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Daily Kickoff
FRIDAY, AUGUST 28, 2026
Good Friday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we explore the fight brewing on Capitol Hill over the Trump administration’s civilian nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia, and look at how Rep. Jamie Raskin’s probe of campus antisemitism investigations is drawing criticism from some in the Jewish community. We report on Turkey’s retention of Ballard Partners and Rep. Robert Wexler to represent Ankara’s defense interests in Washington, and cover Sen. Jon Ossoff’s repudiation of Hasan Piker’s recent antisemitic comments. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Mijal Bitton, Domincan Republic President Luis Abinader and Elkana Bohbot.
Curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss, with an assist from Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
The Weekly Print
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: From Beirut to Riyadh, Assouline’s luxury book collection has yet to spotlight an Israeli city; The moderate Michigan Democrat holding the line against Hasan Piker; and ‘Recognize our humanity and our fear’: Jewish employees’ 2023 plea to Vox Media went unanswered. Print the latest edition here.
Today's Agenda
Jewish Republicans are making their way to Las Vegas ahead of the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership summit, which kicks off on Sunday. Vice President JD Vance is expected to address the gathering, as are Sens. Dave McCormick (R-PA), Jim Banks (R-IN) and Tim Sheehy (R-MT); Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Lisa McClain (R-MI), Brandon Gill (R-TX), David Kustoff (R-TN), Randy Fine (R-FL), Craig Goldman (R-TX) and Brian Jack (R-GA), former Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter. JI’s Marc Rod will be on the ground at the RJC summit — send him a note if you’ll be there.
In Washington today, the Religious Action Center is marking the anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington.
The World Council of Religious Leaders is holding its One World: One Humanity gathering in New York City this weekend. Rabbi Noam Marans, the American Jewish Committee’s director of interreligious affairs, is set to give one of the keynotes at the daylong confab.
In Massachusetts on Saturday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is slated to headline a rally for Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) alongside Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), as Markey faces a primary challenge from Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA).
On Sunday, the Michigan Jewish Caucus is holding its annual Summer Simcha. This year’s event, which Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed is slated to attend, will honor Attorney General Dana Nessel. The event comes days after Nessel, appearing on “The David Frum Show,” accused El-Sayed of “making excuses” for domestic terrorism in his response to the March attack at a suburban Detroit synagogue by a Hezbollah sympathizer.
Elsewhere on Sunday, the Jewish American Summit 2026 is taking place in Los Angeles. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Leiter and University of California Regent Jay Sures are among those slated to speak.
In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet on Sunday with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir — respectively the leaders of the Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit parties — as he pushes for the far-right officials to unite their parties ahead of the Oct. 27 election. The meeting comes after new polling showed former IDF Brig. Gen. Ofer Winter’s People of Israel party gaining seats and potentially knocking Smotrich’s party below the threshold to enter the Knesset.
One Thing to Know
By Marc Rod
The Trump administration this week submitted the civilian nuclear deal it signed with Saudi Arabia to Congress for a legally mandated review period — during which time Congress could, theoretically, vote to block the deal.
Of most concern for lawmakers, the agreement would reportedly allow for nuclear enrichment inside Saudi Arabia, which critics warn could provide a path toward a Saudi nuclear weapon and set off a race for nuclear enrichment and arms around the region or even the world, with other U.S. allies demanding similar privileges.
Once the administration submits the deal to Congress, it is subject to a 90-day consultation and review period, during which the House and Senate foreign relations committees are expected to hold hearings and recommend to the full Congress whether to approve the deal.
Bottom line: There’s likely to be an intense fight on Capitol Hill over this deal leading into the midterms and the end of the congressional session. But if the Trump administration wants it to go into effect, it probably will.
Are you a member of Congress or a congressional staffer? Do you have a copy of the agreement? Reach out to marc@jewishinsider.com.
The Big Reads
communal concern
Raskin’s probe of campus antisemitism investigations draws criticism from Jewish community
For years, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) has been viewed by his Jewish constituents as an ally in fighting antisemitism and as generally supportive of Israel, despite his deep disagreements with the Netanyahu government and current U.S. policy in the Middle East, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. But a recent broadside against the Trump administration’s investigations into campus antisemitism, in which Raskin cited whistleblower reports to describe the investigations into Harvard, Brown and Columbia universities as fabricated and predetermined, is generating new tensions with some community members. Raskin also spent Wednesday on the campaign trail boosting Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, whose virulent anti-Israel views and associations with an antisemitic streamer have made him persona non grata throughout much of Michigan’s Jewish community.
