Daily Kickoff
HAPPENING TODAY: At 11:45am in Washington, DC, “Implications of the Gaza Conflict: What has been won, what has been lost?” – A Conversation with Aaron David Miller, Hussein Ibish, and Jonathan Schanzer moderated by the Daily Beast’s Eli Lake. [FFDD]
DRIVING THE WEEK: “Blockbuster trial starts against Jordan’s Arab Bank” by Yonah Jeremy Bob and Frank G. Runyeon: “After around a decade of waiting including a last ditch attempt to get the US government or Supreme Court to block the case, likely the most significant terror finance case ever to go to trial in US history started on Monday against Arab Bank. One of the most powerful banks in the Middle East and essentially Jordan’s sovereign bank to the extent that the Jordanian government implied that if the bank loses, its economy and the entire counter-terror cooperation with the US could fall apart, the stakes could not be higher. The federal New York Judge in the case, Brian Cogan, showed strong control and piercing wit from the start, telling the sides when an evidentiary issue arose that they had about as much chance of mutually agreeing to a resolution as Israel and the Palestinians did of reaching a quick end to the 100 year conflict.” [JPost]
Judge Quits Case Over Share In Israel Stores: “A Detroit federal judge withdrew Tuesday from the case of a Palestinian immigrant accused of lying about her role in a fatal terrorist attack, saying he just learned his family had an investment in the Jerusalem supermarket she helped bomb in 1969.” [AP]
IRAN TALKS: “With Natural Gas Byproduct, Iran Sidesteps Sanctions” by Clifford Krauss: “Iran is finding a way around Western sanctions to export increasing amounts of an ultralight oil to China and other Asian markets, expanding the value of its trade by potentially billions of dollars a year.”[NYTimes]
2016 WATCH: “Cuomo Cements Jewish Ties” by Erica Orden: “New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s trip to Israel this week is the latest in a series of steps that have garnered him support from the state’s Jewish population, the largest in the U.S. Mr. Cuomo boarded an El Al flight to Jerusalem at 7 p.m. Tuesday with a delegation of New York state lawmakers and other officials, a journey he said was aimed at showing solidarity with Israel in its conflict with Hamas… Since the start of his term, Mr. Cuomo has introduced a number of proposals aimed at Jewish constituents, including a measure in response to reports of anti-semitism at an upstate suburban high school that would have required school officials to report a pattern of racial or religious discrimination or harassment. And, Jewish leaders said, he was open to a proposal to create a state tax credit for donations to public schools and nonprofit scholarship funds that help students attend private schools, including religious institutions.” [WSJ] — “Palestinian Invitation to Cuomo Is Declined” – “No time, the governor said. No thanks, his fellow travelers said.”[NYTimes]
—Cuomo will pay for trip with campaign funds: “An administration official said the sojourn was “an official government trip, however to spare any expense to taxpayers the campaign will be covering the cost for the Governor and his staff.” Four government aides will make the trip: spokespeople Melissa DeRosa and Matt Wing; David Lobl, the governor’s special assistant for Jewish affairs and Aaron Kaplowitz, who leads the state’s efforts to attract overseas businesses. Kaplowitz also worked in the Israeli embassy in Washington, an administration official said.” [CapitalNY]
—“The trip is unlikely to be much of an issue in this year’s race.. But the timing may also be fortuitous for Cuomo, from a local-news perspective. “He can go to the Wall and pray about it,” saidMalcolm Hoenlein, the executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. “Those prayers are important, but I don’t think it’s meant to solve political issues. He’d talked about a trip long before. I think it’s just coincidental with the developments here. I don’t think he’s going to in any way resolve or escape this issue.” [CapitalNY]
PROFILE: George W. Bush insider with strong ties to the pro-Israel community vying to become youngest congresswoman: “Stefanik has emerged as one of the GOP’s most highly touted candidates of 2014, particularly given the party’s struggle to attract young, diverse talent. It’s no wonder. Her credentials — she helped write the Republican National Committee’s 2012 platform and prepped Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin for his vice presidential debate — and poise on the stump are unusual for a first-time candidate. And then there’s the fact that she would be the youngest woman from either party ever elected to the House of Representatives… “She is a young, ‘big tent’ kind of Republican who has the capacity to reach out beyond the core voters,” said Josh Bolton, who worked closely with Stefanik as Bush’s last chief of staff… The biggest boost, though, came earlier this spring after Stefanik was invited to attend a retreat in Aspen, Colorado, for big-money donors hosted by hedge fund mogul Paul Singer. Stefanik worked closely with Singer’s business partner, Dan Senor, at the hawkish Foreign Policy Initiative, and her strong pro-Israel views mesh with those of Singer.” [Politico]
WISCONSIN GOV: “The Big Money Behind Walker’s Campaign”: “Walker returned to the deep pockets of his recall mega-contributors, including Las Vegas gambling billionaire Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam. Adelson donated $250,000 to Walker in 2012, despite not having any discernable business interest in Wisconsin… Dr. Richard, Dvorah and Batsheva Roberts each contributed $10,000 to Walker in June, when they’d held a fundraiser for Walker in their New Jersey home… GOP fundraiser and former ambassador Mel Sembler.” [ExpressMilwaukee]
