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DRIVING THE CONVO — Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) writes… “We must apply our universal values to all nations. Only then will we achieve peace: A balanced, inclusive approach to the conflict recognizes the shared desire for security and freedom of both peoples. I support a two-state solution, with internationally recognized borders, which allows for both Israelis and Palestinians to have their own sanctuaries and self-determination. This has been official bipartisan U.S. policy across two decades and has been supported by each of the most recent Israeli and Palestinian leaders, as well as the consensus of the Israeli security establishment.”

“When I criticize certain Israeli government actions in Gaza or settlements in the West Bank, it is because I believe these actions not only threaten the possibility of peace in the region — they also threaten the United States’ own national security interests. My goal in speaking out at all times has been to encourage both sides to move toward a peaceful two-state solution. We need to reinsert this call back into the public debate with urgency. Both parties must come to the table for a final peace deal; violence will not bring us any closer to that day.” [WashPost]

Amb. Dan Shapiro tweets: “When I criticized Rep. Omar for her statements, I also called on her to rethink her approach on Israel-Palestine. In this piece, she’s made a start. While it’s certainly fair to criticize Israel for some policies, Palestinians also deserve their share, which she omits.” 

I’ve Seen Civil War Destroy the Democrats Before. We Can’t Let it Happen Again — by Stuart Eizenstat: “I watched pressure from the party’s liberal wing tear the party apart and bring down a Democratic presidential candidate. Both times, the Republicans took the White House… A two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians is essential, but it will not be achieved by blaming Israel alone for the impasse or failing to back legislation that builds on the 1977 law signed by Carter that bars U.S. companies from complying with boycotts of Israel, as many Democratic presidential hopefuls have done, or worse, defending those who single out American Jews for dual loyalty for supporting a strong U.S.-Israel relationship.” [PoliticoMag]

Yair Rosenberg: “Omar’s section on Israel in this piece is quite reasonable and far better and less fraught than her off-the-cuff tweets on the subject. Which suggests, among other things, that perhaps we’re poorly served by reducing issues like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to 280 characters.” 

Batya Ungar-Sargon: “Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has been pretty consistent on supporting a two state solution but I’m especially digging the framing here and its deep compassion for both sides. Thank you for modelling this so well, Congresswoman. It’s a lesson we are all in constant need of.” 

OF NOTE — While Rep. Omar’s call for two states seems to fit with AIPAC’s approach, her spokesman Jeremy Slevin told Jewish Insider‘s Laura Kelly, “We don’t have any plans right now” to meet with AIPAC activists when they embark on Capitol Hill next Tuesday during the group’s annual conference.

FDD’s Mark Dubowitz tells Jewish Insider: “Omar’s refusal to meet with AIPAC next week is yet more evidence that hers is a personal vendetta against the largest bipartisan pro-Israel organization in the country — and against the Jewish state itself. It also calls into questions the sincerity and message of her most recent Washington Post op-ed where she called for an ‘inclusive foreign policy’ — a lame attempt that read like it was written by a Washington crisis communications firm designed to whitewash her recent anti-Semitic vitriol.”

Chelsea Clinton berated by students blaming her ‘rhetoric’ for causing New Zealand shootings — by Christal Hayes: “Video of Chelsea Clinton being confronted by several students who claimed her ‘rhetoric’ had ‘stoked’ the New Zealand mosque attacks went viral Saturday — and allowed for an unexpected bipartisan moment as Republicans came to her defense.  The video was taken Friday at a vigil in New York for the 50 victims of the shootings, which targeted two mosques in Christchurch. Students confronted Clinton, who is pregnant with her third child, over statements she’d made denouncing anti-Semitism.” [USAToday] • Students at center of viral Chelsea Clinton video at New Zealand vigil speak out [WashPost]

Linda Sarsour tweeted on Sunday: “I am triggered by those who piled on Representative Ilhan Omar and incited a hate mob against her until she got assassination threats now giving condolences to our community. What we need you to do is reflect on how you contribute to Islamophobia and stop doing that.”

HEARD ON CABLE — Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) on CNN’s State of the Union with Jake Tapper —Tapper: Are you suggesting that Democrats who took issue with Congresswoman Omar’s comments did so because of anti-Muslim bias?  

