Daily Kickoff
Good Friday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we take a closer look at The Hill’s controversial show “Rising,” and report on frustrations in Washington over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Isabel Kershner, John Ondrasik and Gadi Eisenkot.
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: U.S., Israel clash over future role of Palestinian Authority in postwar Gaza; At Davos, conversations about antisemitism take center stage; Jewish students file complaint against American University over handling of campus antisemitism. Print the latest edition here.
For more than two decades, Rabbi Avraham Berkowitz has brought together leading Jewish and non-Jewish figures at an annual Shabbat dinner held at the conclusion of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
This year, Berkowitz told Jewish Insider’s Melissa Weiss, the 200-person dinner tonight is “completely different” and comes during “an elevated state of need and support for Israel and the Jewish people.”
Despite some of the anti-Israel rhetoric espoused by leaders on the main stage, including Iran’s foreign minister as well as Colombian President Gustavo Petro, “in the public conversations… I didn’t encounter any hatred, or indifference even,” Berkowitz said. “People were engaging. That’s what I found. So this maybe is a reflection of people in leadership taking a more nuanced approach of respecting the issue.”
“Every minute is a very critical conversation” with “supporters and unlikely friends,” he continued, as well as “those that have been critical of Israel.” Berkowitz told JI that he’d received requests to attend the dinner from non-Jewish Davos attendees — including a number of attendees from the Muslim world. “This is their way of showing solidarity to people in Israel,” Berkowitz said.
Stuart Eizenstat, the former U.S. ambassador to the EU and deputy Treasury secretary, will give the evening’s d’var Torah, which he has done every year since the death of Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel.
Also slated to speak at the Shabbat dinner are former Israeli hostages who have returned from captivity, as well as the families of some of the remaining hostages. Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff’s office said this week that he planned to attend. Read more about tonight’s dinner.
Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), running a long-shot race against President Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination, offered tough criticism of Israel’s military operation against Hamas in Gaza in an interview on Jewish Insider’s “Inside the Newsroom” series on Thursday.
Asked if he supported Israel’s military operation to oust Hamas from Gaza, Phillips said: “This is not an issue about what I think about Hamas. They have got to be eliminated. The issue is how Israel has prosecuted their defense, both before October 7 and right now, and any of you on this Zoom who feel that the best way for safety in the future for Israelis and the Jewish diaspora is to also kill tens of thousands of Palestinians, and have the entire world turn against us, including many American citizens. I simply disagree.”
Phillips added that he wanted Israel to engage in a “very targeted elimination of Hamas” but also wanted “these hostilities that take human lives to cease.”
Watch the full interview with Phillips here, including his comments on his friendship with Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), his view on whether House Democrats should endorse incumbents in primaries and his reasons for taking down the “DEI” section of his campaign website.
JI also interviewed Michigan GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers, a former chair of the House Intelligence Committee, for the “Inside the Newsroom” series.
Rogers took a tough line against Qatar for providing safe harbor to Hamas terrorists and suggested the United States threaten to move its military base to the UAE if Qatar doesn’t do more to get the Israeli hostages freed.
“The Qataris have been playing both sides of this game for too long. It’s dangerous. They also are financing groups that we know are not friendly to Israel or U.S. interests around the Middle East,” Rogers said. “They do the wink and the nod, and they have lots of cash, and apparently a lot of time, and neither one of those things are good when you’re in the Middle East.”
