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Daily Kickoff
MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2026
Good Monday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack’s recent comments on control of the Golan Heights, talk to Palestinian analyst Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib about his new book about Hamas’ hold over Gaza and cover Hasan Piker’s suggestion that Jews who support Israel are inviting violence. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Josh Harris, Avi Nesher and Artem Dolgopyat.
Curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss with assists from Danielle Cohen-Kanik and Marc Rod.
Today's Agenda
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to hold a press conference at 2 p.m. today on Iran, days after announcing that the U.S. planned to impose “the toughest sanctions in history” on the Islamic Republic. In a post on X last night, Bessent said, “We are now entering the endgame. At dawn begins an economic D-Day — the single greatest financial offensive ever marshaled against an adversary.”
Ahead of Bessent’s speech — which came as the Iranian rial hit another record low — China’s Foreign Ministry released a readout on Sunday of a previously undisclosed meeting last week between China’s vice foreign minister and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi in which Beijing said it was “closely monitoring the situation in the Middle East and is actively committed to promoting peace talks.”
In Aspen, Colo., the Democratic Governors Association wraps up its annual two-day summer policy conference and board retreat this week. Speakers include Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.
The Montreal City Council is slated to hold a vote this evening on a resolution that would declare a genocide in Gaza and “recognize and denounce the apartheid regime in Palestine.” The resolution, being promoted by the opposition Projet Montréal party, has stirred controversy in the city and drawn pushback amid an uptick in antisemitic crimes.
One Thing to Know
The debate over AIPAC’s involvement in the high-stakes Michigan Senate race is drawing renewed attention after an Axios report outlined a request from allies of former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) for the pro-Israel group’s super PAC to lay low for the general election. The Rogers campaign advisors suggested instead that the group transfer money for the race to a separate pro-Rogers entity so as not to make its outside spending a major issue in the contest.
The episode has touched a lot of raw nerves in both the pro-Israel world and the Republican political landscape. Rogers, a longtime supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship, is highlighting his relationships with Michigan’s Jewish community, and has made attacking Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed’s anti-Israel virulence and his relationship with antisemitic figures like Hasan Piker a central element of his campaign message.
AIPAC’s super PAC, United Democracy Project, spent about $32 million in the Democratic primary to try to defeat El-Sayed, and there’s little doubt its money — in the absence of any moderate group willing to spend similar resources to stop a far-left candidate like El-Sayed from winning — made the race more competitive than it otherwise would have been. But it also gave El-Sayed a talking point in attacking outside money in the race that diluted the impact of the aggressive advertising campaign, especially at a time when support for Israel itself is diminishing within the Democratic Party.
The Big Reads
BARRACK'S ROW
Barrack walks back claim that Israel occupies Golan
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack on Sunday reaffirmed the U.S. policy on the Golan Heights, days after suggesting on a livestream that the Israelis “still occupy the Golan against the [United Nations] resolutions,” despite the Trump administration’s 2019 recognition of the area as Israeli territory, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. In a statement to JI after facing pushback on his initial comments, Barrack said, “The reference to the United Nations was offered as evidence of the point I was making — that territory taken by force remains contested for generations, in this case for more than fifty years and still unresolved at the UN — which is why I argue that negotiated understandings, not maps, are what endure.”
BOOKSHELF
In new book, Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib argues Hamas has held Palestinian population hostage for 20 years
During the war between Israel and Hamas sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, dozens of relatives of the Atlantic Council’s Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib were killed in Israeli airstrikes. But ultimate blame for their deaths, the author of Hamas and Its Two Million Hostages, published by the Jewish Quarterly, argued to Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea, is with the terror group and not Israel. In his first book, Alkhatib said he sought “to weave in elements of my personal story with Gaza's contemporary history, and add a human dimension to what I felt was Hamas' devastating impact on the Palestinian people, their destructive role in setting back the Palestinian national project and the radicalization of the society.”
VEILED THREAT
Hasan Piker says Jews who support Israel are inviting violence
Antisemitic social media influencer Hasan Piker, who has campaigned with a number of progressive Democratic candidates this year, said on his Twitch stream last week that American Jews who express support for Israel are inviting violence against themselves, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports. In his commentary, Piker added that Jews who tie their “entire identity” to Israel, which he referred to as “Jewish ISIS,” are “making antisemitism worse.” Two hours into his nearly seven-hour stream last week, Piker said, “If Jews in America keep putting this idea out there that they are singularly invested in Israel, eventually someone’s going to come around and take action, not against the State of Israel, mind you, but against American Jews.”
