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Good Friday morning. 

In today’s Daily Kickoff, we talk to Republicans on Capitol Hill about France’s plans to recognize a Palestinian state later this year and report on the daylight between Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Arizona’s pro-Israel community as he throws his support behind candidates with histories of being critical of Israel. We interview U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee as he navigates his first months on the job, and report on Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s (D-NH) support for Mike Waltz to be U.S. ambassador to the U.N., bypassing a delay imposed by Sen. Rand Paul. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Mandela Barnes, Tanya Simon and Elad Gil.

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For less-distracted reading over the weekend, browse this week’s edition of the Weekly Print, a curated print-friendly PDF featuring a selection of recent Jewish Insider and eJewishPhilanthropy stories, including: Shapiro rebukes Mamdani for failing to condemn ‘blatantly antisemitic’ extremists; New Brandeis study finds university faculty more heterodox, less anti-Israel than generally presumed; and The new normal for Jewish Democratic staffers on Capitol Hill: isolated, fearful, united. Print the latest edition here.

With a unanimous vote last week rejecting a measure that would’ve cut ties with the Anti-Defamation League, the board of directors of the National Education Association extended an olive branch to frustrated Jewish educators and parents who are concerned about creeping antisemitism within the union’s ranks. 

ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt told Jewish Insider earlier this week that he was “pleased” to see the NEA reject the anti-ADL measure. But, he added, the union still has a “long way to go” toward making clear that it respects the Jewish community. 

Greenblatt’s lingering concern is a sign that the NEA — the largest teachers’ union in the country, with more than 3 million members — has not entirely placated Jewish communal stakeholders. In fact, additional questions have continued to emerge in light of an NEA document that encourages teaching the “Nakba” and that erases antisemitism from the history of the Holocaust. 

The Washington Free Beacon reported this week on the NEA’s 2025 handbook, a 434-page report outlining the organization’s “visionary goals” and “strategic objectives.” Among the items included in the dense document are dozens of measures that passed at last year’s “representative assembly,” a convening of the organization’s top leaders from around the country — the same group that, this year, voted to censure the ADL. Several of them have raised eyebrows in the Jewish community.

Read the rest of ‘What You Should Know’ here.

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MAYA ALLERUZZO/AP PHOTO

Since his arrival in Israel in April, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has made his mark as the first evangelical U.S. ambassador to Israel — and possibly the most effusive in his remarks about the Jewish state. Following issues with work visas for Christian organizations and several incidents involving Palestinian Christians, Huckabee issued some strongly worded statements directed toward Israeli officials. But with the visa issue resolved and the world’s attention on the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the latest round of collapsed negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage-release deal, Huckabee was back to standing firmly behind Israel in an interview with Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov in his office at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem on Thursday.

On the issues surrounding aid distribution: “Well, we just want people to get the truth and to get the food, but we don't want Hamas to steal it, which is what they have done through the U.N. model, which has been an absolute disaster. Maybe the U.N. is more interested in preserving the machinery of the U.N. than they are in feeding people,” Huckabee said. “And I know that sounds harsh, but I absolutely am on the record for that, because when I see just thousands of pallets, thousands of tons of food sitting that could be consumed by people, it's sitting there because the U.N. doesn't really have any incentive to go out and actually get it to the people.”

Read the full interview here.

KEVIN DIETSCH/GETTY IMAGES

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) is facing new scrutiny from some Jewish community leaders in Arizona who are frustrated by his endorsements boosting the activist left in a series of recent House primaries in which he has withheld support for pro-Israel candidates and has even worked to actively oppose their campaigns behind the scenes, according to people familiar with the matter, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.

Tensed-up ties: Kelly’s engagement has strained what had been seen as a positive relationship with the pro-Israel community in Arizona, according to multiple local Jewish leaders who have voiced disappointment with his approach. Meanwhile, his recent interventions have raised questions about the political motivations of the Democratic senator in a key battleground state who has long been associated with his party’s moderate, centrist wing. The most recent source of tension with Jewish and pro-Israel leaders stems from Kelly’s endorsement of Adelita Grijalva in a Tucson House primary this month to succeed her late father, former Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), a longtime critic of Israel who died in March.