turkey's trump card
Turkey retains Trump-tied lobbying firm in Washington
The Turkish government has retained Ballard Partners — a lobbying firm with deep ties to President Donald Trump — to represent Ankara’s Ministry of National Defense in Washington, as Turkey and the U.S. continue to improve ties under the Trump administration despite growing animosity between Ankara and Jerusalem, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports. The firm’s team on the contract includes former Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL), a pro-Turkey and pro-Israel voice on Capitol Hill who co-founded the Congressional Caucus on U.S.-Turkey Relations in 2001. Speaking with JI on Thursday, Wexler framed the partnership as aiming to strengthen U.S.-Turkish ties while also attempting to mend severely strained relations between Ankara and Jerusalem.
ossoff on record
Ossoff ‘unreservedly rejects’ Piker’s comments on Jewish support for Israel
Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) joined the growing list of Democrats condemning far-left streamer Hasan Piker’s recent comments suggesting American Jews bear responsibility for inciting antisemitic attacks due to their support for Israel, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. An Ossoff spokesperson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the Georgia senator “unreservedly rejects reckless and dangerous rhetoric suggesting that policy advocacy invites violence against the Jewish community or any community” and that “American Jews and all Americans must have the freedom and security to speak out and petition their government without fear of reprisal.”
On the flip side: Ossoff’s GOP opponent, Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), is again facing criticism over the extremist activity of an associate, following a Washington Post report that a former staffer shared images of a swastika and of himself in a KKK robe.
The Rundown
The rest of today’s original stories from Jewish Insider — full stories, all published on the site.
On Our Radar
● The Live Briefing. Word on the street, clips, podcasts and quick updates — the items we’re tracking all day in our Live Briefing on our app (on Apple and Android) and website.
CENTCOM head Adm. Brad Cooper confirmed in a video update on Thursday night that the U.S. military had cleared the Strait of Hormuz's shipping lanes of sea mines, and announced that U.S. forces helped nearly 1,500 commercial vessels carrying nearly 750 million barrels of oil transit the strait over the past several months...
The Associated Press reports that the U.S. is facing a “beyond critical” shortage of advanced missile interceptors — including Patriot missile interceptors — in Europe, owing to their use in the war against Iran; the report comes days after CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow to advise Russia against attacking NATO territory and to end its support for Iran…
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said following a meeting on Thursday with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani that resuming diplomatic efforts with the U.S. “isn't impossible” but that Washington should come to the table with an “understanding of one simple fact: pressure doesn't work.”
But Trump administration officials have indicated that the White House does not want to return to the memorandum of understanding it previously had with Tehran, opting instead to pursue its economic pressure campaign...
President Donald Trump responded to a question about Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) potential entry into the 2028 presidential race, saying, “He's very talented, he's a very good friend of mine. I think he might do that, yeah”...
The New York Times looks at the response among Democrats to the decision by House Democratic leaders to name Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) to the party’s top role in the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Middle East subcommittee…
Meta said it shut down a network of accounts on its Facebook and Instagram platforms tied to an Iranian effort to use AI to target American users with content about U.S. politics; the content, which reached thousands of accounts, also included messaging about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict…
The Justice Department is appealing the dismissal by a district court in Massachusetts of its antisemitism lawsuit against Harvard University, in which the presiding judge ruled that the instances of campus antisemitism were “too isolated and episodic” to constitute an ongoing violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act…
The New York Times previews the Broadway production of Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich’s play “Here There Are Blueberries,” the Pulitzer Prize finalist based on the true story of the response of U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum officials to a photo album gifted to the museum that contained photos depicting the off-duty lives of SS officers at Auschwitz…
Prosecutors in Scotland are pursuing terrorism-aggravated charges against seven Palestine Action members who in March 2025 vandalized the Trump Turnberry golf resort…
Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader said at the Combat Antisemitism Movement’s conference in Santo Domingo this week that the country would adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, becoming the 48th country to do so…
An Israeli court acquitted a man who had been filmed spitting on a nun in Jerusalem’s Old City — an incident that prompted widespread outrage at the time — citing the man’s mental illness; the man, who was determined to be in a psychotic state during the April incident, was ordered to spend the next six years in a psychiatric hospital…
Former Israeli hostage Elkana Bohbot, who was released from captivity in Gaza last October, announced the birth of his second child, a girl, with his wife, Rebecca…
Mijal Bitton was tapped by Maimonides Fund to serve as dean of the Maimonides Jewish Leadership Institute, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim reports…
Venture capitalist and finance analyst Benjamin Rosen, who was one of the first to push for private investments in the technology industry, died at 93…
JI Live Briefing · Free preview
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The Live Briefing is JI’s real-time feed — breaking news, notable content from across the web, video clips, images and more, all day. The items above are just a taste.
