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Good Thursday morning. 

In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Ras Baraka’s attendance at a 2004 Nation of Islam event where he applauded the extreme rhetoric of Louis Farrakhan, and do a deep dive into Israel’s “Qatargate” scandal. We also have the scoop on an effort by two House committees to investigate connections between federal NGO funding and Israel’s 2023 judicial protests, and talk to GOP legislators about Vice President J.D. Vance’s reluctance to strike Houthi targets. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Eric Levine, Gal Gadot and Martín Varsavsky.

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The State Department announced yesterday that the U.S. had signed off on a potential sale of eight unmanned drones to Qatar with a price tag of nearly $2 billion.

“The proposed sale,” the State Department said, “will improve Qatar’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing timely intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, target acquisition, counter-land, and counter-surface sea capabilities for its security and defense.”

It was a statement tinged with irony — that the U.S. would sell military drones to Qatar, one of Hamas’ key patrons and a chief backer of instability across the region, in an effort to help Doha “meet current and future threats” — as the Gulf nation’s actions and support for malign actors pose existential threats to American citizens and allies, Jewish Insider’s Melissa Weiss reports.

Qatar serves as many things: sponsor of Hamas, home to many of the senior Hamas officials who are still alive after nearly 18 months of war; a major foreign donor to American universities; an intermediary in ceasefire and hostage-release talks between Israel and Hamas; the owner of Al Jazeera, the region’s most-watched news network; and a hub for the thousands of American service members stationed at the Al Udeid Air Base.

And then there’s Doha’s dealings with senior Israeli and American officials. White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has repeatedly praised Qatar, with whom he did business prior to his appointment to the Trump administration. In a recent interview with Tucker Carlson, Witkoff described the Qataris as “well-motivated … good, decent people.” FBI Director Kash Patel, Attorney General Pam Bondi and EPA head Lee Zeldin have all received money from Doha in exchange for consulting or lobbying services. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who earlier this week testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as the Trump administration’s nominee to be ambassador to Israel, reportedly received $50,000 to visit Qatar in 2018.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office is now wrapped up in its own scandal involving Qatari money. Known in Israel as “Qatargate,” it’s a money-laundering and bribery case being investigated by the Shin Bet and Israeli police. See our feature story below.

Even the families of Israeli hostages have been advised not to criticize the Qatari government — advice that came from the Richardson Center, a U.S.-based organization that — you guessed it — receives substantial funding from Qatar.

Qatar uses its vast financial resources — (it has the highest per capita GDP in the region) — to buy friendship and influence. Its alleged extensive bribery campaign to win the high-stakes contest to host the 2022 World Cup underscored the degree to which Doha was willing to put money into attracting the world’s attention and favor. Bloomberg reported earlier today that the Quintet Private Bank, owned by the Qatari royal family, is accelerating efforts to hire private bankers to the Luxembourg-based bank.

On American college campuses, Qatar has invested more than $11 billion in recent decades. Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, one of the country’s top schools for the subject, has for nearly two decades had a Doha branch that has trained thousands of journalists who have passed through it.

But Doha’s influence in the media space doesn’t stop on college campuses. It hosts a “Media City” to incubate media companies and journalists, and recently announced partnerships with Bloomberg and CNN.

Across the Arab world, Al Jazeera is the most-watched television network, broadcasting for the last year and a half what it frames as an Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip to a viewership that is already inclined to oppose the Jewish state. A number of the news outlet’s Gaza-based staffers — who pulled double duty as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives — have been killed since the beginning of the war.

Qatar claims that Al Jazeera has journalistic independence from Doha, but it was just a few years ago that Qatar forced Al Jazeera to pull a lengthy and nefarious documentary about American pro-Israel organizations compiled from hidden-camera footage of its subjects. The move was done at the behest of Jewish groups in Washington, who suggested that spiking the documentary might help Qatar improve its standing among American Jewish groups at a time when Doha had been marginalized by its Arab neighbors. (The documentary ultimately never aired on Al Jazeera as a result of the Qatari government’s involvement, and was instead posted by the extremist website Electronic Intifada.)

