Daily Kickoff
DRIVING THE DAY: The Conference of President’s Solidarity Mission to Israel began today at 2PM (Israel time) with a special briefing on operation protective edge from U.S. Ambassador Dan Shapiro at the Carlton Hotel in Tel Aviv. “We feel compelled to demonstrate in the most tangible way our deep concern for and solidarity with Israel by being physically present with them. They must know they are not alone and that the Jewish community as well the vast majority of the American people stand with them and pray for their safety and strive to tell the true story of Israel’s defensive action,” said Robert G. Sugarman, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, and Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, who are leading the delegation. [PressRelease]
Israel Investors Unfazed by Rockets as Troops Mobilize: “Steven Schoenfeld has hidden in bomb shelters and safe rooms three times since arriving in Tel Aviv from New York July 7 and still hasn’t missed a single meeting. “After a red alert, people just go on back to business,” Schoenfeld, who is in Israel’s financial capital to promote indexes for the nation’s stocks built by his firm, Blue Star Global Investors LLC.” [Bloomberg] — “Behind Israel’s rocket warnings, an alarmingly complex system” by Mitch Ginsburg [ToI] — “In Divided Jerusalem, Rail Line for Arabs and Jews Is Among the Fracture” by Jodi Rudoren [NYTimes] — “Everyone Says John Kerry Should Stay Out of the Middle East” by Josh Rogin [DailyBeast]
BBTV: Netanyahu Does Sunday Morning TV Rounds: “We use missiles to defend to civilians, Hamas uses civilians to protect their missiles” [CBS] — Gaza offensive is to reach “sustained quiet” – Netanyahu on “Fox News Sunday’ with Brit Hume: “Our mission is to restore a sustainable quiet, a sustainable security to our people by seriously degrading Hamas and other terrorist groups’ capabilities in Gaza. I think we’re proceeding and we’ll continue until that goal is achieved.” [Fox News]
— MORE SUNDAY TALK — McCain praises Netanyahu’s restraint and patience in dealing with Hamas rockets – on CNN’s “State of the Union”: “Picture the United States of America with a country contiguous to ours, that we’re being subjected to rocket attacks. So the restraint of the Israelis, in my view, is admirable. In the patience of Bibi Netanyahu, as well as the fact that he’s getting pressure from the more conservative wing of his coalition, this is more dangerous than any time in the past.” [Political Ticker] — Former U.S. Mideast envoy Martin Indyk on MTP: Change is more politically difficult for the PA and Israel than maintaining the statues quo. U.S. cannot want change more than the two parties. [NBC News] — Dermer Highlights Red Alert Siren In Real Time – On CBS’ “Face the Nation”: “During the interview, an alarm went off on Dermer’s phone notifying him that a rocket was being fired at the same city where his mother was born.” [YouTube]
— Dermer Gets ‘A’ in PR: “With more than 50 media interviews in one week and at least a dozen briefings and conference calls, Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer is on the frontlines of his country’s media blitz in America… This latest round of fighting in Gaza found Dermer leading the battle over the hearts and minds of Americans. Hopping between TV studios, briefing lawmakers and speaking to reporters, Dermer tried to translate the situation on the ground into terms his American audience can relate to…” [Forward]
TOP TWITTER CONVO: @DanielGordis: “Can someone please explain to me what is wrong with the people who work at Haaretz? (Picture of headline “In Gaza, Israel veers between S&M and soft power”). Haaretz’s @ChemiShalev Responds: “Can someone please explain to me what is wrong with people who obsess over headlines in Haaretz?” @JeffreyGoldberg: What I don’t understand, Chemi, is why Haaretz employees refuse to even hear leg imitate criticism. @ChemiShalev: We hear it all the time. Some of it is valid but most comes from people who view OUR criticism as a crime. @JeffreyGoldberg: Do you seriously think Danny Gordis views your criticism of Israeli policy as a “crime”? @ChemiShalev: No, but it plays into the hands of the vast majority of our critics who do. [Twitter]
TOP OPS: Michael Oren: “A smart way out of the Gaza confrontation” [CNN] — David Horowitz: “Netanyahu finally speaks his mind” [ToI] — Jeffrey Goldberg: “Is Hamas Trying to Get Gazans Killed? [Bloomberg] — Eliana Rudee: Israeli bomb shelter’s comforting song [USAtoday] — Joseph Raskas: “The U.S. should relocate its Israel embassy to a safer place – Jerusalem” [ToI]
2016 Watch: NJ Gov. Chris Christie – “America must be a forceful voice in support of Israel”: “Israel is not sure that they have America’s full support like they used to,” Christie told reporters while attending a meeting of the National Governors Association “And that’s a real failure of this presidency, in my view. And I think the unrest you see in the Middle East is caused in some measure — not completely, but in some measure — by the fact that this president has not acted in a decisive, consistent way…” [AP]
— Perry, McCain Attack Paul’s Foreign Police Credentials: Texas Governor Rick Perry attacked Sen. Rand Paul, in an opinion piece in the Washington Post, claiming that Paul’s positions endanger the national security of the US. “It’s disheartening to hear fellow Republicans, such as Sen. Rand Paul, suggest that our nation should ignore what’s happening in Iraq,” Perry wrote. [Washington Post] — Rand Paul Responds: “Rick Perry Is Dead Wrong” [PoliticoMag]
