in the spring, said it’s “crucial” that Chabad receive the same funding. “If you want to make claims about protecting the Jewish community, you have to protect the whole Jewish community,” he told JI.
Worthy Reads
The Blame Game: Coleman Hughes writes in The Free Press about the West’s “moral confusion” in assigning blame for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. “There’s no doubt that there is a humanitarian disaster in Gaza. But the information pipeline between Gaza and the West is fundamentally broken, biased, untrustworthy, and weaponized against Israel. And the less skeptical that Western journalists are, the more sources like Hamas and the Gaza Health Ministry can disseminate misinformation without penalty, perpetuating the false narrative that Israel is the genocidal aggressor in a war waged against them by a group whose mission is, in fact, genocide.” [FreePress]
PR Course Correction: The Atlantic’s Franklin Foer writes about how Israel can turn international public opinion around. “Every image of a child with protruding ribs is both a human tragedy and a propaganda victory for Hamas — and proof of how a just war badly lost the plot. I believed in Israel’s casus belli. I don’t believe in this. No justification can redeem the immorality of a policy built on deprivation. As Gaza braces for the worst, Israel still has a narrow window to correct its course. By flooding the zone [with aid], Israel has one last chance to redeem itself.” [TheAtlantic]
Questioning the War: The Wall Street Journal’s Anat Peled spotlights the growing number of voices in Israeli society, mostly on the center-left, that are questioning the morality of Israel’s actions in Gaza and calling for an end to the war. “In recent weeks, more Israelis — including prominent public figures — have called to end the war in Gaza while decrying the dire humanitarian situation in the enclave, marking a shift in the public discourse. A majority of former directors of the Israeli military; Mossad; Shin Bet, the country’s internal security agency; and the police, called on the Israeli government on Sunday to end the war against Hamas. The cause began as a just one after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, they said. But now it has become futile … Nightly news reports have featured more Gazans talking about suffering in the strip. Photos of Gazans killed in the war are now more visible in some public spaces such as protests. More than 1,000 leading Israeli artists created a stir when they signed a petition calling to end the killing of children and civilians in Gaza.” [WSJ]
Baltics Balance: The Jerusalem Post’s Herb Keinon writes about Israel’s “pivot to the Baltics,” as Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar return from separate trips to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. “Calls for punitive measures against Israel are growing louder in EU corridors. In that environment, courting sympathetic voices in the Baltics – where the diplomatic weather is noticeably warmer – isn’t just smart; it’s necessary. … What’s at stake here is more than just goodwill. There are real, high-stakes policy implications. The EU is currently debating whether to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement, a framework governing economic and political cooperation between Israel and the EU. Sa’ar’s visit to the Baltics in June – before going to Brussels – was part of an effort to prevent such a move, and Herzog’s visit now continues that effort.” [JPost]
Word on the Street
A new Pentagon report confirmed that the U.S. withdrew troops from three military bases in Syria and Iraq in May, who were stationed there to combat ISIS forces…
Air Mail writes about the issue of ordinary Israelis engaging in espionage on behalf of Iran, with the Shin Bet confirming more than 60 Israeli citizens are being prosecuted for treason…
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) defended New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani’s policy proposals for the city on Monday in a heated debate with CNBC host David Faber. Warren called Mamdani’s primary win “democracy at work”…
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) visited the town of Ariel yesterday, making him the highest-ranking elected federal official to visit a West Bank settlement…
The Federal Emergency Management Agency said in grant notices made public Friday that states must guarantee they will not engage in boycotts of Israeli companies in order to qualify for a tranche of more than $1.9 billion in natural disaster preparedness grants…
The Israeli Cabinet voted unanimously yesterday to oust Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, with whom the current government has been at odds since it was formed, accusing her of political bias. Shortly after the vote, the Israeli Supreme Court issued an injunction temporarily blocking the firing and ordering the government to continue abiding by Baharav-Miara’s legal opinions until the court issues a final ruling…
The third season of the TV series “Tehran,” which follows an undercover Mossad agent in Iran, may come to Apple TV soon, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Though it aired in Israel over two years ago, Apple has repeatedly delayed the season’s release in the U.S. due to the Oct. 7 attacks and the ensuing war in Gaza…
Rest of World examines how the rise of data centers in the Gulf amid the race to develop artificial intelligence infrastructure will stress already water-scarce countries including the UAE and Saudi Arabia…
The Anti-Defamation League said on Monday that the Portland Police Department is investigating the recent vandalism of the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education with swastikas as a hate crime…
New Lines Magazine chronicles the violent clash inside Sweida Hospital in southern Syria last month as government-aligned militias and Bedouin groups clashed with the local Druze population last month…
Pic of the Day
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations CEO William Daroff (right) met with Under Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby at the Pentagon yesterday. Daroff told Jewish Insider that Colby “expressed a clear and serious understanding of U.S. strategic interests in the Middle East, including the vital importance of deterring Iran, preventing regional adversaries from gaining dominance, and sustaining Israel’s security following the Twelve Day War,” and that he was “encouraged by [Colby’s] principled and grounded approach.”
