Daily Kickoff
Ann Lewis tells us: “Hillary had a different goal this time. Donald Trump had already put himself on the defensive with his words (and actions). Hillary used the opportunity to talk to voters about her ideas and experience – including what she was doing for 30 years to make a difference in people’s lives. Trump tried to put her on the defensive and totally failed.”
Highlights – Trump challenged Clinton on the Iran deal: “By the way, with Iran, who you made very powerful with the dumbest deal perhaps I’ve ever seen in the history of deal-making, the Iran deal, with the $150 billion, with the $1.7 billion in cash, which is enough to fill up this room. But look at that deal. Iran now and Russia are now against us… It’s Iran, who she made strong and Kerry and Obama made into a very powerful nation and a very rich nation, very, very quickly, very, very quickly.”
Clinton: ”I think wherever we can cooperate with Russia, that’s fine. And I did as secretary of state. That’s how we got a treaty reducing nuclear weapons. It’s how we got the sanctions on Iran that put a lid on the Iranian nuclear program without firing a single shot.”
“Trump says Putin and Assad are helping in fight against ISIS” by Andrew Buncombe:“Asked for a solution to the situation in Syria, a crisis that has led to the deaths of up to 500,000 people and displaced up to 10m people, Mr Trump said he was not a fan of Russian president Vladimir Putin or President Bashar Assad. But he said that the two leaders were fighting Isis, as was Iran.” [Independent]
Bill Kristol: “The Republican nominee is effectively pro-Russia, pro-Assad and pro-Iran.”[Twitter] • Jerry Springer: “While I may not be able to moderate a debate, sounds like Mike Pence and Donald Trump might need to come on my show to talk things out.” [Twitter] • Israel was not mentioned during the debate. Trump brought up George Soros twice – “who’s a friend of hers” – when discussing his tax returns.
HOW IT PLAYED: Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton Swap Barbs, Snipes in Second Debate [WSJ] • Ben Carson says Donald Trump prayed for forgiveness before the presidential debate [YahooNews] • Clinton wins debate, but Trump exceeds expectations [CNN] • Trump slows the bleeding but remains in crisis[Politico] • John Podhoretz: Focused Trump trounces Hillary at testy second debate [NYPost] Chemi Shalev: By Stalking Clinton, Trump May Have Stopped His Campaign’s Disintegration [Haaretz]
Clinton Foreign Policy Spokesperson To Trump: ‘Go F*** Yourself’: “On Twitter, Jesse Lehrich, Clinton’s foreign policy spokesperson, said, “Hey,(at)realDonaldTrump – regarding your claim that Captain Khan would be alive if you were president: go f*** yourself.” Lehrich later apologized for the tweet. “I want to apologize for the clearly inappropriate nature and language of this personal tweet. Sorry all,” Lehrich said.” [CBSNY]
VIDEO: Ivanka Trump and Chelsea Clinton greet each other after the debate [Slate]
Behind the scene: “Trump wanted to put Bill Clinton’s accusers in his family box. Debate officials said no” by Robert Costa, DanBalz and Philip Rucker: “The gambit to give Bill Clinton’s accusers prime seats was devised by Trump campaign chief executive Stephen K. Bannon and Jared Kushner, the candidate’s son-in-law, and approved personally by Trump.” [WaPo]
Ari Fleischer on the state of the race: “The GOP exodus won’t decide this race, whether it continues or slows down. Endorsements, or the reversal of them, is not what this race is about. If Trump can make this race about policy and the direction of the country, he could win. If it’s about his character, he probably won’t.” [BuzzFeed]
Clinton and Trump strongly condemned Sunday’s terror attack in Jerusalem [Twitter; Facebook]
“Wikileaks: Israel Fears Clinton Administration’s Mideast Peace Policy” by Barak Ravid: “A number of the leaked emails were sent by Stuart Eizenstat, a former U.S. diplomat and confidant of the Clinton family, to campaign chief John Podesta and top campaign aide Jake Sullivan. In one message, sent on December 8, 2015, Eizenstat briefed campaign officials on his “breakfast meeting with a senior Israeli official who is very close to the Prime Minister, and knows his thinking.” Eizenstat wrote that he “felt that most of the emphasis was on the Palestinian issue, and wonders if a Clinton Administration ‘will be a Saban Forum for four years,’ due to ‘the people around her, but not her,’” Eizenstat said. Enumerating “insights” of the Israeli official he declined to name, Eizenstat reported: “The Prime Minister always had a ‘surprising good relationship’ with Hillary; she is ‘easy to work with,’ and that she is more instinctively sympathetic to Israel than the White House. Even during their famous 43 minute phone call, when [Benjamin Netanyahu] felt like slamming down the phone, he felt she was simply heavily scripted and reading from points prepared by the White House.”
