Daily Kickoff
👋 Good Friday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we interview Ohio Senate candidate Matt Dolan and get an on-the-ground account from the Israeli-American Council’s confab in Austin. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff, Doug Emhoff, Nikki Haley and Jake Sullivan.
For less-distracted reading over the weekend, browse this week’s edition of The Weekly Print, a curated print-friendly PDF featuring a selection of recent Jewish Insider and eJewishPhilanthropy stories, including: Inside the Shabbat dinner at Davos; Daniel Gordis’ blunt message at AIPAC’s confab; Third time’s the charm for Michigan’s John James; With Israel committed to expanding hours at its border crossing with Jordan, an upgrade is next; White House, Congress standoff over F-16 sale to Turkey returns to the fore; Spiritual care documentary ‘A Still Small Voice’ debuts at Sundance; and Nearly three years later, these Jewish programs created for the pandemic are still running. Print the latest edition here.
In an address to the U.S. Conference of Mayors gathering in Washington, D.C., yesterday, Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta made a plea for cities to use the FBI’s National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) to report hate crimes. “Hate crimes instill fear across communities and undermine our democracy. But we cannot be effective in prevention and prosecution of hate crimes without more accurate and comprehensive data collection and reporting,” she said.
Gupta’s address comes a month after the FBI’s annual hate crimes report found a significant drop in incidents — due not to an actual decrease in attacks, but to the lack of reporting, which is voluntary, by more than 7,000 local agencies, including major metropolitan areas such as New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago. A long-planned overhaul of the FBI’s reporting mechanism included a multiyear, $100 million transition to the new system.
NIBRS, Gupta said, “collects substantially more detailed data for each individual criminal incident, and it provides a richer and more complete picture of all crime nationwide, including hate crimes.”
The Harvard Kennedy School reversed course yesterday and offered a fellowship in the university’s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy to former Human Rights Watch director Kenneth Roth, a week after The Nation published a story suggesting that he was denied the post because of his criticisms of Israel.
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, who earlier this week penned an op-ed blasting the news outlet for its reporting, told us that he found it “deeply disturbing that a campaign rife with antisemitic claims around Jewish power and influence, such as the claims made by The Nation, was successful in getting Harvard to reverse its decision.”
“The antisemitism that was so visibly on display is ugly,” Greenblatt added, noting the ADL’s concern “when an individual is offered such a position in the wake of an antisemitic, conspiratorial narrative that was spun by anti-Zionist activists that blamed Jews and Israel-supporters for the initial rescinding of the offer.”
Davos has wrapped, but there’s one more event to come today: the annual Shabbat dinner, hosted by World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab and his wife, Hilde. Read more about what attendees can expect at tonight’s dinner.
the buckeye seat
Matt Dolan’s second shot at the Senate
During the last election cycle, Matt Dolan, a Republican state senator in Ohio, took his time weighing a bid for the U.S. Senate, embarking on a statewide listening tour as a prelude to launching his campaign to succeed retired Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), a like-minded moderate conservative. Dolan, who jumped into the race months after his opponents had declared their candidacies, ultimately finished third in the Republican primary. The 58-year-old state legislator from suburban Cleveland is now moving at a swifter pace as he seeks to position himself for a more favorable outcome in 2024. Earlier this week, Dolan was first out of the gate in announcing that he would run for the seat held by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), a three-term Democratic incumbent and former longtime congressman who is expected to face a competitive reelection campaign, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Bashing Brown: “I think I have a record that I can prosecute Sherrod Brown’s case and also say, ‘Here’s what I’ve done,’” Dolan, who chairs the Ohio Senate’s finance committee, said in an interview with JI on Thursday. “Though I haven’t spent 30 years in Washington, in my shorter period of time in Columbus I’ve been able to get things done.” He argued that Brown’s record in Washington is “out of step and out of touch with Ohio,” citing recent remarks in which the senator claimed that he does not “hear much about immigration from voters, except for people on the far right.” To Dolan, such comments were dismissive of what he regards as a pressing matter. “Our southern border is a security issue, it’s a humanitarian crisis and it’s an economic issue,” he told JI. “How are we going to solve those problems if our senator doesn’t even recognize those problems?”
