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Good Friday morning. 

In today’s Daily Kickoff, we cover President Donald Trump’s meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday as well as his pledge not to allow Israel to annex the West Bank, and preview Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at the UNGA today. We explore how the U.S. investors set to take over the majority of TikTok could impact the issue of antisemitism on the platform and report on Zohran Mamdani’s Rosh Hashanah visit to a Brooklyn synagogue well-known for its anti-Zionist activism. We also report on Rob Malley’s remarks yesterday about the closure of the classified information investigation into his actions as the Biden administration’s Iran envoy. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: May Mailman, Tony Blair and Jason Greenblatt.

Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by Jewish Insider Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with assists from Gabby Deutch, Marc Rod and Danielle Cohen-Kanik. Have a tip? Email us here.

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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: Post-Paramount sale, Shari Redstone is ‘full speed ahead’ on addressing antisemitism; Shomer Collective launch Shiva Circle initiative to offer ‘life jacket for grievers’; Concern mounts in Jerusalem as Qatar, Egypt set to take key roles in UNESCO. Print the latest edition here.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have much to respond to when he stands in front of the United Nations General Assembly’s green marble wall today: a cascade of Palestinian state recognitions by Western countries, a flotilla of activists, influencers and parliamentarians — protected by Spanish and Italian naval ships — and accusations of genocide leveled from the UNGA stage.

On the tarmac at Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday, Netanyahu vowed to "tell our truth — citizens of Israel, the truth of IDF soldiers, of our state."

"I will condemn those leaders who, instead of condemning the murderers, rapists and burners of children, want to give them a state in the heart of Israel. This will not happen," Netanyahu said ahead of his departure from Israel.

Netanyahu also plans on attacking what he perceives as the moral bankruptcy of countries he sees as rewarding the perpetrators of the Oct. 7 attack and casting Israel as a villain. His arrival in New York was accompanied by an advertising campaign launched by his office on billboards and trucks driving around Turtle Bay and Times Square with the message "Remember October 7." The signs also feature a QR code that leads to a site depicting the atrocities of that day.

"The goal of the campaign is to remind world leaders and the public about the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas and the unbelievable brutality of the terrorist organization that continues to hold 48 hostages in captivity in Gaza," Netanyahu's office said.

Ahead of the speech, Wing of Zion — Israel's version of Air Force One — took a route that is hundreds of kilometers longer than usual, apparently to avoid the airspace of countries that might act on the International Criminal Court's warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest. Wing of Zion flew from Israel over the Mediterranean to Greek and Italian airspace, and then continued crossing over the Mediterranean until it reached the Atlantic Ocean.

The route was longer than the one he took to the U.S. in July, which overpassed France. A French diplomatic source said that Jerusalem asked Paris for authorization to fly over its airspace, which it provided, but the plane took another route anyway.

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

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A new set of American power players appears set to take over ownership of TikTok’s U.S. business, a move pushed by Congress due to national security concerns over TikTok parent company ByteDance’s ties to the Chinese government and broader societal concerns with extremist, divisive and harmful content often funneled to users through the app’s powerful algorithm. That algorithm is now expected to be licensed by the American software company Oracle, which would also manage the app’s security. With new ownership comes one key question about the transfer of TikTok from Chinese to American control, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports: Will American owners, with no ties to the Chinese Community Party, be more responsive to concerns about the proliferation of antisemitism, hate and extremism on the platform? 

Wait and see: Anti-hate experts at the Anti-Defamation League and the U.K.’s Institute for Strategic Dialogue cautioned that it’s too soon to know, and that new ownership does not necessarily mean a major change in policy — or that a change would necessarily be in the direction of more content moderation. After all, TikTok’s algorithm, which feeds users personalized content it expects them to like via the app’s For You Page, is the source of the company’s success, because the more that users enjoy the content being recommended to them, the more time they spend on the app. 

Read the full story here.

President Donald Trump pledged on Thursday that he will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank, the first time Trump has addressed the matter in his second term. Asked about reports that he told Arab leaders this week he would not permit Israel to make the move, Trump confirmed to reporters in the Oval Office that he opposes annexation, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch and Danielle Cohen-Kanik report.

What he said: “I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank, nope, I will not allow it. It’s not gonna happen,” he said, hours after a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Asked if he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the issue, Trump said, “Yeah, but I’m not going to allow it. Whether I spoke to him or not — I did — but I’m not allowing Israel to annex the West Bank. There’s been enough, it’s time to stop now.” 

Read the full story here.

In agreement: Jason Greenblatt, a key architect of the Abraham Accords, joined Trump in coming out against the Israeli government’s reported plans to annex portions of the West Bank, saying on Thursday evening that it was the wrong time to do so, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim reports for Jewish Insider.

President Donald Trump suggested on Thursday that he was likely to permit Turkey to purchase F-35 fighter jets as soon as “the end of the day,” ending a nearly eight-year blockade on Ankara’s acquiring the state-of-the-art fighter jet as a result of its 2017 purchase of a Russian S-400 missile system, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.

Give-and-take: Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ahead of a meeting between the two and their respective teams, Trump said without mentioning the F-35s or the less-advanced F-16 jets by name that he expected the Turkish leader would “be successful with buying the things” he would “like to buy.” Speaking at the outset of his meeting with Erdogan, Trump said, “He needs certain things, and we need certain things, and we’re going to come to a conclusion. You’ll know by the end of the day.” 

Read the full story here.

Damascus dealings: Stability in Syria could help ease tensions between Israel and Turkey — two countries with competing interests in the region — and the U.S. has a key role to play in shaping the security agreements needed to get there, experts from the Middle East Institute said Thursday during a panel titled “Can Turkey and Israel Find Common Ground in Syria?” Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.

Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City, attended his first Rosh Hashanah service on Monday night at a Brooklyn synagogue well-known for its anti-Zionist activism. The visit to Kolot Chayeinu, a nondenominational synagogue in Park Slope that has drawn controversy over its anti-Zionist orientation, comes as Mamdani is seeking to engage in increased outreach to Jewish voters ahead of the November election, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports. 

Polarizing position: But the venue choice also underscores his polarizing position in the broader Jewish community — where many Jewish leaders have continued to raise alarms over his anti-Israel policies and refusal to condemn calls to “globalize the intifada,” among other issues. Mamdani, an outspoken critic of Israel who has identified as anti-Zionist, was warmly received at the Monday service, where he sat in the front row in a mask and a yarmulke beside Brad Lander, the city comptroller who is a member of Kolot Chayeinu. Lander, a close ally of Mamdani, recently described the congregation, which was one of the first to call for an early ceasefire in October 2023, as a meeting point for anti-Zionist Jews and progressive Zionists like himself. The synagogue, which maintains an “open tent” policy on Israel and Palestine, has faced criticism for promoting anti-Israel views in its Hebrew school curriculum in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. 

Read the full story here.

Rob Malley, the Biden administration’s Iran envoy, revealed Thursday that the investigation into his alleged mishandling of classified information, which prompted the suspension of his security clearance and his suspension from his post, was closed earlier this year, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Going deeper: Malley claimed that he was never aware and had never been told what classified information he was being accused of mishandling, but said that the Justice Department had closed the investigation around two years after it had begun. Discussing Iran talks under the Biden administration, a Carnegie senior fellow, Malley suggested that President Joe Biden was never as interested in or committed to reaching a nuclear deal as President Barack Obama had been, and was unwilling to expend the political capital needed on Capitol Hill or with Israel to make a deal happen.

Read the full story here.

The Trump administration’s settlements with Ivy League universities, negotiated in response to alleged violations of federal civil rights law, are meant primarily as an attention-grabbing measure — a way to get more people to pay attention to President Donald Trump’s aggressive approach to tackling discrimination in higher education, according to an architect of those settlements, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.

Podcast playback: “When you see numbers like that, then you pay attention, and you look, and then you’re able to learn a little bit more, something maybe you wouldn’t normally learn,” May Mailman, a conservative attorney who until last month served as a senior White House strategist, told The New York Times’ Ross Douthat on an episode of his “Interesting Times” podcast that was released on Thursday. “A settlement on its own without a fine might not be taken as seriously by the public or by other universities as when there is a fine,” said Mailman. “These are small dollar figures compared to the amounts that they are getting every year from the federal government and from their donors — but I think it provides a seriousness and a focus on these in ways that promises only wouldn’t.” 

Read the full story here.

Eye on Gaza Aid: In The Washington Post, Ken Isaacs, the vice president of programs and government relations at Samaritan’s Purse, reflects on his recent visit to Gaza and observation of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s work. “I arrived in Gaza a skeptic of GHF but left an advocate. Simply put, the common portrayal of this organization radically distorts reality. I observed GHF’s relief operations firsthand. What I saw was not a textbook distribution — because no textbook exists for a war zone such as Gaza, where terrorist combatants hide among civilians. Instead, I saw GHF using unconventional means to successfully deliver food to civilians on a staggering scale under nearly impossible circumstances. It wasn’t perfect, but it was good. … What is needed: less ideology and more courage; less bureaucratic sclerosis and more moral clarity. Don’t let the pursuit of humanitarian perfection become the enemy of the practical good.” [WashPost]

Bibi Facing the Lions: Bloomberg’s Ethan Bronner gives historical context for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the U.N. General Assembly taking place this morning. “For the past decade, as Israel also became richer and more powerful, the Palestinian issue seemed almost to disappear for many. Palestinians were divided and despondent, and Arab powers increased their links to Israeli defense and high-tech industries, paying lip service to Palestinian sovereignty. … For many around the world, [Oct. 7] was proof that the Palestinian issue won’t be buried, that the oppressed will eventually burst with rage. They expected Israel to retaliate but then for it to negotiate a joint future. Israelis saw things differently. The assault, involving the killing and kidnapping of children and the abuse of women, combined with a pile-on from militias in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, which included the use of ballistic missiles and was backed by billions of dollars from Iran, drove for them a stake into the heart of a Palestinian state where, they feared, radicalism could flourish and produce another Oct. 7.” [Bloomberg]

A Friend in Jakarta: In The Wall Street Journal, Haisam Hassanein reflects on Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s address to the U.N. General Assembly, in which he said that a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must recognize and address Israel’s security concerns. “Why now? Mr. Subianto is a former general with pragmatic instincts. He knows that in a world fractured by Russia’s war in Ukraine, Middle East upheaval and U.S.-China rivalry, stability demands fresh thinking. He also knows Indonesia can’t become a global leader while clinging to outdated slogans. … Critics in Jakarta and elsewhere will accuse him of betraying the Palestinian cause. In truth, his statement reflects a hard reality: Palestinians won’t win independence by denying Israelis’ right to security, just as Israelis can’t win peace by ignoring Palestinian aspirations. Progress requires mutual legitimacy. Mr. Subianto’s speech was a rare reminder of that balance.” [WSJ]

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NIRA DAYANIM

Hostage family members attended the American Jewish Committee’s annual Global Jewish Diplomacy Reception at Manhattan’s Harmonie Club last night on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, some of whom offered staunch criticism of the Israeli government’s handling of the war in Gaza, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim reports for Jewish Insider.

SHAWN GOLDBERG/SOPA IMAGES/LIGHTROCKET VIA GETTY IMAGES

Hockey reporter for Sportsnet and as an insider for the NHL Network, Elliotte Friedman turns 55 on Saturday...

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