Daily Kickoff: Bibi’s media blitz + Pa. primary Passover conflict
👋 Good Friday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s vote to advance Iran sanctions-related legislation, and look at efforts by Pennsylvania elections officials to move the state’s presidential primary, which will fall on Passover next year. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Nikki Haley, Eliad Shraga and Elad Strohmayer.
There are many reasons for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ underwhelming showing so far in the GOP presidential primary. But one of his bigger strategic missteps is allying himself with disreputable elements of the online right, Jewish Insider Editor-in-Chief Josh Kraushaar writes.
DeSantis, who voted like a traditional Republican hawk during his tenure in Congress, had been drawing closer to the Tucker Carlson wing of the conservative movement, which is focused on fighting culture wars and embracing an isolationist worldview. One of his first big political blunders was declaring, on Carlson’s former show, that protecting Ukraine from Russian invasion was not a vital interest to the United States, alienating traditional GOP voters and receptive donors alike. His inability to articulate a clear foreign policy message, as he tried to balance support from the mainstream and MAGA wing of the party, alienated both sides of the party.
Even more concerning were the DeSantis campaign’s associations. This week, he fired speechwriter Nate Hochman, who produced a pro-DeSantis video featuring a Nazi symbol embraced by white supremacists. Before being hired by the DeSantis campaign, Hochman had drawn controversy for complimenting white nationalist Nick Fuentes in an online chat — calling him “a better influence than Ben Shapiro on young men who might otherwise be conservative” — despite his blatant bigotry.
Last month, a Breitbart story detailed the campaign’s ties to a social influencer with a long history of antisemitism, both publicly and privately. And this week, DeSantis suggested he’d consider nominating Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to run the Food and Drug Administration or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — weeks after the Democrat suggested the pandemic was engineered to spare Chinese and Jewish people.
After winning his 2022 reelection decisively, DeSantis was billed as the more mainstream, electable conservative compared to Trump. But by catering to small right-wing factions within the party, he’s marginalized himself, potentially to the point of no return.
In Washington last night, the Senate confirmed by voice votes Yael Lempert and Martina Anna Tkadlec Strong, the nominees to be the U.S. ambassadors to Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, respectively. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) had been delaying their confirmations to secure documents related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Senate passed its version of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act last night, including an amendment by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) that would require rapid notifications to Congress when Iran increases the purity level of its uranium enrichment.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced an amendment that would condition all $3.3 billion in U.S. foreign military financing aid to Israel on Israel stopping settlement construction and expansion. It did not receive a vote.
Call it Bibi’s media blitz. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu engaged in a series of interviews with American media outlets this week following the Knesset’s passage on Monday of a piece of judicial overhaul legislation. Netanyahu told NPR that he does not plan to replace Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, but suggested he will reinstate Aryeh Deri, who was ousted from his position as interior and health minister following a Supreme Court ruling that his prior tax fraud conviction made him ineligible to hold his posting.
In an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Netanyahu didn’t provide a direct answer when questioned over whether he would abide by a potential Supreme Court ruling striking down the reasonableness standard law. In another interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, he described the law passed this week as “a minor correction” to an “activist” court. Questioned by Fox’s Trey Yingst over the conflict in Netanyahu’s characterization of the judicial reform law with the Biden administration, which has described it as major, Netanyahu said he agreed with the administration on “one thing — I agree that we should seek a compromise.”
on the hill
Democrats divided on legislation allowing Congress to overrule White House on lifting Iran sanctions
The House Foreign Affairs Committee voted on a bipartisan basis on Wednesday to advance two Iran sanctions-related bills that would provide for a formal congressional review process to remove sanctions on Iran, and would aim to ratchet up sanctions on Iran’s drone and missile program in anticipation of the expiration of United Nations sanctions later this year, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Oversight: The sanctions oversight bill, the Iran Sanctions Relief Review Act, which was backed by AIPAC, ultimately split Democrats on the panel. The legislation would provide an opportunity for Congress to vote to maintain each Iran sanction that an administration wishes to lift. The committee approved the amendment by a 34-16 vote. Reps. Brad Sherman (D-CA), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Kathy Manning (D-NC), Greg Stanton (D-AZ), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Jim Costa (D-CA) and Brad Schneider (D-IL) broke with Meeks and other Democrats to vote in favor of the bill.
