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MEDIA WATCH: “Emerson Collective Acquires Majority Stake in The Atlantic” by Gillian White: “David G. Bradley, the chairman and owner of Atlantic Media, is announcing this morning that he is selling a majority stake in The Atlantic to Emerson Collective, an organization led by philanthropist and investor Laurene Powell Jobs. Bradley will retain a minority stake in The Atlantic and will continue as chairman and operating partner for at least three to five years. In a letter to his staff, Bradley wrote that Emerson Collective will most likely assume full ownership of The Atlantic within five years. Bradley, who bought The Atlantic in 1999 for $10 million from Mortimer Zuckerman, is credited with transforming the Boston-based monthly magazine of politics, arts, and letters into a profitable digital-journalism and live-events company of global reach.”

“Bradley also announced that the current leadership team of The Atlantic—Bob Cohn, its president; Hayley Romer, its publisher; and Jeffrey Goldberg, its editor in chief—would remain in place. Peter Lattman, who leads Emerson’s media efforts, and was a financial reporter at The New York Times and then the paper’s media editor, will retain his position there and become vice chairman of The Atlantic.” [TheAtlantic]

Leon, the media ‘shadchan’ — from David Bradley’s memo to staff: “It was a friend of many of us here, Leon Wieseltier, who first put me onto the possibility that Laurene might come to love The Atlantic as I have. For its part, Emerson Collective had begun to invest in serious journalism for its own sake. And, as to Laurene personally, Leon said, “If she were to take an interest in The Atlantic, it would be for all the right reasons.” In a January meeting in Washington, Laurene first took an interest.” [Axios]

TOP TALKER: “McMaster Fires Iran Hawk From NSC” by Kate Brannen: “National Security Advisor Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster has removed Derek Harvey, the top Middle East advisor on the National Security Council (NSC), from his post Thursday… Harvey had been picked for his role on the NSC by McMaster’s predecessor, retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn. After Trump reluctantly removed Flynn in February, a handful of Flynn’s people left, but Harvey and others remained in their jobs… Harvey was also known for being a hawk on Iran and had been pushing proposals to expand the U.S. military mission in Syria to go after Iranian proxy forces more aggressively. Defense Secretary James Mattis had pushed back on these proposals.”[FP; TWS]  

“More Turmoil at the National Security Council” by Rosie Gray: “In a emailed statement on Thursday afternoon, Harvey [wrote]… “I  treasure having had the opportunity to support committed and visionary leaders such as Mrs. K.T. McFarland, Mr. Jared Kushner, and Mr. Steve Bannon, and consummate professionals like Mr. Jason Greenblatt and Ms. Dina Powell.”” [TheAtlantic]

“Trump Seeks Way to Declare Iran in Violation of Nuclear Deal” by David Sanger: “American officials have already told allies they should be prepared to join in reopening negotiations with Iran or expect that the United States may abandon the agreement, as it did the Paris climate accord… Mr. Trump had expected to be presented with options for how to get out of the deal, according to two officials, and in the words of one of them, “he had a bit of a meltdown when that wasn’t one of the choices.”” [NYTimes]

“The Desperation of Our Diplomats” by Roger Cohen: “As William Burns, a former deputy secretary of state and the president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, put it to me, “Beneath the surface, there’s nothing at all that’s normal.” Hard power and soft power are complementary. Cut out one and American leverage is lost. Wendy Sherman, an under secretary of state in the Obama administration, said, “Whether witting or not, this is not just the disruption of the State Department, it’s the destruction, and the minimization of the role of diplomacy in our national security.” … An American jewel is at stake… But now, at a time of growing great-power rivalry, a diminished State Department leaves a vacuum Russia and China will fill.”[NYTimes]

DRIVING THE DAY: “The Palestinian plot to end-run Trump at the UN” by Benny Avni: “On Friday, the United Nations General Assembly will vote on a resolution to change the way a Palestinian-centered agency is financed. For years, only a fraction of the funds for the UN Relief and Work Agency, which is dedicated exclusively to benefit Palestinians, came from UN budgets… The resolution, sponsored by a large group of countries sympathetic to the Palestinians, will recommend “a gradual increase in the support provided to [UNRWA] from the regular budget of the UN” by next year. Plus, mandatory fees in the past could only fund the salaries of non-Palestinian workers; the new resolution removes that restriction as well.” [NYPost] 

Happening Today: President Trump is meeting with U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley in the Oval Office at 11am.

