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PROFILE: “Snack King Takes Bite Out of Biased Politics” by Nick Fouriezos: “The video conferencing program is not the work of some education nonprofit or feel-good government initiative though. It’s the brainchild of Daniel Lubetzky, the founder and CEO of KIND Healthy Snacks. The platform hopes to expand the horizons of children “across different cultures, religions,” he tells OZY in his midtown Manhattan office. The Jewish-Mexican immigrant is a lifelong businessman… But more than that, Lubetzky is the son of a Holocaust survivor, a history that haunts his decisions more than any bottom line. “I’ve felt this enormous weight of having a responsibility to prevent what happened to my father from happening to others,” he says.”

“Lubetzky grew up in Mexico City, and his college thesis focused on repairing Arab and Israeli relations through business. A $10,000 fellowship in Tel Aviv, Israel, led him to create PeaceWorks, which developed pestos and sun-dried tomato products through cooperation between neighbors in conflict regions. OneVoice, which he started in 2002, is a New York nonprofit that trains grassroots activists in Israel and Palestine to advocate for a two-state solution…”

“Lubetzky started KIND in 2004 to provide a healthier alternative to snack bars; in 2011 he co-founded Maiyet, a luxury fashion venture that promotes entrepreneurship in developing economies. Lubetzky found businesses to be scalable and sustainable in a way nonprofits weren’t. “Traditional institutions of government, family and religion are failing at providing the leadership for a better world. Socially conscious businesses are increasingly seen as the last best hope,” Jeffrey Solomon, president of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, writes over email.” [OZY]  

INTERVIEW — Former President Bill Clinton talks to The UK Times’ Josh Glancy about his new book, The President is Missing, he co-authored with James Patterson: “The good-ol’-boy bonhomie, however, something is eating at Clinton. What’s that, I ask, pointing to a bronze cast of two hands shaking. It’s Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat, he explains, sealing their famous “brave gamble” on the 1993 Oslo peace accords in the rose garden of the White House.”

“The day before our interview, scores of Palestinians were shot and killed on the border with Gaza, as Benjamin Netanyahu, a Clinton nemesis, simultaneously celebrated bringing the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem with the Trump family. That handshake, a high point of the Clinton presidency, must feel like ancient history? “Yeah, it does,” he says. “I got physically ill seeing what they did to them [the Palestinians]. Nobody cares about them anymore. Just like I told Arafat would happen if they didn’t take the peace deal. I warned him.” Later, he describes Arafat’s decision to reject that peace agreement, at the Camp David summit with Ehud Barak in 2000, as “the most colossal political error of my lifetime.” [TheTimes]

Haviv Rettig Gur writes… “Why Palestinians care what Donald Trump thinks about Jerusalem: As they discovered yet again with the US Embassy’s move to Jerusalem on May 14, there are costs to the overreliance on the politics of foreign nations: it leaves you vulnerable when those politics change. Lacking any other strategic horizon, it’s no wonder Palestine’s cause seemed to many Palestinians to be dramatically set back by the election of a populist American right-winger as president… It’s arguable that a Hillary Clinton presidency, or even a Bernie Sanders one and its undoubted sympathy for the Palestinians, would not really tilt events very much in the Palestinians’ direction. Palestine’s troubles run deep, and Palestinian leaders have a long history of squandering foreign sympathy.” [ToI] 

DRIVING THE WEEK — “Netanyahu heads to Europe with Iran on his mind” by Caron Creighton: “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads to Europe this week in a bid to rally support from key allies for amending the international nuclear deal with Iran and for pushing Iranian forces out of neighboring Syria. Netanyahu is set to meet with leaders from Germany, France and Britain, beginning with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday. In France, Netanyahu and Macron will attend a ceremony celebrating Israel’s 70th anniversary. He then heads to Britain to meet with Prime Minister Theresa May.” [AP]

ACROSS THE POND — “In Era of Brexit and Tory Power, Israel Sees Shift in Relations With Britain” by Noa Landau: “When asked about the growing military bonds with Britain, Israeli officials regularly cite the situation in Syria as an engine of change… Israeli foreign policy officials say that in addition to the military and economic interests, Prime Minister Theresa May is friendlier than the former tenants of 10 Downing Street to the Netanyahu government.” [Haaretz]