Defining conservative: In the interview with JI, he cast himself as a fiscal conservative who is in favor of “low taxes,” “limited government,” “less regulation” and “educational choice,” among other things. “These are all Republican truisms,” he said, “and I believe I have a conservative record.” Still, Dolan suggested that the conservative label as he sees it has been diluted in a party where such issues have frequently taken a back seat to culture war debates, partisan flamethrowing and conspiracy theories espoused by hard-right lawmakers who have gained prominence in both chambers of Congress. “What does that mean anymore?” he said. “What is a conservative? Is it loyalty to a person? Is it you have to just be louder than the next person to be more conservative? I don’t know. But I do know this, that if we don’t elect Republicans, like me, who want to go and engage and implement these conservative principles, we’re going to go backwards.”
Insight on Israel: Dolan took his first trip to Israel in August last year on a weeklong state Senate delegation focused on the country’s innovation economy as well as potential partnerships with Ohio. Dolan said he was impressed with “the economic opportunities that Israel is developing” and how business leaders he met in Tel Aviv are “taking a lead in technology. Because of its size, for these investments to pay off, they have to be able to scale them worldwide,” he said. “So it’s really, really interesting that Israelis are truly into relationship-building, because that helps the entrepreneurs who are there.” Dolan said he arrived in Israel a day before Palestinian militants had fired rockets into Israel from Gaza. “Then the day after I left Israel, there was a terrorist attack [near] the Western Wall,” he told JI. “You begin to understand the daily concern and diligence that Israelis have to live with.”
Foreign policy: Dolan cast his opposition to the Iran nuclear agreement as a central point of distinction between himself and Brown, who supported the deal when it was brokered by the Obama administration. More recently, Brown has expressed skepticism of the Biden administration’s halting effort to reenter the deal. But Dolan also described some disagreements over foreign policy with members of his own party, including [Sen. J.D.] Vance, who have endorsed an isolationist approach to U.S. investment abroad, not least in Ukraine. “I am for supporting the Ukrainian effort with American resources,” Dolan said, “so that we make a strong statement to tyrants all over the world that any invasion of other countries is not going to be sat idly by.”
campus beat
Doug Emhoff talks antisemitism with Jewish students at Arizona State
While on a trip to the Grand Canyon State with his wife, Vice President Kamala Harris, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff met on Thursday with Jewish students at Arizona State University in Tempe to discuss campus antisemitism. The roundtable came a week before Emhoff is set to travel to Poland and Germany for events commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Loud and proud: “The Second Gentleman heard directly from students about the work they are doing to confront antisemitism and promote tolerance,” a White House official told JI. “Mr. Emhoff talked about the importance of living openly as a Jew and the administration’s all-of-government approach to combating antisemitism.”
Raise concerns: The discussion was facilitated by Hillel at ASU, which is home to 3,500 Jewish undergraduates. The 10 students who participated in the event shared their concerns about antisemitism and being a minority on campus, according to Hillel. Student Bella Schneider told JI that one focus of the conversation was how to include Jewish students in conversations about diversity and inclusion on campus. “I personally discussed a situation in which the Jewish students weren’t included in a statement from all coalitions against a white supremacist who came to campus and how that hurts because we felt very alone,” she said.
Shades of gray: “Judaism teaches us to hold ideas that may seem opposing but are actually two equal truths,” said Debbie Yunker Kail, director of Hillel at ASU. “Hillel and Jewish life at Arizona State University have never been stronger or more vibrant, and antisemitism is on the rise nationally and locally. Today’s visit was a welcome opportunity to share how current college students experience both truths.”
diaspora dealings
Amichai Chikli on amending the Law of Return: ‘We’ve got to do it slow’
Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, appearing last night at the opening night of the Israeli-American Council’s National Summit, said that any change to Israel’s Law of Return would happen after a slow process that would include consultations with a range of people. Chikli, the highest-ranking Israeli government official to appear at the conference, which began on Thursday in Austin, Texas, made the comments in an interview with Israeli journalist Miri Michaeli, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Ben Sales reports. Michaeli asked Chikli about proposals from members of the newly elected governing coalition to abolish the law’s “grandchild clause,” which allows anyone with one Jewish grandparent to obtain citizenship in Israel.