— “On July 2, 2015, around two weeks before the Iran nuclear deal was signed, Eizenstat sent an email to Sullivan reporting on a meeting with Dermer, saying that the Israeli ambassador was “concerned the coming Iran battle will ‘shift downward the American-Israel’ relationship.” According to the email, the ambassador used the meeting with Eizenstat to send messages to Clinton concerning the Iran deal, requesting that she not show excessive enthusiasm for it. “It is important that even as Hillary endorses the agreement, and says she would vote for it if she was in the Senate, she ‘should not get too invested in it,’” he said, characterizing Dermer’s views.” [Haaretz]
More emails — Malcolm Hoenlein on Iran deal, Netanyahu: “This obviously places Hillary in an extremely difficult position, caught between the President she served and the organized parts of the Jewish community, I have talked several times recently, including yesterday afternoon, with Malcolm Honlein (sic), president of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations. They have refrained from directly criticizing the President, but he told me that he and most of his organizations are extraordinarily concerned about the situation, and highly desirous of Hillary making some statement to calm the turbulent waters.” [03-25-2015] • “Moreover, Malcolm Honlein (who I put together with Hillary through you and Huma), was there… A number of people, including, interestingly, Malcolm Honlein, felt the Prime Minister should now accept the last Kerry offer as a basis for resuming negotiations.” [05-22-2015]
“Fwd: Hillary Clinton Tells Malcolm Hoenlein Wants to Improve Relations With Israel” – Haim Saban: “Also pls be aware that these articles will be mailed to thousands of people who are interested in the subject matter and who have been asking themselves ,,,,and me ,many times ”Where is Hillary on this” Well ,,,,,now they will know.” [03-30-2015]
Robby Mook: “I was just thinking: has she made a clear statement on Israel yet? I get this question from donors all the time. Does she need to state her principles on Israel before Iran? Or do both at the same time? ” Dan Schwerin: “That’s basically the goal of the BDS letter.” Mook: “Do we need to push it harder over the next few days? Get something written? I feel like we’re going to want something to point to. Or maybe even just content on the website?” [07-03-2015]
“Israel Braces for Obama’s Parting Gift to Palestinians” by Eli Lake: “The threat of a last-minute speech, executive order, or U.N. action has stirred some of Israel’s friends in Washington… All of these policies are likely to meet stiff opposition from Israel’s government and its friends in Washington. Obama has faced this kind of opposition before. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee opposed his Iran nuclear deal and yet the White House managed to get just enough Democrats to put the bargain through Congress… It remains to be seen how many Democrats will oppose him if he tries to punish Israeli settlement activity in the final weeks of his presidency.” [Bloomberg]
“US further eases Iran sanctions after nuclear deal” by Matthew Lee: “The Treasury Department published new guidance for businesses that said some previously prohibited dollar transactions with Iran by offshore banking institutions are allowed as long as they do not enter the U.S. financial system. The new Treasury language says foreign transactions with non-sanctioned entities that are nonetheless “minority owned” or “controlled in whole or in part by an Iranian or Iran-related person on the SDN list” are “not necessarily sanctionable” under U.S. regulations.” [AP]
“Inside Trump Tower, an Increasingly Upset and Alone Donald Trump” by Maggie Haberman: “Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, an observant Jew who normally does not work on the Sabbath, was among those who gathered with him on Saturday, although the candidate’s oldest daughter, Ivanka, was not.” [NYTimes]
Page Six – Ivanka Trump makes time for date night amid campaign chaos:”The pair was spotted at “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” on Saturday night. “They were towards the back of the orchestra, row M, and went mostly unnoticed until intermission, when people started whispering that they were there,” a source said. Ironically, King is a known Hillary supporter.” [NYPost]
Sarah Silverman: “This may be a good time to consider going by Ivanka Kushner.” [Twitter]
After Trump’s tumultuous Friday and Saturday, Business Insider’s Josh Barro tweeted: “Shabbat’s over. Where’s Ivanka?” • Tablet’s Yair Rosenberg replied: “Converting to being Amish.”