The Rundown
The rest of today’s original stories from Jewish Insider — full stories, all published on the site.
On Our Radar
● The Live Briefing. Word on the street, clips, podcasts and quick updates — the items we’re tracking all day in our Live Briefing on our app (on Apple and Android) and website.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) met privately with White House advisor Jared Kushner in recent weeks to discuss policy issues as Democrats look poised to retake control of the House in the midterm elections…
The U.S. canceled an upcoming joint amphibious landing exercise with South Korea, with Washington reportedly citing constraints due to the Iran war…
Mossad Director Roman Gofman and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani met on Sunday in an effort to lower tensions after Israel struck a Syrian air base last week…
U.K. power companies were put on high alert following a successful effort by hackers with suspected Iran ties to shut down a small British energy plant, weeks after Iran-linked hackers were suspected of targeting water systems in at least seven U.S. states…
Iranian authorities are increasingly cracking down on coffee shops that are serving as gathering spots for young Iranians to socialize, often citing the country’s restrictive modesty laws…
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) is planning to introduce legislation amending the Foreign Agents Registration Act that would require influencers to disclose funding from foreign governments to push political messages; the legislation has the backing of Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX) and Derrick Van Orden (R-WI)...
The New York Times spotlights Powerus as the Florida-based startup, which makes 3D-printed drone interceptor components, begins production in a newly opened facility in the United Arab Emirates in its first foray into the Middle East; the expansion is part of a broader effort to quintuple production by 2027 to match growing needs from the U.S. and its allies…
Blackwater founder Erik Prince launched Vectus Air Defense Systems, which will provide “layered air-defense networks” in partnership with Ukrainian drone software group Swarmer, for which he serves as non-executive chair…
Paramount condemned Mark Ruffalo’s use of “antisemitic tropes … in purported service of a business dispute” after the actor and activist, who has opposed Paramount’s bid to takeover Warner Bros. Discovery, accused CEO David Ellison and his father, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, of “powering some of the most destructive and inhuman forces in the world”...
Josh Harris, a minority owner of the Crystal Palace Football Club, told Sportico that the team is “trying to look at whether there are investors that might want to join us” as the owners of the English Premier League club consider a potential sale…
City & State NY looks at the NYPD’s continued relationship with Israeli law enforcement — including a full-time liaison stationed in Israel — despite New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s anti-Israel rhetoric, finding that “[n]owhere has the gap between Mamdani’s views on Israel and his actual policy been greater than his management of the NYPD”...
Variety interviews Israeli filmmaker Avi Nesher about his new film “Our Loves,” inspired by the real-life relationships of survivors of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, which is set to premiere next month at the Toronto International Film Festival…
Seven anti-Israel protesters who were convicted last month of shutting down traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge during a 2024 demonstration were sentenced to 30 days in jail and six months probation, with the imposition of jail time on hold until the defendants file appeals…
A Jewish camp in Belgrade, Maine, is seeking a protective order from a neighbor with whom camp officials have clashed for years; the camp alleged that Nathan Hewett has sought to disturb campers and staff, and said that earlier this month he fired nearly two dozen gunshots nearby, sending the camp into lockdown…
The Wall Street Journal looks at the Alternative for Germany’s attacks on the Bauhaus art and design school, as the far-right party seeks to portray the art movement — which was banned by the Nazis — as “inhumane” and anti-German…
AirMail and Politico profile Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot, as the latest poll from Israel’s Kan network shows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with 51 seats — short of the 61-seat majority needed to form a coalition…
Military officials from Burundi and Uganda met with officials in Israel last week to discuss the deployment of troops from both countries to join the international security force in Gaza…
Israel announced that it had discovered the wreckage of the Altalena, nearly 80 years after the vessel, which had been carrying arms to the Irgun when those aboard clashed with the IDF as the ship attempted to reach land, was sunk on the orders of Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion in June 1948…
Peter Berkowitz was named the next James R. Schlesinger distinguished professor at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs…
