Daily Kickoff
👋 Good Friday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we spotlight Esther Panitch, Georgia’s only Jewish state legislator, and interview former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, who is leading Virginia’s push to address antisemitism. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Rep. Rosa DeLauro, former Rep. Lee Zeldin and Rabbi David Wolpe.
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, eJewishPhilanthropy and The Circuit stories, including: Torres, Lawler push for a U.S. Abraham Accords ambassador; Following U.S. citizen’s killing in West Bank, Cotton plans to reintroduce Taylor Force Act follow-up; Israel’s new diaspora affairs minister readies for battle against BDS movement; After visiting Israel, Welch says Netanyahu ‘oblivious’ to threat in West Bank; Saudis aim to show cultural change with Warhol exhibition at desert arts site; Dictionary[dot]com changes antisemitism spelling away from ‘anti-Semitism’; Atra — formerly the Center for Rabbinic Innovation — seeks to support rabbis in a changing world; and From Cleveland to Jerusalem, tech startup drives auto sales. Print the latest edition here.
The Investopia x Salt 2023 conference taking place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, this week has drawn more than 2,000 investors to rub shoulders with an array of Emirati cabinet ministers, sovereign wealth fund chiefs and Anthony Scaramucci, the founder of SkyBridge Capital, who briefly served as White House communications director under former President Donald Trump, The Circuit’s Jonathan Ferziger reports from the Hilton Hotel on Yas Island.
The two-day, invitation-only meeting is happening at the island that serves as a playground for Emiratis and international visitors, with malls, roller coasters and water parks. The island is home to the Yas Marina Circuit racetrack, which is typically jam-packed with Formula 1 fans and celebrities when it hosts the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix towards the end of each year.
Opening the conference yesterday, UAE Economy Minister Abdulla Bin Touq hailed the UAE’s record $599 billion in foreign trade last year, briefly paid homage to the Abraham Accords with Israel and expressed hope for progress in addressing global warming when his country hosts the COP28 U.N. climate conference later this year. “We might have conflicts in other areas, but we all come together on this topic.”
Scaramucci, whose firm co-sponsors the investment conference with the UAE government, greeted the audience and gave a shout-out to Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi, who blasted off yesterday for a six-month mission aboard the International Space Station. The tiny Gulf nation is enjoying a bout of space fever over its orbiting native son. Along the Yas Island waterfront, conference participants strolling in the pleasantly warm nighttime air snapped photos of each other posing under the arms of 14-foot astronaut statues placed along the cafe-filled promenade.
The Circuit will have a full report on the conference in its Monday morning edition. Sign up for the Weekly Circuit newsletter here.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said yesterday that the State Department would “take a close look at all proposals” that might help pursue expanded Israeli-Arab normalization, when asked by Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod about a bipartisan bill introduced earlier this week to create an ambassador-level special envoy post for the Abraham Accords. “If something makes sense, if something would allow us to be even more effective in that project, we wouldn’t hesitate to pursue it.”
Price also emphasized that the Accords have “high-level attention” in the State Department and the White House, adding that the administration is a “stalwart supporter” of the Abraham Accords and “consistently raise the possibility” of improved relations with Israel in discussions with Arab and Muslim majority countries, “and, in some cases, encouraging countries to pursue that path of normalization is something we unambiguously support.” Watch Price’s full remarks on the Abraham Accords here.
Price declined to discuss Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotritch’s reported plans to visit the U.S. next week, including whether the U.S. would revoke the minister’s visa — as some liberal groups have advocated — in response to his comment that Israel should “wipe out” a Palestinian town. “We don’t speak to individual visa records nor, as a general matter, to a particular individual’s eligibility for a U.S. visa,” Price said.
White House spokespeoplesaidyesterday that no administration officials are scheduled to meet with Smotrich. Certain Jewish groups are reportedly scheduled to meet with the minister, including the Orthodox Union.
Former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) announced earlier this week that he is launching a new political action committee to help candidates target first-time Republican voters, including within the Jewish community, after his relatively strong performance in New York’s gubernatorial election.