Background: Diaspora Jewish leaders have come out in opposition to changing the Law of Return, arguing that an effort by Israel to alter its definition of Jewishness will harm ties with Diaspora communities. But religious parties in the coalition say that granting citizenship to people who are not traditionally considered Jewish dilutes Israel’s Jewish character. Chikli, a member of the Likud party, quoted statistics on Thursday night indicating a decline in the percentage of immigrants to Israel who are Jewish. He added that the law itself would not be repealed.
Moving slowly: “No one, no one is going to cancel the Law of Return, which is fundamental for the State of Israel,” Chikli said. “Israel will always remain [a] safe haven for every Jew, everywhere on earth.” He said, referring to the section of the law containing the grandchild clause, “We’re not saying [we’re] about to cancel Chapter Four tomorrow morning… There’s going to be a committee to determine how can we deal with this serious challenge… We need to tackle this challenge. We’ve got to do it slow. We’ve got to do it by listening to every aspect.” He added that he spoke with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before coming to the conference, and said regarding reforming the law, “We’re going to do it very, very responsibly. And I think we can relax and we can rely on this government to do the best for the Jewish people.”
Staying the course: Regarding other government policies that have caused concern — including a proposal to significantly limit the power of Israel’s Supreme Court — Chikli said that he had spent hours meeting with American Jewish leaders about topics including the judicial reform, but that the government is committed to carrying out its agenda. Tens of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets to protest the judicial reform, and U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan raised the issue in a meeting on Thursday with Netanyahu. “There is a lot alarming the left, it’s obvious, and it affects, dramatically, also the Jews who live here in America,” Chikli said. “We were very honest with our agenda, and it is our responsibility to follow this agenda. And it does not mean that we are not listening.”
Read more here and sign up for eJewishPhilanthropy’s Your Daily Phil newsletter here.
frank talk
At Davos, ADL’s Greenblatt says he sees positive signs despite rising antisemitism
Speaking on a panel about religion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said he sees encouraging signs in ADL’s work and the fight against hate, despite the alarming rise in antisemitism in the United States, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. He was speaking on the Davos panel titled “Keeping Faith” alongside Alexis Crow, the global head of geopolitical investing at PricewaterhouseCoopers; Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha’i International Community; and Farhan Latif, president of the El-Hibri Foundation, a Muslim nonprofit.
Ups and downs: “Antisemitism in America is going in the wrong direction,” Greenblatt, who has headed the ADL since 2015, said. “And yet we are now working more closely, not only with synagogues, schools, JCCs, etc. to make sure that our community is prepared and able to defend itself. We’re also now working with Black churches, HBCUs [Historically Black Colleges and Universities], Asian American houses of worship and community centers, Hindu temples, Sikh gurdwaras, to provide support for them.”
Looking outside: Greenblatt expounded on the work ADL has done in recent years to assist non-Jewish communities, remarking, “If we can replicate what we do for the Jewish community, for the Latino community, for the Asian American community, dayenu.” The ADL chief noted that, during spiking anti-Asian hate crimes in 2021, the ADL “incubated” The Asian American Foundation — training, hiring staff, providing support services and raising funds aimed at fighting anti-Asian hate. “What’s so interesting — at a time when we talk about intersectionality and social justice — these Jews [who founded the ADL] said, ‘We will fight for ourselves, and we will fight for others,’” Greenblatt said. ”We take those words for granted today. Everybody believes that our struggles are interconnected. But 110 years ago, that was an audacious, outrageous idea.”
Unintended path: Greenblatt — who came to ADL following a career in the private sector and a stint in the Obama administration — said joining the anti-hate organization represented a change in the way he exercised his faith. “Jewish was something that I did on Saturdays,” he said, adding that he was unsure he was the right person for the job when he was first asked to take it on. He said he consulted with Rabbi David Wolpe, formerly of Los Angeles’ Sinai Temple, who advised him to take the job.