Birthdays
Professional boxer who held the WBA super welterweight title from 2009 to 2010, in 2014 he was ordained as a rabbi and then known as the “Boxing Rabbi,” Yuri Foreman turns 45…
Chairman of Delphi Capital Management, he is the founder and chairman of Open to Debate, a public policy debate series, Robert Rosenkranz turns 83… Former chairman of the World Zionist Organization who later served as chairman of the Jewish National Fund, Avraham Duvdevani turns 80… Former Israeli ambassador to France, following seven years as a member of the Knesset, Yael German turns 78… Author of 25 nonfiction books, including The Portable Curmudgeon, Zen to Go and Advice to Writers, Jon Winokur turns 78… Historian, Nazi hunter and director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem until 2024, Efraim Zuroff turns 77… Banker, once known as “Austria’s woman on Wall Street” and founder of Bank Medici in 1994, Sonja Kohn turns 77… Former Soviet Refusenik, he served as speaker of the Knesset for seven years, Yuli-Yoel Edelstein turns 67… Intellectual property and entertainment attorney based in Ithaca, N.Y., he is an adjunct professor of law at both Cornell and Touro, Howard Leib… Member of the British House of Lords, he was chief executive of the Office of the Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks and then chief executive of the United Jewish Israel Appeal, Baron Jonathan Andrew Kestenbaum turns 66… Businessman Murray Huberfeld… Songwriter, author, political columnist and noted baseball memorabilia collector, Seth Swirsky turns 65… Chair of the Department of Jewish History at Baltimore’s Beth Tfiloh Dahan High School, Neil Rubin, Ph.D…. Actor who starred in “Weekend at Bernie’s,” his father and grandfather were both rabbis, Jonathan Elihu Silverman turns 59… President at ConservAmerica, he is an adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University, Jeffrey Kupfer… President of the Center for Jewish History in NYC and professor at Fairfield University, Dr. Gavriel David Rosenfeld turns 58… Former member of the Knesset for the Kulanu party, Roy Folkman turns 50… Director of the Center for Middle East Policy at The Brookings Institution for 13 years until this past June, he is soon to become a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, Natan Sachs… Investment and foundation manager at Denver-based Race Street Management and a board member of JFNA, Cintra Pollack… VP of government affairs at WISPA – the Association for Broadband Without Boundaries, Matt Mandel… Chairman of The New York Times Company and publisher of The New York Times, Arthur Gregg (A.G.) Sulzberger turns 45… Former director of responsible innovation at Meta / Facebook, now a consultant, he is also the spiritual leader of Chochmat HaLev, a progressive spiritual community in Berkeley, Calif., Zvika Krieger… Member of the comedy duo Jake and Amir, Jacob Penn Cooper Hurwitz turns 40… Longtime member of the Israeli national soccer team who also played in Europe’s UEFA Champions League, Gil Vermouth turns 40… Co-founder of Cadence, an AI-driven performance nutrition platform, Lila Cohn… Front end engineer at Platform.sh, Abby Milberg… 2023 graduate of Harvard Law School, now an assistant corporation counsel for New York City, Michael E. Snow… Senior advisor for implementation at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, Lisa Geller… Leslie Saunders… Director of antisemitism programs at the Anti-Defamation League, Anyu Silverman…
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to reporters after meeting with U.S. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) at the U.S. Capitol on July 8, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
Good Monday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
I’m Danielle Cohen-Kanik, U.S. editor at Jewish Insider. I’ll be curating the Daily Overtime for you, along with assists from my colleagues. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
There has been a whirlwind of political activity in Israel today, starting with the bombshell news that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to ask the Security Cabinet to approve an expansion of Israel’s war in Gaza, which would see the IDF control all of the enclave.
