Daily Kickoff
👋 Good Friday morning!
Today is Rosh Chodesh, the Jewish new month of Iyar, and Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim festival of the breaking of the fast upon the completion of Ramadan. Chodesh tov and Eid Mubarak to all!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on a letter by 41 senators offering support for joint U.S.-Israel missile-defense programs, and cover the Heritage Foundation’s 50th anniversary conference. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: A look at Sen. Mike Lee’s unique foreign policy, how Montana Tucker made it to the White House and Reza Pahlavi’s ongoing trip to Israel.
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: For America’s ambassador to Germany, a personal reflection on Yom HaShoah; DeSantis takes steps to attract center-right Jewish voters; Aliza Licht knows how to stay ‘on brand’; After 30 years, Azerbaijan sends its first envoy to Israel; Where is Bibi’s head at?; Supreme Court appears poised to expand, but not radically reshape, religious workplace accommodations, advocates say; Lawmakers, Holocaust survivors join together for commemoration event on Capitol Hill; Jewish leaders mark 80th anniversary of Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in this year’s March of the Living; and Israeli venture grants ‘wishes’ to 1,600 Holocaust survivors. Click here.
A print version is also available of the first two installments of our five-part investigative series: WHO KILLED KESHER’S RABBI? – Parts 1 and 2.
Jews who are more politically conservative are also more likely to affiliate with Jewish institutions and prioritize Jewish practices in their daily lives, according to a recently released Keren Keshet Foundation survey of American Jews.
The political crosstabs within the poll, which was first published in Tablet this month, add detail to the surface findings that the American Jewish community is splitting between active and affiliated Jews, who make up about half of self-identified Jews, and ambivalent and alienated Jews, who make up the other half.
The survey found that most respondents still have a close attachment to their Jewish identity and sense of belonging (75% said being Jewish was very or somewhat important), while also saying that many are growing increasingly disconnected from both religious and cultural institutions.
But those who are on the most progressive side of the political spectrum — compared to self-identified liberals, moderates and conservatives — are disproportionately among those who are less affiliated with organized Judaism, Jewish Insider Editor in Chief Josh Kraushaar reports.
Nearly 60% of progressive Jews aren’t affiliated with one of the major denominations, even as 60% of Jews overall consider themselves either Orthodox, Conservative, Reform or Reconstructionist. More than three in four progressive Jews don’t belong to a synagogue (compared to 66% who don’t overall).
About half of self-identified political conservatives consider themselves very or moderately religious, compared to less than one-quarter of progressives (21%).
The political disconnect is even clearer when it comes to emotional attachment to Israel: Only 30% of progressives are either very or somewhat attached to the Jewish state, compared to 74% of conservatives, 54% of moderates and 50% of liberals.
One area that united many progressive Jews: Participation in a social justice activity. Nearly 40% of progressive respondents said they engaged in social justice efforts, compared to just 15% overall.
The survey was conducted from Nov. 4, 2022 to Jan. 2, 2023. A total of 1,500 adults who identify as religiously or culturally Jewish were interviewed.
In the Middle East, Iran’s exiled crown prince, Reza Pahlavi, and his wife Yasmine, continued touring Israel and meeting officials over the last couple of days, hosted by Israeli Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel, and including a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara.
After visiting the Sorek Desalination Plant in Palmachim, Pahlavi tweeted, “In Iran, the Islamic Republic is turning lakes, rivers and wetlands into deserts, while in Israel, government and industry are converting the desert into water… After speaking with the scientists, water experts and infrastructure innovators here, I am certain that a free and democratic Iran can engage in partnership with Israel to reverse the environmental damage caused by the Islamic Republic and rejuvenate and rebuild Iran’s water ecosystem.”
Mark Dubowitz, chief executive of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, met with Pahlavi in Tel Aviv yesterday, and discussed an action plan to provide maximum support to the Iranian people; to impose maximum pressure on the regime; and to encourage Iranians and others to oppose the regime, Dubowitz told Jewish Insider’s Tamara Zieve. The two proposed steps that the U.S. and Israel could undertake to achieve these goals — potentially with the support of European countries — including a labor strike fund to spur nationwide strikes financed by frozen Iranian assets, a plan to provide internet access to circumvent regime censorship, and measures to split the regime and give those who are part of the IRGC and other security services a pathway out of sanctions if they turn against the Islamic Republic.
