Daily Kickoff
Four Rabbis Leave Behind Spouses, Children and Grandchildren [WSJ FrontPage; Article]
Rabbi Moshe Twersky, 59: Rabbi Twersky was the son of Isadore Twersky, who founded Harvard University’s Center for Jewish Studies, and the grandson of renowned Rabbi Joseph Soloveichik. Rabbi Twersky was a leader of Yeshivas Toras Moshe, a religious seminary for English-speaking students.[WSJ; Joseph Berger in NYTimes; 5 Facts To Know; Rabbi Allan Nadler recalls his former Harvard roommate; DailyNews; Boston Globe]
Rabbi Kalman Ze’ev Levine, 55: “Born Cary Levine and raised by a devout Jewish family in Kansas City, Mo., Rabbi Levine graduated high school from the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy in Overland Park, Kan., and emigrated to Israel soon thereafter, according to a friend of the Levine family. [WSJ; 5 Facts To Know; NYTimes; Kansas City Star]
Rabbi Aryeh Kupinsky, 43: “Rabbi Kupinsky was born in Rhode Island and raised in Oak Park, Mich. He worked with computers after moving to Israel from the U.S., according to a statement from the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs.” [WSJ; Detroit Free Press; USA Today]
Rabbi Abraham Shmuel Goldberg, 68: “Rabbi Goldberg. who was known in Israel as Avraham, was married with five daughters, one son and many grandchildren, according to his cousin, 63-year old Michelle Hirschfield in London. He grew up in Liverpool and then moved to London and worked in the pharmaceuticals industry before moving with his family to Israel in the 1990s, she said.” [WSJ; BBC;Jewish Chronicle]
ONLY IN ISRAEL: “Moving story from the neighborhood where the attack took place”: ”And so I found myself in the middle of Har Nof, in a small neighborhood grocery store. The store owner is talking to one of the workers. Both are discussing the names, just released, of those murdered whilst at this morning’s prayers in synagogue. “At that moment a beautiful little 7 year old boy comes in accompanied by his rabbi. The rabbi, in a choked-up voice announces the full name of the smiling bashful child. The grocer immediately realizes that this is the son of one of those killed in the attack. The rabbi signals that the child has not been told anything.”
“The grocer rushes up to the little one, ice cream in hand and says: “Here you are sweetie, you can have whatever you want – Do you like these?” “The kid smiles and says he does. Then the grocer whispers to him, “Any time you want something from my store, just come here and I’ll give it to you for free” “The boy whispers back “Thank you” and looks happy. His Rabbi thanks the grocer with a look in the eye and the two leave. “The grocer could not hold back his tears, and held his head in his hands…” [JewishStandard]
“U.S. Jewish Leaders Denounce Jerusalem Synagogue Attack” — Miriam Jordan in the Wall Street Journal [WSJ] • “Lawmakers condemn deadly Jerusalem attack: Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle called on the Palestinian Authority president to do more to condemn the Tuesday attack of four rabbis, including three Israeli-Americans, in Jerusalem.” [TheHill; ToI]
President Obama’s Statement: ”I strongly condemn today’s terrorist attack on worshipers at a synagogue in Jerusalem, which killed four innocent people, including U.S. citizens Aryeh Kupinsky, Cary William Levine, and Mosheh Twersky, and injured several more. There is and can be no justification for such attacks against innocent civilians. The thoughts and prayers of the American people are with the victims and families of all those who were killed and injured in this horrific attack and in other recent violence. At this sensitive moment in Jerusalem, it is all the more important for Israeli and Palestinian leaders and ordinary citizens to work cooperatively together to lower tensions, reject violence, and seek a path forward towards peace.” [WhiteHouse]
TOP TWEET: CNN’s Jake Tapper – “More people with American citizenship have been killed by Palestinian terrorists in the last year than have been killed by ISIS” [Twitter]
CNN APOLOGIZES: “As CNN updated its reporting on the terrorist attack on the synagogue in Jerusalem earlier today, our coverage did not immediately reflect the fact that the two Palestinians killed were the attackers. We erred and regret the mistake.”
