Good Monday morning. In today's Daily Kickoff, we look at the ties between New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration and the family of far-left, pro-China financier Neville "Roy" Singham, and report on White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff's comments at FII PRIORITY comparing the freeing of Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas to the release of Palestinians from Israeli prisons. We look at how Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick's potential expulsion from Congress over federal financial crimes could provide a pathway for a staunch Israel critic to take her seat, and report on the Israeli Knesset's 11th hour passage of its 2026 budget, pushing off a potential early election. Also in today's Daily Kickoff: Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Barry Diller and Jonathan Greenberger. Today's Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with assists from Danielle Cohen-Kanik and Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here. Spread the word! Invite your friends to sign up.π |
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| - We're continuing to monitor a potential escalation in the Middle East after the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen launched several ballistic missiles at Israel over the weekend, marking the terror group's entry into the latest conflict.
- More than 2,000 U.S. servicemembers are en route to the region as part of a mass Pentagon deployment. Yesterday, President Donald Trump said he wanted to "take the oil in Iran" — a move that would involve the seizure of Kharg Island. Before returning to Washington, the president told reporters on Air Force One that Tehran had agreed to allow 20 cargo ships carrying oil to transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
- Authorities in Haifa are responding to a fire at the Bazan oil refinery — the second time the site has been damaged since the start of the war a month ago — following a series of attacks this morning by both Hezbollah and Iran. Israel's Environmental Protection Ministry said that there was no risk of hazardous leaks at the site.
- Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is in Berlin today, where he'll meet with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz before traveling on to the U.K., where he'll meet tomorrow with Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London. Al-Sharaa's trip to Germany marks the first time in 25 years that a Syrian leader has visited the country.
- New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is slated to give remarks at Knitting Factory founder and music impresario Michael Dorf's 33rd Annual Downtown Seder tonight at City Winery in Manhattan, with all proceeds from the event going to the Seeds of Peace nonprofit. Others in the lineup tonight include former CNN commentator Don Lemon, singer David Broza and comedian Modi.
- Ahead of the start of Passover on Wednesday evening, Jewish Insider wine columnist Yitz Applbaum is out with his recommendations for this year's Seders. Read more here.
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Evening intelligence, exclusively for subscribers — what we're tracking and what's coming next. |
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A QUICK WORD WITH JI'S JOSH KRAUSHAAR |
A useful rule of thumb to live by: Social media isn't real life. But one of the challenges in the brave new world of media is that extremist influencers can often create the perception of influence simply by dominating so much of the online discourse. Hasan Piker, a far-left streamer who has been the subject of favorable media profiles despite a laundry list of antisemitic and terror-justifying rhetoric, is a case study in how traditional journalists normalize extremists — and how politicians conclude there's a marketplace for radical views in the electoral marketplace, even when it's typically a mirage. In part because Democrats have been desperate to find anti-establishment voices that claim to speak for young men, Piker is seen as a popular, edgy podcaster by liberal leaders in both media and politics. (Nevermind the fact that Piker gets only about 36,000 viewers on a typical stream — about 1/25th of the typical nighttime audience of MS NOW, as The Atlantic's David Frum pointed out.) The New Yorker invited Piker to speak at its annual festival, treating the antisemitic streamer as just another one of the many thought leaders in attendance. Leading progressives, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), joined him at rallies and on his show. And a handful of leading Democratic presidential contenders — most notably California Gov. Gavin Newsom — expressed interest in going on his show. This, despite the fact Piker has justified Hamas' Oct. 7 terror attacks, forcefully denied some of the terror group's atrocities, has called Orthodox Jews "inbred" and claimed America deserved 9/11. Any one of those comments on their own would have typically disqualified anyone from playing a part in our political discourse. Yet in the wave of glowing profiles, Piker's antisemitism and anti-Americanism didn't even merit a mention. It wasn't until March 19, when Lily Cohen, a press advisor from the Third Way center-left think tank, took the initiative to co-write a column for The Wall Street Journal calling out Piker's antisemitism without any caveats. The decision to call out the crazy — when few in the press or politics had the courage to do so — was a moment that proved that one principled voice in defense of normalcy can break the mirage of those who believe there's a political marketplace for this garbage. Read the rest of 'What You Should Know' here. |
