Daily Kickoff
OVERNIGHT: “Terror attack in Jerusalem: According to initial reports, a Palestinian man from East Jerusalem rammed his car into a light rail train station after plowing into a group of female officers in northern Jerusalem, wounding five officers and an Israeli.” [YNet; AP; WSJ]
“Palestinian leaders say they’ll cut security coordination with Israel” by Ali Sawafta:“Palestinian leaders in the West Bank said on Thursday they would halt the security coordination with Israel which is widely credited with keeping order in the territory and preventing attacks in Israel. The Palestinian Central Council, whose votes are usually binding on the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, said it made the decision because Israel had breached bilateral agreements, including by withholding tax revenues it collects on behalf of the Palestinians.” [Reuters] • “New document said to reveal PM’s concessions to Palestinians” [ToI]
Q&A with AIPAC’s Norman Brownstein on his “House of Cards” cameo: “It’s astonishing to me how many people watch this,” Brownstein said. “I’ve actually got a call from two senators.” Brownstein, a founding member and chairman of the board of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck and vice president of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, took a few minutes this week to talk about his “.15 seconds of fame.” I happen to know the guys who produce the show, that own it, and they know of my involvement in Washington, and basically, they called me one day and they said, “We’d love to have you do a cameo in ‘House of Cards.’
“They had a scene where the first lady is mad at Israel, something that Israel did to go around the president. She comes to the Mexican embassy, and I was in this setting with the Mexican ambassador, myself and the Israeli ambassador and they had me chatting to (the Israeli ambassador) as if I were talking to her about Israel. They thought it was fitting that it was the Israeli ambassador and a scene involving Israel because of my proactive stance on that. So, it was fun. Q: Have you started watching yet? People tend to binge-watch “House of Cards.” I was at the AIPAC Policy Conference last week, so I haven’t.” [DenverPost]
—A reader pointed out to us that Brownstein, a prominent democrat, also attended Speaker John Boehner’s reception for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on Tuesday in the Rayburn Room of the U.S. Capitol.
2016 WATCH: “Wealthy fans — including Norman Braman and Ken Abramowitz — could lift Marco Rubio in 2016” by Ed O’Keefe and Matea Gold: “Norman Braman, the billionaire Miami auto dealer and longtime Rubio benefactor is expected to put as much as $10 million into a pro-Rubio super PAC if the senator decides to run, according to people familiar with his plans. Support from Braman, a former owner of the Philadelphia Eagles football team, is exactly what the 43-year-old first-term senator needs. Rubio is expected to announce his presidential campaign next month, but he faces big hurdles as he prepares to do so.”
“I measure candidates on three issues: Can their policies grow our economy? Can their policies protect us culturally? Can their policies protect us physically?” said New York venture capitalist Ken Abramowitz, who was among those in attendance. “He got an A each time. I walked him to his car and I congratulated him.” Still, Abramowitz said he is still “in the learning phase.” Among the potential candidates he views as most compelling right now — along with Rubio — are Bush, Walker and Cruz.” [WashPost]
“Big Donors Are Asked to Encourage a ‘Civil’ G.O.P. Primary” by Maggie Haberman: “Foster Friess, the businessman who helped finance Rick Santorum’s 2012 presidential campaign through large donations to the outside group supporting his candidacy, is asking his fellow multimillionaire donors to press the Republican field to be “civil” during the party’s primary in 2016.” [NYTimes] • National conservative group targets Jewish Anchorage mayoral candidate Ethan Berkowitz [ADN]
“Long Fight Is Likely Over Releasing Hillary Clinton’s Personal Emails” by Byron Tau: “The controversy over Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal email account for government business while she was secretary of state is likely to drag on for months, with congressional committees gearing up for investigations and State Department officials warning that it may take months to fulfill her request that many of her emails be released to the public.” [WSJ] • Politico Caucus: Dems fret over toll of Clinton email stories [Politico]
IRAN TALKS: “Nuclear Talks Not Tied to a Grand Bargain With Iran, Kerry Says” by Terry Atlas: “Let me underscore, we are not seeking a grand bargain,” Kerry said. “Nothing will be different the day after this agreement, if we were to reach one, with respect to all the other issues that challenge us in this region, except that we will have taken steps to guarantee that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.” [Bloomberg] • “Iran hints might be open to 10-year partial freeze of nuclear work” [Reuters] • “Mitch McConnell postpones Iran vote” [Politico] • “The Senate’s Iran Test” [WSJ]