Read the full story here.

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Republicans and senior Trump administration officials are blasting French President Emmanuel Macron for announcing on Thursday that France will recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly later this year, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Pushback: “The United States strongly rejects [Macron’s] plan to recognize a Palestinian state at the [UN] general assembly,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. “This reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace. It is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7th.” Top Republican lawmakers largely argued that the decision constituted a reward for Hamas for its Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel and its intransigence in recent hostage talks, the most recent round of which collapsed just hours before Macron’s announcement. 

Read the full story here with additional comments from Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Reps. Brian Mast (R-FL), Randy Fine (R-FL) Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.

Bonus: In a tongue-in-cheek X post, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said, “Macron's unilateral ‘declaration’ of a ‘Palestinian’ state didn't say WHERE it would be. I can now exclusively disclose that France will offer the French Riviera & the new nation will be called ‘Franc-en-Stine.’”

ANNA MONEYMAKER/GETTY IMAGES

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, voted with nearly all committee Republicans to advance former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz’s nomination to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations to move to the consideration of the full Senate, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Notable quotable: “I recognize that Mr. Waltz represents a moderating force with a distinguished record of military service and an extensive background in national security policymaking,” Shaheen said in a statement. “Further, Mike Waltz did not represent himself to me as someone who wants to retreat from the world—and this is a quality I value in nominees. Simply put, in a Situation Room filled with people like Vice President [J.D.] Vance and Under Secretary [of Defense Elbridge] Colby, who want to retreat from the world, and like Secretary [of Defense Pete] Hegseth, I think we’re better off having someone like Mike Waltz present.” 

Read the full story here.

PETE KIEHART FOR THE WASHINGTON POST VIA GETTY IMAGES

The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee on Thursday delayed a confirmation hearing for Paul Ingrassia, the Trump administration’s nominee for a government ethics oversight role, amid questions about his record from some Senate Republicans, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. Ingrassia has a record of conspiratorial comments, including describing the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel and the ensuing war as a “psyop” and defending prominent antisemites, among other issues.

What they’re saying: Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) told JI he had more questions he wanted to ask Ingrassia and that the hearing had been delayed because “he had not met with a lot of members” and the lawmakers wanted the chance to do so. He said that the hearing will now likely happen in “September or later,” after the Senate’s August recess, to provide more time for these meetings.

Read the full story here.

CAMPAIGN WEBSITE

In a Democratic Party that has lost its grip on the working class — long its base of support and wellspring of its values — Brian Varela is offering a way back home. Varela, a small business owner and New Jersey political activist vying for the Democratic nomination for New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, is leaning in to his working-class Colombian roots, suggesting that the Democrats need candidates, like him, who are better connected to the middle-class voters in his district. Varela, 36, has firmly established himself as a serious contender for the Democratic nomination for New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District with his recent announcement of a $700,000 fundraising haul in his first three months in the race, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Positioning: “I consider myself more of a moderate,” Varela told JI in an interview. “I do believe that we do need to be tight around budgets, and we can't just go and haphazardly be cutting programs, but we do need to understand that we cannot allow the deficit to continue increasing.” He said that he thinks his perspective coming from a working-class background can help Democrats appeal to working-class voters they struggled to attract in 2024. And he said that Israel has been a “strong ally for us, and I think it’s important to make sure that we are there for Israel, that we help Israel with their ability to defend themselves.”

Read the full story here.

