Daily Kickoff
At 1PM, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address Jewish Federations from across North America and the member organizations of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations via live webcast. [Webcast] • Interested participants can also call 1.877.559.2802; Conference ID – 2323192
DRIVING THE WEEK: “On Monday, 22 House Democrats — most of them freshmen — left for Israel on a trip that will include a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has denounced the deal as a threat to Israel’s security. Next week, 36 Republicans — also mostly freshmen — plan to meet with Netanyahu during a similar trip paid for by the same nonprofit offshoot of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which is lobbying against the deal.” [Bloomberg; CBS]
“Majority of House sponsor bill condemning Iran deal” by Kristina Wong: “Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) on Monday said 218 Republicans have signed on to his legislation. The level of support suggests a majority of the House would also vote on a formal measure to disapprove of the Iran nuclear deal.” [TheHill; PressRelease] • “GOP Silent on Sanctions Strategy if Iran Deal Derailed” [RollCall]
“Donors tell Democrats they support the Iran deal” by Nahal Toosi: “More than 120 wealthy Democratic donors have written to the party’s leadership in Congress to express support for the Iran nuclear deal, the latest move in a fierce battle for votes on the historic agreement.” [Politico] • Signatures include Irwin Jacobs, Paul Egerman, Guy & Jeanine Saperstein, Norman Lear, Alexandra Stanton, Stanley Gold, Mort Halperin.
Michael Doran’s Auto Response — “From now until August 10, I will be away from my phone and computer. And oh, by the way, the Iran nuke deal is very bad.”
Everyone Has Their Own Polls — “Does the American public oppose the Iran deal?” by Nahal Toosi: “Congratulations to supporters and opponents of the Iran nuclear deal! According to the polls, the American people are on your side.” [Politico]
Mark Mellman: “How can Americans favor the Iran deal by 18 or 19 percentage points and oppose it by 8 or 10? They can’t. Yet, in recent days, leading pollsters have offered all of those results. These differences aren’t within margins of error. They are differences I believe come down mostly to the questions asked.” [TheHill]
“Iranian-Americans Split on Nuclear Deal” by Kristina Peterson: “Rep. Brad Sherman (D., Calif.) said he has heard stronger opposition from his Iranian-American Jewish constituents than from other Jews in his district. He also notes a more general tone of distrust. “The Iranian-American community is very familiar with Iran,” he said. “They do not trust the Iranian government. If they did, they might still be there.” [WSJ]
Late Release — JCRC Statement: “JCRC of Greater Washington remains vehemently opposed to a nuclear Iran. Prior to the announcement of the deal, we outlined five criteria that would need to be met by any agreement to ensure Iran could not attain nuclear capabilities. Unfortunately we have reluctantly concluded that this proposed agreement does not comply with these parameters and therefore we must oppose it and call upon Congress to vote against this deal.” [Statement]
Ernest Moniz to Israeli reporters visiting D.C. — “If I Were Israeli, I Would Support the Iran Deal” [ToI; Haaretz] • Yuval Steinitz resonds: “If I were American, I wouldn’t support the deal.” [Twitter] • “Moniz to Israeli reporters: Iran deal does not change ‘one iota’ who America’s friends are” [JPost] • “Israel Objected to Arms Sale to Gulf States Following Iran Deal, Senior U.S. Official Says” [Haaretz]
“John Kerry Wins Gulf States’ Cautious Support for Iran Deal” by Michael Gordon: “Persian Gulf monarchies issued a cautious endorsement on Monday of the accord Secretary of State John Kerry negotiated last month to constrain Iran’s nuclear program. “This was the best option among other options,” said Khalid al-Attiyah, the foreign minister of Qatar, who hosted a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council that Mr. Kerry attended.” [NYTimes; WSJ]
Lee Smith: “The White House, as echoed by a New York Times editorial, asserts to Blumenthal, Schumer, and Cardin, that if they vote against the JCPOA, they’ll be tarred as dual loyalists.” [TabletMag]
NYPost: “Chuck Schumer ‘loses it’ in meeting with Jewish leaders” by Geoff Earle: “One source said the normally thick-skinned senator — who is also feeling the heat from Democrats to back the deal — “exploded” during a meeting last week with about 60 Jewish leaders. Schumer “lost it,” said the source.” [NYPost]
Ted Cruz tweets: “Happy Birthday @BarackObama. When you blow out the candles, please wish for a better #IranDeal!” [Twitter]
2016 WATCH: Heard at last night’s Voters First Presidential Forum — Asked which country he’s visit first as President, Rand Paul said “Either China or Russia. It’s important that we do engage with the world even though they are both sometimes our adversaries.” Paul continued, “I think war should be seen as the last resort, not the first resort and that’s what Reagan believed. I’ll do whatever it takes to defend the country but I’m not eager for war. I don’t think we should go to war as if it’s just a game of risk.”
