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2016 WATCH: “Bush and Rubio race for Wall Street cash” by Ben White: “The former Florida governor and current Florida senator have dueling fundraisers set for the week of Oct. 12 with top financial industry executives in New York as Bush looks to maintain his dominance in the industry despite low poll numbers and Rubio hopes to capitalize on recent momentum to make his case to the deep-pocketed Republican establishment… Jewish Insider first reported on the Rubio invite on Sunday.” [Politico] • Invites [Bush; Rubio]

MONEY WATCH: “Big Donors Seek Larger Roles in Presidential Campaigns” by Ashley Parker: “Donors expect their views to be heard quickly and their concerns taken seriously, sometimes creating headaches and potential awkwardness for the campaigns and super PACs, which must tend to the contributors and their seemingly endless suggestions and questions… Campaigns find themselves devoting more and more time to stroking donors’ egos, weighing their ideas, and soothing supporters whose panicked phone calls can be prompted by anything from an alarming Twitter post to a small stumble on a morning show.” [NYTimes]

Jewish Vote: “Bernie Sanders Introduces Himself to the Jewish Community in Iowa” by Jacob Kornbluh: “Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders paid a first-time visit to the Jewish community in Iowa on Sunday. Des Moines has the largest Jewish population in the State of Iowa. About 2,800 affiliated Jews live in the Des Moines area, including neighboring Ames, out of the some 5,000 Jews in about ten cities, according to Mark Finkelstein, Director of Community Relations for the local Jewish Federation. Touting his Democratic-socialist values, the Jewish Senator compared himself to the first Prime Minister of the State of Israel. “I believe David Ben Gurion was a Democratic socialist.”” [JewishInsider]

If You Read Only One Trump Story… “Donald Trump Is Not Going Anywhere” by Mark Leibovich: “‘‘Don’t speak,’’ Trump instructed me as I sat down next to him in a Suburban. That was fine by me. We sat, per Trump’s dictate, in silence for the half-hour drive. It was almost comforting to me that he would take a break from being Donald, the Brand, and turn relatively ‘‘off’’ in my presence; that he could, as much as he ever does, retreat into himself. I wondered what he was thinking about. After a few minutes, I saw Trump staring down into a phone glowing up into his shiny face. I checked my phone, too. ‘‘Speech in Dallas went really well,’’ it said in my Twitter feed, courtesy of @realDonaldTrump, who was tweeting next to me in the dark.” [NYTMag]

Trump met with 40 religious leaders on Monday including… “Jews For Jesus Rabbi Kirt Schneider” [CBN] • CNN Headline: “Trump meets with Christian, Jewish leaders” [CNN]

TREND: “Pollsters Are Botching Elections Around the World” by Steven Yaccino: “Are the polls correct? While that is hardly a new question, doubts are intensifying after a series of high-profile misfires around the world in the past year, notably in Greece, Israel and the UK… With sample sizes often small, fluctuations in polling numbers can be caused by less than a handful of people. A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal national survey of the Republican race out this week, for instance, represents the preferences of only 230 likely GOP voters. Analysis of certain subgroups, like evangelicals, could be shaped by the response of a single voter.” [Bloomberg]

HAPPENING TODAY: Christie has a private meeting in NYC with King Abdullah of Jordan (who hosted Christie’s family at his home in 2012) [Twitter] • At 11am, the leaders of the Palestinian Authority and Turkey are among the speakers to address the morning session of the United Nations General Assembly. [CSPAN] • The Israel Allies Foundation will hold their annual Jerusalem Chairman’s Conference today [WJC] • Yair Lapid speaking at the Israel Policy Forum in NY at 12pm [JI] • At Yankee Stadium today, the Jewish Federations of North America will join with the Starkey Hearing Foundation, the New York Yankees, the Minnesota Vikings and the Wilf Family Foundation to provide free hearing aids to a group that includes over 20 Holocaust survivors from the New York City area.

U.N. GA: “In Syria, both Putin and Obama are a problem for Israel” by Shmuel Rosner [JewishJournal]

SURPRISE SHAKE: “Obama and Iran’s top diplomat trade greetings at U.N.” [WashPost]

BIBI PREVIEW: “Don’t get cozy with ‘problem’ Iran, Netanyahu to warn UN” [ToI; i24]

LongRead: “The inside story of the Obama administration’s Iran diplomacy.” [PoliticoMag]

PROFILE: “A Man Who’s Looked Power in the Teeth” by Ralph Gardner: “Dr. Benhuri, an Iranian Jew who moved to the U.S. in the 1960s, has written the “Price for Freedom,” a fictionalized account of how the fall of the Shah of Iran, who became a personal friend, and the rise of the ayatollahs, shattered his own family’s dreams. But that also didn’t necessarily explain the dentist’s excellent taste in ties and wrist wear. However, some of the sartorial mystery started to vanish as Dr. Benhuri, 70 years old, explained the roots, both dental and personal, of his relationship with the Shah.” [WSJ]