“GOP mega-donors stand by Trump” by Ken Vogel and Matthew Nussbaum: “Representatives from a pair of pro-Trump super PACs — Future45, which is backed by the billionaire Ricketts and Adelson families, and Great America PAC — told POLITICO that they intended to keep spending on pro-Trump advertising and other efforts… Also not responding to requests for comment on Saturday were representatives for Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, who has donated or pledged as much as $25 million to Future45 and a related non-profit group called 45Committee.” [Politico; CNN]
“How NBC Finished Second on the Trump Video Story” by John Koblin and Michael Grynbaum: “But conversations about how to handle the bombshell moved slowly, in part because of the Rosh Hashana holiday.” [NYTimes]
“Jewish Trump supporters will forgive Donald’s sins on Yom Kippur, but not Hillary’s” by Allison Kaplan Sommer: “In Israel on Sunday, journalists looked for clues as to the Las Vegas mogul’s reaction by parsing in the Adelson-owned newspaper “Israel Hayom.” Most observers on social media concluded that the coverage was relatively Trump-sympathetic and Clinton-critical. The cover story was headlined, “Trump Apologizes, America Rages” with a commentary below headlined “Hurricane Trump; the rude words, the hypocritical critics” with the articles giving equal time to the Wikileaks revelation of Clinton’s Wall Street speeches and giving prominent mention to the sins of Bill Clinton who, unlike Trump, wasn’t just caught speaking crudely but was “caught with his pants down.”” [Haaretz]
Trump’s campaign manager in Israel, Tzvika Brot: “But he isn’t running for chief rabbi.”[TimesofIsrael]
“Facebook co-founder pledges another $15 million for Clinton and Dems” by Gabriel Debenedetti: “Dustin Moskovitz — a newcomer to politics as of last month — will donate $15 million more, including $5 million to the largest super PAC supporting Hillary Clinton, Priorities USA Action, in the wake of the latest news about Donald Trump. “The events of the past few weeks have only deepened my conviction that Hillary is the best choice for America,” Moskovitz said Saturday in a Medium post.”[Politico; Medium]
“Kellyanne Conway’s Political Machinations” by Ryan Lizza: “When Manafort was brought on, Corey and Manafort basically went head to head,” the Trump campaign official said. “Jared, the son-in-law, who is a snaky little motherf****r, a horrible human being, hated Corey, so Jared sided with Paul to get rid of Corey… When the Ukraine stuff comes to pass, Jared now is holding the axe over Paul’s head,” the campaign official said. The Trump adviser added, “The real campaign manager, in fact, the entire time, has been Jared Kushner, who is still the real campaign manager, even today.” [New Yorker]
“Neo-Nazi site blasts AG Schneiderman over Trump probe” by Glenn Blain: “An article in The Daily Stormer refers to Schneiderman as the “New York K–e Attorney General” and slams his office’s recent move to block Trump’s charity from raising funds as a gigantic hoax. “This is what happens when you have Jews,” website publisher Andrew Anglin wrote in the article. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, in a statement to the Daily News, blamed Trump’s campaign rhetoric for inspiring the extremist comments. “When you give license to open expressions of bigotry against Mexicans and Muslims, you open the door to bigotry against all groups of people, including Jews,” said Schneiderman.” [NYDailyNews]
“Zeldin leads Throne-Holst in 1st District, Newsday poll shows” by David M. Schwartz:“Zeldin holds a 15-pecentage-point lead over Democratic challenger and former Southhampton Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst. Zeldin, running for his first re-election, is outperforming Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the district. [Newsday]
BUSINESS BRIEFS: Meet the man Steve Cohen hired to oversee big data [BI] • Fischer Sees Little Risk of Fed Falling Behind the Curve [Bloomberg] • NY Times publisher set to step aside after turning 65: source [NYPost] • Bank Leumi CEO Sees Dividend Return After Five Year Drought [Bloomberg] • Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners and Chinese billionaire’s firm announce global production deal[LATimes] • Nevada Lawmakers Are Set to Tackle Sheldon Adelson’s Stadium Proposal [WSJ]
STARTUP NATION: “This Israeli radar startup could get autonomous delivery drones off the ground” by Sam Shead: “Arbe Robotics, based in Tel Aviv, has built a radar system that combines hardware and software to allow autonomous drones to detect and avoid objects up to 1km away, up from 150 metres in the first iteration of its product. One company aggressively pursuing autonomous delivery drones is US tech giant Amazon. The company is currently testing a number of Prime Air delivery drones in a field in Cambridgeshire, which was identified by Business Insider in August. [BI]