peak provocation
The Hill’s online show, ‘Rising,’ falls prey to host’s anti-Israel conspiracy theories
“Rising,” a popular online morning news and opinion show produced by The Hill, has long promoted itself as a unique forum for heterodox debate not seen on other mainstream broadcasts, with two leading co-hosts from opposing ends of the political spectrum facing off on any number of hot-button issues. The program, launched in 2018, has occasionally drawn scrutiny as an evolving cast of outspoken hosts on the populist left and right have courted controversy for amplifying fringe views. In recent months, however, it has faced particularly fierce backlash over its incendiary left-wing commentary on the Israel-Hamas war, which critics allege has increasingly strayed into undisguised antisemitism, raising questions about whether the show’s stated commitment to engaging with provocative ideas has reached a breaking point, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Hosting denial: Since the Oct. 7 attacks, the show’s most high-profile host, Briahna Joy Gray, a far-left pundit who served as the national press secretary on Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign, has repeatedly used her platform to downplay the violence, sharing commentary that some viewers have interpreted as defending Hamas’ actions. “Violence is not a violation of international law,” Gray said in one broadcast shortly after the attacks. “Resistance is not a violation of international law.” Gray has also engaged in a concerted effort to cast doubt on Hamas’ use of widespread sexual violence against women, the growing evidence for which she has continued to dismiss as inadequate. “Zionists are asking that we believe the uncorroborated eyewitness account of men who describe alleged rape victims in odd, fetishistic terms,” Gray wrote last month on X, formerly Twitter. “Shame on Israel for not seriously investigating claims of rape and collecting rape kits.”
Pointing to a pattern: Joel Rubin, a progressive activist who worked as the Jewish outreach director on Sanders’ 2020 campaign and has appeared on “Rising,” said he views Gray’s efforts to deny the atrocities committed on Oct. 7 as part of a broader pattern of antisemitic activity that has gained traction among left-wing critics of Israel since the attacks. “These words matter, and what they do is they contribute to the dehumanization of Jews,” Rubin, now running for Congress in Maryland, said in an interview with JI last week. “We need to call it out, and we need to stand up to it.”
panel plea
Jewish leaders call out Qataris and ‘disappointing’ allies at Davos antisemitism panel
Speaking to a crowd of foreign officials and corporate executives at the World Economic Forum in Davos yesterday, a group of prominent Jewish leaders called out those at the exclusive Swiss gathering who had not done enough to confront antisemitism after the Oct. 7 terror attacks — and those who had purposely fanned the flames of anti-Jewish hate, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Called out: “Why did the violence go up on October the 7th? Because antisemitism is a foreign policy plank of certain governments, i.e. Iran,” Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said at a Thursday panel about antisemitism. “It’s great the foreign minister of Iran was here, but he needs to be called out. It’s great that the Qataris are here, and they need to be called out for using antisemitism as a tool, as a weapon, because all of us suffer as a result.”
Feeling off: Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff described feeling “unmoored” after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in Israel, particularly after he had worked to incorporate Judaism into his and Vice President Kamala Harris’ life in Washington and to “normalize” it, to show Americans “this is what a Jew looks like.”
Silence speaks volumes: The panel, which also included Israeli First Lady Michal Herzog and Rabbi David Rosen, special advisor to the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi, condemned the global rise in antisemitism that began swiftly on Oct. 7, as Hamas’ attacks were ongoing. “What’s happened since October the 7th, and with some of the most disappointing either lack of responses on the part of many colleagues — not only Muslim but also from many Christians, from whom we would have expected more — and often just silence, which is disappointing, is very, very sad,” said Rosen, who works closely with other faith leaders around the world. “But that must not lead us to assume that this work is not of enormous significance.”
diplomatic dispute
White House, Democrats grow impatient with Netanyahu’s latest rebuff of Palestinian state
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday offered his clearest indication yet that he will oppose any American efforts to create a Palestinian state, rebuffing President Joe Biden and senior U.S. officials who have made a two-state solution a key component of Washington’s response to the Israel-Hamas war, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch and Marc Rod report.
Tough talks: “Israel needs security control [over] all territory west of the Jordan [River],” Netanyahu said Thursday in a news conference. “This collides with the idea of sovereignty. What can you do?” He said he had conveyed this attitude toward his American counterparts. “The prime minister needs to be capable of saying no to our friends,” Netanyahu said.
Washington response: His comments drew criticism from Democrats on Capitol Hill, including some staunchly pro-Israel members of Congress. But White House officials sought to downplay Netanyahu’s remarks and his divergence from Biden, noting that Netanyahu has hinted at this position for months.
Same focus: “This is not a new comment by Prime Minister Netanyahu. We obviously see it differently,” said John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the White House National Security Council. “We believe that the Palestinians have every right to live in an independent state with peace and security. And the president and his team [are] going to continue to work on that.”
