Daily Kickoff
By Jacob Kornbluh & JI Staff
Spotted: Washington Nationals Owner Ted Lerner – who introduced Dr. Krauthammer; Members of Congress – Rep. Daniel Lipinski, Rep. Trent Franks, Rep. Louie Gohmert, Rep. Bill Posy, Rep. Steve Stockman, Rep. Andy Harris. Eli Groner, Israel’s Minister for Economic Affairs to the U.S., William Daroff, Nick Muzin, Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Edwin Black, Richard and Phyliss Heideman, David Naftali, and Frank Gaffney.
HAPPENING TODAY ON THE HILL: At 4PM, the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding will host a Congressional Ceremony Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the 1964 Freedom Summer. The event will celebrate the 25th anniversary of FFEU by honoring Rabbi Marc Schneier and Russell Simmons. Members of Congress on the invite include Senators Thad Cochran, Debbie Stabenow, Tim Scott and Orrin Hatch; Reps. James Clyburn, Corrine Brown, Ted Deutch, Jerrold Nadler, Hakeem Jeffries, Eliot Engel, Henry Waxman, Keith Ellison, Grace Meng, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, and Yvette Clarke…. At 7PM, AIPAC hosts a roundtable discussion titled “American and the Middle East: Where Do Things Stand Today?” featuring Ester Kurz, Elliot Abrams, Marc Ginsberg, Danielle Pletka, Ghaith Al-Omari and moderated by Jonathan Kessler. The event at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center, which is intended for DC young professionals, launches AIPAC’s 2014 Summer Seminar Series…. At 10am, the House Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing on the “P5+1 Negotiations over Iran’s Nuclear Program and Its Implications for United States Defense”… Also at 10am, the House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing titled “One Year Under Rouhani: Iran’s Abysmal Human Rights Record”
DAY 7: “Israel Boosts Pressure on Hamas in Hunt for Kidnapped Teens”: “Israel arrested 30 Palestinians in the West Bank overnight and launched air strikes against “terror sites” in the Gaza Strip, stepping up its pressure on the Hamas movement it accuses of kidnapping three teenagers…. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro visited the family of kidnap victim Naftali Fraenkel, which holds dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship. The U.S. will provide “any information that we can share, or knowledge that we can offer, to assist in the search,” Shapiro said today in remarks broadcast on Army Radio.” [Bloomberg]
VIGILS/RALLIES: JCRC of Greater D.C. hosted a vigil for the kidnapped boys outside the Israeli Embassy in D.C yesterday. Israeli Amb. Ron Dermer, Rep. Eliot Engel, and Rep. Ted Deutch addressed the crowd…. NYC Comptroller led a solidarity rally, calling for awareness and vocal support of abducted teens: “Ido Aharoni, Consul General of Israel in New York, accused Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas for “trying to become the first national movement that shows no desire to face its own opposition,” by forming a “fake unity government” with the Hamas terrorist organization…. Congressman Charlie Rangel strongly condemned the kidnapping of the three innocent Israeli teenagers, pointing out that the ongoing talks about territory swaps in return for peace have not met reality… Malcolm Hoenlein asserted that while “they kidnap our children, we saves theirs. They kill our children, we save theirs.” He pointed to recent reports that Israeli doctors were treating Hamas leader Hanieh’s grandchild and Abbas’ wife in Israel with the greatest care.” [JPupdates] Did Rangel Suggest Israel Should Give Back Its Entire Land For Peace? [JP]…. Rockland prays for the safe return of Israeli teens: “Nearly a week after being kidnapped on their way home from school, three Israeli teens were the focus Wednesday of a Rockland prayer vigil for their safe return, with another local gathering scheduled for Thursday in Yiddish at Provident Bank Stadium in Ramapo, NY. [LoHud] — Kidnapped teen’s US cousin to hold vigil outside the White House today [ToI]
**Good Thursday Morning! Enjoying the Daily Kickoff? Please share with your friends & tell them to sign up at [JI]. Have a tip, scoop, or op-ed? We’d love to hear from you. Anything from hard news and punditry to the lighter stuff, including event coverage, job transitions, or even special birthdays, is much appreciated. Email [email protected]**
PERES TRIP PREVIEW: “Peres to visit Obama in White House next week” – “President Shimon Peres is finalizing arrangements for his six-day visit to the United States next week. Peres is scheduled to leave Israel on Tuesday for a round of farewells and honors. This will be his last official visit as president, prior to the conclusion of his seven-year term in the last week of July…. While in the US, Peres will divide his time between Washington and New York. In Washington, next Wednesday, he will visit President Barack Obama in the White House for a last working meeting between the two.
