Good Friday morning.

In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at the state of play in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s inner security circle amid the departures of some of his key advisors, and talk to U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee about the influence of foreign funding in higher education. We spotlight the concerns among Jewish community members in Montana’s 1st Congressional District, as the leading Democratic candidates skew largely to the party’s left on Israel policy, and talk to American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch ahead of AJC’s Global Forum, which kicks off on Sunday. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Daniel Loeb, Scooter Braun and Raz Shabtai.

Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with an assist from 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: State Dept. official Sarah Rogers urges protecting free speech while fighting antisemitism; Pro-Israel groups grapple with the future of Israel funding and DSA quietly poised to make inroads in NYC’s congressional delegation. Print the latest edition here.

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For years, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has relied on a small, passionately loyal inner circle of advisors — Ron Dermer foremost among them — to provide a sounding board on some of the country’s thorniest security matters.

Now, with Dermer (mostly) gone, new elections looming and Israel fighting a multifront war and isolated on the world stage, that inner circle is nearly empty. And the departures of key security advisors have left the longest-serving prime minister in the country’s history arguably more alone than ever.

The position of head of Israel’s National Security Council has been unfilled on a permanent basis since October 2025, when Netanyahu dismissed Tzachi Hanegbi from the role. It is currently held in an acting capacity by Gil Reich, a former senior official at the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission, who will move to a different role within the defense establishment on Monday. 

Just a day later, the director of the Mossad, David Barnea, will also step down after completing a full five-year term. He is set to be replaced by Netanyahu’s military secretary, Gen. Roman Gofman.

However, in the Israel of 2026, nothing is straightforward. High Court justices must soon rule on whether Gofman’s sensitive appointment for the Mossad will be approved. This comes after the head of the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee — the Israeli version of a Senate hearing for high-ranking civil service roles — opined that Gofman’s appointment was flawed on ethical grounds.

But Gofman’s departure will mark a farewell to one of Netanyahu's closest advisors and currently the most influential security figure in his orbit — and at a time when Netanyahu's post-Oct. 7 relationship with the military echelon remains exceptionally complex. 

"The role of the national security advisor and head of the NSC is critical and central for shaping, planning and overseeing the execution of Israel's national security policy," Eyal Hulata, who served as head of Israel’s NSC from 2021-2023, told Jewish Insider. 

"The fact that the prime minister is not appointing a replacement for this role is, unfortunately, yet another example of a disregard for organized staff work and another blow to the professionalism required when working with the defense establishment," Hulata continued. Sources close to the prime minister told JI that Netanyahu intends to fill these soon-to-be-empty positions shortly.

So, who are the candidates for head of the Israeli NSC? According to sources familiar with the matter, there are two front-runners: Reuven Azar, Israel’s ambassador to India, and Col. (res.) Gabi Siboni, a hawkish commentator on military strategy.

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

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee urged America to "be doing more" to combat foreign influence in schools, which he identified as a key factor in the declining support for Israel among younger evangelical Americans. While evangelicals have historically been some of Israel's strongest allies, support among the youngest Americans is becoming "more divided" than in previous generations, Huckabee, who is an evangelical Christian, told Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen in a wide-ranging interview.  

Education consternation: “A lot of it is driven by social media and Middle Eastern studies programs that are heavily financed by Gulf state countries pouring billions of dollars into universities in the U.S. and giving people a very false understanding of what the realities in the Middle East are,” Huckabee said. His comments came shortly before he delivered the commencement address on Thursday at Yeshiva University’s graduation ceremony at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens.

Read the full interview here.

Doubling down: A week after describing J Street as “a cancer within the Jewish community” for calling for the United States to restrict aid to Israel, Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s envoy to Washington, doubled down on his critique of the organization, stating that the liberal advocacy group’s recent actions are “decidedly not pro-Israel,” eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim reports for JI.

Ahead of the American Jewish Committee’s annual Global Forum conference, which begins in Washington on Sunday, the group’s CEO, Ted Deutch, is reflecting on a significantly transformed landscape — in which, he said, antisemitism has become mainstream in politics and circles of power in alarming ways that seemed to leave the longtime former congressman stunned. But he also said, in an interview with Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod, that AJC has been working on a comprehensive new plan to address the changing manifestations of antisemitism in the current social environment, which it plans to unveil at next week’s conference.