TALK OF THE REGION — “Report: US has reservations about Israel-Russia deal” by Daniel Salami: “The United States has reportedly expressed reservations about the understandings reached between Israel and Russia on the withdrawal of Iranian and Hezbollah forces from southern Syria, the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported Saturday… According to the paper, the American reservations stemmed from the US desire to continue exerting pressure on Syrian President Bashar Assad.” [Ynet] • Israeli Official Denies Reports of Deal With Russia on Pulling Iran Out of Syria[Haaretz]

“Israel’s Campaign to Break the Iranian-Russian Alliance in Syria” by Eli Lake: “Elliott Abrams, who served as a deputy national security adviser in the George W. Bush administration, told me Friday that Netanyahu has been explaining to Putin “the threat to Israeli security posed by Iran’s presence in Syria.” Abrams said the message was initially asking Putin to constrain Iran, which Putin had been unwilling to do. But over time, Russia has changed its position. “We see there is a gap between Iranian and Russian interests, and Netanyahu has been explaining that,” Abrams said. “It seems to be coming to fruition now.” [BloombergView]

Adapted from Ben Rhodes’s forthcoming book, The World as It Is: “Inside the White House During the Syrian ‘Red Line’ Crisis: I walked in to find Obama alone and looking more relaxed than he had all week. Gone was the grave look that had been frozen on his face. “I’ve got a big idea,” he said… A handful of aides trickled in. Obama laid out his thinking: He had decided to seek congressional authorization for strikes on Syria… Obama called a couple of foreign leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Your decision was right, Netanyahu said, and history will be kinder than public opinion… Foreign policy luminaries endorsed authorization; Hillary Clinton announced her support; AIPAC lobbied in support of our position; so did the Saudi government—but none of it mattered.” [TheAtlantic]

— MSNBC PR on Twitter: “Happy to announce Ben Rhodes is joining NBC News and MSNBC as a Political Contributor.”

AT THE UN — “U.S. Vetoes U.N. Resolution on Gaza, Fails to Win Second Vote on its Own Measure” by Rick Gladstone: “While the votes were largely symbolic, they offered some insight into the challenges the United States is facing diplomatically over what critics call its unbridled support of Israel’s side in the protracted conflict with the Palestinians… The United States has backed Israel completely on the Gaza issue.” [NYTimes]

“US lawmakers push for recognition of Israeli sovereignty over Golan” by Ariel Kahana: “The six-point plan proposed by a group of American legislators and spearheaded by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas)… includes channeling funds into joint Israeli-American projects on the Golan Heights; expanding U.S.-Israeli agreements, such as the free trade agreement between the two nations, to apply to the Golan Heights and labeling products manufactured or grown on the Golan as “Made in Israel”; formulating a congressional document declaring that Syria will not return to the Israeli Golan Heights; sending congressional delegations to the Golan Heights; and formulating congressional documents that recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. The U.S. National Security Council… issued a statement Sunday insisting that “There has been no change to our position on the Golan Heights.” [IsraelHayom]

“U.S. Ambassador Friedman Slams American Reporters for Critical Coverage of Gaza Deaths” by Judy Maltz: “U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman on Monday accused the media of major bias against Israel in its coverage of the recent violence on the Gaza border, telling reporters to “keep your mouths shut until you figure it out.” Speaking in Jerusalem, Friedman said his criticism was aimed mainly at “my friends in the United States and one Israeli newspaper I’ve been known to criticize here.” … Friedman was speaking at a conference organized by The Media Line, an American news agency that covers the Middle East.” [Haaretz]

DRIVING THE CONVO — Yoaz Hendel writes… “Israel won the lottery with Trump, but will pay the price when he’s gone: As the big winners, this means we’ll have a problem with the Democrats on the day after. We can see it in their eyes, in their reactions, in the media’s attitude. If they win the next elections, they’ll erase the Trump legacy just like he erased the Obama legacy. They’ll take revenge. It’s not us, it’s them; the American polarization psychology. The basic and perhaps only piece of advice when it comes to a large sum of money in such a win is investment diversification.” [Ynet]

TRENDS: “Younger Evangelicals Waver in Support for Israel” by Ian Lovett: “Older evangelicals have long played a powerful role in pushing the U.S. to support the Israeli government. Millennial evangelicals, however, are less supportive of Israel and of the U.S.’s involvement in the conflict with the Palestinians. Only 58% of evangelicals ages 18 to 34 hold positive views of Israel, compared with 76% of evangelicals over 65, according to a December survey of more than 2,000 people from LifeWay Research, an evangelical polling organization.” [WSJ]

SCENE YESTERDAY — Tens of thousands of New Yorkers, elected officials, diplomats and Israelis marched yesterday on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue for the annual Celebrate Israel Parade, ending the day with a block party in Times Square.