Sanctions vote: The other bill, the Fight CRIME Act, would ramp up sanctions on Iran’s drone and missile program ahead of the expiration of U.N. restrictions in October, as well as demand the administration provide a strategy for navigating the expiration of those sanctions, passed with strong bipartisan support. The bill was approved by a unanimous vote.
scheduling conflict
Pa. election chief urges state to act soon to move 2024 primary, which conflicts with Passover
Election officials in the battleground state of Pennsylvania urged state legislators this week to move the date of the state’s 2024 presidential primary, which falls on the first day of Passover, “as soon as possible.” They fear that a delay in settling on a new date would make it difficult for local officials to ensure the elections run without a hitch, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Slow going: Top legislators in both parties and Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro have all thrown their support behind a measure that would move the state’s primary up from April 23. But the legislature has no plans to take up the bill until at least Sept. 18, when the General Assembly returns to session.
Letter writing: “I am deeply concerned we will not give county election officials the time they need to adjust thousands of polling locations to accommodate a new, earlier primary date,” Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt wrote in a letter to the top Democrats and Republicans in the state Senate and the State House on Wednesday.
Early influence: Last week, Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, a Western Pennsylvania Republican, said in a radio interview that she is “confident” the state will pass the legislation, which proposes moving the primary five weeks earlier. Her rationale for moving the primary, however, is not related to Passover. She wants to give the state more influence in the presidential nominating contest.
Civic duty: State Rep. Jared Solomon, a Jewish Democrat who represents Philadelphia, sponsored the legislation that will change the primary date. He said he doesn’t want to “have to choose between celebrating Passover and going to the polls,” he told JI. “We don’t want to have any tension between our religious beliefs and our civic duty.”
glass half full
Critic of Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul makes case for Israeli constitution amid turbulence
As tensions in Israel continue to rise this week, with some in the country losing hope for a calm and cohesive future, Jewish Insider’s Ruth Marks Eglash interviews Eliad Shraga, chairman of the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, who has gained national recognition as one of the most vocal leaders of the protest movement pushing back against the judicial overhaul plans.
Legal action: As head of the independent, nonpartisan movement, Shraga has been at the forefront of the fight against political corruption and an advocate of better governance for some three decades. A lawyer by training, he is already well-known in the Supreme Court, submitting dozens of legal petitions a year against governmental steps he sees as bad practice or undemocratic. On Monday, minutes after the government passed its law removing the ability of the Supreme Court to void government decisions and official appointments it deems as “unreasonable,” Shraga — along with several other civil rights groups — petitioned the same court to have the law canceled.
Seizing opportunity: “People always ask me, ‘Eliad, how do you remain so optimistic?’ But I’m always optimistic because I believe that you can always make something good out of something bad, like making lemonade out of sour lemons,” Shraga told JI. “From every breakdown, something new grows, and there is a crazy breakdown happening here right now that might even end in a civil war, but there is also a crazy opportunity.”
funding cut
Senate Appropriations proposes cutting nonprofit security grant funding
In a move that Nonprofit Security Grant Program supporters called “outrageous and dangerous,” the Senate Appropriations Committee proposed cutting $18 million in funding from the federal assistance program in 2024, days after Jewish Insider reported that the program funded less than 42% of requests at a higher funding level in 2023, JI’s Marc Rod reports.
By the numbers: The committee introduced and approved on Thursday its version of the 2024 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill, which included $286.7 million for the NSGP, down from $305 million in 2023 — an amount that itself fell well short of meeting demand. The program provides funds to nonprofits and religious institutions to improve security. The House Appropriations Committee had proposed a $10 million increase in funding, to $315 million.
Making cuts: “Because of the reduction in our topline spending numbers, we imposed even, across-the-board cuts in all FEMA funding,” a congressional aide told JI, referring to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which administers the NSGP. “This includes reductions in direct response funding, assistance to firefighters, port security grants and flood mitigation, among others. This was not unique to the Homeland Security bill, programs across all the funding bills saw similar cuts.”
In response: “At a time of rising antisemitism, it would be outrageous and dangerous to decrease funding for this life-saving program,” Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) said in a statement to JI. “We need to make sure that our synagogues, community centers, and other nonprofits have the resources needed to protect themselves from targeted violence. I will fight to make sure this program is fully funded.”