In a statement to Jewish Insider, Zeldin, a Jewish Republican from Long Island, said that his group, the Leadership America Needs PAC, “will actively support Jewish Republican candidates and others who will robustly message to and engage the Jewish community.”
“To build additional support within the Jewish community, we can’t just say we are against antisemitism. We must also take strong and decisive steps to actively combat this raw hate,” Zeldin explained. “More must be done to educate others on what it means to be Jewish, oppose BDS, defend yeshiva education and actively strengthen the U.S.-Israel alliance.”
podcast playback
Former Acting AG Jeffrey Rosen on Virginia’s commission to fight antisemitism
When Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin took office on Jan. 15, 2022, his state was witnessing a significant spike in antisemitism — 2021 saw a 64% increase in antisemitic incidents over 2019, according to the Anti-Defamation League. In one of his first moves as governor, he established the commonwealth’s Commission to Combat Antisemitism. To chair the new panel, Youngkin, a Republican, tapped former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen. Rosen, who in addition to having worked under both Presidents Donald Trump and George W. Bush, briefly held the position of acting attorney general in the Trump administration after William Barr’s resignation, a role he held on Jan. 6, 2021. During this week’s episode of Jewish Insider’s podcast, Rosen sat down with co-hosts Rich Goldberg and Jarrod Bernstein to discuss the commission and his time in the Justice Department.
Commission chat: It’s my favorite holiday of the year — Passover — so I’m going to go ahead and ask you the Passover question about this commission: Mah nishtanah halailah hazeh? Why is this commission different than all other commissions? “Great question, because by definition all commissions have certain commonalities, that they’re focused on the same problem. I think what was different on this one was [that] its mandate was both broader than at least most — I haven’t done a comprehensive survey of all the commissions and study groups that have ever been, but it had a very broad mandate to cover education, law enforcement, legislative options, data reporting, so it was it was very broad. The membership was intentionally gathered to be able to cover a wide spectrum.”
Breaking it down: “Let’s start with the scope of the problem, because there’s lots of talk that antisemitism is a problem. Yes, true, and lots of effort to call attention to it and occasionally the incidents… But at least from the commission report, I would identify five aspects of the antisemitism problem that need to be well understood. One, of course, is the sheer volume, the fact that the number of reported incidents has been increasing for about a decade now and was an all-time high last year. That one I think has got some attention, but then there’s four other aspects that I think are not sufficiently appreciated. One is that many of the incidents are occurring at schools and colleges, especially colleges. And I think that that ought to appall people, but also it surprises them sometimes that this would be going on in higher education, where we think of people being educated and enlightened, and yet, big increases.”
Using the tools: “The saying that is regularly and correctly pointed out, is, “the Justice Department investigates crimes, not people.” We don’t have, nor do we want a society where the prosecutors and the law enforcement tools of the state are used to target people and then find some crime with which to pursue them. It’s the other way. There has to be some indication of wrongdoing that is potentially a violation of laws. And so that means that the tools of law enforcement have to have some rules of the road that take that balance into account, on the one hand trying to prevent actual crimes, or redress crimes if they’ve occurred, but on the other hand, not just targeting people. Because history tells us, not just in the United States, but all around the globe, that using the powers of the state in a targeted way at groups can have some unwelcome consequences. But, that doesn’t mean that these groups, particularly the extremist groups that have violent intentions, can’t be policed, it just means there’s some rules for the road for that.”
challah diplomacy
Breaking bread with Georgia’s only Jewish legislator
For freshman Georgia Rep. Esther Panitch, this year’s legislative session started with a bit of culinary whiplash. On a Friday evening in early January, the Democrat hosted more than 30 of her fellow legislators for Shabbat services and dinner at her suburban Atlanta synagogue. Most of them had never been to a Shabbat dinner, let alone a Jewish prayer service. They noshed on challah and roast chicken and heard a sermon from the rabbi. Two days later, Panitch and her colleagues broke bread together again, but over a decidedly less kosher feast. Each year, the legislative session commences with the “Wild Hog Supper,” a Statehouse tradition that benefits a local food bank. “I didn’t partake in the hog part,” Panitch told Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch, “but there were plenty of vegetarian side dishes.”
