| | Good Tuesday morning. In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report from yesterday’s White House event on sexual violence in wartime, look at Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s increasingly frayed ties with the Jewish community in his district and have the exclusive on a letter from Maryland Senate candidate Larry Hogan to a group of rabbis who have raised concerns about Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s leftward shift on Israel. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff : Scooter Braun, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. The most high-stakes primaries taking place today will be in Virginia, where Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) is at risk of becoming the first lawmaker this cycle to lose in a contested primary, while Democrats will be choosing nominees for two open seats — including one battleground district — in races where there’s a notable divide between candidates’ views on Israel. The marquee contest will be in Virginia’s 5th District, covering Charlottesville and rural, conservative-surrounding territory. Good, chair of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus, alienated former President Donald Trump by backing Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign, and lost his support in the primary. Last month, Trump endorsed Good’s primary challenger — state Sen. John McGuire — which has given McGuire critical momentum in his campaign. Good also drew the ire of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) since the congressman was one of eight Republican lawmakers who voted to oust him from the speakership. McGuire has also been endorsed by the Republican Jewish Coalition, a rare instance where the Jewish GOP group has taken sides against an incumbent. The RJC’s engagement is a result of Good’s repeated opposition to U.S funding for Israel — part of the congressman’s overall opposition to spending on foreign aid. He has also backed right-wing candidates opposed to foreign aid across the country. The two wide-open Democratic primaries are occurring in Northern Virginia. The most competitive one is taking place in Virginia’s 10th District, based in Loudoun County, where Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) is retiring because of serious health issues. There are three Democratic candidates who have emerged as top contenders to succeed her: state Del. Dan Helmer, state Sen. Suhas Subramanyam and former House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn. All three have expressed broadly pro-Israel views, though Filler-Corn, who served as the first Jewish speaker in Virginia’s House of Delegates, has been endorsed by Democratic Majority for Israel. Subramanyam has been endorsed by Wexton. Helmer, the top fundraiser, has suggested that the administration has, at times, been insufficiently supportive of Israel. Several other Democratic candidates in the race — most notably state Sen. Jennifer Boysko and former Virginia Education Secretary Atif Qarni — have been outspoken critics of Israel during the campaign. The other open-seat race is in Virginia’s 7th District, where Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) is leaving Congress to run for governor. The leading candidate to win the Democratic nomination is former National Security Council official Eugene Vindman, who with his twin brother became famous during Trump’s first impeachment trial as whistleblowers against the former president. Vindman, who is Jewish, has a pro-Israel record and attended the AIPAC Congressional Summit in March. But he told JI he’d take a critical eye toward Israel’s operations in Gaza using his background investigating war crimes. While Vindman is favored to emerge as the Democratic nominee, thanks to his prolific fundraising, he’s expected to face a competitive general election — in a swing district that backed Biden by seven points in 2020. The candidate backed by the National Republican Congressional Committee is Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran Derrick Anderson, but he faces a right-wing challenge from Navy veteran Cameron Hamilton. Hamilton has waffled on aid to Israel in recent interviews. In Oklahoma, Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), who chairs the influential House Appropriations Committee, also faces a primary threat from businessman Paul Bondar, who has spent over $5 million of his own money on the campaign. If Cole doesn’t win 50% in the multi-candidate race, he will be forced into an Aug. 27 runoff. Today in Washington, business leaders including Palantir CEO Alex Karp , Oracle CEO Safra Catz , Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla and Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman will meet with a group of senators led by Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to discuss continuing arms sales to Israel, Punchbowl News reports. Spread the word! Invite your friends to sign up.👇 Share with a friend | white house screening 'We cannot look away and we will not be silent': Harris addresses Hamas sexual violence  SEAN GALLUP/GETTY IMAGES Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking at a White House event on Monday, emphasized the need for continued attention to the plight of victims of sexual violence by Hamas on and since Oct. 7, including those still being held hostage, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Staying focused: “These testimonies, I fear, will only increase as more hostages are released,” Harris said. “We cannot look away and we will not be silent. My heart breaks for all these survivors and their families, and for all the pain and suffering from the past eight months in Israel and Gaza.”