Dubowitz’s impression from his discussions with Pahlavi is that the former prince “has a deep understanding of what it will take to replace the regime in Iran with something more hopeful for his people. He is impressed with what Israel has accomplished and believes that the Israeli and Iranian people will one day be the closest of friends and partners.“
Dubowitz also addressed “the prevailing Western elite narrative” that Pahlavi, whose visit to Israel has drawn mixed reactions, is not popular in Iran. Dubowitz countered that this “seems to be contradicted by his huge social media following inside the country, the slogans chanted during the recent protests invoking his name, and his endorsement by prominent Iranian cultural and sports figures inside the country.”
LETTER WRITING
More than 40 senators offer support for U.S.-Israel missile-defense funding
Forty-one senators from both parties have signed onto a letter, obtained by Jewish Insider, offering support for full funding — $500 million — for joint U.S.-Israel missile-defense programs, including Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow and counter-drone programs, in 2024, JI’s Marc Rod reports.
Details: The letter, sent last week to Sens. Jon Tester (D-MT) and Susan Collins (R-ME), the chair of the Senate Defense Appropriations subcommittee and the ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, is organized annually by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Mike Rounds (R-SD). The $500 million is guaranteed annually by the 2016 U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding and was codified into law by Congress, but must be appropriated by Congress annually.
Signatories: The communique was signed by 41 senators, three fewer than an identical letter in 2022, including 32 Democrats and nine Republicans. Signatories include Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ted Budd (R-NC), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Bob Casey (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), John Fetterman (D-PA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), James Lankford (R-OK), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Ed Markey (D-MA), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Rick Scott (R-FL), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), Tina Smith (D-MN), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), John Thune (R-SD), J.D. Vance (R-OH), Mark Warner (D-VA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
Read more here.
Elsewhere on the Hill: In Senate testimony on Tuesday, U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power emphasized the “elaborate vetting systems” in place for examining recipients of U.S. aid, particularly in the Palestinian territories, including cross checking beneficiaries with the FBI’s terrorism center. She condemned “in the strongest terms” the leaders of a group that had allegedly received U.S. funding, who had publicly praised terrorist attacks targeting Israel. Power also emphasized that “we’ve seen in recent weeks, the vibrancy of civil society” in Israel.
LEE’S LENS
Utah Sen. Mike Lee breaks with his party on foreign policy
Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee has a habit of irritating fellow senators when it comes to his “no” votes on broadly popular legislation, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports. For every year except one since his 2010 election, Lee has voted against the annual defense authorization legislation, passed yearly with a veto-proof bipartisan majority. His criticism of Washington’s ongoing financial support for Ukraine since Russia invaded the country last year has also put him at odds with the Republican mainstream.
New positions: That obstinance typically doesn’t win many friends in Washington. But it gave him a leading role as just one of just five GOP senators to speak at this week’s marquee Heritage Foundation conference marking the conservative think tank’s 50th anniversary. Heritage has long-played an outsized role in shaping Republican policy, but it has lately been distinguishing itself by staking out foreign policy positions at odds with the national security establishment.
Constitution issue: Lee’s Thursday speech at the conference touted the Constitution as his guidepost on foreign and domestic policy, even if many of his foreign policy positions take him out of the conservative mainstream. He has argued that the executive branch has long overstepped its constitutional mandates on foreign policy issues and that Congress has not sufficiently stepped up to its role as the entity that can declare war.
Skeptical outlook: What this amounts to in practice is a skepticism of American engagement in foreign conflicts and a broad desire to limit American spending abroad. Lee has often found himself on the outside on major foreign policy issues, particularly on Ukraine.
Catching on: While Lee’s foreign-policy worldview may have been relatively uncommon among U.S. senators when he was first elected a dozen years ago, his approach to the world has now gained several powerful ideological allies, former President Donald Trump chief among them.
Israel exception: One notable exception to Lee’s approach to foreign spending is Israel. Unlike Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), an isolationist with whom Lee frequently partners, Lee has not criticized Washington’s $3.3 billion in annual security assistance to Israel.