Cultural exchange: The Sandy Springs attorney was eager to showcase her religion to her new colleagues because she thinks the top policymakers in the state should see and experience Jewish life and ritual so that they can better protect minority rights. It’s a duty she views as crucial to her role as a public servant, because the driving force in Panitch’s decision to run for office in 2022 was her realization that the 256-person Georgia General Assembly would not otherwise have any Jewish members this year when a previous Jewish member retired.
Stepping up: “I was kind of hoping somebody else would put their name in that was qualified,” Panitch, who is 51, told JI on Wednesday. “It wasn’t a part of a long-term plan. I kind of just ran with it. But I saw the need, and nobody was willing to step up. So my goal is to help recruit people moving forward, so we don’t get caught like this again.”
It’s personal: A month later, Panitch stood on the House floor, surrounded by a bipartisan mix of legislators, including some from the Shabbat dinner. She had walked outside one morning that week to see hateful antisemitic flyers left on her doorstep. The pamphlet appeared after Panitch had introduced a bill seeking to create a state definition of antisemitism. (She called this an “odd coincidence,” rather than a targeted incident, noting that the flyers had already been distributed in nearby areas.) “Unfortunately it’s not the first time to be afraid as a Jew in the United States,” Panitch said.
Define it: She is a lead sponsor on a bill that would adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism statewide. “In order to combat the problem of antisemitism, we have to start by clearly defining it,” state Rep. John Carson, a Republican sponsor of the bill, said. The legislation does not come with criminal penalties or change the law; instead, it is meant as a guiding tool for state agencies and prosecutors who are determining whether a hate crime has been committed.
Status update: The bill passed the House Judiciary Committee, and is currently waiting to be considered by the Rules Committee. If it doesn’t move forward by next week, it’s dead this year. “Everything at this moment is controlled by Republicans and I’m a freshman Democrat,” Panitch noted. “If the governor wants it done, it’ll get done.”
on the hill
DeLauro, McGovern warn of ‘major conflict’ in Mideast, call on Biden to ‘to use all diplomatic tools available’
High-ranking members of the House Democratic Caucus are arguing in a new letter, set to be sent to President Joe Biden, that Israel’s judicial reform proposals would compound a situation they describe as primed for a “major conflict,” Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Backers: The as-yet-unreleased letter is being circulated by top members of the House Democratic caucus, including Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, and Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), the ranking member of the House Rules Committee, as well as Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL). JI obtained the letter through a J Street outreach email. It’s unclear how many other lawmakers have signed on so far.
What it says: The letter voices concerns about the current Israeli government, the volatile security situation in the West Bank, terrorist attacks in Israel and the deterioration of the Palestinian Authority. In response to this “grave situation,” the lawmakers say that “consistent and sustained U.S. diplomatic leadership is critical to preempt counterproductive unilateral actions and prevent violent escalations.” They frame the “fragile and combustible” situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories as potentially on the brink of “spiral[ing] into a major conflict, despite the recent steps taken” to stabilize the situation.