Also on the Hill: The Senate Commerce Committee defeated, along party lines, an amendment from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) to a bill that would have allowed products produced in Israeli settlements to be labeled as “made in Israel.”
Worthy Reads
🛰️ Drone Dilemma: The Washington Post’s John Hudson and Kostiantyn Khudov look at how advancements in AI drone technology are changing the ground game in military conflicts, and the challenges that could be posed if such technology were to fall into the hands of non-state actors. “The acceleration of drone technology has worried security experts given the growing number of non-state actors that have used UAVs for lethal purposes, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and Mexico-based drug cartels. But while the cost of building an airplane-size drone like an MQ-9 Reaper is beyond the capabilities of such groups, obtaining and utilizing AI-assisted drone software is not. ‘Once that software has been developed, it’s effectively costless for that software to proliferate and be reused elsewhere,’ said Paul Scharre, a drone expert at the Center for a New American Security and the author of the book Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. ‘It’s really easy for non-state actors to go online, obtain the software and repurpose it.’” [WashPost]
🗳️ Nikki’s Numbers:The Dispatch’s David Drucker talks to GOP donors about their support for former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley as the presidential candidate faces low poll numbers ahead of the first debate. “Three Republican donors who have contributed to Haley’s super PAC, SFA Fund Inc., tell The Dispatch they are smitten with the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and ex-South Carolina governor. The reasons are typical: Haley is an experienced chief executive, has a track record of winning tough primaries; and exhibits a command of foreign and domestic policy. And of course, they are desperate to steer the GOP away from Trump. But however subtly, conversations with these donors reveal their professed faith in Haley to emerge as the consensus Trump alternative later in the primary race does not necessarily equal limitless patience — or plans to write SFA Fund Inc. blank checks. That’s relevant because despite being in the primary longer than any candidate other than Trump, Haley is polling in the low single digits. ‘I think a lot of things are going to come very clear in the debate,’ says Tim Draper, a venture capitalist in California’s Silicon Valley. He says he is willing to be ‘patient’ with Haley’s progress (or lack thereof) at least until the contenders meet August 23 in Milwaukee for the first faceoff of the primary campaign. ‘Watch Nikki in the debate.’” [TheDispatch]
⛽ Gas Gauge: The New York Times’ Stanley Reed reports on how Chevron is leveraging its Israeli operations in the Leviathan offshore gas field to provide Europe with gas amid a drop in supply from Russia. “The Leviathan gas field is massive, producing revenue of $2.5 billion last year, with much more potential. In this corner of the world, where many interests compete and commercial ties have only recently sprung up between countries that once fought each other in wars, issues of increasing gas production and bringing it to market are the subject of complex discussions. Among the interested parties are Chevron, other energy companies and several governments including those of Israel, Egypt and Cyprus. Chevron, which now has rights to gas deposits in all three countries, says it is confident that it can help this often politically tense region gel into what could be one of the world’s last major petroleum hubs.” [NYTimes]
🇺🇸 Biden’s Limits: In Foreign Policy, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Aaron David Miller assesses the challenges facing the Biden administration as Israel moves forward on contentious judicial reform legislation. “One of the great myths about the U.S.-Israel relationship is that the United States doesn’t intervene in Israeli politics, and Israel doesn’t intercede in U.S. politics. I had a ringside seat in both Republican and Democratic administrations that sought to influence the outcome of an Israeli election and pick favorites in the prime ministerial sweepstakes. That said, U.S. President Joe Biden’s recent effort to put his thumb on the scale in response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul is unique in the annals of U.S. interventions in Israeli politics, largely because the situation he confronts is so unprecedented. But there are clear limits to what Biden may be willing and able to do when it comes to intervening in the politics and governance of a close ally.” [FP]
🪖 Role Reflection: Forbes’ Josh Weiss interviews actor Adam Goldberg about his early-career role as a Jewish soldier in “Saving Private Ryan,” on the 25th anniversary of the film’s release. “At the time of Private Ryan’s production, Goldberg had appeared in less than 10 features and ‘was constantly trying to mitigate’ his Jewish background in an effort ‘to be anything I could in all things to all people.’… Had the film been made today, in an age where hatred regularly courses through the internet like poison, Goldberg believes he would have internalized the importance of portraying a Jewish soldier in Nazi-occupied France to a much greater degree. ‘I didn’t realize quite how relevant and current and simmering barely beneath the surface all this antipathy towards Jewish people was,’ he said. ‘I wonder how that would’ve affected how I approached that. But at the time, it was really just a matter of, “Jesus Christ, how am I gonna get in shape? How [am I] gonna understand all of this technical military stuff? Who is this guy? What neighborhood does he come from?” That kind of thing.’”[Forbes]
Around the Web
🇸🇦 Route to Riyadh: National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, White House Middle East advisor Brett McGurk and Senior Advisor for Energy and Infrastructure Amos Hochstein are in Saudi Arabia for high-level meetings aimed at moving forward on Israeli-Saudi normalization. Among those in attendance was Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. Princess Reema bint Bandar.