Observing and adapting: “Antisemitism is unfortunately no longer just on the fringes, but it's become instrumentalized, it's become institutionalized in so many ways and amplified in mainstream politics and media and online and at international institutions,” Deutch told JI at AJC’s Washington offices on Thursday. “The threat of antisemitism has evolved, and I think our response has to evolve as well.”

Read the full interview here.

Several of Adam Hamawy’s opponents in the Democratic primary in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District are challenging the candidate to explain his ties to Omar Abdel-Rahman, the convicted terrorist known as the Blind Sheikh, as well as his service with a charity later shuttered as a front for al-Qaida years after he volunteered, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Will Bredderman report.

Seeking clarity: Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) is now also joining them in seeking more clarity on the first-time congressional candidate’s background. Many of Hamawy’s other Democratic rivals appeared hesitant to address the military veteran and physician’s past ties to Islamist extremists, with only Mayor Adrian Mapp of Plainfield publicly addressing the weeks-old reporting about Hamawy testifying in defense of Abdel-Rahman. Brad Cohen, the mayor of East Brunswick, N.J., told JI Hamawy’s past ties require further explanation.

Read the full story here.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani will break with 61 years of tradition by skipping this year’s “Israel Day on Fifth” parade, but his police chief will serve as a grand marshal — and the two pledged a “comprehensive security plan” to protect the festivities taking place on Sunday, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports.

What he said: At a press conference at One Police Plaza on Thursday, the mayor affirmed his longstanding vow to boycott the event. “I said on the campaign trail that I wouldn’t be attending the parade, and I’ve made my views on the Israeli government abundantly clear,” said Mamdani, who distinguished himself not just from his predecessors but also the pack of rivals he faced in the 2025 election with his anti-Israel stance. “While I will not be attending, our administration has been preparing for weeks to ensure the parade is safe for all those who take part.”

Read the full story here.

In the contentious Democratic primary in Montana’s 1st Congressional District, Israel and antisemitism have become flashpoints in ways that members of the local Jewish community say they find concerning and potentially dangerous. Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT), who currently represents the seat, is retiring at the end of his current term, and Democrats view it as a potential pickup opportunity in a favorable midterm climate, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. 

Coming down on Israel: Though the district leans Republican, that hasn’t stopped a majority of Democrats in the field from racing to the left on Israel policy, a dynamic that was on clear display at a recent debate. Ryan Busse, a businessman and author who is the top fundraiser among the Democratic candidates, declared that the U.S. has been “forced into a war by another country,” alleging that Israel dragged the U.S. in its military campaign against Iran.

Read the full story here.

Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow offered a straightforward answer when asked at a debate at the Mackinac Policy Conference on Thursday, alongside the other two Democrats vying for an open Senate seat in the state, whether there is an antisemitism problem in the Democratic Party, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports. “There is,” said McMorrow. She told the story of an attendee at last month’s Democratic Party convention in Detroit who yelled an antisemitic slur at her Jewish husband, in front of their young daughter. 

What she said: “That is terrifying. We need to be able to state very clearly that what the Netanyahu government is doing is wrong, that the violence needs to end, that we need to bring about long-term peace and security for Palestinians and for Israelis, and that turning that into not an anti-Netanyahu, but an anti-American Jewish message is dangerous,” McMorrow said, earning applause from the room.

Read the full story here.

Debate dodge: Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) sidestepped a question on accepting contributions from donors to AIPAC, giving a response characterized by The New York Times as “160 words without coming remotely close to answering the question” that failed to mention both Israel and AIPAC in her answer.

China's Uyghur Crackdown: The Financial Times’ Alison Killing does a deep dive into China’s escalating efforts to crack down on Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the country. “But FT analysis suggests that the Chinese state’s campaign of oppression against Uyghurs and their culture and identity has in fact entered a new phase. It shows Xinjiang has the world’s highest prison detention capacity relative to its population size — evidence that authorities continue to rely on mass incarceration. Researchers and rights groups say repression in the region now extends towards the long-term remaking of Uyghur society. … ‘Everything that once reflected Uyghur civilization — our culture, our language — has been wiped out,’ says a Uyghur man who recently visited the region from the U.S.” [FT]

Making a Militia: In New Lines Magazine, Farea Al-Muslimi examines the decades-long effort by Hezbollah to grow and strengthen the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. “The relationship between Hezbollah and the Houthis is not simply a case of proxy support. It reflects a sustained process of construction — militarily, politically and institutionally — that produced an actor with its own strategic direction. Over time, that process altered the relationship itself. What began as mentorship created the conditions for autonomy. The Houthis remain aligned within a broader regional framework, but they are no longer defined by their allies.” [NewLines]

