Daily Kickoff
“UNESCO won’t hold new vote on contentious Jerusalem resolution after Mexico withdraws request” by Barak Ravid: “Mexico announced during an Executive Committee meetingTuesday morning that it changed its stance due to the position being offensive and biased against the Jewish people and their historic connection to Israel. Earlier Tuesday, Mexico announced its intentions to trigger a special clause allowing them to demand a recast vote in order to change its decision. As part of Mexico’s changed position, Roemer, a Mexican Jew, was removed from his position overnight on Tuesday. A senior Israeli official said that the Mexican ambassador actually opposed Mexico’s original vote and tried to change his country’s decision but failed. Amid the Mexican Jewish community’s protests, it was decided to remove him from his position in an attempt to quell tensions.” [Haaretz; JTA]
“UN Rewrites Jewish History, and Jews Look on the Bright Side” by Daniel Gordis: “Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, insisted that UNESCO’s omission of the Jewish people’s connection to Jerusalem constitutes a “war on Jewish history.” Although Hoenlein and Jeremy Ben-Ami of J Street rarely see eye to eye, last week they did. J Street said the resolution “outrageously seeks to rewrite history.” David Harris, CEO of the American Jewish Committee, pointed to the specifics of the vote as good news. Although 24 nations voted in favor and only six voted against (with 26 abstained), not a single European country supported the resolution.” [BloombergView]
“American-funded anti-Netanyahu Group Acted Legally, Israel’s Watchdog Rules” by Jonathan Lis: “Regarding V15, Shapira said that despite the allegations, “there were no positive findings of an organizational connection between the V15 entity and any specific political party.” In light of that finding, the fact that it sponsored messages about “changing the ruling party” or “voting for various blocks” was not sufficient “to justify the determination that a particular party received a [campaign finance] contribution, let alone a forbidden contribution, from an entity external to those parties,” he said.” [Haaretz; JPost]
More Podesta emails — Debate in Clinton camp over including Israel in campaign launch speech – Jake Sullivan: “Would add a sentence on standing up for our allies and our values, including Israel and other fellow democracies.”
Mandy Grunwald: “I though[t] this was largely for her TP with public events not fundraisers. Do we need Israel etc for that?”
Joel Benenson: “Why would we call out Israel in public events now? The only voters elevating FP at all are Republican primary voters.”
Sullivan: “She was Secretary of State.”
Robby Mook: “I’m w Joel. We shouldn’t have Israel at public events. Especially dem activists.”
Sullivan: “I won’t fall on sword over Israel but we need more than climate in that paragraph.”
Dan Schwerin: “What about this as a base, and then she can drop in Israel when she’s with donors: ‘Fourth and finally, we have to protect our country from the global threats that we see… And it means always standing up for our allies and our values, especially our fellow democracies.” [05-17-2015]
Laura Rosenberger sent Stu Eizenstat draft of Hillary’s Op-Ed to be published in The Forward: “The intent is to make this more about the relationship and her personal connection, and go lighter on the policy side (though of course still addressing that).” Eizenstat: “The readership of the Forward (which includes me) is generally more liberal on Israel issues. But obviously, what Hillary writes will have a much broader audience.” [11-02-2015]
Anne-Marie Slaughter to team Clinton: “I’m worried that the hostility toward Obama among donors who buy Bibi’s line about his commitment to Israel could cause you to run away from his (and your) overall foreign policy record, which would be a big mistake in the same way that it will squeeze you into a corner that you do not need to be in and prevents you from making a bold case for your success as Secretary of State.” Podesta: “Can we switch HRC’s email and not tell Anne-Marie? Jeez, she emails her more than the three of us do.” [05-10-2015]
Podesta on day after Netanyahu won reelection: “I thought Bibi was going to lose.” [03-18-2015]
Hillary following Netanyahu’s apology on election day comments re: Israeli-Arabs: “This is an opening that should be exploited. A Potemkin process is better than nothing.” [03-23-2015]
OVER THE WEEKEND — “Adelson, Icahn and Paulson chip in for Trump and GOP” by Jacob Pramuk: “Here are some of the notable donors to Trump Victory, one of the joint fundraising committees for Trump and the GOP: Billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam both contributed nearly $250,000 to the committee in August. Activist investor Carl Icahn, who has defended Trump’s comments about women, gave $150,000 in September. Hedge fund manager John Paulson, another Trump advisor, gave $250,000 in July. Bruce Berkowitz of Fairholme Capital Management contributed $125,000 in two donations in the third quarter.” [CNBC]
