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Good Tuesday morning. 

In today’s Daily Kickoff we interview religious freedom experts about the significance of President Donald Trump’s visit to the UAE’s Abrahamic Family House last Friday, and speak with strategists about the state of the Illinois Senate race following Rep. Lauren Underwood’s announcement that she will not be running. We also report on the threat by France, the U.K. and Canada to impose sanctions on Israel and a letter by a group of top House Republicans to Harvard University, questioning alleged connections to Iran and China. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Ronald Lauder, Sydney Altfield and Omer Shem Tov.

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As Pittsburgh’s bitterly contested mayoral primary concludes on Tuesday, the election represents the first major front in a broader proxy battle between moderate and progressive Democrats clashing over Israel and antisemitism, which could shape a range of developing contests at the state and federal levels.

The primary pits Mayor Ed Gainey, the progressive first-term incumbent whose record of commentary on Israel’s war in Gaza and handling of antisemitic activity have sparked backlash from Jewish leaders, against Corey O’Connor, a centrist challenger who is touting his long-standing ties to Pittsburgh’s sizable Jewish community and highlighting his support for Israel.

In recent weeks, the race has grown increasingly nasty, turning in part on escalating tensions over Israel’s war with Hamas that have coincided with a glaring uptick in antisemitic incidents. Pittsburgh police said on Monday, for instance, that they were investigating the distribution of antisemitic flyers in the heavily Jewish neighborhood of Squirrel Hill — following high-profile acts of vandalism last year at several Jewish buildings in the city.

While Gainey has condemned antisemitism, he has otherwise drawn criticism for declining to challenge efforts by far-left activists to bring an Israel boycott and divestment referendum to Pittsburgh voters. He has also stirred controversy for signing a joint statement addressing the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that made no mention of Hamas and used insensitive language that alienated even some of his closest Jewish allies on the far left.

During a candidate forum hosted last month by Pittsburgh’s Jewish Federation, which has publicly expressed disappointment with Gainey’s record on such issues, the mayor defended his approach to the failed ballot measures while acknowledging that his statement had caused offense. “I apologize for those mistakes,” he said, noting that if given the chance to redo the letter, he would first seek input “to discover exactly what’s wrong with the wording.”

Despite his contrition, many Jewish community members remain skeptical of the mayor, whose allies have spread false accusations that national pro-Israel groups such as AIPAC are spending to boost O’Connor, the Allegheny County controller. Last week, meanwhile, supporters of Gainey also circulated a letter in Squirrel Hill alleging that the Israel-Hamas war has been imported into the race as a pretext for “fake accusations of antisemitism” now being “used as a political tool to try to pry Mayor Gainey out of office.”

Jeremy Kazzaz, executive director of the Beacon Coalition, a local Jewish advocacy group whose political arm has donated to O’Connor’s campaign, said that even as most voters have been “focused on the basics” of city governance, “we can’t ignore that antisemitism has cast a shadow over this election.”

“The Jewish community isn’t imagining things,” he told Jewish Insider on Monday. “We’re responding to real, overt bigotry from voices elevated at the center of Mayor Gainey’s campaign.”

For his part, O’Connor, who grew up in Squirrel Hill and whose late father served as mayor, has said his relationship with the local Jewish community instilled in him a commitment to defending Israel and speaking out against antisemitism. In his discussion with the Jewish federation, he drew contrasts with Gainey on key issues, noting, for example, that he “absolutely” would have opposed the Israel divestment proposal. 

“You need a mayor,” he argued, “who is going to be vocal to support and fight against antisemitism.”

While earlier polling had shown O’Connor with a wide lead over Gainey, who has struggled to assert himself in his race for reelection, some more recent surveys indicate the embattled mayor has narrowed the gap in the final stretch of the primary. Still, local political observers who spoke with JI predicted that O’Connor — who has outraised Gainey while locking up key endorsements — would ultimately prevail on Tuesday.

