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👋 Good Thursday morning!

In today’s Daily Kickoff, we cover yesterday’s White House meeting between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and report on the ouster of Carrie Prejean Boller from the White House’s Religious Liberty Commission following her comments earlier this week on Israel and antisemitism. We report on Sen. Ted Budd’s call for Qatar to extradite Hamas operative Khaled Mashaal to the U.S., and interview Jason Friedman about his run for Congress in Illinois’ 7th Congressional District. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Bill Ackman, Rosaura Bagolie and Beejhy Barhany.

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

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At first glance, President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nearly three-hour meeting at the White House on Wednesday appeared to end without any clear accomplishments.

Instead of the freewheeling question-and-answer sessions with media in the Oval Office and formal press conferences that followed most of Trump and Netanyahu’s previous six meetings since Trump returned to the White House, came a laconic statement from Netanyahu’s office about Israel’s security needs and a Truth Social post from Trump that was staid by the president’s standards. 

Trump wrote that he “insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a deal can be consummated. If I can, I let the Prime Minister know that will be a preference.” However, the president warned that last time Iran decided against making a deal, “that did not work out well for them,” and the U.S. struck the country’s nuclear sites.

However, Trump and Netanyahu were similarly silent about their meeting in April 2025 — their last in-person meeting before the joint strike in Iran two months later.

Behind the scenes, the main topic of conversation between the two leaders yesterday appeared to focus on options for action if Iran does not agree to a deal. 

The lack of press around the meeting was because Netanyahu wanted to keep a relatively low profile and show deference to Trump, since a strike on Iran — should one occur — would be led by the U.S., an Israeli source said.

The Israeli side is very skeptical that any deal can be reached between the U.S. and Iran, with Trump saying publicly that a good deal would mean “no nuclear weapons, no ballistic missiles,” and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying the ballistic missile issue is a nonstarter for Tehran. 

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

Conservative activist Carrie Prejean Boller was removed from the White House’s Religious Liberty Commission, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the chair of the commission, announced on Wednesday. The news came two days after the commission held its first public hearing on antisemitism, which turned contentious when Prejean Boller minimized charges of antisemitism leveled against other public figures and pressed Jewish witnesses about whether they would consider her antisemitic for not being a Zionist and for believing Jews killed Jesus, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.

Doubling down: Prejean Boller found an ally who has stood by her this week and who remains on the commission’s advisory board: Sameerah Munshi, a Muslim activist who first gained a public profile in the summer of 2023, when she testified at a Montgomery County, Md., school board hearing against the inclusion of LGBTQ-related material in elementary school classes. The two women — both of whom were appointed by President Donald Trump — have now joined together as the anti-Israel wing of the commission. Both of them have publicly defended antisemitic commentator Candace Owens, who uses conspiracy-laden language to discuss Jews and Israel. In a shared Instagram post last week, Prejean Boller and Munshi pointed fingers at a shadowy cabal that they blame for both the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the alleged crimes of Jeffrey Epstein. 

Read the full story here.

Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) called on Qatar to extradite Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal to the U.S., telling Jewish Insider on Wednesday that the leader has the “blood of Americans on his hands,” JI’s Matthew Shea, Marc Rod and Emily Jacobs report. Mashaal, who is under U.S. indictment on terrorism-related charges, appeared this past weekend at the Al Jazeera Forum in Doha, where he rejected the U.N. Security Council-backed plan for Gaza — a move that could further complicate U.S. efforts to advance Phase 2 of President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace initiative. 

What he said: “[Mashaal] is responsible for plotting the brutal massacre of Americans and Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023,” said Budd. “He should absolutely be extradited to the U.S. to face justice for his appalling crimes, not walking free to make public appearances in Qatar calling for Hamas to maintain its weapons and deny foreign intervention in Gaza.” Budd also told JI that he wants to see Qatar crack down on the content disseminated by state-backed Al Jazeera.

Read the full story here.

