Daily Kickoff
OVERNIGHT: “Samsung’s Win Over Paul Singer’s Elliott Leaves Investors at a Loss” by Aaron Back: “On Friday, 69.5% of voting shareholders approved the $8 billion acquisition of Samsung C&T by Cheil Industries, squeaking by the required two-thirds threshold.” [WSJ; Reuters]
–Why It Matters: “Samsung and ‘the Jews of Wall Street'” by Bruce Einhorn: “Anti-Semitism flares up against billionaire investor Paul Singer, painted in the Korean press as one of a cabal of ‘ruthless’ Jews” [Bloomberg]
“Paul Singer, Top Republican Donor, Is Still on the Sidelines” by Alexandra Stevenson: “Speaking at hedge fund conference in Manhattan, Mr. Singer said he was “not on the verge of committing to anyone,” adding that he liked several candidates, including Senator Marco Rubio and former Gov Jeb Bush, both from Florida, and Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, who formally announced his presidential campaign on Monday. Mr. Singer also added, “We like Carly Fiorina, as well.” [FirstDraft]
–Why It Matters: “One Lunch. $500,000. The Power of Paul Singer” by Shane Goldmacher: “A single Manhattan lunch this spring offers a small window into why hedge-fund billionaire Paul Singer has become one of the most powerful and sought-after donors in Republican politics. Singer played cohost to five Republican women in Congress for a joint fundraiser. And, in a matter of hours, Singer had helped fill all of their campaign treasuries with more than $100,000 apiece, new federal filings show.”[NationalJournal]
Jarrod Bernstein, former Obama White House Jewish Liaison, to host Hillary Fundraiser — by Maggie Haberman: “The cocktail hour, where the guests will be the Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook, the campaign’s vice chairwoman Huma Abedin and the finance director Dennis Cheng, will take place on July 27. The event will be at the Brooklyn home of Hildy Kuryk, a fund-raiser on Mr. Obama’s 2008 race and a former finance director at the Democratic National Committee, and her husband, Jarrod Bernstein, another former administration official.” [FirstDraft]
FEC FILINGS — with Jared Sichel: The filings, released late Wednesday evening, indicate that Mike Huckabee and Hillary Clinton each received $2,700 from the same donor: Nily Falic, Chair of the Friends of the IDF. While she joins a small group of donors (60) who have given to candidates of both parties so far this cycle, Falic is likely the only one to support both Huckabee and a democratic candidate… We noted in Thursday’s Daily Kickoff that venture capitalist and self-identified “blogger” Kenneth Abramowitzdonated $1,000 to Jeb Bush. It turns out, Abramowitz gave to more candidates than anyone else this cycle but Bush received the smallest check. Abramowitz donated $5,000 to Mike Huckabee, $2,700 each to Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham, Bobby Jindal and Ben Carson, $2,500 to Ted Cruz, and $1,500 to Rick Perry. Why? Because, he told the AP, “I want to meet them and hear them out, and I can’t do that unless I pay to go.”… Martin O’Malley picked up support from Brooklyn-based Satmar Hasidic real estate executives, Louis and Joel Kestenbaum, of the Fortis Property Group, who each donated $2,700 to the former Maryland governor.
TOP TALKER: “White House brings lawmakers into Situation Room on Iran” by Deirdre Walsh and Kevin Bohn: “Part of the aggressive outreach to convince Democrats to support the deal with Iran included a briefing Thursday for 15 American Jewish members of the House of Representatives in the Situation Room at the White House. The meeting was the latest in a series of briefings for these members at the White House. “People felt that the Administration is intent on very seriously addressing the concerns of the Jewish members, which many of them centered around Israel and the security of Israel,” Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Illinois) said after the session.” [CNN]
AIPAC: “Cancel your summer vacations. That was the order AIPAC’s executive director, Howard Kohr, gave his employees in a staff meeting convened this week at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee after the United States announced the Iran nuclear deal. Lay leaders, too, are canceling their summer plans, and AIPAC activists already are calling lawmakers and hitting synagogue listservs with appeals to can the plan.” [JTA]
Notable: On Sunday, NORPAC will host a fundraiser for Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) at the home of Rabbi Steven and Yael Weil. According to a copy of the invite, over 50 couples have already signed on to be co-hosts… including Howard and Debbie Jones, Mort and Esther Fridman, and Mike and Tovit Granoff. Hard to imagine any Senator telling this group, at a fundraiser no less, that they’re supporting the Iran deal.
