Daily Kickoff
TOP TALKER: “GOP Megadonor Paul Singer Rips Trump at NYC Dinner” by Eliana Johnson: “One of the Republican party’s most influential donors signaled that he will support neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton in the November election. Paul Singer, the New York City hedge-fund manager who endorsed Marco Rubio before he dropped out of the race, said Monday evening that conservatives must “stand up for what we believe, which is not embodied by either choice on the menu in November.” [NationalReview; FirstDraft]
“Can anti-Trump Jews Save the Republican Party?” by Yishai Schwartz: “Trump is beholden to no one, and has no record to which he can be held. To a community that counts on its relationships with those in power, this is particularly disconcerting. For Jews, this should be a wake-up call. Perhaps we invest too much in relations with “leaders.” It is an old European conceit, borne out of the sad reality that too often it was only local prince’s good grace that protected us from the mob. But in a democracy, and particularly in an internet-driven, populist age where elites find themselves stripped of influence, such vertical relationships are far less useful. In America, the people are the prince, and it is in their direction that we should turn our persuasive energy.” [Haaretz]
“Hillary: The Conservative Hope” by Bret Stephens: “The best hope for what’s left of a serious conservative movement in America is the election in November of a Democratic president, held in check by a Republican Congress. Conservatives can survive liberal administrations, especially those whose predictable failures lead to healthy restorations—think Carter, then Reagan. What isn’t survivable is a Republican president who is part Know Nothing, part Smoot-Hawley and part John Birch. The stain of a Trump administration would cripple the conservative cause for a generation.” [WSJ]
Ari Fleischer tells Jared Sichel: “It’s a choice between the known and the unknown, and I find myself in the category of hoping that the unknown doesn’t turn into someone as bad as the known,” Fleischer said in an interview, pointing to Trump’s respect for the private sector’s ability to create wealth. “If this were a race between Donald Trump and Joe Lieberman, I would vote for Joe Lieberman,” Fleischer said. “But this is a race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.”” [JewishJournal]
“Police report reflects the ugliness of the Trump era” by Erik Wemple: “Julia Ioffe has filed a report with the D.C. police department over the anti-Semitic threats that she received — many from apparent Trump supporters — after writing a penetrating profile of Melania Trump in GQ.” [WashPost]
Trump’s Israel advisor Jason Greenblatt on Channel 2 discussing Trump’s use of vulgar language on the campaign trail: “I am a little bit uncomfortable sometimes with the language, and that is not how I would speak. However, politics is a dirty business.” [Reshet]
Israel Trip? “Trump campaign denies it’s planning late July trip to Israel, Russia and Germany after Israeli newspaper reports a diplomacy tour is in the works” [DailyMail]
“Most Jewish Israelis Favor Clinton, but Majority Trust Trump, Poll Shows” by Jacob Kornbluh: “According to the Israel Democracy Institute’s monthly Peace Index poll, 31 percent of Israeli Jews think Trump is the preferable presidential candidate from the standpoint of Israel’s interests, while 40 percent think Hillary Clinton would be better for Israel.. On the other hand, a whopping 62 percent are sure or think that Trump will be committed to safeguarding Israel’s security if elected as president.” [JI; Haaretz]
“Hillary Clinton Criticizes Group Advocating Boycott Against Israel” by Maggie Haberman:“As a large Methodist conference is set to convene in Portland, Ore., on Tuesday with plans to consider the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign, or B.D.S., against Israel, Hillary Clinton has written a letter denouncing the movement. “Anti-Semitism has no place in any civilized society — not in America, not in Europe, not anywhere,” Mrs. Clinton wrote. “We must never tire in defending Israel’s legitimacy.””[FirstDraft; JewishInsider]
“Donald Trump Shares His Opponent-Branding Secrets” by Mark Leibovich: ““I feel it, it’s an instinct,” Trump told me over the phone. He envisions “Crooked Hillary” as the latest triumph in a series, after “Lyin’ Ted,” “Liddle Marco” and “Low Energy Jeb,” the nicknames that he affixed to his vanquished Republican rivals… It was nice of Trump to talk to me, given that this is The New York Times, or as he calls us on Twitter, the “Failing New York Times.” To be more precise, actually, Trump wants me to include that not only is this the “Failing New York Times,” but also that the “Failing New York Times” should also be followed by the tagline “one of the most dishonest newspapers anywhere in the world.” But after I hung up with Trump, I immediately regretted that I had not thought to ask him an obvious question: What would he call himself? Damn. I keep failing.” [NYTimesMag]
“Donald Trump Says Sadiq Khan, New London Mayor, Could Be Exception to His Muslim Ban” by Maggie Haberman: “There will always be exceptions,” Mr. Trump said when asked in an interview on Monday how his proposed ban would affect London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan. “I was happy to see that,” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Khan’s election. “I think it’s a very good thing, and I hope he does a very good job because frankly that would be very, very good.” [FirstDraft]
Peter Beinart: “GOP Islamophobia vs. U.K. Labour’s anti-Semitism: Spot the Differences” [Haaretz]
DRIVING THE CONVERSATION — Jeffrey Goldberg responds to David Samuels’ NYT Magazine story on Ben Rhodes: “The profile posits that Rhodes manipulated the press, and the public, into believing various untrue things about the Iran deal. Deep in the article, Samuels named me as one of those manipulated reporters… Arash Karami asked on Twitter, “in what sick DC warped world is Jeffrey Goldberg in anyway sympathetic to Iran? It’s beyond delusional.” (Karami, to be sure, is a bit unfair in his characterization of my position: I like Iran very much, but I’m not fond of the Jew-hating, gay-hanging, Baha’i-persecuting, terror-loving, nuke-seeking, misogynistic, fascistic clerics who currently rule the country).”