Worthy Reads
⚖️ History Lesson: In The Hill, the Hudson Institute’s Jonathan Schachter looks at other efforts to enact Israeli judicial reforms, as well as the responses to those moves. “Democracy requires constant maintenance. While the wheels of the Israeli mechanisms of governance undoubtedly need recalibration, it is essential to do so without stripping the gears. The government’s proposals for necessary judicial reform carry potential dangers of their own. Regrettably, argumentation has given way to assertion and debate has been replaced by name-calling. Proponents of reform have been quick to explain why it is necessary, but they have said little to allay internal opponents’ and external observers’ fears. Adding to the noise and distrust, many critics of the proposed reforms have repeatedly and falsely alleged the demise of Israeli democracy in the past.” [TheHill]
🇵🇸 Next Gen: The Washington Post’s Miriam Berger, William Booth and Fatima AbdulKarim report on the growing number of young Palestinian militants who are taking up arms against Israel but remain unaffiliated with established Palestinian factions. “Fighters like Abu Dhraa are not tied to a party or a political ideology. But they have easy access to guns and are committed to the fight. In their youth and independence, they represent a new kind of threat — not only to Israel, but to an ever-weaker Palestinian Authority, run by unelected men in their 70s and 80s. In earlier generations, Palestinian political factions ran the brigades during street fighting against Israel. Now, cells of teenagers and young men in their early 20s from the neighborhood are calling the shots.” [WashPost]
👸 Persian Purim: In The Wall Street Journal, Rabbi David Wolpe considers the meaning of Purim to his majority-Iranian Los Angeles congregation. “The Iranian refugees who came to America discovered something unprecedented in Jewish history. For once their survival didn’t depend entirely on the autocratic whim of the ruler. Life and death weren’t in the hands of a Haman, nor salvation in the eyes of an Esther. In a pluralistic democracy you may favor one president or party over another, but you needn’t pray fervently for a single ruler out of fear that his successor will prove the downfall of the Jewish people. Given this epochal shift from subject to citizen, the Persian Jewish community bears great love for this country and for the state of Israel. As we danced on the streets of Westwood last October to celebrate Simchat Torah, a woman approached me with tears running down her cheeks. ‘I could never have imagined growing up that I would be able to dance in the street with the Torah. We were always so cautious, so afraid.’ Then she turned to the crowd of dancers and shouted, ‘God bless America!’” [WSJ]
🏢 Tech Trouble: The Financial Times’ John Thornhill looks at how Israel’s tech sector is responding to the government’s proposed judicial reforms. “The danger for Israel’s tech sector is that domestic infighting will degrade that creative insecurity and erode the country’s delicate social networks. The veteran investor says it has taken 30 years to build the Start-up Nation but it can be easily damaged. ‘It has not been built in the ground but in our minds and hearts,’ [historian Mark Zachary Taylor] says. There may be bigger forces at play in Israel than the future of its tech sector. But it would do untold damage to the dynamism of Israel’s economy and its geopolitical security, if the government were to lose those hearts and minds.” [FT]
🎭 Pitch Perfect: In USA Today, Jason Robert Brown, the Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist of “Parade,” Alfred Uhry’s Broadway musical about the lynching of Leo Frank, underscores the show’s importance at a time of heightened antisemitism. “There was a certain degree of hubbub when we opened our tour in Atlanta in 2000; and there are many websites (including the one I mentioned above) that include ‘Parade’ in their list of sins against the good white people of Georgia and America, but by and large, to be honest, the show itself hasn’t had a large impact on the general public, so it hasn’t drawn out the crazies as much as it would have had it been, say, ‘Hamilton.’ But before we had our gala presentation at New York City Center last fall, our producer, Jenny Gersten, called me to ask whether there had been a history of threats against the show. I didn’t need to ask why she was calling. I took a deep breath. Ah, I thought. That’s where we are now. I feel terrible that audience members waiting in line to see our show on Broadway may be accosted by neo-Nazis. (I can’t believe I’m writing that sentence.) But I’ll tell you the truth: I’m glad the thugs showed up. I’m glad they feel threatened enough to emerge into the light and show their faces. They are what ‘Parade’ is about.” [USAToday]
Around the Web
🤙 Advisors, Assemble: Govs. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Wes Moore of Maryland and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania are among the individuals being tapped for a “national advisory board” being assembled ahead of the launch of President Joe Biden’s anticipated reelection campaign.
🛬 Milley’s Meetings: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley arrived in Israel today for meetings with security officials, days before Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is set to arrive in the country.
🕒 On the clock: A bipartisan group of a dozen senators, led by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), reintroduced legislation to make daylight saving time permanent. The bill passed the Senate last year, but died in the House. Orthodox community groups largely lobbied against the change.
🕵️♀️ Open Case: The House Ethics Committee announced yesterday that it voted unanimously to establish a subcommittee to investigate a range of allegations of misconduct against Rep. George Santos (R-NY).
👗 Bad Look: The Office of Congressional Ethics released a report finding “substantial reason” to believe that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) “accepted impermissible gifts” related to her outfit at the 2021 Met Gala.
