Good Wednesday morning. In today's Daily Kickoff, we report on President Donald Trump's comments at the NATO summit today comparing the U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear facilities to the bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, and look at what Zohran Mamdani's victory in Tuesday's New York City Democratic mayoral primary means for the direction of the party going forward. We look at the challenges facing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer as the New York Democrat faces increasing pressure from within his party to oppose the Trump administration on foreign policy matters, and report on the House Appropriations Committee's vote to boost Nonprofit Security Grant Funding by $30 million. Also in today's Daily Kickoff: Jordan Schultz, Natan Sharansky, David Ellison and Bari Weiss. Spread the word! Invite your friends to sign up.👇 |
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- President Donald Trump is in The Hague, Netherlands, today for the NATO Summit. He'll return to the U.S. tonight, following a press conference at 3 p.m. local time, 9 a.m. ET. More below on Trump's comments at the gathering earlier today.
- This morning, Attorney General Pam Bondi is testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee on the Justice Department's FY2026 budget, while U.S. Agency for Global Media Senior Advisor Kari Lake is slated to testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
- Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and the Jewish Federations of North America are holding a two-day leadership mission to Washington, with conversations with lawmakers expected to focus on domestic antisemitism and the Israel-Iran war.
- Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will deliver a speech at the Institute of Politics in New Hampshire today on the U.S. and Israel's strikes on Iran's nuclear program and "rebuilding American strength and deterrence in a dangerous world."
- The Jewish Democratic Council of America is hosting an event this afternoon looking at the U.S. role during wartime in Israel. Dana Stroul, who served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East during the Biden administration, and former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro are slated to speak.
- The Aspen Ideas Festival kicks off this evening in Colorado. Walter Isaacson and Fareed Zakaria are set to take the stage in tonight's opening session for a conversation about global current events.
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| A QUICK WORD WITH JI'S MATTHEW KASSEL |
Zohran Mamdani's presumed victory over Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic primary for mayor on Tuesday evening marks an extraordinary upset that until recently seemed all but unthinkable for the far-left state assemblyman from Queens who entered the race last October with virtually no name recognition. The stunning rise of the 33-year-old democratic socialist with a long history of anti-Israel activism sent shockwaves through New York City's political establishment and is already reverberating beyond the Big Apple, raising questions over the ideological direction of the Democratic Party as it has struggled to land on a cohesive messaging strategy to counter President Donald Trump. With the midterms looming, Trump's allies are already reportedly preparing to link Mamdani's radical politics to the broader Democratic brand. Meanwhile, in a place home to the largest Jewish population of any city in the world, Mamdani's path to the nomination is also contributing to a growing sense of political homelessness among Jewish Democrats who voiced discomfort with his strident criticism of Israel and refusal to condemn extreme rhetoric such as "globalize the intifada," a slogan that critics interpret as fueling antisemitism. Mamdani's insurgent victory five months into Trump's second term was reminiscent of then-upstart Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's (D-NY) upset primary victory over then-Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY) in the spring of 2018, one of the seminal moments that year of the political backlash to Trump. It was an early signal that the party, even as it elected a number of moderate lawmakers in that year's Democratic wave, was moving inexorably leftward in reaction to a Trump White House. Read the rest of 'What You Should Know' here. |
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| Trump denies report that U.S. strikes did not destroy Iranian nuclear facilities |
PIROSCHKA VAN DE WOUW/POOL/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES |
President Donald Trump and other administration officials denied a report that U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities had only set Iran's nuclear program back by several months, continuing to insist the nuclear sites were "completely destroyed" and "obliterated," Jewish Insider's Danielle Cohen reports. CNN reported on Tuesday night that an early intelligence assessment by the Pentagon found that the core components of Iran's nuclear program were still intact and the regime could continue seeking a nuclear bomb, according to seven people briefed on the matter. From the Hague: Speaking from the NATO Summit in the Netherlands on Wednesday, Trump told reporters, "That was a perfect operation. … And also, and nobody's talking about this, we shot 30 Tomahawks from submarines … and every one of those Tomahawks hit within a foot of where they were supposed to hit. Took out a lot of buildings that Israel wasn't able to get. … This was a devastating attack and it knocked them for a loop. And, you know, if it didn't, they wouldn't have settled. … If that thing wasn't devastated, they never would have settled." Read the full story here. Diplomatic dispatch: In an interview with independent Iranian media outlet Iran International, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter said Israel is "not in the position to make a long-term strategy for another country. Our long-term strategy is to stay alive," Jewish Insider's Gabby Deutch reports. |