On Oct. 7, 2023 — as Hamas was committing massacres across southern Israel, burning families alive in their homes, taking elderly grandparents and babies hostage and raping women at a music festival — Qatar’s Foreign Ministry released a statement saying that Doha “holds Israel solely responsible for the ongoing escalation.” Hours later, video emerged of top Hamas leaders celebrating as they watched coverage of the attacks — on Al Jazeera, naturally. 

Qatar is more than the arsonist and the firefighter. It is the local media reporting on the fire, the EMT providing first aid and the co-conspirator providing the kindling and matches — important factors for the U.S. to keep in mind as it moves forward on providing additional military support to Doha.

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New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Ras Baraka was a speaker at an event with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan in the early 2000s and applauded violent and conspiratorial rhetoric by the controversial preacher, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Flashback: Baraka, now the mayor of Newark, N.J., was the deputy mayor at the time, a position he held from 2002 to 2005. Following strong debate performances, Baraka has been seen as surging in a crowded field of Democratic candidates in the gubernatorial race. During a 2004 speech in Newark at which Baraka was a featured guest, Farrakhan expressed disagreement with the nonviolent philosophy of Martin Luther King Jr. and voiced support for violent retaliation, comments that elicited approval from Baraka. “The cracker hit you on your jaw, you break his neck, that’s the way we think,” Farrakhan said, to loud applause from the gathered crowd. In a video of the event posted by the Nation of Islam, Baraka can be seen rising to his feet and applauding that comment.

Read the full story here.

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In recent weeks, a scandal has emerged surrounding possible Qatari influence on Israeli decision-makers. A junior spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been accused of being paid to provide public relations services to Qatar while working for the prime minister, and two consultants who have had access to Netanyahu for the past decade also allegedly worked for Doha. In addition to the possible security breach, Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara cited the allegations to try to block Netanyahu from firing Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, saying that the prime minister has a conflict of interest as Bar’s agency is investigating the matter, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.

Background: The scandal, which has come to be known as "Qatargate," began with Eli Feldstein, who became Netanyahu's spokesperson for military affairs days after the war in Gaza began. Feldstein began his work as an outside contractor, as did many appointees in the early days of the war, as a way to quickly staff up the Government Press Office without going through the usual civil service hiring process. When Netanyahu's office sought to upgrade Feldstein to a full-time role, the Shin Bet would not give him the necessary security clearance. As such, Feldstein continued to do the same work as a contractor. Feldstein answered to Yonatan Urich, Netanyahu's personal spokesperson, who was also a contractor. The Israeli police arrested Feldstein in November 2024, amid allegations that he leaked classified documents, given to him by an IDF intelligence officer, to Israel Hayom and Bild. 

Read the full story here.

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Republican senators are privately expressing frustration over Vice President J.D. Vance’s suggestion in a leaked group chat that the Houthis are more of a problem for Europe than the United States and his voicing of doubt that it was in the U.S.’ interest to strike the Iran-backed group in Yemen, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports. Lawmakers have been publicly defending Vance for having reservations about the strikes and conveying those concerns to what he assumed was solely a group of senior Cabinet officials — but which actually included Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic. Still, some have felt that Vance’s claim that the endeavor was largely about “bailing Europe out again” was an admission that he does not see the Houthis as a significant threat to U.S. national security despite the terror group being responsible for the deaths of three U.S. service members last January, as well as for ongoing attacks on U.S. military vessels and allies. 

Private concerns: "A number of Republican senators are very concerned about [his foreign policy views]," one GOP senator told JI. "They think it's quite revealing. It reveals a mindset that I'm sure is perplexing to our European allies." One Republican senator told JI that they found it “very disappointing” that Vance did not share their threat assessment with regard to the Houthis. “It was shocking to me that he didn't see the need to strike back when they struck our naval vessels. That's not a British problem or a European problem. Frankly, them striking our friends in Israel is more than enough justification. It's the Tucker Carlson view of how to use military power,” the GOP senator said. 