The heated race is a particularly vivid microcosm of intra-Democratic conflicts over Middle East policy that are poised to inflect House and Senate races in Illinois and Michigan next year. The gubernatorial primary in New Jersey and the mayoral race in New York City next month have also featured prominent divisions over Israel, now emerging as a top issue in the final weeks of the race.

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Before President Donald Trump departed the Middle East last week, his motorcade made one final stop in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, before heading to the airport: a visit — the first by a U.S. president — to the Abrahamic Family House, a multifaith complex with Muslim, Christian and Jewish houses of worship. His tour, with stops inside the mosque, church and synagogue, underscored the message of tolerance that he shared in an address at a Saudi investment forum earlier in the week. Trump used the speech to call for Saudi Arabia to normalize ties with Israel, following the lead of the UAE, as well as Bahrain and Morocco. So could the Saudis similarly follow suit by creating an Abrahamic Family House of its own, or something similar to advance religious pluralism? Religious freedom experts tell Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch that’s highly unlikely. 

Charting a course: “I think you won't see a version of the Abrahamic Family House in another country. I think what you will see is each country, in their own way, doing similar things in the years to come,” said Johnnie Moore, an evangelical leader who met with MBS in 2018 as part of the first delegation of evangelical leaders to Saudi Arabia. “Obviously in Saudi Arabia, the baseline is different.” As the home of Mecca, the birthplace of Islam, Saudi Arabia has long been viewed as the standard-bearer for the Muslim world. In the UAE — a much smaller nation, where nearly 90%  of residents are foreigners there for business purposes or as laborers — Islamic law has never been applied as strictly. 

Read the full story here.

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After visiting Qatar with President Donald Trump last week, newly reelected World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder insisted on Monday on the need to engage with the controversial Gulf state to use whatever leverage it has to secure the release of the remaining Israeli hostages and work toward a resolution to the war in Gaza and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict more generally, despite its past support for terrorism and anti-Israel advocacy. Speaking to eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross on the sidelines of the WJC meeting in Jerusalem, Lauder praised Trump for bringing Middle Eastern countries closer to the United States, which he said would also benefit Israel.

Qatar questions: “What Qatar did – what anyone did — is in the past. We can’t eliminate what was done in the past. The question is, can Trump and the emir, [Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani] — and I know the emir very well — can Trump and the emir turn things around and make it work? That’s the question,” said Lauder, who was reelected for another four-year term as president of the WJC on Monday. Asked if that engagement with Qatar has been effective so far, Lauder refrained from speculating. “I don’t know, but it didn’t hurt,” he said. “What I think that Trump did was open up the entire Middle East to America, and what’s good for America is also good for Israel. That’s the operative message there.”

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Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) said on Monday that she would pass on an anticipated run for the Illinois Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) in 2026, leaving what’s likely to be a three-way race among Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and Robin Kelly (D-IL), Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

State of play: Stratton is backed by billionaire Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, as well as Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), while Krishnamoorthi has $19 million in the bank for the race and members of the Congressional Black Caucus are backing Kelly. Pritzker could put significant funding behind Stratton’s run and reportedly worked behind the scenes to block Underwood and other candidates from entering the race. Underwood, on CNN, denied that Pritzker had forced her to stay out of the race. A Jewish Democratic strategist, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the race candidly, told JI they see the Chicagoland Jewish vote — a sizable community — as largely still up for grabs given that none of the candidates have particularly deep ties to the Jewish community coming into the race. They said Jewish voters will likely take time to evaluate each of the candidates.

Read the full story here.

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The United Kingdom, France and Canada threatened on Monday to take “concrete actions” and impose sanctions against Israel if it does not change its policies on humanitarian aid and the war in Gaza, as well as settlements in the West Bank. The statement from the three countries came in response to Israel’s announcement that it had begun an escalation in the fighting in Gaza, while allowing in a limited amount of food, 11 weeks after blocking all aid in an attempt to pressure Hamas to free more hostages, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.

