Daily Kickoff
SCENE LAST NIGHT — NY Primary Edition: JI was on location at both Trump Tower and the Times Square Sheraton for Donald Trump’s and Hillary Clinton’s respective victory rallies. [JewishInsider; Video]
OVERHEARD On The Rope Line: Hillary Clinton thanking NYC Councilman David Greenfield for his support after he told her that she won 2-1 in Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods in NYC. “Thank you for your efforts and thanks for taking such good care of John Podesta in Boro Park,” Hillary leaned in to tell Greenfield. [Video] • Hillary also thanked the JCRC’s Michael Miller [Video]
Spotted at the Sheraton: Rep. Eliot Engel, Sol Werdiger, Rabbi Menachem Genack, Aaron Keyak, David Lobl, Avi Fink Yehuda Friedman, Sharon Kleinbaum, AFT’s Randi Weingarten, NY State Assemblyman David Weprin, Mark Weprin. [Pic]
NYC activist Chaskel Bennett emails: “When people in our community take the time to understand what Sanders is saying and what his campaign stands for, they are immediately turned off. With the help of a few activists, our local elected officials, and the nonstop criticism of Israel by Sanders himself, our #StoptheBern effort did its part to send Sanders away with a resounding defeat.”
Alan Abbey on Sanders: “To steal a saying, as goes New York, so goes the nation. The victories of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in New York have poured cement overshoes on the campaigns of their challengers. But that cement hasn’t hardened yet, and the Sanders, Cruz, and Kasich campaigns will surely continue, even with those weights dragging them down. On a granular level, Clinton’s victory among the Jewish-inflected bourgeoisie and ethnic stew of metro New York was predictable, as was Sanders’ appeal across vast swathes of decaying upstate communities.”
Ezra Friedlander emails: “Clinton’s margin of victory in Jewish communities across NYC will not go unnoticed at the highest levels of the Clinton campaign and the DNC and might be the catalyst for a rapprochement between the Orthodox communities and the national Democratic party which has seen an erosion of support.”
Kasich supporter Brad Kastan emails: “Kasich’s focus on the Jewish vote paid off. 10th District, most Jewish district in America, which includes Boro Park, he gets a delegate! And he got 35% of the vote to Trump’s 45% Cruz got 20%. The only district that Kasich won is also the #2 in Jewish population — the east side district, Trump’s home. So the three places with significant Jews are the three delegates that Kasich secured in the State.”
John Kasich Passover Op-Ed: “In New York and in my home state of Ohio, I’ve met so many Jewish people who choose to live their lives in pursuit of helping the hungry, the poor, the sick, and other souls who are suffering. As a Christian, I worship the same God who brought the Jewish people out of bondage.”[JNS]
Dave Weigel tweets: “Looks like Kings County (Brooklyn) was the only one where Cruz beat Kasich for second place. #Matzomentum” [Twitter]
Trump voted at Central Synagogue: “The sidewalks surrounding Central Synagogue in Manhattan, where Trump voted, were lined with supporters and some protesters.” [CNN]
“Carl Icahn helps pal Trump celebrate big NY win” by Everett Rosenfeld: “Billionaire investor Carl Icahn was on hand Tuesday night for Donald Trump’s massive New York GOP primary win. When asked about the relationship between the two titans of business, Trump said “we just like each other.” And for his part, Icahn declared that “Trump is the only candidate who can stop the terrible gridlock in Washington and make Congress work again.”” [CNBC]
“New York Primary Converges With Fish and Passover Prep” by Alex Vadukul: “At a small fish market on Lee Avenue, a commercial artery of the Orthodox community in Williamsburg, fishmongers, standing behind the counter of iced fish, were too busy to talk. Emerich Tauber, 69, a retired fishmonger, seemed disinclined to support either candidate, Hillary Clinton or Senator Bernie Sanders. “The old guy, surely not,” he said, unable to identify Mr. Sanders by name. Though Democrats are unable to vote in the Republican primary, Mr. Tauber expressed his desire to vote for Donald J. Trump. “We need change,” Mr. Tauber said. “He’s crazy. But we need change. He can do it.”” [NYTimes]
“Two Friends Go for a Walk on the Upper West Side” by Noah Remnick: “On Tuesday afternoon, two friends went for a walk on West 72nd Street in Manhattan, determined not to let politics spoil the nice weather. But this is the Upper West Side, where opinions outnumber the variety of bagels. Mark Fleischer, 79, and Abraham Hershow, 88, retirees who had become close through a Jewish men’s group, had voted before they met up. Clearly, they had not cast similar ballots… “Sanders,” Fleischer continued, “I can’t stand how he talks, and we don’t need a socialist. That leaves me with Hillary, I guess. She’s experienced, and I like her husband.” Mr. Hershow shook his head emphatically. Bernie Sanders had his vote, he said. “I can’t stand someone who takes hundreds of thousands of dollars for speeches,” he said of Mrs. Clinton.” [NYTimes]
“Why Orthodox Jews Aren’t Feeling the Bern” by Kevin Ellerton: “I’d grown up in this tight-knit community of Modern-Orthodox Jews—most of the houses on the canvass map belonged to family friends—and I imagined it would be easy to convince some of these neighbors to start feeling the Bern. Boy was I wrong.” [ViceNews]