Worthy Reads
💸 Business Matters: Reporting from Davos, the Wall Street Journal’s Chip Cutter looks at what executives at the World Economic Forum are prioritizing in the year ahead. “For many companies in recent years, the allure of high-growth opportunities underpinned decisions to spend big on staff additions, expanding business lines or projects that were years away from being profitable. The conversations at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week highlight a renewed discipline that is guiding investment decisions. ‘When money was free with 0% interest rates, a lot of companies did invest in crazy pet projects that weren’t core to their mission or core to what they did,’ said David Glazer, finance chief for Palantir Technologies Inc. ‘Now, money is not free and they’re forced to really think about where they’re investing.’” [WSJ]
🏃♂️ Race to Replace: As Rep. George Santos’ (R-NY) faces heightened scrutiny over his embellished biography and resume, The Daily Beast’s Ursula Perano looks at political operators on both sides of the aisle who are searching for the perfect candidate to replace him. “If Santos doesn’t resign and serves out his full term, that would only buy him roughly a year before a primary circuit in the district would begin, when hordes of Democrats and Republicans would openly vie to replace him…On the Democratic side, it’s a hodge-podge of candidates old and new. Robert Zimmerman, the Democrat who lost to Santos in November, has been the subject of much speculation. Some see him as a natural default; he already has name recognition and organizing in place. And he openly called for Santos to resign and face him in a rematch, insisting the congressman should ‘let the voters decide.’ But as things continue to be in flux on when the battle to replace Santos will begin, Zimmerman simply told The Daily Beast on Tuesday, ‘My only focus is building a strong bipartisan coalition to remove George Santos from office.’…The Republican side, meanwhile, continues to be a bit murkier. The Daily Beast reached out to a number of Republican names being floated, including state Sen. Jack Martins, former Assemblyman Mike LiPetri, and current Assemblyman Mike Durso, to no response. Other names like Nassau County Comptroller Elaine Phillips and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman have been thrown around, too, though Blakeman told City & State New York he had zero interest in the gig.” [DailyBeast]
✡️ Heroic History: In the Wall Street Journal, Richard Hurowitz reflects on the communities across Europe that went to extensive efforts to protect and save Jews during the Holocaust. “What bound these communities together was a shared altruistic ethos — grounded in religion, patriotism, tolerance or a code of honor — that made them oppose persecution. They also shared a willingness to act together. When they did, they found they could often make things too difficult for the occupiers to implement their diabolical plans. Even in places where the Nazis were more successful, rescue was far more effective when a community offered even quiet support. ‘For three years our neighbors put up a protective shield around us by acting as if they did not notice anything,’ one Dutch rescuer recalled. ‘We [the rescuers] were only the tip of the iceberg.’” [WSJ]
🤟 Sign of the Times: In Atlas Obscura, Blair Mastbaum spotlights the resurgence of Algerian Jewish Sign Language, which had nearly died out following the expulsion of the country’s Jewish community and their assimilation into other societies. “‘In addition to embedded culture,’ [Haifa University linguist Sara] Lanesman says, ‘there are also elements of AJSL that hold community traditions like fossils.’ The AJSL sign for the Jewish harvest holiday of Shavuot, for instance, depicts the act of spilling water. ‘The sign came from the ritual act of worshippers throwing water on one another, a custom that was prevalent in North African Jewish communities that has since died out. It’s now preserved only in the sign,’ says Lanesman.” [AtlasObscura]
Around the Web
⚖️ Court Concerns: National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who is in Israel this week, raised concerns with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Israel’s judicial overhaul proposals, which are also raising concerns in Israel’s tech sector.
🤔 Heads Together: The national securities advisors of the U.S., Israel, Bahrain, UAE and Morocco convened for a hybrid virtual/in-person meeting yesterday “to discuss ways to deepen regional integration, including in the areas of clean energy, emerging technology, regional security, and commercial relations,” per a readout from the White House.
🇸🇦 Saudi Stance: Saudi Arabia will not normalize relations with Israel unless Palestinian statehood is achieved, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
👩 Angling for Veep: In his new memoir, set to be released next week, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo alleged that former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley worked with Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump to position herself as a possible vice president to then-President Donald Trump. Haley, who again hinted at a potential 2024 presidential run yesterday, dismissed Pompeo’s claims as “lies and gossip to sell a book.”
📉 Santos Saga: Former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) said that support for Rep. George Santos (R-NY) in his Long Island district is “cratering…by the day” over the fabrications the freshman legislator has made about his background.
👨 Raising Kaine: Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), who is up for reelection in 2024, is expected to address his plans surrounding his political future at an event today in Richmond, Va.
🇬🇧 Across the Pond: Former Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn posted photos of him meeting with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and having a virtual conversation with Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).