HIGHLIGHTS — Senator Chuck Schumer chanting Am Yisrael Chai with bullhorn [Video] • Governor Andrew Cuomo waved the Israeli flag as protesters waived Palestinian flags behind barricades [Video] • NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio marching in the parade [Pic] • NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson dancing in the parade [Video] • Anti-Semitic NYC Council candidate Thomas Lopez-Pierre discussing ‘greedy Jewish landlords’ while holding an Israeli flag poster [Video]

STATE VISIT — Giuliani to speak at “Globes” Capital Market Conference in Israel: “Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, currently a member of US President Donald Trump’s legal team, will be a guest at the “Globes” Capital Market Conference on Wednesday, June 6 in Beit Hasmachot in Tel Aviv.” [Globes]

“Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen will arrive in Israel on June 11th for a 1st visit since she took office. According to an Israeli foreign ministry statement she will stay in Israel until June 15th.” h/t Barak Ravid [Twitter]

INSIDE THE ADMIN — “John Bolton’s Deputy Draws Ire of Jewish, Muslim Groups” by Dion Nissenbaum: “The Anti-Defamation League, Council on American-Islamic Relations and other groups said Fred Fleitz shouldn’t serve as chief of staff to national security adviser John Bolton because he has advanced what they call Islamophobic views… The Trump administration defended Mr. Fleitz on Thursday and a senior administration official characterized the criticism of him as “a deliberate smear campaign from the left against the Trump administration.”” [WSJ]

2018 WATCH — “Palm Beach billionaire Jeff Greene joins Democratic race for governor” by Lawrence Mower: “Palm Beach billionaire Jeff Greene filed to run for governor on Friday, joining four other Democrats in the race. Greene, who ran for U.S. Senate in 2010, immediately becomes a contender in the race, with the ability to easily self-fund his own campaign.” [TampaBayTimes]

“He’s pro-incest, pedophilia, and rape. He’s also running for Congress from his parents’ house” by Eli Rosenberg: “Nathan Larson lives with his parents, and spends most of his waking hours on the Internet in between intermittent work as an accountant… He believes in instituting a patriarchal system, with women under the authority of men; he supports abolishing age restrictions for marriage and laws against marital rape; he believes that white supremacy is a “system that works,” that Hitler was a “good thing for Germany.”” [WashPost]

“Alabama GOP won’t certify votes cast for Jim Bonner in PSC primary” by Dennis Pillion: “The Alabama state Republican Party has announced it will not certify ballots cast for controversial Public Service Commission candidate Jim Bonner in Tuesday’s primary election, a day after the party formally censured him over comments he made on social media and in radio interviews that many found offensive… In one post from 2017, Bonner shared a picture of a card reading “my love 4 u burns like 6,000 jews” with a picture of Adolf Hitler. He captioned it, “Awwwww I got a Valentine!!!”” [AL]  

** Good Monday 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: Jack Lew has joined the board of the Financial Services Volunteer Corps, an organization that helps build up the banking systems in developing countries, the group announced on Friday [DealBook] • Hated by Many, Distressed Debt Brawler Mark Brodsky Isn’t About to Back Down [Bloomberg] • Tactics of Israeli Psy-Group, Black Cube Revealed in Canadian Court Battle [Calcalist] • Netanyahu’s son’s new job: Helping sue Facebook and Google [JPost] 