JI INTERVIEW —  Representative John Faso (R-NY) discussed his experience as a New York lawmaker and his upcoming first trip to Israel in an interview with JI’s Aaron Magid. Faso will be visiting Israel for the first time in August on a trip for freshman members sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation, a charitable organization affiliated with AIPAC. Given the increasing momentum in Congress for the Taylor Force Act, legislation that would sever US economic aid to the Palestinian Authority if they continue payments to families of terrorists, Faso signaled his support for the effort. “The PA, by subsidizing the people who commit horrific crimes and by subsidizing the families of deceased terrorists, sends a terrible signal. I do think that we need to take action against support to the PA that is directly in contrast to interests of peace. Certainly, those PA subsidies meet that criteria.”

Faso on the two state solution: “In theory, it sounds good. But, in order for there to be a two state solution, there needs to be a state on the other side of Israel that is capable of actually functioning and negotiating. It was Abba Eban who famously said: ‘The Arabs never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.’ The Palestinians have had multiple opportunities for peace and stability and they have failed to ever take up the cause seriously.”[JewishInsider]

PALACE INTRIGUE: “Anthony Scaramucci’s Uncensored Rant: Foul Words and Threats to Have Priebus Fired” by Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman: “In a vulgarity-laced telephone call with a New Yorker writer reported on the magazine’s website on Thursday evening, Mr. Scaramucci railed against Mr. Priebus and Stephen K. Bannon, the president’s chief strategist, both of whom opposed his hiring last week… Whether Mr. Scaramucci will turn out to be Cain or Abel, it was clear that his appointment has added another layer of drama and dissent to a White House suffused in it — and revived the perpetual questions about Mr. Priebus’s fate… Mr. Priebus finds himself isolated inside the White House. He has lost the support of Mr. Trump’s family, and other senior aides have long bristled at his demeanor or suspected he was trying to undermine them.” [NYTimes; NewYorker]

“Scaramucci declares war on Priebus, Bannon” by Josh Dawsey: “If this is less of a s—show because Anthony Scaramucci is imposing some discipline and getting things done, that’s good for the country. It’s good for the country to have a functioning government even if you disagree vehemently,” said Stu Loeser, a friend and former press secretary to Michael Bloomberg. “Anthony is helping the president and will continue to help the president.” Loeser’s comments came before Scaramucci’s New Yorker interview published.”[Politico] • Mooch to lower profile after New Yorker fracas [Axios] 

Dan Shapiro‏: “Insane. Out of control. Madness. Can’t wait to get back to the calm and sanity of the Middle East.” [Twitter] 

— Aaron David Miller replies: “That’s most depressing comment I’ve heard in days. To even imagine that broken, angry, dysfunctional place compares favorably with us…..” [Twitter] 

“What Cain and Abel Tell Us About the War Between Priebus and Scaramucci” by Joel Baden: “The Scaramucci/Priebus drama is really about something bigger: The conflict between traditional Republican politics and the new Trumpian attitude. It could also represent the clash of styles between Priebus’ aw-shucks Midwesternism and Scaramucci’s New York brashness. Either way, one potential lesson of the biblical story is the same: When the two sides come to blows, no one really ends up winning.” [Politico] 

“Rahm Emanuel says White House drama is ‘undermining Trump’” by Lynn Sweet: “All this drama is undermining Trump… I don’t think the drama, somewhat initiated by the president, is helping,” Emanuel told me… When Emanuel was chief of staff, “I couldn’t do my job and help the president move his agenda if people thought there was a gulf between him and me. And he and I would never do that.” [ChicagoSunTimes] 