What they said: The countries said they “strongly oppose the expansion of Israel’s military operations in Gaza. The level of human suffering is intolerable. Israel’s denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable and risks breaching International Humanitarian Law.” In addition, they said that the “basic quantity of food” to be allowed into Gaza “is wholly inadequate,” and that Israel must work with United Nations agencies. Israel and the U.S. have been working on an alternative mechanism to distribute aid rather than rely on U.N. agencies, which have not prevented Hamas from pocketing large quantities of aid and in some cases employed Hamas terrorists.

Read the full story here.

Making waves: Yair Golan, leader of the Israeli left-wing Democrats party, sparked backlash when he said in a radio interview this morning that Israel is on its way to becoming a pariah state, criticizing the war in Gaza: “A sane country does not wage war against civilians, does not kill babies for a hobby, and does not set goals involving the expulsion of populations.” His comments drew condemnation from both coalition and opposition members as well as President Isaac Herzog.

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A group of top House Republicans wrote to Harvard University on Monday, questioning the school about alleged work on research funded by the Iranian government, as well as members of the Chinese government, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. The letter accuses Harvard researchers of working with Chinese academics on research funded by the Iranian National Science Foundation, an entity chartered by the Iranian government and ultimately controlled by the Iranian supreme leader. It states that such work occurred at least four times since 2020, as recently as last year.

Signed on: The letter was signed by Reps. John Moolenaar (R-MI), Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY). Moolenaar is the chair of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Walberg chairs the Education and Workforce Committee and Stefanik is the chair of House Republican Leadership.

Read the full story here.

COURTESY

Sydney Altfield, a champion of STEM education, has been tapped as national director of Teach Coalition, an Orthodox Union-run organization that advocates for government funding and resources for yeshivas and Jewish day schools, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen has learned. She succeeds Maury Litwack, who founded the coalition in 2013 and served as its national director since.

Background: Altfield, who has held various roles with Teach Coalition for the past seven years, most recently served as executive director of its New York state chapter. In that position, she spearheaded STEM funding for private schools in the state and helped establish state security funding programs — two areas she intends to expand on a national level in the new role, which encompasses seven states: New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Florida, Pennsylvania, California and Nevada. “We’re at a very pivotal moment in Jewish day schools where the continuity of the Jewish people relies on Jewish education and having access to such. That also has to come at a quality education,” Altfield told JI in her first interview since being selected for the position. “It’s so important to understand that it’s not just about STEM but it’s about the entire Jewish education being high quality, something that’s accessible for everyone.” 

Read the full story here.

What JD Vance Means: The Atlantic’s George Packer profiles Vice President JD Vance and speculates on the significance of his rapid political ascent. “Vance illuminates the larger subject of contemporary America’s character. In another age, his rise might have been taken as proof that the American dream was alive and mostly well. But our age has no simply inspiring and unifying tales, and each chapter of Vance’s success is part of a national failure: the abandonment of American workers under global neoliberalism; the cultural collapse of the working class; the unwinnable forever war; a dominant elite that combines ruthless competition with a rigid orthodoxy of identity; a reaction of populist authoritarianism. What seems like Vance’s tragic wrong turn, the loss of real promise, was probably inevitable — it’s hard to imagine a more hopeful plot.” [TheAtlantic]

Columbia Unbecoming: New York magazine's Nick Summers catalogues Columbia University’s collapse amid antisemitism and pressure from the Trump administration. “As recently as October 6, 2023 — the day before Hamas attacked Israel — Columbia seemed a juggernaut. After decades of growth, the endowment was a fat $14 billion and buildings named for a new generation of megadonors were rising across 17 acres of new campus. After a global search, the university had selected a cosmopolitan new president, Minouche Shafik of the London School of Economics, to lead it into the future. But since that golden moment, the turmoil has been almost too much to catalogue. Endless protest and counterprotest. Campus lockdowns. Police raids. A president paraded before Congress. Students dragged before secretive discipline panels. One canceled commencement, two presidential resignations, and countless students wondering if ICE is inside their dorms. The strife is ongoing, and the campus is as miserable as ever. Columbia is a broken place.” [NYMag]