Regional reaction: Senior administration officials made clear on Thursday that the creation of a Palestinian state is not just an American policy preference, but a step supported by many of the Arab nations with whom Israel seeks to normalize ties — and on whom Israel would likely rely to rebuild Gaza after the war.
aid alarm
House committee calls UNRWA chief to testify on alleged Hamas aid theft
House Foreign Affairs Committee leaders called on the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency to testify before the committee about concerns that U.S.-funded aid flowing into Gaza is being diverted by Hamas, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Letter writing: Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Reps. Brian Mast (R-FL), Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Darrell Issa (R-CA) wrote to UNRWA’s commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini, on Wednesday raising concerns about reports that Hamas has stolen food and other supplies during the recent war. The House members asked the UNRWA leader to respond to their request by next Wednesday.
Quotable: “There have been a number of concerning reports that have called into question the very mission and effectiveness of UNRWA,” the lawmakers wrote. “We must be clear-eyed about the reality that diversion by Hamas is a real threat and one that is very likely happening with UNRWA aid… Our constituents are horrified that their taxpayer dollars may have, through UNRWA failures, supported Hamas terrorists.’
Read the full story here.
exclusive
Jewish groups press for additional security grant funding in 2024 appropriations bill
As Congress works to finalize 2024 government funding by the new mid-March shutdown deadline, Jewish communal groups are urging lawmakers to increase funding for nonprofit security grants to $500 million, in addition to funding expected as part of the emergency aid bill for Israel and other U.S. allies, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Funding request: A coalition of 14 Jewish groups sent a letter to the Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate, and the leaders of each chamber’s appropriations committee on Thursday calling for the funding increase. The funding request well exceeds the $360 million that most Jewish groups had been pursuing for the program in 2024 prior to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, which remained the goal for some groups in the immediate aftermath of the attack.
Supplemental: The funding request is also separate from the supplemental aid bill for Israel, Ukraine and other U.S. allies, which remains stalled in the Senate. Senate leadership has proposed including an additional $1 billion — on top of the final 2024 allocation — for the grant program. The letter additionally urges lawmakers to pursue “the highest possible funding for NSGP in any national security emergency supplemental.”
Signatories: The letter was signed by the Anti-Defamation League, Orthodox Union, Jewish Federations of North America, Agudath Israel, American Jewish Committee, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Hadassah, Hillel International, the JCC Association of North America, the National Council of Jewish Women, the Rabbinical Assembly, the Secure Community Network, the Union for Reform Judaism and the United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism.
Aid amendment: The Senate voted 50-44, nearly along partisan lines, to defeat an amendment by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) that would have barred aid to the Palestinian Authority and any other governing body in the West Bank and Gaza unless they meet conditions including recognizing Israel. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) voted with Republicans for the amendment. Existing U.S. law bars aid to the Palestinian Authority until it ends payments to the families of terrorists.
show of solidarity
Hispanic Christian leaders rally support for Israel
A group of Hispanic Christian leaders, representing a wide swath of a key voting bloc in the 2024 elections, is putting its weight behind Israel and American Jews with a statement issued Friday morning pledging support for Israel and urging “fasting and prayer” for the hostages held in Gaza, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Haley Cohen reports for Jewish Insider. The statement was spearheaded by The Philos Project. It comes one week after the Christian advocacy organization brought 32 pastors from 17 states to Capitol Hill in an effort to rally support for Israel.
Content: The letter, signed by the pastors who assembled in D.C. as well as other Hispanic Christian leaders, calls for “the church and all Christian Latinos and Hispanics to join in fasting and prayer until remaining hostages are returned, to speak up against evil with good (Romans 12:21), and to defend the cause of those in need (Proverbs 31:8-9).” The statement continues, “As immigrants or descendants of immigrants, the signatories view the United States as a unique bastion of freedom rooted in the Hebraic tradition brought to the world by the Jewish people. The joint statement underscores the belief that an America without Jews is an America without a soul.”