🤝 Abu Dhabi Meetup: Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, now the State Department’s senior advisor for regional integration, met with Hedaya Chairman Ali Alnuaimi, who also serves as chairman of the Defense, Interior and Foreign Affairs Committee in the UAE Federal National Council, in the United Arab Emirates.
⚖️ Trump Trouble: Former President Donald Trump is facing new charges — tied to previous charges related to his retention of classified documents on Iran — for allegedly attempting to delete surveillance footage from Mar-a-Lago.
👀 Primary Colors: Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), who has been fielding questions about a possible primary challenge to President Joe Biden, is reportedly meeting with Democratic donors in New York next week, though a White House bid is likely off the table unless the president’s health or public approval ratings take a serious dip.
✋ On Hold: More than 300 military promotions will be on ice for the next month, following the Senate’s dismissal for August recess with no agreement to end an impasse between Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and the Pentagon over abortion-related issues.
🚀 Aid Argument: In separate pieces in Tablet magazine, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Rich Goldberg respond to a recently published essay in the online magazine that argued in favor of ending U.S. military aid to Israel.
🍽️ Dinner Party: Axiosreports on a dinner hosted by White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients earlier this month for a dozen of his predecessors — dating back to the Carter administration — from both parties. Earlier this morning, Zients was spotted by a JI reader picking up several dozen bagels at Call Your Mother in Georgetown.
🏃♀️ She’s Running: Grand Junction, Colo., Mayor Anna Stout, a Democrat, entered the congressional race in Colorado’s Third District, where she will face off against Adam Frisch for the chance to unseat Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) next November.
🗳️ No Rush: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) plans to wait until the fall to announce whether he will seek reelection.
🧑⚖️ Released: Three of the members of the “Newburgh Four” — a group of men convicted in 2010 of planning terror attacks on synagogues and military sites — were ordered by a federal judge to be released after more than a decade in prison, after the judge determined the men were taken advantage of by an “unscrupulous” FBI operative.
👩🍳 French Foodie: French-American chef Oliva Ostrow is opening Ostrow Brasserie, a kosher restaurant specializing in traditional French fare, in Miami’s Buena Vista neighborhood.
🇲🇽 Fox Apology: Former Mexican President Vicente Fox issued an apology for calling former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, who is Jewish, and former Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard — both of whom are running for president — a “Bulgarian Jew” and a “French snob,” respectively, while describing his political ally Xóchitl Gálvez as the “only Mexican” in the country’s presidential race.
🎙️ AI on Air: Director and producer Scott Zabielski and tech entrepreneur Adam Mosam plan to launch Channel 1, an AI-generated news channel, later this year.
🏀 Hoop Hopes: “Destination NBA: A G League Odyssey,” an upcoming Amazon Prime documentary, follows the professional journeys of five professional athletes, including Yeshiva University alum Ryan Turell.
🍿 Coming Soon: The trailer for Guy Nattiv’s upcoming film “Golda” was released.
🏀 From Texas, With Love: A Texas newspaper interviewed a local rancher who sent five red heifers to Israel last year for use in a ritual ceremony during Passover next year.
🇪🇸 Spanish Steps: The Jewish Community of Madrid signed a lease for a building set to house the biggest Jewish museum in Spain.