The move will have reverberations throughout Jerusalem and Washington, from Netanyahu’s own government to hostage families, Capitol Hill and the White House. Officials on both sides of the aisle in the U.S. have been pushing hard for a comprehensive ceasefire and an end to the war — including Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who was in Israel just days ago at the behest of President Donald Trump. Stay tuned to Jewish Insider for how this will play out in the coming days…
In other headlines coming out of Israel, the Cabinet voted unanimously this morning to oust Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, with whom the current government has been at odds since it was formed, accusing her of political bias.
Shortly after the vote, the Israeli Supreme Court issued an injunction temporarily blocking the firing and ordering the government to continue abiding by Baharav-Miara’s legal opinions until the court issues a final ruling.
It’s the first time an Israeli government has ever voted to oust the AG, and with some Cabinet ministers already boycotting her and pushing back on the court’s decision, Israel could be edging toward a constitutional crisis.
Meanwhile, Likud MK Yuli Edelstein was officially pushed out of his chairmanship of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee today, over coalition disagreements on a Haredi conscription bill. He was replaced by Boaz Bismuth, also from Likud, whom the party hopes will be more amenable to reducing sanctions on Haredim who dodge the draft. Israeli voters across a large swath of the political spectrum, including the Likud base, are on Edelstein’s side of the debate…
Getting a front-row seat to these developments, House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) trip to Israel with a House Republican delegation continues today. The group visited the town of Ariel, making Johnson the highest-ranking elected federal official to visit a West Bank settlement. While there, Johnson told a meeting of senior Yesha Council officials that “Judea and Samaria are the front lines of the State of Israel and must remain an integral part of it,” and stopped by Ariel University…
Also in Israel this week are two delegations of freshman House members, one from each caucus, organized by the AIPAC-affiliated American Israel Education Foundation. The Democratic trip is led by Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the former House majority leader, and Rep. Pete Aguilar, (D-CA), the caucus chair…
Back at home, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations CEO William C. Daroff met with Under Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby at the Pentagon today. Though Colby had faced criticism around his nomination from pro-Israel circles for his calls to scale back U.S. involvement in the Middle East, Daroff told JI that Colby “expressed a clear and serious understanding of U.S. strategic interests in the Middle East, including the vital importance of deterring Iran, preventing regional adversaries from gaining dominance, and sustaining Israel’s security following the Twelve Day War.” Daroff said he was “encouraged by [Colby’s] principled and grounded approach”…
The Federal Emergency Management Agency said in grant notices made public Friday that states must guarantee they will not engage in boycotts of Israeli companies in order to qualify for a tranche of more than $1.9 billion in natural disaster preparedness grants…
Software analytics giant Palantir topped $1 billion in revenue for the first time, it shared in an earnings report today. The company has secured several large contracts with the Trump administration, including an agreement announced last week for $10 billion over the next decade with the U.S. Army…
Veteran Democratic political strategist Howard Wolfson, an outspoken supporter of Israel and Jewish causes, appeared on Daniel Gordis’ “Israel from the Inside” podcast today with the message that “the war for hearts and minds” in U.S. support for Israel “has been lost.” The former communications director of Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, Wolfson said that he’s “clanging the alarm bell as loudly as I can and hoping that the Israeli public and the decision-makers in Israel understand how far Israel has fallen in public approval in the United States and what the implications of that are.”
“Israel is getting absolutely decimated” in information warfare, Wolfson continued. “And that may not be fair, it may not be accurate, but I think those questions of fairness and accuracy, they’ve become largely irrelevant. It’s not about fairness and accuracy. It’s about effectiveness and about impact.”…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider this week for a dive into the lessons learned from Israel’s disengagement from Gaza 20 years ago this month, an analysis of what a new poll of New York City Jewish voters means for Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral prospects and a look into the latest fundraising figures from pro-Israel campaign groups.
Tomorrow morning, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar will meet with American Jewish leaders in New York, JI has learned, and then head to a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the situation of the hostages held in Gaza. Sa’ar prompted the special session after videos of two hostages — Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski — were released by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, showing the two men looking haggard and severely emaciated.
Stories You May Have Missed
MARYLAND MOOD
Sen. Alsobrooks flip-flops from pledge to maintain aid to Israel during Senate campaign
Many of the state’s Jewish leaders are wary of speaking out against the Maryland Democrat’s votes to block arms sales to Israel
QATAR CALL
Landsman calls on Qatar to detain Hamas leaders until hostages are freed
The Democratic congressman, in a letter rejecting an offer for a staffer to travel to Qatar, said that the kingdom needs to do more to pressure Hamas
Plus, Mossad chief spotted in Queens
J. David Ake/Getty Images
The sun flares over the top of the side entrance to the U.S. Treasury Department Building on August 18, 2024, in Washington, DC.