Other examples: In her speech, Harris also highlighted instances of sexual violence by Russia and ISIS, as well as in Sudan, South Sudan, Haiti, Ethiopia, Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A fact sheet released by the White House in connection with the event highlighted several of the same hot spots, but did not mention Israel, Hamas or Oct. 7.
Survivor testimony: Harris met shortly before her remarks with Amit Soussana, a former hostage who has recounted being sexually assaulted while she was held in Gaza and also addressed the audience. “I don’t see myself as a victim. I am a strong, independent woman, and no one can change that,” Soussana said. “The sexual assault I experienced should never happen to anyone under any circumstances. No one should ever be sexually violated. And there are no justifying circumstances for these crimes.”
Read the full story here. tattered ties No more bridges left to burn in Jewish Westchester  TOM WILLIAMS/CQ-ROLL CALL, INC VIA GETTY IMAGES As Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) seeks a third term in a bitterly contested primary next Tuesday, he has found himself in an increasingly uncomfortable position with Jewish voters as he has embraced a growing number of hostile positions toward Israel in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks — one of the top issues in his imperiled race for reelection. More broadly across the Democratic primary electorate, polling has shown that Bowman’s extreme views on the Israel-Hamas war are not shared by a plurality of voters in his district, where he is facing a career-threatening challenge from Westchester County Executive George Latimer, a popular pro-Israel Democrat who is leading by double digits, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Outreach issues: Notwithstanding his hard-line positions on Israel, Jewish leaders contend that Bowman’s tenure has also been defined by a lack of interest in engaging with the organized Jewish community on a personal level — by ignoring invitations to join Shabbat meals, for instance, or skipping events sponsored by the Westchester Jewish Council, among other things, according to multiple people who spoke with JI.
Disenchantment: William Schrag, who recently stepped down from his position as the longtime president of the Westchester Jewish Council, said that the last event Bowman attended was the group’s annual gala in February 2023. The congressman “arrived two hours late — in the middle of our program,” Schrag noted. When Bowman was first elected to the House, defeating a pro-Israel incumbent, Schrag said that he and the Westchester Jewish Council’s CEO “reached out to him and his staffers immediately” and “had several conversations via Zoom” that each ended with the congressman “or one of his staffers saying we needed to consult with one another, particularly on areas where we might disagree. However, we weren’t consulted before Congressman Bowman flipped on the Abraham Accords and I don’t recall having been consulted since that time,” Schrag told JI last week.
Read the full story here. exclusive In letter to Maryland rabbis, Hogan vows to stand with Jewish community if elected  WADE VANDERVORT/AFP Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan vowed to be a champion for the Jewish community if elected to the Senate in a letter this week to the more than 70 Maryland rabbis who wrote to Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) earlier this year to warn that the Democrat’s harsh criticism of Israel was alienating Jewish Marylanders, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.
Background: A group of more than 70 local rabbis penned a memo to Van Hollen in March urging him to reconsider what they characterized as his anti-Israel posture in the months since Oct. 7. The letter accused Maryland’s soon-to-be senior senator of spreading falsehoods about Israel and “divisions” and “isolat[ing]” the Jewish community, despite representing a state with one of the largest Jewish constituencies in the country. Hogan, the popular former governor who announced his surprise Senate bid for the seat of retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) in February, told the rabbis that he would build on his pro-Israel record if elected, “regardless of the political consequences.”
Hogan’s message: “You deserve to know where your elected leaders stand. If I have the honor of serving Maryland in the United State Senate, I will continue to stand with you. My commitment to supporting Maryland’s Jewish community and Israel remains unwavering,” Hogan, a Republican, wrote in the letter, obtained exclusively by JI. “This is a moment when our leaders must be held accountable for their words and their actions. There are times in history when leaders must stand up for what is right regardless of party affiliation or personal interests.”
Read the full story here.
