Daily Kickoff
SCENE LAST NIGHT: Sheldon and Miriam Adelson presented the “Adelson Defender of Israel Award” to Hollywood actor Jon Voight at the ZOA’s Louis D. Brandeis Awards dinner held at the Grand Hyatt in NYC. “Voight is the leading Zionist in Hollywood,” Sheldon said before presenting him the award, which he said “looks like a marriage certificate.” Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon addressed the crowd, saying that his mere six weeks serving as Israel’s representative at the UN “feels more like six years.” Ambassador Ron Dermer, who received the Dr. Bob Shillman Award for Outstanding Pro-Israel Diplomacy, delivered the keynote address. The Israeli Ambassador turned to ZOA president Mort Klein and quipped, “I have one request: every once and a while you need to get off the fence and tell the people what you really think – enough of this wishy-washiness, back and forth.” The event also featured former Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who Klein called the “Esther of our time” in his introductory remarks.
NJDC emails… “What does ZOA have to say about Michelle Bachmann’s message that it’s more urgent than ever to convert as many Jews as possible to Christianity? Is that someone that they’d like to continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with?”
VIP RECEPTION: Prior to the ZOA dinner, approximately 200 top donors, politicians and operatives gathered for a reception off the main lobby floor at the Grand Hyatt. Sheldon and Dr. Miriam Adelson, making a late appearance, were immediately swarmed by their fellow guests seeking selfies and a quick hello, as well as the occasional 2016 campaign operative begging for support. While ZOA staff tried desperately to encourage folks to head towards the dinner, a sizable crowd remained around Sheldon as he enjoyed what was left of the buffet spread. The scene led Dr. Adelson to joke to us that her husband loves ‘seafood,’ meaning that “when he ‘sees food’ he goes.”
SPOTTED: YU President Richard Joel, Mort Zuckerman, Israeli Amb. Ron Dermer, Israeli Amb. to the U.N. Danny Danon, Joshua Landes, Rachel Glazer, Michael Pregent, Cheryl Halpern, Eliot Lauer, Richard Stone, Harvey Lippman, Sen. Roy Blunt, Rep. Ed Royce, Travis Allen, Nick Muzin, Dr. Ben Chouake, Jeff Ballabon, Eytan Laor, Melissa Jane Kronfeld, Eli Hertz, Ezra Friedlander, Joel Mowbray, Stanley Stern, Ken Abramowitz, Chloé Valdary, Michael Makovsky, Wendy Sardinsky, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, Ronn Torossian, Laura Adkins, Josh London, Brian Mast, Daniel Pollak, and Dr. Joseph Frager.
“Eliot Lauer: Pollard is ‘Not a Free Man’” by Jacob Kornbluh: “Speaking at the ZOA dinner at the Grand Hyatt in NY on Sunday evening, Lauer said that while Pollard has been released from prison, “he is not free.”… “The Parole Commission has imposed unnecessary restrictions on Jonathan’s parole: 7:00pm to 7:00am curfew, a GPS tracking 24/7, movement restricted to a small portion in NYC, and computer monitoring of the internet at home and at work.” [JI]
2016 WATCH: “Carson Supports Pollard Moving to Israel With Conditions” by Jacob Kornbluh: “Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson on Sunday expressed vague support for Jonathan Pollard’s desire to seek asylum in Israel, only if he comes to conclusion that the Israeli spy no more represents any danger to the security of the United States.” [JI; CSPAN]
Betsy Woodruff: “Republicans fall all over themselves trying to show how much they love Israel, so why are they so quiet about convicted traitor Jonathan Pollard?” [DailyBeast]
Chemi Shalev: “In Jail or Out, the Campaign for Prisoner of Zion Pollard Is Never-ending” [Haaretz]
NEW YORKER PROFILES: “A Wing and a Prayer: The unlikely success of Ben Carson’s improvisatory campaign” by Kelefa Sanneh: “When Carson mentions racial uplift, he often adds a quick disclaimer, noting that his policies are meant “not only for African-Americans but for everybody.” Sitting on the bus, though, he advocated a kind of economic separatism. “If we would learn how to turn our dollars over in our own community, two or three times, before you send it out—that’s how you generate wealth,” he told me. “That’s how the Jews did it. That’s how the Koreans did it.”” [NewYorker]
“The Opportunist: Marco Rubio’s political dexterity” by Evan Osnos: “In April, Politico had published a story headlined “RUBIO TAKES LEAD IN SHELDON ADELSON PRIMARY,” which reported that Rubio had been calling Adelson every two weeks. I asked Rubio about it, and he said, “I don’t know about every couple of weeks, but I talk to him quite a bit.” Adelson spent about ninety-eight million dollars in connection with the 2012 campaign, including twenty million on the campaign of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. He has yet to commit to a candidate in 2016. Rubio described Adelson and himself as natural allies. “The only thing Sheldon Adelson has talked to me about policy-wise is Israel,” he said. “And he doesn’t have to convince me on that, because I’m pro-Israel with or without Sheldon’s support.”[NewYorker]
“Jewish Group Denounces Trump For False Claims About U.S. Arabs Cheering 9/11” by David Mack: “In a statement, the Anti-Defamation League said: “It is unfortunate that Donald Trump is giving new life to long-debunked conspiracy theories about 9/11.” “This seems a variation of the anti-Semitic myth that a group of Israelis were seen celebrating as the Twin Towers fell,” the ADL said.” [BuzzFeed]
POLLS: “As Republicans ratchet up the rhetoric, Clinton is most trusted on terrorism” [WashPost] • “More Israelis prefer Gantz than Netanyahu as PM, poll finds” [JPost]
DRIVING THE WEEK: Secretary of State John Kerry in the Middle East: “While in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Ramallah, Secretary Kerry will discuss bilateral and regional security issues, including Syria and Daesh, and continue discussions on stopping the violence in Israel, Jerusalem and the West Bank, and improving conditions on the ground.”
