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RUMOR MILL: “Insiders game out Clinton’s Cabinet” by Edward-Isaac Dovere: “There was former Rep. Barney Frank telling Vice President Joe Biden he should be Clinton’s Defense secretary (“He made a face,” Frank said, in an interview off the convention floor last week in Philadelphia)… Most people see chief of staff as a choice between Cheryl Mills, Clinton’s chief of staff at the State Department, and Tom Nides, Clinton’s deputy secretary of state for management… Jake Sullivan, who worked for Clinton at State and then as national security adviser to Vice President Joe Biden, is seen as having first dibs on national security advisor if he wants it.”

“Secretary of State: People at the State Department and elsewhere are pulling for Wendy Sherman, the former undersecretary of state for political affairs and key player in the Iran deal, and Bill Burns, a career diplomat who was deputy secretary of state… Treasury Secretary: There’s considerable speculation here that Clinton would try to land Sheryl Sandberg, who spent years at Treasury before heading to Silicon Valley and becoming COO of Facebook, to be the first female Treasury secretary. Gary Gensler, who served in a variety of economic roles for Obama and Bill Clinton and is now CFO for the campaign is seen as wanting the job.” [Politico]

Eli Lake: “Obama’s CIA Director Wants to Stick Around for Clinton” [Bloomberg]

TOP TALKER: “Sources: Trump-world frustrated by their candidate” by Dana Bash, Jim Acosta and Theodore Schleifer: “A knowledgeable Republican source told CNN that some of Trump’s campaign staff — even campaign manager Paul Manafort — “feel like they are wasting their time,” given Trump’s recent comments. And two sources close to the Trump campaign said privately they wished Trump would apologize to the Gold Star family, even though the Khans attacked Trump from the stage at the Democratic National Convention last month.” [CNN]

“Trump refuses to support Paul Ryan, John McCain in upcoming Republican primaries” by Philip Rucker: “With Ryan’s Wisconsin primary scheduled for next Tuesday, Trump praised the House speaker’s underdog opponent, Paul Nehlen, for running “a very good campaign.” Trump said that Ryan has sought his endorsement — an assertion that a Ryan spokesman denied later Tuesday — but that as of now he is only “giving it very serious consideration.” “I like Paul, but these are horrible times for our country,” Trump said. “We need very strong leadership. We need very, very strong leadership. And I’m just not quite there yet. I’m not quite there yet.” [WashPost]

“Donald Trump’s Campaign Might Actually Implode” by Jonathan Chait: “According to Jon Karl, leading Republicans are “actively exploring” how to replace their nominee if he drops out. You can insult entire ethnicities and genders, spout conspiracy theories galore, betray a complete ignorance of every issue a president has to handle, but staying neutral on Paul Ryan’s primary race is an unforgivable offense.” [NYMag]

“George W. Bush Delivers Critique of Donald Trump’s Policies” by Beth Reinhard & Reid Epstein: “Without naming Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, former President George W. Bush delivered an incisive critique of his policies of “isolationism, nativism and protectionism” at a private fundraiser in Cincinnati on Tuesday for Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, according to four people who attended.” [WSJ]

Jewish Veterans Group Condemns Trump for Attack on Khan Family: “There is no place for criticism, stated or implied, of this brave soldier. He served our country. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery along with those of many ethnic backgrounds and religious denominations. They served our country. Mr. Trump did not.” [JewishInsider]

“Hank Johnson continues to catch flak from Jewish groups for ‘termites’ remark” by Tamar Hallerman: “The Atlanta Jewish Times has an editorial out this week blasting the five-term congressman for infuriating the city’s Jewish community “short of going full Cynthia McKinney.” “We fear that the congressman offers much more to worry about than one careless, stupid remark. Unlike McKinney, the woman he defeated 10 years ago to win his seat in Congress, Johnson doesn’t hate Jews, many of whom have been crucial supporters, and he doesn’t spout conspiracy theories accusing Jews or Israelis of carrying out false-flag terrorist attacks. But his attitude toward Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has changed in recent years, and he spoke July 25 as someone who has earned a reputation as a leading congressional critic of Israel.” [AtlantaJournalConstitution] 

