Daily Kickoff
DRIVING THE CONVERSATION: “White House Admits: No Possibility Of Two State Solution For The Rest Of Obama’s Term” by Rosie Gray: “Speaking to reporters on a call previewing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington next week, officials said that the U.S. remains committed to the goal of a two-state solution but that they have reached a “realistic assessment” that a negotiated settlement won’t happen in the near future.” [BuzzFeed; WashPost]
White House official previews the Israeli Prime Minister’s upcoming visit: “President Obama looks forward to hosting Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu for a bilateral meeting at the White House on Monday, November 9. This meeting continues the President’s close and regular consultations with the Prime Minister. This Administration has pursued an unprecedented level of military, intelligence and security cooperation with Israel to address new and complex security threats. The bilateral meeting will afford the leaders an opportunity to discuss ways to enhance this cooperation even further. The agenda for the meeting will include discussions about security cooperation going forward, Iran deal implementation, Israel’s relations with the Palestinians, and regional issues, including Syria.”
TOP TALKER: “Israel’s Netanyahu Condemns Diplomacy Chief’s Comments” by Rory Jones: “I have just read Dr. Ran Baratz’s posts on the Internet,” Mr. Netanyahu said in a statement, less than 24 hours after the appointment. “Those posts are totally unacceptable and in no way reflect my positions or the policies of the Government of Israel.” Mr. Baratz, whose appointment is still subject to a signoff from Israel’s cabinet, apologized Thursday and said he had failed to inform Mr. Netanyahu about the social-media posts before taking the job. [WSJ]
U.S. Response: “A State Department spokesman described Mr. Baratz’s statements as “troublesome and hurtful” and said Mr. Kerry had spoken to Mr. Netanyahu about the matter.” [NYTimes]
STRIKE THREATS: “Israeli diplomats threaten to disrupt arrangements for PM’s Obama meet: Foreign Ministry workers’ union says it can call strike at any moment over wage row, demands swift action from Netanyahu.” [ToI]
Glenn Greenwald: “Leaked Emails From Pro-Clinton Group Reveal Censorship of Staff on Israel, AIPAC Pandering, Warped Militarism” [TheIntercept]
ADELSON PRIMARY: “Donald Trump Sent Sheldon Adelson a Glossy Booklet of Photos” by Maggie Haberman: “Adelson received an inscribed booklet of glossy photos of Mr. Trump being honored at the Algemeiner Jewish 100 Gala dinner in February, along with Melissa Rivers, who collected an award on behalf of her mother, the comedian Joan Rivers, who died in September 2014, according to two people with direct knowledge of the gift and who were not authorized to speak publicly about it.” [FirstDraft]
“Ben Carson believes Joseph built Egypt’s pyramids to store grain” by Michael Miller: “Now, my own personal theory is that Joseph built the pyramids to store grain,” Carson continued. “Now all the archaeologists think that they were made for the pharaohs’ graves. But, you know, it would have to be something awfully big — when you stop and think about it, and I don’t think it’d just disappear over the course of time — to store that much grain.” [WashPost; NewYorker]
“Bernie Sanders On Being Jewish And A Democratic Socialist” by Steve Inskeep: “When I was a young boy, I can remember in the community that I grew up in, seeing people in the community who had numbers that were on their arms (pulls up sleeve) and these were the Nazis’ identification numbers that they put on prisoners in the concentration camps. And I, certainly, was aware of the fact that much of my father’s family was killed in the Holocaust.”
“Just a couple of years ago my brother (Larry) and I went back to a small town in Poland where my dad grew up. So, it was a very traumatic experience for me as a young man to know that my father’s family was killed by Nazis – killed by Hitler. And that left – if not intellectually – at least an emotional part of me that would say: God, we have got to do everything we can to end this kind of horrific racism and anti-Semitism, and I’ve spent much of my life to fight that.” [NPR]
State of the Electorate: “Politics in a Country Where Nobody Changes Their Mind” by Jonathan Chait[NYMag]
State of the Coverage: “Confessions of a Paywall Journalist” by John Heltman: “Thanks to a booming trade press, lobbyists and other insiders know what’s happening in government. The rest of the country, not so much.” [WashingtonMonthly]
“The Quakers, No Friends of Israel” by Alexander Joffe and Asaf Romirowsky: “American religious history is filled with examples of faiths whose public perceptions defy deeper realities. The Quakers, for instance, are known as peaceful and supremely benign. Few suspect that one central mission is promoting the boycott, divestment and sanctions, or BDS, movement that opposes Israel’s existence.”[WSJ]
Rabbi David Wolpe: “Azerbaijan Is an Oasis of Tolerance in the Middle East” [Time]
Heard On The Hill: “There has been some miscommunication between the two governments. And I got my finger on one part we could solve and that is we can make sure our Embassy is in Israel’s capital.” — Rep. Brad Sherman speaking at a Congressional Tribute to the U.S. – Israel Security Alliance organized by the Friedlander Group.
Scene On The Hill: “Yesterday, in the Cannon House Office Building, Congressman Ted Deutch kicked off a series of educational events. These are aimed to raise awareness about the stonewalling of the Bavarian government to address Holocaust-era restitution claims under the 1998 Washington Principles.”
HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND: Vice President Joe Biden addresses the URJ Biennial on Saturday night [URJ] • JFNA’s General Assembly kicks off on Sunday at the Washington Hilton [GA] • Sen. Chuck Schumer will be presented with the Israel Advocacy Award by COJO of Staten Island at their Annual Legislative Breakfast at JCC of Staten Island.
