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Good Thursday morning.

In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with Senate leaders and from last night’s Blair House reception for evangelical Christian and Jewish communal leaders. We talk to experts about the easing of tensions between Syria and Israel, and report on United Airlines’ resumption of direct flights to Israel following the 12-day war with Iran. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Jeff Bartos, King Abdullah II, Sasha Trufanov and Sapir Cohen.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosted senior administration officials, leaders from Jewish and pro-Israel Christian groups and hostage families for a reception last night at Blair House during his third visit to the United States this year.

Netanyahu was introduced by Paula White-Cain, the senior advisor to the White House Faith Office. “Israel, you are never, never alone,” she told the audience, pledging that evangelicals “will always stand with Israel.”

The Israeli prime minister spoke about efforts to free the hostages, both living and deceased, held in Gaza, saying, “We’re committed to getting every last one out … we don’t leave this sacred mission for a second.” He said he’d arrived a few minutes late because he had been speaking with the Israeli delegation engaging in hostage talks in Doha, Qatar, adding that he and President Donald Trump had spoken extensively about those efforts. 

“We are going to succeed, we’ll bring them all home,” Netanyahu said, repeatedly acknowledging hostage family members in the room. “Each family has their own history of suffering, of hope, of prayer. … We do not forget, we will not relent, we’ll get them all home. All of them.”

Others in the crowded room — forced indoors by a torrential downpour and tornado watch in D.C. — included Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler, Under Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL), Justice Department Senior Counselor Leo Terrell and Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter. Brett McGurk, from the Biden administration’s National Security Council, was also in the crowd.

Read the rest of 'What You Should Know' here.

TOM WILLIAMS/CQ ROLL CALL VIA AP IMAGES

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gathered with Senate leaders on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and expand the Abraham Accords, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod report. 

In the room: Among those in attendance at the meeting, which was rescheduled from Tuesday, were Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sens. Jim Risch (R-ID), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Steve Daines (R-MT), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Adam Schiff (D-CA). The prime minister was joined by Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and advisor Caroline Glick.

Behind closed doors: Netanyahu spoke for around 30 to 40 minutes about the rationale for Israel’s actions in Iran and Gaza and his vision for the Middle East, including the normalization of ties with Saudi Arabia and Syria through an expanded Abraham Accords, before taking questions from the group, two senators in attendance told JI on condition of anonymity. On Gaza, Netanyahu said that he and the U.S. were trying to reach a ceasefire deal with Hamas and did not suggest he had any opposition to the push, something one of the senators described as a shift in tone for the Israeli prime minister.

Read the full story here.

CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Earlier this year at a symposium in New York City, Jewish scholars gathered to analyze the recent surge of antisemitism on college campuses and debate whether Jewish students still belong at the country’s elite bastions of higher education. Over the next two months, college freshmen will embark on new chapters at universities around the country. Many Jewish students have found appeal in other top schools, such as Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn., and Washington University in St. Louis, where administrators were quick to enforce university rules amid rising antisemitism in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, and therefore avoided much of the chaos that played out on other campuses. But some Jewish students are still seeking admission to the country’s most prestigious schools, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.

The right fit: Leah Kreisler, a recent graduate of Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, Md., decided in ninth grade that she wanted to attend Columbia. Kreisler plans to enroll in Columbia’s dual-degree program with the Jewish Theological Seminary and will begin next year, following a gap year in Israel. Recent events have only reinforced Kreisler’s dream of attending the storied institution. “Columbia has always had a politically charged environment and I honestly think that fits a part of who I am,” she told JI. “I like having those kinds of discussions and engaging with people I disagree with. That spirit drew me to the school.” She’s also hopeful that by the time she arrives at Columbia for the 2026-27 school year, “things will get figured out.” The university is in talks with the federal government to restore the institution’s federal funding, which was slashed in March due to the antisemitic demonstrations that have roiled the campus since Oct. 7.

Read the full story here.