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| Schumer struggles to live up to 'shomer' designation amid pressure from his party |
AARON SCHWARTZ/NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES |
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) finds himself in an awkward bind: The self-dubbed "Shomer Yisrael" — "guardian of the people of Israel" — is now the "Shomer of the Democratic Party" — guardian of a caucus that has drifted increasingly leftward, especially when it comes to its support for Israel and aggressive action to deter Iran's nuclear ambitions. When he had the opportunity earlier this month to take a clean shot at President Donald Trump for not being tough enough against Iran, he played to his history of hawkishness on Iran, taunting Trump for "folding" and "let[ting] Iran get away with everything," facing backlash from some on the left in the process. But when Trump made the decision to bomb Iran's nuclear sites last weekend, Schumer joined the majority of congressional Democrats, who blasted the administration for not seeking congressional authorization, Jewish Insider's Marc Rod reports. Raising eyebrows: "No president should be allowed to unilaterally march this nation into something as consequential as war with erratic threats and no strategy," Schumer said Saturday. "Confronting Iran's ruthless campaign of terror, nuclear ambitions, and regional aggression demands strength, resolve, and strategic clarity. The danger of wider, longer, and more devastating war has now dramatically increased." Schumer's turnaround is raising eyebrows among Jewish and pro-Israel leaders, and his focus on congressional procedure is frustrating some in the pro-Israel community who wanted to see him support Trump's efforts to eliminate Iran's nuclear program. Read the full story here. |
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Support among Democrats for Senate war powers resolution growing |
DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES |
A Senate war powers resolution aiming to block further U.S. military action against Iran appears to be building and solidifying support among Democrats ahead of an anticipated vote later this week, Jewish Insider's Marc Rod reports. Making tweaks: Sens. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Andy Kim (D-NJ) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) announced Tuesday they'd be introducing an amendment to Kaine's resolution to specifically ensure that the U.S. can continue to share intelligence with Israel and to assist Israel's defense and provide it with defensive equipment to counter attacks by Iran and its proxies. A House resolution on the issue had prompted private divisions among Democrats earlier this week over a similar issue, with many lawmakers concerned that the resolution would prevent the U.S. from continuing to support Israeli missile defense, a Democratic staffer not authorized to speak publicly told JI. Read the full story here. Ted's take: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Tuesday proposed another amendment to Kaine's resolution, commending President Donald Trump for a "successful mission" in damaging the regime's nuclear program. |
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U.S. is prepared to counter potential closure of Strait of Hormuz, CENTCOM nominee says |
YASSER AL-ZAYYAT/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES |
Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, the deputy commander of U.S. Central Command who is nominated to be the next CENTCOM head, said at his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday that the United States is prepared for the possibility that Iran will attempt to place mines in the Strait of Hormuz to close off the strategic waterway, Jewish Insider's Marc Rod reports. Tricky situation: The incoming CENTCOM leader, who previously led naval forces in CENTCOM and the Fifth Fleet based out of Bahrain, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the U.S. "has sufficient capacity and capability to handle the threat" of mining the Strait of Hormuz, and that it is keeping a close eye on Iranian movements that would signal such an operation is occurring. Cooper acknowledged that the potential shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz would have "significant" impacts on U.S. operations in the Middle East. He said it would be a "complex problem," given that Iran has stockpiles of thousands of mines, and noted that "historically in mine warfare, nothing happens quickly." Read the full story here. Petroleum pivot?: President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he would allow China to continue to purchase oil from Iran, though a senior White House official denied there had been any change in policy or that sanctions would be lifted, Jewish Insider's Marc Rod reports. |
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Sharansky: 'The Iranian regime was exposed before its people as a paper tiger' |