“In New York, Sanders Tries to Push the Limits of Religion and Politics” by Molly O’Toole:“Sanders’s language on the enduring conflict between Israel and Palestine appears directed at younger, more liberal voters, Abe Foxman said. He also said it is intended to divide. Sanders “is playing to a certain attitude Israel is too strong, too aggressive,” he said. “This campaign this year is anti-establishment. So in many ways, support for Israel becomes an anti-establishment issue as well.”” [ForeignPolicy]
“J Street Faces Balancing Act as Democrats Push Envelope on Israel” by Nathan Guttman: “Sanders’s willingness to challenge the decades-old paradigm on Israel endears him to J Street, but his candidacy also highlights a divide in the group. Its student wing has embraced Sanders, but its board and important donors are Clinton supporters.” [Forward]
“WH: Obama Shares Biden’s Criticism of Netanyahu” by Jacob Kornbluh: “White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest on Tuesday defended Vice President Joe Biden’s harsh rebuke of the Netanyahu government’s policies… Asked whether or not President Obama shares the Vice President’s sentiments, Earnest admitted, “There is a source of significant frustration. There certainly is frustration with both sides that we have encountered.” Earnest added, “the extent of the differences between the two sides are significant enough that it’s not something that’s going to get resolved in the next nine months,” he said.”[JewishInsider]
ON THE HILL: “Congress unblocks $108 million in Palestinian aid” by Julian Pecquet:“Congress has released $108 million in blocked aid to the Palestinians, Al-Monitor has learned, allowing payments to the Palestinian Authority’s creditors to continue. Key lawmakers had placed holds on $159 million in aid since last fall to protest the Palestinians’ UN statehood bid and payments to the families of people who conduct attacks against Israelis.” [AlMonitor]
“Congressional testimony highlights ties between Hamas-linked charities, BDS” by Rebecca Shimoni Stoil: “The US should boost transparency of nonprofit organizations in order to shed light on ties between a key pro-boycott organization and defunct charities that were implicated in funding Hamas, analyst Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told members of Congress during testimony Tuesday afternoon when two subcommittees of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs met to discuss current threats to Israel.” [ToI; Video]
BUSINESS BRIEFS: Dan Doctoroff, the founder of Sidewalk Labs, discusses LinkNYC and other technologies that tackle challenges common to big cities. H/T ReDef [CharlieRose] • Aby Rosen’s RFR sells 11 Howard Hotel to Commerz Real for $170M [RealDeal] • “Francisco Partners to buy Israel’s SintecMedia for $400 million” [Reuters]
STARTUP NATION: “Israeli Apester reups, adds $12M in closing $17M Series A” by Gabriel Avner: “This second leg of funding was led by Blumberg Capital, with participation from previous investor Mangrove Capital. Co-founded in 2014 by CEO Moti Cohen, Apester provides publishers and the brands they work with tools for telling stories and encouraging user engagement. Their tool kit taps into the trend of posting quizzes and other interactives related to the content from the site in hopes of adding value for visitors.” [GeekTime]
TALK OF OUR NATION: “What different styles of head coverings say about Israeli Jewish men” by Michael Lipka and Angelina Theodorou: “What you wear can say a lot about who you are and what you believe. In Israel, for instance, the type of kippa – or lack thereof – worn by an Israeli Jewish man often is strongly correlated with his religious identity as well as some political views. These skullcaps (also known by their Yiddish name, yarmulkes), are regularly worn by about one-third of Israel’s Jewish men, especially the religiously observant. They come in several basic styles, with some more favored by particular Jewish subgroups than others.” [PewResearch]
“Yeshiva students take BOCES path to college” by Adrienne Sanders: “Taub is among a growing group of ultra-Orthodox Jews whose thirst for secular knowledge has led them to an educational passageway from their deeply religious communities to the wider world: Rockland BOCES, a state-backed education program, and Rockland Community College, a State University of New York school. In recent years, roughly 40 ultra-Orthodox students (mostly young men) attended BOCES each year, an increase from 10 years ago when there were only a handful, Moschetti said.” [LoHud]
TOP TWEET — Howard Mortman: “PASSOVER UPDATED FOR CYBER-SECURITY: Now, in addition to Four Questions, you’ll have to create a password and pin number.” [Twitter]
DESSERT: “Getting baked on Passover not just for matzah, rabbi rules” by Raoul Wootliff:“Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, widely considered the leading living ultra-Orthodox halachic authority, ruled that marijuana is kosher for Passover and can be either eaten or smoked over the eight-day Jewish festival, during which strict dietary laws apply.” [ToI]
BIRTHDAYS: Television personality and game show host, J.D. Roth (born as James David Weinroth), turns 48… Schusterman’s Yaniv Rivlin… Alex Berman… Swiss physicist and Nobel Prize laureate, Karl Alexander Müller, turns 89… Immigrants’ rights activist and professor at Salem State University, Aviva Chomsky, eldest daughter of Noam Chomsky, turns 59… Jazz bassist and composer Avishai Cohen turns 46… British film director Sarah Gavron turns 46… Kelly McCormish…
