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TOP TALKER: “How a Las Vegas newspaper quickly mobilized to cover a tragedy” by Paul Farhi: “In the immediate aftermath of what has turned out to be the deadliest mass shooting in recent American history, Las Vegas’s leading newspaper, the Review-Journal, became the eyes on the episode for much of the world… The paper marshaled about 50 of its 140 journalists Sunday night and dozens more on Monday, said Editor in Chief Keith Moyer… Despite staff turnover in recent years, the Review-Journal still maintains the largest newsroom in the state, he said… He suggested the paper’s reporting of the shooting may counter the narrative that sprang up around it after Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson bought it in late 2015… On Monday, Moyer said: “Sheldon Adelson doesn’t have anything to do with our coverage. People thought he was dictating our coverage. We don’t hear from Sheldon Adelson.”” [WashPost] 

— “Donations are adding up to help the victims and loved ones impacted by the Las Vegas shooting… Shelley Adelson, a daughter of a casino mogul, also donated $10,000.” [WXYZ]

“Jews Console Victims With Song And Prayers — And Seek Answers After Las Vegas Massacre” by Josh Nathan-Kazis: “Rabbi Levi Harlig journeyed to a Las Vegas hospital on Monday on a mission of mercy for one of the hundreds of victims of Sunday night’s massacre on the city’s famed Strip. Harlig sat and sang Jewish songs with the husband and mother-in-law of Natalie Grumet, a Jewish California resident who was injured in the shooting that targeted a sprawling country music festival. Across Las Vegas and the country, Jewish communities were counting heads, making sure their members were accounted for…” [Forward] 

PROFILE: “Scooter Braun’s Hit Factory: The top talent manager has shaped the careers of worldwide stars from Justin Bieber to Ariana Grande. Now the man behind the music is evaluating his own next act” by Alex Bhattacharji: “As more than 250 million viewers across the globe watched the One Love Manchester concert, Braun strode onstage and addressed the crowd of 55,000 at Manchester’s Old Trafford Cricket Ground. After a series of thank-yous, Braun choked up paying tribute to the courage of those who came out just a day after another terror attack, this one on London Bridge. “You looked fear right in the face and said, ‘No—we are Manchester, and the world is watching,’ ” Braun said, his image projected on a pair of four-story-high screens. “Hatred will never win! Fear will never divide us!” Although the concert was its own defiant statement of unity, the event needed some sort of benediction, which Braun delivered extemporaneously except for the help of a few notes on his iPhone. “I planned to prepare, but I never had 15 minutes to myself,” he says.”

“Growing up in Greenwich, Connecticut, Braun, whose given name is Scott, initially hated the nickname Scooter. Braun has since embraced it. “The combination of names describes me well,” he says. “Scooter is very playful, and Braun is strong, serious.” … Braun was a star on the basketball team and class president each of his last three years at Greenwich High. “I was the first Jew to win class president at the school, and someone carved a swastika into my car,” Braun recalls. He got into several fistfights over anti-Semitic remarks, but only when they were directed at other kids—never him.”

“Around the end of 2004, Braun wrote to Mark Zuckerberg at his Harvard email about TheFacebook, as it was called at the time. “I was the biggest college party promoter in the country,” Braun says, “and I wanted to leverage it to help my parties blow up.” Zuckerberg referred Braun to Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, and the two went back and forth for several months about an equity stake. Braun proposed that he and a friend, NBA forward Drew Gooden, invest $100,000 in return for 10 percent of the company (which would be worth about $50 billion today). Braun says he would have flown to Boston to meet with Zuckerberg and Saverin but one of the reasons he didn’t go is that he didn’t want to risk seeing his high school sweetheart, who’d broken his heart and was attending Boston College.” [WSJMagazine]

DRIVING THE CONVO — The White House yesterday expressed support for the Palestinian Authority-Hamas reconciliation.Following Palestinian Prime Minister Rami al-Hamdallah’s visit to Gaza, U.S. Mideast Envoy Jason Greenblatt released a statement welcoming Palestinian efforts to fully assume governance in Gaza. “We will be watching these developments closely, while pressing forward with the Palestinian Authority, Israel, and international donors to try to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza,” Greenblatt said. “The United States stresses that any Palestinian government must unambiguously and explicitly commit to nonviolence, recognition of the State of Israel, acceptance of previous agreements and obligations between the parties, and peaceful negotiations.”