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Family of China-allied tech mogul embedded in Zohran Mamdani's movement |
Relatives of a Shanghai-based software magnate devoted to promoting Chinese, Iranian and Russian interests are operating inside the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, supporting Mayor Zohran Mamdani's preferred candidates for Congress and playing significant roles in shaping and advancing key elements of his agenda, Jewish Insider's Will Bredderman has found. Family affair: Alicia Singham Goodwin, the political director of the far-left nonprofit Jews for Racial and Economic Justice — and niece of far-left financier Neville "Roy" Singham — spearheaded a Jewish outreach operation for Mamdani's campaign, bundled thousands in donations and was publicly credited by the mayor with originating one of his signature policy ideas. Her parents, both members of NYC-DSA, have donated to his endorsed congressional candidates and she herself has collaborated with Mamdani himself on key organizational structures inside the group. Read the full story here. |
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| Senate Dems blast Trump for waiving sanctions on Russian and Iranian oil |
A group of 25 Senate Democrats criticized President Donald Trump on Friday for lifting sanctions on Russian and Iranian oil exports, sanctions which have seen broad bipartisan support, Jewish Insider's Marc Rod reports. Notable quotable: "We write with deep concern and confusion over your administration's recent decision to ease sanctions on Russian and Iranian oil exports," the Democrats wrote in a letter to the president. "These actions speak once again to the troubling lack of strategic foresight that has marked your administration's decision-making prior to and during its war of choice with Iran, jeopardizing the lives of our servicemembers across the region and raising costs for Americans here at home." Read the full story here. Lebanon front: A war powers resolution introduced by Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Delia Ramirez (D-IL) and Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) on Friday would block any U.S. participation in and assistance to Israeli operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon. |
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Steve Witkoff draws equivalence between Israeli hostages and Palestinian security prisoners |
White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff on Friday compared the release of Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas to the release of Palestinians from Israeli prisons, stating that both experiences "feels like we're changing lives." He made the comment at the FII Priority summit in Miami, Jewish Insider's Matthew Shea reports. What he said: "People ask me: 'Why do I like doing it?' And I say because it feels worthy, it feels like we're changing lives," Witkoff said. "I remember when we met those families of the Israeli hostages and they were ecstatic because they didn't think their children were coming home. But I was also in Gaza," Witkoff continued. "I met Gazan families whose children were released from Israeli prisons in exchange, and they were just as grateful as the Israeli parents." Read the full story and watch the clip here. |
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Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick's scandal could send another Israel critic to Congress |
The scandal surrounding Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) could send another far-left Israel critic to Congress, after a House Ethics Committee panel found her guilty on Thursday of 25 charges and lawmakers now move toward expelling her from the chamber, Jewish Insider's Marc Rod reports. Cherfilus-McCormick was also indicted last year for a range of financial crimes. The latest: Even before the indictment and Ethics Committee inquiry, Cherfilus-McCormick faced primary challenges including from Elijah Manley, a young progressive who has been critical of Israel. Manley, 27, who has leaned into Cherfilus-McCormick's indictment as fuel for his campaign, sat prominently behind her at her Ethics Committee trial last week. Dale Holness, the candidate who lost by a hair to Cherfilus-McCormick in 2021, is also running again. A poll of 300 likely primary voters in Pensacola in February found Manley leading the field with 38% of the vote, followed by Cherfilus-McCormick with 35% and Holness with just 10%. In a head-to-head matchup with Holness, Manley held a double digit lead, 45%-33%. Read the full story here. |