🚑 Deadly Crash: Two members of the Jewish community in Cleveland were killed in a small plane crash in New York’s Westchester County.
👨⚖️ Back to Court: A Michigan man who attempted to illegally purchase weapons on the same day he threatened preschoolers and parents at a local synagogue is facing federal gun charges.
😡 Plea Problem: Joey Borgen, a New York man who was the victim of an antisemitic attack last year criticized Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for offering a plea deal to the assailant, who bragged after his arrest that he would do it again if given the chance.
📉 Crypto Crisis: Barry Silbert’s cryptocurrency lending agency Genesis Global Holdco filed for bankruptcy.
📽️ Film Review:The New York Timesreviews “All Eyes Off Me,” an Israeli film that looks at relationships among Israeli youth.
🪖 Arms Sale: Israel Aerospace Industries announced it is developing a new kind of loitering munitions that will be sold to the U.S. Department of Defense in a multimillion-dollar deal.
🛫 Ukraine Visit: Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen accepted an invitation from his Ukrainian counterpart to visit the European nation, and pledged to reopen Israel’s embassy in Kyiv in the next two months.
🇷🇺🇮🇷 Growing Partnership: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi held a call on Thursday, their second in nine days, in which they discussed the war in Syria, transport and energy.
😠 Dressing Down: South Korea and Iran summoned each other’s ambassadors after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, visiting the United Arab Emirates earlier this week, called Iran the “enemy” of the Gulf nation.
🇧🇷 New in Rio: A Holocaust memorial that spotlights all the groups targeted by the Nazis opened in Rio de Janeiro.
Pic of the Day
German artist Gunter Demnig installs “Memory Blocks” — brass plaques commemorating victims of the Holocaust that are laid in front of their last addresses — in Turin, Italy.
Birthdays
Philanthropist, professional equestrian, author and daughter of former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Georgina Leigh Bloomberg turns 40…
FRIDAY: Claremont, Calif., resident, Adar Belinkoff… Distinguished professor of physics at Texas A&M University, he won the 1996 Nobel Prize in Physics, David Morris Lee turns 92… Former State Department official and later president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Ambassador Morton I. Abramowitz turns 90… Moroccan-French rabbi and founder of the organization Jewish-Muslim Friendship of France, Michel Serfaty turns 80… Pleasant Hill, California resident, Daniel L. Fisher… Elected four times as a Republican at-large member on the Council of the District of Columbia, Carol Schwartz turns 79… Israeli politician, refusenik during the 1970s and 1980s who spent nine years in Soviet prisons, he served as chairman of the Jewish Agency, Natan Sharansky turns 75… Travel editor at CBS News, Peter S. Greenberg… Former congresswoman from Nevada, now SVP for the Touro University system, Shelley Berkley turns 72… Member of the board of governors of The Jewish Agency, he is the CEO of Chair King and Fortunoff furniture retailers, David Barish… Host of HBO’s political talk show, Bill Maher turns 67… Board member of Israel’s largest refining and petrochemical firm, Bazan Group, he was previously the deputy chief of the general staff of the IDF, Major General (Res.) Moshe Kaplinsky turns 66… Actress and television host, she is the only child of comedian Joan Rivers, Melissa Rivers turns 55… Member of the U.S. House of Representatives since 2019 (D-MN), Dean Benson Phillips turns 54… Coordinator of community education and support at JCFS Chicago, Diane Kushnir Halivni… Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and governor of South Carolina, Ambassador Nikki Haley turns 51… Founder and CEO of Everywoman Studios, Abigail (Abby) Greensfelder… U.K. cabinet minister and former MP, he is a member of the House of Lords, Baron Frank Zacharias Robin (Zac) Goldsmith turns 48… Former prime minister of Ukraine, Volodymyr Groysman turns 45… Israeli actress, model and musician, Hen Yanni turns 40… Senior consultant at Deloitte government and public services practice, Paul Mandelson… Senior director at Purple Strategies, Alec Jacobs… Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, Jason Berger…