GABBY DEUTCH

An Israeli chemist who resigned from Stanford University is suing the school after he claims it was complicit in antisemitism that he faced at the school — including the alleged tampering with his lab results, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports. The Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and Los Angeles-based law firm Cohen Williams LLP filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday on behalf of Shay Laps, a Jewish Israeli postdoctoral researcher who was hired by Stanford in April 2024 after being recommended by a Nobel laureate. Laps’ research focused on synthetic and “smart” insulin, aiming to revolutionize diabetes treatment. 

The allegations: According to the lawsuit, after arriving in professor Danny Chou’s Stanford lab, Laps was targeted by a lab staffer who knew that he was a Jewish scientist from Israel. At their first meeting, the suit alleges, the staffer told Laps, the only Israeli in the building, never to speak to her, and later excluded Laps from sitting with her and other staffers during lunch. The complaint also names Chou, an associate professor of pediatrics and the lab’s leader and mentor, as a defendant. The discrimination escalated when, according to Laps, the lab staffer tampered with his research, producing fraudulent results without his knowledge. Laps said that upon the discovery of the alleged sabotage of his experiments, Chou refused to address the issue — and eventually pressured Laps to leave the country by falsely claiming that Stanford’s Title IX Office had alerted Chou to a complaint and formal investigation against Laps and that his immigration status was on the line. 

Read the full story here.

RAMI ALSAYED/NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES

The goodwill gestures toward Israel from Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa began modestly. In a surprise move that came only months after he and his Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group toppled the brutal regime of Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president gave Israel Syria’s archive of documents relating to captured Israeli spy Eli Cohen, who was captured and executed in Syria in 1965, and the remains of soldier Zvi Feldman, who was killed in battle in 1982. Then, al-Sharaa pressured the terrorist groups Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine to disarm, leading some of the groups’ leaders to flee the country. And when Israel sent its bombers streaking toward Iran’s nuclear sites last month, Syria did not intervene with or publicly oppose Israel’s use of its airspace. Taken together, these steps and others are leading to a warming of relations between Israel and its northern neighbor, a reality that seemed almost unthinkable just a few months ago, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.

Cautious optimism: A senior official in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s delegation to Washington emphasized this week that talk of peace between Israel and Syria is premature, saying that “agreements with Lebanon and Syria are not a matter of the short term, but they’re possible.” The official said, “There are a lot of challenges. It would be irresponsible to talk about Syria entering the Abraham Accords or normalization at this time. We aren’t there.” Still, the official said that opportunities opened up after the successful Israeli and American strikes on Iran, among them an agreement with Syria. 

Read the full story here.

Bonus: The New York Times looks at Damascus and Jerusalem’s shared security concerns over Iran and its regional proxies.

BEN HASTY/MEDIANEWS GROUP/READING EAGLE VIA GETTY IMAGES

Jeff Bartos, the Trump administration’s nominee for U.S. representative to the United Nations for U.N. management and reform, said at his confirmation hearing on Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s presidency provides unique opportunities to work to compel change and reform at the U.N., including in its alleged bias against Israel, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Notable quotable: Asked by members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about antisemitism issues at the U.N. and efforts to disband the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, Bartos described the U.N. as “almost immune to reform” but said that U.S. leadership from Trump as a "unique window of opportunity” to force reform by leveraging U.S. funding.

Read the full story here.

State sanctioned: Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday that the U.S. would sanction Francesca Albanese, the widely criticized United Nations special rapporteur for Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

AARONP/BAUER-GRIFFIN/GC IMAGES

United Airlines announced on Tuesday that it will resume flights from the U.S. to Israel on July 21, which will make it the first American carrier to resume service to Tel Aviv since the outbreak of the Israel-Iran war. The airline has suspended its service to Israel multiple times since the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks on Israel, Jewish Insider’s Jake Schlanger reports.

Slow return: Other carriers, including Delta, American and Lufthansa, have also announced that they will resume flights to Israel, beginning in late August and September. The resumption in air services follows the European Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) decision to withdraw flight restrictions for European airlines to Israel, Iran and several other Middle Eastern countries. 

Read the full story here.