Tlaib: “I mean, I think that’s part of it… Is it because she’s a black Muslimah? Is it because it’s around the issue of human rights violations from the country of Israel? I don’t know. But I can tell you, if it was really about anti-Semitism and condemning that, then we need to be able to say to all the members — and that’s what we ended up at the end, condemning all forms of hate, but also holding every single person accountable to the same standard. And that’s what I didn’t see.”

Tapper: But you don’t think that those Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, who viewed Congresswoman Omar’s comments as anti-Semitic, you don’t think that they legitimately felt that way? You think there is anti-Muslim bigotry that’s part of their criticism of Congresswoman Omar?  

Tlaib: “I think she becomes an easier target, is what I’m trying to say… Probably the fact we’re women of color that is very vocal against human rights violations, especially in the country of Israel or even Saudi Arabia, that we are coming from a place of personal experiences, as being people of color, with my living grandmother in the West Bank in the occupied territories, that we want to be heard and we want to be seen, beyond whatever these kinds of labels that people like to put on us. And I think we just become an easier target for folks.”[Video]

SCENE YESTERDAY — Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Rev. Al Sharpton were heckled by a large group of protesters at a rally on Sunday, as they addressed rising antisemitism outside of the Asphalt Green Upper East Side Campus a week after it was defaced with swastikas. [Pic]

The protesters called on Rep. Maloney to take a stronger stand against Rep. Ilhan Omar than she had. The protesters held up posters calling on Democratic leadership to remove the Minnesota congresswoman from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Rep. Maloney shouted back to protesters, “I had a strong statement.” To which one protester responded, “That is not enough.” 

“All of us must take the risk of reconciliation and stand against those who are extremist on either side, and say we must denounce hate and terrorism no matter what,” Sharpton said. “Hate must be denounced… Until we stop antisemitism, racism, homophobia and any form of bigotry, we are all under threat. So heckle me all you want, we are going to meet heckle with love… I welcome the hecklers because I want people to know that we are standing with courage, we are standing with unity, and we are standing together.” [Video; JewishInsider]

TALK OF THE TOWN — These Muslims and Jews in Ilhan Omar’s district are united in frustration — by Sara Sidner and Mallory Simon: “Omar Jamal, Steve Hunegs, Mohamed Ahmed and Avi Olitzky agree on the characterization of language Omar used: When Omar talked about Jews ‘hypnotizing’ the world, it was anti-Semitic. When she said American support for Israel was ‘all about the Benjamins baby,’ it was anti-Semitic. And when she questioned whether American Jews had loyalty to Israel, it was anti-Semitic, they all said. Local leaders want her to understand why her words were causing so much pain.” [CNN]

REACTION — House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) released a statement on Sunday in response to President Trump’s recent comments about the Democratic Party serving as a home for Jewish voters and questioning their support for Israel:”Exploiting anti-Semitism for partisan advantage is dangerous and wrong. It is misleading on the facts, destructive to the critical bipartisan support that Israel has always enjoyed and that has been so important to its security and success, and a risk to the unity of our country… These statements and actions by Republican leaders also dangerously ignore the unnerving phenomenon of their Alt-Right supporters embracing the use of swastikas and anti-Semitic epithets in our country’s public spaces and online.” 

Former Senator Joe Lieberman on the Cats Roundtable radio program: “The Democratic Party is not an anti-Jewish or antisemitic party, but I will tell you that I didn’t like the way the House of Representatives handled their response to the really grotesquely antisemitic remarks of Congresswoman Omar —  just uninformed and hurtful to people and not what you’d expect from a young woman from her background where she suffered discrimination herself… We have got to blow a whistle on this and I’m really sorry and disappointed at the way the House Democratic caucus responded to Congresswoman Omar statements.” [CatsRoundtable]

Jewish voters are furious at Dems’ defense of Ilhan Omar — by Mary Kay Linge and Doree Lewak: “’We felt we had a home there,’ said Mark Schwartz, the Democratic deputy mayor of solidly blue Teaneck, NJ. ‘And now we feel like we have to check our passports.’ … Mark Dunec, a consultant in Livingston, NJ who ran for Congress as a Democrat in 2014, says, ‘I’m physically afraid for myself and for my family,’ adding, ‘I see my own party contributing to the rise of anti-Semitism in the United States.'” [NYPost]

— “Jesse Lehrich, a foreign policy spokesman for 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, said Trump’s attacks ring hollow from a man who spoke sympathetically of some of the white supremacists who held a 2017 march in Charlottesville, Virginia. ‘American Jews overwhelmingly vote Democratic, and a brazen attempt to weaponize anti-Semitism by a man who has mainstreamed bigotry seems like a bad way to win them over,’ Lehrich said.” [USAToday] 

