Daily Kickoff
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2026
Good Wednesday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at the tensions in the new Knesset as Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party holds coalition talks, report on a push by Sen. Chris Van Hollen to remove U.S.-Israel cooperation provisions from an upcoming defense authorization bill and cover Lehrhaus’ plans to open a Washington location in the city’s Logan Circle neighborhood. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Michael Abramowitz, Rabbi Meir Soloveichik and Neria Leiter.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss, with assists from Tamara Zieve and Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
Today's Agenda
The Simon Wiesenthal Center is honoring Skydance Co-CEO Ynon Kreiz and former CNN anchor Bianna Golodryga at its annual tribute dinner tonight in Beverly Hills.
The Israel Hayom summit is taking place today in New York. Speakers at the daylong confab include U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz, the Justice Department’s Leo Terrell, State Department antisemitism envoy Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch, former White House Middle East Envoy Jason Greenblatt, former Trump administration official Morgan Ortagus, Dr. Miriam Adelson, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, Jewish Agency Chair Doron Almog and former Israeli hostage Avinatan Or.
In Washington, the three-day Milken Future of Health Summit begins tonight, bringing together CEOs, policymakers, researchers and philanthropists from across the global health ecosystem.
And in Israel, Nas Summit Jerusalem, a conference on AI, media and the Middle East hosted by Arab Israeli creator Nuseir "Nas" Yassin, is taking place today in Jerusalem. The day-long summit began this morning with opening remarks from Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
One Thing to Know
By Gili Cohen
One of the most popular songs in Israel in recent years claims that "he who believes does not fear." Yet time and again, Israeli politicians walk a path where they both believe and fear. Tuesday’s swearing-in ceremony for the 26th Knesset was a case in point.
On one side stood Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a lengthy speech that resembled a defiant campaign address far more than an official, unifying address, he again underscored the threat posed by Iran as it "works to revive" its nuclear program.
On the other side was President Isaac Herzog, who appealed to the Knesset members’ better angels, noting that the Israeli public elected them "in the hope that you will advance Israeli society for the better." Herzog, maintaining his optimism, pushed for the formation of a national unity government that would translate, as he said on Tuesday, "these forces into cooperation, unifying dialogue and active listening."
In his own speech, Netanyahu similarly called on lawmakers to "put all other considerations aside and establish a national unity government." Yet moments later, he launched a fierce attack on the Knesset's Arab parties, declaring: "To those considering forming a government that includes, or relies upon, supporters of terrorism who hate Israel, what do you think their true goal is? ... You fail to understand what they really seek to achieve and what their national aspirations are."
The Big Reads
MR. [Van] HOLLEN'S OPUS
Van Hollen leads push to remove U.S.-Israel cooperation provisions from defense authorization bill
A group of a dozen Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), wrote to House and Senate leaders on Tuesday urging them to remove provisions on U.S.-Israel military and intelligence cooperation from the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. The lawmakers said that the provisions would “constrain the administration’s ability to independently determine how best to protect U.S. national security and would lock in long-term commitments despite our serious concerns with the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza, the West Bank, and other parts of the region.”
Rising in the ranks: Politico spotlights Van Hollen as “the alternative of choice for a swath of Democrats” who want to see Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) replaced as the leader of the Senate Democrats, finding that the Maryland senator “has emerged as an increasingly strident critic of the Democratic party establishment and its approach to President Donald Trump, as well as its positions on populist economic policies and the U.S. relationship with Israel — and members of the party’s left flank have noticed.”
CHRIS CROSSED
Philadelphia Jewish federation blasts Chris Rabb’s silence on bike protest
The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia blasted Rep.-elect Chris Rabb (D-PA) in a statement to Jewish Insider on Tuesday for his continued silence about the antisemitic bicycle rally that targeted Jewish- and Israeli-owned businesses in the heart of Philadelphia last weekend, JI’s Marc Rod reports. The federation said it is “deeply troubled” by Rabb’s continued silence when officials up and down the state had spoken out against the antisemitic nature of the event. “His silence is therefore not simply a missed opportunity to comment on a troubling incident. It raises a fundamental question about how he intends to represent and stand up for all of his constituents, including Philadelphia’s Jewish community,” the federation said.
Rabb’s relations: The Washington Free Beacon reports that Rabb in April signed onto a letter with the Philadelphia Palestine Coalition and Philadelphia Black Alliance for Peace, two of the groups that organized the bike rally, calling on Gov. Josh Shapiro to release Mumia Abu-Jamal, who is serving a life sentence for the 1981 killing of a Philadelphia police officer.
SECOND HELPING
Lehrhaus, Boston’s Jewish tavern and house of learning, is coming to D.C.