Bret Stephens: President Trump’s Lies Leading Us to a ‘World of Anthony Weiners’ — “The tragedy of Trump’s victory and everything he’s done as president is he demonstrates that shamelessness works. He sold his shamelessness to the american people as fearlessness, and they believed it. if you don’t say ‘I made a mistake,’ if you don’t acknowledge error, if you kind of move forward, you’re going to get away with it. That’s what the presidency is showing us with Trump. We’re on our way to the world of Anthony Weiners.” [Mediaite]

BIBI’S BIG DEAL — “Benjamin Netanyahu discussed settlement exchange plan with US” by Herb Keinon: “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed with Washington in recent weeks the idea of redrawing the borders in any future agreement with the Palestinians, incorporating the major settlement blocs into Israel, while drawing out the heavily populated Israeli-Arab area of Wadi Ara and making it part of a future Palestinian state… The discussions, first reported by Channel 2, mean that Netanyahu – in conversations with US President Donald Trump’s advisers Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt – has adopted a proposal put forward years ago by Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman.” [JPost] 

WH official emails us: “This may have been one of many ideas discussed several weeks ago in the context of a peace agreement and not in the context of a separate annexation.”

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who proposed this at the UN in 2010, tweets: “Welcome to the club.” [Twitter] 

“Palestinians declare victory over Israel in crisis over holy site” by Ruth Eglash and William Booth: “The decision by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government to back down over the increased security measures… was seen by both Israelis and Palestinians as a capitulation. Some said Netanyahu did the right and smart thing by de-escalating the tension, but members of his own government criticized him for what they saw as weakness in the face of Palestinian opposition and violence.” [WashPost] • Netanyahu Says Palestinian Killer of Three Israelis Should Be Executed[Haaretz] 

Jason Greenblatt in a statement: “The United States welcomes the efforts undertaken to de-escalate tensions in Jerusalem today. We believe that calm and security will create the best opportunity to return to dialogue and the pursuit of peace. President Trump, Jared Kushner and I, in full coordination with Secretary Rex Tillerson, Ambassador David Friedman, Consul General Don Blome and the State Department, as well as General HR McMaster and the National Security Council, have been and will remain engaged as we continue to monitor the situation closely.”

HEARD YESTERDAY — State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert insisted the administration did not pressure Israel to remove the metal detectors from the Temple Mount: “Israel’s security is among our top priorities. We would never pressure Israel into making a security decision for political purposes…  We would not get involved in a decision like that. It’s their decision. We recognize that the sides have to be willing to work together on this.”

ON THE HILL — The Senate overwhelmingly passed sanctions legislation against Russia, Iran and North Korea yesterday. The veto-proof bipartisan vote (98-2) is similar to Tuesday’s 419-3 vote in the House of Representatives. Senators Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Rand Paul (R-KY) voted against the bill. Sanders said on Twitter that while he supported sanctions on Russia and North Korea, he opposed the bill because he worries “very much about President Trump’s approach to Iran.”

Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he cannot imagine Trump vetoing the legislation. “It’s just not a good way to start a presidency to veto something and then be soundly overridden,” he said. “The bill does not violate the 2015 nuclear deal in any way,” AIPAC said in a statement, urging Trump to sign it into law.

On a conference call hosted by J Street yesterday, Israeli Major General (ret.) Amram Mitzna tells JI’s Jacob Kornbluh… “The Prime Minister (Benjamin Netanyahu) has been very silent compared to his speeches before the nuclear agreement was signed. I assume that Israel is in a silent way supporting the idea that the current deal is better than abandoning the deal. It seems to me that Mr. Netanyahu is a little bit worried – he doesn’t know what kind of action the U.S. administration will take, and he understands that he is not able to deal with the current administration the same way he dealt with the Obama administration. Therefore he prefers to sit on the sidelines and see where the wind blows.”