De Blasio rushes to defend AIPAC group — by Rich Calder: “Mayor Bill de Blasio on Friday rushed to the defense of AIPAC… ‘From my experience with folks from AIPAC, they represent a broad range of views,’ de Blasio said on WNYC radio… Hizzoner’s comments came in response to a question from radio host Brian Lehrer, who asked why he supports the American Israel Public Affairs Committee considering its ‘reputation of having a right-wing bent.’ Earlier in the morning, Politico reported that de Blasio attended an AIPAC meeting Thursday that wasn’t listed on his public schedule.” [NYPost]

ON THE HILL — Jewish, Muslim Democrats seek to ease tensions amid Omar controversy — by Rachael Bade and Mike DeBonis: “At a late-night meeting blocks from the Capitol, about a dozen lawmakers shared their raw experiences with bigotry and discrimination, hoping the stories would bridge the glaring interfaith divide. Suddenly, Rep. Dean Phillips, a Jewish Democrat, shattered a moment meant to be about listening and learning — not politics…. [Omar’s] remarks, Phillips said, represented ‘tips of the arrow’ — small but devastating offenses that made Jews fearful of a rising tide of anti-Semitism… His words stunned the three Muslim Democrats in the room, as well as some other Jewish members and third-party participants. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) grew emotional and started to cry as she spoke of her grandmother’s suffering in the West Bank at the hands of Israelis. ‘She would treat you like a grandson,’ she said to Phillips… The second gathering aimed at reconciliation broke on a bitter note.” [WashPost]

AT THE UN — The UN Human Rights Council to call for Israeli arrests, settlement boycott — by Tovah Lazaroff: “The UN Human Rights Council is expected to call for the arrest of IDF soldiers responsible for Gaza deaths at border and for a boycott of West Bank settlements, when it gathers in Geneva on Monday for the last week of its 40th session. The day-long meeting of the 47-member council will involve the reading of seven reports on alleged Israeli human rights abuses and the tabling of five resolutions demanding action.” [JPost]

HEARD THIS MORNING — Dore Gold, former director general of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and former Ambassador to the UN, at a rally against the actions of the UNHRC in Geneva:“There is a straight line from these UN actions to last week’s launch of an Iranian Fajr missile toward Tel Aviv. Is anyone in Geneva looking after the human rights of Israeli farmers in the Gaza envelope communities whose fields are regularly set ablaze by Hamas incendiary weapons?”

REPORT — New Zealand mosque shooting suspect visited Israel in 2016 — by Barak Ravid: “Brenton Tarrant, the alleged perpetrator of the Christchurch mosques massacre, visited Israel on October 25, 2016, and left 9 days later… It’s unclear what brought Tarrant to Israel, and officials told me he didn’t raise any suspicions when he entered the country. He arrived as part of a trip in the region that also included Turkey.” [Axios]

TALK OF THE REGION — U.S. Military Now Preparing to Leave as Many as 1,000 Troops in Syria — by Dion Nissenbaum and Nancy  Youssef: “The U.S. military is crafting plans to keep nearly 1,000 forces in Syria, U.S. officials said, a shift that comes three months after President Trump ordered a complete withdrawal and is far more than the White House originally intended…. U.S. officials said the exact number of Western troops that will remain in Syria is still being worked out. Mr. Trump could further constrain the military plans if he decides that having so many Americans stay in Syria isn’t worth the risk.” [WSJ]

Saudi Crown Prince’s Brutal Drive to Crush Dissent — by Mark Mazzetti and Ben Hubbard: “Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia authorized a secret campaign to silence dissenters — which included the surveillance, kidnapping, detention and torture of Saudi citizens — over a year before the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, according to American officials who have read classified intelligence reports about the campaign. At least some of the clandestine missions were carried out by members of the same team that killed and dismembered Mr. Khashoggi in Istanbul in October.”[NYTimes]

West Bank Attack Raises Tensions as Israeli Elections Approach — by Isabel Kershner: “A Palestinian carried out a stabbing and shooting attack in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, killing an Israeli soldier and a civilian, and ratcheting up tensions ahead of Israeli elections… The soldier killed on Sunday was identified as Staff Sgt. Gal Keidan, 19. On Monday, a second victim, Rabbi Achiad Ettinger, 47, a father of 12 from the settlement of Eli and head of a seminary in Tel Aviv, died of his wounds… As of Monday morning, the assailant was still at large.” [NYTimes]

