Good Wednesday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on President Donald Trump’s comments at the NATO summit in Ankara this morning that the MOU with Iran is “over,” and look at how Israel is approaching U.S. plans to sell fighter jets and weapons systems to Turkey. We report on growing pressure for Graham Platner to drop his Senate bid in Maine following recent sexual assault allegations, and cover last night’s Michigan Senate debate between Rep. Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Elan Carr and Marine Le Pen.
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Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with an assist from Danielle Cohen-Kanik. Have a tip? Email us here.
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- The NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, wraps up today. President Donald Trump is slated to depart this afternoon after meeting with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa.
- Speaking at the summit earlier today, Trump said that the ceasefire agreement with Iran was “over,” calling the country “scum,” following overnight Iranian strikes targeting military installations in Bahrain and Kuwait. The Iranian attacks came after CENTCOM hit over 80 targets in Iran on Tuesday, hitting air-defense systems, command and control networks, coastal radar sites and more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats in retaliation for Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Read more here.
- Israeli media reports that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who is in Ankara with the president and was planning to make a last-minute trip to Israel today, called off the visit. Hegseth had been slated to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
- Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, who arrived in Israel earlier this week, will give an address this afternoon at Tel Aviv University on his vision for the future of U.S.-Israel relations.
- The annual Contemporary Antisemitism conference continues today in Haifa.
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A QUICK WORD WITH GILI COHEN |
Is President Donald Trump about to throw Israel under the ... fighter jet?
The F-35 may be a stealth jet, but the Trump administration's likely sale of the highly sophisticated planes to Turkey is creating a very out-in-the-open rift between Jerusalem and Ankara. It pits two strongmen of the type that Trump purports to admire — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish President Recep Tayyip ErdoΔan, both of whom are vying to be a kind of Mideast "favorite son" to the mercurial American president — against each other.
The potential for the sale — one that strikes at the heart of Israel's qualitative military edge and could tilt the balance of power in the region — is fueling anxiety in Israel. So much so that Netanyahu took to Fox News on both Sunday and Monday to detail Turkey's long anti-Israel "rap sheet." And this comes after harsh words by both Trump and Vice President JD Vance about Israel's isolation on the world stage.
Israeli foreign policy analysts are also raising red flags. "Defining [Turkey] as an enemy would be a mistake, but it is clearly a rival that openly acts against the State of Israel and promotes a vision that includes Israel’s destruction," Avner Golov, vice president of national security consulting firm MIND Israel and former senior director at the Israeli National Security Council, told JI.
The potential F-35 fighter jet sale is a complex one for Israel. Turkey was actually part of the program once before, but was expelled during the previous Trump administration over its purchase of a Russian air-defense system.
"Turkey used to be our friend, we used to train together, so they were not part of our demand within the framework of the qualitative military edge," a former Israeli Air Force planner told JI. "And here we find ourselves in a problem: Turkey was a member of the project, and we are not” — though Israel has received F-35s despite not being an official partner.
Read the rest of 'What You Should Know' here.
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Maine Democratic Party accuses Platner of trying to influence his own replacement |
The Maine Democratic Party accused Senate candidate Graham Platner on Tuesday of attempting to “put his thumb on the scale” to influence whom the party chooses to replace him on the ticket, as a growing wave of Democrats in the state position themselves to run for the seat. The charge by party officials comes a day after a former romantic partner accused Platner of sexual assault and as many of his key supporters urge him to suspend his campaign, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Continued scandal: Additional allegations of nonconsensual sexual conduct emerged on Tuesday, in a new Washington Post interview with another former romantic partner of Platner who had previously accused him of domestic abuse. Platner’s campaign has denied all of the allegations.
Read the full story here.
Cut loose: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday joined the swelling chorus of Democratic voices demanding Platner abandon his campaign — a campaign the mayor’s own top political advisor helped start and steer, JI’s Will Bredderman reports.