Bonus: Cardin campaigned with Angela Alsobrooks, who is running against Hogan, in the heavily Jewish Baltimore suburb of Pikesville on Monday, and described the Prince George’s County executive as having “the right views on all those issues consistent with a Jewish background.” exclusive Lawmakers urge administration to 'expeditiously implement' new Iran sanctions  BILL CLARK/CQ-ROLL CALL, INC VIA GETTY IMAGES A bipartisan group of House lawmakers on Monday called on the administration to “expeditiously implement” stringent new Iran sanctions targeting the country’s oil exports to China that were passed into law earlier this year, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Signatories: The letter, led by Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and joined by nearly 40 House Republicans, urges the administration to implement the sanctions as required under law. Lawmakers critical of the administration's Iran policy have long accused the White House of deliberately failing to fully enforce existing sanctions law and pursue sanctions evasion.
Quotable: “As Iran continues its campaign of terror, we urge you to expeditiously implement sanctions enacted through the SHIP Act and the Iran-China Energy Sanctions Act,” the lawmakers wrote. “Additionally, we urge you to keep Congress updated on the implementation process and the results of these sanctions once imposed. We look forward to hearing back on the steps the Administration has taken to adhere to existing law.”
Read the full story here. campus beat Dept. of Education finds Michigan, CUNY didn't adequately investigate campus antisemitism, Islamophobia  ADAM J. DEWEY/ANADOLU VIA GETTY IMAGES Administrators at the University of Michigan and the City of University of New York failed to adequately investigate students’ reports of antisemitism and Islamophobia, the U.S. Department of Education announced on Monday, reports Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch.
Important agreements: The department’s Office for Civil Rights, known as OCR, released the findings of its investigations into how both Michigan and CUNY handled antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents dating back to 2020, culminating in resolutions reached with both universities to end the investigations in exchange for the administrations promising to do more to take students’ complaints seriously.
First time: The agreements are the first to resolve investigations related to discrimination on the basis of shared ancestry — including antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Israel discrimination and anti-Palestinian racism — on college campuses since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in Israel sparked a wave of antisemitism and ushered in a slew of more than 100 new investigations into potential civil rights violations. Administrators at both schools agreed to review their handling of alleged instances of antisemitism and Islamophobia, and to better train employees to comply with federal civil rights guidelines.
Good and less-good news: “The good news is that they are finally issuing resolution agreements for universities to make changes to address discrimination against Jewish students,” Ken Marcus, chairman of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, which helps students file civil rights complaints against universities, said of the agreements. Adding a note of caution, Marcus, who headed OCR in the Trump administration, said he had hoped for “more specificity and detail” in the agreements.
Read the full story here. council call-off New York City Council indefinitely delays vote on cease-fire resolution  SELCUK ACAR/ANADOLU VIA GETTY IMAGES A resolution that calls for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, initially scheduled to be introduced at a New York City Council legislative meeting on Thursday, was tabled this week due to internal and external pushback, multiple sources familiar with the council’s schedule told eJewish Philanthropy’s Haley Cohen reporting for Jewish Insider.
Resolution’s text: The cease-fire resolution calls for “release of hostages and uses Hamas’ casualty numbers,” a source close to the council who saw a copy of the draft told JI. “It also equivocates antisemitism the same as Islamophobia even though there’s a significant increase of antisemitism. It does not say that Hamas is responsible for Oct. 7… it did condemn the murder of 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7,” the source said, adding that “a lot of people were behind the pushback.”
Not public: The language of the cease-fire resolution, which was drawn up by Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, was not made public, “which is unheard of,” according to Councilmember Kalman Yeger, who serves Brooklyn’s heavily Orthodox Jewish District 44, which includes Borough Park and Midwood. Yeger, a Democrat, has not seen a draft of the resolution, which was first brought up and discussed at a Democratic conference earlier this month. “A good number of members think this resolution is a very bad idea,” he said of the 51-member chamber.