Pivot to Peace: In The Hill, Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH) lays out a series of steps that Congress and the White House can take to achieve breakthroughs in Middle East peace efforts following Israeli and American efforts to degrade Iran’s nuclear program. “No one wants another prolonged war in the Middle East. This is not Iraq. It can’t be. We know the Iranian regime is pursuing a nuclear weapon, and no one is pushing for ground forces or seriously considering regime change. But this is a moment of real possibility. Israel has diminished significantly the regime’s most dangerous terrorist armies, Hamas and Hezbollah. They have degraded the Iranian regime’s nuclear program, missile production capabilities, missile firing capabilities and regime infrastructure in ways few thought possible.” [TheHill]

Looming Large: The New York Times’ Ken Bensinger and Robert Draper profile Laura Loomer as the far-right provocateur works to gain influence in the Trump White House. “Within the White House, Ms. Loomer is regarded as an uncontrollable and toxic force whose deep loyalty to Mr. Trump is tempered by her tendency to turn on almost anyone, even her allies. No member of Mr. Trump’s inner circle in the West Wing would speak about her on the record. The same character traits that endear her to the president and lead him to call her several times a month — particularly her seemingly total lack of fear — make many top aides treat her gingerly, as if she might unpin a hand grenade.” [NYTimes] 

Hebron Hesitancy: In The Wall Street Journal, Mahmoud Jabari expresses opposition to a plan put forward by a group of religious officials in Hebron, including a distant cousin, that proposed the creation of localized Palestinian “emirates” in the West Bank, including one in Hebron that would join the Abraham Accords. “What makes this proposal especially painful is that it exploits real Palestinian frustration with the Palestinian Authority, which has failed us in many ways. It has become disconnected from the people, more comfortable with the trappings of power in Ramallah than with the hard work of grass-roots engagement. It has tolerated corruption and failed to build momentum toward freedom. But the solution isn’t to abandon the principle of unified Palestinian representation — it’s to demand better from our leaders and to build more accountable institutions.” [WSJ]

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Semafor looks at President Donald Trump’s shift away from the non-interventionist wing of the party toward the views espoused by Russia hawks who have advocated for greater support for Ukraine…

House Democratic leaders condemned Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) for describing Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) as a “Muslim [terrorist]” and demanded he apologize, suggesting that he was inciting violence against her. Fine doubled down in response…

Omar and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) introduced identical amendments to the 2026 Defense Appropriations bill to cut missile defense funding for Israel. Greene also seeks to cut military support for Jordan and Taiwan…

House leaders named Reps. David Kustoff (R-TN), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Ann Wagner (R-MO), Nicole Malliotakis (D-NY), Mike Lawler (R-NY), Max Miller (R-OH), Craig Goldman (R-TX), Randy Fine (R-FL), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Ritchie Torres (D-NY), Nikema Williams (D-GA) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) to the House-Knesset Parliamentary Friendship Group…

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act to repeal Caesar Act sanctions on Syria…

A senior Department of Homeland Security official testified that the department used information taken from the Canary Mission website to identify student activists targeted for deportation over their anti-Israel campus activities…

The Virginia Attorney General’s office is looking into allegations surrounding the expulsion of three Jewish students at the private Nysmith School in Northern Virginia whose parents complained to the school about antisemitic bullying…

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is working to modify a city ban on mask-wearing after parts of the legislation rankled Jewish organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League and UJA-Federation of New York, that had previously backed efforts to ban protesters from wearing masks during demonstrations…

New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani is considering keeping Jessica Tisch in her current role as NYPD commissioner, amid encouragement from city and state officials who have praised her tenure at the top of the agency…

The Financial Times spotlights the challenges facing Spanish President Pedro Sánchez as his top aides face allegations of corruption and his government’s opposition to increased defense spending has put him at odds with some NATO allies…

Jillian Segal, Australia’s special envoy to combat antisemitism, released a report recommending a series of steps that Canberra can take to address the spike in antisemitism across the country; among the suggestions in the report are that the government cut funding to universities that fail to adequately address antisemitism, a joint counterterror task force and banning the granting of visas to individuals who engage in antisemitic acts…

