Daily Kickoff
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2026
Good Wednesday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s targeting of AIPAC and a top Jewish donor in Illinois as he kicks off his reelection campaign, cover Vice President JD Vance’s comments on the U.S.-Israel relationship and talk to experts about the challenges in combating the Houthis as the Iran-backed terror group scales up its attacks on Saudi Arabia. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Fatema Al Harbi, Deborah Lipstadt and Rep. Tom Suozzi.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with an assist from Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
Today's Agenda
Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) is holding a press conference at the Capitol today on the Right to Worship Act, which he is sponsoring. Suozzi told Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod this week in a wide-ranging interview, “The big thing in my head was that a person shouldn’t have to show particular courage just to attend a religious service.” Read the full interview with Suozzi.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is holding a nomination hearing today for a number of vacant ambassadorial postings across Africa, as well as for the position of ambassador to Malaysia. The hearing comes weeks after Malaysia expelled a dual American Israeli citizen over the country’s ban on Israelis entering the country, which prompted the State Department to summon Kuala Lumpur's top diplomat.
The House Homeland Security Committee is holding a hearing this morning on counterterrorism efforts in the post-9/11 era.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Middle East subcommittee is slated to hold a hearing this morning on the evolving terrorism landscape with Lt. Col. (ret.) Joel Borkert, the deputy coordinator for programs and military coordination at the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism.
The House Natural Resources Committee is convening today for a markup on legislation to designate Fort Ontario, in Oswego, N.Y., as a unit of the National Park System, owing to its use from 1944-1946 to house nearly 1,000 Holocaust survivors from Europe.
One Thing to Know
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is facing a long list of challengers in his reelection campaign next year — not to mention dismal job approval ratings and paltry fundraising. He kicked off his bid for a second term at an event on Sunday, however, directly targeting AIPAC as well as a Jewish Democratic donor who has contributed both to the pro-Israel group and, more recently, a top rival of Johnson’s.
“When you hear that someone wants to be your mayor and they claim to be progressive but they take money from AIPAC and Michael Sacks and corporate interests and shell PACs,” Johnson said at a rally over the weekend, “you know who has the power. It’s not you.”
The embattled mayor was likely making a thinly veiled reference to Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, the front-runner in a race that has so far drawn over a dozen candidates. But Johnson’s statement, which has faced criticism from local Jewish leaders for espousing what they decry as antisemitic tropes about Jewish influence, was misleading, as AIPAC is not involved in his race.
The Big Reads
waiting game
Mamdani says he'll release overdue plan to combat antisemitism 'soon'
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s team vowed that it would produce its long-promised plan to fight antisemitism in the five boroughs “soon” — but declined to provide any specifics about when it might actually come out or why his administration failed to meet its original Rosh Hashanah deadline, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports. Sam Raskin, Mamdani’s deputy press secretary, told JI, “The mayor is fully committed to the safety of Jewish New Yorkers and to using every tool available to ensure that Jewish communities continue to thrive as an essential part of the fabric of the five boroughs.”
red sea reckoning
Houthi gains leave Saudi Arabia short on options and looking to Washington
Saudi Arabia’s escalating conflict with the Houthis has revealed just how challenging it has become for the U.S. to deter the Iran‑backed terrorist group, former officials and regional experts told Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea, as Houthi gains along the Red Sea raise alarms about global shipping and give Tehran fresh leverage. Analysts said that while Israel could help Riyadh in combating the attacks, any cooperation is likely to be limited and politically fraught. Saudi Arabia on Tuesday issued an alert for a possible attack on the holy city of Mecca amid escalating strikes by the Houthis, a U.S.-designated terrorist group. A day earlier, Vice President JD Vance said the administration was “on top” of the issue and confirmed the U.S. is in direct talks with the group.
Bonus: CENTCOM head Adm. Brad Cooper convened a meeting last week in Germany between the military chiefs of Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt to discuss regional tensions.
the jd doctrine
Vance likens U.S.-Israel ties to NATO, says U.S. policy ‘cannot’ be 'subservient’ to Israel
Vice President JD Vance said on Tuesday that the U.S. must prioritize its own needs and “cannot let our Middle Eastern foreign policy be subservient to the State of Israel,” likening the dynamic to that of NATO during a virtual appearance at the All In Summit, Jewish Insider’s Melissa Weiss reports. Vance made the comments in conversation with “All-In Podcast” co-host Jason Calacanis, saying there are “obviously a lot of important relationships, a lot of important partnerships in NATO, but that doesn't mean that we're going to completely make our European foreign policy subservient to NATO in the same way that we cannot let our Middle Eastern foreign policy be subservient to the State of Israel.”
The Rundown
The rest of today’s original stories from Jewish Insider — full stories, all published on the site.
On Our Radar
● The Live Briefing. Word on the street, clips, podcasts and quick updates — the items we’re tracking all day in our Live Briefing on our app (on Apple and Android) and website.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) ruled out a 2028 presidential bid, telling the Washington Examiner, “I have no intention of doing so, period”...
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) is moving forward with an effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, accusing Hegseth of “high crimes and misdemeanors” over the war…
The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee advanced the Pray Safe Act by a voice vote; Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement the move “bring[s] us one step closer to passing a bill that would ensure every house of worship, faith-based organization and nonprofit can access critical resources to protect themselves”...
More than 20 Senate Democrats joined a resolution seeking to force a vote on Israeli policy in the West Bank, including the top Democrats on the Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, as well as incoming No. 2 Senate Democrat Brian Schatz (D-HI) and pro-Israel stalwart Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)...