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Vice President JD Vance said on Thursday afternoon that the U.S. and Iran were “very close” to reaching an agreement on the wording of a memorandum of understanding that would institute a 60-day ceasefire, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and begin nuclear talks… 

The Treasury Department reimposed sanctions on Francesca Albanese after the Trump administration appealed a federal court order to remove the U.N. special rapporteur from the U.S. sanctions list while a lawsuit challenging the sanctions plays out in court…

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ruled out a 2028 presidential run, saying at Thursday’s Mackinac Policy Conference that “there will be a robust group of people running for president," but she “will not be one of them"...

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), a Jewish Democrat who is among the most vocal supporters of Israel in Congress, announced on Thursday that he would seek reelection in a new South Florida House district recently drawn to favor Republicans, after his own was largely erased, setting the stage for what is expected to be a costly and competitive race, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports…

Reps. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) and Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ), two strong supporters of Israel, made another trip to the country this week, during which they met separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, JI’s Matthew Shea reports…

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani endorsed democratic socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier in her primary challenge to Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY); Mamdani had last year committed to backing Espaillat after the chair of the House Hispanic Caucus dropped his support for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and endorsed Mamdani in the general election…

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion President Andrew Rehfeld, speaking at the Re-Charging Reform Judaism conference in New York this week, fought back against Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch’s condemnation of the Reform seminary’s ordination of anti-Zionist clergy, calling his comments “an attack on the very Enlightenment principles that founded our movement” and accusing him of “anti-intellectualism,” eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim reports…

Third Point founder and CEO Daniel Loeb made his first podcast appearance, appearing on Patrick O’Shaughnessy’s “Invest Like the Best” to discuss AI, corporate governance and investing in the current climate…

Appearing on The Free Press’ “Second Thought” podcast, Scooter Braun reflects on his relationship with Kanye West and the performer’s past antisemitic comments, noting that “obviously the things that [West has] gone through and the things he’s said been have been very upsetting to me,” but that Braun wants “to always believe people have an opportunity to have salvation and growth. And as much as I was very much upset because my family was in the Holocaust, and some of the things he said were incredibly inappropriate [and] very frustrating. And that’s the reason, probably, we haven’t spoken in a very long time”...

Jerusalem-born chef Raz Shabtai’s North Miami restaurant Mutra was awarded a Michelin star, becoming the only current kosher restaurant with the honor…

A who’s who of high-profile figures in sports management were in Budapest, Hungary, last night for the UEFA Champions League gala dinner; those in attendance included New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin…

A Jewish teenager in Toronto who had been missing since mid-May was found by authorities, who are investigating “whether or not there is any evidence of criminality” in her disappearance...

Organizers of Rome’s upcoming Pride parade denied a request from the country’s only Jewish LGBTQ group to march with a float, saying that the Keshet Italia, which is unaffiliated with Israel, had refused to called Israel’s actions in Gaza a “genocide”…

A soccer match between the Irish and Qatari national teams at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium was disrupted on two occasions by match-goers who threw tennis balls emblazoned with Palestinian flags onto the field, raising concerns about fans’ behavior ahead of two matches between Ireland and Israel slated for this fall in Dublin…

Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon said that Israel would cut ties with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres over Israel’s inclusion in an upcoming sexual violence blacklist, owing to alleged abuses of Palestinian detainees in Israeli custody…

CBS News is tapping former New York Times columnist Nick Bilton, a Vanity Fair alum, as executive producer of “60 Minutes,” replacing Tanya Simon…

The New York Times interviews the Washington Star's new owner, Dovid Efune, about his plans to resurrect the publication 40 years after it last published; earlier this week, Efune filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against online publication NOTUS, which recently announced plans to rebrand as The Star...

William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, was named the first chair of the J50 Forum, a group of leaders from 50 Jewish communities from around the world that was created last year by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar… 

CNN Jerusalem Correspondent Jeremy Diamond won the Emmy Award for Outstanding News Interview for his sit-down with senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad…

Actor Marvin Chatinover died at 99…

GETTY IMAGES

JI wine columnist Yitz Applbaum reviews the Hajdu Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2022:

I have written before about the brilliant cult winemaker Jonathan Hajdu. His wines continue to grace the kosher market with varieties new to it, challenging our palates in ways at once playful and serious. His rieslings dance; his old-vine zinfandels brood.