Read the full story here.
in the room
U.S. invasion of Iraq ultimately bolstered Iran, Vance argues
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) argued on Thursday that the U.S. invasion of Iraq served primarily to bolster Iran and increase the threat to Israel, in a speech to the Heritage Foundation’s 50th anniversary conference, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Sea change: Vance is a prominent avatar of the GOP’s growing national conservative or New Right wing, which adopts a more isolationist and protectionist approach to most foreign policy issues than many in the GOP. The Heritage Foundation itself, once a bastion of Republican hawkishness and free-market ideology, is increasingly aligning with this wing of the conservative movement — a fact highlighted throughout the first day of the influential think tank’s two-day conference in the D.C. area.
Past mistakes: Vance called the Iraq war “perhaps the most unforced and catastrophic error in the history of this country,” arguing that its result was “we spent trillions of dollars, we killed thousands of Americans and more Iraqis, we eradicated the oldest Christian population in the world, all in the service of increasing the power of Iran and putting our ally Israel under greater threat.” Vance, who enlisted out of high school to serve in the Iraq war, lamented that many of the figures who supported the war remain influential, and framed the U.S.’ support for Ukraine, which he said has “maybe the most corrupt leadership anywhere in the world,” as a potential repetition of the mistakes made in Iraq.
China focus: A focus on China as the U.S.’ top foreign policy priority — to the exclusion of Ukraine — echoed throughout several speeches during the conference’s first day. “We have got to focus rigorously on countering China, our biggest threat, and do less elsewhere around the world,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), another prominent national conservative, said. “We cannot be the world’s police, we should not try to be. We do not have to be a global hegemon, but we do have to defend American interests and American security.”
Bonus:The New York Times’ Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman report that the Heritage Foundation is leading an effort to compile a database of 20,000 potential GOP administration officials.
INFLUENCER EDUCATION
How Montana Tucker’s TikTok series on antisemitism made it to the White House
Last month, dancer and social media influencer Montana Tucker — she has 9 million followers on TikTok and nearly 3 million on Instagram — swapped her workout clothes for a suit, and traded Hollywood for Washington, D.C. Tucker was in the nation’s capital to participate in the inaugural White House Jewish Women’s Forum, and to do a sit-down interview with Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, who, like her, had recently visited Auschwitz. “We’re two completely different people with completely different followings, and it was really powerful for us to come together to do something like that,” Tucker told Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch.
Background bio: Like Emhoff, Tucker is using her platform to educate her diverse followers about antisemitism and share with them stories about her Jewish upbringing. The 30-year-old dancer and singer grew up in the heavily Jewish Boca Raton, Fla., where her family went to High Holiday services and where she studied for her bat mitzvah. (When her dancing and modeling career picked up, her bat mitzvah got put on hold — until she went on Birthright and had a coming-of-age service at the Western Wall.)
Family ties: Tucker’s most formative Jewish moments were those she spent with her grandparents, both of whom survived the Holocaust. “Their whole lives, they were dedicated to Holocaust education. My zaide even wore a pin that said ‘Never forget. Never again,’” she recalled. “Every person they met, he let them know he’s a Holocaust survivor.”
How-to: Tucker traveled to Poland last summer with her mother, Michelle, to visit Auschwitz and learn about the country’s Jewish community before World War II and bear witness to the Nazis’ destruction. The emotional journey culminated with a 10-part docuseries that Tucker posted on her social media channels last fall. The video series, called “How to: Never Forget,” teaches a rough history of the Holocaust, and follows an emotional Tucker from the Jewish ghetto in Krakow, Poland, to a forest where thousands of Jews were slaughtered, to Auschwitz, the Nazis’ deadliest concentration camp.
Bonus: Tucker was a featured speaker at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s 30th anniversary annual tribute dinner last night.
