Daily Kickoff
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2026
Good Monday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we do a deep dive into the foreign policy positions of dozens of incoming Democratic members of Congress, talk to the Jewish Federations of North America’s Josh Nason about the group’s legislative priorities in the next Congress and report on the groundswell of support shown for Jewish-owned businesses in Philadelphia that were targeted by antisemitic activists over the weekend. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Colin Jost, Robert Rector and Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss, with assists from Tamara Zieve and Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
Today's Agenda
President Donald Trump is set to meet in Washington today with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani as the Qatari official attempts to avoid an escalation between Iran and the U.S.
In an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” that was filmed last week and aired last night, Trump told Ross Douthat, “I don't think there's any reason to” escalate the conflict with Iran. Read more here.
Vice President JD Vance, who will meet separately today with Al Thani, has reportedly been speaking to the Qatari leader on a near-daily basis in an effort to reach an agreement with Iran.
Trump’s comments come even as Secretary of State Marco Rubio downplayed the successes of previous talks. “I wouldn't say we're on the verge of a breakthrough,” Rubio said on Sunday. On Friday, Rubio defended Trump’s decision to take military action against Iran, days after Vance singled out the war as the main reason for the GOP’s losses in the midterm elections. Read more here.
Rubio arrived this morning in France for G7 talks in Paris with the foreign ministers of Canada, the U.K., France, Germany, Italy and Japan. The two-day talks are expected to cover both Russia’s war on Ukraine and the Iran war.
Stephen Miller begins his role as White House chief of staff today, after a staffing shuffle on Friday that saw the departure of Susie Wiles from the position.
Elsewhere in Washington, incoming freshmen legislators arrived over the weekend for new member orientation on Capitol Hill.
Meanwhile, the current members of the House could vote this week to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Last week, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) indicated the House could move to target Hegseth, while Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has said he planned to introduce articles of impeachment this week.
Elsewhere in Washington, the Israeli Embassy is hosting its annual Sigd celebration honoring the Ethiopian Jewish community, with a performance by Ethiopian-born Israeli singer Gili Yalo.
The Jewish Federations of North America’s annual General Assembly continues today in Washington. Actress Selma Blair, writer Douglas Murray and Jewish Agency Chairman Doron Almog are slated to speak at this morning’s plenary. More below on yesterday’s GA highlights, including a conversation between former Secretaries of State Tony Blinken and Mike Pompeo, plus an interview with JFNA’s Josh Nason on the group’s legislative priorities in the new Congress.
One Thing to Know
With the dust still settling on the midterms, the Democratic Party’s attention has already pivoted to 2028. But early glimpses of the party’s future indicate that even as it moves leftward on Israel, those in its ranks may not be ready to embrace the views of the progressive candidates most hostile to the Jewish state.
It’s a distinction that could carry serious implications for Israel, where Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot is now working to cobble together a government, after receiving the mandate from Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Sunday.
The presidential election was front and center at the weekend’s Crooked Con. But it was a straw poll of potential nominees conducted during the confab that was perhaps the most telling about the party’s direction. Of the top 10 vote-getters, all but two — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) — fell closer to the party’s ideological center than its insurgent left flank. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) led the pack, with 38% of the vote, followed by Ocasio-Cortez with 17%.
The Big Reads
Freshman files
Where the incoming Democratic freshmen stand on Israel
Last week’s midterm “blue tsunami” swept a slew of largely unknown Democratic candidates into office, elevating politicians around the country who were barely on the radar of Democratic leaders — much less in the local and national press. Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Emily Jacobs took a look at the incoming Democratic lawmakers whom we haven’t covered before — some of whom came out of nowhere to win key races — and what we know about their views on Israel and issues of interest to the Jewish community.
LOOKING AHEAD
Jewish Federations of North America confronts ‘challenge and opportunity’ of a much-changed Congress
The sea change on Capitol Hill next year presents a “massive relationship-building challenge and opportunity” for the Jewish community as it works to make connections with the scores of new members set to join Congress in January, Josh Nason, the senior director of political affairs for the Jewish Federations of North America, told Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod last week. “Over 100 new House members and at least 17, possibly 19, new senators — that’s just a huge amount of new relationships to build,” Nason said in an interview. Some members will have some familiarity with Jewish communal issues or ties to community members, but others will be completely new to the community.
