Daily Kickoff
IRAN DEAL: Harry Reid: ‘Long shot’ to block Iran bill with filibuster: “I felt cautiously optimistic that we would have enough votes to sustain a presidential veto. That seems pretty clear to me,” Reid told reporters here at his National Clean Energy Summit. “As far as procedurally stopping this bill from moving forward, I am not giving up hope on that. I know it’s a long shot, but I hope it can be done.”[Politico; RollCall] • “Obama thanks Reid for supporting deal” [TheHill]
SCENE LAST NIGHT: “Las Vegas Sun owners host Obama” by Edward-Isaac Dovere:
“President Barack Obama likes to complain about the press, but Monday night, he showed up here at the home of Las Vegas Sun owner Brian Greenspun and his wife Myra for a high-dollar fundraiser for the Nevada Democratic Party. Pulling his limo into the garage of the block-length compound in the Henderson suburb, Obama was there at retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s request to help put together cash for the woman he wants to replace him, former Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto.” [Politico]–Obama recalled playing golf with Greenspun and Derek Jeter last fall:
“He and Derek Jeter stole money from me at Shadow Creek,” Obama said of Greenspun, referring to the course in North Las Vegas. “It was clearly a set up, because when we got to the practice range, he was shanking balls everywhere. I said, ‘You play golf Derek?’ And he said, ‘I just started 2 weeks ago.’” They gave Jeter 30 strokes, Obama said, but he realized that was a mistake as soon as they were on the first hole. Jeter crushed him, he said. “We had to take a picture of me handing Derek Jeter money at the end of the game. Despite that, Brian is a great friend.” [ibid]Heard at the Greenspun’s: “Obama calls opponents of Iran deal ‘the crazies'” by Edward-Isaac Dovere: “…recounting the ride he and Reid had just taken from the conference to the fundraiser in his up-armored presidential limo, where they talked about old times and getting back to Washington to “deal with the crazies in terms of managing some problems.” [Politico; AP]
Stabenow sides with Obama on Iran: “I have determined that the imminent threat of Iran having a nuclear weapon outweighs any flaws I see in the international agreement,” the Michigan Democrat said in a statement on Monday. [WashPost; Statement]
“Wild Cards Remain as Democrats Add Supporters on Iran Deal” by Jonathan Weisman: “Democrats are concerned that Senator Gary Peters’ chief of staff, Eric Feldman, who many Democrats said strongly supports the Israeli government, may be nudging him toward opposition. Senator Ron Wyden, a mercurial member on many issues, is being buffeted between his Jewish roots and urban Oregon’s liberal voters already angry about his instrumental role in passing free trade legislation. His parents fled Nazi Germany.”
“The last, most important voice might be that of Senator Benjamin L. Cardin of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee and a religious Jew with his eye on Israeli opinion. But Mr. Cardin also tends toward optimism on diplomacy, and many Democrats believe he will come out in favor of the nuclear accord — possibly at the last moment.” [NYTimes]
FAST FORWARD: “Iran nuclear deal could become a perennial cliffhanger” by Paul Richter: “The expected showdown in Congress next month over the administration’s nuclear deal with Iran is only the first in a series of challenges that could leave the fate of the historic agreement uncertain for years and blemish President Obama’s most ambitious foreign policy effort. Although the accord appears on track to survive congressional opposition in the short term, if necessary with a presidential veto, opponents have begun laying plans to force its overhaul or repudiation down the road.” [LATimes]
“Portman uses Iran deal to batter Democratic opponent” by Ben Kamisar: “Sen. Rob Portman’s (R-Ohio) reelection campaign has launched ads bashing his main Democratic opponent, former Gov. Ted Strickland, for supporting the Iran nuclear deal… The ad launches on the same day that Quinnipiac University released a poll that found Ohio voters oppose the nuclear deal by a margin of 58 percent to 24 percent.” [TheHill]
“Cheney to deliver address on Iran deal” by Daniel Chaitin: “The speech will take place Sept. 8 at the American Enterprise Institute, the Washington-based think tank announced Monday.” [WashExaminer]
Richard Cohen: “From Nazi Germany to Iran, lessons on twisted leadership” [WashPost]
James Fallows: “Do Iran’s leaders recognize a distinction between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism? Does it matter? Some readers in Israel weigh in.” [TheAtlantic]
Peter Joseph, Charles Bronfman and Susie Gelman: “Jewish Americans are fighting over the Iran deal as though only Israel is at stake, obscuring the fact that this is a global, not parochial, issue.” [Haaretz]
Michael Steinhardt: “Jewish Leaders, Don’t Be Afraid To Fight Iran Deal” [Forward]
2016 WATCH — Chris Christie will hold a press conference today, with World Values Network founder Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, to encourage the New Jersey congressional delegation to oppose the Iran deal. Also present will be NORPAC President Ben Chouake and President of the Rabbinical Council of America Rabbi Shalom Baum. An advisory from Christie’s presidential campaign said the message is aimed “particularly” at Sen. Cory Booker. The press conference will take place at the Chabad House at Rutgers University’s New Brunswick campus. [NJ1015]
David Rothkopf: “Trump has demonstrated the most stunning ignorance on foreign-policy issues of any presidential candidate in memory. And that’s saying something. Americans seem to like their presidential candidates untainted by any real experience in foreign policy… But even in Candidateland, where what you know matters far less than how you make the voters feel, Trump is a special case.” [ForeignPolicy]
