Daily Kickoff
2016 WATCH: “Martin O’Malley: Both Sides Share Responsibility for Violence in Israel” by Jacob Kornbluh: “During a speech to the Arab American Institute’s national leadership conference in Dearborn, Michigan, O’Malley addressed the recent violence in Israel and the West Bank, in which 10 Israelis have lost their lives and 127 more were wounded in terrorist attacks. “Like everyone here, I have been deeply concerned about the recent developments in Jerusalem and cities across Israel and the West Bank,” the former Maryland Governor said.
“We’ve lost 50 Palestinians in recent violence, many of them teenagers – their entire lives before them. We’ve lost 8 Israelis, including an American couple shot in front of their young children. Some people in this room have family members who’ve been affected, no doubt, some of them for generations… all of them are brothers and sisters, and all of them leave behind bereaved families with holes in their hearts.”
“This senseless violence produces nothing but tragedy and more distrust, and it does not move the people and the parties closer to a peaceful and long-lasting resolution,” said O’Malley. “Both sides have to take steps to end this violence and address the underlying cause of it. Both sides have to make the resumption of discussion, talk and dialogue to include a fair, safe and adequate access to sites in Jerusalem and elsewhere. Provocative actions on either side must be avoided.” [JewishInsider] • Watch the video [Livestream]
Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf told JI over the weekend: “Obviously seeking support from any place he might find it, a desperate former governor and soon to be washed up presidential candidate, Martin O’Malley has lost all touch with reality.”
Jeffrey Goldberg tweets: “Martin O’Malley evidently not going after the Jewish vote” [Twitter]
On Sunday evening, O’Malley sent us the following statement: “I condemn all forms of terrorism. In order to move forward towards peace, Abbas and other Palestinian leaders must step up to the plate and condemn these attacks in no uncertain terms.”
CROWDSOURCING: “Israeli Facebook Campaign Seeks to Crack Mystery of Bernie Sanders’ Kibbutz” by Judy Maltz: “Israel’s kibbutzim are finally stepping up to the challenge that has eluded so many: finding out exactly which one of them hosted Bernie Sanders during his short stint as a volunteer in the country more than 50 years ago.” [Haaretz]
Bill Kristol tweets: “I hadn’t been aware @RealBenCarson is a Seventh-Day Adventist. Carson-Lieberman 2016? #MakeTheSabbathGreatAgain” [Twitter]
Dan Senor on Paul Ryan: “Donors tend to be as attracted to the personality as much as they are to the office,” said Dan Senor, a close Ryan confidant who works with billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Singer in New York. “The donor community likes spending time with Paul because he’s a very smart guy and he’s very thoughtful and he’s not just buried in process but he can also talk about policy and a governing agenda.” Senor added that while he understands the concerns about Ryan’s family time cutting into fundraising time, “when he is out fundraising he is very efficient, and he accomplishes a lot.” [Politico]
TOP TALKER: “With Violence Surging in Israel, Washington Retreats From New Diplomatic Push at Turtle Bay” by Colum Lynch: “In recent weeks, U.N.-based diplomats and outside observers say Washington has shown little interest in enlisting the U.N. Security Council to press the parties to return to talks that abruptly fell apart in April 2014. The longtime U.S. policy toward the Middle East, they say, has not changed.” [ForeignPolicy]
David Palumbo-Liu: “America is changing its mind on Israel: How Netanyahu is alienating his most essential ally” [Salon]
“U.S.-Brokered Agreement Fails to Defuse Israeli-Arab Violence” by Rory Jones: “Palestinians mounted new attacks on Israelis Sunday despite a weekend agreement brokered by the U.S. that was aimed at defusing a wave of violence.” [WSJ]
ON THE GROUND: “Caught Between Protesters and Israel, Palestinian Security Forces Shift Tactics” by Diaa Hadid and Rami Nazzal: “The relatively low-key presence of Palestinian security forces at protests surging throughout the West Bank this month suggests a shift after years of close coordination with Israeli agencies.” [NYTimes] • “Israeli Parents Ask: Should We Dismiss The Arab Cleaner At School?” [NPR] • “Meet the Jewish doctor who saves Palestinian attackers and the Muslim doctor who saves Jewish victims” [WashPost]
HAPPENING TODAY: At 12:30PM, the Washington Institute hosts a forum on “Doomed to Succeed: The U.S. – Israel Relationship from Truman to Obama” with Dennis Ross and Tom Donilon moderated by Robert Satloff. [Livestream]
The Israel Institute’s annual conference on “Hard Choices: Law, Leadership and National Security in Israel” convenes today at The Harmonie Club in NYC. Featured speakers include Amb. Itamar Rabinovich, Professor Derek Penslar, Professor Anita Shapira, Gen. Yishai Beer, Professor Moshe Halbertal, Professor Samuel Rascoff, Justice Dorit Beinisch, former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, and Jeffrey Toobin. [IsraelInstitute]
David Horovitz: “20 years after the assassination, Dalia Rabin ponders what might have been” [ToI]
Shmuel Rosner: “Twenty years to the Rabin assassination: Martin Indyk talks about his legacy” [JewishJournal]
PROFILE: ‘I’m Robert Kraft. Do You Know Who I Am?’ — He has billions of dollars, the winningest NFL team this millennium, and a reputation for boundless generosity. So why is Robert Kraft so desperate for our attention? by Robert Huber: “Something’s changed since Myra died four years ago. Robert is now 74. In a sense, he’s had to start over without her. He’s still writing checks, still feeding the homeless, still going off to charity board meetings. He’s still busy by nature. Still, in fact, driven. Why, just this summer he took 19 Hall of Fame football players on a weeklong trip to Israel, on his own dime.”
