Good Monday morning! In today's Daily Kickoff, we talk to former colleagues and associates of pollster Mark Mellman, who died last week, and report on President Donald Trump's comments that his administration is moving forward on designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. We spotlight the opposition by Jewish groups to two Texas Republicans preparing to enter congressional races following the state's mid-decade redistricting, and look at the state of play in the Michigan Senate race as Democrats Mallory McMorrow and Abdul El-Sayed aim to win over anti-Israel voters. Also in today's Daily Kickoff: Rep. Brad Sherman, Zach Dell and Rabbi Saul Kassin. Today's Daily Kickoff was curated by Jewish Insider Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve with an assist from Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here. Spread the word! Invite your friends to sign up.👇 |
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- We're keeping an eye on Lebanon following an Israeli strike on Sunday that targeted Hezbollah's chief of staff, Haytham Ali Tabatabai, amid indications that the Iran-backed terror group, which suffered significant setbacks amid a wave of Israeli attacks last year, was rearming. Israeli intelligence sources said that the strike could prompt Hezbollah to retaliate against Jewish and Israeli targets abroad. More below.
- We're also monitoring the situation in the Gaza Strip after Hamas fired at IDF troops, prompting Israeli strikes on Hamas targets.
- In New York, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) is slated to make an announcement alongside Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) today in Rockland County.
- Former hostages Keith and Aviva Siegel are scheduled to speak tonight about their time in captivity and the fight for Keith's release at Potomac's Congregation Beth Sholom.
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A QUICK WORD WITH JI'S GABBY DEUTCH |
In the wake of Mark Mellman's death last week, the longtime Democratic pollster is being remembered for his leadership of Democratic Majority for Israel, an advocacy group he helped launch in 2019 to counter a growing hostility toward Israel on the left, a value proposition that proved prescient. But his role leading the group, in what turned out to be the capstone to his decades-long career, was serendipitous — and almost didn't happen. The group's founding board members "reached out to Mark for advice on who we should hire," one of the board members, speaking anonymously to discuss the details of the group's founding, told Jewish Insider. "And Mark said, 'I'll do it.' We went, 'OK.' We weren't expecting that." San Francisco Democratic fundraiser Sam Lauter, a former AIPAC activist who has been involved with DMFI from the beginning, said Mellman's role atop DMFI gave the group "instant credibility." Weeks later, Mellman was weighing in on a series of tweets from then-freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) that trafficked in antisemitic tropes. As political activists reflect on Mellman's life, several Jewish Democrats told JI that his clear-eyed support for Israel — and his ability to articulate its strategic importance to Democrats — will leave a lasting impact on the party. Read the rest of 'What You Should Know' here. |
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| Trump: 'Final documents are being drawn' to designate Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist group |
President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he plans to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a Foreign Terrorist Organization following months of bipartisan calls for his administration to target the group. Trump announced the move in an interview with journalist John Solomon of the conservative outlet Just the News on Sunday morning, saying that an executive order is being prepared for his signature, Jewish Insider's Emily Jacobs reports. "It will be done in the strongest and most powerful terms," Trump said. "Final documents are being drawn." The White House did not respond to JI's request for comment on the announcement or details of the order being drafted for the president. Ongoing effort: Trump considered designating the Brotherhood as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) during his first administration, though that effort never materialized. Sebastian Gorka, who serves as Trump's deputy assistant for national security affairs and senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council, has been publicly and privately urging the president to do so since returning to office, as have a chorus of GOP lawmakers, along with a handful of Democrats in Congress. Gorka posted on X on Sunday that the "time has come" to designate the group, which he called "the progenitor of all modern Jihadist terror groups, from al Qaeda to HAMAS." Read the full story here. |
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Israel kills Hezbollah chief of staff in Beirut airstrike |
Amid indications that Hezbollah is rearming itself, Israel assassinated a top official of the Lebanese terrorist group in an airstrike on Sunday in Beirut. The strike, which killed Haytham Ali Tabatabai, the group's chief of staff, was the first such attack in the Lebanese capital in five months and part of a recent escalation in Israeli strikes to blunt Hezbollah's rebuilding, Jewish Insider's Tamara Zieve reports. 'Hands soaked in blood': Tabatabai served as Hezbollah's chief of staff for the last year, when a ceasefire agreement was reached between Israel and Lebanon, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Before that, the army said, Tabatabai oversaw Hezbollah's combat operations against Israel and had held a series of senior positions since he joined the group in the 1980s, including commander of the Radwan Force unit and head of Hezbollah's operations in Syria. "Tabatabai is a mass murderer," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement on Sunday evening. "His hands are soaked in the blood of many Israelis and Americans, and it is not for nothing that the U.S. put a bounty of five million dollars on his head," Netanyahu said, in reference to a 2016 decision designating Tabatabai as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. Read the full story here. |