Former State Department antisemitism envoy Deborah Lipstadt, who returned to Emory University as a university distinguished professor after her departure from government at the end of the Biden administration, is founding the Emory Policy Institute on Countering Antisemitism, with a fellowship program set to begin in January…
The head of the Harvard Kennedy School rejected a call from the Harvard Jewish Alumni Alliance to revoke New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof’s invitation to speak at an endowed lecture at the school later this week, citing the HKS’ “commitment to free speech”...
The newly released fifth season of “Fauda,” which came out on Netflix earlier this month and covers the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks and their aftermath, scored the show’s highest streaming numbers to date, ranking as the top show last week in both Israel and Lebanon…
Several musical acts set to open for Ed Sheeran withdrew from the singer’s remaining U.S. tour dates after the production company overseeing the tour parted ways with rapper Macklemore over his political rhetoric during two recent performances; Sheeran and the production company had faced pressure from venue owners, including Robert Kraft, who said the rapper’s onstage comments and displays and “broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery” led to the decision…
The British government introduced legislation that would repeal a long-standing law barring Roman Catholic and Jewish prime ministers from involvement in appointments made by the Church of England...
Dennis Richardson, the former head of Australia’s domestic intelligence agency, criticized media coverage of “blatant antisemitism” in the country following the Oct. 7 attacks, saying he agreed “with those who argue that following 7 October we dropped the ball and failed to draw a line”...
Tanchum Portnoy, the composer of the popular melody for “Eitz Chaim,” died at 75…
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Strait Talk: In The Wall Street Journal, Reuel Marc Gerecht and Ray Takeyh argue that the Trump administration needs to end Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz in order for the U.S. to win the monthslong war it has fought with Tehran. “Control of the strait gives Tehran leverage over many enemies but doesn’t provide a perfect defense (or offense), especially against Israel. But if the clerical oligarchs and the Revolutionary Guards lose the strait, they will stand before their angry people bereft of accomplishment and legitimacy. Power once demystified is harder to sustain. If the White House doesn’t deny the regime this victory by fighting and winning the Battle of Hormuz, then Mr. Trump has surely lost this war.” [WSJ]
Civil Rights and Wrongs: In The New York Times, James Loeffler argues that American Jews have been turned into a political football as both parties have long failed to adequately address antisemitism and the Trump administration uses the issue as a cudgel. “Progressives have failed to grapple with antisemitism among their own ranks. And now a conservative administration intent on undoing civil rights law has turned that ambiguity to its own advantage. The civil rights revolution was never finished. Now its contradictions have returned, sharper than ever. They won’t end with antisemitism, because debates about Jews are never just about Jews. They are the seismographs of a society’s deeper tremors: its fears of difference, its contested visions of nationhood.” [NYTimes]
Picture of the Day
Moshe Edri, director-general of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC), addressed the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 70th General Conference in Vienna on Tuesday. In his remarks, Edri said, “it’s clear that a public threat by the radical regime of the Ayatollahs in Iran to destroy the State of Israel is something we cannot ignore. Israel cannot, and will not, sit idle, in light of such a threat. We acted to ensure our survival, and we will do it again if needed.”
Birthdays
David Seth Kotkin, award winning illusionist, who has sold tens of millions of tickets to his shows worldwide, known professionally as David Copperfield, turns 70
GARY GERSHOFF/GETTY IMAGES
Esther Vilar, Argentine German writer and physician, author of books on gender relations, turns 91
Elaine Bloom, Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives for multiple terms, in 2015 she became the president and CEO of Plaza Health Network, turns 89
Rubin Schron, NYC-based real estate investor and the founder of Cammeby's International Group, turns 88
Richard Perle, defense policy advisor to Presidents Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43 and member of a number of DC-based think tanks, turns 85
Jon Olesen, Montebello, Calif., resident
Shari Goldberg, Pompano Beach, Fla., resident
Motti Lerner, Israeli playwright and screenwriter, turns 77
Jim Perelman, sheriff of Nantucket County, Mass., turns 76
Jonathan Medved, founder and former CEO of OurCrowd, an equity-crowdfunding platform focused on investing in Israeli startups, turns 71
Fern Wallach, former advertising account executive at The Forward, now a media sales consultant
Jonathan Boyarin, anthropology professor at Cornell, his work centers on Jewish communities and culture, turns 70
Dan Kohl, director of stakeholder engagement at the National Council of Jewish Women, he is a nephew of former Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI), turns 61
Rabbi Dov Linzer, president and rabbinic head of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School in Riverdale, N.Y., turns 60
Jason Zengerle, staff writer at The New Yorker
Gal Fridman, Israeli windsurfer, he won bronze in Atlanta 1996 and gold in Athens 2004, Israel's first Olympic gold medalist, turns 51
Tzvi Avisar, mayor of Kiryat Motzkin, a city in the Haifa suburbs, turns 48
Josh Ginsberg, VP of corporate marketing at Meta
Koby Altman, president of basketball operations for the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, turns 44
Lauren Morgan Suriel, chief field officer at the Israel on Campus Coalition
Suzy Goldenkranz, VP of customer success at SimpliFed
Daren Maxwell Kagasoff, actor, best known for starring in “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” turns 39
Rachel Louise Ensign, NYC-based economics reporter at The Wall Street Journal
Niv Sultan, Israeli actor who played the lead role in Apple TV's spy thriller “Tehran,” turns 34
Avishag Semberg, winner of an Olympic bronze medal for Israel in taekwondo at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, turns 25
Caryn Rosen Adelman, planned giving consultant
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