This Shabbat, we were blessed to taste his 2022 Reserve Cabernet. A big, bold, all-encompassing wine, it opens with a rush of dry earthiness that yields to a mouthwatering mid-palate juiciness of dark berry. The finish is long, carrying familiar notes of dark chocolate and a whisper of cedar. Pair it with a meat-rich cholent, and lay a bottle down for years to come.

NIRA DAYANIM/EJEWISHPHILANTHROPY

Dan Tadmor, the president of the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, addressed the crowd at the museum gala last night in New York City, which honored Stuart and Jane Weitzman, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim reports from the Plaza Hotel. The gala comes as the museum, which is making efforts to be incorporated into the Smithsonian, launches a $100 million fundraising campaign to transform and expand its mission.

“It’s the only museum that tells the American Jewish story in its entirety, geographically, historically, thematically, which is a tall order. It means that we need to excel,” Tadmor told eJP. “It’s been a very tumultuous 20 years, and thematic museums, which are museums that tell a story, they evolve, they need to evolve, because our stories change, narratives change, technology changes.”

JAMIE MCCARTHY/GETTY IMAGES FOR BOB WOODRUFF FOUNDATION

Film, stage and television actor, singer and songwriter, Idina Menzel turns 55 on Saturday... 

FRIDAY: Montreal-based businessman and philanthropist, Marvin Birnbom turns 96... Professor emerita of marine biology at Rutgers University, Judith Shulman Weis turns 85... Former member of the Knesset for the Likud party and then Israel's ambassador to Japan, Eli Cohen turns 77... Winner of three Emmy Awards and a Grammy, actor, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer, Danny Elfman turns 73... U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) turns 72... Retired senior diplomat in the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she was previously a brigadier general in the IDF, Ruth Yaron turns 69... Television writer, producer and actor, best known as the creator of the sitcom "Arrested Development" as well as the co-creator of "The Ellen Show," Mitchell Hurwitz turns 63... Past president of Ahavath Achim Congregation in Wichita, Kan., she is a trustee-at-large on the board of JFNA, Ellen Ginsburg Beren... Professor at the University of Chicago, co-author of the best-selling books in the Freakonomics series, Steven Levitt turns 59... CEO and executive editor of 70 Faces Media, the parent company of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Amiram “Ami” Eden... Policy analyst at Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Yaakov Feinstein... Founding partner of Blandford Capital, Nathaniel Jerome Meyohas turns 52... Founder and creative director of the fashion label Shoshanna, Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss turns 51... Chief communications officer and global spokesperson at Aish, she is also a cookbook author, Jamie Geller turns 48... Film producer and former corporate lawyer at Skadden Arps, Edward Frank "Teddy" Schwarzman turns 47... Senior political reporter at The Forward, Jacob Kornbluh... Swedish-born pro-Israel activist, commentator and reporter, Annika Hernroth-Rothstein turns 45... Managing director at Hudson Bay Capital Management and Jewish communal activist, Alexander Berger... Assistant secretary for constituency affairs for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, he was formerly her Jewish liaison, Jacob "Jake" Adler... Israeli-born assistant pitching coach for the Colorado Rockies, he pitched for Team Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Alon Leichman turns 37... English actor, his bar mitzvah was at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Gregg Sulkin turns 34... 

