| | Good Monday morning. In today’s Daily Kickoff , a look at the fallout from Saturday’s deadly Hezbollah strike on a Druze soccer field in Israel. We also report on how New York City’s Jewish community is approaching Comptroller Brad Lander’s anticipated mayoral bid, plus a campaign by anti-Israel activists against Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro amid the veepstakes chatter and a preview of the Arizona congressional primary between Blake Masters and Abe Hamadeh. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff : David Barnea, U.K. Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and Israeli judoka Tohar Butbul. Spread the word! Invite your friends to sign up.👇 Share with a friend | - We’re keeping a close eye on the developing situation in Israel’s north following the weekend Hezbollah strike on a soccer field in the Druze village of Majdal Shams in Israel’s Golan Heights that killed a dozen children and teenagers. More below.
- Christians United For Israel is holding its annual summit in Washington, D.C. Dr. Miriam Adelson is scheduled to speak at this evening’s “Night to Honor Israel” gala dinner.
| Just over a week ago, Israeli officials were mulling a response to a Houthi drone strike on Tel Aviv that killed an Israeli man in his home — which resulted in a strike on the Yemeni port of Hudaydah.
Now, those same officials must determine whether there will be a further response to the Saturday attack on a soccer field in the Druze village of Majdal Shams, where a dozen children and teenagers were killed by a Hezbollah missile — as they face pressure from Washington to rein in any retaliation, Jewish Insider Executive Editor Melissa Weiss reports. Hezbollah said today that Israel had killed two of its members in a drone strike in southern Lebanon.
Within hours of the Hezbollah strike — and before any U.S. official had made public comments condemning the attack — Israel was already facing private warnings from Biden administration officials to temper its response to Hezbollah. On Saturday afternoon, White House senior advisor Amos Hochstein spoke to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who is also set to speak to Austin later today, and pressed the Israelis to limit their response, which threatens to further destabilize the situation and drag the region into an all-out war.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested that Turkey could invade Israel in response to the ongoing wars on two of Israel’s borders. “Just as we entered [Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-]Karabakh, just as we entered Libya, we might do the same to [Israel]. There is nothing we can’t do. We must only be strong.”
Perhaps most striking to observers of the U.S.-Israel relationship was the delay in — or lack of — public acknowledgment of the attack from high-ranking U.S. officials. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew was the first high-level American official to condemn the attack when he posted on Sunday afternoon in Israel, nearly 24 hours after the strike: “We condemn the horrific attack on Majdal Shams yesterday, in which at least 11 were tragically killed, most of whom were children and teenagers,” Lew wrote. “Our hearts go out to the families of those who lost loved ones, and we are praying for a speedy recovery for those who have been injured.”
Neither Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Tony Blinken, who are both in Asia for security consultations, have issued statements on the strike, which marked the deadliest attack on Israeli soil since Oct. 7. But responding to a question from a reporter in Japan, Blinken said, “There is no justification for terrorism, period." Blinken added that there was “every indication” that “the rocket was from Hezbollah.”
Adrienne Watson, the spokesperson for the National Security Council, called the strike “horrific” and blamed Hezbollah for the attack. “It was their rocket, and launched from an area they control. It should be universally condemned.”
Vice President Kamala Harris has issued five tweets from her X account since the attack — on the topics of the economy, the Venezuelan elections, Team USA basketball at the Paris Olympics, reproductive rights and a photo montage of her last week. But she herself has not addressed the strike; instead, Phil Gordon, the vice president’s national security advisor, issued his own statement, saying that Harris “has been briefed and is closely monitoring Hezbollah’s horrific attack on a soccer field in Majdal Shams in northern Israel yesterday which killed a number of children and teenagers. She condemns this horrific attack and mourns for all those killed and wounded.”
“Harris’ support for Israel’s security,” Gordon continued, “is ironclad. The U.S. will continue working on a diplomatic solution to end all attacks once and for all, and allow citizens on both sides of the border to safely return home.”
Gordon’s language that Majdal Shams is located in northern Israel was an acknowledgement that the Biden administration recognizes Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. The administration has generally been reticent to acknowledge its recognition of the Golan as Israeli, usually saying that it has maintained the same policy as the Trump administration – which recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan in 2019 — without specifically laying out what that policy is. President Joe Biden has not made any public statements about the attack.
Former President Donald Trump said at a rally in St. Cloud, Minn., on Saturday that “savage Hezbollah terrorists struck these children. Our hearts go out to the families of these innocent children. No parent should have to suffer the loss of a child at the hands of a terrorist … [Hezbollah] wouldn’t have done this if I were the president.”