OP-EDS – Yossi Klein Halevi in the Wall Street Journal — “The War on the Israeli Home Front”: Nothing Israel does or doesn’t do is responsible for provoking young Palestinians to hack to death Jews in prayer” [WSJ]
David Horovitz in Times of Israel – “Palestinian terrorists should know: It’s not going to work”: “Jerusalem is starting to burn. Religious fervor is intensifying,” I wrote here less than two weeks ago. On a day when Palestinian terrorists chose to target Jews at prayer in a synagogue, the centrality of religious dispute to this latest iteration of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is now unmistakable. And at the core of this new iteration, Tuesday’s attack made murderously clear, is Muslim intolerance — of the very notion that Jews have a religious connection to the Temple Mount, and by extension to Jerusalem and to Israel.” [ToI]
Jeffrey Goldberg in The Atlantic — “Hamas Endorses a Massacre”: “The most shocking aspect is the wholesale endorsement of this slaughter by Hamas, a group that, during this summer’s war in Gaza, half-succeeded in convincing the world that it wasn’t what it actually is: a group with actual genocidal intentions…This is how a Hamas spokesman reacted to the massacre of Jews at prayer: ‘The new operation is heroic and a natural reaction to Zionist criminality against our people and our holy places. We have the full right to revenge for the blood of our martyrs in all possible means.’” [TheAtlantic]
Yishai Schwartz in The New Republic — “Politics Can’t Explain the Israeli Synagogue Attack. Only Hatred Can”: “Rarely has it been clearer: these men were killed simply because they were Jews living in the land of Israel. That they were rabbis killed at prayer is a potent symbol of the attack’s senselessess, but their orthodoxy also serves as evidence of how utterly self-defeating Palestinian terrorism is.” [NewRepublic]
Liel Leibovitz in Tablet Magazine — “Abbas’ Dangerous War”: “When it comes to Abbas’ culpability, current opinions in Israel seem mixed. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, alongside several other senior security officials, has clearly laid the blame on the Palestinian president, while the head of the Shin Bet, Yoram Cohen, has argued that Abbas is only culpable inasmuch as his followers choose to interpret his speeches as an invitation to violence, but he bears no direct responsibility for the murders. It’s a discussion worth having—healthy democracies foster precisely this sort of dissent among its top officials—but even as we observe events unfold in real time we ought to look to history for clues as to their meaning.” [TabletMag]
Barak Ravid in Haaretz — “After Jerusalem attack, Netanyahu hopes ‘PR porn’ will win support abroad”: ”Despite these explanations, it’s highly doubtful that such pornographic public diplomacy will win Israel any more supporters abroad. It’s more likely that they will merely inflame Israeli public opinion against the Palestinians, increase the hostility against Arabs and serve as weapons in the hands of those inciting toward revenge.” [Haaretz]
At 12:00 PM, a “Tribute to the U.S. Israel Security Alliance” at the Russell Senate Office Building followed by a White House briefing at the Eisenhower EOB. The event, organized by Ezra Friedlander, is co-chaired by Elliot Gibber, Stanley G. Tate, Simcha Lions and Jason Lyons. Scheduled speakers include Sen. Johnny Isakson; Sen. Barbara Mikulski; Sen. Roy Blunt; Sen. Mark Kirk; Sen. Carl Levin; Sen. Mike Lee; Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen; Sen. Ted Cruz; Rep. Virginia Foxx; Rep. Steve Stivers; Sen. Michael Bennet; Sen. Charles Schumer; and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart.
Center for American Progress holds their 2014 Policy Conference: At 11:05 AM, former Sen. Tom Daschle interviews U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, for a conversation titled “America and the World” • At 12:50 PM, Sen. Cory Booker talks about, “Our Changing Nation and the Progressive Coalition” • Also speaking: Sen. Elizabeth Warren; Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper; Tom Steyer; John D. Podesta; and NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio. [CAP]
At 12:00 PM, The Hudson Institute hosts a forum titled, “Weighing the Costs and Benefits of a Prospective U.S. – Iran Nuclear Deal” with David Albright, Michael Doran, Hillel Fradkin, Ray Takeyh, moderated by Lee Smith. [Hudson]
IRAN TALKS: ”Iranian and Western officials have said next Monday’s self-imposed deadline is unlikely to be met, and an extension is the most likely outcome. They say it is possible to agree the outline of a future accord, but it would take months to work out the details.” [WSJ; Reuters; LA Times] • Iranian human rights activist Amir Basiri: “Obama’s misconceptions about Iran” [TheHill]
—Someone emailed Playbook: “Israel Hawk: Blinken was a leading figure behind the scenes this summer as the White House worked to manage the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. … Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer requested an urgent meeting with Blinken. … Dermer argued strongly for short-term aid to support Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system … The next morning, Blinken brought the request directly to President Obama, and within a matter of days, Congress had approved the Administration request for $225 million in emergency aid for the Iron Dome.” [Playbook]
MAZEL TOV! Former Obama White House Jewish Liaison Jarrod Bernstein emails JI: “Lillian David Bernstein was born this morning at 2:11am. Mom, Hildy Kuryk (formerly of the DNC), and big brother Jake are all doing well.”
