Daily Kickoff
Good Friday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on how Jewish institutions in the U.S. are preparing for Hamas’ threatened “Day of Rage,” and spotlight the Israeli men and women whose actions saved individuals and communities under attack. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Rabbi Meir Soloveichik and Matt Brooks.
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: Israel’s intel failure: ‘How did this happen?’; Military preparing for next stage of war, says IDF spokesman; Families of American hostages in Gaza plead for U.S. assistance. Print the latest edition here.
If you missed our first edition of “Inside the Newsroom” last night with our team on the ground in Israel, you can watch a recording here.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is making a visit to Israel this weekend in the wake of Hamas’ massive terrorist attack earlier this week to show his support, Schumer spokesperson Angelo Roefaro said in exclusive comments to Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod. Schumer is set to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, National Unity Party leader Minister Benny Gantz, now a member of the emergency unity government, and President Isaac Herzog to discuss resources and support the U.S. can provide to Israel. Other senators are expected to join Schumer in Israel.
Schumer’s trip follows a visit to the region by Secretary of State Tony Blinken, who met separately today in Amman with Jordanian King Abdullah II and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. From Jordan, Blinken is expected to travel to Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin landed in Israel this morning, and met with his counterpart, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, in Tel Aviv earlier today.
Also expected to arrive in Israel today are European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and the foreign ministers of Germany, Canada and Italy.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Iran bore some responsibility for Hamas’ attacks on Israel, and called the “jubilant statements” from Iranian leaders celebrating the attack “abhorrent.”
Gaza war: day 7
IDF tells 1 million Gaza residents to evacuate their homes within 24 hours
Palestinian civilians living in Gaza City and the northern area of the Gaza Strip were instructed by the Israeli military on Friday to evacuate their homes and move southward, suggesting the army is gearing up for a full-scale military operation in response to Saturday’s brutal attack by Palestinian terrorists that killed more than 1,300 people. Speaking to journalists on Friday, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said that the IDF had sent its message in Arabic, via media, social media, local civilian and international organizations, Jewish Insider’s Ruth Marks Eglash reports.
Military goal: Hagari said that the army was expecting the evacuation of an estimated 1 million residents of northern Gaza to take some time, but the aim was to remove Hamas’ ability to harm Israel as it did on Saturday. “Hamas is in control of Gaza and it is responsible for the civilian population,” he said. “They knew this would happen as a result of the brutal and ruthless massacre in Israel.”
Hamas atrocities: Col. (res.) Golan Vach, commander of the National Rescue Unit in the Home Front Command, told journalists that he personally evacuated more than 320 bodies from Kibbutz Kfar Azza, Kibbutz Be’eri and from the Nova music festival that had been taking place in the forest next to Kibbutz Re’im. “I found some babies with their heads cut, which I personally evacuated, I found butchered women with no hands, soldiers with their heads cut, and found dozens of burnt young people,” he recounted. “I know that some people are asking for proof, and I did take photographs, but I could not take a picture of the baby, I just could not do it.”
Read more: Axios reports that irregular activity was detected along the Israel-Gaza border the night before the attacks, but senior IDF and Shin Bet officials opted against sending troops to the area. A Wall Street Journal report found that Hamas terrorists had detailed maps and information regarding Israeli communities and military outposts as it planned the attacks.
love thy neighbor
Heroism under fire: The neighbors who saved their town – and another one
When Yonatan Werner was awakened at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, he thought it was another day of rocket fire in the Gaza periphery. He didn’t know that it would be the deadliest day in Israel’s history, or that he would be one of its heroes, helping to save his neighbors and residents in a nearby town. Amid the horror of Hamas’ murder and mutilation of scores of Israelis, from babies to the elderly, there have been stories of remarkable heroism, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
First line of defense: Werner lives in Shlomit, a tiny, Orthodox agricultural village established in 2011 just south of Gaza by the Egyptian border, and is a member of the village’s council. He also volunteers for its security team, which does patrols and is the first line of defense until the police or army arrive. Speaking to JI while at a shooting range near Israel’s northern border, where he is on reserve duty, Werner recounted that after the heavy rocket fire at 6:30 on Saturday, “we didn’t understand what was happening. It went quiet after 20 minutes, and I left the house to go to the head of the emergency staff, who lived right across from me.”