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Haley Stevens maintains support for Israel as her primary rivals battle over anti-Israel lane |
As two Democratic Michigan Senate candidates compete for the votes of anti-Israel voters with accusations of genocide against the Jewish state, Abdul El-Sayed is going after state Sen. Mallory McMorrow as insufficiently and inauthentically critical of Israel. El-Sayed entered the race as a vocal critic of Israel, while McMorrow, in recent months, has joined him in describing the war in Gaza as a genocide, as well as saying she would support efforts to cut off offensive weapons to Israel, Jewish Insider's Marc Rod reports. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), meanwhile, is solidifying her support for Israel, receiving an endorsement this week from Democratic Majority for Israel and calling herself a "proud pro-Israel Democrat [who] believe[s] America is stronger when we stand with our democratic allies, confront antisemitism and extremism, and keep our promises to our friends abroad and our working families here at home." El-Sayed's speech: El-Sayed, in a recent event at Michigan State University, went after McMorrow for not labeling Israel's actions in Gaza as genocide sooner, describing it as a matter of clear and incontrovertible fact. Video of the comments was published by the Michigan Advance. He compared McMorrow's position to someone taking months to decide that the sky is blue and saying "let me give you five caveats about why it might not be blue." El-Sayed also suggested that McMorrow's positions changed because she was seeking support from AIPAC, and only took a more anti-Israel stance after the group declined to support her. Read the full story here. |
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Two Republicans condemned by Jewish groups looking to make comebacks in Texas |
In Texas, two Republicans who have faced condemnations from the Jewish community could be making comebacks in this year's Republican congressional primaries. Social media influencer and gun activist Brandon Herrera is making a second attempt to take down Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), after losing to the congressman by less than 400 votes in 2024 in the 23rd Congressional District, which runs along the U.S.-Mexico border. In addition, former Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX) is rumored to be planning a second attempt at a political comeback; he served one term from 1995-1997, narrowly beating a Democratic incumbent, before losing reelection. He ran and was elected again in 2013 in a newly created district. In 2015, he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in a primary against Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), Jewish Insider's Marc Rod reports. Controversies: Herrera attracted controversy and criticism for videos he posted on YouTube featuring imagery, music and jokes about the Nazi regime and the Holocaust, and was active for years in a Sons of Confederate Veterans group in North Carolina. He also pledged to support ending U.S. foreign aid, including to Israel. The AIPAC-affiliated United Democracy Project super PAC and the Republican Jewish Coalition launched substantial ad campaigns against Herrera in 2024, highlighting his Nazi-related videos. Gonzales is currently under scrutiny after a former staffer died by suicide after setting herself on fire. The staffer and Gonzales had allegedly engaged in an extramarital affair, something both Gonzales and the woman's family deny. Gonzales has a sizable lead in fundraising with $1.5 million raised and $2.5 million on hand, to Herrera's $307,000. Read the full story here. Resignation proclamation: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who entered office in 2021 on a record of antisemitic conspiracy theories and emerged since Oct. 7, 2023, as one of the most vocal opponents of Israel in the House Republican conference, announced on Friday that she will resign her seat, effective Jan. 5, 2026. |
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Two anti-Israel activists behind 'modern-day blood libel' display at D.C.'s Union Station |
An antisemitic art display at Washington Union Station on Thursday depicting U.S. and Israeli leaders drinking the blood of Gazans is drawing widespread condemnation for echoing the historic blood libel against Jews. The demonstration, displayed both inside and outside of D.C's main train station, was organized by Hazami Barada and Atefeh Rokhvand, two anti-Israel activists who have been involved in several protests around Washington since the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel, including leading a protest encampment outside of the Israeli Embassy and outside of then-Secretary of State Tony Blinken's home for months in 2024, Jewish Insider's Haley Cohen reports. Behind the display: Barada protested a community vigil for the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack, which took place at The Anthem, a music venue in the nation's capital. Rokhvand is an elementary school teacher who spoke at the Muslim Student Association conference in 2024. Another local activist, Hasan Isham, took credit on Instagram for 3D printing the masks used in the protest, which featured people dressed in suits wearing masks to resemble Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former President Joe Biden and Blinken. The five officials were sitting at a long "Friendsgiving dinner" table decorated with the Israeli flag while eating doll limbs drenched in fake blood. A menu placard read: "Starter: Gaza children's limbs." "Main: Stolen Organs." "Dessert: Illegally harvested skin." "Drink: Gaza's spilled blood." Read the full story here. |