How it’s playing in the press: “Fears of Escalation After Rocket From Lebanon Hits Soccer Field” from The New York Times; Attacks in Gaza and Golan Heights kill more than 40, many of them children, from the Washington Post; “Deadly Strike on Soccer Field Raises Risk of Escalation Between Israel and Hezbollah” from The Wall Street Journal; “Children and teens among 12 dead in Golan Heights attack that Israel blames on Hezbollah, raising fears of major escalation” from CNN; “Israel hits Hezbollah targets after football pitch strike kills 12 young people” from the BBC. | wider war Israel, Lebanon bracing for military escalation after Hezbollah attack kills 12 children  KAWNAT HAJU/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES The Middle East was bracing itself for a wider war on Monday morning, as Israel considered its response to a Hezbollah rocket attack that killed a dozen Druze children who had been playing on a soccer pitch in Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights. The air force conducted strikes on Hezbollah targets in the aftermath of the deadly attack, and Israel’s security cabinet authorized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to determine “the manner and timing of the response against the Hezbollah terrorist organization.” The security cabinet met on Sunday evening, after Netanyahu landed in Israel from Washington, taking the unusual step of flying before Shabbat ended following the the worst massacre of civilians in Israel since Oct. 7. Netanyahu said that Israel "will not let this pass in silence." Visiting Majdal Shams on Sunday, Gallant vowed that Hezbollah "will bear a heavy price for their actions," Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
Matter of time: Raphael BenLevi, director of the Churchill Program for Strategy, Statesmanship and National Security of Tikvah Fund Israel, said that Israel has been laying the groundwork for months for a larger war in Lebanon, but was waiting until after Netanyahu’s speech before a joint session of Congress last week, to try to garner greater American support. Hezbollah has been bombarding Israel’s north since Oct. 8, and tens of thousands of Israelis were evacuated as a result, creating a “totally unsustainable” situation, BenLevi noted. The Iran-backed terror group’s assault on Majdal Shams was “a clarifying moment for [Israel] and the world, that the situation is untenable and we have to do something,” BenLevi said. “The attack adds legitimacy and urgency” to an Israeli response.
Read the full story here.
The view from Majdal Shams: Druze leader Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif told those who gathered to bury their loved ones on Sunday that the attack was the worst disaster in the history of the Druze community in Israel, Jewish Insider’s Ruth Marks Eglash reports. “Yesterday was a dark Saturday for the Druze and for residents of the north,” the sheikh said in his address. “It’s a Saturday that will be engraved in memory as a low point in humanity, the killing of children. The scenes of horror will never be erased." hill reactions Schumer calls for de-escalation as other lawmakers back potential Israeli response to Hezbollah  KEVIN DIETSCH/GETTY IMAGES As Israel mulls a possible further response to the Hezbollah rocket attack that killed 12 children on a soccer field in a Druze town in the Golan Heights, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called for “moves to de-escalate” the situation, while many other pro-Israel lawmakers expressed support for a potential Israeli military response, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. Schumer, appearing on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” called Iran and its surrogates “evil,” adding that Israel “has every right to defend itself against Hezbollah like they do against Hamas. They sent missiles and they don't even care who [the target] is. But having said that, I don't think anyone wants a wider war,” Schumer said. “So I hope there are moves to de-escalate.”
Iranian accountability: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said that the U.S. should be striking at Iran’s oil refineries in response to the ongoing Hezbollah and Houthi attacks on Israel. “Until we put Iran on notice that we’re going to hold you accountable for attacks by Hezbollah and Hamas against Israel, you’re going to get more of the same,” Graham said. Referencing a classified briefing to Congress last week, Graham said that he’s concerned that Iran could accelerate its efforts to obtain a nuclear weapon before the November election, in addition to a possible second front in the war.
Read the full story here with additional comments from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV), and Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Ritchie Torres (D-NY), Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Grace Meng (D-NY) and Brad Schneider (D-IL). new york state of mind Brad Lander's looming NYC mayoral candidacy raises concerns in Jewish community  RON ADAR / SOPA IMAGES/SIPA USA VIA AP IMAGES As Brad Lander, the New York City comptroller, weighs a widely expected run for mayor, Jewish community leaders are now raising concerns over his close ties to far-left activists and elected officials who have increasingly voiced anti-Israel rhetoric or faced charges of stoking antisemitism in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks. Lander, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the city and a self-described Democratic socialist, has long identified as a “progressive Zionist” who is sharply critical of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians — even as he has clarified that he does not support some of the more extreme positions of the radical left, most notably including the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting the Jewish state, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Balancing act: But as Jewish leaders have witnessed a rise in antisemitic incidents stemming from protests in New York after Hamas’ attacks, Lander, 55, has drawn mounting scrutiny for continuing to align with some figures and groups advancing positions on Israel — such as BDS and anti-Zionism — that he claims not to share. “The problem I see with him is that he consistently tries to play both sides,” said Andrés Spokoiny, who resides in Lander’s old New York City Council district and has recently become engaged in local politics, in an interview with JI. “If you want to have the backing of the mainstream Jewish community,” he stressed, “you have to not tone down but actively disavow people who have made us feel unsafe.”