“Bobby’s childhood was ordered by his father’s strict religious beliefs: school, Hebrew class from 4:15 to 6:15 Monday through Thursday, then home for dinner. Saturday after services, the Kraft children—Avram, Bobby, and Elizabeth—would go home with their father, where he would further explain the Bible passages brought up during the service. Bobby would not carry money or ride streetcars on the Sabbath; the family had no car. His friends knew they had to wait for the end of the Sabbath, when the sun went down, for Bobby to come out and play, which meant that in the summer they had to wait a long time. If they went to the movies, a friend would pay… Harry wanted his son Bobby to become a rabbi. Kraft got rich instead (he’s now worth $4.3 billion).”
“Long ago, as he started getting rich, Robert Kraft found a place that needed everything he had to offer—his power, his money, and his philanthropy. In Israel, he would gain the ear of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who consulted him not just for economic insight, but for his political viewpoint as well… Late one evening after dinner in Jerusalem, on a cold and damp night, Kraft said to [then Gov. Deval] Patrick, “Do you mind taking a walk? I want to show you something.” He took the governor to the Wailing Wall, where he explained the tradition of touching the wall, saying a prayer, and writing a supplication to slide between stones. “Tikkun olam,” Patrick says, “the concept of healing the world. It is very personal to him.” [BostonMagazine]
BUSINESS BRIEFS: “Israel Telecoms Chief Says Mobile Competition Went Too Far” [Bloomberg] • “Mark Zuckerberg Courts China With Speech on People and Perseverance” [NYTimes] • “Hurt by Energy, Einhorn’s Greenlight Re Hedges Oil, Natural Gas” [Bloomberg] • “Judge Temporarily Freezes Sale of Home of the Sages Building” [TheLoDown] • “Sam Zell Edges Out of Apartments” [WSJ]
STARTUP NATION: “Israeli Health Tech Is Heating Up With A Wave Of Interest From Abroad” by Dennis Mitzner: “While Israel’s life sciences industry is diverse, medical devices lead the pack with 725 companies, or 53 percent of the total number. Biotech and pharma came in second with 317 companies (23 percent), with healthcare IT and digital health companies comprising 20 percent of all the life sciences companies in Israel, according to the report by Israel Advanced Technology Industries.” [TechCrunch] • “Israel Vs. Silicon Valley: A Conversation with Gigi Levy Weiss” [TechCrunch]
TALK OF THE TOWN: “Fire destroys NJ synagogue; rabbi races in to save Torah” [DailyNews]
Trends: “Ira Glass’ ‘NPR Voice’ Has Taken Over the Airwaves” [NYTimes]
Scene Last Night: Alex Soros, along with a bearded David Letterman, hosted Sen. Al Franken and Rep. Tammy Duckworth in NYC. Daroff tweeted — “Letterman: Hipster or Chasidic” [Twitter]
Spotted on Homeland: The Artscroll Family Haggadah at a Passover Seder [Facebook; Video]
BIRTHDAYS: Hillary Clinton turns 68… Richard Goldstone turns 77… Albert Calo… Evan May… Evie Sullivan…
