Daily Kickoff
Ed note: Today’s Daily Kickoff was crafted at The Conversation, the Jewish Week’s gathering of 55 American Jewish leaders to “meet, talk, and imagine together.” The Conversation features no scheduled speakers nor any particular agenda or intended outcomes. In the words of one organizer, “the best part of Jewish conferences has anyways always been the hallway conversations.” [Participants]
If You Only Read One Thing… “The Paranoid, Supremacist Roots of the Stabbing Intifada” by Jeffrey Goldberg: “The violence of the past two weeks, encouraged by purveyors of rumors who now have both Israeli and Palestinian blood on their hands, is rooted not in Israeli settlement policy, but in a worldview that dismisses the national and religious rights of Jews. There will not be peace between Israelis and Palestinians so long as parties on both sides of the conflict continue to deny the national and religious rights of the other.” [TheAtlantic]
Daniel Gordis: “What Israelis are coming to understand by virtue of the fact that the attackers are not Palestinians living in refugee camps but Israeli Arabs — who have access to Israeli health care, Israeli education, Israel’s free press and right of assembly, protection for gays and lesbians and much more — is that this latest round of violence is simply the newest battle in the War of Independence that Israel has been fighting for 68 years now.” [DailyNews]
“John Kerry to Hold Meetings With Netanyahu, Abbas Amid Wave of Violence in Israel” by Felicia Schwartz: “Later this week I will meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu because he will be in Germany…and then I will go to the region, I will meet with President Abbas, I will meet King Abdullah [of Jordan] and others and in between I will have some key meetings on the subject of Syria with critical players,” Mr. Kerry said at a lunch in Paris at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s headquarters. [WSJ] • “Kerry: Foreign presence not needed at Jerusalem holy site” [AP]
IRAN DEAL: “Iran Nuclear Deal Formally Adopted” by Felicia Schwartz and Jay Solomon:“For Iran, Sunday marked the beginning of a complex process to dismantle parts of its nuclear program, including decommissioning nearly 15,000 centrifuges, converting its Arak heavy-water reactor so that it will produce less plutonium and reducing its stockpile of enriched uranium 98%. U.S. officials expect it will take about six months.” [WSJ]
“Iran deal foes have yet to find the silver bullet to kill the deal” by Karoun Demirjian: “Deal opponents continue to voice their discontent, pen letters to the administration about their concerns, and exercise their oversight authority – but the promised silver bullet to eviscerate, or even hamstring, the Iran deal has yet to materialize.” [PowerPost]
“Israel, U.S. signal security ties back on track after Iran feud” by Phil Stewart and Dan Williams: “Israel and the United States signaled on Sunday they were starting to put disputes over the Iran nuclear deal behind them, announcing resumed talks on U.S. defense aid for Israel as it hosted Washington’s top general and a joint air force drill.” [Reuters]
2016 WATCH: “What Would Jeb Do?” by Ryan Lizza: “In May, Bush appeared in New York, at the Metropolitan Club, before an audience of financiers organized by Paul Singer… CNN, which cited four sources and the notes of someone present, quotes Bush as saying, “What you need to know is that who I listen to when I need advice on the Middle East is George W. Bush.” The Bush campaign later insisted that Jeb was speaking narrowly about Israeli policy. Either way, the message was clear: the hawks were back in control of Republican foreign policy.”