Lehrhaus, a Jewish tavern and house of learning in Boston that blends food, drinks and Jewish study, is preparing to open its second location, in Washington, D.C., bringing its concept to a city with few full-service kosher dining options, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen and eJewishPhilanthropy’s Jay Deitcher report. The organization announced last month that it had secured its second location, in the nation’s capital — it is set to close on a building just north of Logan Circle and is hiring a full staff with the goal of replicating the success of its Boston location, where hundreds of Jews of all ages go to relax, learn and socialize weekly, with options for classes taught by top scholars held five nights per week.
The Rundown
The rest of today’s original stories from Jewish Insider — full stories, all published on the site.
MINORITY REPORT
House Republicans elect Jim Jordan as minority leader
CONDITIONAL CONFIRMATION
Cruz ties support for Somalia ambassador nominee to U.S. recognition of Somaliland
FUNDING FIGHT
Top Senate Dem says ‘looking at all options’ to end Iran war ahead of December funding deadline
SANCTIONS STRATEGY
Rubio: Military operations in Iran unnecessary — for now
FRIENDLY FOES
Rep.-elect Adam Hamawy declines to call Iran a U.S. adversary in CNN interview
DEM DIRECTION
David Axelrod downplays DSA ascendance within Democratic Party
PENTAGON SHOWDOWN
Hegseth accuses Massie of carrying out personal vendetta in impeachment effort
BORROWED TIME
House scuttles Hegseth impeachment push — for now
PUSHED BACK
Senate Judiciary Committee postpones vote on religious institution buffer zone bill
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.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was relocated to a military base from his Washington-area home amid threats from Iran…
Former President Joe Biden and former First Lady Jill Biden were heckled by anti-Israel protesters as they were leaving an event at Dublin’s Trinity College, with at least one demonstrator throwing an object toward the couple as they departed…
In an interview with Politico, Palantir CEO Alex Karp, who has contributed millions to Trump-affiliated intiatives, including $1 million to MAGA Inc., praised Democrats following the party’s midterm extensive wins; “I know more about being a progressive than almost anybody on the planet, and I absolutely believe Palantir — all of our products are essentially progressive,” Karp told the outlet, which reported that he deployed the term “progressive” six additional times in the interview...
Derek Utley, one of the co-founders of X Strategies — the digital firm that runs Trump’s @TrumpWarRoom and @TeamTrump social media accounts — alleged in a new lawsuit that his co-founder and former Trump campaign aide Alex Bruesewitz was paid roughly $500,000 by “individuals associated with Qatar” in an undisclosed arrangement.
Bruesewitz’s lawyer called the claims “flaccid and defamatory,” while the Qatari Embassy in Washington also denied the report: “Bruesewitz has received no money from the State of Qatar, or at the direction of the State of Qatar,” it said…
Orlen, Poland’s largest energy group, canceled one of its two long-term liquefied natural gas supply contracts with QatarEnergy after the energy supplier couldn’t fulfill its delivery obligations due to disruptions caused by the Iran war; the termination of the deal, which was meant to last through 2034, is the first of its kind since the war began…
A New York grand jury charged a Kataib Hezbollah commander being held in a New York jail with helping to direct the failed plot to attack the RAF Fairford base in the U.K.; Mohammad Dawood Al-Saadi, who was already facing charges of plotting to attack Jewish sites in the U.S. and Europe, is alleged to have used coded messages while speaking to his family from jail to instruct others to carry out the thwarted attack on the base, which was used by the U.S. to launch strikes against Iran…
A U.S. appeals court unanimously upheld a lower court ruling blocking the removal of Voice of America Director Michael Abramowitz, who was dismissed by Kari Lake, whom a court determined earlier this year had been illegally leading VOA parent U.S. Agency for Global Media…
Jewish Federation Los Angeles and dozens of other local Jewish organizations and congregations congratulated L.A. Mayor-elect Nithya Raman, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, and called on her to “rebuild trust with Jewish Angelenos that was strained during the campaign, starting with proactive steps against antisemitism”...
Hillsdale College, the private Christian liberal arts college in Michigan, announced a new Judaism and Western Civilization Program developed in partnership with the conservative think tank Tikvah and backed by Jeff and Lis Coors and Paul and Karen Levy; Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, a senior fellow at the Tikvah Fund, will serve as a distinguished visiting scholar in the program.…
The New York Times reviews Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich’s “Here There Are Blueberries,” the just-opened Broadway play that juxtaposes the work of archivists at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum with the wartime experiences of Holocaust survivors who appear in an album of photographs that was donated to the museum…
A court in the Welsh capital of Cardiff sentenced a Palestinian asylum-seeker who arrived in the country in March and was living in government housing to six years in prison after he broke into a home and performed lewd acts in front of three young women living in the house…
A museum in the Dutch city of Amersfoort canceled an upcoming exhibition honoring the nearly 300-year-old Amersfoort Synagogue, with the museum’s director citing “tension” around the exhibit and noting that “[a]s a small and vulnerable organization, I do not want to expose my staff to that kind of pressure”...