Where’s the Outrage?: In The Washington Post, Stephen Rapp, who served as U.S. ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues from 2009-2015, raises concerns about global silence around Iran’s human rights violations. “The regime’s response to its perceived vulnerability in the wake of that conflict has become increasingly aggressive. While its failures may be attributed to incompetence and the foreign penetration of its security services, its fury is being directed at domestic political opponents. Thousands of Iranians are in danger as parliament now seeks to expedite death sentences in cases involving imagined collaboration with foreign entities.” [WashPost]

A New Gaza: In The Wall Street Journal, Yasser Abu Shabab, the commander of the Popular Forces in Gaza, makes the claim that he has developed a model for post-Hamas governance in the Gaza Strip. “Through our efforts, we have shown a glimpse of what a new Gaza could look like. … Within months, more than 600,000 people — nearly a third of Gaza’s population — could be living outside the cycle of war. We need only three things to make this vision a reality: financial support to prevent Hamas’s return, humanitarian aid to meet the population’s immediate needs for food and shelter, and safe corridors so people can move around. In a short time, we could transform most of Gaza from a war zone into functioning communities. When the rebuilding has begun, Hamas can negotiate with Israel for the release of hostages in exchange for safe passage out of Gaza. Let them go to Qatar, Turkey or wherever their enablers will have them. We don’t want them among us.” [WSJ]

‘Needling the Jews’: In National Review, Jamie Kirchick breaks down far-right commentator Tucker Carlson’s evolution from Fox News host to conspiracy theorist trafficking in antisemitic tropes. “After years of ‘just asking questions,’ he has reached the nadir to which such questions inevitably lead. Carlson has chosen to exploit the world’s oldest prejudice while pretending that it’s somehow edgy. Ultimately, the reasons why Carlson decided to become America’s leading purveyor of antisemitic ideas matter less than what this development says about our society. Why has ‘needling the Jews,’ the very thing Carlson condemned Pat Buchanan for a quarter century ago, been a safe career move? For the persistent acting out of his anti-Jewish obsession in the national discourse hasn’t put a dent in his popularity; on the contrary, it may have even boosted it.” [NationalReview]

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U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, the Trump administration’s Syria envoy, convened a four-hour meeting in Paris on Thursday for senior Israeli and Syrian officials, including Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Sheibani, to discuss security issues; the meeting was the first high-level sit-down between Israeli and Syrian officials in 25 years…

U.S. and Israeli negotiators departed Doha, Qatar, following Hamas’ most recent response to a ceasefire proposal, with White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff saying that the terror group’s response “shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire”...

The Pentagon informed staff on Thursday that it had indefinitely suspended the Department of Defense’s participation in think tank and research conferences and events; the announcement comes a week after the Pentagon pulled its affiliated speakers from the lineup at the Aspen Security Forum…

A new report from the Jewish Institute for National Security of America found that the U.S. launched nearly 14% of its THAAD interceptor stockpile during last month’s war between Israel and Iran; the report’s authors suggested it could take between three and eight years to replenish the stockpile…

Russia successfully launched an Iranian Soyuz communications satellite into orbit, months after signing a “strategic partnership” agreement with Tehran…

The Wall Street Journal reports on a 2003 birthday book given to Jeffrey Epstein that included messages from President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton…

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, announced he does not plan to seek a third term; former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who came within a percentage point of unseating Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) in 2022, said he is considering entering the race to succeed Evers, while Sara Rodriguez, the state’s current lieutenant governor, hinted she was interested in the seat… 

Members of a New Jersey state Assembly panel advanced a bill that would adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism…

The FCC signed off on the $8 billion merger between Skydance Media and Paramount; The New York Times said that the merger “effectively ushers in the beginning of a new family dynasty for Paramount, which has been controlled by the Redstone family for decades. David Ellison, son of the tech billionaire Larry Ellison, plans to take control of the company when the deal closes”...