— “The most generous Trump supporters so far are Las Vegas Sands chief executive Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, who together gave the super PAC Future 45 $10 million last month. The Adelsons, who just began doling out major contributions, are now on track to leap to the top of the 2016 donor rankings. They have already given more than $52 million in disclosed contributions to GOP super PACs in the past two months, including $20 million a piece to the groups backing Republican House and Senate candidates.” [WashPost; WSJ]
“Sheldon Adelson gives $1.2M to super-PAC supporting McCain” by Rebecca Savransky:“Adelson made the donation to the Arizona Grassroots Action PAC, which is aligned with the Arizona senator, in mid-August. GOP donors Paul Singer and Sam Fox also made sizable donations to the super-PAC, giving $250,000 each.” [TheHill]
Via JI reader — spotted at a Hillary for America Fundraiser in Short Hills with President Bill Clinton on Sunday: Owners of the Minnesota Vikings and philanthropists, the extended Wilf Family — including Zygi, Audrey, Mark and Jane; congressional candidate and former Clinton speechwriter Josh Gottheimer, and Aylon Berger, national chair of the High School Democrats of America.[Pic]
“Clinton plots mop-up of Trump’s global mess” by Nahal Toosi: “When it comes to the Middle East, where several of America’s Sunni-majority Arab allies are still smarting over Obama’s decision to negotiate a nuclear deal with Shiite-majority Iran, Clinton, if elected, may wish to take a low-key approach, said Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. There’s a risk, after all, in setting expectations too high, especially in a chaotic region unhappy with Obama’s hands-off approach to the Syrian civil war. “What she needs to do is have direct outreach and meetings, whether it’s in the region or back here, with the leaders of some of our longstanding, traditional allies, including Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia even,” Katulis said.” [Politico]
“Israelis believe Clinton will push them harder on peace, back her anyway” by Marissa Newman: “The new data showed 41.8% of the Israeli public now says Clinton is the preferred candidate for the Jewish state, compared to 23.9% for Trump. At the same time, some 57.2% of respondents (62.7% of Jewish Israelis, 30.1% of Arab Israelis) fingered Clinton as the candidate “who will more heavily pressure the Israeli government to renew negotiations with the Palestinians if elected.” Just 7.6% of Jewish Israelis said Trump would.” [TimesofIsrael] • Jonathan Tobin: Do Israelis Fear Trump?[Commentary]
Trump retweets: “Go Mr. Trump! Israel is behind you!” [Twitter]
New ADL report – “Anti-Semitic Posts, Many From Trump Supporters, Surge on Twitter” by Jonathan Mahler: “More than 800 journalists have been the subject of anti-Semitic attacks on Twitter, with 10 of them receiving 83 percent of the total attacks. The report was careful not to suggest that the Trump campaign “supported or endorsed” the anti-Semitic attacks, but noted that many had been sent by his supporters. In a statement, a Twitter spokesman noted that the company’s policy prohibits anti-Semitic content and that it planned to introduce new policies and tools to ensure that its users felt safe in the coming weeks.” [NYTimes]
“A Reporter Got An Anti-Semitic Death Threat From A Trump Supporter” by Claudia Koerner: “Hadas Gold runs Politico’s On The Media blog, and on Monday, a photoshopped image was tweeted showing her with a bullet hole in her forehead and the yellow badge the Nazis used to mark Jews. “Don’t mess with our boy Trump or you will be first in line for the camp,” a message with the image said. The Twitter account that sent the message has been suspended… Journalist Julia Ioffe tweeted about what had happened to Gold. In response, a newly created Twitter account named after a neo-Nazi blog sent her a gif of her face inside an oven, along with the yellow badge designating her as a Jew.” [BuzzFeed]
“Florida Jews Could Tip Balance in the Ultimate Swing State — and Few Are Switching Sides” by Nathan Guttman: “Anti-Semitism? That’s a Democratic word,” said Roter. “Republicans are more for the Jews than anyone in the Democratic Party.” [Forward]
ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt: “Over time, it seems that we become desensitized to it, even numb. I even admit that ADL has stopped responding to every problematic statement or tweet we come across because, if we didn’t, it’s all we would do. “ [Medium]
Bret Stephens: “One needn’t accuse Mr. Trump of personal animus toward Jews (there’s no evidence of it) to point out that his candidacy is manna to every Jew-hater. If you incline to believe that the world is controlled by nefarious unseen forces, you might alight on any number of suspects: Freemasons, central bankers, the British foreign office. Somehow, the ultimate culprits usually wind up being Jews… American Jews shouldn’t have to re-live the 1930s in order to figure out that the “globalist cabal” might mean them. “[WSJ]
Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks: “We have no knowledge of this activity and strongly condemn any commentary that is anti-Semitic. We totally disavow hateful rhetoric online or otherwise.”