STARTUP NATION: Uber’s Israeli Rival GetTaxi Raises $150 Million: “GetTaxi Inc., the ride-hailing application that competes with Hailo Network Ltd. and Uber Technologies Inc., raised $150 million in new funding that will let it start a service in New York for corporate customers. “Although competition is ripe everywhere, GetTaxi is already the leading player in Russia and Israel, while seeing huge growth in the U.K. and US which in our view yields a potential valuation scenario north of $2 billion a couple of years down the road,” the company said. [Bloomberg] [Digits] — Israel’s MagicJack Sinks to Seven-Month Low After Cutting Forecast [Bloomberg]
REAL ESTATE ROUNDUP: Top Sales Team Jill Eber & Jill Hertzberg are the Envy of Competitors [Observer] — Spitzer to put up hotel on West 25th Street site [RealDeal] — Sitt’s Thor Refinances Carlton House Retail with $175M from Morgan Stanley [Observer] — Tisch: Upgrade coming to former Graves 601 hotel [StarTribune] — PCMR offers ‘immediate payment’ to Talisker to save ski season [ParkRecord] — Ori Allon’s Urban Compass Sues By Citi Habitats [RealDeal] — Affordable Housing Is Unclear in Fortis’s Brooklyn Hospital Venture [WSJ]
STUDY ABROAD: “Ebola, Gaza Fears Prompt Colleges to Call Students Home” by Kelly Blessing: “Jaclyn and Kelly Roache have something in common that most sisters don’t. Both were evacuated in different years from the Middle East while studying abroad through their U.S. colleges. Jaclyn, 19, a rising sophomore in Jerusalem this summer, flew out of Israel on July 23 at the behest of Northeastern University. “It was only a 12-hour period from the time we were told by our professor in the middle of the night that we were being evacuated to when we arrived at Tel Aviv airport,” Jaclyn said by phone from Little Silver, New Jersey. “We were told that we didn’t have class and to pack our stuff immediately.”
“Not all colleges are recalling students from Israel or suspending fall programs,Northwestern University among them. Northwestern students headed to Tel Aviv this fall had to agree to restrictions, including prohibition of travel to Gaza or the West Bank and compliance with any evacuation mandates that may come from the university, Julie Friend, director of the office of global safety and security at Evanston, Illinois-based Northwestern, said in an e-mail…. Annually, more than 600 freshmen at Yeshiva University in New York choose to spend their first year in Israel and the program is in place for the fall, Kenneth Brander, vice president for university and community life, said in a phone interview. He estimated that about six students opted out of the program.” [Bloomberg]
DAILY BEAST: “Gay Palestinians In Israel: The ‘Invisible Men’ by Itay Hod: “On the run from their Palestinian families, living illegally in Israel—treated by both sides as the enemy—gays from the Palestinian territories can’t go home again. “They’re trapped in an impossible situation,” said Mozer. “They can’t go home, because they’re afraid of being killed by their own families, and they can’t get asylum in Israel because of their perceived security threat.” [DailyBeast]
Jewish Human Rights Group Campaigns to Change Name of French Hamlet: “A tiny hamlet in central France is attracting attention because of its name: “Death-to-the-Jews.” La-Mort-aux-Juifs, as the locality 60 miles south of Paris is known in French, has carried the name since the Middle Ages. But a Jewish human rights group is now campaigning to put an end to nearly a millennium of status quo. The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Los-Angeles-based Jewish group which combats anti-Semitism, sent a letter to France’s Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve this week requesting the hamlet choose a new identity “more welcoming to all.” [WSJ]
SPORTS BLINK: Sale of Los Angeles Clippers to Ballmer Closes: “Steve Ballmer is now the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers after the sale of the NBA team officially closed Tuesday.” [WSJ] — RELATED: Ballmer Joins Billionaires Pushing Washington Gun Control [Bloomberg]
—ISRAELI BBALL: Israel faces must-win qualifier in Holland [JPost] — Haifa to embark on another NBA tour: “Maccabi Haifa will participate in a four-team NBA exhibition tour in North America this summer, continuing the tradition of recent seasons. Haifa will face the Washington Wizards on October 15, the Portland Trail Blazers on October 17, the Sacramento Kings and Omri Casspi on October 18 and the Toronto Raptors on October 22.” [JPost]
BACALL’S LEGEND MORE THAN JUST ACTING AND BOGART: “Lauren Bacall had one of those incredible lives. The wife and co-star of Humphrey Bogart. A Tony Award-winning actress. A National Book Award-winning author. A giant of fashion. A friend of the Kennedys. One of the last survivors of Hollywood’s studio age. A star almost from the moment she appeared on screen to the day she died, Tuesday, at age 89, at a New York City hospital… Bacall was born Betty Joan Perske in the Bronx, the daughter of Jewish immigrants. Her parents divorced when Betty was 8, and the mother took part of her family name, Bacal. (Betty added the extra L when she became an actress.)” [AP]
BIRTHDAYS: Fed Chair Janet Yellen turns 68… Michael Landau turns 50…
DESSERT: Our Excuse For The Occasional Typo – “Why It’s So Hard to Catch Your Own Typos” by Nick Stockton in Wired: “Typos suck. They are saboteurs, undermining your intent, causing your resume to land in the “pass” pile, or providing sustenance for an army of pedantic critics. Frustratingly, they are usually words you know how to spell, but somehow skimmed over in your rounds of editing. If we are our own harshest critics, why do we miss those annoying little details? The reason typos get through isn’t because we’re stupid or careless, it’s because what we’re doing is actually very smart, explains psychologist Tom Stafford, who studies typos of the University of Sheffield in the UK. “When you’re writing, you’re trying to convey meaning. It’s a very high level task,” he said.” [WiredMag]
That’s all folks, have a great Wednesday!
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