Democratic New Jersey Assemblymember Rosaura Bagolie has decided not to run against progressive activist Analilia Mejia in the 11th Congressional District primary in June, making it increasingly likely that Mejia, who has accused Israel of genocide, may not face any competition for a full term in Congress, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

The latest: Bagolie, who is Jewish, first floated a run on Monday in an interview with Politico, but backed off those plans on Wednesday, after a slew of top political leaders in the state lined up behind Mejia’s campaign, both in the April special general election and the June regular primary election. The pro-Israel community may be left without any challenger to back against Mejia in June. The most credible possible challenger appears to be the candidate it preferred in the special election, former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, who has not indicated whether she will be running for the seat again.

Read the full story here.

Jason Friedman, a prominent real estate developer and longtime leader in the Jewish United Fund, Chicago’s Jewish federation, is seeking to make a name for himself in the crowded primary for Congress in Illinois’ 7th Congressional District, long represented by retiring Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL), Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. Friedman is facing off against candidates including Davis’ preferred successor, state Rep. LaShawn Ford; Kina Collins, a Justice Democrats-backed third-time candidate with an anti-Israel record; attorney Reed Showalter, also running on an anti-Israel platform; and Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, who previously ran for the seat as a strong supporter of Israel.

Guiding star: Friedman told JI in an interview last week he has “dedicated … my philanthropic life, to our Jewish community here in the city of Chicago. I’m really, really proud of it,” having served on the JUF board for years and at one point as head of government affairs. He said that his Jewish faith has instilled the values of tzedakah and tikkun olam, as well as empathy and compassion, which have inspired him to be a good servant and steward of the community. “It’s repairing the whole world, and that means being there for every community, not just the Jewish community … and fighting for them,” Friedman said. “That’s something that really guides me.”

Read the full story here.

A bipartisan group of 23 senators introduced a resolution on Wednesday condemning the Iranian government for its crackdown on protesters and attempts to cut off internet access across the country, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Who’s on board: The resolution is led by Sens. James Lankford (R-OK) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and co-sponsored by Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), John Boozman (R-AR), Katie Britt (R-AL), Ted Budd (R-NC), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), John Hoeven (R-ND), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Andy Kim (D-NJ) and Dick Durbin (D-IL).

Read the full story here.

A pair of senators and a House lawmaker will introduce bipartisan, bicameral legislation on Thursday aimed at boosting U.S.-Israeli cooperation on bilateral defense programs, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.

Bill’s aim: The United States-Israel Framework for Upgraded Technologies, Unified Research, and Enhanced Security Act of 2026, abbreviated to the United States-Israel FUTURES Act, will be introduced in the Senate by Sens. Ted Budd (R-NC) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and in the House by Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX). The bill establishes a cooperative initiative focused on accelerating and expanding bilateral defense technology research, development, testing and evaluation projects, as well as supporting industrial cooperation. 

Read the full story here.

Open Season: In The Free Press, 92nd Street Y CEO Seth Pinsky, reflecting on protests last week targeting the venue’s State of World Jewry address, calls on officials in New York City and state to take additional steps to protect the Jewish community. “The protesters outside illustrated one of the challenges plainly: In today’s New York City, Jewish conversations — on any topic — are treated as legitimate targets for protest and disruption. More disturbing still, the hostility was not confined to the event’s attendees. Families arriving from birthday parties were harassed, as were New Yorkers simply using our gym. Even a neighboring store was targeted, with one protester explaining that it “had Zionists inside.” In other words, merely being present in and around a Jewish space was now enough to make someone fair game. … [W]hat we need from our progressive leaders is to demand the same clarity and consistency from their allies when it comes to Jews and Israel that they and their allies regularly demand of the MAGA right on a host of other topics.” [FreePress]