Bobby Jindal on the Iran deal: “This is a bad deal. He’s declared war with trans fat and a ceasefire with the largest state sponsor or terrorism. A good deal would say anytime, anywhere inspections, no centrifuges, no enriched uranium, they have to cut off ties to Hamas, Hezbollah, they have to recognize Israel’s right to exist, they have to free those American prisoners, no plutonium pathway and we will only gradually lift sanctions not lift them immediately. Syria loves the deal, Israel hates it. That tells you all you need to know.” [CSPAN] • Spotted by Howard Mortman: ‘Yarmulke’ at Voters First [Pic]
BUSINESS BRIEFS: “Billionaire Pritzker Brothers on Buying Spree With Aerosol Maker” [Bloomberg; ChicagoTribune] • “Dan Loeb got really defensive about one of his main investment strategies in his Q2 letter.” [BusinessInsider] • “How Shy Jerry Kohlberg Built A $1.5 Billion Reputation” [Forbes] • “Facebook Co-Founder Dustin Moskovitz Giving Millions Directly To The Poor, No Strings Attached” [HuffPost]
ISRAELI TECH: “How The Persian Gulf Might Solve Its Water Problem” by Catherine Cheney: “Of course, Qatar isn’t alone in this push. Israel first pioneered the technology on a large scale in this region, which has since been put into practice in new plants such as the Carlsbad Desalination Project in drought-stricken Southern California, which took 12 years of planning and is expected to start delivering water to folks in San Diego County later this year.” [Ozy]
TOP-OP: “The Terror Consuming Israel From Within” by Daniel Gordis: “Israelis’ worry about the looming nuclear deal with Iran has suddenly taken a back seat to another series of news items that some suggest are no less consequential for the country’s survival. For the past several days, Israel has been a society in the grips of soul-searching after two horrific hate crimes, each of which involved the death of a child.” [BloombergView]
TOP TALKER: “Amy Schumer and Her Senator Cousin Push for Gun Control” by Nathan Tempey: “Actor and comedian Amy Schumer joined her cousin Senator Chuck Schumer for a press conference to call for gun control in response to the America’s many mass shootings, including the one on July 23rd, when John Houser killed two women and wounded nine other people during a screening of the Amy Schumer movie Trainwreck at a Lafayette, Louisiana movie theater.” [Gothamist; VanityFair] • “5 celebrity pairs you never knew were related” — including Chuck & Amy Schumer, Jason Schwartzman, Lenny Kravitz, Steven Spielberg [Mashable]
TALK OF THE TOWN: “For first time in 100 years, outsider tapped to lead Looksteins’ N.Y. shul” by Uriel Heilman: “The Orthodox synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side voted last week to hire as its new senior Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz, who for two decades has led the Montreal congregation Tifereth Beth David Jerusalem. The 1,100-member shul is one of the nation’s most prominent synagogues thanks to its longtime association with the Lookstein family, its connection with Ramaz and the wealth and prominence of many of its congregants. Among the members are businessman and philanthropist George Rohr; the Kushners; and Ivanka Trump.” [JTA]
SPORTS BLINK: Tevi Troy on “A Brief History of Presidents Playing Tennis: Washington tends to volley between golf and tennis as its pastime, led by the Oval Office occupant. After eight years with Obama as First Duffer, does the trend now favor a Bush? Here’s a short history of White House tennis since Theodore Roosevelt had a court built for $2,000 in 1903.” [Washingtonian]
BIRTHDAYS: President Barack Obama turns 54… Sheldon Adelson turns 82… Jonathan Keyson…
