Daily Kickoff
Thank You Dr. Gordis — @DanielGordis: “If you’re not reading Jewish Insider, you should be. Impressive new outfit culling great material from all over. Time well spent.” [Twitter]
ON THE HILL: “Push for new Iran missile sanctions divides Democrats” by Jordain Carney: “Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) defended the administration’s recent actions on Tuesday, calling the sanctions against 11 individuals tied to Iran’s missile program “sufficient.” But Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who had pushed for the administration to crackdown on Iran, said he’s “not sure there’s a need for more [sanctions.]” Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who both opposed the nuclear deal, suggested that new sanctions against the missile program could get Democratic support.” [TheHill]
“For Second Time, House OKs Bill Targeting Iran Nuclear Deal” by Richard Lardner:“Lawmakers voted 246-181 Tuesday to pass the Iran Terror Finance Transparency Act, ignoring a veto threat from President Barack Obama. The House bill would bar the removal of certain individuals and financial institutions on a restricted list until the president certifies to Congress that they weren’t involved in Iran’s ballistic missiles program or in terrorist activities. The White House said the bill could cause “the collapse” of the nuclear agreement.” [ABCNews]
“Hoenlein: Next US president could cancel Iran deal” by Herb Keinon: “Hoenlein told The Jerusalem Post ahead of the conference’s annual meeting here in two weeks that although the deal went through, it was not a signed treaty and therefore the next president could rethink it. He pointed out that polls showed that 80 percent of the public was opposed. The deal went through on the strength of a parliamentary maneuver, “but you don’t have a signed agreement, “ he said. “You don’t have a treaty the president could sign, because he knew it couldn’t get passed. And the next president might not be bound by the deal.” [JPost]
“10th Congressional hopefuls Rotering, Schneider spar over Iran” by Russell Lissau: “The Democrats running to represent Illinois’ 10th Congressional District faced off on the Iran nuclear deal and other issues Tuesday night during a debate at Congregation B’nai Jehoshua Beth Elohim in Deerfield… Former Rep. Brad Schneider acknowledged he opposed the White House-backed proposal, saying he has concerns about “gaps” making enforcement difficult. Even so, Schneider told the roughly 150 people in the audience he is “committed to making sure this deal works.” Although she says Iran can’t be trusted, Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering supported the deal and blasted Schneider for siding with Republicans on the proposal.” [DailyHerald]
State’s Marie Harf tweets at WSJ’s Jay Solomon, who pointed out that Iran claims it now has access to $100B in frozen oil revenues after the White House said it would be $50B: “Important clarification – it was experts at US Treasury Dept who did the math & determined how much $ Iran would actually get” [Twitter]
FP’s David Rothkopf responds: “Is that really an important clarification? Isn’t Treasury part of the administration? Weird distinction.” Marie Harf: “Not weird distinction. When people use “White House,” it sounds political – often inadvertently. Not the case here.”
DRIVING THE DAY: “President Obama’s mosque visit will spotlight a new generation of Muslim Americans” by Michelle Boorstein: “When President Obama visits a mosque Wednesday — his first such U.S. event as president — it will put the biggest spotlight in memory on Muslim American life, but not in the way most Americans are accustomed to seeing. In the small group Obama plans to meet in suburban Baltimore are a competitive fencer, a graffiti artist and a police chaplain.” [WashPost; FirstDraft]
DEEP DIVE: “Clinton White House passed up pardon for Chelsea’s father-in-law” by Josh Gerstein: “Encounters between potential in-laws can often be awkward, but this untold chapter in Clinton family history may take the cake. In the waning days of Clinton’s presidency, federal prosecutors and the FBI were bearing down on former Rep. Ed Mezvinsky (D-Iowa), who had fallen for a series of Ponzi schemes and pulled in nearly $10 million money from other investors to cover his losses. Mezvinsky and his then-wife — ex-Rep. Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky (D-Pa.) — pleaded with the former president for a presidential pardon to head off the looming federal case.” [Politico]
“Donald Trump Scares New Hampshire Jews — and Bernie Sanders Disappoints” by Noel Rubinton: “With only 10,000 Jews making up less than 1% of New Hampshire’s statewide population, there is no big-state-style “Jewish vote” in the first-in-the-nation primary on Tuesday, February 9, but that isn’t keeping Jews from participating in the intense quadrennial ritual… Despite negative Jewish reaction to Trump’s statements on immigration, Israel and other subjects, some still expect that the small number of Jewish voters in the New Hampshire Republican primary will support him at the same rate as the rest of electorate.” [Forward] • “New Hampshire Jews trust Bernie Sanders, but voting all over the map” [JTA]
“Sanders’ ancestral town in Poland kvells over his Iowa performance: All eyes in the sleepy Polish town of Slopnice were fixed on the US presidential race Tuesday as Bernie Sanders, whose father was born there, was in a virtual tie with frontrunner Hillary Clinton in the the Democratic caucus in Iowa. “There’s quite a bit of excitement in the air here — we’re proud of Senator Sanders and we wish our ‘homeboy’ even greater success!” mayor Adam Soltys told AFP.” [AFP]