“Leo hosting Clinton event that costs $33K per ticket” by Ted Johnson: “Per the invite, co-hosts along with DiCaprio include Tobey Maguire and his wife, Jennifer, Jennifer Aniston, Yael and Scooter Braun, Shonda Rhimes and Chris Silbermann… The night before, a number of entertainment figures are planning a dinnertime event at the home of Haim and Cheryl Saban. Sources say the list of co-hosts also includes Thomas Tull and wife Alba, Megan and Peter Cherin, Robert Iger and Willow Bay, Casey and Laura Wasserman, Jeffrey and Marilyn Katzenberg and Jon and Ellen Vein.” [PageSix]

MOT: “Eric Greitens wins GOP primary for Missouri Governor” by Gregg Palermo and Chris Regnier: “Greitens, a retired Navy SEAL and one-time Democrat, topped Lt. Governor Peter Kinder, former Missouri House Speaker Catherine Hanaway, and businessman John Brunner in a campaign that featured relatively few demonstrable policy differences among those in the field, but still saw an expensive, and at times bitter campaign that has had national attention for more than a year.” [Fox2Now; AP]

Report: “Trump sets up Israeli campaign HQ to secure overseas votes: Trump’s campaign staff in Israel, which will consist of Jewish Israelis, will be appointed by this weekend and is set to begin work on his campaign in the coming days, the report said. Trump also announced he will fly to Israel at the height of his election campaign.” [IsraelHayom]

Marc Zell tells us: “The only Republican campaign in Israel to my knowledge is Republicans Overseas Israel of which I am Co- Chair.”

Mike Pence during town hall in Tucson, Arizona: “I have a term for Israel: She is not our ally in the Middle East; she is our most cherished ally in the world. In these times when we see Libya imploding, Syria imploding, Iraq coming apart – because of the policies of this administration, I promise you [that] when Donald Trump becomes president there will be two things the world knows: number one is they will again know America stands with strength, and number two, if the world knows nothing else, it will know this: America stands with Israel.” [JewishInsider] 

Michael Oren speaks to JPost’s Lahav Harkov about his new position as deputy minister and special envoy to the PM: “Asked whether his appointment to a diplomatic position could cause tensions with the US, in light of past issues when he was ambassador and statements he wrote that were interpreted as opposing the current administration, Oren gave an emphatic no. He said that after the 2012 election, when Netanyahu was accused of supporting Republican nominee Mitt Romney, he is especially careful to not say anything that looks like he is intervening in this year’s vote. Oren recently turned down a meeting with Republican nominee Donald Trump in order to avoid appearing to be involved. At the same time, Oren pointed to a campaign ad for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, in which he is quoted as calling her “formidable and indefatigable,” saying her campaign is touting him as a supporter.” [JPost]

DEEP DIVE: “U.S. Sent Cash to Iran as Americans Were Freed” by Jay Solomon and Carol Lee: “The Obama administration secretly organized an airlift of $400 million worth of cash to Iran that coincided with the January release of four Americans detained in Tehran, according to U.S. and European officials and congressional staff briefed on the operation afterward. Wooden pallets stacked with euros, Swiss francs and other currencies were flown into Iran on an unmarked cargo plane, according to these officials. Iranian press reports have quoted senior Iranian defense officials describing the cash as a ransom payment.” [WSJ]

**Good Wednesday Morning! Enjoying the Daily Kickoff? Please share us with your friends & tell them to sign up at [JI].  Have a tip, scoop, or op-ed? We’d love to hear from you. Anything from hard news and punditry to the lighter stuff, including event coverage, job transitions, or even special birthdays, is much appreciated. Email [email protected]**
BUSINESS BRIEFS: Apple Music continues expansion, now rolling out to users in Israel [9to5Mac; MacRumors] • Israel’s SolidRun creates open networking kit inspired by Raspberry Pi [VentureBeat]• Infosys invests $4 million in Israel’s Cloudyn [Tech2]

STARTUP SPOTLIGHT: “How this French digital signage company landed in Crown Heights” by Jen Glantz: “Jacob Layani never had plans to call Brooklyn his home. Seven years ago, he moved to from France to Crown Heights to go to a Lubavitch rabbinical school and then got his finance degree at Touro College, a Jewish-oriented college near the Flatiron District. Since he was a kid, Layani, now 26, had watched his father, Jean-Pierre Layani, build his business, CrownTV, a digital signage software company. Headquartered in Lyon, CrownTV works with businesses like banks, doctor offices and restaurants. After he graduated, Layani called his father and declared, “I’m bringing CrownTV to Brooklyn.”” [Technical.ly] 

