Good Wednesday morning. In today's Daily Kickoff, we report on Secretary of State Marco Rubio's upcoming trip to Israel, and look at the primary field already taking shape in New York's 12th Congressional District following Rep. Jerry Nadler's retirement announcement. We report on Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner's campaign ads, all of which mention AIPAC, and talk to a former board member of the International Association of Genocide Scholars about the organization's "deeply flawed" passage of a resolution accusing Israel of genocide. Also in today's Daily Kickoff: Deni Avdija, Lana Nusseibah and Yael Lempert. Spread the word! Invite your friends to sign up.👇 |
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- Senior Emirati diplomat Lana Nusseibah warned in a just-published interview that Israel's potential annexation of the West Bank would constitute a "red line" for Abu Dhabi that would "end the vision of regional integration." We're keeping an eye on the diplomatic dynamics following Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's announcement earlier today that Israel plans to annex approximately 82% of the West Bank.
- This morning, the Middle East and North Africa subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee will sit for a closed-door, member-only roundtable with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee "on key issues facing the bilateral relationship as it relates to Judea and Samaria," the biblical term for the West Bank.
- We're monitoring Secretary of State Marco Rubio's upcoming trip to Israel, first reported yesterday. Rubio is slated to attend the inauguration of the Pilgrims' Road at the City of David in Jerusalem on Sept. 15. Read more here from JI's Melissa Weiss.
- We're also keeping an eye on Sacramento, where California legislators are days from the end of the legislative year and have yet to take up a bipartisan antisemitism bill. Jewish groups in the state have voiced support for the legislation, which has faced pushback from the California Teachers Association.
- Tonight in New York, journalist Yaakov Katz will speak in conversation with The New York Times' Bret Stephens about Katz's new book, While Israel Slept, written with Amir Bohbot.
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A QUICK WORD WITH JI'S MELISSA WEISS |
As Israel calls up tens of thousands of reservists ahead of a planned takeover of Gaza City and rejects ceasefire proposals that fall short of a comprehensive deal to end the war and release all of the hostages, Jerusalem finds itself facing calls both at home and abroad against further entrenchment in Gaza. At the same time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing pressure from Washington to end the war — with a decisive victory over Hamas. President Donald Trump signaled his growing weariness with a protracted war in an exchange with The Daily Caller, published earlier this week, in which he said Israel is "gonna have to get that war over with," noting that Israel "may be winning the war, but they're not winning the world of public relations." Netanyahu said at his weekly Cabinet meeting on Sunday that Trump had instructed Israel to go into Gaza City with "full force." Days earlier, the president held a White House meeting that included Jared Kushner and former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair to discuss a "day-after" plan for the Gaza Strip. Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer scrapped a planned meeting with World Food Program head Cindy McCain to fly to Washington for consultations. Taken together, Trump's comments and last week's gathering underscore the president's dwindling patience with the ongoing war — concerns that have been highlighted in Israeli media reports in recent days. Israel's Channel 12 reported over the weekend that Trump, frustrated by Hamas' intransigence, is pushing Netanyahu to move more quickly to decisively defeat Hamas. That could pose a challenge for Israel, which has not been able to declare "total victory" against Hamas in nearly two years but now faces White House pressure to end the war in a short amount of time — "perhaps even within two weeks," according to Channel 12. Read the rest of 'What You Should Know' here. |
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Nadler's favored successor drawing scrutiny over Mamdani endorsement |
Rep. Jerry Nadler's (D-NY) surprise decision on Monday to retire at the end of his current term has set off what is expected to be a crowded primary to succeed the long-serving Jewish Democrat — with a growing number of candidates weighing bids for the coveted Manhattan House seat he has held for more than three decades. The looming open-seat primary has also raised questions about whether candidates will embrace Nadler's increasingly skeptical views on Israel, and how the issue will shape the race. The 78-year-old lawmaker, who represents one of the largest Jewish constituencies in the nation, has long identified as a pro-Israel progressive, even as he has vocally criticized Israel's conduct during its ongoing war in Gaza and drew scrutiny from some Jewish community leaders over his early endorsement of Zohran Mamdani, the far-left Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City, Jewish Insider's Matthew Kassel reports. Looking at Lasher: Potential candidates include New York state Assemblymember Micah Lasher, Chelsea Clinton, Jack Schlossberg and former FTC Commissioner Lina Khan. Lasher, a former aide to Nadler who is expected to claim the congressman's blessing, according to people familiar with the situation, has built strong ties to the pro-Israel community, but he faced backlash from local rabbis over his similarly quick choice to support Mamdani, in spite of the nominee's hostile views on Israel. One Jewish leader said it was premature to draw conclusions about Lasher's positions on Israel, while voicing confidence that he "makes up his own mind" on tough issues, regardless of where his allies may stand. "Lasher is center-left but has always been relatively moderate on Israel," a pro-Israel strategist added in assessing the assemblyman's stances on the Middle East. Read the full story here. |
