Daily Kickoff
RUMOR MILL: “NYT’s Peter Baker and Politico’s Susan Glasser eye move to Jerusalem” by Dylan Byers: “New York Times’ chief White House correspondent Peter Baker is in talks to become the paper’s Jerusalem bureau chief, CNNMoney has learned, raising the question of what’s next for his wife Susan Glasser, the top editor at Politico. Baker’s reassignment to Israel would also bring an end to Jodi Rudoren’s run as the Times’ Jerusalem bureau chief. Rudoren has served in her current post for nearly four years, the usual tenure of a Times bureau chief.” [CNNMoney]
STATE VISIT: “Kerry to Visit Next Week to Discuss Israeli-Palestinian Confidence-building Measures” by Barak Ravid:
“Kerry is scheduled to meet with both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday. The visit will be Kerry’s first in over a year. Frank Lowenstein, the American envoy to the peace process, will arrive in Israel today to prepare for Kerry’s visit.” [Haaretz]“Kerry, after gaffe, says terrorist attacks can never be rationalized” by Nick Gass: “A day after suggesting that there was a “rationale” for the January terrorist attack at the French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo, Secretary of State John Kerry was explicit on Wednesday in rejecting any grounds for a terrorist attack.” [Politico]
FIRST LOOK: “Hollywood Mogul Haim Saban Calls for ‘More Scrutiny’ of Muslims” by Itay Hod: “Many members of the Hollywood community are very liberal and they value their civil liberties more than they value life. I disagree with that. You want to be free and dead? I’d rather be not free and alive. The reality is that certain things that are unacceptable in times of peace — such as profiling, listening in on anyone and everybody who looks suspicious, or interviewing Muslims in a more intense way than interviewing Christian refugees — is all acceptable [during war]. Why? Because we value life more than our civil liberties and it’s temporary until the problem goes away… I’m not suggesting we put Muslims through some kind of a torture room to get them to admit that they are or they’re not terrorists. But I am saying we should have more scrutiny.” [TheWrap]
Saban also took a veiled shot at Rubio: “We can’t afford the next president, basically the leader of the free world, to be an amateur that has done nothing other than missing votes, or a clown, to be making the decisions as to how to react.”
SAY MY NAME! “Feisty Cruz to Obama: ‘Insult Me to My Face,’ Let’s Debate Refugee Plan” [NBCNews] • Spotted in video: Cruz advisor Nick Muzin
2016 WATCH: “Sanders: Israel ‘Overreacted’ During Gaza War” by Jacob Kornbluh: “Bernie Sanders addressed, for the second time in recent months during a lengthy magazine profile, his Jewish upbringing in Brooklyn and faith. But, for the first time, he took a very critical stance against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” [JI]
How would President Sanders approach Israel? “The United States will support the security of Israel, help Israel fight terrorist attacks against that country and maintain its independence. But under my administration, the United States will maintain an even-handed approach to the area. I believe in a two-state solution, where Israel has security and the Palestinians have a state of their own. The United States has got to work with the Palestinian people in improving their standard of living, which is now a disaster, and has been made much worse since the war in Gaza.”
You’ve said of Netanyahu, “I’m not a great fan.” What’s your issue with him? “Do I think that Netanyahu overreacted? Yes, I do. War is terrible unto itself. But I think that Israel overreacted and caused more civilian damage than was necessary. They have very sophisticated weapons systems. They make the case, and I respect that, that they do try to make sure that civilians are not damaged. But the end result was that a lot of civilians were killed and a lot of housing was destroyed. There was terrible, terrible damage done.”
How did your Jewish upbringing shape your moral vision of politics? “My dad and mom were not political. They voted, they were Democrats, as was almost everybody in our community. My brother was political and introduced me to politics. But we were not a political family. Clearly, one of the factors that influenced my life was the knowledge… that many members of the family were killed by Hitler.”
