Daily Kickoff
DRIVING THE DAY: At 9AM, Hillary Clinton will speak on the Iran nuclear deal at Brookings. Martin Indyk will moderate. [Livestream]
At 10AM, the House Foreign Affairs Committee hosts a hearing on the “Implications of a Nuclear Agreement with Iran.” Witnesses include Gen. Chuck Wald, Admiral William Fallon, Vice Admiral John Bird, and Leon Wieseltier.
AIPAC activists from around the country are in D.C. to lobby against a filibuster of an Iran vote.
At 11AM, the Heritage Foundation hosts a panel on “A Pathway Forward: An Alternative to the Flawed Iran Nuclear Deal” with Rep. Mike Pompeo, Paula DeSutter, Mark Dubowitz, Matthew Kroenig, Michaela Dodge, and Tim Rogan. [Livestream]
At 12:15PM, Rabbis from the Orthodox Union will hold a press conference at the Upper Senate Park “urging Congress to disapprove the Iran deal.”
At 1PM, on the West Lawn of the Capitol, the Tea Party Patriots hold a rally against the Iran deal featuring Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Jim Gilmore, Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Mark Levin, Trent Franks, Morton Klein, Steve King, Mark Meadows, Mike Pompeo, Gary Bauer, and more. [Livestream; CSPAN; AP]
At 6:30PM, Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden will host Jewish leaders at their Naval Observatory residence for a reception celebrating the Jewish community.
Vote Count: “4 More Senators Back Iran Deal, Assuring Cushion for White House” by David M. Herszenhorn: “As critics in Congress prepared to begin a historic debate on the Iran agreement, the support of the four senators — Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Maria Cantwell of Washington, Gary Peters of Michigan and Ron Wyden of Oregon — meant that the Republicans would not have the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster of the resolution. Forty-two Democrats now back the agreement.” [NYTimes]
Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, according to multiple sources, will endorse the Iran deal today.
Outreach: Energy Secretary Dr. Ernest Moniz pens a letter to Rabbis [PDF]
2016 WATCH: “Hillary Clinton Opened Door to Key U.S. Shift Toward Iran Nuclear Deal” by Jay Solomon and Laura Meckler: “Hillary Clinton, in her last months as secretary of state, helped open the door to a dramatic shift in U.S. policy toward Iran: an acceptance that Tehran would maintain at least some capacity to produce nuclear fuel, according to current and former U.S. officials.”
“In July 2012, Mrs. Clinton’s closest foreign-policy aide, Jake Sullivan, met in secret with Iranian diplomats in Oman, but made no progress in ending the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program. In a string of high-level meetings here over the next six months, the secretary of state and White House concluded that they might have to let Iran continue to enrich uranium at small levels, if the diplomacy had any hope of succeeding.”
“Mrs. Clinton and her campaign team—including Mr. Sullivan and campaign chairman John Podesta—have regularly reached out to opponents of the Iran deal in recent weeks, including American Jewish leaders. The outreach to the Jewish community appears to be working. A number of Jewish leaders said they remained deeply concerned about the agreement, but said Mrs. Clinton wasn’t facing the same type of criticism as Mr. Obama.” [WSJ] • “Hillary Clinton to offer 5-point plan on Iran” [Politico]
@HillaryClinton tweets: “.@TheEllenShow but seriously, where are we on gefilte fish?” [Twitter; Bustle]
Eli Lake & Josh Rogin: “Both front-runners in the 2016 presidential race, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, are scheduled to give major speeches on the Iran agreement in Washington on Wednesday. The candidates differ on the deal and how Congress should vote, but each is expected to argue that Iran must be confronted and contained after the agreement survives a coming Congressional challenge.” [BloombergView]
“Dick Cheney’s and Hillary Clinton’s Competing Versions of U.S.-Iran History” by Peter Baker and David E. Sanger: “The sharply contrasting narratives reflect not just the ideological poles of a divisive debate that formally got underway in Congress on Tuesday. They also illustrate the divergent goals of two political leaders with keen interests in writing, or rewriting, the history of one of the most consequential foreign policy initiatives of recent years.” [NYTimes] • Watch Cheney’s speech [CSPAN]