👀 Race to Watch: Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA) said he will forgo a bid for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) next year, and does not intend to endorse a candidate in the race. Meanwhile, Feinstein announced that she is hospitalized and receiving treatment for shingles.
👮 Detained: Law enforcement officials in Michigan arrested a man who had threatened to kill Jewish members of Michigan’s state government, including Attorney General Dana Nessel.
🌎 Apt Drawing: Titled “The Oldest Hatred,” the Washington Postran a cartoon by Michael de Adder depicting the roots of a tree crawling across a globe.
📄 If It Be Your Will: Leonard Cohen’s children have reportedly accused the late musician’s former manager, Robert Kory, of replacing a section of Cohen’s will to name himself as the sole first successor trustee.
🎥 In Mel We Trvst Again: The Wall Street Journal reviews Mel Brooks’ “History of the World: Part II.”
🎵 ‘Hate Music’: Music with racial and antisemitic content is available on streaming services despite being called out on the subject by hate-watch groups, a Rolling Stone investigation finds.
👨⚖️ Court Case: Pro-Palestinian activist Saadah Masoud, who carried out multiple attacks on Jews in New York City in 2021 and 2022, discussed bringing firebombs and other weapons to a pro-Israel rally and bragged about antisemitic assaults, federal prosecutors said in a sentencing submission.
🇭🇺 Orban Move: Hungary will reportedly move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem next month, a move that senior Israeli Foreign Ministry officials said was done in part to give Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a diplomatic win.
🔥 Huwara in the Crosshairs: The Wall Street Journalvisits Huwara in the West Bank in the aftermath of a terror attack there that killed two Israeli brothers and a subsequent series of attacks by settlers through the town.
🚢 Boats in Brazil: Israel called on Brazil to undock Iranian warships that have been allowed to moor at the Rio de Janeiro port.
☢️ Divided Opinion: The Wall Street Journal reports on an effort by Britain, France and Germany to pass a resolution calling out Iran’s nuclear activities at an IAEA board of governors meeting next week, that has been met with reluctance by U.S. officials.
🇮🇷 On the Ground: International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi arrived in Iran for meetings days after the U.N. nuclear watchdog issued a report that indicated Tehran had enriched uranium to 83.7%.
Pic of the Day
Authors Abigail Pogrebin and Michael Twitty attend the National Jewish Book Awards, which Pogrebin emceed, on Wednesday in New York City.
Birthdays
Board member at New York City Center, the arts center at Brown University bears her name, Perry B. Granoff (pictured here with Rep. Ritchie Torres) turns 80 on Saturday…
FRIDAY: Australian residential property developer, colloquially known as “High-Rise Harry,” builder of more than 75,000 residential units, Harry Triguboff turns 90… Former justice of the Supreme Court of Israel, Dalia Dorner turns 89… Professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and author of 27 books, Michael Laban Walzer turns 88… Researcher in Yiddish language at Sweden’s Lund University’s Centre for Languages and Literature, Henrik Lewis-Guttermann turns 74… Best-selling and Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer of financiers and politicians, Ron Chernow turns 74… President of CBS News until 2021, Susan Zirinsky turns 71… Retired chief investment officer of Neuberger Berman, former president of AIPAC, Michael Kassen turns… Fashion designer and businessman, Steve Madden turns 65… NPR personality and host and producer of “This American Life,” Ira Jeffrey Glass turns 64… Former director of policy for New York State under Andrew Cuomo, David Yassky turns 59… Retired MLB pitcher, later a pitching coach, his 557 appearances rank second in career games pitched by a Jewish pitcher, Scott David Radinsky turns 55… Co-founder and co-president of Clarity Capital, David Steinhardt turns 54… EVP and general counsel at Eli Lilly and Company, Anat Hakim… Co-owner of the Miami Marlins and Jewish activist, Ari Jack Ackerman… Assistant professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine focused on autism-related genetics, Brett S. Abrahams, Ph.D. turns 50… Screenwriter and columnist in the Israeli newspaper Globes, Efrat Abramov turns 43… British rabbi who has run for mayor of London and mayor of Manchester, Shneur Zalman Odze turns 42… Assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, she previously clerked for Supreme Court Justice Scalia, Danielle R. Sassoon… Vocalist for indie-pop band Lucius, Jess Wolfe turns 37… Communications manager for Uber, Freddi Goldstein… Member of AJR, an indie pop multi-instrumentalist trio, together with his two brothers, Ryan Metzger turns 29…