Do you believe in God? “Yeah, I do. I do. I’m not into organized religion. But I believe that what impacts you impacts me, that we are all united in one way or another. When children go hungry, I get impacted.” [RollingStone]
Hank Sheinkopf emails… “How nice of Senator Sanders, who lives in safe America, to call the stopping of daily shelling of Israel and death an ‘overreaction. He should stick to what he knows.”
Jeffrey Wiesenfeld tells Jacob Kornbluh: “Let [Sanders] place his children and home in the way of jihadist rockets and let’s see what he demands that HIS government do.”
DRIVING THE DAY: At 10:30am, Hillary Clinton delivers a National Security Address at the Council on Foreign Relations in NYC. [CSPAN]
At 2PM, Sen. Bernie Sanders will deliver a speech at the Institute of Politics and Public Service at Georgetown’s McCourt School of Public Policy and will discuss economic and social justice issues as well as foreign affairs and how the world community can defeat the Islamic State. [Politico]
At 5PM, the Conference of Presidents hosts a celebration of the “Rehabilitation of the Jewish Cemeteries of Morocco” at the Museum of Modern Art with President of the Council of Jewish Communities of Morocco Serge Berdugo, Minister Ahmed Toufiq of Morocco, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop Demetrios, Rabbi Arthur Schneier, President of Islamic Society of North America Imam Mohamed Hagmagid. Honorary committee members include Rabbi David Saperstein, Sen. Ben Cardin, Rep. Andre Carson, Rep. Carlos Curbelo, Rep. Ted Deutch, Sen. Mark Kirk, and Rep. Nita Lowey.
At 6PM, Sen. Lindsey Graham will discuss national security and his presidential campaign at the Metropolitan Republican Club in NYC.
At 7PM, StandWithUs New York holds their first annual Leaders of Tomorrow Gala Dinner at the Museum of Jewish Heritage with Rep. Grace Meng, Consul Gen. Ido Aharoni, and Matisyahu.
At 7:30PM, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach celebrates his own birthday along with the opening of his new World Values Network NYC HQ.
At 8:30PM, Governor Andrew Cuomo presents the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Leadership Award to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the 2015 Brady Center “Bear Awards” at Cipriani on Broadway.
SCENE LAST NIGHT: “UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova joined Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), Simon Wiesenthal dean Rabbi Marvin Hier at the Capitol Hill opening of the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s exhibition People, Book, Land: The 3,500 year Relationship of the Jewish People with the Holy Land. Israel’s Amb. Ron Dermer asserted that “Israel wants to live in peace with her neighbors” but that a key problem was the refusal to recognize the Jewish people’s right to be in their land. “This exhibition is a key to peace,” Ambassador Dermer said.”
HEARD YESTERDAY: “Recalling Holocaust, Jewish Rep. Eliot Engel slams bias against Syrian refugees” [JTA; YouTube]
Poll: “Most Americans Oppose Syrian Refugee Resettlement” [Bloomberg]
Joshua Ostroff: “Never Again: A Jewish Take On Anti-Syrian Refugee Sentiment” [HuffPost]
Patrick Burnett: “Jewish-Muslim Relations: For European Peace, the Siblings Can and Must Make Amends” [HuffPost]
Walter Russell Mead: “President Obama’s Cynical Refugee Ploy: The debate we are having over the acceptance of Syrian refugees is not the conversation the country needs.” [AmericanInterest]
David Ignatius: “U.S. drones have been striking Islamic State members planning attacks in America”[WashPost]
CONFLICT: “U.S. Eyes Russia-Iran Split in Bid to End Syria Conflict” by Jay Solomon: “The Obama administration and European and Arab allies are seeking to peel Russia away from its alliance with Iran, a partnership that has bolstered Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said senior diplomats involved in efforts to end Syria’s lengthy conflict.” [WSJ]