Worthy Reads
🚶♂️Discovering the District:Gothamist’s Brigid Bergin highlights the ways in which New York Rep. Dan Goldman, a Democrat, is learning about the diverse needs of his constituents while back home in the city. “During the recent congressional recess, Goldman — who served as the lead attorney in Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial and was later an MSNBC analyst — was back in the city, and Gothamist spent a day getting a firsthand glimpse at how he’s adjusting to his role here, as opposed to sounding off against his Republican counterparts in Washington, D.C. His team says it has helped 450 constituents resolve issues with federal agencies so far, like working with NYCHA and the U.S. Postal Service to help fix broken mailboxes at Campos Plaza II in the East Village and working with the Department of State and Immigration Services to secure travel documents. ‘There is no issue that is too small,’ he said during an interview in Tompkins Square Park last week. His district encompasses areas of Manhattan south of 14th Street and stretches across the river to Brooklyn, where it extends from Dumbo in the north to Sunset and Borough Parks in the south. It includes a plurality of white voters and growing immigrant communities from China, Mexico and other parts of Latin America. There’s also a significant Hasidic and Orthodox Jewish population in Borough Park and a Puerto Rican community rooted on the Lower East Side.” [Gothamist]
💵 Diaspora Donations: In a guest article for The Conversation, researcher Jamie Levine Daniel dissects how much and from where Israeli nonprofits are getting money from U.S. donors. “Israeli nonprofits amassed US$35.3 billion in total income in 2015, roughly $45 billion in 2023 dollars, from all sources. That total included revenue like university tuition and concert ticket sales, as well as $4.4 billion – roughly $5.6 billion in 2023 dollars – in donations from all sources, foreign and domestic. Donations from outside Israel accounted for $2.8 billion of those gifts, about two-thirds of this kind of funding. We analyzed Guidestar’s database of nonprofit tax records to identify U.S. organizations sending money to Israel. Israeli nonprofits, such as Magen David Adom, or Red Shield – Israel’s equivalent to the Red Cross and Red Crescent – and the Foundation for the Welfare of Holocaust Victims, rely on foreign donors for more than half of their philanthropic funding. Much of this money, but not all of it, comes from American Jews and Jewish organizations.” [TheConversation]
👮 Man on a Mission: The Washington Post’s Danielle Paquette highlights one Florida sheriff’s fight to keep the neo-Nazi “scumbags” in his neighborhood at bay. “As reports of hate propaganda surge to record highs, authorities across the country are torn over how to address rhetoric they fear could inspire violence. Some police departments have condemned the bigotry, sparking praise and criticism in a nation divided over where free speech ends and criminal intimidation begins. Others have declined to comment, aiming to minimize attention on white supremacist sentiments. [Sheriff Michael] Chitwood has rejected this playbook he sees as flimsy and futile. His strategy? Go nuclear. Shame the organizers on the radio and television. Roast them on the internet. Keep at it for months. Keep going even though no one knows if it’s working. ‘There is always the risk, yes, that you could give them more attention,’ Chitwood said. ‘But if you expose them for what they are, I think the overwhelming majority of us will think, ‘wow, nobody wants to be like that.’’” [WashPost]
🏢 Startup Nation: In an op-ed for Fortune, Cato Networks’ co-founder and CEO Shlomo Kramer discusses how Israel’s proposed judicial reforms would ruin the country’s current thriving startup ecosystem. “The legislation will deprive investors of the necessary protections against government abuse. Without those protections, investors will be more cautious about putting their money in Israel, depriving Israeli startups of the fuel they need to succeed. In short, it will set us back 30 years…Giving any government full control over the judicial system is dangerous. Even the mere prospect of such a development is already undermining the basic trust needed to attract investors. Investors must feel confident their money and IP are safe and know nothing untoward would happen to their investments.” [Fortune]
Around the Web
🇮🇱 Democratic Divisions:The New York Times reports that support for Israel within the Democratic Party has grown “more tenuous by the month,” particularly in the aftermath of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts at a judicial overhaul.
🎤 DeSantis’ Speech: The NYT story also reports that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will be speaking about the “unnecessarily strained relations between Jerusalem and Washington” at next week’s Jerusalem Post conference celebrating 75 years of Israel’s independence.
🪧 Zionist Congress Chaos: At the World Zionist Congress this morning, a protest began outside a room in which MK and judicial reform architect Simcha Rothman was meeting with World Zionist Organization representatives. Rothman refused to engage with the demonstrators and was subsequently forced to leave through a backdoor, a WZO spokesman told JI.
👴 Personal Touch: Former President Trump’s retooled political operation has been more effective at reaching out to potential supporters than DeSantis’, with more lawmakers going on record about DeSantis’ lack of personal connection.
🗣️ Debate Watch: Republicans will hold the second presidential primary debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif.
🇮🇷 Caucus Condemnation: The newly formed bipartisan Iranian Women Congressional Caucus condemned the recent poisoning of Iranian school girls by government officials.
🇩🇪 Black September: The German government said today that it has set up an international commission of experts to review the events surrounding the 1972 massacre of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics at the hands of Palestinian terrorists of the Black September group.