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Lagging in polling and fundraising, Lawler challenger hardens anti-Israel stance |
Speaking to Jewish Insider last July, Effie Phillips-Staley, one of the Democrats aiming to take on Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) in suburban New York this fall, said that she wanted to be "very clear that the U.S. has to continue to be a critical ally to Israel" and that she wouldn't support additional conditions or restrictions on U.S. aid to Israel. But as support for Israel has declined with the Democratic base, the progressive candidate has flip-flopped on her views towards the Jewish state, JI's Marc Rod reports. The latest: She received an endorsement this month from the virulently anti-Israel group TrackAIPAC, which has garnered accusations of antisemitism and dishonest tactics even from elected Democrats who are themselves critical of Israel. In a statement to JI, a spokesperson for Phillips-Staley said that her initial stance was a result of "the typical boilerplate advice from establishment Democrats to stay away from critiques of US aid to Israel." This week, she faced criticism from local Democratic Party leaders for appearing on Hasan Piker's stream. Her trip to Israel also included a conversation with Rev. Munther Isaac, a virulent antisemite who has justified Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Read the full story here. |
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Israel passes 2026 budget, avoiding early election |
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition narrowly beat a deadline that would have led to an early election, passing the 2026 state budget early Monday morning, a day before the March 31 deadline, Jewish Insider's Lahav Harkov reports. Remaining issue: The budget passed after the coalition granted NIS 800 million ($255 million) in benefits to Haredi institutions, and promised Shas and United Torah Judaism that the government would pass a law that, in effect, would continue yeshiva students' exemption from military service, even as Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF chief of staff, raised "10 red flags" about insufficient military manpower. Read the full story here. |
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The Hawks' Blind Spot: The Atlantic's Jonathan Chait raises concerns about the possibility that a negative outcome in the U.S. and Israel's war against Iran could further boost the ascendent far-right isolationist wing of the GOP. "Trump's populist allies have learned that their most poisonous ideas have a potent audience. Figures such as [Tucker] Carlson, [Nick] Fuentes, and the far-right influencer Candace Owens have developed mass followings by supplying the forbidden fruits of anti-Semitic paranoia that the old establishment withheld. They have tapped into a deep desire to blame Israel and a Jewish cabal for the world's problems. If Trump is seen as having failed because of a war fought alongside Israel that was urged on him by the hawks, Carlson's case against the Republican elite will become trivially simple." [TheAtlantic] The Alt-War: In The Washington Post, University of Pittsburgh professor Jennifer Murtazashvili, who moved to Israel as a Fulbright scholar in January, observes how online propaganda has altered the way in which the war in the Middle East is being understood by broad swaths of the West. "We are living through the first alt-war: a conflict in which the war fought online and the war fought in reality have diverged so completely that they might as well be happening on different planets. … The liberal internationalist left and the isolationist right — two camps that have agreed on almost nothing for decades — have suddenly found themselves in lockstep, racing to declare the war a failure before it had barely begun. … Together they are the most powerful engine of the alt-war." [WashPost] From Karachi to Palm Beach: Bloomberg's Faseeh Mangi profiles Bilal Bin Saqib, the Pakistani cryptocurrency expert and "key player" in Karachi's efforts to build fiscal ties with the U.S. "Last month, Saqib posted a selfie with Zachary Witkoff and other company executives at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. That came around the same time that Pakistan reached an agreement with the US to revamp the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan, a deal negotiated by Steve Witkoff. … Starting in March of last year, he was appointed to a series of positions in quick succession: The finance minister's chief adviser on crypto, chief executive officer of the Pakistan Crypto Council, special assistant to the prime minister on blockchain and crypto. Finally he ended up as chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority." [Bloomberg] |