KAFE KNESSET — Palestinian party pooper — by Tal Shalev and JPost’s Lahav Harkov: As the Palestinian government convened in Gaza for the first time since 2014, the Israeli PM poured cold water over the latest reconciliation attempts in his first comments on the issue today. “We expect anyone who talks about a peace process to recognize the State of Israel and of course to recognize the Jewish State and will not accept an imaginary reconciliation in which the Palestinians reconcile with each other at the expense of our existence. To those who want to make such a reconciliation, it’s very simple: recognize the State of Israel, dismantle the Hamas military wing of Hamas, cut ties with Iran and others who call for our destruction,” Netanyahu said, just a few hours after PA President Abbas also presented his conditions for  the reconciliation process, giving it low chances of actually succeeding.

Meanwhile, after months of silence, the right wing is starting to openly criticize the Trump administration for the settlements restrictions and semi-official freeze on the ground. Likud minister Ze’ev Elkin said in an interview to Sheldon Adelson’s NRG website: “This administration is far friendlier to Israel, but unfortunately, the only thing that has not changed is the negative perception of Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria. On this matter, the administration continues with the Obama tradition. We need to explain to them that there are matters of supreme national interest, such as building in Hebron,” Elkin said. Read today’s entire Kafe Knesset here[JewishInsider]

–Israel’s prime minister on Tuesday pledged to build thousands of new homes in one of the West Bank’s biggest Jewish settlements and annex it to Israel [AP]

PA’s Zomlot calls for US forces in the West Bank — by Aaron Magid: Husam Zomlot, head of the PLO’s General Delegation to the U.S., called for U.S. soldiers to provide security in the West Bank during the implementation of a final status peace deal. “We demand a third party presence. We even welcome American forces to be our guard… The Marines would represent for us a third party.” Commenting on President Donald Trump’s meeting last month with his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas in New York, Zomlot said, “each time we leave the meeting, we leave it with a sense of renewed hope and a sense of renewed inspiration.” The senior Palestinian diplomat added that Trump was in a “listening and attentive mood.”

When asked about the likely passage of the Taylor Force Act, Zomlot declared “We were given a choice by Congress that we should cease these payments, and we choose our people, proudly so.” He added that during the beginning of the Trump administration, the Palestinian leadership offered to set up a trilateral committee with the U.S. and Israelis to deal with the payment issue but were rebuffed. [JewishInsider] 

“Is Netanyahu’s party ready to divide Jerusalem?” by Ben Caspit: “In the September meeting, [MK] Anat Berko presented detailed maps to Netanyahu in which the city was divided into geographic and political regions… According to her plan, almost all the Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem would be transferred to Palestinian control. In the first stage, they would be under Palestinian civil rule with Israeli security control, like area B of the West Bank. In the final stage, they would have area A status, that is full Palestinian control. This would decrease Jerusalem’s population by 300,000 Palestinians… A storm erupted at the Likud ministers’ first weekly gathering following the meeting, with members asking Netanyahu whether the news of it was true and whether he supports the plan for partitioning Jerusalem. Netanyahu hurriedly backtracked from the plan.” [Al-Monitor]

“Trump’s Envoy Was Not Wrong on Israeli Settlements” by Eli Lake: “It seems clear that Israel will keep some West Bank territory,” said Elliott Abrams… “There will be land swaps in any conceivable final status agreement. That is U.S. policy. Ambassador Friedman said nothing that deviates from that policy.” … A senior U.S. official who works on Middle East peace negotiations told me that Friedman’s remarks reflected a traditional Republican view of settlements, namely that it was unrealistic to expect Israel to relinquish the suburbs in and around Jerusalem as part of a final status deal with the Palestinians.” [BloombergView]

Amb. Friedman tells Mishpacha Magazine: “I love the job. It is a lot of fun,” he says… Friedman enjoys the president’s trust. “I spoke to him several times this past week,” Friedman says. “I’ve been back to meet with him in person a couple of times. It’s not determined by any particular schedule; it’s determined by whether there is something that we need to talk about.”

