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DRIVING THE DAY: “Congress to scrutinize Iran deal” by Susan Davis: “Kerry, Moniz and Lew will lead two classified briefings Wednesday with House and Senate members. The trio will appear publicly Thursday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.” [USAToday]

“Kerry disturbed over Iran Supreme Leader Khamenei’s vow to defy U.S.: In an interview with Saudi TV, Kerry said it was “very disturbing” to hear Khamenei’s comments just days after Iran, the United States and other world powers hammered out the nuclear deal.” [Yahoo] • “John Kerry ‘walked away three times’ from nuclear talks with Iran” [TheGuardian]

HAPPENING TODAY: From the Stop Iran Rally folks — “Thousands of Americans will gather in Times Square on Wednesday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. to demand Congress vote down the Iran deal. To give greater echo to what is expected to be the largest bipartisan protests against the Iranian nuclear deal, the Stop Iran Rally in Times Square is now being mirrored by rallies in Ft. Lauderdale, Phoenix, Los Angeles and even Toronto, Canada.” [NewsWire] • Scheduled speakers include George Pataki, Mort Zuckerman, Allen West, Robert M. Morgenthau, Caroline Glick, Richard Kemp, Alan Dershowitz, and Rep. Trent Franks.

At 2PM, Dore Gold, Director General of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, will participate in a conference call briefing for the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations on the Iran agreement, its implications for Israel, the Middle East and the world. This call comes on the heels of Vice President Biden’s hour long conference call with Jewish leaders on Monday.

–Preview: “Issues related to Iran’s ballistic missile development program were never on the agenda in the nuclear talks, Foreign Ministry director-general Dore Gold told members of the Foreign Press Association at a meeting in Jerusalem’s King David Hotel on Tuesday.” [JPost]

“White House Launches Twitter Account to Sell Iran Deal” by Maya Rhodan: “Administration officials will use the Twitter handle @TheIranDeal to “distribute facts” and “engage” with the public about the deal.” [TimeMag] • AP’s Matt Lee: “The Twitter wars between @TheIranDeal and @TheIranBomb are going to be epic…” [Twitter]

“John Kerry picks overseer for Iran deal” by Nahal Toosi: “The appointment of Joseph E. Macmanus, a former U.S. permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, was announced in an internal memo at the start of the week, a State Department official said Tuesday.” [Politico]

WSJ A1: “In Jerusalem, Israel’s Leader Confronts U.S. on Nuclear Deal” by Adam Entous: “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bluntly voiced his objections to the recently announced Iran nuclear deal during a meeting with visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, making clear he has no intention of backing away from a fight with his country’s most important ally.” [WSJ] • See the front page [Pic]

“Obama Compares Critics of Iran Deal to Iraq War Hawks” by Michael D. Shear: “President Obama said Tuesday that opponents of the nuclear deal with Iran were behaving like those who pushed for war with Iraq more than a decade ago, and said the United States should choose diplomacy instead of another rush to armed conflict.” [NYTimes; LATimes]

Obama on Jon Stewart: “I guarantee you, if people feel strongly about making sure that Iran doesn’t get a nuclear weapon, without us going to war, and that is expressed to Congress, then people will believe in that. And the same is true on every single issue. If people are engaged, eventually the political system responds. Despite the money, despite the lobbyists, it still responds.” [DailyShow]

LOBBYING: “Anti-Iran deal groups firing on all cylinders in massive lobbying push” by Catherine Ho: “AIPAC is holding a Washington fly-in July 28 and 29, where it expects several hundred people to meet with lawmakers. Beyond that, AIPAC declined to elaborate on specific advocacy efforts other than to say it is “engaged in a major educational and lobbying effort against the deal, and for a better deal” that includes supporting the new group, Citizens.” [PowerPost; USAToday]