SATURDAY: Santa Monica, Calif.-based historian of Sephardic and Crypto-Jewish studies, Dolores Sloan turns 96... Real estate developer, landlord of the World Trade Center until 9/11, former chair of UJA-Federation of NY, Larry A. Silverstein turns 95... Partner in the NYC law firm of Mintz & Gold, he is also a leading supporter of Hebrew University, Ira Lee "Ike" Sorkin turns 83... Cape Town, South Africa, native, she is the owner and chef at Los Angeles-based Catering by Brenda, Brenda Walt turns 75... Former professional tennis player, he competed in nine Wimbledons and 13 U.S. Opens, Steve "Lightning" Krulevitz turns 75... Former chief rabbi of France, Gilles Uriel Bernheim turns 74... Medical director of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee's Ethiopia spine and heart project, Dr. Richard “Rick” Hodes turns 73... Encino, Calif.-based business attorney, Andrew W. Hyman... Literary critic, essayist and novelist, Daphne Miriam Merkin turns 72... Israeli physicist and philosopher, Avshalom Cyrus Elitzur turns 69... Former member of Congress from Long Island for 16 years, since leaving Congress he has opened a bookstore and written three novels, Steve Israel turns 68... Former science editor for BBC News and author of several books, David Shukman turns 68... Founder of Krav Maga Global with 1,500 instructors in 60 countries, Eyal Yanilov turns 67... Member of the editorial board at The New York Times, Michelle Cottle... Writer, filmmaker, playwright and DJ, known by his pen name Ithamar Ben-Canaan, Itamar Handelman Smith turns 50... Member of Knesset who previously served as Israel's minister of agriculture, Oded Forer turns 49... Director of marketing at NYC's Congregation Rodeph Sholom, Scott Hertz... Deputy assistant to President Biden until 2023, the first Palestinian-American White House senior staffer, now the chief of staff for Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), Reema Dodin turns 46... Communication and marketing coordinator for the San Francisco office of AIPAC, Alina T. Katz... Israeli author, her debut novel has been published in dozens of countries, Shani Boianjiu turns 39... Rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer, known professionally as Hebro, Raphael Ohr Chaim Fulcher turns 39... Senior counsel at Gilead Sciences, Ashley Bender Spirn... Ice hockey head coach of the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays, David Matthew Warsofsky turns 36... Deputy chief of staff for Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Miryam Esther Lipper... Senior reporter for CNN, Eric Levenson... Challah baker and manager of San Francisco's Howard Properties, Jason Friend... 

SUNDAY: Investment advisor at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles, Alfred Phillip Stern turns 93... Owner of one of the nation's largest privately held industrial empires, Ira Leon Rennert turns 92... Professor emeritus at Yale University and the 2018 winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, William Dawbney Nordhaus turns 85... Food critic at Vogue magazine since 1989 and judge on "Iron Chef America," he is the author of the 1997 award-winning book The Man Who Ate Everything, Jeffrey Steingarten turns 84... Founder and retired CEO of the Democratic Leadership Council, Alvin "Al" From turns 83... Author, political pundit and a retired correspondent for HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel," he has won fourteen Emmy Awards during his career, Bernie Goldberg turns 81... Comedian, actor and TV producer, Susie Essman turns 71... Founder and chairman of the Katz Group of Companies with operations in the sports (including the Edmonton Oilers), entertainment and real estate sectors, Daryl Katz turns 65... Reality television personality, best known for starring in and producing her own matchmaking reality series, “The Millionaire Matchmaker,” Patti Stanger turns 65... Jerusalem-born inventor, serial entrepreneur and novelist; founder, chairman and CEO of CyberArk Software, one of Israel's leading software companies, Alon Nisim Cohen turns 58... Entrepreneur, best known as the co-founder of CryptoLogic, an online casino software firm, Andrew Rivkin turns 57... Former Democratic mayor of Annapolis, Md., now VP of policy at SWTCH, Joshua Jackson "Josh" Cohen turns 53... Senior director of volunteerism & advocacy at the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, Melissa York... Israeli actor, singer and dancer, she played a Mossad agent in the espionage TV series "Tehran," Liraz Charhi turns 48... Author of the “Money Stuff” column at Bloomberg Opinion, Matthew Stone Levine turns 48... Freelance writer in Brooklyn, Sara Trappler Spielman... Former attorney and NYT-bestselling author of the Mara Dyer and Shaw Confessions series, Michelle Hodkin turns 44... Senior counsel for autonomy & robotics at DoorDash, formerly a senior advisor at the Department of Commerce, Bert Eli Kaufman... Senior product manager at Tel Aviv-based Forter, Zoe Goldfarb... Stephanie Oreck Weiss... Chief revenue officer at NOTUS, Brad E. Bosserman... Senior rabbi and executive director of Jewish life at D.C.'s Sixth & I, Aaron Potek... Managing editor at NOTUS, Matt Berman... Medical student in the class of 2027 at the University of Nicosia Medical School, Amital Isaac... Brad Goldstein... Basketball player in Israel's Premier League until recent years, while at Princeton he won the Ivy League Player of the Year award (2017), Spencer Weisz turns 31... Professional golfer on the PGA Tour, Max Alexander Greyserman turns 31... Tech product leader and rapper known by his stage name, King Sol, Benjamin Solomon turns 28...