The claims in the Israel defense establishment… is that Israel was abandoned in the cease-fire agreement between Russia, Syria, and the US, leaving Israel’s north exposed to a range of Shiite militias and Iranian forces that have been allowed to remain too close to the border:

Friedman: “I can’t speak to your sources, but my contacts with Israel are at the highest levels of the government and from my perspective, that’s not their view. The United States, prior to any meetings it has with Russia, goes out of its way to hear out Israel and to take their concerns into account, and I think they act with one voice. I think they are very coordinated. I am not aware of anything that Israel has asked the United States to do where the United States has refused.” [Mishpacha] 

IRAN DEAL: “Republicans might block Trump from killing Iran nuke deal” by Seung Min Kim and Elana Schor: “Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) made clear he’s undecided on whether to reimpose sanctions… “I don’t think that we should relieve Iran of its obligations,” said Flake, who sits on the Foreign Relations Committee… Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) told reporters recently that he is “still looking at” the issue and remains undecided. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she wants to see the evidence on whether Iran has been compliant with the deal or not. Other influential players, such as Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.), don’t believe Trump should begin retreating from the deal…” [Politico] • Ex-Netanyahu national security adviser Uzi Arad urges US to keep Iran deal [Al-Monitor]

“Mossad chief: Iran ‘closer than ever before’ to Israel’s borders” by Judah Ari Gross: “According to [Yossi] Cohen… his intelligence service is “focused only on the top national, security and political priorities.” First on that list is Iran, according to Cohen. Tehran “continues with its vision of [obtaining] a significant nuclear capability, which is meant to lead it to a military nuclear capability,” he said.” [ToI] • Michael Rubin: Lifting sanctions against Iran will put Israel in mortal danger [Newsweek]

HAPPENING TODAY — The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) will host a forum titled, “Consequences of a Collapse of the Iran Nuclear Deal,” at 1:30 PM ET. Two panels will focus on what happens if President Trump decertifies Iranian compliance with the JCPOA or the U.S. withdraws from the nuclear deal. [Livestream] 

“Zippy Amtrak Train Gets Tangled in ‘the Swamp’” by Alex Burns:“Bill Kristol… no friend of the current White House, remains an Acela loyalist, and he has embraced the “Acela corridor” designation along with unfashionable labels like “establishment” and “globalist.” … Mr. Kristol said his affection for the train was partly tongue-in-cheek, calling it “no great shakes.” He described the Acela’s atmosphere with a gentle irony some people reserve for friends and family. “If you haven’t ridden the Acela while trying to prevent your Dunkin’ Donuts coffee from spilling,” Mr. Kristol wrote in an email, “while also pretending to ignore nearby riders, who include three McKinsey consultants energetically discussing their spreadsheets, two Europeans vividly lamenting the state of America, and a lawyer sharply berating a junior associate for his failings, have you really lived life in the New York-D.C. corridor to the full?””[NYTimes] 

** Good Tuesday 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: Disney reaches agreement with Patrick Drahi’s Altice[Bizjournals] • Chernin to Court Sports Bettors With New Data and Analysis Service [WSJ] • Roman Abramovich has ploughed more cash into tech startup Truphone in £255m rights issue [CityAM] • OurCrowd Expands with Office in Spain, Partners with Spanish-Israeli VC Cardumen Capital[CrowdfundInsider] • US’s Avery Dennison invests in Israeli smart-glass startup Gauzy [ToI] 

STARTUP NATION: Snapchat to launch augmented reality art platform — by Josh Constine: “Snapchat plans to roll out the feature with Koons’s art around the world as seen in these photos from Las Vegas, Sydney, and Paris.  A source tells TechCrunch the feature is based on technology from Cimagine, an Israeli AR startup Snapchat acquired in December. Similar tech powers its World Lens’ like the dancing hot dog that got over 1.5 billion views on Snapchat, plus its new Sponsored World Lens ads.” [TechCrunch] 

“The new ‘Goldie’ scholarships — in honor of the late Dave Goldberg — will pay for students in need to have time to be students” by Kara Swisher: “Using KIPP, a national network of over 200 tuition-free, public charter schools, the program will select 15 students already planning to attend four years of college on scholarship and provide them with annual stipends of $15,000 to pay for a myriad of needs. The goal: To allow those students to focus entirely on their studies and to help remove financial pressure that can hinder their progress… . “Dave wanted kids from all backgrounds to have opportunity,” [Sheryl Sandberg] said. “We were trying to create something he would have loved.”” [Recode; FortuneMag] 