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Haley Stevens continues war of words with Netanyahu during Senate debate |
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as she faced a barrage of attacks from her Senate primary opponent, former public health official Abdul El-Sayed, at a debate on Tuesday in Michigan, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. Netanyahu, in a CNN interview earlier on Tuesday, criticized Stevens for saying that his actions and government had made the Jewish community less safe and placed Jews in an “uncomfortable position.”
Back-and-forth: In response to a question from CNN host Dana Bash, Netanyahu said, “It’s made her uncomfortable because she can’t stand up for the truth. She’s trying to, probably, excuse antisemitism.” Asked about the war in Iran, Stevens criticized both President Donald Trump and Netanyahu. “We need long-term peace. Donald Trump has failed us. The prime minister of Israel has failed in that regard, and he was just coming after me on this today,” Stevens said. “Look, I am unafraid. Michigan, you are my North Star, and no illegal wars, no unilateral wars at our expense.”
Read the full story here.
Identity politics: El-Sayed told CNN this week that he does not believe that a politician’s support for Israel could be about anything other than money. “Not if you’re a Democrat and you believe in human rights,” El-Sayed told CNN when asked about such a distinction, JI’s Gabby Deutch reports.
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Trump announces lifting sanctions on Turkey alongside ErdoΔan at NATO summit |
President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that his administration was preparing to lift congressionally mandated sanctions on Turkey as he weighs moving forward with the sale of coveted F-35 fighter jets to Ankara, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
What he said: “We’re going to be taking the sanctions off,” Trump said alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip ErdoΔan on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, referring to lifting the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). “It’s time to do that. We don’t want to sanction friends. It’s very simple,” he continued. “We’re working very closely with [Secretary of State] Marco Rubio and with [Treasury Secretary] Scott Bessent and with [Defense Secretary] Pete [Hegseth] and everybody else.”
Read the full story here.
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Lawmakers divided over Trump’s plan to lift sanctions on Turkey |
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle remain deeply skeptical of President Donald Trump's plans to lift sanctions on Turkey and revive its participation in the F-35 fighter jet program, but members of a bipartisan Senate delegation attending the NATO summit said Wednesday they could support the move if Ankara resolves long-standing security concerns over its use of the Russian-made S-400 missile-defense system, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Tamara Zieve report.
Red flag: “Selling one of America's most advanced fighter jets to Turkey is not in the best interest of the United States,” Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) told JI. “It risks compromising critical technology and sends the wrong message to our allies in Europe and the Middle East. Restrictions on the sale of F-35s to Turkey should absolutely remain in place while [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan continues to operate Russian S-400s, in accordance with existing U.S. law.”
Yes, but: Speaking on the sidelines of the NATO summit at a press conference on Wednesday morning, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) noted that “[Sen.] Thom Tillis [R-NC] and I wrote the legislation that prohibited, that kicked Turkey out of the F-35 program because of their acquisition of the S-400.” Shaheen continued, "If there is an acceptable way to deal with the S-400 and the threat that that poses to the technology and the F-35 and there is satisfactory agreement on the part of all parties about that, then I think having TΓΌrkiye back in the F-35 program would be a positive development, both for TΓΌrkiye and for the United States.”
Read the full story here with additional comments from Reps. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Mike Turner (R-OH), George Latimer (D-NY), Dina Titus (D-NV), Chris Pappas (D-NH), Joe Wilson (R-SC) and Sens. Mike Rounds (R-SD), Chris Coons (D-DE) and John Cornyn (R-TX).
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Judge schedules 2027 trial in decades-long case linking AMP to Hamas murder of American teen |
A federal judge in Illinois has scheduled a Feb. 8, 2027, trial to determine whether the American Muslims for Palestine group can be held legally responsible for the 1996 murder of American teenager David Boim, according to a court document obtained by Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen. The landmark case could establish whether U.S. organizations are liable for funding Hamas terror operations.
