Jewish Insider

In a stormy session of the Johannesburg City Council, a motion to block the renaming of the U.S. consulate’s street after a Palestinian terrorist was voted down and a councilor shouted “we want Hitler” at a Jewish colleague. Members of the council have since 2018 sought to rename a central artery in the South African city after Palestinian terrorist Leila Khaled. The vote against the motion to keep the current name, Sandton Drive, was one of the final steps toward making the change. Khaled became known as the world’s first female hijacker for her role in two attacks in 1969 as a member of the terrorist group the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. https://ji.news/4kX8tSf

The intense scrutiny that the Trump administration has placed on Columbia University for failing to address rising campus antisemitism escalated last week in several incidents that culminated in the university expelling several students and the Department of Homeland Security agents raiding two dorm rooms, arresting one student. https://ji.news/4kYSaEr

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be the last — and most senior — of the country’s leaders tied to the failure to anticipate the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks to remain in office, after he took the first step on Sunday toward firing Shin Bet head Ronen Bar. https://ji.news/3Rjfcbq

Elbridge Colby, the nominee to be the Pentagon’s undersecretary for policy, appears to be on track to pass a crucial hurdle toward confirmation in spite of strong GOP concerns earlier in his confirmation process about his dovish past views on Iran, among other issues. The Senate Armed Services Committee has not yet scheduled a vote to advance Colby’s nomination to the full Senate, but multiple committee members told Jewish Insider they expect him to move successfully through the committee. https://ji.news/4bAvxC7

UPDATED | All events on a tour for Chuck Schumer’s upcoming book, "Antisemitism in America" have been postponed as the Senate minority leader faces blowback over his recent vote to avert a government shutdown.

Read today's #DailyKickoff: Remembering Nita Lowey Full briefing 👇 https://ji.news/4hbTpNC

Nita Lowey, a pioneering Jewish congresswoman and the first woman to chair the powerful House Appropriations Committee, was remembered as “a force to be reckoned with on so many issues” and “a lifelong champion of the U.S.-Israel relationship.” Lowey, 87, died on March 15 of breast cancer at her home in the suburban New York district she represented in Congress for 32 years, from 1989 to 2021. https://ji.news/41UL2QJ

Israel’s Western Negev Region, also called the Gaza Envelope, was once known for its agricultural fields, kibbutzim and peacenik residents. Now, ravaged by the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, continuing rocket attacks and the evacuation of its residents for more than a year, the region is in desperate need of revitalization, estimated to the tune of $6.5 billion to $9.3 billion. Seeing a need, the Milken Institute think tank convened one of its keystone “financial hack-a-thons” called the Financial Innovations Lab, this time bringing together more than 50 venture capitalists, investors, philanthropists and government officials to create a plan for revitalizing Israel’s war-ravaged economy. https://ji.news/3XWJftg

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, the Trump administration’s nominee to be U.S. ambassador to Israel, is set for a confirmation hearing during the week of March 24, the chairman of the committee overseeing his confirmation told Jewish Insider. Sen. Jim Risch, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Jewish Insider that Huckabee’s confirmation process is proceeding normally, and said that the hearing will be held when Congress returns from its upcoming weeklong recess. https://ji.news/4i7IpCc

SCOOP | Sen. John Fetterman will travel to Israel on Sunday for his second visit to the Jewish state, the Pennsylvania Democrat told Jewish Insider. Fetterman told Jewish Insider of his plans in the Capitol early Friday evening while waiting to finish votes on funding legislation to prevent a government shutdown. The trip will mark Fetterman’s third international trip since being elected to the Senate. https://ji.news/3DJNhhN