** Good Friday 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: Apollo raises $24.6 billion for largest private equity fund ever [BI; Bloomberg] • Patrick Drahi’s Altice sees sales, profit growth with a boost from US business [FinancialTimes] • Alex Sapir fails to take control of ASRR Capital in stock buyout [TRD] • Car-collecting mogul Dezer, a Trump pal, caught up in penny-ante lawsuit over condo mortgage [MiamiHerald] • Soros-Backed U.K. Fiber Broadband Challenger Raises $130 Million [Bloomberg] • Startup uses Israeli tech to launch security app for the ultra-wealthy [BizJournals] 

TALK OF THE TOWN: “Not your grandfather’s schvitz: Gary Barnett bringing infrared saunas to OMS” by E.B. Solomont: “In the arms race for the hottest new condominium amenity, Extell Development is bringing infrared saunas to its forthcoming One Manhattan Square project. The Gary Barnett-led firm said it is the first New York developer to offer residents the chic therapy — which uses radiant heat to warm the body’s core, stimulating the cardiovascular and lymphatic systems to help eliminate toxins. It’s a health benefit, but also a way for Extell to elevate the overall experience at the Lower East Side condo, said senior vice president of development Raizy Haas.” [RealDeal]

“This Hamptons trailer park is a billionaire hotspot” by Jennifer Gould Keil: “On the surface, it could be your typical trailer park, with its boring rows of modular mobile homes squeezed onto tiny plots of land. But Montauk Shores features something other trailer parks don’t: million-dollar views — and billionaire residents. Owning a trailer at the park has become the ultimate status symbol for the tony Long Island town’s summering rich and famous, many of whom use their relatively modest mobile digs as a second pad to escape with the family or even as a glorified changing room after a long day of romping in Montauk’s waves. So many wealthy people have infiltrated the trailer park that it now has its own “Billionaires’ Corner,’’ a local Realtor said. There’s Vitaminwater co-founder Darius Bikoff, hedge-fund manager Dan Loeb, film producer Karen Lauder…” [NYPost]

“Inside Trump International Hotel, the Mecca of Trump-ism” by Irina Aleksander’: “Two Hasidic guys waited to check in. One was talking on a flip phone. The other slapped the counter and said, “Okay, where’s Trump?”” [GQ] 

“Why Does the Kremlin Care So Much About the Magnitsky Act?” by Julia Ioffe: “In all of the drama over the Russian interference in America’s 2016 election, it’s easy to forget just how corrupt Russia is, and how much corruption and money flows still determine the official course of action. The Magnitsky Act so angered the Russians because it targeted what really mattered to them; it went after Russian elites’ raison d’être… The law hit the mark so precisely and painfully that the elite lashed out fiercely enough to do what neither the Magnitsky Act nor the 2014 sanctions did: They targeted their own, most vulnerable citizens—as if they haven’t stolen from them enough.” [TheAtlantic] 

PROFILE: “The Settler Leader Who’s Even Charming Liberals as Israel’s Top Man in New York” by Amir TIbon: “When [URJ’s Rick] Jacobs first heard that Netanyahu was planning to send [Dani] Dayan to New York, he told the prime minister over the phone that it would be a major mistake… Jacobs complained that instead of sending to New York “someone who will help lower the flames” and repair the damage that the Netanyahu-Obama era had done to Israel’s relationship with liberal American Jews, Netanyahu was “doing the exact opposite.” Netanyahu listened carefully and asked Jacobs to give the new consul general a chance. “He’ll surprise you,” the prime minister said. Jacobs doubted it, but when Dayan arrived in New York, Jacobs agreed to meet with him at the consulate and discuss possible cooperation. “I remember arriving to the meeting, sitting there with my hands crossed, and thinking to myself — this isn’t going to work,” Jacobs recalled this week. But after spending more than an hour with Dayan, he began to realize that maybe this time the prime minister was right.” [Haaretz]

“Ahead of nationwide release, Al Gore presents an ‘Inconvenient’ sequel at SF Jewish Film Festival” by Lisa Klug: “The new 88-minute documentary is the project of local Jewish filmmakers Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk. For two years, this married couple followed Gore around the globe, from Greenland to Miami to Paris and parts in between… Having a documentary team shadow Gore for two years did not prepare him for witnessing this passionate portrait of an environmental crusader and policy wonk. “An awful lot surprised me because Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk traveled with me for two years,” Gore told The Times of Israel. “And as you see in the movie, some of the experiences were so emotional and I actually forgot that they were there filming.”” [ToI] 