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Enemy Lines: In Tablet, Elliott Abrams reflects on Jared Kushner’s meeting earlier this month with senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya. “The Trump administration’s policy of meeting with terrorist leaders does more than legitimize their aims and tactics. It also establishes a ruinous precedent for future administrations that find deeper sympathies with organizations that murder Western civilians while proclaiming, ‘Death to America.’ … The Kushner-al-Hayya meeting is in fact the latest in decades of such mistakes, and the interesting question is why the U.S. officials making them did not see them as errors that would undermine U.S. interests.” [Tablet]
Lurie’s Allure: The Washington Post’s Kate Andrews spotlights San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, a Democrat, who has largely focused his time in office on addressing local challenges. “‘I think it is radical for an elected official to think about his or her city and just stay focused on that,’ Lurie, 49, tells me … The mayor is having a moment in America, in large part because of attitudes like [progressive Seattle Mayor Katie] Wilson’s and grocery store stunts like [New York City Mayor Zohran] Mamdani’s. Such politicking has captured the nation’s attention, but Lurie isn’t interested in weighing in on any of it. ‘I don’t really think about parties and ideology,’ he says.” [WashPost]
High Holy Day Appeal: In the Jerusalem News Syndicate, Nathan Diament, executive director of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center, calls on Congress to increase funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program. "With the High Holidays around the corner, millions of American Jews will attend synagogue with a sense of trepidation — not because Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish Day of Judgment, but because sitting in synagogues for hours at a time makes us think about the attacks that have occurred. … This security crisis strikes at the heart of the First Amendment. American society cannot function without flourishing religious life. And there is no true freedom of religion without freedom from fear.” [JNS]
Picture of the Day
Former Israeli hostage Emily Damari (right), who was held in Hamas captivity in Gaza for more than 15 months, on Thursday night married food influencer Danielle Amit in a ceremony in Tel Aviv.
Birthdays
Lea Michele Sarfati, actor, singer and songwriter, known professionally by her first and middle names, turns 40 on Saturday
UDO SALTERS/PATRICK MCMULLAN VIA GETTY IMAGES
FRIDAY
Tibor Spitz, artist and chemist, he survived the Holocaust by living with his family in a hole in the ground for seven months, turns 97
Bernard Kupferschmid, independent international trade and development professional, turns 95
Yakir Aharonov, professor emeritus of quantum physics at Tel Aviv University, now on the faculty of Chapman University in Southern California, turns 94
Robert Elman, honorary president of the Israel Policy Forum and past president of the American Jewish Committee
Robert Greenwald, filmmaker and the founder of Brave New Films, turns 81
Jane Denkensohn, retired general counsel of Queens College of the City University of New York
Heather Maxine Reisman, founder and CEO of retail chain Indigo Books & Music and co-founder and past chair of Kobo, turns 78
Susan Mailer, psychoanalyst and author of a 2019 memoir about her father, Norman Mailer, turns 77
Merryl H. Tisch, chair of the SUNY Board of Trustees and former chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents, turns 71
Gary J. Shapiro, executive chair of the Consumer Technology Association and author of several books on business and innovation, turns 70
Rabbi Jose Rolando Matalon, rabbi emeritus of B'nai Jeshurun on the Upper West Side of Manhattan
Daniel Jacob Stern, actor, best known for his roles in two “Home Alone” films and two “City Slickers” films, turns 69
Emma Elizabeth Wylie Samuelson, British actor, known professionally as Emma Samms, she is best known for her soap opera roles, turns 66
Jonathan G. Cedarbaum, professor of practice at The George Washington University, he was deputy counsel in the Biden administration and the National Security Council legal advisor, turns 65
David J. Zuckerman, television writer and producer, he is best known as the original showrunner and executive producer of the animated comedy series “Family Guy,” turns 64
Jonathan Steven Adelstein, FCC Commissioner from 2002 to 2009, then CEO of the Wireless Infrastructure Association, turns 64
Naomi Fried, Ph.D., managing partner and co-founder of PharmStars and managing partner and co-founder of Ambit Health Ventures
Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Meta/Facebook from 2008 to 2022, turns 57
Thomas Jacob "Jack" Black, actor, comedian and musician, in 2018 he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, turns 57
Richard Recht, early pioneer of contemporary Jewish rock music, turns 56
Kai Falkenberg, general counsel of The Guardian US and a lecturer at Columbia Law School
Daniel “Doni” Greenwald, first VP in the Baltimore office of Newmark Valuation & Advisory
Steven Michael Mesler, Olympic gold medalist in four-man bobsleigh in 2010, he is the co-founder and CEO of Classroom Champions, turns 48
Gilad Shalit, Israeli soldier held captive for over five years by Hamas, released in 2011 as part of a prisoner exchange deal, turns 40
Michael Dunn, offensive lineman for six different NFL teams since 2017, turns 32
Ari Willner
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