Details: In 2017, Daniel Schlessinger, the Boims’ lead attorney, filed a lawsuit against AMP, a leading anti-Israel advocacy group with alleged ties to Hamas. The lawsuit accuses AMP of acting as an “alter ego” of the Islamic Association for Palestine, a now-defunct group that shut down after it was found to have provided material support to Hamas. Although a judge had previously ruled that AMP could not be considered what is legally described as an “alter ego” of the earlier organization, the ruling was overturned in 2022 and the case was reopened. Next year’s trial could further “pave the way for American families who have been the victims of terror, in particular those killed or taken hostage in the Oct. 7 attacks, to seek justice in federal courts across the United States,” Schlessinger told JI.
Read the full story here.
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AI models more lax with antisemitism when engaging in Persian, new ADL study finds |
Major AI chatbots consistently fail to reject antisemitic inquiries in Persian as effectively as they do in English, according to a report released on Wednesday by the Anti-Defamation League. The group argues the safety flaw has broad implications as millions rely on these platforms to understand conflicts such as the U.S.-Israel war against Iran, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
Translation trouble: The report, “Lost in Translation: How AI Chatbots Fail Persian Speakers on Antisemitism,” looked at responses by the most widely-used chatbots — OpenAI's ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude, Google's Gemini and xAI's Grok — over several weeks in March, amid the Iran war. After assessing eight prompts and 800 total responses, researchers identified a “systemic” bias in how AI models process sensitive topics, heavily dependent on the language used.
Read the full story here.
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Propping Up Platner: In The Atlantic, Mike Nelson questions why Graham Platner’s defenders ignored a laundry list of red flags regarding the Maine Senate candidate’s background and beliefs. “But why were the Jews who were targeted by the organization whose logo he bore not worthy of the same support? And was Lyndsey Fifield, a conservative woman who alleged that Platner had engaged in emotional and physical abuse (also denied by Platner), less worthy because of her politics? What does it say about Platner’s defenders that his other horrible behavior was within their range of acceptability?” [TheAtlantic]
The Antisemitism Caucus: CNN’s Edward-Isaac Dovere talks to Jewish Democrats about how antisemitism is increasingly permeating conversations in the party about Israel. “‘I know at some point there will be a day of reckoning, because I still believe that Jews should have a homeland,” the [Vermont Rep. Becca Balint] told CNN. “There will be people, I think some of my own supporters, who will turn on me, because I still believe in a two-state solution. I still do. I still believe that Israel should be safe and secure.’ … She described a familiar ache. Like the people who tell her that homophobia doesn’t exist and then ask her what it means that she’s a lesbian. Like the House Democratic colleague she wouldn’t name who she says came to a bipartisan antisemitism taskforce meeting and said, ‘I didn’t really think there was any antisemitism anymore, because all the Jews are rich.’” [CNN]
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Lebanon's embassy in Washington confirmed that President Joseph Aoun is set to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on July 21…
FEMA officials notified states that they must show proof of compliance with a number of changes to election procedures, including the use of paper ballots and checking voters’ citizenship, in order to receive tens of millions of dollars in terrorism-prevention funding…
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) said they had spoken earlier this week to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), whose health status has been in question since his hospitalization last month…
Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs announced a new undergraduate major in global affairs and public policy, backed by a donation from the Mike and Sofia Segal Foundation…
A French court upheld far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s embezzlement conviction, but reduced her five-year ban on holding office, clearing the way for her to potentially run in next year’s presidential election…
Israel’s consulate in New York was evacuated from its Midtown Manhattan building after a nearby high-rise building under construction showed signs of collapsing, prompting evacuations across the neighborhood…
Ireland’s parliament passed a measure that would ban imported goods from West Bank settlements and Jewish areas of east Jerusalem…