Combating the terrorists: “When I went out, I smelled gunpowder and heard shooting all around, so I realized this was something bigger, some kind of infiltration,” Werner recounted. “We called the whole security team together.” Meanwhile, the head of security, Benny Meshulam, heard on his walkie-talkie — to which his counterparts in all the adjacent moshavim are connected — that terrorists had entered the nearby town of Prigan. “We realized we needed help, and the entire team went there; it’s about five minutes away,” Werner recalled. The gun-toting security team found Hamas terrorists at the house closest to the village’s gate and were able to fight them off. The seven-member team from Shlomit made up most of the force combating 10 Hamas terrorists.
high alert
Jewish institutions on edge after Hamas call for worldwide ‘Day of Rage’
Jewish institutions around the U.S. are on high alert following a widely circulated statement from an official channel associated with Hamas leader Khaled Mashal calling on Muslims worldwide to engage in a “Day of Rage” on Friday and for countries to join Hamas in the battle against Israel. In a rare move, several Jewish day schools in two different cities have decided to close on Friday. Children of Israeli diplomats are being urged by Israeli officials not to attend public schools, and Israeli national security officials have urged Israeli expats living abroad to avoid public demonstrations on Friday, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch and Marc Rod, and eJewishPhilanthropy’s Haley Cohen report.
Vigilant but open: Amid the vague threat, many security officials are advising Jewish communities to stay vigilant but remain open — while ensuring that security measures are strong. American Jews are divided between a sense of unparalleled fear and a desire not to let their lives be shut down by terrorists. New York City Mayor Eric Adams said during a briefing with the local Jewish community on Thursday that there will be a “full, all-out uniform presence” of thousands of New York Police Department officers across the city on Friday, including on the subway system and buses. He emphasized that there is currently no credible threat on New Yorkers.
‘Stand tall’: An NYPD official advised Jewish schools to stay open. “Stand tall, we’re not going to be governed by fear,” he said, adding that the U.S. is not on the same level of heightened security as post-Sept. 11. Security professionals emphasize that the reason synagogues and Jewish institutions put security protocols in place is in order to allow Jewish life to flourish, even in difficult times. “The goal is to remove the fear and anxiety, to have confidence that safety and security protocols that you have in place are sufficient in order to allow you to have that welcoming, opening environment that allows you to practice safely and securely,” said Michael Masters, former chief of staff at the Chicago Police Department and CEO of the Secure Community Network, which advises Jewish organizations on security.
On the other coast: At Stanford Law School, Friday classes were moved online, though administrators said there were no “substantial internal or external threats at this time.”
money matters
NSC coordinator John Kirby pledges to limit Iranian access to transferred funds
After facing mounting pressure to limit Iranian access to $6 billion in funds that was unfrozen after a U.S. prisoner swap last month, the White House has now stopped the transfer of those funds from a Qatari bank to humanitarian groups in Iran, The Washington Post reported on Thursday. John Kirby, the National Security Council’s coordinator for strategic communications, declined to comment on the validity of the report but told Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch on Thursday that Iran has not and will not access those funds.
Close watch: “What I can assure people today is it is not going anywhere, it is still in the National Bank of Qatar and we are watching it very closely,” Kirby told JI. “None of that money has been accessed.”
Qatar complications: Qatar has agreed to work with Washington to limit Iranian access to the money. But the Gulf nation, where several Hamas leaders live, has also come under scrutiny in recent days for its close ties to Hamas.
Communication channels: “Qatar has channels of communication with Hamas, and we recognize that,” said Kirby, who noted that the country “has been a partner” for the U.S. on many Middle East-related matters. He suggested that maintaining those lines of communication could prove useful in helping to secure the release of American hostages in Gaza.
Ground efforts: Kirby said there are no plans to deploy U.S. troops to Israel, citing Israeli officials who have said they do not want foreign troops operating on the ground.
on the hill
Republicans reemphasize support for Israel as speakership deadlock worsens
House Republicans’ continued deadlock in choosing a new speaker and reopening the House floor is sending a poor message to Israel as its war with Hamas escalates, some House Republicans told Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod Tuesday evening. At the same time, many emphasized that measures supporting Israel will ultimately move forward with strong support when the leadership contest is settled.