🇺🇸 Commanding Presence: U.S. Central Command transferred a dozen F-35s to the Middle East amid an uptick in hostile Iranian actions near the Strait of Hormuz and an increase in Russian military activity targeting U.S. forces in Syrian airspace.
🇦🇪 Days of Mourning: UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan led funeral prayers yesterday for his brother, Sheikh Saeed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, representative of the ruler of Abu Dhabi.
📷 Say Cheese: The Israeli Prime Minister’s office posted to social media a picture of Benjamin Netanyahu holding a signed copy of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s book that he received during a meeting with the Chinese ambassador.
🛢️ Cairo Call: Egypt is urging Israel to approve an increase in gas exports.
🇮🇱 Ben-Gvir Backlash: A visit to the Temple Mount on Tisha B’Av by Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir drew condemnation from the Palestinian Authority, Jordan, Egypt and Turkey.
☢️ Details: Iran said it responded to an International Atomic Energy Agency inquiry into traces of man-made uranium found at two sites near Tehran.
🕯️ Remembering: New York street photographer Simpson Kalisher died at 96. Screenwriter Bo Goldman, who won an Oscar for “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” died at 90. Julian Barry, who was best known for writing theater and film scripts about Lenny Bruce, died at 92. Louise Levy, who had been the oldest living person in New York State and was part of a decades-long study on the long lifespans of Ashkenazi Jews, died at 112.
Pic of the Day
The Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., hosted a farewell reception on Wednesday for spokesperson Elad Strohmayer (above) and Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs Amit Zarouk, who are both set to return to Jerusalem in the coming weeks. Strohmayer will be the director of the Congressional Affairs department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while Zarouk will serve as foreign policy advisor to President Isaac Herzog.
“When I was appointed to Washington, everybody told me that this is going to be something that is going to be very difficult to top. And summarizing five years and really experiencing everything that I saw here — it’s going to be very difficult,” Strohmayer said.
Birthdays
Co-founder and CEO of the personal genomics and biotechnology company 23andMe, Anne Wojcicki turns 50…
FRIDAY: Survivor of Auschwitz-Birkenau as a teen, he emigrated to Israel and became an artist, Yehuda Bacon turns 94… Chicago news personality, Walter David Jacobson turns 86… Former U.S. District Court judge in Manhattan until 2006, then U.S. attorney general for the last 14 months of the Bush 43 administration, now of counsel at the international law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton, Michael Mukasey turns 82… Swedish industrialist, chairman of the Nobel Foundation from 2005 to 2013, Marcus Storch, Ph.D. turns 81… In 1986 she became the first woman in the IDF to hold the rank of brigadier general, she later served as a member of Knesset, Amira Dotan turns 76… Oldest active quarterback, he also manages football teams in Baltimore and Jerusalem, Joey Pollak turns 73… President of the Council on Foreign Relations for 20 years until last month, Richard N. Haass turns 72… Sports columnist, commentator and author of 48 sports-related books, John Feinstein turns 67… Tel Aviv-born real estate developer, he has restored many historic buildings in Downtown Los Angeles, Izek Shomof turns 64… Partner and managing director of private investment bank DH Capital, Marty Friedman… French-Israeli hairdresser and entrepreneur, Michel Mercier turns 62…
Sports executive, attorney and former president of basketball operations for the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves, David Kahn turns 62… Television and radio personality in Atlanta, Mara Davis turns 54… Tech entrepreneur and New York Times bestselling author, Joshua M. “Josh” Linkner turns 53… Actress and reality show personality, Elizabeth Berkley Lauren turns 49… Jewish life venture fellow at the William Davidson Foundation, Jennifer Lew Goldstone… Jerusalem-born actor with more than 30 movie and television roles in the U.S., Ori Pfeffer turns 48… Associate justice of the Supreme Court of California, Leondra Kruger turns 47… Israeli journalist and former member of the Knesset, Ksenia Svetlova turns 46… Managing partner at Altitude Ventures, Jay Zeidman… Senior reporter at Bloomberg News, Laura Nahmias… CEO and CTO at Diagnostic Robotics in Jerusalem, Kira Radinsky, Ph.D. turns 37… Major league analytics coordinator at MLB’s Chicago White Sox, Samuel Mondry-Cohen… Director of operations at Lehigh Valley Homecare in Allentown, Penn., Menachem (Mark) Perl… National political enterprise reporter at the Washington Post, Ruby Cramer… Larry Gordon…