KAFE KNESSET — Supreme Court Disqualifies Jewish Power Head — by Neri Zilber: In an unprecedented eight to one vote, the Supreme Court voted yesterday to disqualify the candidacy of Michael Ben-Ari, the head of the Kahanist Jewish Power. It was the first instance of the court disqualifying an individual candidate, as opposed to an entire slate. The justices explained their decision by pointing to Ben-Ari’s past statements against Arabs, ruling that it constituted “incitement to racism.” There are already calls by some in Jewish Power to compensate the party for its loss, e.g. guaranteeing its third candidate, Baruch Marzel, a future ministerial position from outside the Knesset. The political fallout from the Supreme Court’s decision could impact both the current election race as well as future government policy. Politicians on the Israeli right unanimously condemned the court’s decision — especially since the far-left/Arab candidates were allowed to run. Read today’s entire Kafe Knesset newsletter by subscribing here [KafeKnesset]

WE NEED YOU 👉 — We would love your feedback on the Daily Kickoff newsletter. Please fill out this brief survey and we’ll reward you with a free trial to our other premium newsletter, Kafe Knesset, which is currently focused on the upcoming Israeli election. [JewishInsider]

BUZZ ON BALFOUR — Netanyahu Seeks Trump Bump as He Brings Re-Election Bid to U.S. — by David Wainer and Ivan Levingston: “Netanyahu is officially coming for the AIPAC conference, an annual pro-Israel policy gathering that’s become a key stop for political leaders, but his visit will serve up excellent campaign optics back home. He’s certain to be photographed meeting President Trump while his speech, delivered in his American-accented baritone, will get plenty of airtime in Israel. ‘He’ll be speaking in English to an American crowd, but the most important audience will be the Israelis back home,’ said Natan Sachs, director of the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington. “The message is: ‘Show me another Israeli who can do this. Show me someone else who has this kind of relationship with Trump.’” [Bloomberg] • Knesset speaker: U.S. Golan stance is good first step toward West Bank recognition [ToI]

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to visit Israel in a show of ‘unwavering’ support, 2 weeks before the election: “Pompeo travels this week to Israel, where he will meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu… in the midst of a heated re-election campaign. Pompeo travels to the Middle East [on Tuesday] stopping first in Kuwait for talks before heading to Jerusalem and Beirut, his spokesman Robert Palladino said.” [ToI; Haaretz]

Netanyahu’s Challenger Has a Major Handicap — by Zev Chafets: “Gantz is the Israeli JFK. Bibi is Richard Nixon. Gantz lacks what Bibi has in spades – political acumen. He poses a lot but rarely talks… He lacks the military charisma of political generals like Ariel Sharon, Ehud Barak or Moshe Dayan. He was a second-choice for the Chief of Staff’s office, and, although he performed competently, he won no famous battles.” [Bloomberg]

2020 WATCH — He’s running — almost. Joe Biden gets ahead of himselfin Saturday speech, to cheers from the crowd…Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) plans Trump NYC hotel speech, makes 2020 bid official… Bernie Sanders got stitches after cutting head on shower door… Beto O’Rourke is 46. Bernie Sanders is 77. Does age matter anymore for Democrats?… Beto O’Rourke reports raising more than $6.1 million in first day of campaign, the highest total yet among presidential candidates… Twitter’s insiders are skepticalabout Beto O’Rourke. Iowans don’t seem to care… Governor? Senator? Veep? President?! Stacey Abrams, who is usually sure about everything finds herself conflicted about her future… Jeb Bush told David Axelrod on The Axe Files podcast that a Republican should run against Trump in 2020… Howard Schultz hires former Instagram analytics chief, looks to build tech team in advance of possible White House bid

Howard Schultz and His Team Think the Backlash Means They’re ‘Onto Something’ — by Gabriel Debenedetti: “When Michael Bloomberg, a fellow billionaire and committed centrist, issued a statement essentially discouraging Schultz from running — recalling how he abandoned his 2016 independent flirtations for fear of electing Trump — Schultz’s team was furious. ‘God knows he’s a brilliant man with lots of resources, and there’s no doubt his analysis took him where it took him. [But] he said if an independent ran it would elect Donald Trump. Well, he didn’t run, and Donald Trump won anyway. [And] the conditions in 2019 are totally different from 2015 and 2016,’ insists Peter Chiarelli. ‘The whole idea on the Democratic side that they can predict, in February of 2019, that Howard Schultz’s entry to this is going to elect Donald Trump is just silly! It’s just silly!'” [NYMag] 