Jeffrey Goldberg’s J Street Challenge: “Herzog, J Street’s natural ally in Israeli politics on matters of the peace process, is putting the group in an uncomfortable position. It can’t be easy to be a self-described pro-Israel group that is lobbying for a deal that the large majority of Israelis loathe.”
–On Herzog’s DC Visit: “Herzog’s militancy on the subject of the deal places the Obama administration in an uneasy position. While the administration can—and has—dismissed Netanyahu as a hysteric, the eminently reasonable Herzog, who is Secretary of State John Kerry’s dream of an Israeli peace-process partner, will find receptive ears among Democrats for his criticism. Herzog would not tell me when he’s arriving in Washington to launch his non-lobbying lobbying campaign, but I expect he will arrive soon, and I expect that he will find himself the target of a great deal of lobbying as well.” [TheAtlantic]
@PeterBeinart: “Enjoying my #Irandeal dialogue with @JeffreyGoldberg and @davidfrum. look for it on @TheAtlantic tomorrow morning.” [Twitter]
If You Only Read One Item This Week… “The Iran nuclear deal simplified in seven key points” [JewishJournal]
“U.N. Security Council to vote Monday on endorsing Iran deal: According to the draft text, seven previous U.N. resolutions on Iran will be terminated when the International Atomic Energy Agency submits a report to the council verifying that Iran has implemented certain nuclear-related measures. A U.N. ban on the supply of ballistic missile technology to Iran will remain in place for eight years, an arms embargo for five years, and restrictions on nuclear technology for a decade, according to the draft resolution.” [Reuters]
Press Release: “Corker, Cardin Urge President Obama to Postpone United Nations Vote on Iran Deal Until Congress Considers the Agreement” [Statement] • Inbox: “Sen. Cruz Declares Intention to Hold Authorization and Block Nominees for State Department” [Letter]
Robert Satloff: “If the Iran Deal Fails… No, Mr. Obama, there won’t be war. Just a war of words between you and Congress.” [PoliticoMag]
Daniel Gordis: “Israelis Feel Surrounded Yet Alone After Iran Deal” [BloombergView]
LOVE BOMBS: “Pro-Israel insiders point to what they describe as White House love bombs to Israel: In addition to leaking to Jewish community leaders the Obama administration’s spurned offer to increase defense assistance to Israel, they note statements like that of Wendy Sherman, the undersecretary of state, who on Thursday in a phone call with Israeli reporters praised Netanyahu for helping to make the deal tougher on Iran by assuming a bad cop role.” [JTA]
“Israel influenced much of the Iran nuke deal, says chief U.S. negotiator” by Barak Ravid:“Israel influenced significant parts of the nuclear agreement inked with Iran this week, Wendy Sherman told Israeli reporters by phone on Thursday.” [Haaretz]
“Former Obama Aide Dennis Ross: Bolster Israel With B-52s” by Barbara Opall-Rome: “To have a credible military option, it’s not enough to say all options are on the table. We have to be much more blunt,” said Ambassador Dennis Ross, a longtime diplomat and former special adviser to Obama on Iran. In an interview Thursday, Ross said he favors the transfer of an unspecified quantity of B-52 Stratofortress bombers outfitted to deliver 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators as one of the means of shoring up deterrence vis a vis Iran.” [DefenseNews]
“Iranian Hard-Liners Say Nuclear Accord Crosses Their Red Lines” by Thomas Erdbrink:“It is possible that the red lines were part of Iran’s negotiating strategy, designed to get the best possible deal, and will now be forgotten, said one analyst… He added: “This entire process was started by the supreme leader. He has monitored and guided these talks all these years. He knows this is the best deal he could get.” [NYTimes] • “Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Loved the Sanctions: The deal with Iran undermines the power of the those who made fortunes off smuggling and their control of state industries.” [DailyBeast]
2016 WATCH: “GOP Sees Iran Nuclear Deal As Chance To Gain Jewish Voters” [AP]
“Rand Paul, Jerusalem attorney file lawsuit against U.S. tax regulations: Seven people, including U.S. Republican candidate Rand Paul and a Jerusalem attorney, are suing the U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service asserting that the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, of FATCA, is unconstitutional. FATCA “imposes enormous economic costs on individuals and financial institutions,” according to the suit by the U.S. senator from Kentucky and six others, including the Jerusalem attorney and Republicans Aboard activist Marc Zell.” [TheMarker; Bloomberg]