Bridging the gap: This year’s JFNA General Assembly opened with the first joint public appearance by former Secretaries of State Mike Pompeo and Tony Blinken since they left office. Moderated by ABC News journalist and co-anchor of “Nightline” Juju Chang, the conversation showcased divergent views on Israel and America’s Middle East politics, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Jay Deitcher reports.
SHOW OF SOLiDARITY
Philadelphians rally in support of Jewish businesses threatened by antisemitic bike protest
A show of solidarity from Philadelphia residents and elected officials overshadowed an antisemitic bicycle protest targeting several Jewish- and Israeli-owned restaurants in the city’s Rittenhouse Square neighborhood on Sunday, with one restaurant owner describing the outpouring of support as something that she had never experienced in her life, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports. There were roughly 300 anti-Israel demonstrators — including 200 on bikes — while approximately 200 counterprotesters, some waving Israeli flags, turned out in support of the targeted businesses and the Jewish community, according to Philadelphia police.
The Rundown
The rest of today’s original stories from Jewish Insider — full stories, all published on the site.
SCHOOL DAZE
Higher education leaders call for overhaul of ‘broken’ university system
EDUCATION LEGISLATION
Contender to lead House education committee pushes to repeal education tax credit
PRESIDENT’S POV
Trump blames midterm losses on Iran war and ‘great dislike’ of Israel
STAFF SHAKE-UP
Trump taps Stephen Miller as chief of staff after Susie Wiles resigns
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.
President Donald Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call last week that he wants to see progress made on the U.S.-led Gaza peace plan, the implementation of which had been largely paused in part due to Israeli domestic political considerations…
Leaders of the Combat Antisemitism Movement, Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, Zionist Organization of America, American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists, Coalition for Jewish Values and Israeli-American Civic Action Network wrote to Stephen Miller to congratulate him on his appointment as White House chief of staff, calling it “a meaningful reflection of the longstanding contributions of Jewish Americans to public service.”
Katie Miller said she was putting her eponymous podcast on pause following the appointment of her husband to be White House chief of staff…
The Wall Street Journal looks at how the midterm results have complicated Vice President JD Vance’s path to a 2028 presidential campaign…
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) hit back at Hasan Piker’s plans to support primary challengers to Gottheimer and Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI), telling JI, “While Hasan Piker screams hate and empty threats into a camera, I’ll be in Washington working with serious people to actually get costs down and help Jersey families. The guy is a joke”...
Politico traces the rise of American Priorities, the anti-AIPAC super PAC formed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s donors the day after his win, framing the group’s victories in the midterm elections as a repudiation of AIPAC as the pro-Israel group backs away from public endorsements…
The Heritage Foundation ousted longtime scholar Robert Rector, who last year publicly broke with the think tank’s president, Kevin Roberts, over Roberts’ defense of Tucker Carlson…
Citing Franklin Foer’s 2024 Atlantic essay, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, senior rabbi of the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in Manhattan, said in a Friday sermon focused on the midterm election results that the “‘Golden Age of American Jewry’ … is over,” citing, among other issues, the rise of far-left figures including Hasan Piker, Rep.-elect Darializa Avila Chevalier (D-NY) and Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed (D-MI)...
"Saturday Night Live" player Colin Jost touched on tensions between El-Sayed and the Jewish community on the latest episode of the show's "Weekend Update" sketch, noting El-Sayed’s opposition to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) as Senate majority leader, saying, “If I had just gone through the campaign [El-Sayed] did, I don’t think my first move would be ‘get rid of the Jewish guy’”...
Speaking at the Somos conference in Puerto Rico over the weekend, New York Attorney General Letitia James warned activists in House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ (D-NY) district against mounting primary challenges, saying, “For those who live in his district and are so drunk of power to think that they’re going to run against this man, you’ve got to get past this neighborhood and Tish James”...
Former President Joe Biden said he would hold fewer public events than initially hoped for his upcoming book about his presidency, citing his battle with an aggressive form of prostate cancer…
MSG Entertainment rebutted a claim from rapper Macklemore that major venues, including Madison Square Garden, were boycotting him after he was removed from Ed Sheeran’s tour earlier this year over his anti-Israel activism, saying, “We have some of the busiest venues in the world with extremely limited availability and he’s not an arena level act”...
