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SPOTLIGHT: “How Telecom Speculator Howard Jonas Made Billions From Verizon, AT&T” by Thomas Gryta and Drew FitzGerald: “Jonas, who sold a startup to AT&T for $1.1 billion in 2000, just sold another one to Verizon for $3.1 billion. It is a big premium for an obscure company called Straight Path Communications Inc. that has just nine employees and has yet to build out a network. The 60-year-old cut his teeth selling hot dogs in the Bronx, N.Y., at the age of 14, studied economics at Harvard and eventually moved into the phone business with the founding of long-distance provider IDT Corp. in 1990. He used the windfall from his Net2Phone deal to fund an array of ventures including looking for shale oil in Mongolia, publishing “Star Trek” comic books and trying to cure cancer.”

“One of these forays led to the creation of Straight Path. IDT bought a swath of U.S. airwave licenses and other assets for $56 million in 2001 and 2002 from Winstar Communications Inc., which had filed for bankruptcy protection. At the time, Mr. Jonas praised the deal: “It might not top the Dutch settlers buying the Island of Manhattan for twenty four dollars, but it comes pretty close.” The thinking was the Winstar assets would allow IDT to expand its telecom offerings to customers, but the business didn’t develop as expected and led to losses that eventually piled up to $300 million, Mr. Jonas said. “If you asked me two years ago what was the worst mistake I made in business, I would have said Straight Path,” he said this week.”

“Despite his repeated success, Mr. Jonas doesn’t fit the stereotype of a New York investor… On the wall is an original painting by Winston Churchill, an 1878 letter from Thomas Edison, pictures of Mr. Jonas with past Republican presidents and a drawing of him from comic legend Stan Lee. He has a framed check for $37.02 signed by notorious Jewish gangster Meyer Lansky in 1936 to the New York Telephone Company, now part of Verizon… He has family members scattered throughout his businesses, including some of his nine children. His son Shmuel is chief executive of IDT, while Davidi runs Straight Path. Another son, Michael, was involved in the search for shale oil in Mongolia and is chairman of cellphone ringtone maker Zedge.” [WSJ]

LOOKING BACK ON ’16: “New York Playbook Interview: Howard Wolfson” by Azi Paybarah: Was that Bloomberg’s mistake, not staying in one of the two major parties? Wolfson: “No… He had been pro-choice and pro-gun safety earlier in his life… I believe it is fair to say had he not changed his position on those issues, he would not have been able to gain traction within the Republican primary, or not enough traction. Mike is not someone who is ever going to change his position on issues for purposes of politics. He doesn’t fit neatly in a box. On the Republican side, his position on choice and guns makes him suspect. And on the Democratic side, his position on capitalism, wealth and finances make him suspect. In theory, if he was willing to change his position on one of those sets of issues he could have been an extremely competitive candidate in one of those two primaries, I believe.” [Politico] • Ed note: Happy birthday to Howard who turns 5-0 on Sunday!

THANK YOU TOUR: “Hillary Clinton Returns to L.A. for Dinner Event at Home of Haim Saban” by Ted Johnson: “Hillary Clinton attended a private dinner at the home of Haim and Cheryl Saban on Thursday night at an event that sources described as a thank you to 2016 campaign donors and an introduction to her plans to launch a political group, Onward Together. Sources said that the gathering was for about 40 to 50 people, including a number who were major donors during her 2016 presidential campaign… Hillary and Bill Clinton are both in Los Angeles for the graduation of her nephew, Zach Rodham, from USC, sources said.” [Variety]

CREDIT KUSHNER: “Saudis Said to Boost U.S. Ties With $40 Billion Investment” by Dinesh Nair, Keith Campbell and Matthew Martin: “The kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund is set to announce plans to deploy as much as $40 billion into U.S. infrastructure, according to people familiar with the matter. The investment may be unveiled as early as next week to coincide with Trump’s visit to [Saudi Arabia]… No final decisions have been made and the announcement may still be delayed, they said… A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the plans were in the works and that Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, had played a critical role in the discussions.” [Bloomberg]

DON’T FAULT KUSHNER: “Trump’s attempt to fix the Comey crisis made it worse” by Josh Dawsey, Annie Karni, Eliana Johnson and Tara Palmeri: “Trump told aides and outside advisers that the press shop was failing him and he was displeased that “they don’t know how to defend anything,” in the words of one adviser. Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, is also upset with the press operation, according to a close Trump ally.” [Politico]