HOLLYWOOD: “Larry David Reveals How Lorne Michaels and Ari Emanuel Recruited Him to Play Bernie Sanders on ‘SNL’” by Daniel Holloway: “This Bernie Sanders thing,” David said. “During the first debate between Bernie and Hillary, [‘SNL’ creator] Lorne Michaels got emails and calls during the debate, saying that I should be doing Bernie Sanders.” After the debate, “[WME-IMG co-CEO] Ari Emanuel called me up and said, ‘What did you think?’ And every time I watched Bernie Sanders, I would repeat everything that he said, because I know that I can talk like that. So I started talking to Ari, the agent, I started talking to him like Bernie… Then I said, ‘You know, it would be a good thing for “Saturday Night Live”,’ not thinking in a million years.” … It was also revealed during the panel that David and Sanders are related. Sanders learned of the connection when filming an upcoming episode of PBS’ “Finding Your Roots.” … David did not say exactly how the two are related, specifying only that Sanders is “a third cousin or something.” [Variety]

“These Two Muslim and Jewish U.S. Comedians Are Standing Up for Peace” by Debra Nussbaum Cohen: “Dean Obeidallah is an American Muslim known for his Sirius FM radio talk show… He was appearing with his friend and former neighbor Scott Blakeman, a longtime comic who’s an American Jew with a Reform background. The pair performed at the Hampton Synagogue in Westhampton Beach, Long Island, trying to tailor what they said to their audience. Blakeman worked hard to avoid mentioning President Donald Trump to the largely wealthy and politically conservative congregation – which wasn’t easy for the political comedian.. “Fifteen years ago, the main focus of our act was to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace,” said Blakeman. “Now, since Trump, both Islamophobia and anti-Semitism have been emboldened. I’ve been doing political comedy a long time and I’ve never seen politics seep into things like this.”” [Haaretz]

ACROSS THE POND: “British anti-Semitic incidents at record high, charity says” by Cassandra Garrison: “There were 767 anti-Semitic incidents, mainly abusive behavior or assault, in the first six months of 2017, the Community Security Trust (CST) reported, a 30 percent increase from the same period in 2016. “Some of this may be down to improved reporting, but it is sadly clear that the overall situation has deteriorated,” said CST Chief Executive David Delew. “Anti-Semitism is having an increasing impact on the lives of British Jews and the hatred and anger that lies behind it is spreading.””[Reuters] 

SPORTS BLINK: “‘He’s a real pioneer’: Israeli college football player adjusts to life in the U.S.” by Samantha Pell: “Born and raised in Jerusalem, [Yaniv] Kovalski is viewed by many as the first of his kind. He earned a partial football scholarship from Stonehill, the first player from the Kraft Family Israel Football League — the country’s first full-contact tackle football league, sponsored by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft — to do so at a U.S. college football program. Kovalski is seen as a pioneer to his peers as they try to build a pipeline from Israeli football to the United States. “In 10 years, I would love to have plenty of Yaniv Kovalskis,” said Ehud Sharon, chief information officer of American Football in Israel. “That’s definitely the goal that we are setting up. He’s a real pioneer.”” [WashPost]

“Giants’ Jewish rookie lineman gets late-night kosher snacks” by Paul Schwartz: “Adam Bisnowaty will have some kosher late-night snacks to munch on during training camp and share with his fellow offensive linemen, courtesy of Manischewitz. That famous purveyor of kosher products is sending the Giants rookie all sorts of goodies after learning of Bisnowaty’s Jewish heritage in Monday’s Post. The Manischewitz Company’s Twitter account Thursday night posted a picture of assorted Jewish delicacies, such as potato pancakes, matzo ball soup mix, an assortment of matzo varieties and its famous Tam Tams crackers, promising Bisnowaty “all of this is on its way to you.’’ … The Giants rookie chronicled for The Post his Jewish roots and showed off the tattoo inside his left arm, inscribed in Hebrew, that translates as “I am that I am,’’ a verse from Exodus 3:14.” [NYPost] 