“I did not find this mention of my name amusing at all, because Samuels is making a serious, unsourced, and unsubstantiated allegation against me in an otherwise highly credible publication (one for which I happened to work, in fact). And he did so without disclosing that he holds a longtime personal grudge against me… I won’t bore you with this sad story, but five years ago, his wife, Alana Newhouse, offered me a position at Tablet Magazine, which she edits. I accepted the job, but then I quickly came to feel that she and David—he was a senior editor at Tablet—weren’t dealing with me in a straightforward way on a number of fronts, and, ultimately, I chose to stay at The Atlantic. Since that time, I have been the intermittent target of criticism in Tablet, and a more-than-intermittent target of Samuels’s personal animus. Samuels should have disclosed this history to the reader.” [TheAtlantic]
“When a Washington ‘Cave Dweller’ Steps Into the Light” by Josh Rogin: “Most real power doesn’t lie with the senators or cabinet officials or ambassadors. The people who make things happen don’t have an office of their own or a room with a view. They’re one or two levels down, working the machine from the inside. When they succeed, the public isn’t aware of their existence, much less their influence. These are the “cave dwellers” of Washington. Occasionally, one of the cave dwellers surfaces and is subjected to public scrutiny. The results are rarely pretty.” [BloombergView]
Fred Kaplan: “Ben Rhodes Needs Some Fresh Air: Why Obama’s foreign-policy adviser comes across as insular and self-centered in a New York Times Magazine profile.” [Slate]
“Dems block spending bill over Iran amendment for third time” by Devin Henry: “Senate Democrats again blocked consideration of an energy and water spending bill on Monday because of a proposed Republican amendment to the bill dealing with Iran. On a 50-42 vote, Democrats blocked cloture for the $37.5 billion bill, which increases funding for Department of Energy and Army Corps of Engineers programs. It was the third time they have refused to end debate on the measure, due to an amendment proposed by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) that would use the bill to prohibit the White House from purchasing heavy water from Iran. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has now called for a straight vote on the amendment, and another vote on the spending bill this week.” [TheHill]
Speaker Paul Ryan: “Everything President Obama Promised Us About The Iran Deal Is Starting To Unravel” [InJo]
Washington Post Editorial: “Iran’s ‘moderates’ and the Holocaust” [WashPost]
BUSINESS BRIEFS: Sam Nazarian’s SBE Entertainment to Acquire Morgans Hotel Group for $82M [WSJ; Skift] • “More Journalists Leaving Las Vegas Review-Journal After Sale To Billionaire” [NPR] • “Stephen Harper declares $4,000 in Las Vegas expenses covered by Republican Jewish group” [NationalPost] • “Humiliation of Sumner Redstone continues despite case being tossed” [Guardian] • “Inside Palantir, Silicon Valley’s Most Secretive Company” [BuzzFeed]
SCENE LAST NIGHT: Approximately 300 guests gathered at the Harmonie Club in New York City to celebrate the work of the Jewish Education Project. Honorees included Louise Chazen Banon, Dr. Mark Ramer, and Rabbi Dr. Marty Schloss. Spotted: Diane & Howard Wohl, Louise & Bobby Cohen, David Eisner, Larry & Lisa Cohen, Joshua Landes, Bill Robinson of JTS, Tamar Remz and Jordanna Birnbaum of HGF, NYC Councilman David Greenfield, Alisa Doctoroff, Tara Slone-Goldstein & Wayne Goldstein.
TheUpshot by Aaron Carroll: “All cards on the table: I’m Jewish, and I’m circumcised, as are both my sons. The procedure has a spiritual weight in my community. When confronted by people who use terms like mutilation, I generally recoil. Circumcising my boys was a personal decision for my wife and me, and I understand the various arguments for and against. People angry about this choice seem to imagine that we haven’t thoroughly considered it.” [NYTimes]
DESSERT: “Rio Olympic Spread: Anything From Halal to Kosher to Kimchi” by Stephen Wade: “The dining room for the athletes village at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics will be bigger than two football fields, and the kitchen being built in the same massive tent will be as large as one. Diners will choose from five different buffets — Brazilian, Asian, International, Pasta and Pizza, Halal and Kosher. Food for Muslim and Jewish athletes will adhere to their specific religious dietary laws.” [AP]
“‘Knoshville’ brings Jewish food to Knoxville: You’ve tried bagels and lox, or challah bread. But the Knoshville Jewish Food Festival plans to introduce Knoxville to the rich culinary culture that Judaism has to offer. The name of the event is a play on the Yiddish word “nosh” which means to snack.” [Local8]
BIRTHDAYS: Shopping center developer and former US Ambassador to both Italy and Australia, Mel Sembler turns 86… Real estate developer, philanthropist and principal owner of the Miami Dolphins, Stephen M. Ross turns 76… Ed Brill… Former NBA player, whose career spanned 18 seasons on 7 teams, Danny Schayes turns 57… Israeli rock musician and songwriter, Aviv Geffen turns 43…