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Graham Platner's anti-Israel fixation in the Maine Senate race |
Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner is putting anti-AIPAC and anti-Israel messaging front and center in fundraising appeals he's circulating on social media, Jewish Insider's Marc Rod reports. Ad attack: "My opponent has already been endorsed by AIPAC — an endorsement I will never get. Because what is happening right now in Gaza is a genocide," Platner says in one direct-to-camera video ad focused specifically on his opposition to AIPAC. "I need your help because we refuse to take money from AIPAC, and we refuse to take money from the billionaires who support it." Every one of the eight active ads that Platner is running on Facebook and Instagram, according to Meta's political advertising library tool, includes a repudiation of AIPAC, and around half accuse Israel of genocide. Read the full story here. Notes from the field: Maine Beer Company co-founder and political neophyte Dan Kleban is entering the growing primary field of candidates hoping to challenge Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). |
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China uses WWII memory to project power in military parade and international diplomacy |
China showcased its growing aggressiveness on the world stage in a major military parade on Wednesday, showing off missiles and fighter jets to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II with Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un in attendance. The parade was an example of how Beijing has used WWII not only to encourage nationalism, but to project power internationally, from Jerusalem to Taipei and beyond, Jewish Insider's Lahav Harkov reports. Zoom out: The parade came shortly after China hosted a summit with Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Eurasian leaders, deepening ties among major powers not aligned with the West. The attendees issued a communique last week strongly condemning "the military aggression launched by Israel and the United States against Iran" in June. China has also used World War II and Holocaust terminology in recent weeks as it continues its hostility against Israel, calling Israel's war in Gaza a "genocide," even as the Chinese Embassy in Israel held an event highlighting Beijing's positioning with the Allies in World War II. The recent statements reflect a broader double game China has played in its relations toward Israel, consistently showing hostility to Israel on the international stage since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks, while within Israel, the Chinese ambassador has pursued a friendlier posture. Read the full story here. |
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Genocide scholars' resolution accusing Israel 'deeply problematic,' member says |
A longtime former board member of the International Association of Genocide Scholars criticized the group's passage of a resolution on Monday accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza, calling the move deeply flawed and the result of a politicized process. Sara Brown, the American Jewish Committee's regional director in San Diego who has a Ph.D. in genocide studies, argued that "the whole premise and tenor of the resolution is deeply problematic." In an interview with Jewish Insider's Lahav Harkov on Tuesday, Brown, who maintains her membership in IAGS, also pushed back against the narrative that most genocide scholars are accusing Israel of genocide. How it played out: The resolution passed with only 129 out of over 500 IAGS members voting, 108 in favor, 18 opposed and three abstaining. All paid members have the right to vote, and membership is not restricted to academics; its ranks include artists, activists and others interested in the field of genocide studies. As a result, some pro-Israel figures paid to join the IAGS following the resolution's approval. Under normal circumstances, Brown said, any member can propose a resolution, which goes before a committee for comments and feedback. Controversial or high-stakes resolutions are brought before a virtual town hall to discuss the text. This time, when the resolution was proposed on an IAGS listserv, Brown said that she and others attempted to publish a dissent that was deleted by the moderators. Read the full interview here. |
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D.C. suburb stirs controversy by mandating Palestinian folktale as required first grade reading |
A book that centers on Palestinian identity is drawing controversy from some Jewish parents in the Montgomery County, Md., public school system after it was assigned to first grade students as required classroom reading, Jewish Insider's Haley Cohen has learned. The book, Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur! A Palestinian Folktale, written by Margaret Read MacDonald, aims to convey a message to children that there are consequences for taking things that don't belong to them. It tells the story of a woman who "prayed to Allah" for a child and received a pot as her child. The pot, too young to know right from wrong, had a tendency to steal honey from the marketplace and jewels from the king — until she got caught. Voiced concerns: While the book does not mention Israel, local Jewish leaders and parents voiced concern that the required book's subtext sends an anti-Israel message to elementary schoolers and that the reference to "Allah" does not belong in a public school setting. A syllabus notes that students can receive supplemental reading materials if "any instructional material conflicts with your family's sincerely held religious beliefs." The book's lesson that "'you cannot take things that do not belong to you' echoes activist rhetoric that falsely casts Israel as an oppressor and the Jewish people as imperialist rather than indigenous," Dana Stangel-Plowe, chief program officer at the North American Values Institute, a nonprofit that monitors antisemitism in K-12 schools, told JI. But: Not all Jewish communal leaders agreed that the book was problematic. Guila Franklin Siegel, chief operating officer of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, argued that Jewish families should embrace the book. "If the only complaint about this book is that it's sharing a Palestinian folktale that teaches children not to take things that don't belong to them, I can't see what the problem with the book is," Franklin Siegel told JI. "It will be a shame if Jewish people wind up objecting to books only because they have protagonists who happen to be Palestinian." Read the full story here. |