⛰️ A Museum for ‘The Mountains’: The new Borscht Belt Museum in the Catskills town of Ellenville, N.Y., will showcase memorabilia from famed Jewish summer resorts of old.
🍽️ Interfaith Iftar: The UAE Embassy in Paris hosted an interfaith iftar meal for Ramadan to celebrate the launch of the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi, created to encourage interreligious dialogue.
📁 End of the Line: On Thursday, BuzzFeed announced it would be closing its news division after about a decade of operation.
📜 Thou Shalt… The Texas state Senate passed a bill Thursday, which would require all public schools to showcase the Ten Commandments in their classrooms.
🪖 Rapid Response: The United States has placed troops in Djibouti ahead of a potential need to evacuate the U.S. Sudanese Embassy in Khartoum due to the ongoing power struggle between country leadership.
🚫 Big Brother: The U.S. has placed new sanctions on aspects of Iran’s military procurement network in an effort to stop the country’s current weapons capabilities, which “destabilizes the Middle East and beyond.”
💸 Helping Hand: After more than a month of delays, Israeli plans to give financial support to Palestinian Authority are back in motion.
🤑 Big Spender: Hotelier and top DeSantis donor Robert Bigelow revealed that he is bankrolling the majority percentage of the governor’s unofficial presidential bid.
🕯️ Remembering: Family Dollar mogul Leon Levine died at 85.
Pic of the Day
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen (left) with Turkmenistan’s Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov, inaugurating the Jewish state’s first embassy yesterday in Ashgabat, the capital city of the Central Asian country.
Birthdays
Former U.S. Poet Laureate and winner of a Pulitzer Prize, she was the 2020 Nobel Prize laureate in literature and 2015 recipient of the National Humanities Medal, Louise Elisabeth Glück turns 80…
FRIDAY: Comedian, screenwriter, film director and actress, Elaine May turns 91… Board member of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore, Howard Rosenbloom turns 84… British chemist and emeritus professor at the University of Cambridge, Sir Alan Roy Fersht turns 80… Award winning folklorist, author, poet and editor, Howard Schwartz turns 78… Former chairwoman of the Connecticut Democratic Party following her term as the Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut, Nancy S. Wyman turns 77… Walnut Creek, California based interior designer, Marilyn Weiss… Emergency physician in Panorama City, California, Joseph Edward Beezy… UCSB mathematician Michael Hartley Freedman turns 72… Rabbi, psychologist, writer and editor, Susan Schnur turns 72… Professor emeritus at George Mason University Law School, Michael Ian Krauss turns 72… Australian barrister who is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly following 31 years as Mayor of Botany Bay, Ron Hoenig turns 70… Rabbi at Temple Ner Simcha in Westlake Village, California, Michael Barclay turns 60… Co-founder of the Genesis Prize and the Genesis Philanthropy Group, Mikhail Fridman turns 59… Chicago-based lobbyist and attorney, Scott D. Yonover… Art collector and dealer, Alberto “Tico” Mugrabi turns 53… Washington correspondent for NYT’s DealBook, Ephrat Livni… Founder of I Was Supposed to Have a Baby (IWSTHAB), an online community geared toward Jewish women experiencing infertility, Aimee Friedman Baron… Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter for The New York Times and best-selling author, Jodi Kantor turns 48… Head of business development and innovation at Birthright North America and CEO of Unistream, Ifat Bechor… Co-founder and chief innovation officer at Zivvy Media, Eric Weisbrod… Actress and voice actress, whose career included the voice of Regina “Reggie” Rocket on Nickelodeon’s Rocket Power, Shayna Bracha Fox turns 39… Investor relations officer at Linse Capital, he is a past president of the Berkeley Hillel, Robert J. Kaufman… Once the top ranked collegiate female tennis player in the U.S. and currently the head women’s tennis coach at the University of Oklahoma, Audra Marie Cohen turns 37… Director of marketing at This Little Goat, Joshua Gibbs… Outfielder for MLB’s San Francisco Giants, he is a two-time World Series champion and a two-time All Star, he played for Team Israel in the 2013 and 2023 World Baseball Classics, Joc Pederson turns 31… Writer, magazine editor and actress, Tavi Gevinson turns 27…