Participants: Signatories include leaders from the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, Reformed Church in America, National Hispanic Pastors Alliance and the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
Speaking up: “Often the Jewish community feels alone and we want them to know they’re not alone, they have friends. Jews and Latinos have coexisted for hundreds of years, from Latin America all the way back to Spain. We respect that heritage and want to make that message heard,” said Jesse Rojo, director of Hispanic affairs at The Philos Project.
Worthy Reads
Women in Combat: The New York Times’ Isabel Kershner spotlights the role that women are playing in the Israeli Defense Forces’ campaign in Gaza. “The integration of women into the military’s combat units has been the subject of a lengthy debate in Israel, home to one of the world’s few armies that conscript women at 18 for mandatory service. For years the question of women serving at the front pitted ultraconservative rabbis and religiously observant soldiers against feminists, secularists and critics of the country’s traditionally macho culture. Now, that debate is effectively over. There is no point continuing such arguments, Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi, the military’s chief of staff, said after female soldiers raced to confront Hamas attackers on Oct. 7, because their ‘action and fighting’ speaks louder than words.” [NYTimes]
Tunnel Tussle: In The Wall Street Journal, Tablet magazine’s Armin Rosen reflects on the recent media coverage of a disagreement between the Chabad Lubavitch movement and a group of rogue students who attempted to construct an unauthorized entrance to Chabad’s Brooklyn headquarters. “Public attention to this strange local story owes in part to the Hasidim’s proud existence outside mainstream secular culture. Chabadniks are black-hat religious Jews with a distinct outlook and self-presentation. Jews have been a canvas for noxious fantasies for thousands of years, especially those who belong to an easily stereotyped subculture. The tunnel hysteria shows how little this reality changes, even in supposedly tolerant New York. Yet through their covert construction project, the sledgehammering radicals have drawn attention to a paradox of the modern-day Chabad movement. Chabad follows the work and vision of one man, but because he is physically dead, it also follows no one. … Part of [Lubavicher Rebbe Menachem Mendel] Schneerson’s brilliance was to ensure that no one would succeed him as Chabad’s rebbe, with the result of distributing responsibility for his formidable legacy as far and wide as possible. In doing so, he reminded his many admirers that true spiritual genius is vanishingly rare, and that religious communities, which are bound by belief and sacred obligation, can’t count on individual greatness alone to sustain them. The tunnel incident is one bizarre consequence of farsighted leadership.” [WSJ]
Around the Web
Backing Kim: Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) endorsed Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ), who is mounting a challenge to embattled Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), saying that “anything would be an upgrade” over Menendez, who was indicted last year on federal bribery and corruption charges.
Survey Says: An Emerson College/PIX11 poll of likely voters in New York’s 3rd Congressional District found former Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) with a slim lead — 45%-42% — over Republican nominee Mazi Pilip.
Big Sky Launch: Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) is reportedly planning to launch his Senate campaign just ahead of the state’s March filing deadline.
Judge Tapped: The nomination of Nicole Berner, an Israeli-American jurist, to sit on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, passed through the Senate Judiciary Committee 11-10 and is now headed for a full Senate vote.
Taking a Pass: Elected officials in San Jose, Calif., said they will not vote on any measures calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, citing a decision by the city council “dating back over 40 years not to take positions on matters of U.S. foreign policy.”
Cease-fire Call: The Ann Arbor, Mich., school board voted 4-1, with two abstentions, to approve a resolution calling for a cease-fire.
EU on Hamas: The EU parliament adopted a measure calling for an end to the Israel-Hamas war predicated on the notion that Hamas is removed from power in Gaza and all the hostages are released.
Musk on the Move: X owner Elon Musk is slated to travel to Poland next week, where he will visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp and speak at an event in Krakow alongside commentator Ben Shapiro.
Silent Stadium: Officials in Ghent, Belgium, determined that an upcoming soccer match between KAA Gent and Maccabi Haifa will be played without fans in the stadium, over security concerns related to the Israel-Hamas war.
Ballot Bluster: Gadi Eisenkot, a member of Israel’s war cabinet, called for elections to be held in the coming months, breaking with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said that holding elections during a war would not be beneficial.
Burial Ground: The IDF said that its exhumation of bodies in a Gaza cemetery was part of an effort to locate the remains of missing hostages.