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What Bernie Wrought: In The Free Press, Joel Rubin, the former Jewish outreach director on Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) 2020 presidential campaign, argues that Sanders and his political infrastructure have helped bring about the Democratic Party’s turn against Israel and a broader rise in antisemitism. “No longer are there any guardrails within the Sanders team that take the broader Jewish community’s sensitivities into account. … Rather, for the past several years, Sanders has helped build a political infrastructure on the American left in which hostility toward Israel has increasingly become a marker of ideological authenticity.” [FreePress]
That Other King: In The Washington Post, Rabbi Elie Kaunfer reflects on the upcoming High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in the context of the “No Kings” protests that have taken place across the U.S. over the last year. “At the emotional center of both holidays is a word that recurs in their liturgies: king. … But 2,000 years before anyone printed a protest sign, the ancient rabbis who composed these words wrestled with the same discomfort we feel today. Indeed, the rabbinic approach to God as King can be summed up simply: Whatever you think a human king is, God is the opposite.” [WashPost]
Base Running: The Financial Times’ Jacob Judah does a deep dive into the debate over how — or whether — to rebuild U.S. military facilities in the Middle East that were damaged by Iranian fire. “As Pentagon planners have reimagined how to fight against advanced adversaries, large and fixed bases have been losing favour as the staging and supply hubs for military operations. The preference in Washington has been to move towards a more dispersed deployment model that makes it harder to target American forces.” [FT]
Picture of the Day
Israeli Olympic gold medal gymnast Artem Dolgopyat won his third European Championship title for his floor routine during last week’s competition in Zagreb, Croatia. MARKO LUKUNIC/PIXSELL/MB MEDIA/GETTY IMAGES
Birthdays
Meital Dohan, Israeli actor and musician, turns 50
GABRIEL OLSEN/GETTY IMAGES FOR HERRING & HERRING AND ABSOLUT ELYX
Meir Stern, rosh yeshiva of the Yeshiva Gedola of Passaic, N.J., turns 91
J. David Bleich, professor of Jewish law and ethics at Yeshiva University, he also teaches at Cardozo Law School, turns 90
Lois Tager, author, speaker, geriatric care manager and online counsellor for seniors in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Mel Karmazin, former president of Infinity Broadcasting, he eventually became the CEO of CBS and of Sirius Radio, turns 83
Joe Manchin, former U.S. senator (I-WV), turns 79
Dakota Jackson, celebrity furniture designer known for his eponymous furniture brand, turns 77
Lawrence Bacow, former president of Harvard and Tufts universities, turns 75
Jonathan Romain, rabbi emeritus of the Maidenhead Synagogue in Berkshire, England, turns 72
Ricki Seidman, senior counselor to the secretary of Homeland Security during the Biden administration, turns 71
Mike Huckabee, U.S. ambassador to Israel, turns 71
Phil Rosen, retired in 2024 as head of the real estate practice at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, he is the vice chair of Birthright Israel Foundation and chair of World Jewish Congress-American section
Adam Gopnik, author of nine books, essayist and longtime staff writer for The New Yorker, turns 70
Steve Guttenberg, actor, producer and director, turns 68
Marvin Krislov, president of Pace University, turns 66
Jonathan Aviv, professor of otolaryngology at Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC, turns 66
Marc Terrill, president emeritus of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore
Donna Barwald, professional organizer
Marlee Matlin, 1986 winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor for her role in “Children of a Lesser God,” she is the first deaf performer to have won the award, turns 61
Nick Denton, founder and CEO of Gawker Media until it was bankrupted by Hulk Hogan and Peter Thiel, turns 60
Andrew Romanoff, former speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives, he is now executive director for Disability Law Colorado, turns 60
Lonnie Nasatir, president of the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago
David Gregory, CNN political analyst, he is the former host of NBC's “Meet the Press,” turns 56
Todd Young, U.S. senator (R-IN), turns 54
Avigail Sperber, Israeli cinematographer and film and television director, turns 53
Miriam Shaviv, content marketing lead at Dow Jones Risk & Compliance, turns 50
Jon Daniels, former GM of MLB's Texas Rangers, now a senior advisor for the Tampa Bay Rays, turns 49
Emily Cherniack, Boston-based, founder and executive director of the group New Politics
Michael M. Rosen, counsel at Irell & Manella and a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute
Jenn Hyman, co-founder and former CEO of Rent the Runway, a company focused on the renting of high-end clothing and accessories, turns 46
Jon Scheyer, head coach of the Duke men's basketball team after serving as assistant to the legendary Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski), turns 39
David Perelman, CEO of the JCommerce Group, an e-commerce enterprise that services the Jewish community
Galia Slayen, VP of strategic communications at The Lede Company
Samantha Feinstein, owner of Sustayne and co-owner of Peabody Group
Natalie Short, SVP at Edelman Smithfield
Griffin Gluck, film and television actor, turns 26
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