BUSINESS BRIEFS: “Lloyd Blankfein Is Now a Billionaire” [Bloomberg] • “Joseph Safra’s Chiquita Brands to move division headquarters to Fort Lauderdale” [SunSentinel] • “Israeli firm develops health-warning sensor for pilots” [Reuters] • Ben Horowitz — “Great leaders aren’t born. But they’re not made, either.” [Fortune] • “Watch David Cordish hand out $100 bills to Maryland Live Casino customers” [BizJournals] • “Martin Franklin tries for a third win with Nomad Foods which he launched with Israeli-American businessman Noam Gottesman” [FinancialTimes]
STARTUP NATION: “Facebook-owned Oculus acquires Pebbles Interfaces, an Israeli motion-sensing technology company” by Paul Sawers: “Founded in 2010, Pebbles Interfaces develops advanced motion sensors that recreate physical objects within the digital realm, irrespective of the angle or range. It also claims to have no latency, which would be a major boost for Oculus and its virtual reality (VR) headset, expected to launch to the public in 2016.” [VentureBeat] • “Como to acquire Israeli startup Keeprz for $50m” [Globes]
PROFILE: “Richard Close: A lion’s roar in the valley” by Aron Chilewich: “Richard H. Close is one of the most powerful people in Los Angeles who most people don’t know. As a citizen advocate, he has spearheaded some of the most widely discussed and controversial local political movements in the past 40 years.” [JewishJournal]
CAMPUS BEAT: “Legislature urges UC campuses to condemn anti-Semitism” by Kurt Chirbas: “California lawmakers on Thursday approved a resolution urging University of California campuses to adopt a resolution condemning anti-Semitism. The measure, SCR 35, was introduced after a series of troubling incidents at UC campuses in recent months, including the vandalism of a UC Davis Jewish fraternity with Nazi swastikas in January.” [LATimes]
HOLLYWOOD: “Instagram Star ‘The Fat Jewish’ Signs Fashion Model Deal” by Chris Gardner: “Josh Ostrovsky, aka The Fat Jewish, may have more than 5 million Instagram followers with his hilarious @TheFatJewish account, but he’s transferring some of his talents from mobile platforms into bona fide modeling… Q: Congratulations on signing with a modeling agency. How did that come about?A: I was laying on a towel in a parking spot in Soho — I put money in the meter so it was mine to do whatever I wanted with — and was tanning in a used Versace speedo that I bought on eBay, and got spotted. It all happened so fast, it was truly a blessing.” [HollywoodReporter]
DESSERT: “It Began With Secret Pickles and Survived a War” by Andy Newman: “One day, looking for something new to do, Bucky had a thought. “I asked her, ‘Would you like a pickle?’ ” There were Jewish delis every few blocks in their neck of the Bronx. Bagels, bialys, cream cheese, lox, whitefish — and barrels of pickles, a penny apiece. It became a summer of secret pickles.” [NYTimes]
NEW JI WEEKLY FEATURE — Many of you know leading Silicon Valley angel investor Yitz Applbaum as a prominent Jewish leader and JI board member. But Yitz is well known in another California valley: Napa. From founding Teal Lake Cellars to promoting Israeli wine as President of the California Israel Chamber of Commerce, Yitz has become an expert and avid collector of Kosher wine. As a board member for Herzog and One Hope Wineries, Yitz puts his knowledge to use on a daily basis debunking the poor, uninformed reputation of Kosher wine. “There isn’t a day that goes by that I’m not asked to name my favorite label, what’s good, what’s new.” While his favorite label is the rare Kosher Harlan Cab he produces, Yitz is never shy about sharing his thoughts on other labels. Each week, he’ll provide JI readers with the inside scoop on a different Kosher winery. Enjoy! • Pics – [Cellar; Harlan]
FIRST EDITION — “Robert Parker’s industry trendsetting “Wine Advocate” infrequently grants a score above 90 to Israeli wines. One such exception is the Flam Family Noble Cabernet, which achieved the score of 93. A luscious, fruity, complex, and mature wine with a nose of cherry and chocolate, the Noble is made of 83% from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes with 5% each of Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. The Noble sits for two years in new French oak, and a third in pre-worn barrels. This combination affords a very deep and nuanced flavor profile. A wine of this verbosity should be had with red meat, Barbeque is my preferred pairing. The wine is ready to drink now, though is a bit young, I recommend a 3-year hold to allow it to fully recognize its potential. The winery sits in the Judean HIlls outside of Beit Shemesh and is a wonderful place to bring your family and friends for lunch and a wine tasting of their Nobel, Rose, Blanc, Syrah, reserve Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.”
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