**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 editor@jewishinsider.com**
BUSINESS BRIEFS: “Netanyahu Dreams of Eilat Casino, but Opponents Fear Social Ills” [Haaretz]• “Ari Emanuel’s new VC fund adds ex-Fab exec Beth Ferreira” [Fortune] • “Elliot Cohen’s PillPack’s single-dose packs makes juggling multiple prescriptions a snap” [USAToday] • “Robert Sillerman’s SFX looks to jettison assets with fire sale after troubled TomorrowWorld event” [BizJournals] • “Sam Zell’s luxury rental building in NYC is expected to fetch $400 million” [NYPost] • “Jonathan M. Tisch: Beware of the Thin Air at the Top” [NYT] • “Google CFO Ruth Porat just bought Palo Alto’s most expensive house” [Fortune]

FORBES 400: 3. Larry Ellison, 7. Mark Zuckerberg, 8. Michael Bloomberg, 10. Larry Page, 11. Sergey Brin, 15. Sheldon Adelson, 16. George Soros, 21. Steve Ballmer, 22. Carl Icahn, 27. Len Blavatnik, 32.James Simons, 36. Ronald Perelman, 37. Steve Cohen, 38. David Tepper, 38. Stephen Schwarzman, 41.John Paulson, 55. Dustin Moskowitz, 60. Jan Koum, 60. Micky Arison, 63. Leslie Wexner, 65. Eli Broad, 70. David Geffen, 71. Stephen Ross, 74. Ralph Lauren, 76. Richard LeFrak, 86. Ted Lerner, 88. David Green, 93. Bruce Kovner, 94. Dirk Ziff, 94. Leon Black, 94. Robert Ziff, 94. Sumner Redstone, 107. Sam Zell, 108. George Roberts, 108. Henry Kravis, 108. Ira Rennert, 108. Israel Englander, 108. Robert Kraft, 114. Leonard Stern, 124. Jerry Speyer, 129. Karen Pritzker, 129. Stewart and Lynda Resnick, 145.Isaac Perlmutter, 145. Sheldon Solow, 149. Daniel Gilbert, 149. Marc Benioff, 159. Reid Hoffman, 164.Steven Spielberg, 164. George Lindemann, 171. Haim Saban, 171. Lynn Schusterman, 171. Mitchell Rales, 182. Anthony Pritzker, 182. Jeff Sutton, 182. Joan Tisch, 182. J.B. Pritzker, 182. Ronald Lauder. Full List — [Forbes]

TRANSITIONS: “Ralph Lauren, Creator of Fashion Empire, Is Stepping Down as C.E.O.” by Hiroko Tabuchi and Vanessa Friedman: “Ralph Lauren, the quintessential American designer who built a fashion empire based on sweeping fantasies of country-club prep and the Wild West, is stepping down from his post as chief executive of the company. Taking the helm at Ralph Lauren is Stefan Larsson…” [NYTimes; Fortune] 

Notable: “Despite the aura of Anglo-Saxon elitism around his company, Lauren was born Ralph Lifshitz in the Bronx in 1939. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Belarus, and he changed his name to Lauren at age 16.” [Reuters]

“Former ADL Head Abe Foxman Joins Israeli Think Tank — Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv” [INN]

RISING STAR: “Aziza Hasan Builds Muslim-Jewish Partnerships” by Jonathan Diamond:“The executive director of NewGround, an 8-year-old LA nonprofit that bills itself as a “Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change,” Hasan moved from the Midwest to set up the program, which has evolved into a model of interfaith dialogue and community building. Getting American Jews and Muslims together for a civil conversation has long been a fraught proposition. Sure, they may share middle-class aspirations, immigrant histories and dating struggles, but one wrong conversational turn can send a discussion down a dark, ancient alley of recrimination over a conflict thousands of miles away that many have not experienced firsthand.” [Ozy]

Noah Feldman: “Is what you tell the rabbi’s wife a secret that she can’t be required to reveal in court? The Haredi Jewish newspaper Yated Ne’eman has reported on a fascinating decision by a judge in Portland, Oregon, holding that the answer is yes. The twist is that the women who successfully asserted the privilege were members of a branch of Orthodox Judaism known as “yeshivish,” which staunchly denies that women can be rabbis or even rabbinic advisers. Their argument was that the rabbi’s wife is, practically speaking, a kind of adjunct clergywoman in whom female members of the community confide in the expectation of privacy.” [BloombergView]

Inside the Story: Skateboarding Rabbi — Stop by the skate park in Park City and you may be surprised to find a slim, energetic man who is actually Rabbi David Levinsky, the new Jewish leader at the Temple Har Shalom.” [KUTV]

DESSERT: “Not your grandmother’s chopped liver: how the traditional Jewish deli had a makeover” [Telegraph]

SPORTS BLINK — Friends of the Tribe: “Since buying the Cubs, the politically powerful Ricketts family has renovated Wrigley, overhauled the organization and ticked off more than a few people. Has the Curse of the Billy Goat finally met its match?” by Marin Cogan [ESPN]

BIRTHDAYS: Elie Wiesel turns 87… Ehud Olmert turns 70… Lisa Robbins… Brian Shankman (yesterday)… Aron Chilewich (yesterday)…