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The U.S. is reportedly making preparations for a weekslong ground operation in Iran that would likely fall short of a full-scale invasion but would consist of smaller raids conducted by special forces… Separately, the White House is mulling a plan to extract nearly 1,000 pounds of uranium from Iran that would include troops on the ground… The Wall Street Journal looks at Pakistan's effort to position itself as a mediator between the U.S. and Iran; over the weekend, Karachi hosted foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt to discuss efforts to deescalate tensions in the Middle East… Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was in the Middle East over the weekend, said that Ukrainian intelligence revealed that Russia took photos of a U.S. air base in Saudi Arabia on three separate occasions shortly before three soldiers were injured in an Iranian attack on the base; the finding comes as, The Wall Street Journal reports, Moscow steps up its backing for Iran in part "to salvage what's left of its shrinking web of partnerships"… The Financial Times reports that Iran is increasingly relying on its "resistance economy" that functions through domestic production and sanctions evasion in an effort to stave off economic collapse, as The Wall Street Journal does a deep dive into Tehran's "tentacled ecosystem that controls more than half of the economy" and keeps the regime afloat… The White House issued a statement honoring Education and Sharing Day, U.S.A., honoring the "life, legacy, and vision of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson," the late Lubavitcher Rebbe… Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Peter Welch (D-VT) introduced a resolution to block certain arms sales to the United Arab Emirates… Sens. Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Van Hollen, Welch and Sanders introduced a bill that would require the affirmative consent of Congress for any nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia… Every Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee wrote to the committee's chairman requesting a public briefing on the Iran war, saying they are "deeply troubled by the lack of transparency" from the administration… The Democratic National Committee is expected to vote next month on a resolution opposing outside "corporate-backed independent expenditures" that explicitly criticizes AIPAC and its affiliated United Democracy Project super PAC… Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, signed into law legislation formally adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's working definition of antisemitism, becoming the 37th state to do so… Politico published, and then removed, a cartoon with antisemitic imagery that included Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with an outsized nose and members of Congress wearing bloodied Jewish prayer shawls… The cartoon was published a day before Politico reported on the "frustrations and anger" with the U.S. war in Iran that "were on full display" among young male MAGA adherents at last week's CPAC conference, despite a straw poll at the Dallas confab that found overwhelming support for both the Trump administration and the U.S. involvement in the war… The Wall Street Journal looks at San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie's effort to address the city's anticipated budget shortfall of $900 through private contributions and the creation of the San Francisco Downtown Development Corporation to raise funds to revitalize the area… The Information reports on last week's JPMorgan Chase's Tech100 gathering in Montana, where attendees included White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared and Josh Kushner, Michael Dell and Dario Amodei… Apollo Global Management is planning to open a second U.S. headquarters, with Austin, Texas, South Florida and Nashville reportedly among the shortlisted cities; Apollo plans to make the "bulk" of its future hires from the area it selects for the second HQ… Barry Diller purchased an $11 million duplex penthouse frequented by President John F. Kennedy at New York's Carlyle Hotel; Diller purchased the property from Karen Pritzker, who with her husband paid $12.5 million for it in 2007… Nursing home owner Daryl Hagler sold off five properties in Brooklyn and Queens for $332 million, months after a report from New Jersey's state comptroller found that Hagler and his business partner owed $124 million to the government for redirecting Medicaid funding and understaffing two N.J. nursing homes… A New Jersey man was charged with plotting an attack on Within Our Lifetime founder and anti-Israel activist Nerdeen Kiswani… The University of Florida chapter of College Republicans is suing the school for forcing the group's disbandment after the circulation of an image of a member doing a Nazi salute, citing its First Amendment rights… Semafor spotlights the work of the New York Post's "runners" — reporters without a specific beat who are dispatched to cover all manner of stories — by shadowing Reuven Fenton, "one of eight siblings, three of whom are rabbis" and "one of a number of people with arguably the oldest job in American