SPOTLIGHT: “How Marc Jacobs Fell Out of Fashion” by Steven Kurutz: “There is a sense that Mr. Jacobs has lost his way. With turnover at the top and a designer who himself has suggested he no longer understands what customers want, the label is turning out clothes and accessories that lack a compelling point of view… During an earnings call with investors in January 2017, while responding to questions about the business environment during the Trump presidency, Bernard Arnault, the chairman and chief executive of LVMH, which owns a controlling stake in the fashion house, said, “I’m more concerned about Marc Jacobs than the U.S. president.” [NYTimes]

“FBI Probes Hack of Elliott Broidy, the Republican Operative at the Center of Scandal After Scandal” by Betsy Woodruff: “The FBI is investigating the hacking of scandal-dogged Republican operative Elliott Broidy, The Daily Beast has learned. Three sources familiar with the investigation said the FBI has questioned multiple witnesses about the hack, which stole thousands of emails and allegedly resulted in scores of stories that embarrassed Broidy and snarled his business dealings.” [DailyBeast]

THE DAILY KUSHNER — “Charlie Kushner, unfiltered: In an extensive interview, the Kushner Companies boss gets candid about 666 Fifth, federal investigations, tenant-harassment allegations and his son in the White House” by Will Parker and Konrad Putzier: Charlie [Kushner] commends what his son [Jared] and daughter-in-law, Ivanka, “sacrificed to go into government” and tells us that if he had to register today, he would “probably register as an independent.” He admits that meeting Qatar’s finance minister three months after President Trump’s inauguration was a mistake — though Kushner Companies is not “forever going to be prohibited, have a conflict of interest,” he says.”

“He insists that the ongoing investigations into his company are “politically motivated” and not something he worries about… And he isn’t afraid to single out local elected officials when he thinks their decisions are politically motivated… “I was friendly with [Jersey City Mayor] Steve Fulop and we were supportive of him when he was considering running for governor,” he says. “But now I think he’s just another New Jersey a**hole politician.” [TheRealDeal] 

Emily Jane Fox tweets: “Spotted by an Amtrak ace: Ivanka and Don Jr. taking a Sunday afternoon Acela with Charlie and Seryl Kushner into Penn Station, not in first class”

HOLLYWOOD — “HBO’s Succession Holds a Mirror Up to the Trumps, Kushners, and Murdochs” by Julie Miller: “The show very much reflects our time—this whole idea of a generation of rich kids who have this sense of entitlement. We see examples of it every day in the press, particularly in relation to our POTUS. . . . A wonderful example is what happened in the Gaza Strip quite recently,” [executive producer Adam] Cox said, referencing Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner’s triumphant appearance at the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem last month…” [VanityFair]

“Roseanne Tapes Rambling, Emotional Podcast With Rabbi: “She Was Sobbing”” By Benjamin Svetkey: “Just two days after ABC yanked her show off the air… Barr called in for a May 31 podcast interview with New Jersey-based Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, a longtime friend and spiritual advisor (yes, Barr is Jewish). According to two knowledgeable sources, Barr… offered an emotional and rambling mea culpa for her tweet… At various moments, sources say, Barr even lapsed into tears. “She was sobbing and very apologetic about the whole thing,” says one source.” [HollywoodReporter] 

Shmuley Boteach tweets: “I did record a podcast with my friend Roseanne Barr & I have decided not to release it out of respect for Roseanne. I want to give her space to reflect on the recent events and releasing the recording is a decision she will make at the appropriate time.”

SPORTS BLINK — “Israeli tour jumped through hoops to watch 1994 NBA Finals” by Phil Mushnick: “They’re now in their early 40s, likely scattered here, there and everywhere. But together, in 1994, they watched Game 7 of the Knicks-Rockets NBA Finals and remain bound by that game as no others. There were 70 of them, two busloads of teens from Houston, on a tour of Israel. On June 22, the night Game 7 was played in Houston… they were in an isolated Bedouin encampment — a Bedouin & Breakfast — near the Jordanian border… That’s when their two young Israeli tour guides, Reuven Zusman and Yoram Preminger, went to work. They began inquiries in search of someone — anyone — in this Negev Desert region who had an oasis, in this case, cable TV. They found one by phone, a cafe owner in the town of Dimona, 22 miles from the Dead Sea…” [NYPost]