Senator Dick Durbin endorses Iran deal: “It is the strongest nuclear verification system ever imposed on a peaceful nation – second only to the inspections we imposed on Iraq in the 1990s after its defeat on the battlefield.  In complexity, the agreement with Iran rivals only the most detailed nuclear agreements between the US and Russia.” [YouTube; PressRelease] • “Schumer won’t answer questions about upcoming Iran vote” [NYPost]

Norman Leahy and Paul Goldman write in the Washington Post: “Nuclear-deal wise, Virginia’s two Democratic Senators are certain to back the President. Sen. Tim Kaine is building his foreign policy profile; Sen. Mark Warner is associated only with domestic issues… Their pro-deal posture should help sell the agreement to the state’s swing voters. That’s good news for Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee and deal supporter, who is counting on that same coalition to carry her to victory in 2016.” [WashPost]

Thomas Friedman: “Supporting this deal doesn’t make you Neville Chamberlain; opposing it doesn’t make you Dr. Strangelove. Both sides have legitimate arguments. But having studied them, I believe America’s interests are best served now by focusing on how to get the best out of this deal and cushion the worst, rather than scuttling it… We can, though, do things to increase the odds that the bet goes our way: 1. Don’t let this deal become the Obamacare of arms control, where all the energy goes into the negotiation but then the implementing tools — in this case the verification technologies — don’t work… 2. Congress should pass a resolution authorizing this and future presidents to use force to prevent Iran from ever becoming a nuclear weapons state.” [NYTimes]

Michael Oren: “Israel would have embraced an agreement that significantly rolled back the number of centrifuges and nuclear facilities in Iran and that linked any sanctions relief to demonstrable changes in its behavior. No more state support of terror, no more threatening America’s Middle Eastern allies, no more pledges to destroy the world’s only Jewish state and no more mass chants of “Death to America.” Israel would have welcomed any arrangement that monitored Iran’s ICBMs and other offensive weaponry. Such a deal, Israeli leaders across the political spectrum agree, was and remains attainable.” [PoliticoMag]

Aaron David Miller: “The Iran nuclear deal is effectively done. The chances that Congress will be able to block the agreement appear remote. But the Obama administration’s methods for marketing this agreement leave much to be desired…. There is also a tendency in government to feel that you have all the information (and your critics don’t), that you’re charged with protecting the national interest (and critics have narrower agendas), and that you got the best deal you could (and critics are living in a fantasy land). But tone is still important. And the administration has adopted a preemptory, and sometimes arrogant, tone in selling this accord.” [WSJ]

Hillel Fradkin and Lewis Libby: “The Obama administration assures Americans that the Iran deal grants access within 24 days to undeclared but suspected Iranian nuclear sites. But that’s hardly how a recalcitrant Iran is likely to interpret the deal. A close examination of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action released by the Obama administration reveals that its terms permit Iran to hold inspectors at bay for months, likely three or more.” [WSJ]

“Sanctions to Be Lifted on Iranians Suspected of Nuclear Weapons Work” by Jay Solomon: “The Obama administration and European Union agreed as part of the accord last week to lift sanctions over eight years on a network of Iranian scientists, military officers and companies long suspected by the U.S. and United Nations as central players in a covert nuclear weapons program.” [WSJ]

2016 WATCH: “Rubio ups pressure on Dems over Iran deal” by Jordain Carney: “Senate Democrats face a stark choice when this deal comes before Congress for a vote in September,” the Florida Republican said. “They can either stand with President Obama and allow this flawed agreement to go through, or they can stand with a majority of the American people, our friend Israel and our moderate Arab allies in the region.” [TheHill] • “Cruz threatens to tie Iran deal to highway bill” [TheHill]

Trump vs. Murdoch: “Mr. Murdoch crossed paths with Mr. Trump more frequently when his now ex-wife Ms. Deng Murdoch became close friends with Mr. Trump’s daughter Ivanka. The Murdochs and Ms. Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, the publisher of The New York Observer, double-dated and vacationed on Mr. Murdoch’s 184-foot yacht. The Murdochs’ 2013 divorce put an end to those excursions, though Mr. Murdoch remains friendly with Mr. Kushner.” [NYTimes]