Read the full story here. | History Lesson: In The New York Times, Jonathan Dekel-Chen, whose son Sagui is a hostage in Gaza, denounces efforts to compare Hamas to the Nazis. “Cynically invoking the Holocaust and pogroms for political purposes is neither historically accurate nor necessary to demonstrate the inhumanity of Hamas toward Israelis and the people of Gaza. On the contrary, it insults the memory of the countless victims of antisemitism in the past, including my parents. The Israel-Hamas war is proof that weaponizing language on all sides only prolongs hatred and conflict, in great part by allowing the participants to deflect attention from fundamental issues, including the Israeli government’s failure to bring all of our hostages home. The true legacy of the Holocaust for Israelis should be a story of redemption and reawakening, one in which our people were not stamped out. The legacy should not be one of eternal victimhood at the hands of evil-minded forces, as our leaders constantly suggest.” [NYTimes]
Northern Fights: In The Wall Street Journal, Jonathan Spyer looks at the deteriorating situation along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, amid concerns that the conflict could spiral into a broader war. “The present state of affairs is untenable, unless Jerusalem wishes to concede a de facto security zone of control to Hezbollah on Israel’s side of the border. If the fire is spreading south, the natural response is to spread it north. Increased air attacks up to Beirut, possibly accompanied by a ground incursion, would be among the list of options. The 36th Armored Division, which played a prominent role in the invasion of Gaza, is training close to the border. Yet such an incursion would need to consider what would happen after Hezbollah’s forces were pushed north of the Litani [River]. Would it merely be a punitive hit-and-run raid? If so, is it worth the losses that would come from it, given the likelihood that Hezbollah would return to the border once the fighting concluded? If not, what is Israel’s preferred arrangement on the Lebanese side of the border after the fighting?” [WSJ]
Gantz’s Goal: In The New Yorker, Ruth Margalit spotlights Benny Gantz following the minister’s defection from Israel’s war cabinet last week. “Despite Gantz’s security bona fides, the image he cuts in Israeli society is that of a lightweight, a political naïf. He is six feet three and has the silvery good looks of a Hollywood head of state. His nickname in the Army was Benny-huta, a play on an Aramaic word that means ‘slowly.’ Although he posits himself as an antidote to Netanyahu — moderate where the Prime Minister caters to the extreme right; decisive where Netanyahu is endlessly waffling — his positions on the war have so far offered little contrast. Gantz and his party members supported Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza, and have shown no qualms about the war’s death toll, which has reached roughly thirty-seven thousand. They were in favor of the military’s expansion into Rafah last month, and called for a decisive strike against Iran after it had launched hundreds of missiles aimed at Israel in April. They do not support a Palestinian state — but no Jewish Israeli party leader publicly does these days.” [NewYorker] | Be featured: Email us to inform the JI readership of your upcoming event, job opening, or other communication. | Remembering Pittsburgh: Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro are slated to speak at the Tree of Life memorial groundbreaking in Pittsburgh on Sunday; CNN’s Wolf Blitzer will emcee the event.
On the Hill: The House of Representatives on Friday approved its version of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, the annual defense and national security policy bill. The Senate Armed Services Committee, meanwhile, approved its own version of the bill on Friday, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Text Trouble: House Education and Workforce Committee Chair Virginia Foxx (R-NC) demanded Columbia University turn over alleged disparaging text messages between administrators dismissing antisemitism.
Tunnel Vision: Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Ted Budd (R-NC) introduced legislation pushing for expanded funding for U.S.-Israel counter-tunneling cooperative programs.
Congressional Sign-off: Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY), respectively the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, signed off on an $18 billion arms sale to Israel that includes 50 F-15 fighter jets.
NSGP Plea: In a Nevada Globe op-ed, Nathan Diament, executive director of public policy at the Orthodox Union, calls on Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV), the chair of the House Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee on homeland security, to push for increased funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program.
Pastrami at the Park: Philadelphia’s Kosher Grill is opening an outpost at the city’s Citizens Bank Park.
Miami Nice: Miami officials, including Mayor Francis Suarez, pitched in to clean anti-Israel graffiti painted on the frontage of a local bagel shop whose owner is Jewish; Holy Bagels & Pizzeria has been vandalized four times in eight months.