SATURDAY: Calgary-based CEO of Balmon Investments, Alvin Gerald Libin turns 92… Actor and later one of Hollywood’s most prolific producers, Mark Damon turns 90… Co-founder of Human Rights Watch, Aryeh Neier turns 86… English journalist and former anchor of BBC Television’s Newsnight, Adam Eliot Geoffrey Raphael turns 85… Conductor and professor of music at Boston University, Joshua Rifkin turns 79… Recent mayor of Madison, Wisconsin, he has served as mayor twice before as far back as 1973, Paul R. Soglin turns 78… Managing director emeritus of Kalorama Partners, D. Jeffrey (“Jeff”) Hirschberg… Former chief economist at the World Bank, Sir Nicholas Herbert Stern turns 77… Real estate developer and principal owner of the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings, Zygmunt “Zygi” Wilf turns 73… Chief Financial Officer of Alphabet Inc. and its subsidiary Google, Ruth Porat turns 66… Three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter for The Washington Post, Sari Horwitz turns 66… NYC area accountant at Eisneramper LLP, Edward Lifshitz… New Zealand native now serving as the CEO of Australian-based job-board SEEK, Ian Mark Narev turns 56… Israeli columnist at Kan News, Shmuel Rosner turns 55… NYC-based attorney, member of Kriss & Feuerstein LLP, Jerold C. Feuerstein turns 55… Author of My Jesus Year: A Rabbi’s Son Wanders the Bible Belt in Search of His Own Faith, Benyamin Cohen… Member of the Knesset for the National Unity party, Yehiel Moshe “Hili” Tropper turns 45… Tel Aviv-based deputy bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, Shayndi Raice… Managing director of external communications for the Jewish Federations of North America, Niv Elis… Former president of Y Combinator and now the CEO of OpenAI, Samuel H. “Sam” Altman turns 38… Associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Zachary Krooks… Competitive ice dancer, Elliana Pogrebinsky turns 25…
SUNDAY: Stage, television and film actor, Alan Oppenheimer turns 93… Los Angeles resident, Marim Weissman… Owner of Council Bluffs, Iowa-based Ganeeden Metals, a multi-generational scrap metal recycling firm, Harold Edelman… Oberlin, Ohio resident, Patricia Ann Haumann… Retired real estate brokerage executive, Terry Pullan… Retail industry analyst and portfolio manager at Berman Capital, Steve Kernkraut… Chair emeritus of Israel Policy Forum, he serves as chairman of Trenton Biogas, an organics recycling-to-energy business in Trenton, Peter A. Joseph… Health services researcher focused on smoking cessation programs for women, maternal health and child health, Judith Katzburg, PhD, MPH, RN… Deputy director of NCSEJ, the National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry, Lesley L. Weiss… Principal of Philadelphia-based Ceisler Media & Issue Advocacy, Larry Ceisler turns 67… Chairman of edutech firm Weird Science Lab based at the University of Oxford, Gary Pickholz… Retail sales specialist at BB one in Palm Desert, California, Janni Jaffe… Co-founder of Gryphon Software, he is the author of a book on the history of antisemitism, Gabriel Wilensky turns 59… CEO of Hermitage Capital Management, he is the primary proponent world-wide of the Magnitsky Act, Bill Browder turns 59… DC-based executive director of the Orthodox Union’s Advocacy Center, Nathan J. Diament… Style and image director for the Estée Lauder Companies, Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer turns 53… CEO of Aish HaTorah, Rabbi Steven Burg turns 51… President and CEO at Americans For Peace Now, Hadar Susskind… Jewelry designer, Jennifer “Jen” Meyer turns 46… Director of viewpoint diversity initiatives at Maimonides Fund, Ariella Saperstein… Founder and CEO at 90 West, a Boston-based strategic communications firm, Alexander Goldstein… Co-founder of Edgeline Films, he co-directed and co-produced “Weiner,” a documentary about Anthony Weiner’s campaign for Mayor of NYC in 2013, Joshua Kriegman… Senior account director at Hotwire, Neil Boylan Strauss… Branded content editor at Axios, Alexis Kleinman… Former University of Michigan quarterback, now a fund manager in NYC, Alex Swieca… CEO at Khan Theatre, Jerusalem’s repertoire-theater located near the Railway Station, Elisheva Mazya… Deputy CEO of The Jerusalem Post, Maayan Jaffe-Hoffman…