Read the full story here. veepstakes watch Anti-Israel activists organize against Josh Shapiro for veepstakes  RYAN COLLERD/AFP via Getty Images As Vice President Kamala Harris and her campaign team get closer to selecting a running mate, the online left has centered their hostility on one potential candidate: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. The most vehement opposition to Shapiro centers on his unapologetic support for Israel, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Shunning Shapiro: A New Republic article called Shapiro “the one vice presidential pick who could ruin Democratic unity.” Shapiro, according to the article, “stands out among the current field of potential running mates as being egregiously bad on Palestine.” A new online campaign from far-left activists called “No Genocide Josh” argued that Shapiro will get in the way of Harris’ efforts “to gain the trust of working-class, progressive and young voters.” The website was created on Wednesday, the day that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Congress. Planning documents from the team behind “No Genocide Josh” that were obtained by JI reveal a highly coordinated effort by a handful of organizers — including at least one leader of the Uncommitted movement — to put pressure on Democrats to avoid choosing Shapiro.
Read the full story here. Arizona mudslinging contest 'The dirtiest, nastiest congressional race in all the country' comes to a head  KEVIN DIETSCH/GETTY IMAGES The bitter Republican primary in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, which features Abe Hamadeh, Blake Masters and Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma, alongside a handful of other candidates, is set to come to a close on Tuesday, bringing an end to what’s become a high-profile mudslinging contest, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Eleventh-hour announcement: Late Saturday night, former President Donald Trump announced a new dual endorsement of both Masters and Hamadeh— after previously only endorsing Hamadeh.
Read the full story here. funding freeze Senate Appropriations Committee votes to extend U.S. freeze on UNRWA funds  DIRK WAEM/BELGA MAG/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES The Senate Appropriations Committee voted on a bipartisan basis on Thursday to extend the U.S. freeze on aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency through at least the end of the 2025 fiscal year, making it increasingly likely that U.S. aid to the troubled U.N. agency will remain blocked into the foreseeable future, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
The vote: Sens. Jon Tester (D-MT), Joe Manchin (I-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) voted with Republicans in favor of an amendment extending the UNRWA aid hold, which was opposed by most Democrats on the committee. The House already approved a bill containing a similar provision.
Read the full story here. | Proving Herzl Right: In The Wall Street Journal, Gerard Leval argues that anti-Israel protests around the U.S. underscore the importance of having a Jewish state. “It turns out that [Theodor] Herzl was right about the need to re-establish the Jewish homeland. For so many of us, it seemed inconceivable that America, our home and a beacon of freedom, would ever be other than a safe haven for Jews. Suddenly, we can’t be so sure. So it is that those in the forefront of the anti-Israel and anti-Jewish demonstrations are giving full credence and impetus to the Zionist dream. Even in the most welcoming nation on earth, Jews feel at risk. Only in a secure Israel, a nation of and for the Jewish people, can Jews be certain that they won’t be persecuted by reason of who they are. The purveyors of anti-Israel and antisemitic propaganda are the best recruiters any Zionist could ever want. They are giving voice to Herzl’s fears and to the underlying reason for the existence of the very state they wish to destroy.” [WSJ]
Labour Pains: In The Sunday Times, Phil Rosenberg, the new president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, cautions that U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer should not take the country’s Jewish community for granted. “Even more concerning are briefings that the UK may impose an arms’ embargo, potentially as early as this week. This would be an astonishing decision to take against a key UK ally and security partner, damaging their ability to defend against terrorist foes like Hamas, or shared UK adversaries like Iran. This, at just the moment that there is a material risk of a full-scale conflict with Iranian proxies like Hezbollah in Lebanon, and increased conflict with the Houthis, who are bombing British ships. Worse still, it ignores the fact that, right now, Israeli and Hamas negotiators are locked in tense negotiations about how to end this terrible war and release the hostages. Despite the government’s call for the release of the hostages, Israel is effectively being told the return of loved ones must rely on Hamas’s goodwill. The UK’s signaling will encourage Hamas to dig in, prolonging the agony for Israelis and Palestinians alike.” [SundayTimes]
The Fire Next Time: In Commentary, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Jonathan Schanzer considers the potential scenarios that could play out following Hezbollah’s weekend strike on Israel. “The Israelis have wanted to respond to Hezbollah since the first weeks of the war. The Biden White House has restrained the Benjamin Netanyahu government. But after today, Team Biden is not likely to restrain the Israelis any longer. It’s also notable that Biden is now a lame duck, which means that he holds considerably less sway over Israel’s military calculus. There are still opportunities to prevent an escalation. Most of them hinge on Iran and Hezbollah standing down. And there is scant evidence to suggest that this is their inclination at the moment.” [Commentary] | Be featured: Email us to inform the JI readership of your upcoming event, job opening, or other communication. | Politico looks at how Vice President Kamala Harris’ approach to Israel has become an “early, volatile test” for her presidential campaign…
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