The Cuomo Conundrum: Politico’s New York editor Sally Goldenberg explains why former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is the odds-on favorite to become the next New York City mayor. “Among Cuomo’s rivals, no one has successfully zeroed in on why he’s so unpopular, or how to chip away at his strengths: Executive experience in a time of uncertainty, universal name recognition when few people are dialed into local politics, a trademark toughness that appeals to Democrats desperate to take on President Donald Trump. The candidates’ anti-Cuomo messages have yet to stick, but they are starting to put money behind them in TV ads and ramping them up on the campaign trail. Lander is calling him corrupt — a reference to his nursing home order during Covid and an attorney general’s report finding he sexually harassed women on his gubernatorial staff. Cuomo denies all wrongdoing and is pursuing aggressive legal recourse.” [Politico]

Desperate Diplomacy in Doha: The Wall Street Journal’s Anat Peled reports on a whirlwind effort by hostage families to meet with President Donald Trump and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani during Trump’s Middle East tour, as part of a wider global effort to talk to anyone who will listen — and has the power to help. “Tears edged down Idit Ohel’s face as she showed U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and a senior Qatari official the video of her son, Alon, being kidnapped by Hamas into Gaza. An aide to the Qatari official, wearing a traditional Arab thawb, slid a box of tissues toward her. The gesture, at a hastily arranged meeting in Doha, encapsulated the awkward position the families of remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza found themselves in last week: They were dependent on a country that harbors Hamas to secure the freedom of loved ones captured in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. “It was a sensitive human moment between people where we put politics aside and there were only two human beings,” Ohel said of the encounter. “There was a lot of emotion, empathy and respect in it.” [WSJ]

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The Senate confirmed yesterday real estate developer Charles Kushner, father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, to be ambassador to France. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) was the only Democrat to vote in favor…

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) introduced a bill on Monday to prevent foreign planes from being used as part of Air Force One’s fleet, Axios reported...

Democratic Majority for Israel is out with a new digital ad titled “Trojan Horse,” hitting President Donald Trump over his plan to accept a $400 million plane from Qatar. The ad will run on digital platforms in the Washington area... 

The Trump administration reportedly first approached Qatar about the possibility of acquiring a Boeing 747 for use as Air Force One, contrary to Trump’s claims of it being offered as a gift…

Speaking at the annual Jerusalem Post conference in New York City on Monday, Special Envoy for Hostage Response Adam Boehler said about a hostage release deal, “I do think we're closer than we ever were”....

Chabad social media influencer Yossi Farro wrapped tefillin with Boehler and prayed for the immediate and swift release of the hostages…

Also during the conference, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced the formation of a new New York City-Israel Economic Council to boost business ties. Israel’s efforts on the council will be headed by Economy and Industry Minister Nir Barkat…

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) didn’t attend a committee hearing in 2025 until this month, according to a Bloomberg Government analysis…

Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) will be speaking at Yeshiva University graduation on Thursday… 

Ishan Daya stepped down from the Chicago Fiscal Sustainability Working Group just hours after being appointed and after Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reported on his selection on Friday. Daya sparked backlash after he was filmed ripping down Israeli hostage posters shortly after the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks…

Leo Terrell, head of the DOJ Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, and Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun sent a letter yesterday to Francesca Albanese, the United Nations’ special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, accusing her of alleging that her "alarming campaign of letters targeting institutions that support or invest in the state of Israel" are "defamatory, dangerous, and a flagrant abuse of your office”...

Bloomberg journalist Jason Kao was one of the individuals arrested after storming Columbia University’s Butler Library earlier this month. An NYPD spokesperson confirmed to The Washington Free Beacon that Kao was charged with a crime, suggesting he was not covering the event in his journalistic capacity…

Eden Yadegar spoke to the Columbia Spectator about her experience becoming the face of pro-Israel activism at Columbia University after the Hamas terror attacks. She said, “It felt like I was experiencing, in many ways, a different university after Oct. 7, but I also felt like I was a different person experiencing that university”....