Abdulrahman Alfozan, the Saudi national and former OpenAI engineer arrested last month after being accused of bugging a conference room at the company’s headquarters, pleaded not guilty to the charge of intercepting oral communications…
Politico spotlights the challenges facing Green Party leader Zack Polanski in the U.K. following his loss in a parliamentary by-election, as the party clashes following the adoption of a policy calling Zionism a form of racism…
Eyal Berkovic, a presenter on Israel’s Channel 13, was suspended following racist comments Berkovic made about Arabs on live TV; Berkovic made the comments to Suleiman Maswadeh, a Palestinian-Israeli reporter for the network…
The Iran-backed Houthis struck an office tower belonging to the state-owned Aramco oil company in the heart of Saudi Arabia’s financial district on Sunday…
Israeli actor Bar Belfer died at 37…
JI Live Briefing · Free preview
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Community Comms
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Anxious in Ann Arbor: The Atlantic’s Gabby Deutch talks to Democrats in Michigan about the future of the party following Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed’s (D-MI) midterm victory last week. “Jewish and Muslim voters alike told me this week that they see El-Sayed’s election as a pivotal moment in Democrats’ evolution on the once-marginal issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. … The question is whether El-Sayed will succeed in moving Democrats even further to the left, or whether the party, with a slew of new lawmakers and a surprisingly large Senate majority, will be able to find room for a wide spectrum of beliefs.” [TheAtlantic]
War-torn Admin: In The Wall Street Journal, pollster Mark Penn and former New York City Council President Andrew Stein posit that the Trump administration failed to adequately explain the war in Iran to voters before the midterms. “An administration’s electoral success is determined not by whether it does what the polls say the people want, but by whether it convinces voters that what it is doing is right. … Mr. Trump and his administration need to explain to Americans the reason we took on the Iranian regime, which is the world’s biggest state sponsor of terrorism and is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans over the past 47 years.” [WSJ]
Picture of the Day
Rabbis representing thousands of Chabad communities across the world gathered in front of the Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters in Brooklyn on Sunday for the organization’s annual group photo. Itzik Belenitzki/Kinus[dot]com
Birthdays
Jerry Weinstein, professional baseball manager in the minor leagues and college, he managed Team Israel in 2016 and 2017, turns 83
EVE KILSHEIMER/MLB VIA GETTY IMAGES
Shulamit Lapid, Israeli novelist and playwright, she is the mother of former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, turns 92
Sir Victor Blank, British businessman and philanthropist, formerly chairman of Lloyds TSB, a major U.K. bank, turns 84
Zevulun Orlev, Israeli war hero and longtime past member of the Knesset, turns 81
Hal Dash, principal of Los Angeles-based PR and public affairs firm Cerrell Associates
Daniel Ajzen, San Diego-based media developer
Mitchell Bedell
Charles Kupperman, former deputy national security advisor for President Donald Trump, turns 76
Sherrod Brown, former senator and now senator-elect (D-OH), turns 74
Joel Seidman, documentary producer
Nancy Jacobson, political consultant and fundraiser, founder and governing board member of No Labels, turns 64
Samara Hutman, director of Los Angeles-based Remember Us: The Holocaust Bnai Mitzvah Project
Amy Beth Aronson, professor of journalism and media studies at Fordham University, turns 64
Douglas Gessner, partner in the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis, he represents private equity and venture capital sponsors
Peter Lichtenbaum, partner at Covington & Burling specializing in export controls and sanctions, he was previously the assistant secretary of commerce for export administration during the Bush 43 administration, turns 61
Tal Keinan, chairman and CEO of Sky Harbour, he is an American-born Israeli fighter pilot and author of a 2018 book on the future of Judaism, turns 57
Dan Schlissel, Grammy Award-winning record producer specializing in comedy, turns 56
Aliza Kline, founding CEO of OneTable (promoting Shabbat meals for young people throughout the country), she stepped down as CEO in 2024
Richard H. Bernstein, associate justice of the Michigan Supreme Court since 2015, turns 52
Guy Raz, journalist and pioneering podcaster, he is the creator and host of “How I Built This” and “Wisdom from the Top,” turns 51
Maya Bouskilla, Israeli singer and actor, turns 49
Daniel Squadron, co-founder and president of the States Project, he was elected the youngest member of the New York State Senate in 2008, serving until 2017, turns 47
David Levine, senior advisor at Orchestra, a PR and communications firm
Ari Benjamin Lesser, singer, songwriter and rapper, turns 40
Matthew Adam McCoy, Army JAG officer
Rabbi Shlomo Porter, founder of the Etz Chaim Center of Jewish Studies in Baltimore
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