The Australian government said it would not implement a recommendation from the country’s antisemitism envoy that an external oversight body be brought in to replace the ombudsmen of Australia’s ABC and SBS broadcasters…
Neria Leiter, a son of Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter who was critically injured in a terror attack at the West Bank checkpoint where he was stationed, was discharged from Shaare Zedek Medical Center and moved to a rehabilitation facility…
The last living Righteous Among the Nations in Israel, Jarosława Lewicka, whose family, during her youth in WWII, assisted Jews in their native Zolochiv, now in Ukraine, died at 91…
Stanley Zabar, who with his brother and a partner grew the family’s Upper West Side appetizing shop into a household name, died at 94…
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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The Long and the Short of It: In The Washington Post, George W. Bush administration officials Douglas Feith and I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby look at the debate about the concept of “endless wars,” arguing the term is increasingly used as a political catchphrase that doesn’t reflect reality. “The right question is neither whether a war can be ended quickly nor whether perseverance demonstrates national strength. It is whether achievable aims justify the costs and risks, whether a successful approach is available and whether continuing the fight is preferable to other options.” [WashPost]
Battered in Beirut: The New York Times’ Abdi Latif Dahir does a deep dive into Lebanon’s deepening economic crisis resulting from years of mismanagement, corruption and conflict with Israel as a result of Hezbollah’s entrenchment in the country. “The shocks to Lebanon’s economy stem from years of systemic problems that have hollowed out the country since the end of the civil war in 1990. A political and economic elite, dominated by sectarian power brokers and wealthy business interests, has enriched itself through cronyism and self-serving policies, creating a deeply unequal society.” [NYTimes]
Honoring Private Kasten: On Veterans Day, The Free Press’ Aaron MacLean reflects on the decision by Pfc. Hans Kasten to protect the Jewish soldiers under his command after they were captured by Nazi forces, even though many were still sent to a Buchenwald sub-camp. “But what he must have sensed in his bones, or perhaps recognized in some sort of principled philosophical form … is that in the long run, his stand was the only thing that would matter. Had, in timid passivity, a group of American fighting men allowed some subset of their number to be taken away to hellish conditions purely on account of their Jewishness, those Americans would have had to live with their failure — to have attempted to forget it, or rationalized it away — for the rest of their lives.” [FreePress]
Picture of the Day
Shira Shapira, the mother of Aner Shapira, who was killed on Oct. 7, 2023, after throwing back seven grenades that Hamas terrorists threw into a roadside shelter, visited his grave on Tuesday before she was sworn in to the 26th Knesset as a member of Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party. X/Amit Segal
Birthdays
Marc Summers, television personality (former host of “Double Dare”), turns 75
OLGA ONATE/GETTY IMAGES
Shula Kantor, retired psychiatric nurse now living in Surprise, Ariz., turns 99
Warner Wolf, retired television and radio sports broadcaster, turns 89
Barbara Boxer, former Democratic U.S. senator from California for 24 years, turns 86
Susanna Kaysen, author, best known for her 1993 autobiographical memoir Girl, Interrupted, turns 78
Ken Grossman, founder of Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, turns 72
David Leiter, co-founder and president of DC-based Plurus Strategies, he served as the principal deputy assistant secretary for energy efficiency at the DOE during the Clinton administration
Perry Birman, president at American Built-in Closets in South Florida
Emuna Braverman, Aish HaTorah teacher in Los Angeles, author and co-founder of a gourmet kosher cooking website
Zev Brenner, talk show host and president and founder of Talkline Communications, turns 68
Michael Leffell, founder of NYC-based alternative investment firm Portage Partners
Steven M. Nadler, professor of philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, turns 68
Norm Eisen, former U.S. ambassador to the Czech Republic, he served as a counsel for the Democrats during the first Trump impeachment, turns 66
Yuri Milner, Russian-born billionaire, entrepreneur, venture capitalist and physicist, turns 65
Melissa Balaban, founder and executive director of Los Angeles-based IKAR
Kobi Shabtai, Israel’s former commissioner of police, turns 62
Jason Nidorf “Max” Mutchnick, Emmy Award and People’s Choice Award-winning television producer, turns 61
Orly Levy-Abekasis, former member of the Knesset for the Likud party, she was previously a model and a television anchor, turns 53
Eyal Podell, Tel Aviv-born actor and screenwriter, he is best known for his roles in “The Young and the Restless” and “NCIS,” turns 51
Anne Rosenzweig Dreazen, vice president at the American Jewish Committee and director of its Center for a New Middle East after 15 years at the Pentagon, turns 44
Daniel Steres, professional defender in soccer, turns 36
Shelly Tsirulik, senior advisor for campaign strategy at GPS Impact
Cameron Kasky, survivor of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, he ran for Congress on a platform that was critical of Israel, turns 26
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