Good Wednesday afternoon,
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
I’m Danielle Cohen-Kanik, U.S. editor at Jewish Insider. I’ll be curating the Daily Overtime for you, along with assists from my colleagues. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Israeli Mossad chief David Barnea was spotted at the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Ohel in Queens, N.Y., this morning…
The Treasury Department just announced sanctions targeting over 115 entities involved in a “shipping empire” run by the son of a senior advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The administration is calling it a “renewed maximum pressure campaign” and the most significant action taken against Iran since 2018. Read more from JI’s Gabby Deutch here.
The move comes as the potential for renewed nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran has deteriorated, with President Donald Trump threatening last week to strike Iran again “if necessary”…
We reported earlier today on some telling comments from Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) on an anti-Israel podcast yesterday, where she said she’d be open to considering cutting off offensive weapons to Israel and claimed she was “the first Jew elected to the Senate that was not endorsed by any Jewish group.” Though she named AIPAC and J Street specifically, she was indeed endorsed by a Jewish group — the pro-Israel Jewish Democratic Council of America — in 2024. Read more from JI’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod here.
The comments from the more moderate Jewish Democrat are the latest sign of the shifting rhetoric on Israel — and on associating with pro-Israel groups — within the party…
Also of note for the future of the Democratic Party: Former Vice President Kamala Harris announced today that she won’t run for governor of California to replace term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2026, leaving open the possibility that she could run for president again in 2028…
The French- and Saudi-sponsored U.N. conference on a two-state solution produced a notable result this week, with dozens of states, including the entire Arab League, signing the “New York Declaration.” The document, along with steamrolling the U.S. and Israel in laying out a plan for Palestinian statehood, condemns the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel and calls on the terror group to release the hostages. It’s the first time the Arab League — including Hamas benefactor Qatar — has said anything of the sort. Read more from JI’s Lahav Harkov here.
But a seasoned diplomatic source in Washington told JI it’s ‘too little, too late’ and there’s much more these states could be doing: “While it’s appreciated that all these countries finally, and I mean finally, spoke the truth about Hamas’ evil acts, the statement noticeably avoided discussing the foundational issue of full Israeli integration in the region.” And a Middle East expert told us there’s “much to applaud, much to critique” about the declaration, with “positive aspects” alongside “poison pills”….
Staying in the Gulf, Daniel Silverberg, longtime former national security advisor to Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), appeared on the latest episode of the Middle East Institute’s “Taking the Edge Off the Middle East” podcast, where he argued that Democrats have miscalculated their relationships with the Gulf states.
Silverberg told host Brian Katulis that he wished Democrats would “appreciate that there’s so many dynamic developments” in the Gulf “that are so good for [the U.S.] that it would temper, somewhat, a lot of the criticisms that I’ve seen over the last couple of years.”
Silverberg said he was struck that when UAE National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed “came to Washington a number of months ago, President Trump brought in, I think, three-quarters of his Cabinet to have a dinner with them. And when I heard that, I was just thinking to myself, damn it, why can’t Democrats play that same game?” He said Democrats thought, “‘You don’t want the U.S. appearing this close to the Saudis or the Emiratis. They have to earn that kind of dinner.’ And in my mind, just do the dinner. Just nourish the relationship.”…
Cybersecurity giant Palo Alto Networks announced today that it will acquire Israeli software company CyberArk for a deal valued at approximately $25 billion. It’s the second largest exit in Israeli history, after Google’s parent company Alphabet bought the Israeli cybersecurity company Wiz for $32 billion, pending regulatory approvals, just months ago…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider later this week for a profile of Audrey Azoulay, the French-Moroccan Jew heading UNESCO as the U.S. prepares to depart the U.N. cultural agency once again in protest of its purportedly anti-Israel and “globalist” agenda. Of note: Azoulay’s father, André Azoulay, is a close advisor to King Mohammed VI of Morocco.
