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SPOTTED: Sen. Tom Cotton hanging out yesterday in the lobby of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, according to a JI reader from South Africa. The reader also spotted Tony Blair walking around at the hotel.[Pic] • Cotton at Mount Scopus [Pic]

Forward’s Jane Eisner Interviewed President Obama in the Oval Office on Friday: “At the end of my interview with President Obama the morning of Friday, August 28, after he had defended with lawyerly precision the pending multinational nuclear agreement with Iran and voiced a determined optimism that the toxic relations between his administration and Israel will be repaired, I asked him a more personal question… does it hurt you personally when people say that you’re anti-Semitic?” [Forward]

Q: “One last question. One of my daughters wants to know, what’s your favorite bagel flavor? President Obama: I was always a big poppy seed guy. Q: Poppy seed? Obama: So the poppy seed bagels at H&H Bagels — which somebody told me they closed — Ben Rhodes: They closed. Obama: Which is shocking. Rhodes: My school was a block from H&H bagels. Obama: I mean, I would walk down from — Rhodes: Columbia. Obama: Columbia just to get H&H bagels on Saturdays or on the weekends. Q: And what do you like on a poppy seed? Obama: Lox and capers okay, but generally just your basic schmear.” [Transcript]

FROM FRIDAY: Watch President Obama address the Jewish community on the Iran deal [JFedTalks]

HOW IT PLAYED: “Obama Tries to Soothe Divided Jewish Community on Iran Deal” [NYTimes] • “Barack Obama Reaches Out to Jewish ‘Family’ on Iran and Israel” [Forward] • “Rhetorical abuse over Iran deal is troubling, Obama tells Jewish groups” [LATimes] • “Barack Obama to Seek Repair of U.S.-Israel Relations After Iran Vote” [WSJ] • “Urging civility, Obama appeals to Jews on Iran deal” [USAToday]

“Obama Gets One More Vote Closer To ‘Yes’ On Iran Deal” by Brakkton Booker: “Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley announced on Sunday that he will support the White House-backed nuclear deal with Iran. Merkley becomes the 31st Senate Democrat to endorse the agreement publicly, leaving the Obama administration just three votes shy of having enough votes to sustain a veto.” [NPR; Reuters]

“Bust: Iran opponents’ August fail” by Burgess Everett and John Bresnahan: “Obviously, it’s a little frustrating. You look at members: Are they favoring a lame duck president and marching themselves, their party and their country off a cliff?” asked former Sen. Norm Coleman… “There’s a very strange disconnect now, which grows larger as every day goes by, between the way American people feel about the Iran agreement and the way members of Congress seem to feel,” said Joe Lieberman.” [Politico]

“Foes Try New Ways To Attack Obama’s Iran Nuclear Deal” by Kristina Peterson and Jay Solomon: “Capitol Hill opponents of the landmark Iranian nuclear accord are devising a Plan B to ratchet up pressure on Iran as President Barack Obama moves closer to locking up the support needed to implement the deal.” [WSJ]

Sen. James Inhofe and Oklahoma attorney general Scott Pruitt: “Let States Do the Job Obama Won’t: Sanction Iran” [WSJ]

New York State? “Cuomo won’t take a stance on Iran deal” [NYPost]

“Dems say party chair blocked Iran resolution at DNC meeting” by Dan Balz and Philip Rucker: “Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz prevented consideration of a resolution at the party’s summer meeting here that praised President Obama and offered backing for the nuclear agreement with Iran, according to knowledgeable Democrats.” [WashPost] • “Wasserman Schultz caught up in Iran-deal controversy” [PoliticoFL] • “Jonathan Martin: DNC Not Backing The Iran Deal Is A Big Embarrassment For Obama” [YouTube]

DNC Rabbis: Rabbi Michael Latz delivered the opening invocation at the DNC Summer Meeting on Friday [CSPAN] • Rabbi Adam Stock Spilker gave the closing prayer [Twitter]

Hillary Headline: “Hillary accused of Holocaust slur against Republicans after claiming that ‘some’ want to ’round up’ illegal immigrants and put them in ‘boxcars'” [DailyMail]

Hillary to speak on Iran next week: “At the fundraiser Sunday evening, Hillary Clinton reiterated her strong endorsement of President Barack Obama’s Iran deal, and said she plans to deliver a big speech on Iran on Sept. 9. That is the same day that Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz plan to hold a protest against the Iran deal at the Capitol.” [Politico]

Scott Walker’s new ad on Iran titled ‘On Day One’ attacks Jeb Bush [YouTube] 

“Jeb Bush speaks at Hamptons synagogue: The former two-term Florida governor spoke for about 15 minutes to a crowd of over 500 people. Bush was flanked by a leading GOP fundraiser, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson. Once inside, Bush spoke in part about the need to strengthen America’s foreign policy and increase the number of jobs.” — Spotted in video: Jeb Bush Jr., Jay Lefkowitz, Mark Appel, and the NYTimes’ Jonathan Martin [LongIsland12] • Audio of Bush’s speech [JP]