Read the full story here.

Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

The House Judiciary Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee are jointly investigating six organizations that received federal funding during the Biden administration to determine if those grants were intended to target Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political standing during the 2023 judicial reform protests, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod report.

Who’s involved: The letters announcing the probes, obtained by JI, were sent by Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and Brian Mast (R-FL), who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, to the Jewish Communal Fund, Middle East Dialogue Network, Movement for Quality Government in Israel, PEF Israel Endowment Funds, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and Blue and White Future on Wednesday evening. Each of the groups received federal funding and was reportedly directly or indirectly involved in supporting the judicial reform protests.

Read the full story here.

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The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee will hold its long-awaited hearing on campus antisemitism on Thursday, its first time addressing the issue as a full panel since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks and ensuing war, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod report. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), the HELP Committee’s chairman, will kick off Thursday’s proceedings by calling out universities for their underwhelming responses to the surge in reports of campus antisemitism in the last year and a half, according to text of his opening statement obtained by JI ahead of the hearing. Cassidy had been pushing for the committee to hold a hearing on the issue since a month after Oct. 7. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the committee’s chairman in the last Congress, declined Cassidy’s repeated requests. 

What he’ll say: “At colleges and universities, Jewish students were harassed and attacked for who they are,” Cassidy is expected to say. “Instead of standing up for Jewish students, too many university officials failed to respond or refused to even condemn these horrific incidents. Universities have been put on notice: failing to protect a student’s civil rights will no longer be tolerated. If universities refuse to follow the law, address discrimination on campus, and support their Jewish students, then they should not expect the support of the federal taxpayer,” Cassidy’s opening statement continues. “Jewish students and their families are depending on us to defend their civil rights. President Trump and congressional Republicans are committed to this.”

Read the full story here.

Sinister sponsors: U.S. intelligence officials indicated on Wednesday that the administration is probing potential foreign influence and backing behind pro-Hamas protests seen on college campuses across the country since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

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The House is set to vote on Thursday on a pair of amendments, introduced by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), to a bill expanding requirements for universities to disclose foreign donations from U.S. adversaries. The amendments appear designed to target universities’ relationships with Israel, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Amendment effort: Tlaib’s amendments seem designed to utilize the legislation to target Israel, introducing language that would require schools to report investments in any country defending a case before the International Court of Justice relating to accusations of war crimes or genocide, any country with any official facing an active arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court or any country that the secretary of state deems responsible for violations of international law and human rights. The other Tlaib amendment would require schools to disclose any donations from countries facing similar criteria.

Read the full story here.

Exclusive: A group of Senate and House lawmakers, all but one of whom is Republican, is set to reintroduce legislation on Thursday that would prohibit federal funding to any university that allows antisemitic events on its campus, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Hitting the Houthis: The New York Times’ Peter Eavis and Ismaeel Naar look at the challenges facing the U.S. and allies seeking to defeat the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. “Middle East experts said the Iran-backed Houthis won’t be easily beaten. Few wars have been won with air power alone, and some military experts say it will be no different with the Houthis. … James R. Holmes, the J.C. Wylie Chair of Maritime Strategy at the Naval War College in Rhode Island, said that even during the U.S. war to remove Iraq from Kuwait in 1991, when air power was at its apex, a land invasion was necessary — and defeating the Houthis might require an occupation. ‘You have to control turf to win,’ Mr. Holmes said. ‘Aircraft cannot occupy territory, however valuable a supporting capability they are for armies and Marines.’ The Houthis may even use the U.S. military strikes, analysts say, to bolster their position in Yemen and farther afield as other Iranian proxies, like the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, have suffered heavy losses at the hands of Israel.” [NYTimes]