TALK OF THE TOWN — “Couple plans traditional Jewish Hasidic wedding, a rarity in Minnesota” by Shannon Prather: “On Tuesday, Nissi Naparstek and Chaya Grossbaum will marry in a large, traditional Hasidic ceremony — a rarity in Minnesota. The Jewish population in Minnesota is estimated at 45,000, and the number of Orthodox Hasidic Jews… is a tiny fraction of that. Most Hasidic families travel to New York City for traditional nuptials and kosher receptions. But the couple decided to celebrate in the bride’s home state, said her father Rabbi Mordechai Grossbaum of the Minneapolis Chabad Lubavitch.” [StarTribune] 

FIRST LOOK — “I, Sy: Seymour Hersh’s Memoir of a Life Making the Mighty Sweat” by Michael Grynbaum: “The Sy Hersh story — the story of a working-class Jewish kid from the South Side of Chicago, who through serendipity and toil had exposed the horror of the My Lai massacre, revealed domestic and foreign abuses by the C.I.A. and harried Washington’s elite for a half-century — was not finished. “I’m still doing it,” Mr. Hersh said, sounding both matter-of-fact and defiant. Not for the first time in his career, the editors prevailed. “Reporter,” a 355-page memoir, will be released on Tuesday. The book is by turns rollicking and reflective, sober and score-settling. It reconstructs his reporting on Vietnam, his feuds with Henry Kissinger, the foibles of former bosses like A.M. Rosenthal at The New York Times and William Shawn at The New Yorker.” [NYTimes] 

PODCAST PLAYBACK — “You’re not Jewish, are you?” Malcolm Gladwell asked   Professor Michael Stokes Paulsen on Season 3 of Revisionist History. “No, Christian,” Paulsen replied. Gladwell continued, “Neither of us is Jewish but we could do what they call a ‘Midrash‘ so let us do a little bit of a Midrash on Article IV, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution and we’re trying to answer the question of why it is the case that this article on its face does not prohibit sub-division and if you can read it, we can break it down grammatically…” [RevisionistHistory]

SUNDAY SCENE IN DC — Steve Rabinowitz and Laurie Moskowitz hosted an overlapping political fundraiser for two female political candidates with primary elections in June at their home in the Cleveland Park neighborhood. Susie Turnbull is running for Lt. Governor of Maryland and separately Brianne Nadeau is a candidate to become a DC Council-member for Ward 1.

BIRTHDAYS: Survivor of the Holocaust via the Kindertransport, sniper for the Haganah and renowned sex therapist, Ruth Westheimer (“Dr. Ruth”) turns 90. She was seen celebrating at the Israel Day Parade yesterday [Pic]… Co-founder of Boston Properties and owner of U.S. News & World Report, Mort Zuckerman turns 81… Emeritus Professor at New Jersey Institute of Technology, David Kristol turns 80… Professor of Organic Chemistry at the Weizmann Institute of Science and winner of the 2012 Israel Prize, David Milstein turns 71… Beverly Hills attorney, Marlene Diane Greenly turns 70… Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court since 1999 and Chief Justice starting in 2017, Stephen J. Markman turns 69… Judge on the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia since 2018, he was the longest tenured member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (42 years from 1974 to 2016), Mark B. Cohen turns 69… Lineman for the Miami Dolphins (1973-1984), which included 3 Super Bowl appearances and 4 Pro Bowls, he is now a judge on the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida (Miami-Dade County), Ed Newmanturns 67… British journalist, author of 9 books and columnist for The Times (London), The Jerusalem Post and The Jewish Chronicle, Melanie Phillipsturns 67…

First-ever Jewish governor of Hawaii (2002-2010) and then Chief Operating Officer of Illinois (2015-2016), she serves on the board of directors of the Republican Jewish Coalition, Linda Lingle turns 65… French-Israeli entrepreneur, angel investor in hundreds of start-ups, Jeremie Berrebi turns 40… Photographer and founder of DC-based Revamped Media, Inc., Daniel Swartz turns 39 (h/t Playbook)… Reporter on the Washington Post’s local desk covering health topics, Colby Itkowitz turns 35… Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli turns 33… Legislative assistant and press secretary for Congressman Ted Deutch (D-Florida-22), Jason Hillel Attermann turns 30… Social media and digital content producer for SiriusXM Politics, Gena Wolfson turns 29 (h/t Playbook)… Ken Moss… Judah Gross…