SATURDAY: Chairman of BOK Financial Corporation in Tulsa, Okla., George Kaiser turns 81… Shoe designer, entrepreneur and founder of an eponymous shoe company, Stuart A. Weitzman turns 74… Denver-based trial lawyer, film producer and author of both fiction and nonfiction, Kenneth Eichner turns 69… Former deputy health and science editor at the Washington Post, Carol Eisenberg… Global economics correspondent for The New York Times, Peter S. Goodman turns 57… Twin brothers, Los Angeles-based philanthropists and businessmen, Shlomo Yehuda Rechnitz and Yisroel Zev Rechnitz turn 52… Actor, filmmaker and musician, he is best known for his role in the CBS sitcom “How I Met Your Mother,” Joshua Radnor turns 49… SVP of philanthropic engagement at BBYO, Jayme David… Director of the Straus Center at Yeshiva University, he is also the rabbi of NYC’s Congregation Shearith Israel (The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue), Rabbi Meir Soloveichik turns 46… Data scientist and journalist focused on elections for The Associated Press, Aaron Kessler… Former member of the Canadian Parliament, David de Burgh Graham turns 42… Iraq war veteran, political and communications strategist, now serving as an adjunct professor at Duke University, Allison Jaslow… Rabbi, writer, educator and physician assistant, Rabbi Levi Welton… White House deputy communications director, Herbie Ziskend… SVP in the Los Angeles office of Edelman, Jason Levin… Danny Vinik… Tony Award-winning actor, Ari’el Stachel turns 32… Uriel Wassner… Broadcaster and media relations manager for the Chicago Dogs, Sam Brief…
SUNDAY: Commissioner emeritus of Major League Baseball, his 2019 memoir is For the Good of the Game, Allan Huber “Bud” Selig turns 89… Retired attorney from the firm of Hatton, Petrie & Stackler in Aliso Viejo, Calif., Ronald E. Stackler turns 86… Long-time owner and editor-in-chief of The New Republic, Martin H. “Marty” Peretz turns 84… The first woman justice on the Nebraska Supreme Court, as a teen she won two gold medals and a silver medal as a swimmer at the Maccabiah Games in Israel, Justice Lindsey Miller-Lerman turns 76… Actor, director and producer, Ken Olin turns 69… Businessman, philanthropist and investor, of Uzbek Bukhari background, known as the “King of Diamonds,” Lev Leviev turns 67… Former Mayor of Arad and then a member of the Knesset for the Kulanu and Likud parties, Tali Ploskov turns 61… President of C&M Transcontinental, he served as COO for the Trump campaign, Michael Glassner turns 60… Emmy Award-winning actress, comedian and producer, Lisa Kudrow turns 60… Best-selling non-fiction author, contributing editor at Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone magazines, he is a co-creator of the HBO series “Vinyl,” Rich Cohen turns 55…
District director for Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Robert M. Gottheim… Assistant attorney general for antitrust at USDOJ, Jonathan Seth Kanter turns 50… Motivational speaker, author and entrepreneur, he served as a law clerk in 2008 for Justices O’Connor and Ginsburg, the only blind person to clerk for the U.S. Supreme Court, Isaac Lidsky turns 44… SVP of content strategy at MSNBC, Rebecca M. Kutler… Senior producer at Vox and adjunct professor at USC’s Annenberg School, Avishay Artsy… President and founder of ECA Strategies, Eric Chaim Axel… Senior director of camp leadership for BBYO, Lewis Sohinki… Author of Jerusalem Drawn and Quartered: One Woman’s Year in the Heart of the Christian, Muslim, Armenian, and Jewish Quarters of Old Jerusalem, Sarah Tuttle-Singer turns 42… Former director of policy and public affairs for the Jewish Community of Denmark, now in the renewable energy and offshore wind industry, Jonas Herzberg Karpantschof… Head of digital operations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel, Tamar Schwarzbard… Director of business development at Israel’s economic mission to the South and Midwest U.S., Joshua Weintraub… Winner of Miss Israel in 2014, Mor Maman turns 28…
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