DRIVING THE CONVERSATION: “Rosenstein Pressed White House to Correct the Record on Comey Firing” by Del Quentin Wilber, Aruna Viswanatha and Rebecca Ballhaus: “Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein pressed White House counsel Don McGahn to correct what he felt was an inaccurate White House depiction of the events surrounding FBI Director James Comey’s firing… Mr. Rosenstein left the impression that he couldn’t work in an environment where facts weren’t accurately reported, the person said… Mr. Rosenstein grew more distressed when, in television interviews that evening, White House advisers reiterated that the decision was made in response to the Justice Department’s recommendation… Justice Department spokesman Ian Prior Thursday denied reports that Mr. Rosenstein had threatened to quit over the White House depiction of the events leading up to Mr. Comey’s dismissal.” [WSJ; Politico]

“Sen. Mike Lee floats Garland for FBI, a move that would skew D.C. Court of Appeals” by David Weigel: “Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah)… used a tweet and a morning TV appearance to float an idea… nominating Judge Merrick Garland to run the FBI… Lee quickly got a bipartisan attaboy from Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)… The praise from a Democrat stopped at that, for a simple reason: Taking Garland off the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit would open a seat to be filled by Trump. Since Democrats ended the filibuster for lower-court nominees, it would take just 51 Republican votes to replace Garland with a conservative, shrinking the Democratic-appointee advantage on the court from 7 to 4 now to 6 to 5.” [WashPost]

— “Both [VP Mike] Pence and [WH counsel Don] McGahn are said to have seen merit in the idea of Garland as FBI chief, while others in the White House said it was a non-starter given Garland’s affiliation with the Obama administration.” [FoxBusiness] 

JI INTERVIEW — Jeremy Wynes, the Midwest Regional Director for the Republican Jewish Coalition and formerly AIPAC’s Midwest Political Director, announced this week he is running for Congress in Illinois’ 10th congressional district against Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider. Claiming voters are tired of partisanship, Wynes stresses his background at AIPAC where he worked with both Democrats and Republicans in an interview with JI’s Aaron Magid. “I have close to a decade of experience focusing in a bipartisan way on issues in Congress that are hugely important and we can only solve when both parties are on board,” he said. “Part of what I did, both here in the 10th district and across the Midwest: travel around, advising and briefing Members of Congress and candidates on both sides of the aisle on these critical issues where too often the two sides can’t get together and work on this.”

Q: Congressman Schneider opposed the Iran Deal and joined with Republicans to condemn the UN Security Council vote in December against Israel. What makes you different on Israel?

Wynes: “The 10th district is very unique in that there are a large number of constituents here are very passionate about this issue and the US-Israel relationship. I don’t doubt that Congressman Schneider is a pro-Israel Congressman. But it’s also about to being a leader, and when it comes to the Iran deal, what we have seen over the past few years both when he was in Washington and a candidate is an example of him being unwilling to break from his party in a real meaningful way. Yes, I give him credit for eventually coming out against the Iran deal. Let’s not forget that for a month that both Democrats and Republicans were in the trenches fighting over the Iran deal, we heard radio silence from candidate Schneider on the issue. I would question, if you are going to be a leader on this issue, where was Congressman Schneider or then-candidate Schneider when those of us were in the trenches fighting? Is it leadership to wait a month until the party leadership gives you the ok because you are worried about a partisan primary? I don’t think that’s the leadership this district demands when it comes to this issue.” Read the full interview here [JewishInsider] 

“By firing Comey, Trump makes Israel nervous (again)” by Shmuel Rosner: “Israel tended to worry about Barack Obama for somewhat similar reasons. Obama didn’t always bother to update Israel about his intentions. He occasionally chose to surprise Israel with a speech or an action. This habit made Israel less trusting, less prone to rely on American commitments… Israeli leaders, observers, and citizens are now processing the Trump phenomenon and learning to live with it. Some of them – like me – realize that they were fooled by a candidate whom they thought was a man of his word (I believed that the embassy will be moving). Some of them – mainly on the right – must live with disappointment.” [JewishJournal]

THE ‘ULTIMATE DEAL’ TRIP — “Netanyahu wary of Trump’s interest in solving Israeli-Palestinian conflict” by Itamar Eichner and Smadar Perry: “17 Arab and Muslim rulers affiliated with the Sunni camp received invitations Wednesday from Saudi King Salman to participate in a series of summit conferences to be held in Riyadh on June 21 during Trump’s visit to the country. Among those invited were the kings of Jordan and Morocco and the presidents of Algeria, Tunisia, Turkey, Pakistan, Iraq and Egypt.” [Ynet] 

“‘Abbas has decided to sign peace deal with Israel’” by Yaakov Katz: “Since his meeting with Trump last week, Abbas has changed his rhetoric, issuing a number of statements meant to reflect flexibility on previous demands. He has, for example, said that he would renew the talks under Trump’s auspices without preconditions… He has also sent his advisers to the press to declare that the Palestinians are prepared to negotiate land swaps with Israel, a recognition that some West Bank settlements will remain part of Israel in the framework of a future deal. Netanyahu, on the other hand, has largely remained quiet. The strategy within the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem seems to be to wait and hope not to be blamed for preventing the success of the peace talks Trump is planning to restart.” [JPost] • Palestinian Leader Hails Trump’s Mideast Peace Efforts [AP]