Portland Pushback: A Portland, Ore., City Council candidate endorsed by the Portland Teachers Union asked officials to remove anti-Israel lesson plans from the union’s website and to cease using the term “From the river to the sea.”
Norcross to Bear: New Jersey Democratic power broker and Philadelphia Inquirer co-owner George Norcross was charged with racketeering by the state’s attorney general, following years of investigations.
Colorado Clash: Dueling pro- and anti-Israel protesters demonstrated outside the home of a Jewish member of the Colorado Board of Regents.
Magerman’s Million: Philanthropist David Magerman is making a $1 million donation to the Jerusalem College of Technology to help the school develop a program to integrate English speakers, with plans to make similar gifts to other Israeli schools; Magerman, an alumna of the University of Pennsylvania, halted his giving to his alma mater over the administration’s handling of antisemitism on campus.
He’s Scooting: Scooter Braun announced his retirement from entertainment management, two years after winding down his management of a roster of top singers that included Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande; Braun will maintain his role as CEO of HYBE America.
Across the Pond: The U.K.’s approval of arms export licenses to Israel dropped by 95% at the start of the Israel-Hamas war, reaching a 13-year low.
Gershkovich Hearing: Russian officials set June 26 as the date for Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich’s first hearing, announcing that the proceedings will be held in secret.
What Was Lost: A new exhibition at Amsterdam’s National Holocaust Museum spotlights the loss and looting that took place during WWII.
Distribution Dilemma: The Wall Street Journal looks at humanitarian aid distribution challenges in Gaza, where more than 1,000 truckloads of aid have cleared Israeli inspection and are awaiting pick-up from international agencies tasked with getting the aid to Gazans.
Houthi Attack: The captain of a Filipino-crewed vessel transiting through the Red Sea recounted the Houthi attack that wrecked the ship last week and subsequent rescue by the U.S. Navy.
Intel on Iran: American and Israeli intelligence agencies are assessing new information about the use of computer modeling by Iranian scientists.
Transition: Shanie Reichman has been named director of strategic initiatives at Israel Policy Forum. She will continue to serve as director of IPF Atid, its young professionals’ network. |  courtesy Israeli President Isaac Herzog (right) met in Jerusalem on Monday with Amos Hochstein, the Biden administration’s special presidential coordinator for global infrastructure and energy security. Hochstein held meetings into Monday night with Israeli officials before departing for Lebanon. |  Carsten Koall/picture alliance via Getty Images Executive of the William Pears Group, Sir Trevor Steven Pears turns 60...
Chicago-based attorney, he is the only ordained rabbi to serve as an alderman on the Chicago City Council, Solomon Gutstein turns 90... Former Washington Post editor, reporter and London bureau chief, Fred Barbash turns 79... IT management adviser at Next Stage, Steven Shlomo Nezer... Croatian entrepreneur, he was previously the minister of economy, labor and entrepreneurship in the Croatian government, Davor Stern turns 77... Rabbi at Or Hamidbar in Palm Springs, Calif., he previously led congregations in Israel and Stockholm, Rabbi David James Lazar turns 67... Rebecca Diamond... Best-selling author and journalist, she was editor-in-chief of USA Today, Joanne Lipman turns 63... Retired professor of English at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Helene Meyers... Vice chairman and president of global client services at BDT & MSD Partners, Dina Powell McCormick turns 51... Former assistant to President Donald Trump, he is a principal at Cordish Companies, Reed Saunders Cordish turns 50... Film director and screenwriter, Jonathan A. Levine turns 48... Actor, comedian, satirist and writer, known professionally as Ben Gleib, Ben Nathan Gleiberman turns 46... Television producer and writer, Jeremy Bronson turns 44... Talent manager and music business mogul, Scott Samuel "Scooter" Braun turns 43... Pitcher for Team Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics, he is now the assistant director of pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Jeremy Bleich turns 37... Associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Esther Lifshitz... Investor at Silver Point Capital, Jacob E. Best... Rachel Hazan... | | | | | |
