Daily Kickoff
SCENE LAST NIGHT: Approximately 400 guests of the Hudson Institute gathered last night at The Plaza Hotel in New York City where Rupert Murdoch was honored with Hudson’s Global Leadership Award. Murdoch, who was introduced by Dr. Henry Kissinger, began his remarks by warning, “Before I deliver my modest message, I feel obliged to alert college students, progressive academics and all other deeply sensitive souls that these words may contain phrases and ideas that challenge your prejudices (applause) so I formally declare this room an ‘unsafe space.’”How It Played: “Murdoch unloads on Kerry, Obama, the left” [Politico] • “Murdoch rips Kerry for defending terrorists’ ‘rationale’” [NYPost]
Hudson CEO Ken Weinstein began the evening’s program by noting that “we at Hudson Institute know how to read the tea leaves. 2015 after all is the year of the political outsider. So we decided to bring as our special guest this evening a REAL New Yorker. A tough negotiator. A huuuuuuge personality who speaks his mind and dominates the news cycle. And whose vision TRUMPS all others. The man with the best hair in New York, our 2015 honoree, Rupert Murdoch.” Weinstein also joked that “everyone who writes a check for $25,000 or more will get a free pass on Page Six for the next two years. (laughter)” [Twitter]
Shoutout of the night: The town of Kleineibstadt — Weinstein introduced Dr. Kissinger by saying “we both trace our family roots to Kleineibstadt, a town of 500 people in upper Bavaria — 100 of whom at its height were Jewish when our ancestors were neighbors. And here we are this evening paying tribute to a global media baron.”
Kissinger Quote: “History will not permit the United States to lead from behind”
SPOTTED: Jerry Hall, Marie-Josee Kravis, James and Kathryn Murdoch, Henry and Nancy Kissinger, Joe and Hadassah Lieberman, Elaine Chao, Leon and Debra Black, Dan Loeb, Roger and Beth Ailes, James Rosen and Sarah Durkin, Neil Cavuto, Bret and Amy Baier, Lally Weymouth, Amy Kauffman, Sarah Stern, Bill Kristol, Dan Senor and Campbell Brown, Garry Kasparov, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Joel Klein, Brian Murray, Paul Gigot, Mark Cunningham, Mitzi Perdue, John Waldron, Jay and Ellie Urstadt, Robert Thomson, Gerald Baker.
Bret Stephens, Dan Henninger, Alex Karp, Doug Haynes, Ravenel Curry, Mary Kush, Russell Pennoyer, Tom and Patricia Barry, Devon Cross, Ken Mehlman, Larry Silverstein, Michael Mukasey, Wing and Cathy Biddle, Gil Scharf, Russ Coniglio, Michael Grebe, Annie Dickerson, Bill O’Reilly, Jason and Naomi Schaefer Riley, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Matt Murray, Jeffrey Berenson, Husain Haqqani, Jeffrey Herbst, Rich Lowry, Joshua Landes, Ami Horowitz, Ami Eden, Ken and Nira Abramowitz, Norman Podhoretz, Ken Bialkin, Ruth Wisse, Walter Russell Mead, Susan Steinhardt, Sander Gerber, Gary Rosen, and Noah Pollak.
HAPPENING TONIGHT: The Washington Institute’s Ninth Annual Scholar-Statesman Award Dinner honoring Ehud Barak and Leon Panetta, as well as paying tribute to Institute Chairman, Martin J. Gross.
IRAN DEAL: “The US never really expected Iran to come totally clean about a key element of its nuclear history” by Armin Rosen [BusinessInsider]
Aaron David Miller: “Does the World Need a Weak or Failing Palestinian State?” [WSJ]
Shai Held: “4 Mistakes To Avoid When Talking About Radical Islam” [Forward]
Bret Stephens: “In Paris, it’s easier to battle a climate crisis than confront jihadists on the streets” [WSJ]
Edward-Isaac Dovere: “He’ll always have Paris: It’s just not clear whether Obama’s trip will be remembered for climate change or terrorism” [Politico]
TRANSITIONS: “Obama names new ISIS adviser Rob Malley” by Kristen Holmes: “The White House announced Monday new steps in its counter terror campaign, including measures that will tighten the security in the visa waiver program and the naming of a new senior adviser to the President — Robert Malley — who will focus solely on the anti-ISIS fight.” [CNN]
2016 WATCH: “Past Obama Fundraisers Slowly Stepping Up for Hillary Clinton” by John McCormick: “I don’t know if I will become a bundler for her,” said Alan Solow, a Chicago lawyer who was a national co-chairman for Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. “My focus hasn’t been as much on the Clinton campaign, but I am a supporter.” Solow, who raised at least $500,000 for Obama in 2012, said it isn’t realistic to expect that Clinton will have the same level of financial support from Chicago as Obama enjoyed.” [Bloomberg]
AP REPORT: “In this Jan. 18, 2006 file photo, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., is greeted by S. Daniel Abraham, benefactor of a chair in Middle Eastern studies, at Princeton University in Princeton, N.J. As secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton opened her office to dozens of influential Democratic party fundraisers, former Clinton administration and campaign loyalists and corporate donors, including Abraham, to her family’s global charity, according to State Department calendars obtained by The Associated Press.” [AP]
NEW BATCH: “‘Further Bibi Lore’ – Summary of Newly Released Hillary Emails” by Jacob Kornbluh: One email contained a quote of Netanyahu telling The Jerusalem Post’s editor, Steve Linde, that “We have two main enemies…. The New York Times and Haaretz.” To which Hillary replied, “Further Bibi lore.” [JewishInsider]