BIPARTISANSHIP: House Passes Pro-Israel Resolution: The House of Representatives on Friday passed a resolution by unanimous consent to express U.S. support for Israel after rocket attacks from Hamas in Gaza. Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) co-sponsored the resolution with Rep. Tom Cole, (R-OK). [AIPAC]
NYTIMES ON JEWISH REPUBLICANS: “Republican Jews Alarmed at the Prospect of a Void in the House & Senate” by Jason Horowitz: “Jewish Republicans know they are not many in number. But at a recent [Republican Jewish Coalition] gathering at the St. Regis Hotel in downtown Washington, they pondered the meaning of an especially alarming figure: zilch. As in zip, bupkis, zero… The stinging defeat last month of Eric Cantor, the House majority leader and the highest-ranking Jewish politician in American history, has created the possibility of Republicans having no Jewish representation in the House or Senate for the first time in more than a half-century.” [NYTimes]
**Good Monday 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]**
CONFLICT HITS HOME — LA PRO ISRAEL RALLY INTERRUPTED BY VIOLENCE: “A peaceful pro-Israel rally in front of the Federal Building in Westwood in West Los Angeles was interrupted late Sunday afternoon when three or four men wielding Palestinian flags arrived carrying long wooden sticks and alledgely attacked the pro-Israel demonstrators. The Los Angeles Police Department reported that more than 1,200 attended the rally.” [JewishJournal] — Pro-Israel students ‘assaulted’ sat Boston protest: “A protest outside Israel’s consular offices in downtown Boston turned ugly Friday when 100 anti-Israel demonstrators “swarmed” some dozen Israel supporters. Surrounded by pro-Palestinian activists chanting “Jesus killers” and “drop dead,” several pro-Israel students claimed they were “physically assaulted” by the protesters at the rally’s close.” [ToI]
HAPPENING TODAY: The Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, UJA-Federation of New York and the Jewish Caucus of the New York City Council are planning to hold a press conference on the steps of City Hall at 10am to declare that New York stands with Israel. Speakers will include: Reps Charles Rangel, Eliot Engel, Carolyn Maloney, Jerrold Nadler and Nita Lowey; NYS Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Amb. Ido Aharoni, NYC Councilmembers Mark Levine, David Greenfield, Margaret Chin, Rory Lancman, Mathieu Eugene and Mark Treyger; NYS Assembly Members David Weprin, Michelle Schimel, Luis Sepulvida, Nily Rozic and Helene Weinstein; NYS State Senator Brad Hoylman, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, JCRC’s Michael Miller and Eric Goldstein, UJA-Federation of New York.
SPORTS BLINK: Dwight Howard Tweets and Quickly Deletes #FreePalestine: “Dwight Howard, the star center on the Houston Rockets briefly waded into the digital discourse on the ongoing battle between Israel and Hamas. He then very quickly jumped out. The offending tweet came late on Saturday afternoon, reportedly in response to a fan plea on Twitter. Some fifteen minutes after it went out to his five million followers, it was gone. He quickly clarified: “previous tweet was a mistake. I have never commented on international politics and never will. I apologize if I offended anyone with my previous tweet, it was a mistake!” [TheWire]
—COINCIDENCE?: Israeli NBA Player Omri Casspi, Howard’s Teammate, Was Traded To Pelicans From Rockets Yesterday – One Day After Howard’s Offending Tweet [ESPN] — Casspi had tweeted: “600 missiles been fired from GAZA by Hamas in the last 4 days. NUMBERS DONT LIE. STOP LYING.” [Twitter]
—Cav’s (Israeli) Rookie Head Coach David Blatt says he’s eager to work with game’s best player, Lebron James: “Obviously, I’m going to work with a great, great player. One of the great players of all time. But he’s a basketball player, and I’m a basketball coach and we’re going to work together beautifully.” [Yahoo] — Jewish Heat owner Micky Arison’s classy response to LeBron James leaving Miami [USAtoday]
STARTUP NATION: Israel Aerospace Industries in talks to sell $1.2 billion of electronic systems [Haaretz] — Yahoo Buys Israeli Video Startup RayV [ReCode] — Apple Defeated Patent Lawsuit From Israel’s Emblaze Over Live Video Streaming [Businessweek]
FORBES Releases America’s Richest Families List: The 185 dynasties with fortunes of at least $1 billion. See if you can spot all the MOTs [Forbes]
CHICAGO JEWS RUN AMBULANCE SERVICE OF THEIR OWN – by Barbara Brotman in the Chicago Tribune: “Hatzalah — Hebrew for rescue — provides emergency response, at no charge, in a geographical area encompassing the Far North and Far Northwest side neighborhoods of West Rogers Park and Peterson Park, and parts of Skokie and Lincolnwood. It isn’t meant to replace 911. Hatzalah’s emergency medical personnel, who receive ongoing training from the Chicago Fire Department, work with the fire departments in their coverage area and call 911 for assistance if patients need more care than they can provide. But Hatzalah can provide crucial emergency care within minutes of a call, the group’s volunteers say…” [ChiTribune]
Recent Daily Kickoff Newsletters