“When Marco Rubio ran for the Senate in 2010, he supported Obama’s drawdown of troops in Iraq. As a former city commissioner in West Miami and then a state legislator, Rubio knew the foreign-policy issues that important Florida constituencies care about, such as the Jewish community’s staunchly pro-Israel views and the Cuban-American community’s fierce opposition to Castro. He had little experience with broader foreign-policy questions. In his early months in Congress, he supported attempts at diplomacy with Iran.” [NewYorker]
WEEKEND SCENE — The National Israeli-American Conference convened on Saturday night at the Washington Hilton. This year’s conference, with approximately 1,300 attendees, includes “influential thought leaders, industry experts, senior political and diplomatic figures, community leaders, prominent journalists.” Featured speakers include Rep. Ed Royce, Rep. Brad Sherman, Rep. Peter Roskam, Rep. Eliot Engel, Rabbi David Lau, Yuval Steinitz, Ayelet Shaked, Isaac Herzog, Ron Prosor, Ron Dermer, Dalia Itzik, Ofer Shelach, Amos Yadlin, Ido Aharoni, Danny Gillerman, Sheldon Adelson, Miriam Adelson, Dana Weiss, Gidi Grinstein, Gidi Mark, Robert Satloff. [IAC]
–IAC Highlights: Ayelet Shaked predicted that in five years Israel will be stronger but unfortunately there will not be peace in the Middle East… Amb. Ron Dermer: “If the international community would focus on Palestinian incitement one-tenth as much as they focus on building apartments for Jews in Jerusalem, the situation might be very different.” [Transcript] • Isaac Herzog joked regarding his failed bid for Prime Minister, “Unfortunately Sheldon and Miriam did not support me.” • Amos Yadlin: “The intelligence agencies of Israel and the U.S. should work hard to ensure Iran is not cheating. Then we have to agree what is a significant violation because the Administration will have the tendency to close their eyes for violations because then the legacy goes away.”
–IAC Sidelines: After hosting Israeli Chief Rabbi David Lau over the weekend, American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad), located on Embassy Row across the street from the IAC Conference, also organized a gathering Sunday of approximately 100 students and young professionals at the Chabad center to hear from Sheldon Adelson. The discussion, moderated by Rabbi Levi Shemtov, lasted nearly an hour and a half and featured a dozen or so questions and answers. According to an attendee, Adelson discussed his Jewish upbringing, Birthright and the challenge of keeping Jewish traditions alive for future generations, and mentioned how earning an MBA degree is still on his bucket list. As for Jewish learning, Adelson quipped “I’ve learned all I’m going to… except whatever Miriam (Adelson) teaches me.”
Question on outside observers minds: Is the IAC positioned to one day be an Israeli rival of AIPAC — as some suspect due to the D.C. location of their annual conference and the political ambitions of several main donors — or is it, in reality — judging from the content and initiatives, more like an Israeli version of the Federation?
Some answers we heard: Perhaps both… They don’t know yet… From an organization standpoint, they’re focused now on bringing people together and filling various voids relating to the Israeli American community… Becoming too political or partisan risks alienating a large chuck of the Israeli American community… Certain donors may dream of one day rivaling or even influencing AIPAC and the pro-Israel lobby… Those days aren’t quite here yet but by doubling the number IAC visitors to D.C. each year it may only be a matter of time…
JFNA’s William Daroff to Jared Sichel: “There’s a real window of opportunity, particularly as it’s related to the U.S.-Israel relationship, where an Israeli-American can talk to a member of Congress, talking about the experience they had in the IDF for instance–I was in Lebanon, I was in Gaza, I know the character of what it’s like to fight terrorism…There’s a real complimentary way the IAC can join the mosaic of pro-Israel organizations.”
SCENE YESTERDAY — in NYC: The Jewish Review of Books hosted a conference on “What Comes Next? Conversations on the Jewish Future” at Yeshiva University Museum. Featured speakers included Henry Kissinger, former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Elliott Abrams, Leora Batnitzky, Alan Cooperman, Dennis Ross, Roger Hertog, Jay Lefkowitz, Meir Soloveichik, Ruth Wisse, and David Wolpe… Dennis Ross and Alan Dershowitz spoke with Ethan Bronner at the 92Y on “What’s Next for the Middle East.”… Thane Rosenbaum spoke with Amb. Danny Ayalon at Fifth Ave. Synagogue on the topic of “In a newly dangerous world what it is a Jew to do?”