“Parents are campaign-trail rivals, but Ivanka Trump and Chelsea Clinton are pals” by Evan Halper: “The longtime friendship between Chelsea Clinton and Ivanka Trump is one of those phenomena of life among the fabulously wealthy and ridiculously famous that can be tough to fathom for the rest of us… The daughters are holding their ground as the barbs exchanged between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump become particularly sharp.” [LATimes] • “Donald Trump’s Kids Defend Their Dad: ‘We Love and Respect Him Very Much'” [PeopleMag]

Jon Stewart on Donald Trump: “I really feel like he’s some sort of Jewish holiday waiting to happen. Like, ‘We thought the craziness would only last a day. But by a miracle, it burned for eight, 10, holy s**t!” “That’s what we should call it: “Holysh#@ukkah!” [Forward]

HEARD YESTERDAY: John Kasich — “We got this Holocaust memorial and there’s a line etched that says, ‘If you save one life, you’ve changed the world.” [CSPAN] • H/T Howard Mortman

“Here’s where John Kasich gets his campaign money” by Rick Newman: “Les Wexner. The billionaire retail titan behind Victoria’s Secret, Express, The Limited and other mall staples is a large if quiet force in Ohio politics. Wexner and his wife Abigail gave Kasich’s two campaigns $46,000, while Wexner has funneled another $1.1 million to the Ohio Republican Party during Kasich’s tenure.” [Yahoo]

“O’Malley links ISIS to climate change” by Timothy Cama: “The GOP is criticizing Democratic presidential hopeful Martin O’Malley for saying that climate change helped the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria gain power. O’Malley’s link has some scientific backing to it.” [TheHill]

LongRead: “Is This the End of Christianity in the Middle East?” by Eliza Griswold: “ISIS and other extremist movements across the region are enslaving, killing and uprooting Christians, with no aid in sight.” [NYTimesMag]

**Good Wednesday Morning! Enjoying the Daily Kickoff? Please share us with your friends & tell them to sign up at [JI].  Have a tip, scoop, or op-ed? We’d love to hear from you. Anything from hard news and punditry to the lighter stuff, including event coverage, job transitions, or even special birthdays, is much appreciated. Email [email protected]**
BUSINESS BRIEFS: “Israel, US arrest four over a string of big bank hacks” [Engadget; Bloomberg]• “US gas mogul Jack Grynberg suing Israel for NIS 25 million” [JPost] • “Laurence Geller completes record deal for Waldorf Astoria from Sam Zell” [Crains] • “Philadelphia Mayor Nutter woos Israeli companies” [JPost] • “Is Ben Lerer’s Thrillist Media Group for sale?” [Fortune] 

STARTUP NATION: “Erel Margalit: Bringing “Start-Up Nation” To Israeli Politics” by Tom Teicholz: “Two years ago, Erel Margalit left his successful business career as founder of Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP), to become a Labor Party Member of Knesset (Israel’s Parliament). We met in his modest Knesset office to discuss the current state of Israel and Israeli politics as well as his vision for the future of Israel, one that is based, in great part, on deploying the processes of start-up nation to the challenges facing Israel.” [Forbes]

“This Is Israel’s Top Secret Guided Missile Launcher Disguised As A Tank” by Tyler Rogoway: “One of the oldest tricks in the book is hiding in plain sight. The Pereh, meaning “wild,” does just this by making itself look like a Merkava tank, but really it is a rolling guided missile arsenal ship that has been secret for over 30 years.” [Jalopnik]

New ADL National Director — Jonathan Greenblatt writes in Medium: “A little over a year ago, I was working in what, in many ways, was a dream job. After years as an entrepreneur, starting and scaling companies, I was asked by President Obama to join his team at the White House… Then, I got the call. Would I be interested in being considered to lead the Anti-Defamation League (ADL)? I was flattered.. The organization is more than a century old. Why would a serial entrepreneur and social innovator be interested? Yet, I was intrigued. And today, on my first day as the new National Director of ADL, I can say that I am humbled and excited to lead this national institution deep into its next century.” [Medium]