** 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: Renaissance founder Jim Simons says hedge fund has overcome Trump tension [FinancialTimes] • Stryker Buys Orthopedic Device Company OrthoSpace for up to $220 Million [Calcalist] • Pipeline Snag to Delay Israel Gas to Egypt for 3 Months [Bloomberg] • Israel’s Cellcom falls to quarterly loss, urges regulatory intervention [Reuters]

SPOTLIGHT — Ariane de Rothschild challenges Swiss conservatism — by Harriet Agnew: “This week Baroness de Rothschild shook up her illustrious family’s financial empire by announcing that the Edmond de Rothschild group will consolidate all of its operations under the Swiss bank and then take it private. She is a Rothschild by virtue of her marriage to Benjamin de Rothschild, rather than by blood… Vivacious, stylish, and energetic, Mrs de Rothschild will now move from chief executive to chairman of the executive board at Edmond de Rothschild… In practice, her day-to-day involvement is unlikely to change… ‘It wasn’t my aim to be chief executive of Edmond de Rothschild — and it still isn’t,’ Mrs. de Rothschild told the Financial Times this week. She insisted that she only agreed to step into the role in 2015 to show the family’s commitment to restructuring the sprawling group.”[FinancialTimes]

HOLLYWOOD — Rupert Murdoch, scrappy Fox mogul who transformed media, begins his Hollywood goodbye — by Meg James: “Now, Murdoch is dismantling his life’s work: a kingdom worth more than $100 billion. On Tuesday, his largest company, 21st Century Fox, will be broken apart. Walt Disney Co. will absorb Fox’s legendary movie and television production studios, with their deep trove of titles that includes ‘Avatar,’ ‘Deadpool,’ ‘Family Guy’ and ‘The Simpsons.’ The Murdoch family will create a new entity, simply known as Fox, that will include Fox News Channel, the Fox broadcast network, national Fox Sports channels, TV stations and the 50-acre Fox studio lot in Century City… ‘Rupert has been the most influential person in Hollywood in the last 25 years,’ Peter Chernin, Murdoch’s former deputy who now owns his own media company, said in an interview. ‘He has been the key driver of trends that now define the industry.'” [LATimes]

Private club on the hunt for Steven Spielberg leaker — by Ian Mohr: “After word got out this week that power director Steven Spielberg and Netflix honcho Ted Sarandos broke ciabatta — to smooth over their Oscars feud— at posh private club San Vicente Bungalows, sources tell Page Six that the hotspot is on the hunt for the loose-lipped leaker with plans to discreetly expel them post-haste… The club created by top Sunset Tower hotelier Jeff Klein deeply prizes privacy, with strict rules about cellphones, looky-loos and members of the media. Upon entry, stickers are even placed over phone cameras.” [PageSix]

‘Billions,’ ‘Succession’ and the Making of Wealth Porn — by Alexis Solosk: “For the ‘Succession’ pilot, the production team wanted to create an apartment for Logan Roy, the paterfamilias played by Brian Cox, that would suggest power, not magazine cover ostentation. Kevin Thompson, the pilot’s production designer, borrowed two floors of the Council on Foreign Relations, dressing it as a penthouse duplex.” [NYTimes] 

Last night on Billions season 4 episode 1: “With a mixture of desperation and deftness, Chuck constructs an elaborate Rube Goldberg device of quid pro quo exchanges among the city’s most privileged and powerful. Nearly all of the palm-greasing and back-scratching is ridiculously petty. At one point in the chain, the real-life advertising executive Donny Deutsch demands primo ski lodge passes in exchange for seats at the children’s Hanukkah service in a major Manhattan congregation — apparently the hottest tickets in town.” [NYTimes]

Supermodel Karlie Kloss confirms converting to Judaism to marry Kushner — by Amy Spiro: “Karlie Kloss confirmed publicly for the first time this weekend that she converted to Judaism before marrying Joshua Kushner last year. The revelation came during an interview on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. Cohen read aloud a viewer question asking the supermodel if she converted to Judaism before the wedding. ‘I joined the tribe, mazel,’ Kloss said, raising her glass in a toast. ‘Nice, you’re a nice Jewish girl!’ Cohen exclaimed in response.” [JPost; Video]