We’ll also report on Liam Elkind, the 26-year-old Jewish community organizer backed by Reid Hoffman and Dan Doctoroff, launching a generational challenge against Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), co-chair of the Congressional Jewish Caucus, who is 78. And we’ll interview Secure Community Network CEO Michael Masters about his sit-down last week with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
This evening, the Senate will vote on two resolutions from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) attempting to block arms sales to Israel, including one restricting assault rifles from Israel’s police force overseen by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. We’ll be keeping tabs on how many Democrats side with Sanders this time — on the resolution targeting the highly controversial Ben-Gvir, Sanders may rally more than the 15 who voted in favor of his last measure.
Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to land in Israel tomorrow for his first visit in several months, amid rising bipartisan concern about the humanitarian crisis gripping Gaza and a continued stalemate in ceasefire negotiations. We’ll see what message he brings to the Israelis from the White House and what kind of pressure he attempts to exert on Jerusalem, if any, on both issues.
Also tomorrow, the Heritage Foundation will host an event, along with the Conference of Christian Presidents for Israel, called “Peace Through Strength: U.S. Policy on Israel and the Middle East.” They’re featuring speakers including Rev. Dr. Johnnie Moore, head of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation; U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee; Ellie Cohanim, former deputy special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism; and Aryeh Lightstone, an advisor to Witkoff.
Stories You May Have Missed
MORE THAN MONEY
Pro-Israel students: University reforms must go beyond cash payments
At the Israel on Campus Coalition’s conference, some students praised Trump’s campus crackdowns — but want lasting changes over financial settlements
BILL BLOCKAGE
Congress gridlocked over legislation to crack down on antisemitism
ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt: ‘I’d like to see the extremes marginalized so the vast majority of members of Congress on both sides can get the stuff done that needs to happen’
Rep. Hoyer: ‘The U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan yesterday was essential to preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon’
Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images
Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-MD) speaks at a press conference in Washington, DC on February 24, 2025.
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), a former House majority leader, backed the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, a position that puts him at odds with many other Democrats in Congress, including current Democratic leadership.
“The U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan yesterday was essential to preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon,” Hoyer, the longtime former No. 2 House Democrat, said in a statement released on Sunday.
He said that Iranian leaders had made clear they were not going to comply with U.S. demands to dismantle their nuclear program and had been censured by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“Israel believed that Iran was on the verge of achieving its goal and struck Iranian nuclear sites,” Hoyer said. “Yesterday, the United States did the same, bombing Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. That was in keeping with our stated position against Iran’s nuclear ambitions.”
The operation, he said, “helped counter” the Iranian nuclear threat, “but America must continue working to close Iran’s path to nuclear weapons permanently.”
Hoyer characterized the strikes as a “limited, one-time operation.” Many other Democrats have raised concerns that the operation violated congressional war powers.
“These strikes were designed to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program, but neither the U.S., nor Israel, nor any other nation wants to go to war with the Iranian people, or Iran itself,” he continued.
Hoyer has long been among the most steadfast pro-Israel Democrats in Congress.
At the same time, Hoyer argued that “the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran became this dire because the Trump Administration chose to back out” of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
A handful of other pro-Israel congressional Democrats have come out largely in support of the strike since it took place.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) described the raid as “critical and decisive action to protect America, and freedom and democracy at home and around the world.”
“The destruction of Iran’s nuclear program is essential to ultimate peace in the Middle East,” Gottheimer continued. “This is not a Democratic or Republican issue — dealing with the Iranian threat is central to America’s national security.”
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) was one of the first Democrats to support the strike against Iran Friday night. “The world can achieve peace in the Middle East, or it can accept a rogue nuclear weapons program—but it cannot have both.
The decisive destruction of the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant prevents the dangerous spread of nuclear weapons in the world’s most combustible region. No one truly committed to nuclear nonproliferation should mourn the fall of Fordow,” Torres wrote on X.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) said “this was the correct move” by Trump and said he’s “grateful for and salute the finest military in the world.”
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) said, “Today, the President made what appears to be a targeted strike to defend the U.S., Israel, and allies throughout the region and the world” and that he’s hopeful that Iran “no longer has the capabilities to continue its nuclear program.”
He said Iran must now commit to negotiations and make a deal. But he also warned against continued military action without congressional approval.
“I am also a firm believer in congressional authority & oversight. Any offensive action must come to Congress for a vote,” Moskowitz said. “I hope this is contained, but we are living in unprecedented times—and it’s critical our leaders work on a bipartisan basis to protect our nation.”