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks writes: “One of the most striking features of Jewish life is that from Israel to Palo Alto, Jews are among the world’s most enthusiastic users of information technology and have contributed disproportionately to its development (Google, Facebook, Waze). But we still write the Torah exactly as it was done thousands of years ago – by hand, with a quill, on a parchment scroll. This is not a paradox; it is a profound truth. People who carry their past with them, can build the future without fear.” [RabbiSacks]
PROFILE: “Ron Meyer, Hollywood’s Mr. Nice Guy” by Ned Zeman: “He was raised in a working-class section of West Los Angeles by parents he describes as “fabulous but very simple people.” The late Edward and Edith Meyer were first-generation Jewish immigrants who’d escaped Nazi Germany. Ron figures he inherited his business sense from Edward, who worked as a traveling dress salesman, and his optimism from Edith, whom he describes as “a guilt-free Jewish mother.”… He annually co-chairs a fundraiser for the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Museum of Tolerance, and next year he’ll receive the organization’s prestigious Humanitarian Award.” [WSJ]
SPOTLIGHT: “How Massive Cuts Have Remade The Denver Post” by Robert Sanchez: “It’s unlikely the #newsmatters protest registered high up at DFM or at Alden, whose president is a thirtysomething former Duke University football kicker who has managed to escape much scrutiny despite eliminating hundreds of newspaper jobs across the country. For years, Heath Freeman has operated in pseudo secrecy, a major achievement considering he’s a despised figure in an industry whose mission is to uncover the truth. The little that can be gleaned about Freeman comes via blogs produced at Duke University, where he and his two older sisters are active in the school’s Jewish community. Son of the late Brian Freeman—a former union adviser who once was corporate raider Carl Icahn’s go-to investment banker—Heath Freeman earned his undergraduate degree from Duke in 2002 (and was six-for-six in extra points made for the football team). Since then, Freeman has made a fortune in what he calls “opportunistic” investing.” [5280Mag]
TALK OF THE TOWN: “At Carnival Fresh Market in Brooklyn, a United Nations for the Palate” by Leah Koenig: “Last April, before Passover, boxes of matzo appeared on the shelves. Last June and July, during Ramadan, an already impressive selection of dates swelled considerably to accommodate Muslim families who traditionally break their daily fast with a piece of the dried fruit.”[NYTimes]
Jacob Neusner, who shaped American Jewish studies, dies” by Rachel Zoll: “Neusner died at his home in Rhinebeck, New York, on Saturday, according to Bard College, where he had taught since 1994. Neusner became an academic in the 1960s, at a time when religious studies at universities was largely focused on Christian theology, according to “A Legacy of Learning: Essays in Honor of Jacob Neusner.” At the time, Judaism was taught mostly in yeshivas, or Jewish seminaries, or as part of ethnic studies programs at American colleges. Neusner pushed for a critical examination of Judaism as an important part of studying the humanities, drawing on scholarly techniques from history, anthropology, literary studies and other disciplines.” [AP] • Our condolences to Noam Neusner
SPORTS BLINK: “Ex-Knick Amar’e Stoudemire reveals his ‘holy life’ in Jerusalem” by David Kaufman: “Three years after buying a minority stake in the franchise, Amar’e has signed a two-year contract with Hapoel. Along the way, he’s moved his wife, Alexis, their four young children, Alexis’ mother and even their Jamaican personal chef to Jerusalem from South Florida, where he most recently played with the Miami Heat. “I wanted to be in Jerusalem because it’s a holy place,” Amar’e says over lunch after practice in his elegant stone home in Jerusalem’s upscale Talbiya neighborhood, close to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin’s residence… They celebrate Hanukkah and Passover rather than Christmas and Easter, gather for weekly Sabbath meals most Friday evenings and — at least in Amar’e’s case — will fast this week for Yom Kippur, the holiday of atonement.” [NYPost]
DESSERT: “A High Holy Call for Lox, and Old Hands to Slice It, at Zabar’s” by Corey Kilgannon: “Mr. Cabrera is not Jewish, but he has always observed the High Holy Days by putting in long hours during the mad holiday rush at Zabar’s, that temple of smoked fish on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Even after he left the store in 2009, after 26 years, Zabar’s still summons him, and several other seasoned veterans who have a way with a lox knife, out of retirement every fall to satisfy the throngs preparing for Yom Kippur.” [NYTimes]
BIRTHDAYS: White House Jewish Liaison Chanan Weissman… Israeli comedian and actor, twice voted as the funniest Israeli, Asi Cohen turns 42… Vocalist and songwriter and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, David Lee Roth turns 62… Marc Widelock… Yedidya Atlas… Diane Schmidt… Former president of Common Cause and now a senior fellow at Experience Corps and Civic Ventures, David Cohen…
