| | Good Tuesday morning. In today’s Daily Kickoff , we report on the climate on college campuses in the face of a resurgence of anti-Israel activism and talk to Michigan Jewish community leaders about the response by political leaders to a spate of antisemitic vandalism in the state. We also preview the closely contested Long Island House race between GOP Rep. Anthony D’Esposito and Democrat Laura Gillen, and take a look at Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s positions on Israel in her reelection bid against Republican Eric Hovde in Wisconsin. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff : Bill Kristol and Eliot Cohen, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Matthew Segal. Spread the word! Invite your friends to sign up.👇 Share with a friend | - Vice President Kamala Harris will be in Detroit to participate in a town hall-style radio interview at 5 p.m. ET with “The Breakfast Club” host Charlemagne Tha God.
- Former President Donald Trump will be holding a campaign rally in suburban Atlanta at 7:30 p.m. ET tonight.
- Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Republican Dave McCormick are debating in Philadelphia at 7 p.m. ET for the second — and likely final — time. It will be airing on broadcast networks across the state.
- Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) will be debating his Democratic challenger, Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX), for the first time at 8 p.m. ET in Dallas.
| One concern in Democratic circles is that, even though Vice President Kamala Harris is running neck-and-neck with former President Donald Trump in the polls, she hasn’t fully translated her successful debate performance into lasting momentum in the campaign.
Struggling to follow through on political accomplishments has been something of a pattern for Harris in her recent political career, Jewish Insider Editor-in-Chief Josh Kraushaar writes.
In 2019, as a presidential candidate, she caricatured Joe Biden as racially insensitive for opposing busing and working with segregationist senators early in his political career — before abandoning that line of attack when she was pressed on her own views on the topic of busing.
Her nominating convention this year was a political success, but she failed to translate the good vibes from that moment into a more-substantive showcase on how she’d govern, to more clearly reassure skeptics that she’s not a true-blue progressive. Many voters are still trying to figure out how she would govern, as Trump’s campaign airs scathing attacks pinpointing the most left-wing comments she made during the 2020 campaign.
And now, after a commanding debate performance against Trump last month, the campaign remained overly cautious and didn’t book her to do lots of widely -watched interviews to keep the momentum going.
Only after polls suggested her support was plateauing did the campaign book last week a flurry of interviews, from “60 Minutes” to Howard Stern’s talk show and other popular podcasts. In a sign that she recognizes she needs to do a better job of reaching out to center-right voters, she’s now sitting down for an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier on Wednesday.
But throughout her career, Harris has been most comfortable with political set pieces, where she can prepare thoroughly, and show off the fruits of her labor.
Many of her most memorable political moments have come when she’s had ample time to prepare for a big moment, like her tough Judiciary Committee questioning of Brett Kavanaugh as a senator in 2018, the aforementioned attack on Biden’s racial record in the Senate, and the presidential debate where she spent much of the previous week holed up with her debate prep team in Pittsburgh, honing some effective lines of attack against Trump.
She’s struggled more in off-the-cuff settings, including interviews where she’s been asked questions about her policy positions (and why they’ve evolved) and to explain how she would govern differently than Biden. She’s been cautious to a tee, even in friendly media settings where she’s able to show off her more conversational side. Typically, she assiduously sticks to her talking points at the expense of coming across as more authentic.
That caution and political discipline has led to mixed results. On one hand, her political image is much improved from where it was before she was a presidential candidate. On the other hand, many voters still don’t have a clear grasp on what her political values are, and where she stands on key issues. Those favorability numbers remain volatile.
Public polling continues to show a very close race, with Trump holding onto a small edge in the Sun Belt states, while Harris maintains a narrow edge in the Rust Belt states, including the critical state of Pennsylvania. That’s been the pattern for a while.