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House Appropriations bill would ban funding to schools that fail to address antisemitism |
The House Appropriations Committee's proposed funding bill for the Department of Education includes sweeping new provisions cutting off funding for colleges and universities that fail to address campus antisemitism, but would also cut $49 million in funding for the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights in 2026, Jewish Insider's Marc Rod reports. New language: New language included in the bill states that no federal funding may be provided to institutions of higher education "unless and until such institution adopts a prohibition on antisemitic conduct that creates a hostile environment in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in all documents relating to student or employee conduct." The bill also bans funding to schools that have "failed to take administrative action against any student, staff member, or student group that commits acts of antisemitism while utilizing the facilities, grounds, or resources of such institution." At the same time, the bill would provide $91 million in funding for the Office for Civil Rights, which pursues complaints of antisemitism lodged by Jewish students, down from $140 million provided in several previous years. Read the full story here. Elsewhere on the Hill: With the 2025-26 school year kicking off, Sens. Dave McCormick (R-PA) and John Fetterman (D-PA) wrote to the presidents of five Pennsylvania universities urging them to work with their Jewish communities to ensure Jewish students' safety and ability to participate in campus life, Jewish Insider's Marc Rod reports. |
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Hitting the Houthis: The Wall Street Journal's Dov Lieber and Saleh al-Batati spotlight Israel's efforts to target Houthi leadership, following a strike last week that killed the terror group's prime minister and nearly a dozen other senior officials. "The strike also reflects an aggressive Israeli security posture in which Israel wants its adversaries to know it will hit back hard against any potential threat, say military analysts. The new doctrine is referred to among soldiers as FAFO, an acronym for f— around and find out, according to one of the security officials. … After escalating its fight against the Houthis, Israel hopes its strikes will have a deterrent effect on the group and other potential enemies in the region, one of the Israeli security officials said. The official said there is hope in Israel that the Yemeni people opposed to the Houthis will once again take up arms against them. " [WSJ] Inspection Time: The editorial board of The Washington Post calls on Iran to allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors back into the country and to resume nuclear talks with the U.S. "The only way to know for certain what's left is for the inspectors to fully return and for the Iranian government to come clean about what, if anything, it still has. To prevent further conflict, Iran also needs to reenter negotiations with the United States over any future nuclear program for civilian-only use. The United States says it is ready to talk, but Iran has insisted as a precondition, among other things, that Trump commit to no further strikes. That would give away too much leverage. … If Tehran takes any lesson from June, it should be that the United States is not afraid of using military force to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons. Trump resisted pressure from the vocal isolationist faction in his base, and he could do so again if he feels it is necessary to protect the nation's security." [WashPost] Higher Ed's Real Problem: In The Atlantic, Boston University professor E. Thomas Finan posits that the Trump administration's legal efforts against top-tier universities should serve as a "wake-up call" that pushes schools to meaningfully address deep-seated issues. "Strong free-speech protections for students and faculty combined with a commitment to intellectual diversity can help foster open inquiry and rigorous analysis. Colleges and universities should also consider remaining neutral on more political issues: Constant interventions can sap the academy's credibility and make students who take opposing views feel unwelcome. … Colleges cannot assume that the public consensus that has sustained them will simply remain in place, nor should they assume that reaching financial settlements will mend the structural weaknesses that have made them so vulnerable in the first place. The surest protection for the academy is to forge a new political compact — to prove, once again, that America's higher education is indispensable to its democracy." [TheAtlantic] New War Footing: In his "Clarity" Substack, former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren considers the ways in which the Israeli approach to the country's military has shifted in the post-Oct. 7 era. "Never will we forfeit the need for deep buffer zones along all our frontiers. Never again will the IDF favor a defensive over an offensive strategy — Iron Dome over tanks and armored personnel carriers — and rely almost exclusively on technology rather than soldiers to guard our land. Never again will our reservists go years without training or go into battle without even the most basic gear. … If, before the war, the questions of Haredi military service and integration into the economy were important but still open to debate, today that discussion has ended." [Clarity] |
