Daily Kickoff
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2026
Good Wednesday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we break down the latest results of Israel’s first post-Oct. 7 election as results trickle in, spotlight Democrat David Jolly’s effort to upset Byron Donalds in Florida’s gubernatorial race despite the presence of DSA member Angie Nixon on the Democratic slate, and look at the race in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, where moderate Democrat Christina Bohannan is looking to unseat Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Rep. Brad Schneider, Ludovic Hood and Tovah Feldshuh.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss, with assists from Tamara Zieve and Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
Today's Agenda
Votes are still being tallied following yesterday’s election in Israel, which saw Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc pull in several additional seats overnight following the initial exit poll results that had Netanyahu falling just behind the opposition coalition led by former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot. More below on the results.
With less than a week before the midterms, the Republican Jewish Coalition is hosting an event with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Michigan GOP Senate nominee Mike Rogers — who is locked in a tight race against Democrat Abdul El-Sayed — in Oakland County, Mich., focused on Jewish communal security.
Sen. Jim Banks’ (R-IN) Northeast Indiana Defense Summit continues today in Fort Wayne with speakers including Sens. Dave McCormick (R-PA) and Todd Young (R-IN) and acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao slated to speak this morning.
The Milken Institute's Global Investors' Symposium kicks off today in Mexico City. Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman is slated to speak this morning about financial markets in a sit-down with Milken Institute CEO Richard Ditizio.
One Thing to Know
By Lahav Harkov
Most Israelis voted for change on Tuesday, in the country’s first election since the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks, but a plurality voted for parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc, turning the formation of a majority coalition into a challenging political puzzle.
In nearly all televised exit polls, 70 out of 120 Knesset seats went to parties that either vowed not to work with Netanyahu or are unlikely to do so, while the coalition lost some 18 seats in the election. Yet by Wednesday morning, with 70% of the votes counted, that combined “change” bloc, led by former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, and Arab bloc had shrunk to 66 seats.
Nearly all votes will be counted by Wednesday afternoon, followed by votes from army bases, embassies abroad, prisons and other far-flung polling stations, which tend to move one or two seats, with the final results of the election likely to be certified by Thursday or Friday.
The Big Reads
florida factor
David Jolly looks to translate moderate, pro-Israel record in Congress to upset in Florida governor’s race
Florida Democrats are confident that former Rep. David Jolly, the state’s Democratic nominee for governor, will handily win the Jewish vote over Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), his Republican opponent — and believe Jolly is running a competitive race that could deliver a surprise victory. But Jolly’s campaign has been complicated by the presence of Angie Nixon, the Democratic candidate for Senate and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, on the same ticket, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports. “We’re just honest about our differences,” Jolly told JI last week of Nixon. “I consider myself an ally of Israel, I have been throughout my career in politics.”
hawkeye hangup
Top Democratic recruit in Iowa balances support of Israel with criticism of war in Gaza
Christina Bohannan, a leading Democratic recruit running against Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, has balanced support for Israel with criticism of its war in Gaza in public comments, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. Bohannan faced protests from anti-Israel demonstrators in 2024 who accused her of being silent about the war in Gaza and for not calling for a ceasefire or an end to U.S. aid. In November 2023, she expressed concern about a statement by the University of Iowa College Democrats that “used particular language commonly used by Hamas and other terrorist groups to advocate for the elimination of Israel.”
pressure mounts
Brad Schneider says El-Sayed must ‘publicly condemn’ ‘gross, antisemitic’ ad
Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), a co-chair of the Congressional Jewish Caucus, said Tuesday that Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed must go further to “publicly condemn” an antisemitic ad by an outside group supporting his campaign, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. “[T]he gross, antisemitic campaign ad by Rebellion PAC … has no place in American political discourse,” Schneider wrote on X of the ad, which blames U.S. aid to Israel for high grocery prices in the United States. Schneider follows Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), who co-chairs the House antisemitism task force, in calling El-Sayed’s comments to this point insufficient.
Rabbis’ rebuke: Rabbis with the Nonnegotiable campaign said Tuesday that El-Sayed hasn’t done enough to disavow an antisemitic ad by an outside group supporting him. And they expressed broader fears about political alienation amid the party’s embrace of El-Sayed.
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.
The U.S. has reportedly warned several Gulf countries that it may carry out a short but intense military campaign against Iran after the midterm elections, and is bolstering its forces in the region for such an operation…
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said that the U.N. agency had not identified any efforts by Iran to repair or reconstruct the nuclear facilities damaged by U.S. and Israeli strikes in 2025 and earlier this year…
The Defense Department told national security committees on Capitol Hill that the Iran war has cost $47.1 billion as of mid-October, about $3.5 billion of which was spent in the six weeks since the Pentagon’s last report to Congress…
The NYPD confirmed it is no longer in talks to enter a no-bid contract with Israeli surveillance tech firm Cognyte, citing “an issue” after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani received backlash from anti-Israel activists over the deal…
New York Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander claimed Israeli immigration authorities revoked his ETA-IL entry permit to the country after he was briefly detained during an olive harvest in the West Bank last week.
The Democratic Socialists of America also claimed that seven DSA organizers were banned by Israeli authorities from entering the West Bank via Jordan, including being “held in detention without passports for more than eight hours”...