Cashing Out in Gaza: The Financial Times’ Malaika Kanaaneh Tapper spotlights the black market traders operating in Gaza, where currency shortages are contributing to the enclave’s economic issues. “Much of the remaining currency — which includes shekels, dollars and Jordanian dinars — is concentrated in the hands of powerful wholesalers who profit twice over from imports brought in through Israel or Egypt, according to brokers, economists and monetary policy officials. Traders pay for imports with bank transfers then sell the foreign goods for cash. Money brokers then buy cash from the traders at a steep commission and sell it to customers at an even higher premium. With most vendors refusing to take bank transfers or digital payments during the war, people have little choice but to procure hard currency. ‘All of Gazan society has been forced to deal in cash, because those who import and own the goods have insisted on cash payments,’ said Saif al-Deen Odeh, a professor and monetary policy expert in Gaza.” [FT]

Arming Ankara: In The Hill, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Jonathan Schanzer and Sinan Ciddi suggest how the U.S. should address Turkish efforts to be readmitted to the F-35 program, from which it was booted following its acquisition of Russian S-400 air-defense systems. “Whatever happens next, the barrier to entry must be high. Ankara must demonstrate its willingness to engage in a significant course correction to rebuild trust with the U.S. Specifically, Turkey must fully resolve the S-400 issue. … Erdogan must also be pushed to end support for terrorist organizations. He must sever all ties with Hamas, including shutting down its offices, extraditing known operatives, and revoking their legal status in Turkey. The money flowing to Hezbollah must end now, too. Finally, Washington should demand that Turkey fully back the international sanctions regime against Moscow and halt the flow of dual-use goods that aid Russia’s illegal war effort against Ukraine. After that, our two countries can talk about Turkey’s military wish list.” [TheHill]

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Senior Justice and State Department officials are considering a blanket ban prohibiting some colleges from accepting foreign students if it is determined that those schools have accepted too many students the administration deems to be “pro-Hamas”…

An investigation by Der Spiegel found that personal information, including passwords, belonging to senior Trump administration officials, including National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are all easily found in internet searches…

Politico looks at the infighting taking place among Republicans over Waltz’s future in the administration, over the national security advisor’s invitation to a journalist to a group chat of senior administration officials ahead of U.S. strikes on the Houthis…

Eric Levine, a top GOP fundraiser and a board member of the Republican Jewish Coalition, is calling for Steve Witkoff’s dismissal over a recent series of media appearances in which the Trump administration’s Middle East envoy praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and said he was “duped” by Hamas during failed negations to release the remaining hostages held by the terrorist group, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports…

Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL), Jim Banks (R-IN), Ted Budd (R-NC), Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV), Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) reintroduced legislation to block any U.S. funding to Gaza until the president can certify that no American taxpayer dollars are benefiting terrorist groups and until all hostages are released…

Sens. John Kennedy (R-LA), John Barasso (R-WY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Jim Justice (R-WV) and Rick Scott (R-FL) reintroduced legislation seeking to block Iran from funding through the International Monetary Fund…

Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Clay Higgins (R-LA) reintroduced the Dual Loyalty Disclosure Act to require candidates to disclose all countries in which they hold citizenship…

Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH) is planning to announce his bid in early April for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) at the end of her term in 2026…

A bipartisan group of House members sent a letter earlier this week to urge the Nobel Committee to award the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents and advocates for those kidnapped by Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups on Oct. 7, 2023, with the Nobel Peace Prize, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports…

Axel Springer board member Martín Varsavsky, who earlier this month voiced concern over editorial decisions by subsidiary Politico related to coverage of Israel, departed the board, part of a planned corporate restructuring that included downsizing the board...

A new Pew Research Center survey on “religion switching” found that three-quarters of American adults who were raised in the Jewish faith still identify as Jewish; in Israel, 100% of respondents who were raised Jewish said they still identify as such…

Immigration officials detained a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University and revoked her student visa over what a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said was due to the woman having “engaged in activities in support of Hamas”...