Quotable: “It’s a terrible message” to Israel, Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) told Jewish Insider. “We have too many prima donnas that are putting themselves, as individuals, over the country. We want to act on Israel right away. We want to put out the pledge of support. And I think there are some munitions that they want that we should be voting on as fast as we can.”
Meanwhile in the House: A draft letter with nearly 50 signatures so far is set to urge the administration to hold Iran, Qatar and Turkey accountable for their roles in funding or otherwise supporting Hamas, Marc Rod reports. The bipartisan effort, JI has learned, is being led by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Bacon and Claudia Tenney (R-NY).
Call for pressure: The letter, addressed to President Joe Biden, is set to “urge the Administration to take all necessary steps to cut off Iranian funding sources.” It will further state that “the United States must also put significant pressure on Qatar and Türkiye to cease their support for Hamas and expel Hamas leadership that they host,” according to excerpts obtained by JI. JI was not able to view the draft letter in full.
Read the full reporting by Marc Rod here and here.
Bonus: JI’s interview with Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI)sparked a rift between the Detroit freshman and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI). Thanedar condemned language used by Tlaib to discuss the Hamas attack, comments The Detroit News reported he “tried to walk back,” while Tlaib slammed him as an absentee lawmaker. The local Democratic Socialists of America group also alleged it had last month already expelled Thanedar, who said Wednesday he had quit over the organization’s stance on Hamas.
Elsewhere on the Hill: The House sergeant-at-arms notified offices that there will be an increased security presence on the Hill today, citing both the war between Israel and Hamas and the planned “Global Day of Rage.”
Worthy Reads
L’Chaim!: In The Wall Street Journal, Rabbi Meir Soloveichik reflects on the celebration of life and Jewish continuity that occurs during Simchat Torah, the day that Hamas launched its attacks. “Jews do love life, especially because of the fragility of our history. We celebrate on Simchat Torah the completion of the Torah and the opportunity to begin it again, seeing in the continuing cycle a symbol of our people’s eternity. The Jew, Tolstoy reflected, ‘has brought down from heaven the everlasting fire and has illuminated with it the entire world. . . . He whom neither slaughter nor torture of thousands of years could destroy, he whom neither sword nor inquisition was able to wipe off the face of the earth, . . . he who has been for so long the guardian of prophecy, and who transmitted it to the rest of the world — such a nation cannot be destroyed. The Jew is as everlasting as is eternity itself.’ Anti-Semites, from those murdering children on the streets of Israel to those celebrating Hamas on the streets of New York, are driven by jealousy and hatred of a people that doesn’t die. They are convinced they will finally succeed in destroying the Jews. They will fail, thanks to the fortitude of the Jewish state and the providential nature of Jewish history.” [WSJ]
The Fight of Our Lives: In The Atlantic, Eliot Cohen lays out the global fight against barbarism following last weekend’s attacks in Israel. “The civilized nations are enormously wealthy, have large and capable armed forces and behind them vast reserves of talented men and women. They have the capacity, should they care to exercise it, to contain and push back the barbarians — who, let us remember, will never entirely go away, and who will always haunt our nightmares. Policy-wonkish hand-wringing about damage to a rules-based international order is true, but it is thin stuff. The reality is that barbarians have attacked the margins and in some cases — as on 9/11 — the core of the civilized world. We need to shake ourselves loose of the notion that these are completely distinct and limited phenomena. They are not. All of us, not just Israelis and Ukrainians, are in the fight of our lives, and it is about time we recognized that, and acted with the vigor and courage the times demand.” [TheAtlantic]
The Oldest Hatred: In The Washington Post, Hugh Hewitt cautions that the antisemitism of the 20th century has not abated in the present. “The chilling and methodical depravity that stalked infants and the very old, as well as young people joyfully dancing at a music festival, was profoundly disturbing because it was both so purposeful and purposeless: An army of mass murders rampaged in search of victims targeted solely because they were Jews. No military objective, no strategic aim. This was as violent an eruption of the ancient evil as we have seen since 1945. However much, over the past three-quarters of a century, we have seen crowds chant ‘Death to Israel’ and ‘Death to America,’ many of us never imagined the existence of would-be Nazi hordes who, given the chance to kill Jews, would kill and kill and kill, and then celebrate the carnage. An army of antisemitic sadists was loosed on the Holy Land, and the consequences have stunned and sickened the civilized world.” [WashPost]