But as Trump continues to make small, significant inroads with non-white working- class voters and benefits from his own improved image compared to 2016 and 2020, this race is too close to call. (The NBC News poll out Sunday shows Harris and Trump tied at 48-48%; last month’s survey showed Harris with a five-point lead.)
Trump is well-defined in the eyes of voters, while there’s still more room for Harris to improve her political standing. Her decision to sit down for a Fox News interview — and consider an interview with popular podcaster Joe Rogan — is a sign she realizes she needs to change her overly cautious approach. But with only several weeks left until Election Day, time will tell whether or not her last-minute expanded outreach is too little, too late. | campus beat Campuses confront resurgence of anti-Israel activism after Oct. 7 anniversary  SARAH REINGEWIRTZ, LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS/SCNG If the early weeks of the academic year before Oct. 7 provided tentative cause for optimism at some universities that had faced major disruptions earlier this year, that day and the week that followed reminded Jewish students that the anti-Zionist and antisemitic rhetoric they came to fear last year are still present at many schools. In many cases, the activity has become more extreme and the language more violent, even if it is not as widespread as it was in the spring, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Campus climate: At the University of California, Berkeley, more than 1,000 students staged a walkout from their classes and gathered at the main campus quad, where flyers crying “Long Live Al-Aqsa Flood” — Hamas’ name for their Oct. 7 attacks — were distributed. A banner reading “Glory to the Resistance” was hung from a famed tower on campus. At Swarthmore College, outside Philadelphia, the campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine wrote on Instagram: “Happy October 7th!” and asked followers to donate money “in honor of this glorious day and all our martyred revolutionaries.”
Read the full story here. Michigan matters A muted reaction seen in Michigan to spasm of antisemitic vandalism  BILL PUGLIANO/GETTY IMAGES On the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, the home of University of Michigan President Santa Ono and several locations — with ties to either Jewish individuals or organizations with connections to Israel — became the latest targets in a spate of antisemitic vandalism that have plagued the state throughout the year. Even as the attacks have been aimed against high-profile victims or leading Jewish institutions, one prominent Jewish leader in the state is calling out the state’s political leadership for muted reactions in their condemnation of the vandalism and other recent incidents, noting that few have used the power of their office to speak out against a spasm of antisemitism affecting the state, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
Community reaction: Following the spate of antisemitic incidents in Michigan, which is a key battleground state in next month’s election, local Jewish community leaders remain divided about how the response is being handled. “I’d definitely like to see more of a crackdown” from elected officials, Rabbi Asher Lopatin, director of community relations at the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor, told JI.
Read the full story here. leaning left Sen. Tammy Baldwin tacks left of other swing-state Dems on Israel  KEVIN DIETSCH/GETTY IMAGES Nearly all of the vulnerable Democratic senators up for reelection next month have been embracing consistently pro-Israel positions over the past year. But Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) has, at several points, tacked to the left of many of them, particularly on restrictions and conditions on U.S. aid to Israel, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Badger state blues: Baldwin is currently among the most endangered Senate Democratic incumbents — the Cook Political Report recently changed its rating for her race against Republican Eric Hovde from “lean Democratic” to “toss-up,” following polling that showed the contest within the margin of error. Several leaders in the state’s Jewish community say they trust and support Baldwin given her long record and relationship with the Jewish community, even if they disagree with some of her recent policy stances.
Read the full story here. long island showdown Israel-Hamas war expected to drive voter turnout in closely contested Long Island House race  Laura Gillen for Congress website/BONNIE CASH/GETTY IMAGES In a closely contested House race on Long Island, Democrat Laura Gillen is seeking a rematch against freshman Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY), who is among the most vulnerable Republicans now up for reelection. The Nassau County matchup is shaping up to be a must-win for Democrats in their effort to win back the House, and private polling suggests a dead heat to the finish line, according to strategists from both parties, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Mideast matters: The Israel-Hamas war is one hot-button issue strategists expect will drive turnout. Both Gillen and D’Esposito have been courting Jewish voters, who could be decisive in a tight race. The district, which is heavily Orthodox and includes the Five Towns, is home to one of the largest Jewish constituencies in the country. Last month, for instance, Gillen announced what she called an “action plan” to combat antisemitism, and she has frequently spoken up to support Israel’s “unequivocal right to defend itself against Iranian aggression,” as she said recently in a social media post. D’Esposito has been touting his support for a bipartisan resolution labeling the slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” as antisemitic, among other efforts.