TALK OF OUR NATION — Pittsburgh Jewish Group Raises Money for New Zealand Muslim Community After Mosque Shootings — by Megan McCluskey: “In the wake of Friday’s terror attack on two Christchurch mosques that took the lives of 50 people and injured at least 40, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh is working to reciprocate the support that Pittsburgh’s Jewish community received from Muslim groups in its own time of need. Last October, a crowdfunding campaign called ‘Muslims Unite for Pittsburgh Synagogue’ raised more than $200,000 in four days for the Pittsburgh shooting victims. In a Friday statement, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh said it is now accepting donations to help repay that kindness.” [Time] • Jews stand in solidarity with New Zealand following massacre [JPost]

INTERVIEW — Bernard-Henri Lévy on regime change — by Isaac Chotiner: “You wrote, at the time, ‘What is dying: an ancient concept of sovereignty in which all crimes are permitted as long as they go on within the frontiers of the state. What has been born: the idea of the universality of rights that is no longer a pious hope but a passionate obligation for all who truly believe in the unity of mankind and in the virtue of the right to intervene, which is its corollary.’ Has Libya at least changed your mind about people in the West being overconfident about the ability of regime change to have long-lasting accomplishments?

Bernard-Henri Lévy: ‘No. There are two different things. In terms of principles, we have to hold firm. It is a duty, a moral duty, to hold firm the idea that there is no people, no ethnicity, forbidding democracy. Democracy is a universal value and it can be adopted in any situation, and it is absolutely a racist point of view to say that this part of the world or that part of the world is unable to build a democracy. No. 2, to build a democracy, you don’t do that overnight—with one exception, and that is Israel, a democracy built overnight in 1948. Except for that, democracy takes time.’” [NewYorker]

TRANSITION — Boris Zilberman has been appointed as Christians United for Israel (CUFI) Action Fund’s director of public policy and strategy. Zilberman previously served as deputy director of congressional relations at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and manager of defense programs in the policy and government affairs department at AIPAC. 

BIRTHDAYS: Professor emeritus of biochemistry and genetics in the medical school of the University of North Carolina, and the author of five books since turning 80 years old, Edward Glassman, Ph.D. turns 90… Screenwriter, actor, comedian and film executive, he is best known for co-writing the screenplay for “Jaws” and its first two sequels, Carl Gottlieb turns 81… Professor of modern Jewish history and Holocaust studies at Emory University, Deborah Lipstadt turns 72… National columnist with Creators Syndicate and contributor to CNN Opinion, Froma Harrop turns 69… One-half of the eponymous Ben & Jerry’s ice cream (Jerry is four days older), Bennett “Ben” Cohen turns 68… Crisis response team manager for the City of Los Angeles (1998-2013), consultant for non-profit organizations in the areas of event management, administration and development, Jeffrey Zimerman MSW turns 63… Head coach of the Auburn Tigers men’s basketball team, he also served as the gold medal winning head coach for the Maccabi USA men’s basketball team at the 2009 Maccabiah Games, Bruce Pearl turns 59 (his team awarded him an early birthday present by winning the Southeastern Conference championship on Sunday afternoon)…

Dean of the Rabbinical School at the Jewish Theological Seminary, Rabbi Daniel S. Nevins turns 53… Filmmaker, writer and stand-up comedian, best known as the screenwriter for “Robin Hood: Men in Tights” and for writing the screenplay adaptation of “Battlefield Earth,” Jake David Shapiro turns 50… Identical twin brothers, both singers and songwriters who recorded as “Evan and Jaron,” Evan Lowenstein and Jaron Lowenstein, turn 45… Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actor, record producer and lead vocalist for the pop rock band Maroon 5, Adam Levine turns 40… Actor, comedian and writer, he is best known for starring as Max Blum in the ABC comedy series Happy Endings, he is also the executive producer of The President Show, Adam Pally turns 37… Sales manager at IKO Industries Ltd, he was previously a consultant at The Boston Consulting Group, Ariel Koschitzky turns 30… Andrew G. Weiss turns 30… Northeast data analyst in the fundraising effort at AIPAC, Michael Schapiro… Jenni Volz…