2016 WATCH – “Ready for Hillary ready to end” by Maggie Haberman: “When staffers and supporters of Ready for Hillary gather Friday at a conference in Manhattan, the all-day event will mark the beginning of the end for the grassroots super PAC that was an impressive branding exercise that, for better or worse, helped freeze the field of competition against Hillary Clinton for 2016. For the nearly two years it’s been in existence, Ready for Hillary has been described as a shadow campaign for Clinton, an imprecise shorthand that both oversold and undersold the work the group was doing.” [Politico] • “How Elizabeth Warren is already influencing Hillary Clinton’s 2016 bid” [WashPost]
2016 WATCH: “20 Republican wannabes to watch for 2016″ by Mike Allen: Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, Rick Santorum, Ben Carson, Scott Walker, Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Rob Portman, Mike Pence, Carly Fiorina, John Bolton, John Thune, Paul Ryan, Mike Huckabee, Lindsey Graham, and Mitt Romney. [Politico]
KREDO SCOOP: “Mole at Jewish Org Fired for Offering Details of Private Call to Anti-Israel Listserv” by Adam Kredo in the Free Beacon: ”Danny Blinderman, until recently an employee with the American Jewish Committee (AJC), offered to “pass along” details of an off-the-record phone call with Hillel International President Eric Fingerhut to a group of liberal activists affiliated with the Open Hillel movement, which has sought to increase outreach with anti-Zionist activists on campus as well as those who support boycotts of the Jewish state.” [FreeBeacon]
COMMERCE SEC. PRITZKER HARD AT WORK: ”Launched in 2009, Data.gov was one of the Obama administration’s flagship efforts to produce a more open government. But though the site is full of raw data, Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker suggests it’s not nearly as useful as it could be.”[WashPost] • “Secretary of Commerce visits 1776″ [Technical.ly]
STARTUP SPOTLIGHT: Schottenstein’s Streetwear Brand That Got Hot Thanks to LeBron’s Indignation — by Erica Euse in Vice: ”In January 2012, back when LeBron James was fighting to get his first championship ring with the Miami Heat and dealing with intense media scrutiny, he was spotted in the locker room wearing a pair of sneakers customized with the acronym TACKMA stitched across the back… At that moment, TACKMA was just an idea of Jeffrey Schottenstein‘s, born out of his own frustration with the people around him who doubted his aptitude for greatness. His crude mantra resonated so much with James that he had Schottenstein toss the letters on the back of a pair of NikeiD sneakers to send a message to all of his haters.”
“TACKMA soon evolved into a much larger project that attracted a following of others who wanted the world’s naysayers to shut up. Schottenstein, who has a background in business, decided to transform the acronym into a full-fledged clothing line, and called on Ed Givens, a creative Cleveland native he’d met years earlier at an Ohio State football game, to help make his vision a reality. TACKMA officially launched in November 2013 as a brand focused on creating high-quality menswear pieces that benefit from the team’s attention to detail—their varsity jackets feature lush lambskin sleeves and some of their woven shirts boast detachable collars. Their stuff is relatively affordable, too.” [Vice]
STARTUP NATION: Oren Harnevo: Eyeview, Which Turns a Single Video Ad Into Thousands of Video Ads, Raises Another $15M [Recode] • Idan Rabi: Israeli content recommendation company Outbrain Inc.has signed an exclusive multi-year agreement with US media giant Time Inc. [Globes]
BUSINESS BRIEFS: Marc Schneider: Avenue’s Schneider Plans to Start Twelve Lions Distressed Fund[Bloomberg] • Robert Kraft: Report: Kraft Family Eyeing Boston Site As Potential Home For New Soccer Stadium [CBS] • Melohn v. Wasserman [RealDeal] • Rutenberg names Stefani Markowitz new president [RealDeal]
SPORTS BLINK: Wilfs upset at Goodell for suspending Peterson for entire season: “Despite a brief statement Tuesday afternoon saying that the Vikings “respect” Goodell’s decision, a source with knowledge of the team’s thinking said owners Zygi and Mark Wilf are privately fuming because they want Peterson on the field.” [NYPost]
DESSERT: “Safe From Treif: David Magerman Wants to Keep Things Kosher” by Greg Salisbury: ”David Magerman is a disruptive force. Not in the way that a kindergartener’s temper tantrum can negatively affect the classroom, but in the way that Clayton Christenson, the man who coined the phrase “disruptive innovation” intended: as a change agent bringing improvements to products and services in ways that disrupt the existing marketplace. It’s a designation especially suited to Magerman, who was a partner at Renaissance Technologies, one of the world’s most successful hedge fund companies.”
“The 46-year-old Florida native has been making waves in the Philadelphia Jewish community since launching the Kohelet Foundation, a nonprofit organization that has spent millions to remake the Jewish day school model in the area, in 2008. Implementing his plan to improve Jewish educational opportunities is only one part of Magerman’s initiative to make Philadelphia a destination as welcoming and attractive to observant Jews as communities in New York, New Jersey and Los Angeles. Two years ago, he opened Citron and Rose, the Merion restaurant that can safely be said to have changed the way that people look at kosher dining in the region. Since then, he has remade the space into the more casual C&R Kitchen, has bankrolled two more kosher ventures — a catering operation and a bakery — and he plans to have The Dairy, a kosher all-day operation, open by the beginning of 2015.” [JewishExponent]
BIRTHDAYS: Larry King… University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann… Rabbi Shmuley Boteach…