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The Treasury Department announced sanctions on Iraqi businessman Waleed al-Samarra'i, who also holds citizenship in St. Kitts and Nevis, over his efforts to help Iran evade restrictions on oil exports… Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) announced she will not seek reelection in 2026, setting up a potential primary clash between the establishment and MAGA wings of the GOP; Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), an ally of Ernst, launched her bid shortly after Ernst's announcement… NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Disney CEO Bob Iger and Thrive Capital's Josh Kushner were spotted sitting together in the first row at last night's U.S. Open match in Queens, N.Y., between Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz; Jeffrey Katzenberg was also spotted attending the same match… Elliott Investment Management, which has a $4 billion stake in PepsiCo, is pushing for changes at the food and beverage conglomerate, including re-franchising its bottling network and pulling low-selling products… Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio cautioned that the U.S. risks falling into pre-WWII-era autocratic politics… In The Wall Street Journal, stock trader Peter Tuchman, who has been photographed more than 1,000 times on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, reflects on his 18-year "15 minutes of fame as the Einstein of Wall Street" after the New York Daily News ran a front-page photograph of Tuchman in 2007… New York mayoral candidate Jim Walden, who had been polling in single digits, dropped out of the race and called on the remaining candidates who are polling low to consider exiting the race, citing concerns over Democratic nominee and front-runner Zohran Mamdani's "extreme bigotry toward police, his authentic commitment to communism, his antisemitic obsessions, and his sympathies for terrorists"... Police in Los Angeles are investigating the vandalism of a Jewish supplies store in the city's Encino neighborhood; security camera footage captured the vandal spray-painting antisemitic graffiti on the side of the Mitzvahland goods store on Shabbat… Palantir co-founders Peter Thiel and Joe Lonsdale, as well as Elad Gil and Keith Rabois, were in Israel this past weekend for the wedding of Zach Frenkel, an investor in Thiel's VC firm; some of the high-profile wedding attendees, including Blackstone and Palantir executives, reportedly met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the trip... French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the upcoming Conference on the Two-State Solution, which Paris is co-hosting with Saudi Arabia, will be held in New York on Sept. 22; Macron called for a "reformed and strengthened" Palestinian Authority, a "fully reconstructed" Gaza Strip and the disarmament of Hamas… Pope Leo XIV is slated to meet with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Thursday at the Vatican… UAE National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed hosted Larry Fink in Abu Dhabi, where he congratulated the BlackRock CEO on his new position as co-chair of the World Economic Forum... Ali Larijani, the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said that U.S. demands that Tehran curb its missile program were hindering potential nuclear talks… Former U.S. Ambassador to Jordan Yael Lempert was named vice president for outreach at the Middle East Institute… |
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MASSIMO CERETTI/FIBA VIA GETTY IMAGES |
Israel's national basketball team, led by Deni Avdija (pictured, in blue), secured a Sweet 16 spot in the EuroBasket tournament for the first time in more than a decade. The team beat Belgium 92-89 on Tuesday in Katowice, Poland. |
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GREG DOHERTY/GETTY IMAGES |
Media personality, psychologist and socialite, also known as Dr. Estella, Estella Sneider, Psy.D. turns 75... London-based advice columnist for the Cosmopolitan UK magazine for over 40 years, known there as an agony aunt, Irma Kurtz turns 90... Past chair of the Anti-Defamation League and later the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Robert G. Sugarman turns 86... Retired software engineer at IBM for 39 years, he persevered after many years to locate and inter the remains of the crew of a crashed WW II American B-24 in the Indian Himalayans, succeeding in 2008, Gary Zaetz turns 71... Actor best known for portraying Bobby Baccalieri on "The Sopranos," more recently he has appeared in 146 episodes of CBS' "Blue Bloods," Steve Schirripa turns 68... Chair of the global sustainability platform at Apollo Global Management, Jonathan Silver... Offensive lineman for the NFL's New Orleans Saints from 1982 to 1989, now a professional photographer, Brad M. Edelman turns 65... Producer and reporter at NBC and MSNBC, early in his career he spent eight years as a volunteer broadcaster and reader for the Jewish Guild for the Blind, Adam Reiss turns 60... Executive chairman of Time magazine, Edward Felsenthal turns 59... Historian and journalist who has written four books on the rise of the American conservative movement (focused on Goldwater, Nixon and Reagan), Eric S. "Rick" Perlstein turns 56... Mayor of Haifa until 2024, she was the first woman to lead that city, Einat Kalisch-Rotem turns 55... Executive director at the Michael Reese Research & Education Foundation, Jason Rothstein... VP of data visualization at Moody's Corporation, Todd Lindeman... CEO of PR and communications firm Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis, Shawn Sachs... Founder of the Silverstein Group, providing strategic policy, crisis management and communications advice, Rustin Silverstein... Rabbi of The Hampton Synagogue, Avraham Bronstein turns 45... Chief advancement officer of Honeymoon Israel, Avital Ingber... Head of global public affairs marketing at Meta / Facebook, Joel Martín Kliksberg... Chief media correspondent for CNN until 2022, then a fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School, now back at CNN, Brian Stelter turns 40... South Florida-based attorney, she served as the co-chair of JFNA's national young leadership cabinet, Lindsey Tania Glantz... Comedy writer, producer and performer, Megan Amram turns 38... Fashion model and actress, Kaia Jordan Gerber turns 24... |
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