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“Nazarian was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1975, the youngest of four children in a prominent Jewish family. The clan escaped to Israel just before the Iranian revolution and in 1979 moved to the United States, where his father, Younes, planned to seek legal remedies to reclaim his seized construction-equipment company. When that didn’t work out, he borrowed enough money to purchase Standard Tool & Die, which makes industrial machinery, and along the way invested in a small tech company that merged with Qualcomm in 1988. His stake in the networking company would eventually be worth more than $1 billion. Nazarian’s older siblings grew up with a strong connection to Iranian culture and an acute understanding of the loss that they endured. Nazarian grew up American and rich. Nazarian’s love of business, which he says came from “trying to assimilate,” was apparent from an early age. When Sam was about 6 years old, he brought a pamphlet home from the family’s Beverly Hills synagogue and attempted to sell it to the housekeeper. She played along and gave him a dollar. His brother David remembers Sam running up to him with the bill in his hand, crying, “‘You can make money from anything!” [FastCompany]
TOP TWEET: @EliLake – “From the @WSJ story yesterday. US State Dept. didn’t know about latest Israel Hamas ceasefire until they saw it on twitter. Let that sink in” [Twitter]
HAMAS RESUMES FIRE AFTER 3-DAY GAZA TRUCE: “Gaza militants resumed rocket attacks on Israel on Friday, refusing to extend a three-day truce after Egyptian-brokered talks between Israel and Hamas on a new border deal for blockaded Gaza hit a deadlock.” [AP] — Washington Post: “Gaza war could lead to Abbas’s return and new hopes for Palestinian-Israeli peace” [WashPost]
NYTimes: “Israeli Procedure Reignites Old Debate” by Isabel Kershner: “It was one of the bloodiest episodes in the just-ended conflict in Gaza. Less than 90 minutes into a temporary truce last Friday that was supposed to have ended the fighting, Hamas fighters emerged from a tunnel and ambushed an Israeli unit, killing two soldiers and snatching a third, prompting the Israeli Army to pursue the captors and unleash a barrage of artillery and airstrikes on a heavily populated section of the southern border town of Rafah. When it was over, 120 Palestinians were dead, along with the captured soldier. It was one of the rare invocations of the Israeli military’s “Hannibal procedure,” one of its most dreaded and contentious directives, which allows commanders to call in extra troops and air support to use maximum force to recapture a lost soldier.” [NYTimes] — “Some in Israel are questioning the military’s Hannibal Doctrine” [PublicRadioInternational]
Mediaite: “Michael Oren Dropped as CNN Analyst; Now Listed as ‘Former Israeli Ambassador”: “Eagle-eyed CNN viewers may have noticed that Michael Oren, who signed on as a contributor to the network back in January, no longer appears as a “CNN Analyst”. Instead, in the light of Operation Protective Edge, Oren’s title has been removed, and replaced with another whenever he appears on CNN: “Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S.” [MediaIte]
Jewish Candidate Edmond Hopes Shoe-Leather Campaigning Will Lead To November Upset: “When asked about his odds of victory in a heavily Democratic district against a well-funded opponent, Republican congressional candidate Micah Edmond said you don’t have to look further than this year for precedents. “Just look at [Eric] Cantor.” [AlexTimes]
BUSINESS BRIEFS: Mobile Messaging Company Tango Is Raising Money At $1.5 Billion Valuation After Len Blavatnik Looks To Increase Stake [BusinessInsider] — “K.K.R., Blackstone and TPG Private Equity Firms Agree to Settle Lawsuit on Collusion” [DealBook] — Ashkenazy resumes UES tear with buy of five-story rental [RealDeal] — Harbor Group Vets Make First Deals [PilotOnline]
BUSINESSWEEK FEATURE: “Paul Singer Will Make Argentina Pay” by Max Abelson and Katia Porzecanski: “How does a New Yorker help tip over the second-largest economy in South America a few weeks before his 70th birthday? By being stubborn, self-righteous, clever, and willing to take his decade-long fight against the country to a Las Vegas court, a Ghanaian seaport, weapons warehouses in Maryland, and at least two rocket launches. Most bondholders from the last Argentine crisis, in 2001, agreed to accept about a third of what they were owed and move on when the country renegotiated its debt and traded new bonds for the old ones. Singer, whose Elliott Management oversees $24.8 billion, wanted more. He went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to make sure bondholders who compromised can’t get paid until he does, and his victory there in June meant the country would default unless it surrendered to him. Argentina said its hands were tied, and it simply couldn’t sweeten Singer’s deal. It defaulted… There are signs now and then that he might enjoy a kind of humor. At this year’s World Cup, according to a colleague, as the Argentine national team made its glorious push and its country teetered toward default, Singer was there, in the stadium. He was wearing an Argentina jersey.”[Businessweek]
SPORTS BLINK: “Bar Mitzvahs, fasting, protecting Eli: Life as a Jewish Giant” by Paul Schwartz: “There are legions of Jewish adults who look back on their youth, vastly inflate their athletic prowess and thrust an accusatory finger at an establishment that robbed them of a glorious sports career: Hebrew School…. Geoff Schwartz might have followed in the same footsteps of all the kids in those Alef and Bet classes, except his footsteps grew so big, as did the rest of his body, that at the age of 15 he finally was given the blessing to start seriously playing football. He’s doing it now for the Giants as their massive starting left guard, a key addition in the rebuilding of their offensive line, an NFL player who reached the heights after surviving a particularly daunting challenge.” [NYPost]
GUARDIAN: “Gig cancellations cost Israel £12m as Gaza conflict raises security fears” by Dorian Lynskey: “Backstreet Boys, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Brian Jonestown Massacre and America are among those to have cancelled Israeli shows, though many cancellations have been down to artists not wishing to place themselves in danger, rather than in protest at the Israeli action in Gaza. This week Cee-Lo Green and Megadeth were added to the list of cancellations. Megadeth had been due to play in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, but posted a statement on their website saying they could not guarantee “passage of the band and their gear into Tel Aviv in time for the show.” [Guardian]
Larry David Write Broadway Play About Shiva [TabletMag]
NYPost: “All-female Hasidic Rock Band Bans Men From Show” by Lia Eustachewich: “This takes “Ladies Night” to a new level. An all-female Hasidic rock band will play Arlene’s Grocery on Thursday night — and the Lower East Side music venue has agreed to shut its doors to men. Dalia Shusterman and Perl Wolfe, the Crown Heights, Brooklyn, duo behind the band Bulletproof Stockings, follow strict Orthodox rules that bar them from playing in front of men. The stricture also requires them to cover their hair, knees and elbows. It wasn’t easy convincing Julia Darling, the manager of Arlene’s Grocery, which holds 110 people, to snub male clientele for Bulletproof Stockings’ biggest gig yet.”[NYPost]
TOP-OPS: Jeff Pulver – “Fear and Loathing as Telecom Policy” [HuffPost] — Shmuel Rosner: “Israel’s Fair-Weather Fans” [NYTimes] — Aaron David Miller: “Who Won the Gaza War? Turns out the biggest winner wasn’t even fighting” [ForeignPolicy]
ON THIS DATE IN… (Via the AP): 2006 – “Sen. Joseph Lieberman lost the Connecticut Democratic primary to political newcomer Ned Lamont. (Lieberman won re-election as an independent).” 2005 – “Iran resumed work at a uranium conversion facility after suspending activities for nine months to avoid U.N. sanctions.” 1988 – “U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar announced a cease-fire between Iran and Iraq.” [AP]
That’s all folks, have a great Friday!
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