“Trump fans boo, walk out on Amy Schumer show in Tampa” by Adam C. Smith: “About 200 people walked out of Amy Schumer’s comedy show at the Amalie Arena in Tampa Sunday when she mocked Donald Trump as, among other things, an “orange, sexual-assaulting, fake- college-starting monster.”” [TampaBay; Yahoo]
“Ivanka Trump Doesn’t Flinch” by Anjali Mullany: “I categorically reject any people within a community that espouses hatred toward anyone, and my father does and has as well, so this is not support that I would be comfortable with. And I couldn’t be comfortable with my father as president of this country if I thought that he could be comfortable with that type of support, and I know that he is not, that’s why he’s denounced it.” [FastCompany]
“Congressional Republicans want to talk Tehran, not Trump” by Patricia Zengerle:“Although Iran is unlikely to be most voters’ main reason for choosing a candidate, strategists said the money could be well spent. Iran provides a distraction for Republicans concerned that the unpopularity of Trump could also sink party members further down the ballot. Israel also opposed the Iran accord, as did AIPAC, the main U.S. pro-Israel lobby group. Support for Israel is important to voters, especially evangelical Christians who are a wellspring of Republican support.” [Reuters]
“With Trump Down, GOP Jewish Group Steps in to Help Toomey in PA” by Leigh Ann Caldwell: “With Donald Trump’s poll numbers continuing to lag, the Republican Jewish Coalition has stepped into the Pennsylvania Senate race with a $500,000 ad buy to help the GOP’s Pat Toomey.”[NBCNews; YouTube]
“Schumer is focusing on the big prize: Senate majority leader” by Ed O’Keefe and Paul Kane: “Schumer, 65, is a force of nature. He estimates talking directly to at least six candidates a day… It’s a tall order for anyone, but Schumer’s confidants say he is ready for the job. “I call him the Jewish LBJ,” said Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), whose narrow 2008 victory was overseen largely by Schumer from afar.”[WashPost] • How Senate heavyweight Schumer plans to fix Congress’ gridlock [CNBC]
BUSINESS BRIEFS: Start-Up Taking Aim at Bloomberg Terminals Hires Former Bloomberg Head Norman Pearlstine [NYTimes] • Air India, El Al and WestJet eye Washington DC service[FlightGlobal] • Tevi Troy: “America’s next president should learn from Israel on dealing with disaster”[JPost]
LongRead: “What Will Become of Jared Kushner?” by Chris Pomorski: “What will become of Jared Kushner, the Trump campaign’s smooth-faced consigliere, who just last week broke his regular observance of the Sabbath for a strategy meeting in Trump Tower to help his father-in-law (in Yiddish, shver) deal with a tape of his extraordinarily vulgar remarks about women? Can his role be chalked up to a more-or-less normal sense of loyalty and ambition? Does he remain the type of person that others want to do business with, or socialize with, even in New York? Or will Kushner be held responsible, in some important ways, for his role in his father-in-law’s campaign?” [Tablet] • Trump son-in-law makes approach on post-election TV start-up [FT]
“With $50m, Bloomberg thanks Museum of Science” by Shirley Leung: “I went every Saturday, and it changed my life,” recalled Bloomberg, 74, who attended classes there starting when he was about 10 and through his high school years. “It just showed me the possibilities and showed me what was out there in ways that traditional school didn’t do.” [BostonGlobe]
“The Rosenberg boys: The Cold War’s most famous orphans” by Brit McCandless: “Now the brothers are seeking their mother’s exoneration, calling on President Obama to acknowledge that Ethel Rosenberg was killed for a crime she didn’t commit. “She was taken away from us,” Robert Meeropol says. “That’s as personal as it can get. But the fact that the government facilitated the invention of evidence in order to convict someone of a capital crime—that is something that should concern everybody.””[60Minutes]
KAFE KNESSET — Israel Katz’s Show of Force — by Amir Tibon & Tal Shalev: It was a significant power display, and felt almost like a pilgrimage: more than 5,000 Likud party members gathered yesterday in the southern community of Kfar Achim, to participate in the annual Sukkot reception hosted by Transportation minister, Israel Katz. It’s a 20 year old tradition, and has become one of the largest party gatherings, so the guests don’t really fit into a tabernacle with palm leaves, and instead of waving four species, they lined up for hamburger and hot dog booths.