“On Wednesday evening, Ron Dermer, Israel’s ambassador to the US, will host a reception for Peres so people will have an opportunity to wish him well on leaving office… On Thursday, he is set to receive the Congressional Gold Medal and will be the first Israeli president and the ninth person in the world, to receive both the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal…. Afterward, he will return to New York, spending the weekend in the Big Apple catching up with old friends, and on Sunday he will have a working meeting with UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon…. Later in the day, Peres will be the guest of honor at a mega event at the Park Avenue synagogue, where more than a thousand Jewish community leaders will gather to hear him speak of the need to strengthen the ties between Diaspora Jewish communities and Israel.” [JPost]
U.S. Treasury Secretary Reassures Israel on Iran Sanctions: “U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew on his first official visit to Israel this week discussed bilateral economic trade between the allies, while heaping praise on Israel’s economy. But he also touched upon a point of contention between the two countries: nuclear negotiations with Iran and sanctions relief.” [WSJ]
—Iran digs in heels on nuclear centrifuges at Vienna talks: “Iran is refusing to significantly cut the number of centrifuges it intends to keep to produce nuclear fuel, making it hard to imagine a compromise at this week’s talks with six powers, Western and Iranian officials said on Wednesday.”[Yahoo]
Over Arab objections, Israel to vice-chair UN panel on Palestinian refugees: “Israel overcame a coordinated effort by Arab states on Wednesday to thwart its appointment as vice chair of a UN committee dealing with issues such as Palestinian refugees and human rights, and will serve in that capacity at the 69th session of the UN General Assembly… Mordehai Amihai won the appointment to represent the Western European and Other Groups voting bloc on the 4th (Decolonization) Committee with 74 votes… During the proceedings, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor thanked countries that supported Israel’s bid and accused the Arab Group of hypocrisy, calling their challenge “an assault on the rules and norms of the United Nations.” [ToI]
TOP OPS: Lee Smith – “Obama Thinks Iran Can Rescue American Interests in the Middle East: He’s Wrong” [TabletMag] — Peter Berkowitz – “Predictable Reactions After The Abduction of Three Israeli Students” [RealClearPolitics] — Elliot Abrams and Uri Sadot – “Facts on the Ground: Inside Israel’s Settlement Slowdown” [ForeignAffairs]
STARTUP NATION: Uber To Open Tel Aviv Office [NoCamels] — Lebanon: Frustrated World Cup fans tune into Israel to avoid paying cable fees [BBC] — Tel Aviv Stock Exchange to move into new building [Globes] — Aleph announces a series of $50k bounties to address challenges to Bitcoin use and adoption [Aleph] — Waze updated with new features including ‘Send Location’ option [NextWeb] — Live video streams worth money with Israeli app [ToI]
BUSINESS BRIEFS: American Apparel Ousts Controversial CEO Dov Charney [Mashable] — How to invest like Nathan Mayer Rothschild [Forbes] — Paul Singer’s Elliott Said to Be Willing to Accept Argentine Bonds [Businessweek] — Supreme Court Is Expected To Make A Decision Today On Barry Diller’s Aereo That Could Change The Future Of The TV Industry [BusinessInsider] — Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood Capital to Buy 7 Taubman Malls for $1.4 Billion [Bloomberg] — Marc Lasry’s Avenue Said to Seek Energy Distressed Fund [Bloomberg] — Lev Leviev-backed Ostrovok raises $12 million [Pulse]
Federal Agency cancels Dan Snyder’s Redskins trademark registration, says name is disparaging: “The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office canceled the Washington Redskins’ trademark registration on Wednesday, a move that won’t force the NFL team to change its name but fuels the intense fight by opponents to eliminate what they view as a racial slur against Native Americans.” [WashPost]
How the case of ‘Heeb Media’ paved the way for the Redskins trademark decision: “While Wednesday’s decision canceling the trademark of the Washington Redskins appeared to take many by surprise, there was one big reason to see it coming: a case in 2008 called “In re Heeb Media, LLC.” The circumstances — and the arguments — were strikingly similar in important ways to the Redskinscase. Heeb Media was a company that was trying to market a line of athletic clothing called “HEEB.” A vocal segment of the Jewish community opposed it on the grounds that the term “heeb” was disparaging to Jews.