Read the full story here. the right stuff Former Bush aides make a conservative Jewish case for Kamala Harris  screenshot Bill Kristol, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, and Eliot Cohen, an advisor to then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, joined the Jewish Democratic Council of America on Monday to make a conservative and pro-Israel pitch for Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign for president, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What they said: The two never-Trump conservatives argued that, despite some disagreements, Harris is largely pro-Israel and would be a more consistent and reliable hand in Middle East policy than former President Donald Trump. They argued that supporters of Israel can’t rely on Trump to be a consistent supporter of Israel, arguing that his foreign policy has been mercurial and transactional.
Read the full story here. | The Politics of Restraint: Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren warns that the U.S. is trying to restrain Israel’s response against Iran by embracing the country more closely. “The United States and most of the West recognizes Israel’s right to retaliate against Iran. At the same time, they are seeking to limit the extent to which Israel exercises that right by insisting we attack neither Iran’s nuclear nor its oil facilities. They send senior military and diplomatic officials to ‘hug’ us and ensure that we won’t dare act while they’re in Israel. The result has been a prolonged delay in Israel’s response that threatens our security no less than the missiles themselves. With each passing day of inaction, Israel’s casus belli grows weaker. If and when Israel acts, the world will scarcely remember why.” [Substack]
Coates’ Blind Spot: In Newsweek, John Aziz, a British-Palestinian Middle East analyst, argues that author Ta-Nehisi Coates’ controversial new book about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, The Message, “gives too much sympathy to the view that violence is somehow legitimate.” “This is not a civil rights struggle akin to 1960s America or apartheid South Africa. It's a fully-blown military conflict between two separate nationhoods. At some point, war became inevitable when Hamas continued to use Gaza as a launching pad for attacks. Ignoring this won't help anyone. Hamas and Hezbollah do not want to coexist with Israel; they want to destroy it. Unlike Coates' hypothetical Palestinian version of himself, millions of actual Palestinians living in Palestine are certain that Hamas went too far. In the most recent polls of Palestinians, like this one by AWRAD published in September, support for Hamas has fallen dramatically — to just 6 percent of the population. Indeed, the same poll shows that 62 percent of Gazans now favor a two-state solution. Gazans understand that Hamas and October 7 have totally failed them. It's something of a tragedy that the Palestinians most impacted by Israel's war have more intolerance for violence than Coates.” [Newsweek]
‘Ostrich Diplomacy’: In Newsweek, former White House Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt argues against the idea that reinforcing U.N. Resolution 1701 is the key to ending the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. “Among the intellectual and diplomatic classes, the solution to the clear and present danger from Hezbollah against Israel, and the emptying of a vast area of northern Israel because of Hezbollah's unprovoked attacks against the Jewish state, is reestablishing Resolution 1701. It's as if they simply want to tack on an addendum to the original resolution, "and this time we mean it." But that is a tremendous mistake. There is a reason 1701 failed. It was destined to because U.N. peacekeepers cannot restrain a fanatical group backed by a rogue state bent on destroying another nation. … UNIFIL seems to find its voice only to cry foul when Israel gets too close. It let Hezbollah arm, entrench and dominate in southern Lebanon without the slightest complaint, probably surmising that the jihadi group would have no compunction about killing anyone who blew the whistle about 1701 violations. This showcases one of the key systemic shortcomings of diplomatic solutions between nations and militant organizations. When peacekeepers are afraid to restrain Hezbollah but unafraid to complain about Israel, they end up being cruel to the kind and kind to the cruel.” [Newsweek]