For decades, former Israeli politician and Soviet refusenik Natan Sharansky has championed the cause of freedom from oppressive regimes. Dissidents across the world have found inspiration in his books and sought his advice and support. Iranians seeking to topple the totalitarian mullahs' regime are no different. Soon after Israel began its strikes on the Islamic Republic's nuclear, weapons production and military sites, Sharansky, who has been in contact with Iranian dissidents, expressed hope that the war would increase pressure on the regime from within Iran, leading to its downfall. Sharansky spoke with Jewish Insider's Lahav Harkov on Tuesday about the prospects of the Iranian people rising up against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Talkin' bout a revolution: "Iran was unique among the dictatorial countries in the Middle East [in] that it had a very developed civil society. There were women's organizations, students, trade unions organized against the regime," Sharansky said. "I can tell you that in the estimation of many dissidents when we had a meeting 15 years ago in Prague, we chose Iran as the most likely candidate for a revolution. In 2009, you had the beginning of a revolution, but [former President Barack] Obama decided engagement with the regime was more important than changing the regime, so the regime was strong enough to destroy [the opposition]. Now, not only is the regime weaker in the eyes of the people, but it was exposed as a paper tiger so quickly and it lost all symbols of power." Read the full interview here. |
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House Committee votes to boost security grant proposal by $30 million |
BRANDON BELL/GETTY IMAGES |
The House Appropriations Committee voted on Tuesday to boost its proposal for 2026 Nonprofit Security Grant Program funding by $30 million, up to $335 million, an increase that Jewish groups say is a positive, but insufficient step, amid rising threats to the community, Jewish Insider's Marc Rod reports. Right direction: The change was approved by a voice vote of the committee as part of a bipartisan package of amendments. Eric Fingerhut, the CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, told JI that JFNA is "grateful" for the funding boost, which is "a meaningful step forward, but it's still not enough." Read the full story here. |
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Remember Beirut: In The Free Press, Albert Eisenberg, whose grandfather was killed in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, reflects on the recent assassinations of senior Iranian officials, including the July 2024 targeted strike against mastermind of the embassy bombing. "My grandfather was not an invading conqueror. He was a civilian employee of the U.S. government whose desire was to help build up other countries. He was murdered in 1983 by a regime that considers anyone they don't like an enemy to be enslaved, tortured, or killed. This is not a regime that should ever be trusted with nuclear weapons, and our country's involvement this weekend in preventing that from happening is justified. In any conflict, if there is one side deliberately targeting civilians — as Iran has done to its own people and to countless Americans since the ayatollahs came to power in 1979 — we should know that this is the side to oppose." [FreePress] Military Die is Cast: In The New York Times, former Secretary of State Tony Blinken suggests that, despite his opposition to the Trump administration's strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, he hopes they were successful. The Biden administration's "deployments, deterrence and active defense of Israel when Iran directly attacked it for the first time allowed Israel to degrade Iran's proxies and its air defenses without a wider war. In so doing, we set the table for Mr. Trump to negotiate the new nuclear deal he pledged years ago to work toward — or to strike. I wish that he had played out the diplomatic hand we left him. Now that the military die has been cast, I can only hope that we inflicted maximum damage — damage that gives the president the leverage he needs to finally deliver the deal he has so far failed to achieve." [NYTimes] What's in a Slogan?: The Atlantic's Jonathan Chait acknowledges concerns over New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani's defense of the "globalize the intifada" slogan, understood by many, including Jewish voters, to be a call for violence against Jews around the world. "The ambiguity of the slogan is not a point in its defense but a point against it. The dual meanings allow the movement to contain both peaceful and militant wings, without the former having to take responsibility for the latter. If activists refused to employ slogans that double as a form of violent incitement, it would insulate them from any association with the harassment and violence that has tainted their protests. Their failure to do so reveals an unwillingness to draw lines, as does Mamdani's reluctance to allow any daylight between him and their rhetoric." [TheAtlantic] |