CBS News tapped network veteran Tanya Simon, who had overseen “60 Minutes” since the resignation last year of Bill Owens, as the weekly news program’s executive producer…

Israeli-American venture capitalist Elad Gil is raising a $1.5 billion fund for young startups; if closed, it would be one of the largest funds raised by a solo VC…

Two Jewish comics slated to perform at the upcoming Edinburgh Fringe next month had their shows canceled due to what organizers said were safety concerns…

Hungary issued a three-year ban on members of the Irish hip-hop group Kneecap from entering the country, citing the group’s “antisemitic hate speech and open praise for Hamas and Hezbollah as justification”; the ban comes ahead of the upcoming Sziget festival in Budapest, at which Kneecap was slated to perform…

Archeologists working at the Tinshemet Cave site in central Israel discovered what they believe to be, at 100,000 years old, one of the oldest burial sites in the world…

Eight Israeli soldiers were injured in a car-ramming attack on Thursday near the central Israeli city of Netanya; the assailant drove off and is believed to have abandoned his car near the West Bank town of Beit Lid…

Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter distanced the Israeli government from recent comments by Israeli Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu, a far-right lawmaker who said that Jews would settle in the Gaza Strip and the government “is racing ahead for Gaza to be wiped out”...

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Former hostages and family members of some of the remaining 50 hostages still in captivity were in Washington this week for meetings with Trump administration officials, including Justice Department senior counsel Leo Terrell, the chair of the department’s antisemitism task force. At far right are Keith Siegel and his wife, Aviva, who were both taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.

PAUL ARCHULETA/GETTY IMAGES FOR WORLD CULTURE FILM FESTIVAL

Actor, comedian and producer, Jeremy Samuel Piven turns 60 on Saturday... 

FRIDAY: Warsaw Ghetto Uprising participant and Holocaust survivor, she is the subject of the 2021 documentary "I am Here," Ella Blumenthal turns 104... Former publisher and editor-in-chief of Jewish Lights Publishing, he is an economist and religious scholar best known for his interfaith work, Stuart M. Matlins turns 85... Cinematographer, whose work includes "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and "The Empire Strikes Back," Peter Suschitzky turns 84... Member of the New York City Council from 2014 to 2021, Alan N. Maisel turns 79... Born in Casablanca, Morocco, nightclub owner, entrepreneur and film producer, he produced "The Woman in Red" and "Weekend at Bernie's," Victor Drai turns 78... Former IDF brigadier general (he was part of Operation Entebbe in 1976), then a member of Knesset, Efraim "Effi" Eitam turns 73... Voiceover artist, he is also the writer, producer, director and narrator of a documentary about the restoration of a NYC synagogue, Peter Grossman... Chairman of Vibrant Capital Partners and chair emeritus of the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia, Philip Darivoff... Screenwriter, director and producer, best known for creating "Beverly Hills, 90210" and "Sex and the City," Darren Star turns 64... Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist, she is a staff writer at The Atlantic, Anne Applebaum turns 61... Retired MLB pitcher from a small Jewish community in the Dominican Republic, he maintains a kosher home, José Bautista turns 61... Israeli journalist, television news anchor and author of a nonfiction book and a novel, Oshrat Kotler turns 60... CEO of Friends of the Israel Defense Forces until earlier this week, Rabbi Steven Weil... NYC-based criminal defense attorney, Arkady L. Bukh turns 53... Head coach of the men's basketball team at Kent State University since 2011, Rob Senderoff turns 52... Radio personality on Baltimore's WBAL and 98 Rock, Josh Spiegel turns 50... VP of communications and PR for the National Association of Healthcare Quality, Erin Seidler... Experimental electronic music producer, composer and singer, known professionally as Oneohtrix Point Never, Daniel Lopatin turns 43... Film and television actor, Michael Welch turns 38… Senior policy advisor at Nelson Mullins, Jake Kohn turns 36… Pitcher for Team Israel at the 2020 Olympics and at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, he is also a real estate broker at CBRE, Joseph "Joey" Samuel Wagman turns 34...