Britain plans to strengthen its powers to target state-sponsored terrorist threats after several Iranian-backed security incidents in recent weeks, U.K. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said yesterday…

The New York Times spotlights the role of Israel and antisemitism policy in the New York City mayoral race, after candidate Zohran Mamdani rushed to correct reports that he refused to condemn the Holocaust…

A Washington Examiner analysis found that foreign agents working on behalf of Qatar have significantly increased their outreach to right-wing media, from just over 10% of their media engagement between January-November 2024 to more than half since Election Day…

A Haaretz exposé found that a pro-Qatar online influence campaign allegedly crafted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's aides continued even after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza…

The Times of Israel interviews Orthodox Jewish musician Lenny Solomon, the subject of a new documentary “The King of Shlock,” which will be screened on Thursday at the DocAviv film festival in Tel Aviv…

Former hostage Omer Shem Tov threw the first pitch at the Boston Red Sox game on Monday during the team’s Jewish Heritage Night at Fenway Park…

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Israeli-Russian IndyCar driver Robert Shwartzman, 25, on Sunday became the first Indy 500 rookie to win the pole since 1983. He used his win to call for peace in both Israel, where he was born, and Russia, where he was raised. “I just want peace in the world,” Shwartzman said. “I want people to be good, and I don’t want the separation of countries, saying, ‘This is bad country. This is good country.’ There is no bad or good. We’re all human beings, and we just have to support each other.” The Indy 500 will be held on Sunday, Memorial Day weekend.

EMBASSY OF ISRAEL

Born in upstate New York as Michael Scott Bornstein, former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. and then member of the Knesset, Michael Oren turns 70... 

CEO at Kings' Care - A Safe Place, operator of multiple drug and alcohol rehabilitation and treatment centers, Ilene Leiter... Canadian businesswoman and elected official, she served in the Ontario Assembly and in the Canadian House of Commons, Elinor Caplan turns 81... Former member of the New York State Assembly until 2020, representing the 97th Assembly District in Rockland County, Ellen Jaffee turns 81... Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (D-CT-2) for 20 years, he was born in a DP camp in Germany after World War II, Sam Gejdenson turns 77... Chagrin Falls, Ohio, attorney, Robert Charles Rosenfeld... CEO emeritus of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, Michael S. Miller... Seamstress and weaver, Bernice Ann Penn Venable... Retired in 2022 as a federal judge for the Southern District of Texas, she is now a mediator and arbitrator, Judge Nancy Ellen Friedman Atlas turns 76... Five-time Emmy Award-winning producer and writer who has worked on “Saturday Night Live,” PBS' “Great Performances” and “It's Garry Shandling's Show,” Alan Zweibel turns 75... U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) turns 74... Former director of international affairs, policy and planning at the Conference of Presidents, Michael Alan Salberg... Professor at Tulane and former president of the Aspen Institute and CEO of CNN, Walter Isaacson turns 73... Actress and singer, known for her work in musical theater, Judy Kuhn turns 67... CEO and founder of Abrams Media, chief legal analyst for ABC News and the founder of Mediaite, Dan Abrams turns 59... NYC location scout and unit production manager for feature films and television commercials, David Brotsky... Co-founder and CEO of Breitbart News, Larry Solov turns 57... Partner and head of public affairs at Gray Space Strategies, Ami Copeland... French singer and actress, at 13 she became the youngest singer to ever reach No. 1 in the French charts, Elsa Lunghini turns 52... Co-president of Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays, Matthew Silverman turns 49... Emmy Award-winning singer and songwriter, Rachel Platten turns 44... Manager of privacy issues for Amazon’s public policy team, Philip Justin (PJ) Hoffman... Program officer at the Michigan-based William Davidson Foundation, Vadim Avshalumov... Founder and CEO of Berkeley, California-based Caribou Biosciences, a genome engineering company, Rachel Haurwitz, Ph.D.... Director of federal policy and strategy for the ADL, Lauren D. Wolman... Executive communications leader, Susan Sloan... VP of digital advocacy at McGuireWoods Consulting, Josh Canter... Beauty pageant winner who was awarded the title of Miss Israel 2014, Doron Matalon turns 32... Political consultant, Aylon Berger turns 25... Political activist, he is a survivor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, Kyle Kashuv turns 24...