As the Oval Office dominates foreign policy, pro-Israel advocates rethink their Congress-focused playbook
GETTY IMAGES
A general view of the U.S. Capitol Building from the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, May 29, 2025.
For decades, Jewish and pro-Israel groups invested significant resources in building bipartisan relationships with key members of Congress to steer legislation, while helping secure foreign aid and blocking unfavorable initiatives concerning the Middle East.
But that long-standing playbook has appeared less effective and relevant in recent years as Congress has increasingly ceded its authority on foreign policy to the executive branch, a trend that has accelerated with President Donald Trump’s return to office. The dynamic is frustrating pro-Israel advocates who had long prioritized Congress as a vehicle of influence, prompting many to reassess the most effective ways to advocate for preferred policies.
That Congress had no formal role in Trump’s recent decisions to unilaterally reach a ceasefire with the Houthis in Yemen and to lift sanctions on Syria, for example, has stoked speculation that legislators could also be sidelined from ratifying a potential nuclear deal with Iran.
There are any number of reasons why Congress has taken a back seat in shaping foreign affairs, experts say, including Trump’s efforts to consolidate power in the executive branch, most recently by gutting the National Security Council. And Trump’s own power in reshaping the ideological direction of his party, preferring diplomacy over military engagement, has made more-hawkish voices within the party more reluctant to speak out against administration policy.
“Congress is increasingly irrelevant except on nominations and taxes,” Elliott Abrams, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who served as a special envoy for Iran in the first Trump administration, told Jewish Insider. “It has abandoned its once-central role on tariffs, and plays little role in other foreign affairs issues. That’s a long-term trend and we saw it in previous administrations, but it is worsened by the deadlocks on Capitol Hill, the need to get 60 votes to do almost anything, and by Trump’s centralization of power in the White House.”
Previously, “when there was real power in the departments, congressional oversight meant a lot more,” Abrams added. “If you’re a foreign ambassador in Washington, there’s no one to talk to at the NSC, lots of vacancies at State, and while there are plenty of people to meet with on the Hill, what are they going to do for you? You need to see Trump” Abrams said, or Steve Witkoff, the special envoy to the Middle East leading the negotiations with Iran.
The executive branch, to be sure, has long held significant control over foreign policy but it has expanded considerably in the decades following the 9/11 attacks. Since then, a law passed by Congress to authorize the invasion in Iraq in 2003 has been used — and, critics allege, abused — by successive administrations to initiate military action abroad without first seeking approval from lawmakers who are constitutionally empowered to decide when the country goes to war and oversee defense spending.
Still, Congress has also long shown “disinterest” in exercising its power over foreign policy, said Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute. “This was a preexisting condition,” he explained to JI. “By and large, Congress abdicated its oversight role before Trump even came to office,” especially as national security matters have been overshadowed by competing domestic issues such as inflation and immigration, which “resonate more saliently” with voters.
“Trump’s dominance over the Republican Party accounts for much of the acquiescence on the part of his Congress,” observed Stephen Schlesinger, a historian who specializes in international affairs. “But let us not forget that recent Democratic presidents have practically had a free hand, too, in pursuing their own global policies — with little reaction or opposition from their party members.”
Among other examples, Schlesinger cited former President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran — brokered without consent from Congress — as well as former President Joe Biden’s “total support” for Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Republican deference to Trump, however, has set a new standard for such acquiescence, Schlesinger argued, particularly on talks with Iran. “Given the past obsessive Republican fury against a deal with Iran during Democratic administrations, still none in Trump’s party have objected to a nuclear deal with Tehran under Trump, or, for that matter, his solo decision to lift sanctions on Syria, a country led by a former radical Islamic leader,” Schlesinger noted.
“Certainly the reality of governance in Washington today is that Congress may not be totally irrelevant, but they’re an appendage to the whims and desires of the Trump presidency,” said Norman Ornstein, a senior scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. “There is little if any pushback or oversight of what Trump” and his advisors “involved in foreign policy and diplomacy are doing — and that’s a change.”
The new dynamic has forced pro-Israel groups to adapt to a new political landscape in which their traditional advocacy has been weakened by Congress’ diminished clout and lack of interest in asserting meaningful supervision over Trump’s recent Middle East policy decisions.
“There are very few remedies for this kind of a standoff where the executive branch has arrogated to itself so much power that Congress is essentially marginalized,” said Danielle Pletka, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who previously worked on the Hill. “When you look at the question of Israel, you have to see it in the context of much broader trends.”