Campus Beat: In the Yale Daily News, sophomore Sahar Tartak responds to campus group Yalies4Palestine’s support for Hamas’ terror attacks in Israel. “Many Yalies have been frantically calling their friends and relatives in Israel, myself included. I fell into my mother’s arms (and many others’) crying this week. She escaped Iran, the very regime that supported, funded and supplied this weekend’s massacres. We’re all crying, and we don’t know what to do. People are hunting us. You can imagine my horror to find that Yalies4Palestine decided that the murderers are absolved of their responsibility in an Instagram post that holds ‘the Israeli Zionist regime responsible for the unfolding violence,’ thereby justifying the use of unlawful violence against civilians (again: terror). An original Y4P post called on ‘the Yale community to celebrate the resistance’s success.’ Do you know who I hold responsible? The men with the guns and axes who raped the women, killed the children and abducted the grandmothers.” [YaleDailyNews]
The Cost of War: In Foreign Affairs, Dennis Ross considers how Israel can respond to last weekend’s attack. “Israel’s 10/7 is going to produce a response similar to the United States’ after 9/11. Decapitating Hamas’s leadership, destroying its military infrastructure, killing a large number of its fighters, and even occupying Gaza again are very real objectives. These goals are far greater than those of previous antiterrorism campaigns and will be enormously difficult to achieve. But repeating the old approach to Hamas’s attacks — enacting retribution and then entering cease-fire agreements — will only lead to future violence. Israel will not countenance that. Moreover, Israel’s leaders also understand that their readiness to pay a high price is necessary for them to reestablish their deterrence of Iran and its proxies. The tragic reality is that for the Israeli military to root out Hamas’s military infrastructure and leadership the cost will be high both for Palestinians in Gaza and for Israeli soldiers. Having adopted the tactics of al Qaeda, Hamas bears the responsibility for the deaths of Palestinians and Israelis alike — and it is critically important that the result helps to ensure that such a difficult operation is never required again.” [ForeignPolicy]
History of Failure: The New York Times’ David Brooks looks at how failed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have led to this moment. “They could have reached some kind of moderately effective arrangement, which would have given the two nations a chance to pursue their own destinies. Another reason I think back on this history is the way a simplistic oppressor/oppressed, colonizer/colonized, ‘apartheid Israel’ narrative has been imposed on this conflict. The real history is much more complicated. It is the story of the Palestinians who were offered a state in 1947 that the Arab states opposed. More recently, it is the story of flawed human beings on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides, who were confronted with a devilishly complicated situation. They worked doggedly to secure peace and made real, if stumbling, progress to that end. It is the story of how radicals on both sides undermined their efforts, leading to the bloodshed we see today. This is what happens when the center does not hold.” [NYTimes]
Around the Web
Presidential Politics: 2024 GOP presidential candidates Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and North Dakota Gov. Doug Bergum blasted former President Donald Trump for his comments earlier this week critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and complimentary of Hezbollah. President Joe Biden said in response to Trump’s comments, “Our nation’s support for Israel is resolute and unwavering. And the right time to praise the terrorists who seek to destroy them is never.”
No Spoiler: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), the founding chairman of No Labels, doubled down on his claim that the group, which is promoting a third party in the 2024 presidential race, will not serve as a spoiler that propels Trump to victory.
Biden’s Bridges: The New York Times reports on Biden’s resurgent popularity in Israel and among Jewish Republicans over his response to Hamas’ terror attacks in Israel, including from Republican Jewish Coalition head Matt Brooks, who said the president has “shown tremendous support, unwavering support, for Israel at a critical time.”
Rescue Effort: DeSantis issued an executive order authorizing efforts to rescue Floridians in Israel.
In the Crosshairs: The Wall Street Journal spotlights Israeli efforts to assassinate Hamas military official Mohammed Deif, the commander of the Hamas’ Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
Generational Split: Politicolooks at how public opinion on Israel is split generationally among Democrats.
Campus Beat: After signing an open letter critical of the University of Pennsylvania’s leadership, Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan, who penned an op-ed calling for cultural change at the Ivy League school and a cessation in donations until campus climate is addressed, said on CNBC News that he was “strongly encouraged to reconsider” his chairmanship of the Wharton School’s board.