Jacob Kornbluh’s dispatch from Israel — “Bill de Blasio Visits Western Wall, Meets Netanyahu” [JI]
CAMPUS BEAT: “BDS Money Trail Suggests Opaque Funding Network” by Mitchell Bard: “Despite the communal money being thrown at the BDS problem, and despite the headlines it has garnered around the world, little is known about how the movement gets its domestic funding. A month-long investigation by The Jewish Week reveals an opaque funding picture complicated by the fact that the main campus BDS group — Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) — is not a registered charity and does not have to report its funding to the Internal Revenue Service.” [JewishWeek]
BUSINESS BRIEFS: “Back to business: Michael Bloomberg profile” [FinancialTimes] • “Michael Bloomberg Now Backs Every Y Combinator Startup” [WSJ] • Wolfson family sells the Carlton Hotel for $162 million [RealDeal] • “BTA Bank Says New York Developer Helped Launder Stolen Money”[Bloomberg] • Gary Barnett’s Extell Lower East Side Condos Won’t Be Ridiculously Pricey [Curbed] • “Julien Studley, Real Estate Broker Who Began Career in a Bedroom, Dies at 88” [NYT] • Josh Kushner’s Insurance start-up Oscar seeks to shake up healthcare through its app [LATimes] • “Iconic Hasidic-Owned Electronics Store B and H Faces Growing Worker Revolt” [Forward] • Spark Networks acquires JSwipe [Yahoo]
STARTUP NATION: “‘Israel running out of geeks,’ global hi-tech firms fret” by Niv Elis:“Israel’s future as an innovator and research center for the world’s biggest tech companies is in peril due to a shortage of “geeks,” according to members of Israel Advanced Technology Industries, an association of hi-tech and life-science industries.” [JPost]
“Ultra-Orthodox Code Writers Help Israel Ease Tech Labor Shortage” by Gwen Ackerman: “The program is the brainchild of French-born David Charles Leybel, a rabbi-businessman who set up Ravtech expressly to provide training and work experience for ultra-Orthodox men, also known as haredim. Though still small, the concept could take hold elsewhere and eventually play a critical role in helping Israel plug a 10,000-person shortage of software developers.” [Bloomberg]
HEADLINES: “Billionaire Lev Leviev’s teen son crashes Ferrari at 125mph leaving smoldering burned out wreck” [DailyStar]
TALK OF THE TOWN: “Hasidic drivers get less tickets so they vote for de Blasio” by Aaron Short: “Cops doled out fewer tickets to bad drivers in Williamsburg’s Hasidic neighborhoods because the de Blasio administration covets their votes and needs to keep them happy, a source said.” [NYPost]
TALK OF THE ERUV: “There’s a hidden wire stretched above American cities — and few people know what it’s for” [BusinessInsider]
HOLLYWOOD: “A Week in the Life of Mayim Bialik” by Mayim Bialik: “After I drop the boys at their dad’s place for the night, I go to synagogue to say the Kaddish prayer; I’m in Judaism’s ritual year of mourning for my father. My very own “women’s section” at the Orthodox synagogue closest to my house has become a safe, private space… On Saturday night, I join some supporters of UCLA’s Hillel, the Jewish student group, for services at a wealthy donor’s home. He owns amazing artwork, including a David Hockney mural of a pool, painted on a wall alongside the pool. So neat. My dad was a huge Hockney fan—I wish I could tell him about it.” [WSJ]
“Turns Out a Jewish Blessing Inspired the Vulcan Salute: Kressel discovered that much of modern science fiction has Jewish roots. For example, when actor Leonard Nimoy invented the Vulcan salute, he was inspired by a two-handed gesture he’d seen at a Jewish ceremony.” [Wired]
“Larry David Was Born to Play Bernie Sanders on Saturday Night Live” by Joe Reid: “Even the real-life Sanders was impressed. “I think we’ll use Larry at our next rally,” Sanders said when shown the clip on ABC’s This Week. “He does better than I do.” [VanityFair]
SPORTS BLINK: “How Theo Epstein rebuilt Cubs on a hotel-bar cocktail napkin” [NYPost]
WEEKEND WEDDING: “Mary Anne Huntsman, a daughter of Mary Kaye Huntsman and Jon M. Huntsman Jr. of McLean, Va. was married Saturday to Evan Borger Morgan, a son of Gloria Borger and Lance I. Morgan of Washington. Rabbi Allen A. Secher officiated at Flathead Lake Lodge in Bigfork, Mont.” [NYTimes]
BIRTHDAYS: Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat turns 56… Yoram Ettinger… Jay Footlik… Michelle Fischler… Grover Norquist turns 59… Birthright’s David Fisher (yesterday)…
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