SATURDAY: Writer specializing in modern Judaism and women, Blu Greenberg turns 87… Co-founder of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, Lynn Schusterman… Owner of the NHL’s Boston Bruins and chairman of Delaware North, Jeremy Maurice Jacobs turns 83… Literary critic and writer, Elaine Showalter turns 82… 82nd attorney general of the U.S., now a senior counsel at Covington & Burling, Eric Holder turns 72… Actor, director and producer, he is the voice of Beast in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” Robby Benson turns 67… Chairman of the Zionist Organization of America and chair of the real estate group at the NY/NJ law firm of Sills Cummis & Gross, Mark Levenson turns 66… U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) turns 62… Chairman and CEO of Norfolk, Va.-based Harbor Group International, Jordan E. Slone turns 61… Executive editor digital at the Washington Monthly, Matthew Cooper… Chief operations officer of OneTable, Andrea Greenblatt… Senior fellow at the USC Annenberg School, Cindi Leive turns 56… SVP and Washington bureau chief for CNN, Sam Feist turns 54… President and CEO of The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Rachel Garbow Monroe… Director, producer and screenwriter of films, best known as the producer or director of the eight films in the “Paranormal Activity” series, Oren Peli turns 53… Dean of school at Yavneh Hebrew Academy in Los Angeles, Rabbi Shlomo Einhorn… Peruvian model and TV host, Karen Schwarz turns 42… Congressional reporter for the Los Angeles Times, Jennifer Haberkorn… Israeli actress, screenwriter and filmmaker, Romi Aboulafia turns 39… Chief of staff at HHS’s Health Resources and Services Administration, Jordan Grossman… Samuel Z. Eckstein…
SUNDAY: Co-founder in 1965 of the Japanese video game company Sega, David M. Rosen turns 93… Nobel Prize laureate in chemistry in 2000, he is a professor emeritus at the University of California Santa Barbara, Alan J. Heeger turns 87… Los Angeles resident, Ruth Lynn Kopelove Sobel… Managing director and founder of Brave Warrior Advisors, an investment advisory firm, he is the son of Hall of Fame baseball star Hank Greenberg, Glenn H. Greenberg… Rabbi Mark Samuel Hurvitz… Brooklyn-born conductor, who during his tenure as artistic director of the Kraków Philharmonic became friends with Pope John Paul II for whom he later conducted multiple Papal concerts, Gilbert Levine turns 75… Senior political law counsel and consultant at Akin Gump, Kenneth A. Gross turns 72… Founder and executive director of the Brooklyn-based Bridge Multicultural and Advocacy Project, Mark Meyer Appel… Publisher at Chicago Public Square, Charlie Meyerson… Partner in the Cleveland law firm of Meyers, Roman, Friedberg & Lewis, Lisa Arlyn Lowe… Former director-general of the Israeli Defense Ministry, he is a retired major general in the IDF, Ehud “Udi” Adam turns 65… Systems engineer, Charles Ovits… Recently retired member of the Knesset for Likud, Katrin (Keti) Shitrit-Peretz turns 63… Justice on the Supreme Court of Israel, Noam Sohlberg turns 61… Michael S. Marquis… EVP and CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, Gideon Taylor… Actor best known for his role as Harvey Specter on the USA Network series “Suits,” Gabriel Macht turns 51… Sportscaster and podcaster in Washington, D.C., Bram Weinstein turns 50… Rabbi at the Midway Jewish Center in Syosset, N.Y., Joel Mark Levenson… Director of the Chabad House in Kathmandu, Nepal, Rabbi Yechezkel “Chezki” Lifshitz… News editor at Mishpacha Magazine, Yochonon Donn… Senior project specialist for the International Rescue Committee, Heidi Rosbe… Managing director at SKDKnickerbocker, Kendra Barkoff Lamy… Financial services editor at Politico, Zachary Warmbrodt… Houston native and philanthropist, Serena Hines… Corporate associate at Covington & Burling LLP, Mark Donig… NYC-based managing director at Politico, Jesse Shapiro… Tax reporter for the Washington Post, she is also a professional balloon twister and was a 2018 “Jeopardy!” contestant, Julie Zauzmer Weil… Israeli singer known by the mononym Netta, she was the winner of the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon, Portugal, Netta Barzilai turns 30… Jewish hockey player now playing for a Russian team, he was a first-round pick of the New York Islanders in 2014, Josh Ho-Sang turns 27… Associate at Mayer Brown, Matthew Lustbader…
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