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X Marks the Spot: In her Substack "Agents of Influence," Renee DiResta looks at how X's new "location" feature has revealed the real, and often foreign, origins of accounts claiming to be supporters of the MAGA movement. "I used to work with [X's disinformation] team as an outside academic analyzing the data sets they would make public; it was a constant cat-and-mouse game, because there is very little penalty for a manipulator beyond losing an account and having to start over. So when X's 'About this account' panel suddenly reveals that one of those big 'patriot' culture war accounts is registered in India or Nigeria, that's not a shocking twist. That is exactly what you'd predict when you understand how this market works. … I saw Pirate Wires had already posted digging into the Israel/Palestine accounts that fight online, highlighting similar inauthenticity — this problem happens outside of the U.S., too." [AgentsofInfluence] Dell the Younger: The Information's Steve LeVine profiles Zach Dell, the son of businessman and philanthropist Michael Dell who launched his startup Base Power two years ago. "Dell concedes that he has basically been tutored since boyhood on exactly this sort of capture-an-industry play. 'I got to see front row how this is done,' he said. 'And I feel very blessed to have had that perspective.' Watching his father do that in computers, Dell obsessed over building his own 'great company,' and not just any great company. 'I'd been looking for paradigm shifts,' he said of his early 20s. 'I was looking for a wave to surf.' … In 2021, Dell went to work for Thrive Capital, the venture firm founded by Josh Kushner. He was part of an eight-member team that invested in SpaceX and Anduril Industries, both formative experiences. Dell looked up to the billionaire founders of those two companies — Elon Musk and Palmer Luckey — as role models. They went after big traditional Industries — Musk with space, Luckey with weapons — and won." [TheInformation] |
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The second cohort of The Bronfman Fellowship's Campus Commons program meets for immersive retreat. |
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In a surprisingly chummy press conference, President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani spoke about their "productive" Oval Office meeting on Friday, yet mostly dodged questions on Israel and antisemitism, Jewish Insider's Matthew Shea reports… The 21 members of the House Jewish Caucus — every Jewish Democrat in the chamber — wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to express "extreme alarm and concern" about recent reporting that the Coast Guard would no longer classify the swastika as a hate symbol, and demanded answers about the policy, Jewish Insider's Marc Rod reports… Sens. James Lankford (R-OK) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV), the co-chairs of the Senate antisemitism task force, wrote to Adm. Kevin Lunday, the acting commandant of the Coast Guard, raising additional questions about policy changes regarding displays of swastikas, Jewish Insider's Marc Rod reports… The Justice Department's Harmeet Dhillon said that the department is investigating the protest outside a Nefesh B'Nefesh event at the Park East Synagogue last week in which demonstrators chanted "Globalize the intifada" and "Death to the IDF"... Meanwhile in the U.K., anti-Israel activists projected the text "Stolen lands sold here" on the outer wall of a North London synagogue… Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger accused the Trump administration and outgoing Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin of political interference in their efforts to be involved in the hiring of senior administrators and implementation of policies at state's public colleges and universities; Spanberger had previously requested that the University of Virginia pause its presidential search until she takes office in early 2026… The Financial Times looks at the relationship between President Donald Trump and Indonesian businessman Hary Tanoesoedibjo as the White House works to encourage Jakarta to join the Abraham Accords and contribute troops to an international peacekeeping force in Gaza… Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) introduced a bill to require schools to treat antisemitic discrimination in the same manner that they treat racial discrimination… Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), who is among the most vocal Democratic supporters of Israel in the House, will serve as the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee's Middle East and North Africa subcommittee, replacing Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) following her indictment last week, Jewish Insider's Marc Rod reports… Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Craig Goldman (R-TX) introduced a resolution to recognize Nov. 30 as "Yom Haplitim," Jewish Refugee Day… A GOP operative in Georgia serving as a special advisor to the head of the state party was discovered to have shared — and deleted — xenophobic and antisemitic social media posts, including one mocking Claudia Sheinbaum, the Jewish president of Mexico… A pocket watch that had been worn by Macy's co-owner Isidor Straus the night he died in the sinking of the Titanic, and rescued two weeks later when his body was found, fetched $2.3 million at auction; a letter penned by Straus' wife, Ida, on the ship's stationery was sold for $131,000… The U.K.'s Daily Mail and General Trust, which owns the Daily Mail, is in advanced talks with Jeff Zucker's RedBird IMI to acquire the Daily Telegraph in a deal worth $655 million… An annual report issued by the Federation of the Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic found that antisemitic activity in the Central European country had increased by 8.5% from 2023 to 2024… A judge in Australia ruled that a homeless man who set fire to a Melbourne synagogue earlier this year was experiencing a mental health episode stemming from his failure to take medication to regulate schizophrenia, and not acting out of antisemitic malice… The IDF is taking action — including censures and dismissals — against roughly a dozen senior officials related to security and military failures during and in the run-up to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks… Israel's Cabinet approved a plan to bring the remaining 7,000 members of the Bnei Menashe community in India to Israel by 2030 as the group faces security threats and ethnic violence… The Bank of Israel is expected to lower interest limits for the first time since January 2024, amid hopes that the ceasefire brokered last month will stabilize markets… Israel's Cabinet approved diplomats to be sent to posts in the U.S. next summer, doing so in a unanimous vote in its weekly meeting on Sunday. Adi Farjon is set to be Israel's consul-general to Houston and the Southwest, while Ron Gerstenfeld was appointed consul-general in San Francisco and the Pacific Northwest. The Cabinet also authorized new ambassadors to Ukraine, Argentina, Mexico, Costa Rica and Uruguay, as well as consuls-general in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Sami Abu Janeb, previously deputy ambassador to Jordan, was appointed consul-general to Dubai, Jewish Insider's Lahav Harkov reports… Rabbi Saul Kassin, a leader in the Syrian American Jewish community, wrote a letter to the Helsinki Commission, which is evaluating the repeal of Caesar Act sanctions on Syria, distancing the community from Rabbi Yosef Hamra; Kassin said that Hamra "is not a representative of the American Syrian Jewish community" and "has never held any authority, mandate, or permission to speak or act on our behalf in any religious, political, or communal matter" as Hamra advocates for a repeal of the sanctions… Saudi Arabia is quietly expanding the ability to purchase alcohol in the country, allowing non-Muslims with a special residency status permit to shop at a store that had previously only sold its products to diplomats… Iran, with assistance from Turkey, is battling wildfires at the ancient Hyrcanian Forests, a UNESCO World Heritage site, resulting from the drought that swept through portions of the country and record high temperatures… Maj. Gen. (ret.) Eli Zeira, who led the IDF's intelligence unit during the Yom Kippur War and whose legacy was shaped by his dismissal of warnings of the impending Syrian and Egyptian attack on Israel in 1973, died at 97… |
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Former hostages Segev Kalfon, Matan Angrest (pictured, with his father), Nimrod Cohen and Bar Kuperstein visited the Ohel, the Lubavitcher Rebbe's gravesite in Queens, N.Y., over the weekend after meeting with President Donald Trump on Thursday in Washington. |
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MARK METCALFE/GETTY IMAGES |
Former co-CEO of global shopping center company Westfield Corporation, he is also chairman of the World Board of Trustees of Keren-Hayesod United Israel Appeal, Steven Lowy turns 63… Former member of Congress from Kansas, secretary of Agriculture and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, Dan Glickman turns 81… Retired English teacher, Adele Einhorn Sandberg turns 81… Chairman of Lyons Global Insurance Services, he is a senior advisor to the Ashcroft Group, Simcha G. Lyons turns 79… Professor emeritus of chemistry at Bar Ilan University, he is also an ordained rabbi, Aryeh Abraham Frimer turns 79… Coordinator for the International Association of Jewish Free Loans, Tina Sheinbein turns 75… President of Gesher Galicia, Dr. Steven S. Turner turns 74… Actress, best known for her role as Gaby in the film "Gaby: A True Story," Rachel Chagall turns 73… Senior consultant at Marks Paneth (now CBIZ), he is an honorary VP of the Orthodox Union and a trustee of Congregation Shearith Israel in New York, Avery E. Neumark… Partner in the Los Angeles-based law firm of Gordon & Rees, Ronald K. Alberts… Past president of the University of Michigan, Mark Steven Schlissel turns 68… Former coordinator of clinical oncology trials at Englewood Health, Audrey E. Ades… Born to a Jewish family in Havana, former secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro N. Mayorkas turns 66… Media executive, lobbyist, and political consultant, Jeff Ballabon turns 63… Author and founder of Nashuva, a Los Angeles-area Jewish outreach community, Rabbi Naomi Levy turns 63… Member of the Knesset for the Democrats (the merger of Labor and Meretz), she is a granddaughter of Rudolf Kastner, Merav Michaeli turns 59… EVP and COO of the Orthodox Union, Rabbi Dr. Joshua M. Joseph… Israeli actor and screenwriter, he is best known for portraying Doron Kabilio in the political thriller television series "Fauda," Lior Raz turns 54… Professional poker player, his tournament winnings exceed $9.5 million, Robert Mizrachi turns 47… President of global affairs and co-head of the Goldman Sachs Global Institute, he is an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, Jared Cohen turns 44… Olami Texas rabbi at the Austin campus of the University of Texas, Rabbi Moshe Trepp turns 44… Assistant director of the electric unit at the Georgia Public Service Commission, Benjamin Deitchman… Director at Green Strategies, Rachel Kriegsman… Senior director of strategic marketing at Phreesia, Madeline Bloch… Actress best known for her lead role in the Netflix series "Bonding," Zoe Levin turns 32… Chief of staff for Douglas Murray, Kennedy Lee… Michael Davis… Co-chair of the Bergen AIPAC Network and board member of the New Jersey Jewish Business Alliance, Philip Goldschmiedt… |
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