SCENE IN ISRAEL: Haim Saban and his wife Cheryl attended a groundbreaking ceremony in the northern Galilee earlier this week for a new memorial center for fallen Israeli Druze soldiers. The Sabans are funding construction of the FIDF Druze Soldiers Heritage Center. [Pic] 

DESSERT: “A Jerusalem Restaurant With Italian and Israeli Influences” by Gabriella Gershenson: “One of the first things you see when you arrive at Anna, an Italian restaurant in the heart of Jerusalem, is a still life of ingredients: a basket of kohlrabi, a bowl of olives and confited garlic cloves, pots of fresh herbs arranged artfully on the pass. The tableau is a fitting tribute to the place. The restaurant is on the top floor of the 19th-century villa where the artist Anna Ticho lived and worked. When she died in 1980, she left her home to the Israel Museum. After a renovation, the chef Moshiko Gamlieli opened Anna in May 2016. The restaurant is kosher, and the Italian menu, which focuses on fish and dairy (omitting meat to comply with kosher law), aims to be accessible.” [NYTimes]

WINE OF THE WEEK — Recanati Marawi 2015 — by Yitz Applbaum: It is not often that someone comes into your office in the middle of the workday and offers you a glass of wine. It is even less common for that wine to be made from an Israeli grape varietal that has a 2,000 year old history.  This surprise gift was compliments of my new friend, Peter, who not only has a great passion for Israeli wines, but the palate, intellect and soul to go with it.

The Recanati Malawi 2015 is produced from 100 percent Marawi grape which is indigenous to the Bethlehem/Hebron area. The Marawi grape has been growing in that area for thousands of years. Ariel University has recently begun a project to resurrect usage of this varietal for wine making. The outcome is quite remarkable. The wine provides a Chenin Blanc like experience. In this case, the grapes are aged for six months in French oak. This gives the soft fruity grape a bit of a tangy taste in the mid-palate without taking away from the peach and floral finish. This wine is drinkable right now. Serve slightly chilled and eat with goat cheese, figs and olives. If you have the image in your mind’s eye, try and imagine the Hebron Hills. It is a great experience. [RecanatiWinery] 

WEEKEND BIRTHDAYS — FRIDAY: Survivor of Auschwitz-Birkenau as a teen, he emigrated to Israel and became an artist, his work, mostly Holocaust themed, appears in the Israel Museum, Yad Vashem and the US Capitol, Yehuda Bacon turns 88… Chicago radio news personality who provides opinion segments for WGN Radio, from 1973 to 2013 he was a television news anchor in Chicago, Walter Jacobson turns 80… Former US District Court Judge in Manhattan (1988-2006), then US Attorney General (2007-2009), now of counsel at the international law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton, Michael Mukasey turns 76… Swedish industrialist, chairman of the Nobel Foundation (manager of the Nobel Prize) from 2005 to 2013, his father was the chairman of the Swedish branch of the World Jewish Congress, Marcus Storch Ph.D. turns 75… In 1986 she became first woman in the IDF to hold the rank of Brigadier General, she was a member of Knesset (2006-2009) and now serves on multiple for-profit and non-profit boards, Amira Dotan turns 70… President of the Council on Foreign Relations since July 2003 and previously a State Department official, Richard N. Haass turns 66… Sports columnist, commentator and author of 36 sports-related books, John Feinstein turns 61… Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic who currently writes for the Los Angeles Times, Jonathan Gold turns 57… French-Israeli hairdresser and entrepreneur, Michel Mercier turns 56… Sports executive, attorney and former president of basketball operations for the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves (2009-2013), David Kahn turns 56… Co-founder and CEO of the personal genomics and biotechnology company 23andMe, Anne Wojcickiturns 44… CEO of  NYC-based Xukuma, LLC (a consulting firm), Jennifer Lew Goldstone turns 44… Managing Partner at Resolute Venture Partners and former White House liaison to the Jewish community, Jay Zeidman turns 34… Director of baseball research and development for the Washington Nationals, Sam Mondry-Cohen turns 30… Political Reporter at BuzzFeed, Ruby Cramer… Partner and managing director of private investment bank DH Capital, he serves on the boards of American Jewish World Service and Hazon, Marty Friedman… Larry Gordon…