AMBUSH? — “Netanyahu Fears Trump’s Cooking Something Big” by Yossi Verter: “The official, who often speaks to the president’s envoy to the Middle East, attorney Jason Greenblatt, said this week he was surprised to hear the rightist, Orthodox Jew, Har Etzion yeshiva graduate’s repeated references to former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni’s ideas on the peace process. “Several times during my conversation with Greenblatt he said ‘Livni says,’ ‘Tzipi believes,’ ‘in Tzipi’s opinion.’ It’s like she’s become a quasi-mentor. It appears he appreciates her a lot and is very attentive to her views,” the official said with a note of dread in his voice. This relationship isn’t helping reduce the worry level in the Prime Minister’s Office. At the end of March, before the AIPAC conference in Washington, when Greenblatt tweeted he was hosting Livni at home for a Sabbath meal, Netanyahu and his people took it hard. An Israeli official said Livni was… also refuting Netanyahu’s argument about being unable to reach an agreement because of his government’s makeup. Livni told Greenblatt that the Prime Minister was assured of the opposition’s votes in the Knesset… Livni stressed that her meetings with him, including one this week, aren’t held underground but with the Israeli Embassy’s knowledge.” [Haaretz]

“U.S. Ambassador Advises Israeli Officials: Trump’s Serious About Peace, Work With Him” by Barak Ravid and Amir Tibon: “[David Friedman] termed Trump a great opportunity for Israel, someone who greatly wants to help the country, inter alia by achieving a peace agreement with the Palestinians. As evidence of this, Friedman noted that all the people Trump has appointed to deal with the Israel issue are graduates of Jewish religious schools… This week, Friedman met with Trump to receive the president’s final instructions and his best wishes for his new job… Two people who have spoken with Friedman… told Haaretz that the new ambassador has given Trump his own assessment that the chances of achieving a peace deal are slim.” [Haaretz]

“How Trump Can Have an Impact in the Holy Land” by Daniel Shapiro: “Rawabi is the first new, entirely planned Palestinian city in the West Bank, long heralded as the advent of the Palestinian economic future… By associating himself with Rawabi’s future, Trump can instantly incentivize Israeli, Palestinian and Gulf leaders to ensure its success; none will want to be blamed for the failure of a project with Trump’s stamp of approval… It’s hard to find better optics too. Only a short helicopter ride from Jerusalem or Bethlehem, Rawabi’s grand scale will appeal to Trump the real estate developer.” [Bloomberg]

TAYLOR FORCE ACT: “Cabinet source: IDF fears defunding Palestinian Authority will increase terrorism” by Lahav Harkov: “Almost all of Israel’s security and intelligence agencies are opposed to proposed Knesset legislation that would cut off tax transfers to the Palestinian Authority due to its payment of salaries to terrorists imprisoned in Israel, a senior cabinet source told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday. According to the source, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories unit, the IDF, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and other security bodies are opposed to the measure, fearing that a cut to PA funding will lead to an escalation in terrorist attacks.” [JPost] 

KAFE KNESSET — Interview with Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked — by Tal Shalev and JPost’s Lahav Harkov: Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked met her US counterpart Jeff Sessions yesterday for the very first time, concluding a five-day visit to NYC and DC in the midst of the Comey crisis. Shaked told Kafe Knesset that she and Sessions discussed the latest developments at length, and that “it was very interesting to hear his point of view,” although she refused to reveal any more details. Speaking from the train on her way back from DC, Shaked shared some impressions from her visit.

Shaked on the US Embassy move to Jerusalem: “I still hope that the President will stand by his commitment – to his voters and constituents – and move the Embassy. We need to ignore all the intimidation attempts. There will always be fears and concerns – we know that from every significant move we have made in the past, but we have to believe in the move and make it happen. Let us wait for the President’s visit, maybe he will surprise us.”

On the Trump’s push for peace: “We have made our position clear to the Prime Minister and it has not changed. We do not oppose talks so long as there are no preconditions or demands. If they want to talk, they are invited to do so, as long as there are no preconditions. From our brief history in the Middle East, we have seen that after every intensive and significant effort to reach an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, there has been a wave of violence. I am therefore afraid of such a scenario if we go back to intense efforts again.” Read the full interview and today’s entire Kafe Knesset here [JewishInsider]

HEARD YESTERDAY — Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats at the Senate Intelligence Committee: “Tehran’s public statements suggest that it wants to preserve the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action because it views the deal as a means to remove sanctions while preserving some nuclear capabilities. Iran’s implementation of the deal has extended the amount of time Iran would need to produce enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon from a few months to about a year. Tehran’s malignant activities, however, continue.”

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