Now Live — Jason Zengerle’s NYMag story on Sheldon Adelson: “In June, Adelson was joined at the Venetian by representatives of 50 American Jewish groups who’d been summoned to a two-day secret confab to present their ideas to Adelson, and a host of other wealthy Jewish donors, about how to combat the anti-Israel BDS movement on American college campuses… At one point, according to one attendee, Adelson told the gathering, “Finally, donors are going to have a voice in how Jewish organizations are run.” The line was the subject of much discussion and ridicule among the attendees afterward.” [NYMag]
TOP TALKER: “Since 2013, dozens of young US Muslim leaders have traveled to Israel to learn about Judaism, Zionism and Israel. This is the full story of their high-risk, taboo-shattering initiative — a vital step, they hope, toward Muslim-Jewish healing in America and beyond.” [ToI]
BUSINESS BRIEFS: “What Investors Need to Know About Israel’s Natural Gas Market” [Bloomberg]• “Jeffrey Talpins’ Obscure Hedge Fund Is Buying Tens of Billions of Dollars of U.S. Treasurys” [WSJ]• “Mark Zuckerberg Tops the 2015 New Establishment List—and Snags the October Cover” [VanityFair]• Joe Nocera: “Mark Zuckerberg’s Expensive Lesson” [NYTimes] • “Uri Levine’s FeeX Reveals the ‘Biggest Secret’ in the World” [Bloomberg] • “Guttman and Schwartz’s Midtown West plans proceed” [RealDeal] • “A Conversation With David L. Shorenstein” [NYTimes]
STARTUP NATION: “500 Startups opens Israel office: The US venture capital fund will invest up to $5 million in 10-20 early stage Israeli startups in the coming year.” [Globes] • “Israeli Freightos pulls into port with $14M for new platform” [GeekTime]
TALK OF OUR NATION: “France Attempts to Attract Talent Back from Israel” by Stacy Meichtry: “When French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron visited Technion, the Israel Institute for Technology, this week he asked a group of students originally from France if they would ever consider returning home. “For the holidays,” one student quipped.” [WSJ] • “In an Exclusive Interview, Paris’s Chief Rabbi Supports V.F. Account of Synagogue Protest” [VanityFair]
INTERVIEW: “David Gregory on Losing His Dream Job, Brian Williams, and His New Book About His Jewish Faith” by Gabriel Sherman: “From an ethnic point of view I’m Jewish enough for Hitler whether I like it or not. [Gregory’s father is Jewish]. So I don’t feel like it’s a choice. I feel like I’ve inherited this tradition…”
Q: I was moved by the passage in the book where you write about experimenting with Tefillin and praying in your room because you didn’t want your children to see you. It reminded me of that scene in Homeland where Brody is praying to Mecca in his garage. A: “For reasons I think you’ll appreciate I don’t like the comparison. I know there are Jews who would say, “You’re hiding why are you doing that?” To be honest about it though, it was not how I grew up. It felt very foreign to me.”
Q: In the book you don’t really engage the question of Israel. A: “I’ve never been comfortable with the idea that Israel is the centerpiece of my Judaism. As journalist I’ve always treaded carefully about being Jewish and caring a lot about Israel and having that not become too big of an issue that could affect my journalism. But I also don’t think it it’s essential to my Judaism as I think it might be for some other people.” [NYMag]
TALK OF THE TOWN: “Eva Moskowitz weighs a de Blasio challenge” by Eliza Shapiro:“Circumstances would seem to be working in favor of Moskowitz, who has been positioning herself for the possibility of a run for years. De Blasio has looked vulnerable in recent polls, Republicans don’t have an obvious champion, and her self-styled profile — as a ruthless manager who gets results — stands in stark contrast to the prevailing caricature of the incumbent as a well-meaning but hapless executive.” [CapitalNY]
SPORTS BLINK: “Why Sandy Koufax’s Sitting Out on Yom Kippur Still Matters” by Hillel Kuttler: “Intended or not, Koufax’s call continues to resonate 50 years later. While the decision was a personal one for Koufax, now 79, it represented a visible, even monumental, progression for Jews of his generation in claiming their place in this country. If a great athlete could proudly stand up as a Jew, the feeling went, we can, too.” [Forward]
SPOTTED: Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy enjoying the Nationals Mets game last night with Nats’ owner Ted Lerner.
DESSERT: “Fairmont’s enthusiastic executive chef creating a bold new future in city’s only kosher hotel kitchen after taking off stuffy, formal Velvet Glove” [WinnipegFreePress] • “Faux ribs and other Asian favorites at Arlington vegan-kosher eatery” [BostonGlobe]
BIRTHDAYS: Adam Sandler turns 49… Former MK Dov Lipman turns 44… Mapme’s Ben Lang… Sacha Litman…
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