SATURDAY: Composer, conductor, author and music professor, Samuel Adler turns 95… U.S. District Court Judge (on inactive senior status) for the Northern District of Illinois, he was appointed by President Reagan in 1987 and has published a novel and appeared in two movies, Judge James Block Zagel turns 82… Broadcast journalist and author, a correspondent for the ABC news magazine “20/20” for almost 30 years, Lynn Sherr turns 81… British promoter of rock concerts, charity concerts and television broadcasts, Harvey Goldsmith turns 77… Screenwriter and director, she is the mother of actors Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal turns 77… CEO of LCH Clearnet LLC, a clearing house affiliated with the London Stock Exchange, David A. Weisbrod… Director of public affairs for Agudath Israel of America, Rabbi Avi Shafran turns 69… U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) turns 65… Founder and CEO of Success Academy Charter Schools and a former City Council member for the Upper East Side, Eva Moskowitz turns 59… President of the New England Patriots, Jonathan A. Kraft turns 59… French art historian, she manages the Louvre’s restitution investigations of art looted from Jewish families during the Nazi and Vichy regimes, Emmanuelle Polack turns 58… U.S. Senator James Lankford (R-OK) turns 55… Former member of both the New York City Council and the New York State Assembly, Rory I. Lancman turns 54… Evan L. Presser… Staff writer for The New York Times Magazine and a senior fellow at Yale Law School, Emily Bazelon… Chief global affairs officer at Citadel, Russell Horwitz… Member of the Knesset for the National Unity party, Sharren Haskel turns 39… VP of public policy at the International Council of Shopping Centers, Abigail Goldstein “Abby” Jagoda… Brazilian entrepreneur and software engineer who co-founded Instagram in 2010, Mike Krieger turns 37… Singer, music producer and composer, Aryeh Kunstler… Chief of staff for New York State Senator Andrew Gounardes, Tori Burhans Kelly… Israeli-born basketball player who starred at Wichita State and then played for the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans, now playing for a Spanish team, Gal Mekel turns 35… Model and actress, Erin Heatherton (born as Erin Heather Bubley) turns 34… Legislative assistant for U.S. Representative Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Jennifer Miller…
SUNDAY: Winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Economics for his work with Amos Tversky on the psychology of decision-making, Daniel Kahneman turns 89… Former university counsel for California State University, Donald A. Newman… Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, he is an associate fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Roy Gutman turns 79… Retired partner of Los Angeles law firm, Gordon, Edelstein, Krepack, Grant, Felton & Goldstein, LLP, Mark Edelstein… President of Los Angeles PR firm Robin Gerber & Associates, Robin Gerber Carnesale… Managing partner at Lerer Hippeau, Kenneth B. Lerer turns 71… Founder and retired CEO of the DC-based News Literacy Project, Alan C. Miller… Author of Judaism: A Way of Being and professor of computer science at Yale University, David Hillel Gelernter turns 68… Actor, screenwriter and film producer, he has been a contestant on three seasons of CBS’s “Survivor,” Jonathan Penner turns 61… Retired tennis player, she won 10 doubles tournaments, Elise Burgin turns 61… President of AIPAC, she is the founder of BVision Sportsmedia, Betsy Berns Korn… President and founder of West End Strategy Team, Matt Dorf… Los Angeles area builder and developer, Michael Reinis… President of the Colorado Solar and Storage Association, Michael N. Kruger… Head of U.S. public affairs at Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Daniel S. Schwarz… Actor and screenwriter, Jason Isaac Fuchs turns 37… Senior director at Portage Point Partners, Steven Shenker… Manager of operations support at TEKsystems, Andrew Leiferman… Singer with 35.2 million followers on Instagram, her career started with a song she performed at her own bat mitzvah, Madison Elle Beer turns 24…