SATURDAY: Billionaire banker and energy executive, he is the chairman of BOK Financial Corporation in Tulsa, Oklahoma, George Kaiser turns 75… Newspaper columnist for the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, Meir Shalevturns 69… Denver-based trial lawyer (formerly a prosecutor, now a criminal defense attorney), film producer and author of both fiction and nonfiction, Kenneth Eichner turns 63… Economics journalist and author, now back at the New York Times, Peter S. Goodman turns 51… Twin brothers, Los Angeles based philanthropists and businessmen, Shlomo Yehuda Rechnitzand Yisroel Zev Rechnitz turn 46… Vice President for Community Engagement at BBYO, Jayme David turns 40… Director of the Straus Center at Yeshiva University, he is also the Rabbi of NYC’s Congregation Shearith Israel (often called The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue), Rabbi Meir Soloveichik turns 40… National investigative specialist at The E.W. Scripps Company, formerly a reporter for the New York Times, Aaron Kessler turns 38… Rabbi Levi Welton turns 34… Former Obama White House aide, now a venture capital investor for Steve Case, Herbie Ziskend turns 32… Director of Israel and Jewish Advocacy at the Baltimore Jewish Council, Adrienne Potter Yoe… and her twin sister, Moira Yoe, who works in NYC on corporate social responsibility at Prudential Financial and is a member of the Global Shapers Community (an initiative of the World Economic Forum), both turn 30… Uriel Wassner turns 23… Deputy Editor at Politico Pro, Carol Eisenberg… Assistant editor of The Agenda at Politico, previously a staff writer at The New Republic, Danny Vinik (h/ts Playbook)… Jason Levin…

SUNDAY: Co-founder and now chairman emeritus of the tax-preparation company H&R Block, Henry Wollman Bloch turns 95… Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1992 to 2015, Allan Huber “Bud” Selig turns 83… Of Counsel to the law firm of Hatton, Petrie & Stackler in Aliso Viejo, CA, Ronald E. Stackler turns 80… Film director over many decades, writer, actor, producer, critic and film historian, Peter Bogdanovich turns 78… The first woman justice on the Nebraska Supreme Court, when she was 14 years old she won two gold medals and a silver medal as a swimmer at the Maccabiah Games in Israel, Justice Lindsey Miller-Lerman turns 70… Actor, director and producer, Ken Olin turns 63… Billionaire businessman, philanthropist and investor, of Uzbek Bukhari background, known as the “King of Diamonds,” Lev Leviev turns 61… Born in Moldova, made aliyah in her late 20s, elected as Mayor of Arad in 2010 and re-elected in 2014, now serving in the Knesset for the Kulanu party, Tali Ploskov turns 55… Former Southwest Regional political director for AIPAC, now campaign manager for Trump-Pence in 2020, Michael Glassner turns 54… A descendant of the French branch of the Rothschild family, he is the chairman of the Edmond de Rothschild Group, a private Swiss bank established by his father, Benjamin de Rothschild turns 54… Emmy Award winning actress, comedienne and producer, Lisa Kudrowturns 54… Best-selling non-fiction author, contributing editor at Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone magazines, he is a co-creator of the HBO series “Vinyl,” Rich Cohen turns 49… District director for Congressman Jerrold L. Nadler [D-NY10], Robert Gottheim turns 46… Childhood actor, he served as a law clerk in 2008 for Justices O’Connor and Ginsburg, the only blind person to clerk for the US Supreme Court, now a motivational speaker, author and entrepreneur,Isaac Lidsky turns 38… News reporter and producer at Southern California public radio station KCRW, where he produces “DnA: Design and Architecture,” Avishay Artsy turns 37… New Media editor at the Times of Israel, Sarah Tuttle-Singer turns 36… Director of policy and public affairs for the Jewish Community of Denmark, Jonas Herzberg Karpantschof turns 35… 2017 graduate from Elon University with majors in political science and international studies, Joshua Weintraub…

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