Donations for Israel: Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman and President Jonathan Gray pledged approximately $7 million to humanitarian relief efforts in Israel.
VCs for Israel: More than 220 venture capital firms, including Bain Capital Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners, signed onto a statement expressing support for Israel.
NFL Speaks Out: The NFL and 13 of its teams, including Robert Kraft’s New England Patriots, condemned Hamas’ attack in Israel; Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Anti-Semitism also hosted a Sports Leaders Convening yesterday that featured remarks from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Podcast Playback: On the podcast “What Matters Now,” Micha Goodman explores the challenges that Israel faces in its desire to be both loved in the West and feared in the Middle East.
Arms Transfer: The Pentagon made its first transfer of Tamir interceptors to the IDF for use in the Iron Dome missile-defense system.
A Mother’s Anguish: Rachel Goldberg, an American whose California-born son is believed to be among those held hostage in Gaza, pens an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal about her last communications with her son.
Kissinger Condemnation: Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who was born in Germany, said that the pro-Hamas protests taking place in the country indicate that Berlin has let too many foreigners into the country.
Rallies Banned: France banned pro-Palestinian rallies following Hamas’ call for a “Day of Global Jihad.”
Study War: Taiwan is setting up a task force to study the Israel-Hamas war, amid concerns over a military conflict with China; Israel’s Foreign Ministry expressed “deep disappointment” with China over Beijing’s failure to condemn Hamas.
Hasbara Hoax: Israeli Public Diplomacy Minister Galit Distel Atbaryan announced that she is quitting her position, saying that the ministry she headed was “a waste of public money,” after the Diaspora Ministry was given responsibility for public diplomacy during the war.
Primary Date: Pennsylvania’s county commissioners told Gov. Josh Shapiro that it is too late to change the date of scheduled 2024 primaries, which conflict with Passover.
Foreign Agent: Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) was charged with acting as a foreign agent of Egypt, in addition to a number of existing charges relating to corruption.
Rescue in Iran: In a new podcast about the rescue of American diplomats from Iran, the CIA admitted that the 1953 coup it backed in Iran was undemocratic.
Pic of the Day
Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) organized a candlelight vigil last night on the steps of the Capitol attended by a bipartisan group of approximately 150 lawmakers, including former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) and all three top Democratic leaders, Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Katherine Clark (D-MA) and Pete Aguilar (D-CA). Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), a member of the Squad, was also in attendance.
“Thank you all of our colleagues, Republican and Democratic alike,” Wasserman Schultz said through tears. “For me, as a member of Congress, as a Jew, as a Zionist, as a human being — this moment of us coming together, whether it’s the disorganization and disunity in Israel prior to this point, or here in our country, when Israel and the United States need one another, it’s moments like this where we step up.”
“We pray for our historic ally, who is suffering. Her people are suffering, and we stand strong as Americans behind her,” Gottheimer said.
Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO), her voice also thick with emotion, said that the attack was a “blow to us on a bipartisan basis that is so devastating. The civilians — the slaughter of women, children, families is beyond belief. We will not stand for this in Congress.”