HOLLYWOOD: “Katzenberg’s Big Ask: $2 Billion for Short-Form Video Project” by Andrew Ross Sorkin: “[Jeffrey] Katzenberg, 66, is convinced that his new product, called New TV, can upend the format of television for mobile devices. He wants to create the next-generation version of HBO or Netflix, purpose-built for viewing on phones and tablets with short-form content of premium quality… He wants to create big, expensive productions at a cost of $100,000 a minute…. And he wants to attract A-list talent both in front of and behind the camera… To Mr. Katzenberg, the idea is too obvious not to pursue. “You have an installed base of one and a half billion people who watch 45 minutes of video on a smartphone every day,” he said. “So this is where I say to you, ‘They’re drinking water. We’re going to give it to them in a bottle.’”” [NYTimes] 

TALK OF THE TOWN: “$50 million gift from Cheryl and Haim Saban gives Motion Picture Academy museum a major boost” by Josh Rottenberg: “Given the usual areas of focus of their philanthropic efforts, Haim Saban admits he initially resisted the idea of contributing to the film academy’s museum when he was first approached about it by Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos, who hosted a fundraising dinner earlier this year. “I said to him, ‘Listen, you’ve got sick kids, kids who need education — send them our way. Battered women, we’re there. But a museum is not in our sweet spot, so we’re not going to do anything there,’ ” Saban told The Times in an interview on Tuesday. “He said, ‘Well, come anyway.’ I said, ‘Fine.’ You know, a free meal — why not?”

“After hearing an appeal that evening from Disney CEO Bob Iger, who chairs the museum’s capital campaign and is a friend of the Sabans, he began to come around. After discussing the idea with Cheryl, with whom he started the Saban Family Foundation in 1999, the two ultimately decided to get on board with a major gift… In recognition of the Sabans’ gift, the historic May Co. Building at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue that will be home to the museum will be renamed the Saban Building.” [LATimes] 

REMEMBERING: “That time Tom Petty hung out with an Orthodox rock band in Israel” by Tess Cutler: “Musician Tom Petty [passed awayon Monday]. The rock star just wrapped up a big tour, which ended on September 25 at the Hollywood Bowl, marking the 30th anniversary since he visited Israel for a Temple in Flames Tour. From the vaults: In September 1987, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers toured Israel with Bob Dylan, performing in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. A film crew followed Petty around and chronicled the experience for MTV‘s Musical Passport series, Rock Israel… “I haven’t heard any Israeli Rock ‘n’ Roll, though it must exist,” he confessed. And he soon found out, it does a la Orthodox rock band, Diaspora Yeshiva Band. “I think anyone should be able to pick up an instrument and jump around,” Petty said smiling.” [JewishJournal; YouTube] 

BIRTHDAYS: Jerusalem-born record executive turned talent agent whose clients include Madonna and U2, author of “Jews Who Rock” regarding Jewish influences on the music industry, Guy Oseary turns 45… Professor of American literature at Monmouth College (1968-1999) and co-founder with his wife in 1994 of Two River Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey,  Dr. Robert M. Rechnitz turns 87… Radio show host, author, political commentator and film critic, his eponymous Seattle-based nationally syndicated talk show airs throughout the U.S. on Salem Radio Network, Michael Medved turns 69… Former member of Congress (D-PA-13) (2005-2015), following her tenure as a member of the Pennsylvania Senate (1991-2005), Allyson Schwartzturns 69… Theoretical physicist, professor at Rutgers and a son of feminist author and activist Betty Friedan, he was named a MacArthur Genius Fellow in 1987, Daniel Friedan turns 69… Lisa Leff turns 60… Born in NYC to Israeli parents, music industry executive who led Def Jam, the Hip Hop genre’s top record label at the time, he then led the Warner music label and now is Global Head of Music for YouTube, Lyor Cohen turns 58… Art collector and dealer, who together with his father and brother are reputed to own $1 billion of art including over 1,000 pieces by Andy Warhol, David Mugrabi turns 46…  Rabbi of Congregation Ohr Torah in North Woodmere, NY and author of ‘We’re Almost There,” Dovid M. Cohen turns 45… Born in Jerusalem and raised in Moscow where his father is the Chief Rabbi, himself a rabbi at Park East Synagogue in Manhattan, Benjamin Goldschmidt turns 30…

BIRTHWEEK: Michelle Sara King, President & CEO of King Consults (yesterday)

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