Weekend Interview: URJ President Rick Jacobs — by Jacob Kornbluh: “The thing that we need to heal most is the idea that Israel is a partisan issue. That is the most important issue for us to heal.” [JI]
BUSINESS BRIEFS: LongRead — “Stewart Butterfield, Email Killer” [WSJ] • “Ori Allon’s Compass Goes National: Launches First Office In Los Angeles” [NewsWire] • “American Apparel Founder Says He’s Broke and Can’t Afford Lawyer” [Bloomberg] • “Slate, GreenOak to buy Sam Zell’s RiverTower for $390M” [RealDeal]
STARTUP NATION: “Meet the Israeli Company Turning NYC Taxis and Buses Into Semi-Autonomous Vehicles” by Sage Lazzaro: “Did you notice a ding sound when your yellow cab driver was fighting traffic on 7th Ave this morning? If so, you weren’t riding in your typical NYC taxi. Eight years ago, an Israeli company called Mobileye began outfitting consumer vehicles with vision-based collision avoidance technology that uses sensors, pattern recognition and artificial intelligence to warn drivers of risks that could lead to an accident.” [Observer]
TALK OF THE TOWN: “Sheldon Silver uses Passover defense at corruption trial” by Josh Saul: “Sheldon Silver broke out the Passover defense at his corruption trial Thursday, as his lawyer focused on the shows of friendship — including gifts of handmade matzoh — that the Democratic pol made to the Columbia University cancer doctor who steered asbestos victims to Silver’s high-profile law firm.” [NYPost]
SPORTS BLINK: “Judge rules in favor of MASN and Orioles, tosses out MLB panel’s ruling for Lerner’s Nats” by James Wagner: “While we are very pleased that the court vacated the award, and did so for good reason, it is unfortunate that we had to bring this matter to the courts in the first place,” said Alan Rifkin, an attorney for the Orioles.” [WashPost] • “David Blatt Flashes Hebrew Skills in Israeli NBA Commercial” [TabletMag]
The Top 100 Party Hosts — according to The Salonniere: “Doll, you know we hate to gossip but, sometimes, we just have to make an exception. Come close and let me whisper in your ear the names of The Salonniere 100, the 100 best party hosts in the United States. These are the fête-fabulous folks who bend over backwards to entertain with such flair that you’d be wise to move a mountain or two to attend one of their soirées…that is, if you’re fortunate enough to be invited. To compile The Salonniere 100, we asked more than 1,000 of the cognoscenti across all 50 states…” [TheSolonniere]
Brett Ratner writes… “I took my entire savings from my #barmitzvah and bought the entire #fila collection! You can read about it in the upcoming issue of @tabletmag in an article I wrote called “Miami Beach Jews and the Birth of Modern American Cool” and yes that’s my #Karate trophy that’s taller than me!” [Instagram]
Inbox — subject: Book Tour: “Busy week for Seth M. Siegel, author of NYTimes bestseller Let There Be Water. Touring widely, he spoke in D.C. at the Technion retreat on Saturday, in Virginia Beach on Sunday, at the Christian Broadcast Network on Monday, at JNF’s Tree of Life dinner in Manhattan on Tuesday, at both Hillel International and a joint Israel Project/The Tower event (moderated by David Hazony) back in DC on Wednesday, at Columbia University’s School of Engineering on Thursday. Where next? Sunday in Philadelphia and Monday in San Diego. We hear that he is closing in on his 50th speaking event since the book launched in mid-September, including talks at Google headquarters, and the American Water Summit in Denver.”
“Dating and politics — a perilous mix” by Heather Robinson and Alan Zeitlin: “I don’t want to hear, ‘Mommy, Daddy says you’re evil because you’re a Republican!’ ” said Melissa Jane Kronfeld, 33, co-president of the Zionist Organization of America’s New York Metro chapter, who also works with Young Professionals for Cruz in New York.” [NYPost]
Yitz Applbaum on the Wine of the Week: “I have known Yaakov, the wine maker at Psagot, for many years. He is passionate and focused on two things. Making great wine and letting the people he meets know that he has a super strong handshake. He has created a remarkably welcoming and charming place to visit and enjoy some great wines. My preferred Psagot wine is their Cabernet Sauvignon 2011. The grapes for this wine are grown in the Judean Hills in vineyards which Psagot has planted. The wine is extremely complex. Opening with big fruit and ending with strong tannins which will give this wine plenty of time to mature, and a very powerful mid mouth cherry and chocolate taste. The finish is very long and plays with the palate. The fruitiness and rich structured tannins of the wine require the drinker to allow time for it to breathe. The wine will likely last for many years. I love this wine with a big steak and fried Brussels sprouts. Visiting Yaakov and this winery will make for an amazingly fruitful afternoon.” [Psagot]
Howie Beigelman on Politics & the Parsha: “Do you want the real story, or what we tell people?” That was the initial response when I called someone and asked how they succeeded in a public affairs victory. Intrigued even more now, I opted for the former. The sages of the Talmud similarly note Eliezer’s matchmaking adventure takes up more space in the Torah than many far more vital laws and requirements… It’s because sometimes there are real lessons to be learned not just from the factual result but from the process. It’s why behind-the-scenes stories interest us. It’s why reporters look to embed themselves with a candidate, and to see them not only at a public event but in the green room, or on the campaign bus.” [JewishLink]
WEEKEND BIRTHDAYS: Dan Senor turns 44… Sidney Blumenthal turns 67… AJWS’ Ruth Messinger turns 75… Former Sen. Rudy Boschwitz turns 85… Mary Streit… Tomer Aharonovitch… Michael Sosebee… Allison Gingold… Morley Safer turns 84… Annie Korzen…
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