“The Obama administration’s response to Netanyahu is premised on one very shaky assumption” by Armin Rosen in Business Insider: “The fact of the matter is, the same type of options that we have in place today to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon will be available to the president of the United States in 10, 15 years — whenever the conclusion of the duration of the deal is,” Rhodes said. The trouble with that claim is that.. the US basically gained its negotiating leverage through a process that may be impossible to reproduce when there’s already a deal in place, business ties have been restored, and the world is inclined to think of the Iranian nuclear program as a settled issue.” [BI]
Israeli Amb. Ron Dermer interviewed by Greta Van Susteren on “What can repair the US-Israel rift?” [FoxNews]
TALK OF OUR NATION: “In U.C.L.A. Debate Over Jewish Student, Echoes on Campus of Old Biases” by Adam Nagourney in the New York Times: “The overall culture of targeting Israel led to targeting Jewish students,” said Natalie Charney, student president of the U.C.L.A. chapter of Hillel. “People say that being anti-Israel is not the same as being anti-Semitic. The problem is the anti-Israel culture in which we are singling out only the Jewish state creates an environment where it’s O.K. to single out Jewish students.” [NYTimes] • Crossing The Line 2: “A new documentary that reveals the rise of anti-Israel activity and anti-Semitic rhetoric on North American university campuses” [CTL]
TALK OF THE TOWN: “De Blasio and Developer Are Close, but Not on Lower-Cost Housing” by Charles V. Bagli: “
Unlike many of his more wary real estate brethren, Rob Speyermoved quickly to build a strong relationship with New York’s liberal mayor, Bill de Blasio, after his election in 2013. While enjoying a close relationship, however, the two men do not seem to be on the same page when it comes to the pressing need for affordable housing in a city where rents are soaring beyond the grasp of the poor and middle class… At least 30 developers, including major builders such as Bruce C. Ratner, Gary Barnett and Stephen M. Ross, are trying to meet the June 15 deadline to qualify for the tax abatement.” [NYTimes]BUSINESS BRIEFS: Ghermezian family proposes the largest mall in the nation for Miami-Dade — $4B project; 25,000 jobs once opened [MiamiHerald] • “Lightstone CEO David Lichtenstein discusses the company’s billion dollar deal with Marriott” [Bloomberg] • “Developer Jeff Blau buys $51M Manhattan townhouse” [NYPost] • “John Paulson Said to Gain Last Month With Health Care, Energy” [Bloomberg] • “Israeli software company to open U.S. headquarters in Akron” [Cleveland] • “Minnesota Won’t Dump Pension-Fund Holdings in Israeli Bonds” [CBS; StarTribune]
SPOTLIGHT: “The Next Zuckerberg? San Francisco Entrepreneur, 11, Crowdfunds to Get to Jewish Summer Camp” by Tamara Palmer: “Eleven-year-old San Franciscan Cash Ashkinoscan’t afford the tuition for an entrepreneurial summer camp, so he’s turned to crowdfunding to raise money. His IndieGoGo campaign was closing in on $2,000 in donations at the time of this writing, which is just shy of a $2,500 goal that he has set in order to attend Camp Inc., a Jewish entrepreneurial camp in Colorado… His mother Tanya Schevitz noticed that many people have donated money in increments of 18, an important number in Judaism that represents good luck. “That makes me feel good and shows Cash that his Jewish community cares,” she said. “I didn’t grow up with a Jewish community around me, and I love that he has that.” [NBCBayArea]
Jay Ruderman Op: “What billionaires owe the Jewish community”: “These donors are essentially setting the agenda of the Jewish world, and no one but them has a say in it. In some communities, a single contributor provides more funding than the rest of the Jewish community combined. With all the power these donors wield in dictating the direction of Jewish life, don’t they, at the very least, have an obligation to be in an active dialogue with the larger Jewish community about how they might best use their funds? After all, while the donors may foot the bill, everyone else has to live in the world they’ve constructed.” [JTA]
—PRESS RELEASE: “Steve Tisch Makes Transformative $10M Gift to Tel Aviv University’s Renowned Department of Film and Television” [BusinessWire]
DESSERT: “Charming ‘Deli Man’ takes a hearty look at the kosher deli” by Kenneth Turan:“In 1931, New York City’s Department of Public Markets listed 1,550 kosher delicatessens in the five boroughs alone. Today there are an estimated 150 in all of North America. Much to its credit, the documentary “Deli Man” wisely chooses not to bemoan the decline but to celebrate the robust survivors that remain as well as the culture they preserve.” [LATimes]
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