LongRead: “Who are real estate’s quiet money backers?” by E.B. Solomont: “For nearly 30 years I have been asked to find the ‘dumb billionaire’ family office,” Simon Ziff told The Real Deal. “Generally, successful family offices have access to the best intelligence.” Some of those players today include Israeli diamond magnate Beny Steinmetz, who frequently bankrolls projects by HFZ Capital’s Ziel Feldman, and Morad Ghadamian, who regularly partners with developer Joseph Moinian and made his fortune importing rugs. The Cohen family, which founded Duane Reade, is also heavily invested in New York real estate as are the Gindis, who own the discount department store Century 21.” [RealDealMag]

MEDIA WATCH: “How Jeff Zucker Made CNN Great Again” by Ramin Setoodeh: “CNN’s comeback story is a dual narrative, for both its leader and its employees. Many staff members talk about CNN as two distinct epochs: pre- and post-Zucker. They say that morale was low before, whereas now everybody is invigorated. “He’s changed the attitude at CNN,” says anchor Erin Burnett. “Everyone feels that they can win.” Not the least of whom is Zucker.” [Variety]

SPORTS BLINK: “The controversial prayer that is helping one man become the first Jewish Israeli NASCAR driver” by Billy Hallowell: “A 24-year-old man from the Middle East is slated to potentially make history as the first-ever Israeli NASCAR driver, and some of the unique details surrounding his path to upcoming U.S. competitions are capturing headlines. Day, who is Jewish, is also part of the 2016 NASCAR Next program — an effort to promote new racing talent.” [DeseretNews; USAToday]

“Israeli club ups offer for D.C. United’s Steve Birnbaum, but …” by Steven Goff: “Maccabi Tel Aviv has increased its offer for D.C. United defender Steve Birnbaum to $1.5 million, the Insider has learned, but the timing does not make much sense for the MLS club.” [WashPost]

“Beitar Jerusalem’s La Familia gets rubbed out” by Sam Petterson: “Beitar Jerusalem was founded in 1938 and has become one of Israel’s most storied and successful teams. The team is a vestige of an era when Israeli sports were intensely political, when funding local soccer teams was another form of community organizing for the predominant political parties. Teams linked to Israel’s Labor movement had the prefix “Hapoel,” center-right teams the prefix “Maccabi,” and teams of the revisionist right “Beitar.” There’s no equivalent in the United States. Sports rivalries here are geographic, with loyalty to the local team often the only thing that could unify an arch-conservative with an ultra-liberal.” [HowlerMagazine]

VIRAL: “Dude playing Matisyahu song doesn’t realize Matisyahu is right in front of him” by Chloe Bryan: “In a new video, a kid in Maui, Hawaii is playing his own rendition of “One Day,” a song by rapper Matisyahu — completely unaware that the original artist is standing right in front of him.” [Mashable]

DESSERT: “The NY State Fair’s first kosher food stand: Deep-fried matzo balls, anyone?” by Don Cazentre: “The New York State Fair is going kosher — in one food stand, at least. That means Jewish favorites like blintzes, knishes and matzo balls are going to get the old deep-fried treatment. The Oaks at Menorah Park has been named the fair’s first certified kosher food operator, acting fair director Troy Waffner said.” [NewYorkUpstate]

BIRTHDAYS: Retired Head Coach of both the NFL’s KC Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills, member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Marv Levy turns 91… English actor, author, playwright and theatre director, known for his roles as the villain in both James Bond and Rambo films, Steven Berkoff turns 79… Political journalist, a Rhodes Scholar and Editor-in-Chief of Slate Group, Jacob Weisberg turns 52… Former aide to Senator Chuck Schumer, then senior adviser to President Clinton at the White House and thereafter, political and policy consulant, Tom Freedman… New York Daily News opinion editor, Josh Greenman… Ariana Kaufman… House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s Senior Policy Advisor, Jeffrey Dressler…