Marshall Wittmann, a spokesperson for AIPAC, argued that both “the administration and Congress play a critical role in strengthening and expanding the U.S.-Israel relationship, and AIPAC works with key leaders in power, on both sides of the aisle and both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue, to build support for the mutually beneficial alliance between America and Israel.”
The absence of congressional influence has come as disagreements have emerged between the Trump administration and the Netanyahu government over ending the war in Gaza and nuclear diplomacy with Iran. Trump’s recent trip to the Middle East — where he met with a range of Arab leaders but did not stop in Israel — was one of the latest indications of deprioritization of America’s closest ally in the region.
Tensions have also surfaced amid ongoing negotiations with Iran. Pro-Israel advocates have voiced concerns that Trump’s negotiating team is nearing an agreement that could simply reinstate the deal brokered by the Obama administration a decade ago — which detractors had criticized as a pathway to a nuclear weapon since it allowed Iran to continue enriching uranium.
The Trump administration has indicated it will not permit Iran to retain domestic nuclear enrichment — even as some officials have sent mixed signals on the matter, contributing to a sense of confusion over the ultimate terms of an agreement. Trump pulled out of the original deal — which was widely opposed by Republicans — during his first administration.
For pro-Israel groups, the risks of clashing with Trump on key issues likely outweigh the benefits, observers contend. “Any organization has to very carefully weigh its equities before publicly taking on the administration,” Daniel Silverberg, a former top foreign policy advisor to Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), told JI.
The pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC has recognized that it is now operating in a unique landscape, according to Manny Houle, a Democratic pro-Israel strategist who previously served as the group’s progressive outreach director in the Midwest. Before Trump was elected, Howard Kohr, AIPAC’s former president, frequently said the group “was all about Congress,” Houle recalled in a recent interview with JI. “Then, Trump was in office and he said we’re going to be dealing with the White House.”
Marshall Wittmann, a spokesperson for AIPAC, argued that both “the administration and Congress play a critical role in strengthening and expanding the U.S.-Israel relationship, and AIPAC works with key leaders in power, on both sides of the aisle and both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue, to build support for the mutually beneficial alliance between America and Israel.”
“President Trump has a strong pro-Israel and anti-Iran record, but his administration evinced early on a lack of expertise and consistency in its policy toward Iran’s nuclear program,” said Michael Makovsky, president and CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America. “But recently that position has evolved and strengthened due in no small part to feedback it has gotten.”
“We applaud the administration’s strong statements and actions in support of our ally, commend Congress for passing pro-Israel legislation such as the annual appropriation for lifesaving security assistance to Israel, and appreciate President Trump and congressional leaders both making clear last week that Iran must completely dismantle its nuclear program,” Wittmann said in a statement to JI last week.
Even as Congress has failed to take formal action over points of disagreement with Trump’s recent Middle East directives, some pro-Israel activists suggested their outreach to lawmakers on the Iran talks in particular has yielded substantive results in recent weeks.
“President Trump has a strong pro-Israel and anti-Iran record, but his administration evinced early on a lack of expertise and consistency in its policy toward Iran’s nuclear program,” said Michael Makovsky, president and CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America. “But recently that position has evolved and strengthened due in no small part to feedback it has gotten.”
In public and private settings, JINSA and other pro-Israel groups, as well as Israeli officials and congressional Republicans, “have made the case that Trump needs to stick to his initial policy of dismantlement of Iran’s enrichment facilities,” Makovsky said.
“This has contributed to Trump officials pivoting in the past couple weeks to a tougher ‘no enrichment’ stand,” Makovsky told JI last week.
Eric Levine, a top GOP fundraiser and a board member of the Republican Jewish Coalition who recently launched a federal lobbying practice, said “the most important voice Congress will have is if the president makes a deal with Iran. I think that it’s really important that the Senate remains steadfast and safeguards its powers and insists, if there is a deal, it should be counted as a treaty. If he thinks it’s an amazing deal, he should have no trouble passing it.”
Still, it remains to be seen if the toughest voices against Iran in the Senate who have expressed reservations with enrichment limits and other perceived weaknesses of a potential deal will push back against Trump if he lands on an agreement that does not meet their standards. While some Republican lawmakers have spoken out in recent weeks to set expectations for a deal, including Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), observers say they are skeptical that Congress will ultimately seek to flex its authority if an agreement comes forward.