“Clinton Emails Show Blumenthal No Fan of Axelrod” by Peter Nicholas: “One takeaway from the tens of thousands of Hillary Clinton email messages from her time at the State Department: Her confidante Sidney Blumenthal really, truly disliked President Barack Obama’s confidante, David Axelrod.” [WSJ]
“Presidential candidates chase campaign cash around Art Basel Miami Beach” by Patricia Mazzei: “Ah, to be among the glitterati who will descend this week on Art Basel Miami Beach. Nibbling on canapés. Clinking glasses of bubbly. Perusing modern masterpieces. And … writing checks to politicians? That’s the hope of several 2016 presidential candidates who, on purpose or by happenstance, have scheduled fundraising receptions to coincide with the annual art fair that swells the ranks of South Florida’s moneyed elite… “I don’t think it bothers anybody” if presidential candidates are trying to get in on the action, added Norman Braman, a top donor to Republican Marco Rubio. “Some of these people that are coming here are obviously very involved politically.” [MiamiHerald; CBS]
“Rubio Defends Paul Singer Endorsement” by Jacob Kornbluh: “During a closed-door meeting arranged by the influential American Renewal Project in Iowa, several pastors expressed concern that Rubio would be beholden to the views of Singer as an influential donor on gay marriage. “When someone cooperates with my campaign, they are buying into my agenda. I am not buying into their agenda, and that has been very clear in my history,” Rubio told the pastors. “Mr. Singer has never, ever tried to change my mind or deeply discuss with me the issue. He knows where I stand on the issue.” [JewishInsider]
“Cruz Excoriates Rubio on Foreign Policy, Links Him to Clinton” by Sahil Kapur: “If you look at President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and for that matter some of the more aggressive Washington neo-cons, they have consistently mis-perceived the threat of radical Islamic terrorism and have advocated military adventurism that has had the effect of benefiting radical Islamic terrorists,” Cruz said.” [Bloomberg]
“Jake Tapper to Trump lawyer: ‘Seriously?'” by Eliza Collins: “Things got awkward between Donald Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen and CNN host Jake Tapper on Monday afternoon. “Mr. Trump’s memory is fantastic. I’ve never come across a situation that Mr. Trump has said something that is not accurate,” Cohen said. “Seriously?” an incredulous Tapper asked.” [Politico; Mediaite]
BUSINESS BRIEFS: “Israel is in talks with Google to block ‘inflammatory’ Palestinian videos” [BusinessInsider] • “Sumner Redstone’s camp prevails in court – for now” [CNNMoney] • “Family of Robert Durst’s First Wife Sues Him for $100 Million in Her Disappearance” [NYTimes]
PROFILE: “Israeli Billionaire Creates Arab Jobs and Questions Tech Culture” by Yaacov Benmeleh: “Israel is suffering the worst anti-Jewish violence in a decade, causing many Israeli Jews to shun Arabs and blame radical Islam. Stef Wertheimer, the country’s third wealthiest man, has a different attitude. He is building Arab workplaces.” [Bloomberg]
“Uri Levine shepherding his Israeli start-ups into billion dollar unicorns” by John Reed:“Levine is one of a new breed of Israeli entrepreneurs who are holding on to their start-up companies for longer and shepherding them into the billion-dollar-plus valuation league known to investors as “unicorns”. If they do sell, they are increasingly ploughing their know-how and money into new companies and becoming serial entrepreneurs.” [FinancialTimes]
STARTUP NATION: “Finding The Treasure – An Interview with Mor Assia and Shelly Hod Moyal” by Stacey Alcorn: “iAngels, founded by Mor Assia and Shelly Hod Moyal, two Israeli women who formed a friendship many years ago in New York City, and armed with their MBAs, business acumen, and love for Israel, moved back to Tel Aviv to help finance the startups becoming the most impressive new firms in the world while simultaneously exposing Israel’s deeply rich talent to investors hungry to get behind the scenes on the highly profitable investment opportunities coming out of Israel.” [HuffPost]
HOLLYWOOD: “Sean Penn speaks out about humanitarian work on visit to Israel” [JPost]
TALK OF THE TOWN: “Sheldon Silver, Ex-New York Assembly Speaker, Is Found Guilty on All Counts” by Benjamin Weiser and Susanne Craig: “Sheldon Silver, who held a seemingly intractable grip on power for decades as one of the most feared politicians in New York State, was found guilty on Monday of federal corruption charges, ending a trial that was the capstone of the government’s efforts to expose the seamy culture of influence-peddling in Albany.” [NYTimes]
INBOX — Michael Shapiro: “It’s been an absolute honor to spend the past three years with Rep. Peter Roskam’s office… It’s therefore with both sadness and excitement for the future to let you know that today is my last day with Team Roskam. Tomorrow I’ll start a new chapter as communications advisor to Speaker Ryan.”
DESSERT: “An eye-catching menorah brings a smile for the Festival of Light” by John Kelly: “It just hit me one night,” said Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld. “This year, we’re going to build a menorah out of Lego.” [WashPost]
BIRTHDAYS: David Milstein… Yochi Dreazen… Joan Craig-Bailey… Daniel Landes…
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