Birthdays
Former vice chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, after an eight-year term at the helm of the Bank of Israel, Stanley Fischer turns 80 on Sunday…
FRIDAY: Former deputy assistant secretary at the USDA, now an attorney working on organic food law, Richard D. Siegel turns 84… Musician, singer, songwriter, best known for his lead role in the Simon & Garfunkel duo, Paul Simon turns 82… Immediate past chair of the Anti-Defamation League, Esta Gordon Epstein… Founder of PublicAffairs Books, an imprint of Perseus Books at Hachette Book Group, Peter L.W. Osnos turns 80… Author of twelve cookbooks, Mollie Katzen turns 73… U.S. senator (D-WA), Maria Cantwell turns 65… Former White House press secretary under President George W. Bush, now a media consultant, Ari Fleischer turns 63… Partner at FGS Global, Jack Krumholtz… Former AP bureau chief for Israel and the Palestinian Territories, now a home builder in the Indian state of Goa, Steven Gutkin… Second gentleman of the United States, Douglas Emhoff turns 59… Co-chairman of Disney Entertainment where she is responsible for television and streaming, Dana Freedman Walden turns 59… Richard Lamke… Attorney general for England and Wales for part of 2022, he is a member of the U.K. Parliament, Michael Ellis turns 56… Emmy Award-winning film director, producer and screenwriter, Amy J. Berg turns 53… Award winning actor, comedian, and screenwriter, Sacha Baron Cohen turns 52… Israeli fashion model, Shiraz Tal turns 49… Adjunct professor of Jewish studies at Ohio University, Sarah Livingston… Bookstore owner and author, Emily Gould turns 42… Pentagon correspondent for CNN, Oren Liebermann turns 41… Land use attorney at Seattle-based firm of Hillis Clark Martin & Peterson, Joshua E. Friedmann… Political reporter for NBC News, Rebecca Shabad… Film director, producer and screenwriter, J.D. Lifshitz turns 31…
SATURDAY: Emeritus professor of history at the University of London, Shula Eta Winokur Marks turns 85… Fashion designer and business executive, Ralph Lauren (born Ralph Lifshitz) turns 84… Former Major League Baseball player for the Reds, Mets, Cubs and Athletics, Art Shamsky turns 82… Former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, co-founder and a vice chairman of the Promontory Interfinancial Network, Princeton professor, Alan Blinder turns 78… International trade attorney who held senior posts in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Ambassador Ira Shapiro turns 76… Author, political scientist and resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, Norman Ornstein turns 75… Member of the U.S. House of Representatives (D-OR), Suzanne Bonamici turns 69… President and founder of Extell Development Company, Gary Barnett turns 68… Fashion designer, Isaac Mizrahi turns 62… President emeritus of Lakewood’s Beth Medrash Govoha, the largest yeshiva in the U.S., Rabbi Aaron Kotler turns 60… Sports radio host, his talk show is syndicated by CBS Sports Radio, Jim Rome turns 59… SVP of international affairs for the ADL until 2022, Sharon Nazarian, Ph.D…. Partner and co-chairman for North America at Finsbury Glover Hering, Michael Feldman… Member of the Georgia House of Representatives, Esther Dina Feuer Panitch turns 52… President and co-founder of the R Street Institute, Eli Lehrer… Writer of Tech Friend, an email newsletter of The Washington Post, Shira Ovide… Director of corporate civic responsibility at Microsoft, David Leichtman… Executive director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, Eve S. Lieberman… Independent consultant, Chana Yemini… Actress and singer, best known for playing the role of Gertrude “Gert” Yorkes in the Hulu original series “Runaways,” Ariela Barer turns 25… Defenseman for the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, he is the son of hockey star Ellen Weinberg-Hughes, Quinn Hughes turns 24… Entrepreneur and sneaker reseller, known as Benjamin Kickz or the Sneaker Don, Benjamin Kapelushnik turns 24… Joseph Frederick Kushner… Marsha Grossman… Jason Epstein…
SUNDAY: Retired from the Los Angeles County Superior Court in 1996, he is a mediator and arbitrator, Judge Jack Newman turns 84… Founder and dean of the Talmudic University of Florida in Miami Beach, Rabbi Yochanan Zweig turns 81… Media mogul, major political donor and philanthropist, Haim Saban turns 79… Miami-based mental health counselor and senior executive producer of the My Survivor Film Project, Mindy Hersh, Ph.D…. Owner of Los Angeles-based Got Kosher? Cafe, Alain Cohen turns 68… Founder and CEO of Refinement Services, Neil Kugelman… Former U.S. Treasury official, he is reported to have been the first Hasidic Jew to hold a Senate-confirmed administration position, he is now at the World Bank, Mitchell (Moyshe) Allen Silk turns 62… Founding partner of Equalitas Capital, Andrew Fawer… Director of national government relations at Gotham Government Relations & Communications, Shai Franklin turns 58… Founder and chief executive of the global investment firm Citadel, Kenneth Cordele “Ken” Griffin turns 55… Former mayoral press secretary during the Bloomberg administration in NYC, now a political communications strategist, Stu Loeser turns 50… Director of racquet sports at Shell Bay in Boca Raton, he was a professional tennis player who ranked 69th in the world during 2012, Jesse Levine turns 36… Managing director at SKDKnickerbocker, Elizabeth Kenigsberg… Second baseman on Israel’s National Baseball Team, Mitch Glasser turns 34… Director of strategic initiatives at the Modern Art Museum in Shanghai, Heiko Stoiber…