Jonathan Alter: “Middle East Peace Isn’t Quite Dead Yet” [DailyBeast]
TOP TALKER: “More than 1,000 mourn Sharon teen killed in Israel” by Astead Herndon: “A crowd of more than 1,000 mourners, mostly clad in black, gathered Sunday at a Jewish temple here for the funeral of Ezra Schwartz, an 18-year-old resident who was killed last week during a year abroad in Israel. Schwartz’s parents, siblings, grandparents, and friends spoke at the two-hour funeral, which was held at Temple Sinai on Canton Street and broadcast on loudspeakers outside the house of worship.” [BostonGlobe]
“White House ‘deeply saddened’ by American teen Ezra Schwartz’s murder” by Michael Wilner: “We were deeply saddened to learn about the death of Ezra Schwartz, an American citizen from Massachusetts who was murdered in a terrorist attack,” National Security Council spokesperson Ned Price told The Jerusalem Post. “We extend our deepest condolences to the victim’s family, friends and community as well as the family and friends of the four other people killed in yesterday’s tragic events.” [JPost]
Dov Lipman writes… “We just got official word from Bob Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots – there will be a moment of silence in memory of Ezra Schwartz, z”l, before tonight’s Monday Night Football game at Gillette Stadium! Yihi Zicro Baruch!” [Facebook]
Michael Granoff: “How to honor Ezra: end incitement” [ToI]
SCENE YESTERDAY: NY State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman was the keynote speaker at the Jewish Community Council of Boro Park Legislative and Community Tribute Breakfast, hosted by Yeruchim Silber, in Brooklyn. This was the first Boro Park community gathering since the Iran deal and the event featured a standing ovation for Sen. Chuck Schumer, while Rep. Jerry Nadler was the only elected official who was not given a chance to address the crowd. In his speech, Schumer said, “The terrorism in Paris is the same terrorism Israel has been living with for many generations. Terrorism against one nation is terrorism against all nations. And just as we stand with the French, we should stand with the people of Israel who are fighting terrorism today.”
BUSINESS BRIEFS: “Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will take off two months for paternity leave” [VentureBeat] • “Adam Neumann: The WeWork boss creating the future of the office” [EveningStandard] • “Rahm Emanuel Rolls The Dice On A Government-Owned Casino In Chicago” [Forbes] • “Defense Won’t Call Any Witnesses in Trial of Sheldon Silver” [WSJ] • “Avis Car Rental Bars Israeli Executive from Renting” [Observer] • “Jewish Settlement Winemakers Buck Opposition from European Union” [Bloomberg]
PROFILE: “The Big Idea Guy: Jeffrey Herbst is following the news into the future” by Lucia Graves: “It’s like asking which of your children do you love best!” Jeffrey Herbst says when I ask him to name his favorite display at the Newseum. Herbst, 54, is the new president and CEO of the nine-level museum of news and journalism, and on this chilly fall day in late October, he is giving me the grand tour… The disruptive role of technology is something that has long interested Herbst. Before starting at the Newseum in August, he was president of Colgate University… A native of Peekskill, New York, Herbst says he always knew he wanted to be an academic, and he wasted no time pursuing that dream.” [NationalJournal]
TALK OF OUR NATION: “Yes, It’s Fair to Compare the Plight of the Syrians to the Plight of the Jews. Here’s Why” by Josh Zeitz [PoliticoMag] • “We used to take refugees because they were Jewish. Now we take them because we’re Jewish.” [Vox] • “Last Jewish family in Aleppo flee for Israel” [Telegraph]
TALK OF THE TOWN: “Not So Fast, 1 Percent Whippersnappers” by Robert Frank: “The median age in Aspen as of 2010 was 40.9, up from 36.7 in 2000, according to the census. But officials say Aspen’s real median age — when accounting for all the vacation homes owned by older nonresidents — is far higher. Mick Ireland, a 66-year-old former mayor of the town, said that when he went to school fund-raisers or art events, “Everyone is old.” Bars and nightclubs have been replaced by wealth-management firms, luxury chains like Prada and Gucci, and real estate offices. “Sixty is the new 40 in Aspen,” he said.” [NYTimes]
“Mathphilic” by Rebecca Mead: “It’s a hundred years this month since Albert Einstein completed his general theory of relativity, and don’t imagine that the people at the Institute for Advanced Study, in Princeton, where Einstein spent the last twenty-two years of his life, aren’t marking the occasion.” [NewYorker]
DESSERT: “Mitzvah Day unites Jewish and Muslim leaders in kitchen” by Harriet Sherwood: “A rabbi and an imam walk into a kitchen and each picks up a knife. It sounds the like the start of a bad standup routine. In fact, it was leaders of British Jews and Muslims joining forces to help prepare a meal for the homeless and hungry as part of a nationwide day of social action on Sunday… The menu met kosher and halal requirements: vegetable soup, vegetarian cottage pie, apple crumble plus an assortment of cookies.” [TheGuardian]
BIRTHDAYS: Sen. Chuck ‘Shomer’ Schumer turns 65… Washington football team owner Dan Snyder turns 51… former Sen. Mary Landrieu turns 60… P.J. Pearlstone… Yaakov Neuberger… Elise Fischer… Uri Landesman… Shmuel Winiarz…
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