Bridge Over Troubled Water: In The Wall Street Journal, Henry Louis Gates Jr., who recently released a four-part docuseries on Black-Jewish relations, makes the case for strengthened ties between the two communities. “Two streams run beneath the floorboards of Western culture: antisemitism, our civilization’s oldest hatred, and antiblack racism. Whenever people search for a scapegoat, they lift up those floorboards and reach down. … Neither community speaks with a single voice. Each contains a range of convictions, anxieties, loyalties and values. Any durable partnership has to make room for that internal plurality. Coalitions fail when they demand unanimity, when they turn disagreement into disqualification. What sustains a shared project is the harder work of staying in relationship across difference, arguing without rupture, and protecting common interests even amid unresolved tensions. We often talk about community as if it were a mood. But it’s a practice. It means renouncing the cheap satisfactions of applause from your own side and the ease of a story with only heroes and villains.” [WSJ]

The Gaza Fantasy: In The Atlantic, Hussein Ibish reflects on what he calls the “profoundly unserious” proposal from the Trump administration to reconstruct Gaza. “It promises industrial parks, educational centers, residential zones, and beach resorts, likely inspired by cities such as Dubai and Singapore. But those cities evolved through decades of careful urban planning. Gaza is, at the moment, a rubbled wasteland. Approximately 80 percent of all structures have been badly damaged or destroyed, and Gazans have nowhere to live except in squalid tents or the ruins of former homes. … The fantasy is beguiling, and its realization would be a magnificent accomplishment — if it weren’t so unimaginably absurd. Trump’s master plan treats Gaza as if it were a greenfield site rather than a partitioned pile of wreckage populated by destitute, hungry, unsheltered people.” [TheAtlantic]

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formally joined the Trump administration’s Board of Peace during his meeting on Wednesday with Secretary of State Marco Rubio…

A group of Senate Democrats, including Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mark Warner (D-VA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Alex Padilla (D-CA), urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to halt further deportations of asylum seekers to Iran…

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the Financial Times that efforts to broaden U.S.-Iran talks beyond the nuclear issue would risk “nothing but another war”...

More Democratic lawmakers condemned the Israeli Cabinet's recent moves to expand control over the West Bank, with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) saying the move constituted a "green light for unilateral annexation of the West Bank" that violates the Oslo Accords and "threatens Israel's security," and House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Greg Meeks (D-NY) calling the decision "de facto annexation' and "deeply troubling" and saying  it may "irreversibly erode" the possibility of a two-state solution…

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) introduced legislation to gain more transparency into the U.S.’ handling of hundreds of millions of dollars in Venezuelan oil proceeds, which are currently being held in an offshore account in Qatar…

Harlem’s Tsion Cafe, the only Ethiopian-Israeli restaurant in New York City, ended its regular dining service, with owner Beejhy Barhany citing a changed environment for Israeli restaurants in the city since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks and over the course of the ensuing war in Gaza among the reasons she’s switching to a cultural events-only model… 

Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square revealed a $2 billion stake in Meta, with the hedge fund manager reportedly being drawn to the tech company’s focus on AI…

The EU approved Google/Alphabet’s $32 billion acquisition of Israeli cloud-security startup Wiz, avoiding a lengthy inquiry as the companies seek to move forward on the sale…

France is calling on Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, to resign over comments she made at the Al Jazeera Forum in Doha, Qatar, last week, in which she claimed that all of humanity “now has a common enemy” in Israel...

The Sydney Morning Herald reports on Hamas documents that allege that Mohammed al-Halabi, the former Gaza director of the World Vision, worked for Hamas while employed by the charity and used his role to obtain information about Israeli court proceedings...

Takamitsu Muraoka, an expert in Semitic languages and a former chair of Hebrew, Israelite Antiquities, and Ugaritic at Leiden University in the Netherlands, died at 88…

MAAYAN TOAF/GPO

Israeli President Isaac Herzog (left) met on Wednesday with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra. Herzog will travel back to Israel today after a four-day visit, which also included stops in Melbourne and Sydney, that was marred by widescale protests targeting the president.

GETTY IMAGES

Best-selling author, known for children's and young adult fiction, Judy Sussman Blume turns 88…

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