“Top Democratic fundraisers invited to meet with Joe Biden at Naval Observatory” by Matea Gold: “Major Democratic fundraisers have been invited to meet with Vice President Joe Biden at his residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory after Labor Day, part of a series of conversations he is having with senior party players as he contemplates jumping into the 2016 race… Andy Spahn, a major Hollywood fundraiser who advises Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg, wrote in an e-mail that he has “much respect for the job Joe Biden has done as VP but it’s too late in the game to mount a credible campaign.” [WashPost]
“Dixville Notch and the midnight vote will not die without a fight” by Ben Terris: “The Balsams Resort has been home to the midnight voters in Dixville Notch… Now, the resort lies in ruins. Les Otten — prolific developer, ski mogul, former co-owner of the Boston Red Sox — bought the hotel and has plans to turn it in to a ski destination. To Otten — the place bordered on holy. “There’s something about this place that reminds me of why I’m a Jew,” Otten said as he walked the grounds. “Most people don’t realize it’s not about going to synagogue on Friday afternoon, it’s about keeping a tradition that has been maintained for 5,000-plus years.” [WashPost]
“A Conversation With Alan Dershowitz” by Jas Chana: “The lawyer and author addresses the presidential election, BDS, J Street, and his new book about opposing the nuclear deal with Iran” [TabletMag]
Washington Post interviews J Street U’s new president Amna Farooqi: “Are you part of any organized Muslim spiritual community? [laughs] I’m ‘off the derech’ (a Jewish expression for someone who deliberately goes off the religious path, or “derech” in Hebrew, or Yiddish). I’m Muslim and identify strongly that way, I don’t eat pork, for example. For me this is Muslim work in many ways. The work I do [about Israel] is the best expression of Islam.” [WashPost]
“BDS gains campus cred in US, but pro-Israel efforts improving, report says” by Rebecca Shimoni Stoil: “With a new academic year ripe with fresh challenges poised to begin, the Israel on Campus Coalition’s campus trends report demonstrated that in the previous year, campus advocacy on issues concerning Israel increased on both sides of the binary. The ICC emphasized, however, that “despite disheartening media reports claiming that the BDS movement has taken over college campuses,” pro-Israel events outnumbered detractor events on campuses by a 2:1 ratio.” [ToI; Report]
“Palestinian Authority Is Ordered to Post $10 Million Bond in Terror Case” by Benjamin Weiser: “In a widely watched terrorism lawsuit that drew the attention of the Obama administration, a federal judge in Manhattan ruled on Monday that the Palestinian Authority would have to post $10 million and an additional $1 million monthly to appeal a huge damages award for its role in six terrorist attacks in Israel that had killed and injured Americans. The bond amount was much lower than lawyers for the victims had sought and matched the amount that lawyers for the Palestinian Authority said in court on Monday that the defendants could pay.” [NYTimes; WSJ]
On The Ground: “Israel turns to Kurds for three-quarters of its oil supplies” by David Sheppard, John Reed and Anjlie Raval: “Traders and industry analysts have suggested that Israel may be acquiring the Kurdish oil at a discounted price, though officials in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) deny this. Others have suggested it may be a way for Israel to funnel financial support to the Kurds.” [FinancialTimes]
John Boehner Op – “Lift the ban on exporting U.S. oil: By lifting the ban, we can create about a million more jobs at home. We can increase household incomes and lower prices at the pump even further. And we can help our allies, including Israel, which imports much of its oil from Russia.” [TribLive]
BUSINESS BRIEFS: “Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz told baristas to be nice to stressed-out customers because of the stock market crash” [Fusion; Time] • “Douglas Durst gets go ahead in $25M suit against Bezos” [NYPost] • “The Fall Of Robert Sillerman’s SFX: From Billion-Dollar Company To Bankruptcy Watch” [Forbes] • “Dan Loeb ruling raises hurdles for activists” [FinancialTimes] • “David Rubenstein to receive 2015 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy” [WashPost] • “Why Jerry Seinfeld Is the Most Important Celebrity in Sneaker Culture” [Complex]
STARTUP NATION: “The state of startups in Israel” [TheNextWeb] • “What Miami startups can learn from Israel” [MiamiHerald] • “Israeli Crowdfunding Platform OurCrowd Seeks A Broader Audience, Including Traditional VCs” [TechCrunch]
TALK OF OUR NATION: “Mormon and Orthodox Jewish leaders alike fear that their respective marriage crises reflect some failure to instill proper values in young people. Perhaps young people are too self-absorbed? Maybe the men are just too picky? Or maybe it’s the women who are holding out for the Mormon or Jewish George Clooney? In fact, the root causes of both the Shidduch Crisis and the Mormon marriage crisis have little to do with culture or religion. The true culprit in both cases is demographics. The fact is that there are more marriage-age women than men both in the Orthodox Jewish community and in the Utah LDS church.” [TimeMag]
HOLLYWOOD: “Mayim Bialik on her Jewish faith: ‘lt’s never going to be trendy to be observant or religious in Hollywood'” [DailyNews]
SPORTS BLINK: “Julian Edelman explores Israeli roots” by Gayle Fee: “Tom Brady’s go-to guy spent nine days in the homeland in June with a group of kids from Combined Jewish Philanthropies and Boston’s Jewish Federation exploring his Jewish heritage and Israeli culture. CJP just released a video of Jules’ trip that shows the Super Bowl champ riding a camel, ATV-ing in the Negev desert, sailing in the Kinneret on a boat captained by sailors with visual disabilities, floating in the Dead Sea, playing football with Israel’s national team, rappelling, bicycling and more.” [BostonHerald; YouTube]
BIRTHDAYS: Gene Simmons, born Chaim Witz, turns 66… Stacey Farber turns 28… Loren Fife turns 62… Adam Friedman… Carine Grossman… Robert Cohen…