“Heeb produced a number of Jews and Jewish organizations who said they had no objection to the trademark to counter Jewish groups that had organized vocal opposition. Likewise, according to Wednesday’s opinion, the Redskins offered up as evidence letters and statements from tribal leaders dating back to the 1990s in support of its cause. Heeb Media lost. The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board said there were enough Jews, particularly older Jews, who found it distasteful to form “a substantial composite” of the Jewish population. That was enough. The Redskins lost, too. The same judge, Karen Kuhlke, wrote both opinions.” [WashPost]
AP: “Long After Move To U.S., Nazi Suspect Faces Charges”: “A decade after a court ruling allowed him to live out his quiet, middle-class life in the U.S., an 89-year-old Philadelphia man faces possible extradition to Germany on charges he aided in the killing of 216,000 Jewish men, women and children at a Nazi death camp. Johann “Hans” Breyer, a retired tool-and-die maker, is being held without bail on allegations stemming from his suspected service as an SS guard at Auschwitz during World War II. He was arrested this week outside his home in northeast Philadelphia.” [AP]
STUDY: “Putting religion on your resume hurts your job chances — unless you’re Jewish”:“Turns out, according to a new study, that when you’re Jewish and searching for a job, you’re not just one of the chosen people, you’re one of the more chosen people, at least in the modern American South. The study of religious discrimination in hiring recently published in the journal Social Currents found job applicants whose résumés betrayed a religious affiliation were 26 percent less likely to be contacted by an employer — except for Jewish applicants.” [WashPost]
AP Religion News: “The White House says President Barack Obama plans to sign an executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating against employees on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity, but it’s unclear if there will be a religious exemption. Nathan Diament, Executive Director for Public Policy for the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, says if there’s no religious exemption, some Christian and Jewish charities will have to either violate their faith or withdraw from federal contracts.” [AP]
50 years later, arrested Rabbis and civil rights demonstrators return to St. Augustine:“Wednesday marked the 50th anniversary of one of the pivotal moments in the Civil Rights Movement. The largest mass arrest of rabbis in U-S history took place June 18,, 1964 in happened in St. Augustine. It was also the day a photo from a civil rights demonstration traveled around the world. It’s of acid being poured into a segregated swimming pool with black demonstrators inside it. 50 years later, 6 of the 16 rabbis who were arrested returned to St. Augustine along with one of the demonstrators who jumped into the swimming pool.” [FirstCoastNews]
CONTROVERSY DEPARTMENT: Jewish 12-Year-Old Shocks ‘America’s Got Talent’ Judges With Jokes: “A few months ago, Tina and Joey Orlian of White Plains, N.Y., received the Parents of the Year award from Westchester Hebrew High School, where their son Jeremy is a student. Last night, theOrlians were seen cheering on another of their sons, 12-year-old Josh, who made his yarmulke-clad stand-up comedy debut on America’s Got Talent. Despite Josh’s young age, his set consisted entirely of explicit jokes… And just like that, judges Howard Stern (obviously) and Howie Mandel buzzed Josh through to the next round of the popular reality TV competition.” [TabletMag]
DESSERT: Kosher Food Trucks Catching Up: “A new kosher food truck has joined the small fleet of five similarly-certified mobile restaurants roaming the streets of New York. The Sandwich Factory, servingshwarma, schnitzel and burgers and certified by the KOF-K, will have a grand opening on Monday, June 23 at which it will serve free food until it’s run out, said owner Reuven Ben Yossef. The truck is the latest extension of a family business, said Ben Yossef, who’s from Ashdod, in Israel. The family owns three restaurants there and also has business interests in Spain, China and Georgia, part of the former Soviet Union… To be sure, the first kosher food truck was a pushcart, yet in New York City, home to the once pushcart-covered Lower East Side, kosher trucks are in a sharp minority among the total of about 100 trucks in the city…. The truck will park 52nd Street between Seventh and Sixth Avenues.” [JewishWeek]
That’s all folks, have a great Thursday!
**Have a tip, suggestion, or even an op-de? We’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected]**
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