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) condemned a pro-Abdul El-Sayed ad that links grocery prices to U.S. aid to Israel, saying, “This is a divisive stunt that trades on age-old themes of antisemitism. It blames Israel for all the ills in America. Serious people, who want to win in Michigan, are focused on lowering costs and ending President Trump's corruption”…
The Morris County Jewish Democratic Caucus in New Jersey declined to endorse Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-NJ), a vocal critic of Israel, for reelection to a full term, despite endorsing a slate of other Democrats up and down the ballot…
The University of California, Los Angeles filed a motion to dismiss the Trump administration’s lawsuit alleging the school did not address antisemitism directed at its employees in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks…
UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed awarded the FlyDubai crew of Flight FZ1073 with the First Class Order of Zayed II, one of the country’s top honors, for their actions in thwarting the attempted hijacking of the flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv last month…
British authorities charged two men with national security offenses connected to a September incident at the RAF Fairford air base, with one accused of assisting a foreign intelligence service — believed to be Iran — and the other charged with entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the U.K.…
Iranian director Jafar Panahi was sentenced in absentia to five years and one month in an Iranian prison; the court also ordered the seizure of Panahi’s assets as well as a two-year travel and social media ban on the filmmaker…
Serbian officials said that a police officer guarding the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia, killed an assailant who attempted to attack him with a knife in what authorities are investigating as a terrorist attack…
The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen claimed to have struck Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura oil refinery, the kingdom’s largest, with a ballistic missile; a Houthi military spokesperson said the strike, which Saudi authorities have not confirmed, caused a fire at the facility…
Egyptian Investment and Foreign Trade Minister Mohamed Farid Saleh said that Qatar served as the largest foreign investor in Egypt last year, accounting for approximately 21% of the $18 billion in foreign direct investment in the country…
Former State Department official Ludovic Hood is joining WestExec Advisors as a senior advisor…
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.
Community Comms
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Fair Questions for El-Sayed: The Washington Post’s Carine Hajjar posits that some scrutiny of Abdul El-Sayed is warranted given his positions and past rhetoric, even as the Michigan Democratic Senate nominee has suggested that questions about his beliefs are rooted in Islamophobia. “El-Sayed condemned the [Michigan synagogue] attack, but he also tried to rationalize it, saying, ‘Hurt people hurt people.’ El-Sayed later apologized for the comment, saying he was trying to lend ‘context’ to the matter. But is there ever a need for ‘context’ to explain an attempt to massacre Americans? That’s a fair question for any prospective U.S. senator — and religion doesn’t enter into it.” [WashPost]
The Sons Also Rise: The Financial Times’ Peter Andringa, Alex Rogers and George Steer do a deep dive into the business interests of President Donald Trump’s sons that have included meetings with foreign leaders and officials even as they remain private citizens. “Because Trump Jr and Eric are not government employees, their business relationships and finances are more opaque. The brothers have investments and advisory roles in companies across industries — including some being transformed by U.S. policy such as crypto, defense and critical minerals.” [FT]
A Grandmother’s Fears: In eJewishPhilanthropy, Laura Merage, a co-founder of the David Merage Foundation for Confronting Antisemitism, reflects on her own childhood experiences with antisemitism in Iran as her U.S.-based foundation works to combat antisemitism. “Now I catch myself watching my grandchildren head to the mall in Denver wearing their Star of David necklaces, wanting to tell them to tuck them under their shirts — the exact words my mother once said to me. I bite my tongue, but it breaks my heart. That is the arc of my life.” [eJP]
Picture of the Day
Actor Tovah Feldshuh emceed the American Friends of Magen David Adom’s annual New York City gala on Tuesday night, held at Cipriani Wall Street. CNN commentator Van Jones, who headlined the gala, warned in his keynote speech that antisemitism threatens the historic alliance between Black Americans and Jews, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports. Abbie Sophia Photography
Birthdays
Bob Melvin, manager of MLB’s San Francisco Giants until the end of the 2025 season, he has been named Manager of the Year three times, turns 65
LACHLAN CUNNINGHAM/GETTY IMAGES
Rabbi Adolf Shayevich, rabbi of the Moscow Choral Synagogue, turns 89
Rabbi David Twersky, spiritual leader of the village of New Square (in Rockland County, N.Y.) and Hasidic rebbe of Skverer Hasidism worldwide, turns 86
Dennis Franz, retired actor best known for his role as NYPD Det. Andy Sipowicz in “NYPD Blue,” turns 82
Sofa Landver, former member of the Knesset for the Yisrael Beiteinu party, she also served as minister of aliyah and integration, turns 77
Faye Ginsburg, anthropology professor at NYU, she won a 1994 MacArthur genius fellowship, turns 74
Rabbi Benjamin Scolnic, rabbi at Temple Beth Sholom in Hamden, Conn., turns 73
Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, turns 71
David Louis Finkel, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author, he is a 2012 MacArthur genius fellow, turns 71
Rachel Levine, four-star admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and assistant secretary for health, both throughout the Biden administration, turns 69
Jackie Levy, former member of the Knesset for Likud, he then served as mayor of Beit She’an, Israel, turns 66
Mindy Haas, executive director of the Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass in Lexington, Ky., and a member of Kentucky’s Antisemitism Task Force
Maurizio Molinari, Italian journalist, he served as editor-in-chief of the daily la Repubblica from 2020 to 2024, turns 62
Jami Gertz, actor and investor, she is a part-owner of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, turns 61
Tony Levine, owner of a Chick-fil-A franchise in the Houston area, he was a collegiate and an NFL football coach, turns 54
Jacob “Jake” Kasdan, film and television director, producer, screenwriter and actor, turns 52
Joaquin Rafael Phoenix, Academy and Grammy Award-winning actor, turns 52
Yaakov “Kobi” Peretz, Israeli singer in the Mizrahi style, turns 51
Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, member of the California State Assembly (D-16), turns 48
Oren Hazan, member of the Knesset for the Likud party from 2015 to 2019, turns 45
Adam Kwasman, member of the city council of Scottsdale, Ariz., turns 44
Elliot Schwab, president at Apex Healthcare Properties
Avital “Tali” Warburg Goldstein, director of member experience strategy at Oscar Health
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