A Rabbi’s Cri de Coeur: In The Times of Israel, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, the senior rabbi of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York City, sounds an alarm over growing anti-Israel sentiment among young progressive Jews. “Two generations of American Jews have been born with no lived experience of our desperation to survive the 20th century. The pogroms, the Holocaust, the establishment of the tiny and besieged state of Israel, the Six-Day War, the Yom Kippur War — these are all history to new generations, if they are even aware of our past. When lived experience becomes memory and memory becomes history, there develops the tendency to observe Judaism rather than live it; to analyze rather than participate; to stand at arm’s length rather than in close embrace … What we did not intend is for some in your generation to turn your backs on our people. We wanted you to be Zionists. We did not intend that our emphasis on tikkun olam — social repair — would lead some Jews to join anti-Israel demonstrations. We did not intend for Jews to lead Passover seders in so-called ‘liberated zones’ (liberated from Zionists) that not only violate university policies but also threaten the safety of Jewish students. Some of those protests contain anti-American sentiments as well. We did not intend to encourage or excuse Jews who burn American flags, or support those who do.” [TOI] | Be featured: Email us to inform the JI readership of your upcoming event, job opening, or other communication. | The Washington Post reports that in an attempt to prevent full-blown war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Biden administration he is willing to strike military, instead of oil or nuclear, facilities in Iran. Netanyahu’s office said in response to the report, ”We listen to the opinions of the United States, but we will make our final decisions based on our national interests.” …
The New York Times reports on Israel’s struggles to detect slower-moving unmanned aircraft, like the drone that killed four Israeli soldiers in Hezbollah’s attack over the weekend…
An initial Israeli Air Force probe shared with The Times of Israel found that the drone, which disappeared off the radar after its initial detection, briefly reappeared before exploding…
Israel is at risk of a shortage of interceptor missiles to protect itself against a potential future attack from Iran as well as ongoing attacks by the Islamic Republic’s proxies, military experts and analysts told the Financial Times…
Iran’s Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani appeared on state television today after reports indicated that he may have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon following the death of Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah last month..
Vice President Kamala Harris slammed comments made by former President Donald Trump in a Fox News interview that the U.S. military could be used to deal with “the enemy from within,” describing a second Trump term as “dangerous” for the country and accusing him of “unstable and unhinged behavior” …
A Trump town hall outside of Philadelphia last night transitioned into a concert after medical emergencies in the crowd disrupted the Q&A event. "Let's not do any more questions. Let's just listen to music. Let's make it into a music fest,” the former president said. “Who the hell wants to hear questions right? Isn't that beautiful? " …
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) called on the FBI to investigate an anti-Israel coalition at Columbia University — Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) — that is calling for armed resistance and violence…
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), asked about how his faith affects his job, told NY1 News: “I am a person of faith, and I just believe it’s a matter of faith that my dad taught me… he taught me two values that are still with me. One, always try to help people who need help, that’s part of our faith, tzedakah, tikkun olam, healing the world. Second, he said, if you feel something is important, look in your heart, make sure it’s the right thing to do, persist, persist, persist… and G-d will reward you.” …
ABC’s Matt Gutman interviews Rachel and Jon Golderg-Polin, whose son Hersh was executed by Hamas after 10 months in captivity. "People have asked me, because they know that we're religious, and they said, 'Have you lost your faith through this?” Rachel said. “And I said, 'I have not lost my faith in God. I have lost my faith in a lot of people who I thought maybe would behave differently.'" …
The Guardian issued an apology of its review of the “One Day in October” documentary about the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre in Kibbutz Be’eri, acknowledging that “the unacceptable terms in which it went on to criticise the documentary were inconsistent with our editorial standards,” and adding “This was a collective failure of process and we apologise for any offence caused. The article has been removed from our website.” ...