Katz, considered one of the strongest figures in the party, was the man of the hour, constantly surrounded by fans begging for selfies. He has had quite a challenging year, accompanied by constant tensions with Prime Minister Netanyahu, who even threatened to fire him at some point. That’s why his tour-de-force last night was especially important for him, stressing that his political strength has not been affected. Almost all of the Likud ministers and MKs made it to the event, including Knesset speaker Yuli Edelestein, Likud Ministers Yuval Steinitz, Yariv Levin, Zeev Elkin, Gila Gamliel, Haim Katz and Ofir Akunis, and many more members of Knesset, mayors, party activists, and fans.
Since early September, when Netanyahu and Katz had a huge row over railway construction plans scheduled for Shabbat, Katz has kept an evident distance from the media and the public eye. But yesterday, the low profile attitude vanished. “I won’t discuss the issues of the past few weeks, but I will say that I will never use a Jewish holiday or any Jewish ritual for political purposes”‘ he said at the opening of his remarks, adding – “even if others do,” hinting at Netanyahu, without explicitly naming him. When the crowd applauded and cheered the traditional chant “hoo-ha – who is coming – the next prime minister?,” Katz politely calmed them down, but it was clear he enjoyed the embrace. Netanyahu, who wasn’t present at the celebration, probably liked it a bit less.
Alex Soros posts on Instagram: “One hour off to take in some sights in Vilnius, home to what my ancestors from this region would call Vilna. Perhaps no city best exemplifies the effects of the Holocaust. Before the Holocaust Vilnius/Vilna had over 100 synagogues and this is the only one left. 40 percent of the city was Jewish before the German army arrived during #worldwar2, now that number is under 1 percent.”[Instagram]
SPORTS BLINK: “Diamond diplomat: Southern Nevada high school coach helping popularize baseball in Israel” by Case Keefer: “Mitch Glasser and his cousin, Corey Westfall, broke out their baseball gloves nearly everywhere else during a 2010 birthright trip to Israel — from the banks of the Dead Sea to the beaches of Tel Aviv… He has a long-term goal of helping to bring America’s pastime to Israel. Glasser works as a substitute teacher and assistant baseball coach at Green Valley High during the offseason, and last month, he played second base and third base on Israel’s national team, which qualified for the 2017 World Baseball Classic by beating Brazil and Great Britain twice in a tournament in Brooklyn.” [LVSun]
“Shopping at the Grove With Ryan Lochte, Who Just Got His First Credit Card” by Jessica Pressler: “Perhaps for obvious reasons, at the last minute, Lochte’s publicist decides to come along. “Work is slow,” she says. “It’s Yom Kippur.” “What’s that?” Lochte asks curiously. “It’s the Jewish Day of Atonement.” “Wasn’t it their Thanksgiving two days ago?” “That was Canadian Thanksgiving.” “Oh,” says Lochte.” [NYMag]
BIRTHDAYS: Born in Vienna, Austria, oceanographer and professor emeritus at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California, Walter Munk turns 99… South African-born developmental biologist, professor emeritus at University College of London, Lewis Wolpert turns 87… Executive Director of “Second Thought: a US – Israel Initiative,” former Israeli diplomat with multiple US postings,Yoram Ettinger turns 71… Founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform, a leading opponent of all tax increases, Grover Norquist turns 60… Mayor of Jerusalem since 2008, following success as an entrepreneur and philanthropist, Nir Barkat turns 57… Founding president and CEO of Global Policy Initiatives, was White House Jewish Liason in the Bill Clinton administration, Jay Footlik… Michelle Fischler… Shira Moses… David Ochs…
BIRTHWEEK: Michael Granoff turned 48… Engineer, philanthropist, co-founder and former chairman of Qualcomm, Irwin M. Jacobs turns 83… Birthright Israel Foundation’s David Fisher…