Community Security Service COO Richard Priem was named the organization’s new CEO, following the departure of Dov Ben-Shimon after less than six months in the role, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim and Judah Ari Gross report…

Jonah Platt, the son of “Snow White” producer Marc Platt, criticized actress Rachel Zegler “for dragging her personal politics into the middle of promoting the movie”; Zegler had posted pro-Palestinian comments while promoting the film…

Zegler’s co-star, Israeli actress Gal Gadot, had to be provided with security in response to death threats the actress received following Zegler’s comments…

Paramount+ acquired the film “The Children of October 7,” which features influencer Montana Tucker in conversation with Israeli children personally affected by the Hamas terror attacks; the film will premiere on April 23 and will also run on MTV…

The Israeli Knesset passed a contentious bill to change the makeup of the Judicial Selection Committee, which will increase political influence in judicial appointments; the law is set to go into effect in the next Knesset…

Bloomberg looks at the IDF’s efforts to entrench its positions in Syria as it bolsters security along the border…

The Washington Post reports on the fatigue hitting IDF reservists as Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza resumes…

The Iranian rial hit a new record low as the Trump administration and the regime in Tehran hit an impasse over the restarting of possible nuclear negotiations…

COURTESY

Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) spoke at an event last night honoring Jewish women in Congress, organized by the National Council of Jewish Women, Hadassah and Jewish Women International. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Sara Jacobs (D-CA), Kim Schrier (D-WA), Laura Friedman (D-CA) and Lois Frankel (D-FL) also addressed the group.

YUICHI MASUDA/GETTY IMAGESs

Hitting coach in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, he played for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic and the 2020 Olympics, Blake Shane Gailen turns 40...

Composer and violinist, Malcolm Goldstein turns 89... President for 28 years at the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, he is now its executive vice chairman, Dr. Steven B. Nasatir turns 80... Dean of the Kisse Rahamim yeshiva in Bnei Brak, Israel, he is a rabbinic leader of Tunisian Jews in Israel, Rabbi Meir Mazuz turns 80... Principal technology columnist for The Wall Street Journal until 2013, then the executive editor of The Verge and editor-at-large of Recode, he is now retired, Walter S. Mossberg turns 78... Executive director at mental health center Milwaukee's Grand Avenue Club, Rachel Forman... Chairman and CEO of First International Resources in Fort Lee, N.J., Zev Furst turns 77... Sports agent who has represented the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft eight times, he is the real-life inspiration of the sports agent in the film "Jerry Maguire," Leigh Steinberg turns 76... Retired host of the "Matty in the Morning Show" which ran for 41 years in Massachusetts on KISS 108, Matt Siegel turns 75... Deputy director of leadership giving at Baruch College, Linda Altshuler... Member of the Knesset since 2011 representing the United Torah Judaism party, Yisrael Eichler turns 70... Moral philosopher, she is the director of the Einstein Forum in Potsdam, Germany, Susan Neiman turns 70... Former NFL linebacker, now president of Performance Coaching (training real estate agents), he was a captain of the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XVII, Steven Mark Shull turns 67... Economist and banker in Latvia, Valerijs Kargins turns 64... Smooth jazz saxophonist, he has been recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Dave Koz turns 62... Actress and producer, now serving as SVP at Youth Renewal Fund, Sabrina Wachtel Kurzman... Managing director of the Maimonides Fund, Daniel Gamulka... CEO of BBYO, an organization launched almost 100 years ago (formerly B'nai B'rith Youth Organization), Matthew Grossman turns 54... President of NYC's Tenement Museum, Dr. Annie Polland... Founder and CEO of the Movement Vision Lab, Sally Kohn turns 48... Associate professor at Columbia University School of the Arts, she is the author of six full-length collections of poetry, Dorothea Lasky turns 47... Human rights attorney and CEO of the International Legal Forum, Arsen Ostrovsky turns 45… Correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC, Jacob Hirsch Soboroff turns 42... Former professional ice hockey player, he played on Israel's national team and in the U.S., Canada and Japan, now a partner at McKinsey & Company, Oren Eizenman turns 40... GTM consultant, Adam B. Engel... Former producer at ABC's "The View," Daniella Greenbaum Davis...