Gilad Erdan, former Israeli ambassador to the U.N. and the U.S., has joined the Misgav Institute as director of its new Center for Diplomacy and International Cooperation…
A man was arrested after allegedly assaulting two Jews with a wooden stick outside of the Silver Spring Jewish Center in Maryland — which includes an Orthodox synagogue, day school and nursery…
Police arrested some 200 anti-Israel protesters who staged a sit-in outside the New York Stock Exchange yesterday…
A man was killed in a shooting attack on a highway in central Israel today…
A group of scientists called into question the legitimacy of recent findings that claim Christopher Columbus was a Sephardic Jew from Spain…
The office of magazine giant Condé Nast has been beset with tensions, stemming from anti-Israel activism from many of its editorial employees, Semafor reports. The publication also reports that New Yorker editor David Remnick raised concerns about issuing a statement condemning the Oct. 7 attack…
Skydance’s David Ellison and RedBird’s Jeff Shell, the incoming owner and president of Paramount, are meeting with embattled CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon on Thursday, according to Puck. The meeting is not expected to touch on editorial matters at CBS News despite the ongoing controversy over Tony Dokoupil’s tough interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates...
Matthew Segal, the co-founder and co-CEO of media company ATTN, sat down with Semafor’s Ben Smith to discuss the information environment and his focus on fighting antisemitism…
In Chabad News, Faygie Levy Holt reflects on whether “there is a place for Jews in Big Tech” following multiple incidents of hostility towards Jewish staff members… |  screenshot Belgian-Israeli Orthodox singer Ohad Moskowitz released a new song this week, “Halo.” |  Shahar Azran Media mogul, major donor to the Democratic Party and producer of "Power Rangers," Haim Saban turns 80...
Retired from the Los Angeles County Superior Court in 1996, he is a mediator and arbitrator, Judge Jack Milton Newman turns 85... Founder and dean of the Talmudic University of Florida in Miami Beach, Rabbi Yochanan Zweig turns 82... Former vice chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, after an eight-year term at the helm of the Bank of Israel, Stanley Fischer turns 81... Television executive, writer and producer known for co-creating Cagney & Lacey, Barbara Corday turns 80... Senior advisor at Covington & Burling, he was commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection during the Obama administration, Alan D. Bersin turns 78... Comedian, actor, podcaster and columnist, Lawrence John "Larry" Miller turns 71... Miami-based mental health counselor and senior executive producer of the My Survivor Film Project, Mindy Hersh, Ph.D.... Owner of Los Angeles-based Got Kosher? Bakery, Alain Cohen turns 69... Mayor of Sacramento, Calif., since December 2016, Darrell Steven Steinberg turns 65... Founder and CEO of Refinement Services, a provider of software for precious-metal redemption retailers, Neil Kugelman... Former U.S. Treasury official, he is reported to have been the first Hasidic Jew to hold a Senate-confirmed administration position, Mitchell (Moyshe) Allen Silk turns 63... Founding partner of Equalitas Capital and managing director at Allegiant Real Estate Capital, Andrew Fawer... Director of national government relations at Gotham Government Relations & Communications, Shai Franklin... Founder and chief executive of the global investment firm Citadel, Kenneth Cordele "Ken" Griffin turns 56... Former mayoral press secretary during the Bloomberg administration in NYC, now a political communications strategist, Stu Loeser turns 51... Governor of Maryland since 2023, Wes Moore turns 46... Director of racquet sports at Shell Bay in Boca Raton, Fla., he was a professional tennis player who ranked 69th in the world during 2012, Jesse Levine turns 37... Managing director at SKDKnickerbocker, Elizabeth Kenigsberg... Second baseman on Israel's National Baseball Team from 2017 through 2021, Mitch Glasser turns 35... Director of strategic initiatives at the Modern Art Museum in Shanghai, Heiko Stoiber... | | | | | |