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The White House is restaffing its National Security Council, weeks after mass purges following the removal of Mike Waltz as national security advisor that significantly downsized the office; Bloomberg reports that some of the ousted staffers have been asked to return to the NSC… The FBI is returning counterterrorism staffers who had been reassigned to immigration cases amid concerns about potential domestic terror threats from Iran… Reps. Brad Schneider (D-IL) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) sent a letter to European Union officials raising concerns about proposals to downgrade or suspend the EU's Association Agreement with Israel… Congressional Democrats reacted with outrage to the postponement of scheduled classified briefings on the U.S. strikes on Iran, accusing the administration of attempting to hide the truth from lawmakers… A majority of House Democrats — 128 — voted with Republicans to kill an effort led by Rep. Al Green (D-TX) to impeach President Donald Trump for striking Iran without congressional authorization; 79 members voted to move the effort forward… Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) suggested in an X post that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated over his opposition to Israel's nuclear program… Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine defeated NYC Councilmember Justin Brannan in the city's comptroller race; in Brooklyn, Maya Kornberg failed to oust Councilmember Shahana Hanif in the Park Slope district; former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) fell short in his city council bid, coming in fourth in a five-person race to represent parts of lower Manhattan… A prominent member of Qatar's royal family boosted Zohran Mamdani, a far-left Queens state assemblyman, in his campaign for mayor of New York City, Jewish Insider's Matthew Kassel reports… Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is expected to announce his bid for a third term on Thursday… The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law filed suit in federal court in Massachusetts on Wednesday on behalf of two Jewish students, alleging that the university and a tenured professor violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, including harassment on social media and in mass emails, Jewish Insider's Haley Cohen reports… Oliver Darcy reports in his Substack that Skydance Media CEO David Ellison met with Bari Weiss last year in an effort to recruit the Free Press founder to CBS' news division… The Washington Post profiles NFL reporter Jordan Schultz, the son of former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and self-described "new breed of sports journalist," who has leveraged personal ties and relationships to break news… U.S. immigration authorities arrested 11 Iranian nationals, including one believed to be a former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps member with ties to Hezbollah… The Board of Deputies of British Jews suspended five of the 36 members who signed on to an open letter earlier this year criticizing the Israeli government for its actions in Gaza… Seven IDF soldiers were killed when a bomb planted on their armored vehicle exploded in the southern Gaza Strip… Chinese officials are reportedly reconsidering a plan to build an oil pipeline between China and Russia as Beijing looks to alternatives to Middle East oil and gas in the wake of the Israel-Iran war… Iran executed three prisoners in its Urmia Prison who were accused of spying for Israel and bringing "assassination equipment" into the country… Photographer Marcia Resnick died at 74… |
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HOSTAGE AND MISSING FAMILIES FORUM |
Former hostage Iair Horn (right) met in Washington on Tuesday with Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) as part of a delegation of former hostages and hostage families to lobby for the release of the remaining 50 hostages. |
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JON KOPALOFF/THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER VIA GETTY IMAGES |
Founder and CEO of The Agency, Mauricio Umansky turns 55... Music publicist in the 1970s and 1980s for Prince, Billy Joel and Styx, later an author on human behavior, Howard Bloom turns 82... Founder and CEO of Bel Air Partners, a financial advisory firm for automotive retailers, Sheldon J. Sandler turns 81... Real estate developer in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Las Vegas and Miami and founder of The Continuum Company, Ian Bruce Eichner turns 80... Florida resident, Joseph C. Goldberg... Southern California-based mentor, coach and consultant for business executives through Vistage International, Gary Brennglass... Associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Justice Sonia Sotomayor turns 71... Former member of the Knesset for the Meretz party, Michal Rozin turns 56... Managing director of A-Street, an investment fund focused on seeding and scaling innovative K-12 student learning, Mora Segal... Senior media and PR specialist at Hadassah, Helen Chernikoff... Israeli philosopher, writer and publicist, he teaches at Yeshivat Har Etzion and Midreshet Lindenbaum, Rabbi Chaim Navon turns 52... Founder and director of The Biblical Museum of Natural History in Beit Shemesh, known as the "Zoo Rabbi," Natan Slifkin turns 50... Former fashion model and television presenter, Michele Merkin turns 50... Deputy director of government relations at Bread for the World, Zachary Silberman... President of Gratz College in Melrose Park, Pa., Zev Eleff turns 40... One-half of the husband-and-wife duo known for their YouTube channel h3h3Productions with more than 1.3 billion views, Ethan Edward Klein... Manager of strategic content at Leidos until a few months ago, Isaac Snyder... VP of strategy at Saint Paul Commodities and co-founder of Veriflux, Daniel "Dani" Charles turns 38... Medical resident at Temple University School of Medicine, Avital Mintz-Morgenthau, MD... Senior producer covering the White House for CNN, Betsy Klein... Center fielder in the San Francisco Giants organization, he was the 10th overall pick in the 2019 MLB draft, Hunter David Bishop turns 27... |
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