The Atlantic looks at Israel’s strategy to degrade Iran’s air defenses in the year prior to its preemptive strikes on June 13, which allowed the Israeli Air Force to largely control Iranian airspace during the 12-day war between the countries last month…

The Wall Street Journal reports on the challenges facing the Israeli government and hostage families as the government determines which 10 of the remaining 20 hostages believed to be living may be released in an upcoming ceasefire and hostage-release deal with Hamas…

Former hostages Sasha Trufanov and Sapir Cohen, who were taken captive by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, from Trufanov’s family home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, got engaged; Cohen was released in the November 2023 temporary ceasefire, while Trufanov was released earlier this year…

Thousands of Syrians who have been living in Lebanon are expected to return to Syria this week under a U.N.-facilitated plan to repatriate many of the more than 1.5 million Syrians living in Lebanon; the program seeks to repatriate 400,000 Syrians this year… 

A second Liberian-flagged ship that was attacked earlier this week by the Houthis sank in the Red Sea; four crew members were killed and at least six are believed to have been captured by the Iran-backed group in Yemen…

HAIM ZACH/GPO

Israeli President Isaac Herzog (right) met with former hostage Eli Sharabi ahead of the international release of Sharabi’s memoir, Hostage, about his 491 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza. Sharabi’s wife, Lianne, and two daughters were killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on Kibbutz Be’eri.

AXELLE/BAUER-GRIFFIN/FILMMAGIC

Voice actor and impressionist who has voiced Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Sylvester the Cat and dozens of others, Jeffrey Bergman turns 65…

Neurologist, certified by Guinness World Records as the oldest practicing physician in the U.S., in his 60s he attended law school and then passed the bar exam, Howard Tucker, MD, JD turns 103... Senior U.S. district court judge in the Southern District of Texas, Judge David Hittner turns 86... Retired attorney at the California Office of Legislative Counsel, Robert D. Gronke... Stan Udaskin... Folk singer-songwriter, Arlo Guthrie turns 78... NYC-born author of 12 novels, she has been living in Israel since 1971, Naomi Ragen turns 76... Partner in consulting firm Quorum, LLC and president at Regal Domestics, Barbara Goldberg Goldman... Author of 13 books, journalist, she is the daughter of two Holocaust survivors, Julie Salamon turns 72... Editor of the Cleveland Jewish News, Columbus Jewish News and Akron Jewish News, Bob Jacob... Israel's ambassador to Spain until 2024, Rodica Radian-Gordon turns 68... Past president of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest New Jersey, Leslie Dannin Rosenthal... Partner in Holland & Knight's public policy group, he was previously a member of Congress (D-FL-22), Ronald J. "Ron" Klein turns 68... Lobbyist, he was a member of the New York State Assembly for 10 years and Senate for 14 years, Jeffrey D. Klein turns 65... National president of the American Jewish Committee, he is a founder of Lapin & Landa, a Houston-based civil litigation firm, Robert E. Lapin turns 65... Nominee to be the U.S. ambassador to his native Estonia, he is the president of NYC's Park East Day School, Roman Pipko turns 65... Critic at large for The New York Times Book Review, Anthony Oliver (A.O.) Scott turns 59... U.S. senator (D-MI), serving since the start of this year, Elissa Blair Slotkin turns 49... NYC-based founding partner at Purposeful Communications, Elie Jacobs... Member of the Knesset for the Shas party, Yinon Azulai turns 46... Head of politics and public affairs at Altice and Optimum Media, Rena Shapiro... Writer and comedian, his conversion from Mormon to Judaism is the subject of a documentary, "Latter Day Jew," H. Alan Scott turns 43... Senior policy advisor at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, Morgan Deann Ortagus turns 43... Managing editor of The Bulwark, Sam Stein... Founder, creative director and designer for a fashion line bearing her name, Kimberly Ovitz turns 42... Television and film actress, Aviva Farber Baumann turns 41... Dance teacher at John Foster Dulles High School in Missouri City, Texas, Kayla Sokoloff...