Noah Pollak tweets: “Friend in Republican donor-world: “Out of respect they’re waiting a week before leaving Jeb for Marco, but emotionally they’re already gone” [Twitter]
“Jeb Bush, an Also-Ran in Iowa, May Be Pivotal in New Hampshire” by Jonathan Martin and Ashley Parker: “Some of Mr. Bush’s major donors, including those with long ties to the family, are also growing impatient, hoping he will not go past New Hampshire absent a strong finish here. Few are willing to say so publicly, and on a Tuesday conference call the campaign held for fund-raisers, they did not even get a chance to say so privately: The Bush aides running the call did not open it up to questions.” [NYTimes]
“Rand Paul ran for president and realized he’s a senator” by Jon Ward: “Rand Paul, the U.S. Senator from Kentucky who was once a legitimate contender for the Republican presidential nomination, dropped out of the race Wednesday, two days after a lackluster showing in the Iowa caucuses.” [YahooNews]
BUSINESS BRIEFS: “Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein makes first TV appearance after 600 hours of chemotherapy” [BusinessInsider] • “Barry Diller’s IAC Misses Sales Estimate on Declines in Publishing, Search” [Bloomberg; WSJ] • “Barry Diller to make another bid for Angie’s List” [NYPost] • “Robert FX Sillerman’s SFX Entertainment Declares Bankruptcy” [Reuters] • “Indigo’s Heather Reisman: Our Business Is Still With the Books” [Bloomberg] • “On Tuesday, ThirdLove announced that it had raised an additional $8 million in funding led by New Enterprise Associates, with participation from Barry Sternlicht” [Fortune]
SPOTLIGHT: “This is how an 80-year-old billionaire celebrates his birthday” by Emily Smith: “Icahn, who turns 80 on Feb. 16, took a break from clashing with AIG to be fêted at Mastro’s Steakhouse in Midtown by friends including Michael Milken, Apollo’s Leon Black, Douglas Elliman chairman Howard Lorber, Jefferies CEO Rich Handler and vice chairman Andrew Whittaker, and Vector Group chairman Bennett LeBow.” [PageSix]
TALK OF OUR NATION: “China’s ‘Jewish People’s Wisdom Network,’ and Other Pyramid Schemes” by Isaac Stone Fish: “China’s transition into a market economy — at times lightly regulated and often marked with corrupt governance — has bred an uncountable number of hucksters and tricksters… But perhaps none have been weirder than the Jewish People’s Wisdom Network, an organization that, for at least several months from 2008 to 2009, played off Chinese people’s widely held belief that Jews possess a vast and knowable body of knowledge that helps people get rich quickly.” [ForeignPolicy]
MEDIA WATCH: “Fake NY Times ‘Supplement’ Trashes Israel” by Gary Rosenblatt: “No, Hillary Clinton has not quit her race for president to advocate for Palestinian rights. Sen. Chuck Schumer is not calling for the end of U.S. aid to Israel. And The New York Times is not searching for a new publisher to end its biased, pro-Israel reporting. A sophisticated, fake four-page supplement to The New York Times featuring those “stories” and others promoting the Palestinian cause and denigrating Israel was distributed in Manhattan on Tuesday, and The New York Times is not laughing.” [JewishWeek] • “Progressive Jewish groups make New York Times parody issue to protest newspaper’s “biased Israel-Palestine coverage”” [Salon]
ADL’s Jonathan Greenblatt: “The diatribe, published anonymously, conveys false facts and themes consistent with anti-Israel advocates and supporters of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. New Yorkers are sophisticated enough to see that this “news” was not fit to print.” [ADL]
TALK OF THE TOWN: “Catskills Town Accused of Preventing 160 Hasidic Jews From Voting” by Allie Jones: “Last January, the board of elections in the tiny Catskills village of Bloomingburg, New York, attempted to cancel the voting registrations of 160 Hasidic residents, claiming that they needed to provide more proof of residency to vote. Ten of those residents filed a federal lawsuit against the board claiming voter discrimination, and today, the Sullivan County Board of Elections settled for $575,000.” [Gawker]
HOLLYWOOD: “Randi Zuckerberg Turning Girl-Power Children’s Book Into Animated TV Series” by Kimberly Nordyke: “The Zuckerberg Media founder and CEO has partnered with NBCUniversal’s kids’ network Sprout and The Jim Henson Co. to bring ‘Dot.,’ the story about a tech-savvy young girl, to television.” [HollywoodReporter]
SPORTS BLINK: “Roger Goodell’s Unstoppable Football Machine” by Mark Leibovich: “For all the revelations about its brutality, pro football is more popular and profitable than ever. How the N.F.L. commissioner and a group of billionaire owners have kept the league on offense.” [NYTimesMag]
DESSERT: “The Explosive History Of Kossar’s, NYC’s Most Famous Bialy Bakery” by Nell Casey: “With the closure of Coney Island Bialys and Bagels, Kossar’s is the last vestige of what was once a thriving bialy scene in New York City, especially the LES, where many Eastern European Jews migrated and settled. And though they’ve been closed for a recent renovation, the bialy bakery is poised to make a big comeback later this week.” [Gothamist]
BIRTHDAYS: Josh Lipsky, the pride of Greenbelt, Md., now policy advisor and speechwriter to Rick Stengel, under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, is 3-0… Joel Mowbray… former SEC Chair Arthur Levitt turns 85… MIT Geneticist and co-chair of President Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, Eric Lander, turns 59… Comedian Shelley Berman turns 91… Joshua Keyak of the Northern New Jersey Jewish Federation (h/t brother Aaron)…