“The ultimate test will be if there’s a vote on Iran,” said former Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), a pro-Israel Democrat who opposed Obama’s deal in 2015. “As Congress has grown more performative, it has become less deliberative on foreign policy,” he added. “The speaker’s gavel has become a rubber stamp. The result is an abdication by Congress of its delineated responsibilities.”
Eric Levine, a top GOP fundraiser and a board member of the Republican Jewish Coalition who recently launched a federal lobbying practice, said “the most important voice Congress will have is if the president makes a deal with Iran.”
“I think that it’s really important that the Senate remains steadfast and safeguards its powers and insists, if there is a deal, it should be counted as a treaty,” said Levine. “If he thinks it’s an amazing deal, he should have no trouble passing it,” Levine said of Trump’s efforts to reach what he has suggested is an imminent accord.
It is unclear if the White House will seek approval from Congress for a deal, even as lawmakers have recently stressed that an agreement would have no guarantee of surviving in future administrations if not ratified by the legislative branch.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio affirmed during hearings on Capitol Hill last week that U.S. law requires that any deal with Iran be submitted to Congress for review and approval, noting that he had been in Congress when that law, the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, was passed. A White House spokesperson declined to confirm if Trump plans to present a potential deal to Congress when reached by JI on Wednesday, deferring to the president and Witkoff’s remarks from the Oval Office — which did not address the matter.
With Congress increasingly on the sidelines, some pro-Israel groups have turned to alternative forms of advocacy to buttress their lobbying efforts in recent years.
“Advocacy tactics are always changing,” James Thurber, a distinguished professor of government at American University and a leading expert on federal lobbying, told JI. “It is like war where opponents must be flexible, try new tools, assess and adjust. It is essential to be persistently focused on the best strategy, theme and message and to not rely on outdated lobbying tactics.”
“Our world has changed,” said Ann Lewis, a veteran Democratic advisor and a former co-chair of Democratic Majority for Israel, whose formidable political arm has actively engaged in congressional primaries featuring sharp divisions over Israel. “Any definition of advocacy that begins post-election is less effective than it deserves to be.”
Indeed, AIPAC’s foray into campaign politics four years ago, marking a major tactical shift for the organization, was a sign of the changing power dynamics in Washington. The group has since helped to elect a range of congressional allies, while working to unseat some of the fiercest critics of Israel in the House and blocking potential antagonists from getting elected.
“Advocacy tactics are always changing,” James Thurber, a distinguished professor of government at American University and a leading expert on federal lobbying, told JI. “It is like war where opponents must be flexible, try new tools, assess and adjust. It is essential to be persistently focused on the best strategy, theme and message and to not rely on outdated lobbying tactics.”
But as most foreign policy decisions now emanate from the White House, some pro-Israel activists say they remain frustrated by the lack of will from Congress to assert its authority, even as they vow their efforts will continue.
“It is tragic that Congress has so blatantly shirked its responsibility to act as a check and balance on the executive branch,” a senior political operative involved in pro-Israel advocacy recently lamented. “But under no circumstances does that mean we stop fighting for the future of the U.S.-Israel relationship.”
FIRST LOOK – Vanity Fair September issue, “GOLDMAN’S GEEK TRAGEDY: A month after ace (Jewish) programmer Sergey Aleynikov left Goldman Sachs, he was arrested. Exactly what he’d done neither the F.B.I., which interrogated him, nor the jury, which convicted him a year later, seemed to understand. But Goldman had accused him of stealing computer code, and the 41-year-old father of three was sentenced to eight years in federal prison. Investigating Aleynikov’s case, MICHAEL LEWIS holds a second trial” – “[I]n early 2009 [Aleynikov got an offer] to create a trading platform from scratch for a new hedge fund run by a 39-year-old Russian fellow named Misha Malyshev [who was] willing to pay him more than a million dollars a year … He agreed and then told Goldman he was leaving. … Four times in the course of [his final six] weeks he mailed himself source code he was working on. (He’d later be accused of sending himself 32 megabytes of code, but what he sent was essentially the same 8 megabytes of code four times over.) The files contained a lot of open-source code he had worked with, and modified, over the past two years, mingled together with code that wasn’t open source but proprietary to Goldman Sachs. As he would later try and fail to explain to an F.B.I. agent, he hoped to disentangle the one from the other, in case he needed to remind himself how he had done what he had done with the open-source code, in the event he might need to do it again. (more…)
Please log in if you already have a subscription, or subscribe to access the latest updates.
Continue with Google
Continue with Apple