SATURDAY: Former mayor of Las Vegas for 12 years, where he was succeeded by his wife who served for 12 more years as mayor, Oscar Goodman turns 86... Former administrator at the University of Illinois and the University of Houston, chancellor of the California State University system and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust, Barry Munitz turns 84... Journalist and author or co-author of nearly two dozen books, both of her parents were killed in Auschwitz, Paulette Cooper turns 83... Author, podcaster, columnist and rabbi, Shammai Engelmayer turns 80... Member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2012 to 2020, Richard Stark turns 73... Chief medical officer at F|42, Alan H. Spiro, MD, MBA... Film and television director, she is best known for her work on the Showtime drama series “Homeland,” Lesli Linka Glatter turns 72... Sports columnist, author, television and radio personality, he works for ESPN's Charlotte, N.C.-based SEC Network since 2014, Paul Finebaum turns 69... Venture capitalist, James W. Breyer turns 64... Former correspondent at ABC News for 23 years, now a founder at Ten Percent Media, Daniel B. "Dan" Harris turns 54... Physician and attorney, he is the founder and chairman of the DC-based consulting firm Stonington Global, Nicholas Muzin turns 50... U.S. senator (R-OK), Markwayne Mullin turns 48... Actress best known for her role in the “Spider-Man” trilogy, Mageina Tovah Begtrup turns 46... Managing partner of the D.C. office of ColdSpark, Nachama Soloveichik... Political correspondent at Israel's Walla News, Tal Shalev... Israeli-born classical music composer, Gilad Hochman turns 43... Israeli born R&B singer and songwriter, Hila Bronstein turns 42... Manager of advisor communications at Cetera Financial Group, Lauren Garfield-Herrin... Actress and filmmaker, Hallie Meyers-Shyer turns 38... Member of the comedy group "The Try Guys," with almost 2.9 billion YouTube views, Zachary Andrew "Zach" Kornfeld turns 35... Associate policy director for complex care at United Healthcare, Drew Gerber... NFL running back who retired in 2024, Tarik Cohen turns 30… Pitcher on the Israeli Women's National Softball Team, now a curriculum designer at Great Hearts Academies, Tamara "T" Statman Schoen turns 28... President at B&B Digital Media, Tomer Barazani…

SUNDAY: Real estate developer who founded Aspen Square Management, he heads an eponymous foundation known for its flagship program PJ Library, Harold Grinspoon turns 96... Forensic pathologist known for his HBO show and his work investigating high-profile deaths, Michael M. Baden turns 91... Managing partner of Access Fund Management Company, he is a past president of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, Harold Zlot... Former deputy secretary of defense and then CIA director in the Clinton administration, now a professor emeritus at MIT, John Mark Deutch turns 87... Steven M. Mizel turns 86... Former chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Stephen M. Greenberg turns 81... Artist and museum founder focused on Fusionism, Shalom Tomáš Neuman turns 78... Israeli author and television producer, he is best known for his documentaries of Israel's intelligence agencies, Yarin Kimor turns 73... Israeli-born fitness personality, Gilad Janklowicz turns 71... Comedian, writer, producer and actress, Carol Leifer turns 69... Washington bureau chief and White House correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor, Linda Feldmann... Former VP of global communications, marketing and public policy at Facebook, he previously held a similar position at Google, Elliot Schrage turns 65... U.S. Army colonel (retired), Jeffrey Brian Carra... Israeli television and radio personality, Erez Moshe Tal turns 64... Heir to the Hyatt Hotels fortune, now a film producer, Jean "Gigi" Pritzker turns 63... Former CEO of the Rabbinical Assembly, she is now the founder of Insight Eldercare, Rabbi Julie Schonfeld... Member of the Hungarian Parliament for 20 years, then a member of the European Parliament since 2009, Tamás Deutsch turns 59... Rabbi at Kesher Israel: The Georgetown Synagogue, Rabbi Hyim Shafner... Former national platform director for the Democratic National Committee, now a political consultant and recruiter, Andrew Grossman... Former chief of staff of the House Republican Conference, he is now the managing partner at Capitol Venture, LLC, Jeremy Deutsch... Head of marketing at Jumplight and winner on “Jeopardy!” in 2019, Aaron Lichtig... D.C.-area political activist, Benjamin Rothenberg... SVP at Upland Workshop, Jeremy Adler...