“Jeb Bush calls Donald Trump a ‘jerk’ — Jeb Bush fired back at Donald Trump at a Hamptons fund-raiser, calling the Republican front-runner “a jerk.” Among 75 guests at the private Meadow Lane home were Woody Johnson, Tamara Mellon, James Tisch, Jane Lauder, and Martin and Jean Shafiroff.” [PageSix]

**Good Monday 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: “Blackstone Billionaire Stephen Schwarzman Pays Visit To Nigerian President” [Forbes] • “Jerusalem Economy Ltd. Shares Surge as Jordache Owners, Nakash Family, Buy Stake” [Bloomberg] • “Skylight Office Tower looms as big Hertz buy” [Crains] • “There’s a rumor that Sergey Brin and Elon Musk toured an investment property to build a permanent Burning Man city” [BusinessInsider] • “Lerner Now Planning 330-Unit Residential Building at 1000 South Capitol”[JDLand] • “Israel Gas Shares Sink Most This Year as Egypt Find Dims Outlook” [Bloomberg]

TALK OF THE TOWN: “The Battle for the Soul of the Hamptons” by Jim Rutenberg: “Yes, the Hamptons have long been home to big money and willful players. And the complaint that the place is becoming overrun has been lodged for a few years. But throughout the eastern hamlets, most acutely in Montauk, there is an overwhelming sense among longtime residents and visitors that this summer the whole dynamic hit a long predicted inflection point… The private equity mogul Marc Rowan has bought the bayside lobster takeout shack Duryea’s from the family that founded it some 80 years ago (price: $6.3 million)… [NYTimes]

TALK OF OUR NATION: “Has Jewish Music Star Matisyahu Got a Middle East Problem?” by Emily Shire: “While standing back stage, Matisyahu noticed a Palestinian flag in the audience, but when he stepped on to set up “about 20 flags came out,” he told The Daily Beast in a phone interview. “People were standing on each other’s shoulders with flags giving me the middle finger. It was intense. It was not peaceful. It was like ‘F*** you, Matisyahu.’ I’ve never had the experience of anything like that, as a Jew or anything in my life.” [DailyBeast]

“Tracing a Father’s Escape From Auschwitz” by Malcolm Forbes: “Two new books attempt to recreate the horrors of the Holocaust and to capture the generation who witnessed the camps firsthand.” [DailyBeast] • “Study of Holocaust survivors finds trauma passed on to children’s genes” [TheGuardian]

Headline: “Son wins court battle against mom for $5K bar mitzvah gift” [NYPost; Yahoo]

“Oliver Sacks, Neurologist Who Wrote About the Brain’s Quirks, Dies at 82” by Gregory Cowles: “Oliver Sacks, the neurologist and acclaimed author who explored some of the brain’s strangest pathways in best-selling case histories like “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat,” using his patients’ disorders as starting points for eloquent meditations on consciousness and the human condition, died on Sunday at his home in Manhattan. He was 82.” [NYTimes; Vice]

“Marvin Mandel dies; ex-Md. governor’s scandals overshadowed state’s progress” by Bart Barnes: “Marvin Mandel, the former governor who dominated Maryland’s political landscape in the 1970s and is remembered not only for modernizing and streamlining the state government but also for a racketeering conviction that was overturned on appeal and a nationally publicized divorce, died Aug. 30, a son said.” [WashPost]

SPORTS BLINK: “Jamie Loeb, 20, Makes Pro Debut at U.S. Open” by Jonathan Zalman: “The Ossining, New York, native will face former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in the opening round at Flushing Meadows—and she’s ready to rock.” [TabletMag]

“The Time an 11-Year-Old Took Down Nadal” by James Barron: “So, about Nadal,” Estee Ackerman said in her unassuming way, about to relive the summer of 2013 serve by serve, volley by volley, point by point. “I don’t think he knew who he was playing with,” she said the other day, her steeliness edging out modesty. She is the top-ranked girl in table tennis in the under-15 category in New York State… Estee will soon start her first year at Samuel H. Wang Yeshiva University High School for Girls in Holliswood, Queens.” [NYTimes]

“For American Pharoah, Retirement or Redemption?” by Pia Catton: “Following a loss in the Travers Stakes, owner Ahmed Zayat said he would consider all options for the Triple Crown winner… Following Saturday’s race, owner Ahmed Zayat—looking ashen and describing himself as “heartbroken”—said he would consider all options, including retirement. “Is the show over?” he said. “My gut feeling is to retire him.”” [WSJ]

ISRAELI FOOTBALL: “The Israeli national tackle football team beat Spain 28-20 in Madrid in its first-ever competitive game on Sunday, advancing to Group B of the European Federation of American Football. Three-time IFL MVP Dani Eastman from the Judean Rebels registered three touchdowns, and it was his score with four minutes remaining that broke a 20-20 tie.” [JPost]

DESSERT: “‘Respect my religion!’: Jenna Jameson SLAMS Janice Dickinson for raiding her kosher fridge in latest CBB showdown” [DailyMail; DigitalSpy] • “Orthodox Dartmouth Students Demand Stricter Kosher Fare” [ValleyNews]

BIRTHDAYS: Ahmed Zayat turns 53… Laura Adkins… Howard Crim… Robert Rubin turned 77 (Saturday)