“Jeb at The Citadel: Use of Force Will Restore U.S. Leadership” by Jacob Kornbluh: “But for the United States, who’s going to help our friends and allies in the Middle East gain the upper hand against radical Islamic terrorists like ISIS, al-Qaeda, Hamas, and Hizballah? But for the United States, who will lead the effort to once and for all stop Iran’s bid for nuclear weapons capability, its support for terrorism, and its ballistic missile proliferation? .. Who will be the dependable friend of the people of Israel, standing with them against the worst, if not the United States of America?” [JI]
Eli Lake: “After Paris, Jeb Whiffs on His War Speech: The most disappointing part of the speech is that it contained too many hedges. Bush called for ground troops to be sent to fight against the Islamic State. But there was a caveat: it should be in conjunction with our allies… How is this substantively any different than what Obama is already doing?” [BloombergView]
DEEP DIVE: “Two Clintons. 41 Years. $3 Billion.” by Matea Gold, Tom Hamburger and Anu Narayanswamy: “A Washington Post investigation reveals how Bill and Hillary Clinton have methodically cultivated donors over 40 years, from Little Rock to Washington and then across the globe. Their fundraising methods have created a new blueprint for politicians and their donors.” [WashPost]
The Rich List: “Who Are New York’s Biggest Political Donors?” [Observer]
BUSINESS BRIEFS: “Hyatt’s lost hotel deal spotlights the Pritzkers’ dilemma” [Crains] • “Starwood’s Barry Sternlicht Clarifies Obama-IS Comments” [Bloomberg] • “Euromoney appoints executive Chairman Andrew Rashbass CEO” [Reuters] • “Chaim Miller confesses to owing his boss $10M” [RealDeal] • “Nursing home proposed near North Miami Beach by Galbut-owned firm” [BizJournals]• Profile: “Marvin Markowitz: Knocked down, but standing taller than ever” [JewishJournal] • “Kraft foundation gives $20 million to advance personalized medicine” [BostonGlobe]
PROFILE: “Tinder? I’m an addict, says hook-up app’s co-creator and CEO Sean Rad” by Charlotte Edwardes: “His parents are Iranian-born Jews who moved to Bel Air in the Seventies. They are both in the consumer electronics business set up by his grandfather, and Rad grew up “listening to complex business issues at the dinner table. I got a masters degree in it by the time I left home.” The family is sprawling — he has 12 uncles and aunts and 41 first cousins — and he speaks to his mum everyday: “I have no choice.”” [EveningStandard]
“The Price of Cool” by Andrew Silow-Carroll: “Judaism is cool. As in hip. As in a Pew study showing that Americans view Jews more warmly than any other religious group, ahead of Catholics and evangelical Christians (atheists and Muslims didn’t fare so well). Jewish means Seinfeld and Jon Stewart. Mark Zuckerberg and Seth Rogen… At the same time, I worry that the song speaks for generations for whom Judaism may not be a stigma nor a burden but may not be very distinctive either. Sandler’s celebrities are cool because they happen to be Jewish, not because they represent a particular Jewish way of being in the world.” [NJJN]
LongRead: “NFL Owner Stan Kroenke Wants to Take Over L.A.” [BusinessWeek]
–Angle: “When Kroenke first emerged on the scene five years go, he was a “Jewish tycoon” preparing to raid Arsenal’s shares. It’s not entirely clear where this claim came from. Was it the combination of an eastern European-ish surname and a billion-dollar fortune? Was it the association with one of Britain’s most prominent footballing Jews, Arsenal’s then vice-chairman David Dein… Either way, the suggestion has proved sticky enough for Kroenke still to be listed on a Wikipedia page entitled “Jewish American Sportspeople”, even though he is actually a regular churchgoing Christian.” [Telegraph]
BIRTHDAYS: Penn President Amy Gutmann turns 66… Nathan Low (h/t Chantal)… Schusterman VP Lisa Eisen… Schusterman Director of Network Initiatives Seth Cohen… Larry King turns 82… Shmuley Boteach turns 49… Calvin Klein turns 73… Patty Fiden… Sydney Cetner…