journalism, and perhaps one of the only ones that will survive AI"... Yeah that's Kosher released the 2026 edition of its annual guide to kosher ballpark eating… The U.K.'s Liberal Democrats suspended the mayor of Bath after he shared social media posts calling a recent arson attack on Hatzola ambulances in London's heavily Jewish Golders Green suburb an Israeli false flag operation… A day after Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and three other senior Latin Patriarchate officials were denied access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Israel Police announced an agreement that will allow Catholic Church officials access to the site; the accord came after intervention from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called for Pizzaballa to be granted "full and immediate access" to the church... The IDF withdrew the Netsah Yisrael battalion from the West Bank following a weekend confrontation between reservist soldiers and a CNN crew in which reporter Jeremy Diamond alleged his cameraman was put in a chokehold by one of the soldiers… The Atlantic spotlights the Kurdish Peshmerga forces along the Iran-Iraq border that are preparing for possible military action in Iran… Politico Executive Vice President Jonathan Greenberger was named the publication's new editor-in-chief; Greenberger, who was previously the Washington bureau chief at ABC News, will assume the new role in May… Dr. Kurt Gitter, who as a baby fled Nazi Europe with his family and would go on to become a pioneer in the field of eye surgery, as well as an avid collector of Japanese art, died at 89… Dr. Judith Rapoport, whose work brought widespread awareness to obsessive-compulsive disorder, died at 92… |
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IDF Sgt. Moshe Itzhak HaCohen Katz, a U.S.-born IDF soldier from New Haven, Conn., who was killed in combat in Lebanon on Friday, was buried on Sunday in Jerusalem. |
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ILYA S. SAVENOK/GETTY IMAGES FOR AUDIBLE |
Actress, director, producer and ballerina, Juliet Landau turns 61.. Partner of Rose Associates, a real-estate firm in the NYC area, Elihu Rose turns 93... Professor of international trade at Harvard and winner of the Israel Prize in 1991, Elhanan Helpman turns 80... Cherry Hill, N.J. resident, Zelda Greenberg... Film and television director, Michael Stephen Lehmann turns 69... Comedian, actor, television personality, screenwriter, author and musician, Paul Reiser turns 69... Host of Public Radio Exchange's "The World," Marco Werman turns 65... District attorney of Philadelphia since 2017, Larry Krasner turns 65... U.S. ambassador to Bulgaria under Presidents Obama and Trump, he is a past president of the American Foreign Service Association, Eric Seth Rubin turns 65... Actor best known for his role as Steve Sanders on the television series "Beverly Hills, 90210," Ian Ziering turns 62... Owner and founder of D.C.-area's Ark Contracting (what else can you call your company if your name is Noah), Noah Blumberg... U.S. special representative for international negotiations in the first Trump administration, now at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Jason Dov Greenblatt turns 59... Regional director in the Washington office at AJC: Global Jewish Advocacy, Alan Ronkin... Associate dean of students at Bard College, she helped 350 people escape Afghanistan amidst the U.S. withdrawal, Danna Harman... Tel Aviv-born actress, she appears on television and film in both Israel and the U.S., Mili Avital turns 54... Mexican-American chef, she won a James Beard Award for her PBS television series "Pati's Mexican Table," Patricia "Pati" Jinich turns 54... Financial services professional, he was formerly treasurer of Oakland County, Mich., Andy Meisner turns 53... Iranian-born LA-based retired actress, best known for her roles in "Crash" and the "Saw" franchise, also as the mother of the inspirational amputee Ezra Frech, Bahar Soomekh turns 51... Communications consultant, Gabriela Schneider... Jerusalem-born documentary photographer for the Associated Press, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography in 2007, Oded Balilty turns 47... Detroit-area Jewish leader and founder at Multifaith Life, Alicia Chandler... Best-selling author of The Oracle of Stamboul and The Last Watchman of Old Cairo, Michael David Lukas turns 47... Former senior advisor to then-Ambassador David Friedman at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, he is now a diplomatic advisor to the Board of Peace, Aryeh Lightstone turns 46... Chief program officer at Jewish Democratic Council of America, Robert J. Saferstein... Founder and editor-in-chief at Standard & Works, Zach Silber... Senior reporter at The Huffington Post, Jessica Schulberg... Third baseman for MLB's Chicago Cubs, he was the MVP of the 2018 MLB All-Star Game, Alex Bregman turns 32... Associate at Arnold & Porter, she is a granddaughter of the late Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Leora Einleger... |
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