Repeat Offender: “Public University Professor Blasts ‘Dirty Jewish Zionist Thugs,’ ‘Homo Lobby,’ and ‘Sluts’” [DailyBeast]

TALK OF OUR NATION: “Yiddish on the rise: the decision made by the organisers of the Krakow festival to focus not on Hebrew or Holocaust studies but on Yiddish was unsurprising: the language appears to be recovering. Mr Alpert says the number of Yiddish speakers has increased in recent years, citing both the high birthrate of Hasidic communities worldwide, who still use the language, and also its appeal as “hip and cool, part of the new face of Jewish Poland.”” [Economist]

BOOK REVIEW: “The New York fashion business is visibly Jewish – think Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs, Diane von Furstenberg; the fashion model business is not. The people who more or less invented modelling as a highly paid professional job and built the defining, and for decades the most powerful agency, the trade’s gold standard, were Eileen Ford and her husband, Jerry… She was born Eileen Ottensoser, daughter of a rather upmarket Jewish debt collector in New York. Her grandfather Lippman (later Louis) Ottensoser had come to America from Furth in Bavaria… Among those who headed west from Furth in the 19th century were Julius Ochs whose son Adolph bought the New York Times, Levi Strauss, the blue jeans man and, in the 20th century, Henry Kissinger. Eileen Ford was, in her own sphere, as transformative as any of them.” [TheJC]

TALK OF THE TOWN: “Floyd Mayweather’s Diamond District jeweler killed in hit-and-run: Aron “Eric” Aranbayev, 40, who with his family operated Rafaello and Co. on West 47th Street, was struck by the car on Sunday after shouting at the driver, according to police sources. On Tuesday, grieving friends and family gathered at Bukharian Jewish Community Center in Forest Hills to pay their respects to Aranbayev, a man they described as compassionate and charming. “All of 47th street is here,” said Daryl Dunn… Aranbayev escaped Communist Russia and emigrated to the US from Uzbekistan in 1985 with his cousin Gabriel Jacobs and his father, Rafael Aranbayev.” [NYPost]

“Theodore Bikel, ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ star, dies at 91: Actor Theodore Bikel, who originated the stage role of Captain von Trapp in “The Sound of Music” but was best known for starring as Tevye, the poor Jewish milkman, in the Broadway hit musical “Fiddler on the Roof,” died on Tuesday at age 91.” [Reuters; NYTimes]

“Mariah Carey to perform in Israel on August 18” by Jessica Steinberg: “Just weeks after her June visit, pop superstar Mariah Carey has announced an August 18 performance in the Rishon Lezion Live Park Amphitheater. The concert, which was arranged during Carey’s recent visit to Israel in late June, was fairly simple to arrange, said concert promoter Lia Luzon of Bookmark Entertainment.” [ToI]

“HBO’s ‘Ballers’ Is Visual Candy—Plus There’s a Mezuzah” by Sara Ivry: “An appearance by a Jewish artifact has elevated my love for the dramedy about hard-partying athletes with hearts of gold.” [TabletMag]

DESSERT: “In the land of milk and honey, Israelis turn vegan” by Tova Cohen: “Nana Shrier, owner of the stylish Georgian restaurant Nanuchka in downtown Tel Aviv, shocked Israel’s culinary world when she removed all animal-based products from the menu. A year later business is thriving, defying those who predicted its demise. Nanuchka is part of a growing trend that has transformed Israel’s financial centre into a haven for meatless cuisine. Some 400 food establishments are certified “vegan friendly”, including Domino’s Pizza, the first in the global chain to sell vegan pizza topped with non-dairy cheese.” [Reuters]

“Bagels … are small hard Jewish rolls with holes in the center.” — The New York Times first explained the bagel in a May 31, 1946, article as described by Mark Bulik today in his column ‘First Glimpses’ [NYTimes]