A senior YouTube official testifying before Australia’s royal commission into antisemitism defended the platform’s decision not to remove a video that called the Bondi Beach terror attack a “false flag” operation and suggested that a survivor who posted images of his wounds had faked his injuries…
The Financial Times reports that Riyadh has been delaying and in some cases blocking payments from Saudi banks to accounts based in the United Arab Emirates in recent months amid deepening tensions between the Gulf nations…
The family of British couple Craig and Lindsay Foreman, who have been detained in Iran since January 2025, alleged that Iranian authorities are withholding medicine and basic hygiene products from the couple, who have been on a hunger strike for the last two months in protest of their conditions…
Amichai Cohen was named the vice president of research at the Israel Democracy Institute…
Israeli-American Council CEO Elan Carr will step down as the organization’s CEO after three years at the helm of the group, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Justin Hayet reports…
Rachel Fish has been hired as the first CEO of the Israel Institute, succeeding Executive Director Ariel Ilan Roth, who has led the organization since it was founded by the Schusterman Family Philanthropies in 2012, the organization announced on Tuesday, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross reports…
Actor Louise Lasser, who played the title role in the short-lived TV show “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” died at 87…
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An IsraAid team deployed to Venezuela in the aftermath of two earthquakes late last month that caused extensive damage around the South American nation and killed more than 3,500 people held a self-care and mental health workshop last week for local first responders and search-and-rescue volunteers in the country.
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Writer, television producer, ventriloquist and puppeteer, Mallory Hurwitz Tarcher Lewis turns 64...
Retired in 2016 after 26 years as executive director of the Baltimore Jewish Council, Arthur "Art" Abramson turns 78... Democratic candidate for president of the U.S. in 2020 and 2024, Marianne Deborah Williamson turns 74... Mayor of Farmington Hills, Mich., until 2023, she is a former member of the Michigan state House of Representatives, Vicki Barnett turns 72... Attorney and Democratic politician from Texas, Barbara Ann Radnofsky turns 70... Attorney and a former U.S. ambassador to Belgium in the Obama administration, Howard Gutman turns 70... Partner of the global law firm Dentons, was the first Jewish person to win statewide office in Georgia as attorney general, Samuel Scott Olens turns 69... Former member of Knesset who had served as Israel's foreign minister, justice minister, agriculture minister and housing minister, Tziporah Malka "Tzipi" Livni turns 68... Retired rabbi at Temple Emanuel in Beaumont, Texas, Rabbi Joshua Samuel Taub... Co-president of Rochester, New York-based Hahn Automotive Warehouse, he is on the board of governors of the Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester, Eli N. Futerman... SVP and COO of the Jewish Communal Fund, Marina W. Lewin... Washington bureau chief of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency until his retirement from that role at the end of 2024, he continues to write for JTA, Ron Kampeas turns 66... Consultant strategist, policy advisor and writer, he served as corporate counsel to Allstate Insurance for 28 years, Steven Richard Sheffey turns 66... Americas president of DGA Group, he is a former Clinton White House senior staffer, Dan K. Rosenthal turns 60... Former ice hockey player, her three sons were seventh, first and fourth picks overall, respectively, in the 2018, 2019 and 2021 NHL Drafts, Ellen Weinberg-Hughes turns 58... Higher education reporter for The Wall Street Journal, Douglas Belkin... Democratic nominee for New York’s 10th Congressional District, Bradford S. "Brad" Lander turns 57... Managing director of investor relations for Harbor Group International, Meir Raskas... Israeli film director, producer and researcher, Eyal Boers turns 51... EVP of the Atlantic Council, Jenna H. Ben-Yehuda... Atlanta-based educator, activist and writer, Robbie Medwed... Sports journalist, known for his coverage of mixed martial arts and professional wrestling, Ariel Jacob Helwani turns 44... Senior legal counsel at Horizons Law and Consulting, Alon Sachar... Policy and communications consultant following four years as an assistant to the president during the Biden administration, Stefanie Feldman turns 38... Diplomatic correspondent at The Jerusalem Post and i24NEWS, Amichai Stein...
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