Up, Up and Away: A SpaceX rocket that was launched on Thursday included the first individual from Turkey to enter outer space.
AI on the Case: Yossi Carmil’s Cellebrite DI is donating its technology to nonprofit organizations that work to find endangered and missing children.
Report Card: The Council for a Secure America released its 100-day report on the Israel-Hamas war.
Houthi Strike: Iran-backed Houthis attempted a third attack in as many days on a tanker ship off the coast of Yemen.
Proxy Fight: The New York Times looks at how Iran’s proxies across the Middle East are sowing discord and threatening global stability.
Remembering: Political strategist Michael Berman died at 84. Psychologist Nancy Adler, whose work focused on the linkage between socioeconomic status and health, died at 77.
Song of the Day
Five for Fighting, the stage name of Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter John Ondrasik best known for the 2000 hit “Superman (It’s Not Easy),” on Thursday released “OK,” about Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attacks on Israel and rising antisemitism around the world.
The song samples New York Mayor Eric Adams’ speech about the attack, in which he said “we are not alright” witnessing the atrocities and those who celebrate them in the U.S. The video features clips from the massacre, as well as images of Hamas terrorists, anti-Israel rallies, incidents of antisemitic harassment and a recent congressional hearing with university presidents.
“Clearly the causes of the moral decline on our campuses, in our culture, and institutions have been growing and metastasizing for decades,” Ondrasik said. “An inability to clearly call out the horrors of Hamas’ terrorist atrocities is not the root of the problem; it is the symptom of a deeper decay.”
“We can look away no longer,” he added. “Evil is on the march and wears many faces. This is a time for choosing.”
Birthdays
Israeli politician, refusenik during the 1970s and 1980s who spent nine years in Soviet prisons, he served as chairman of the Jewish Agency, Natan Sharansky turns 76 on Saturday…
FRIDAY: Surfer as a child, she is the real-life inspiration for the fictional character Gidget in a book written by her father, Kathy Kohner-Zuckerman turns 83… Retired after 40 years of service as a news reporter and White House correspondent for ABC News, Ann Compton turns 77… Rebbe of the Hasidic dynasty of Belz since 1966, Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach turns 76… CEO of Charleston, S.C.-based InterTech Group, a family-owned chemicals manufacturer, Anita Zucker turns 72… Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Amy Laura Wax turns 71… Former speaker of the Knesset following a stint as chairman of the Jewish Agency, Avraham Burg turns 69… President and CEO of PayPal until last September, he is on the board of directors of Verizon, Daniel H. Schulman turns 66… Stoughton, Mass., resident, Hillery Bauman… Jay Susman… Los Angeles-based attorney and founder of the blog American Trial Attorneys in Defense of Israel, Baruch C. Cohen… Retired speaker of the U.K.’s House of Commons from 2009 to 2019, his family name was originally Berkowitz, John Simon Bercow turns 61… U.K. ambassador to Mexico, Jon Benjamin turns 61… Governor of Illinois, Jay Robert “J.B.” Pritzker turns 59… Chief Washington correspondent for ABC News, Jonathan Karl turns 56… Israeli-American social entrepreneur, she is the co-founder and former CEO of Circ MedTech, Tzameret Fuerst turns 53… Lecturer at the University of Maryland’s Center for Jewish Studies and senior adviser to Enter: The Jewish Peoplehood Alliance, Scott Lasensky… United Arab Emirates’ minister of state and ambassador to the U.S., Yousef Al Otaiba turns 51… Television journalist, entrepreneur, social activist, YouTube creator and motivational speaker, Jessica Abo turns 43… D.C.-based senior director of policy and political affairs at AJC: Global Jewish Advocacy, Julie Fishman Rayman… VP at the National Women’s Law Center, Melissa Boteach… Isaac (Ike) Wolf… Assistant director of policy and government affairs at AIPAC, Alex Bronzo… Gastroenterologist in Boston, Loren Galler Rabinowitz, M.D. turns 38… Actor since early childhood, he has already appeared in over 25 films and most recently a main character in Amazon’s “Hunters,” Logan Lerman turns 32… Midwest regional deputy director at AIPAC, Emily Berman Pevnick…
SATURDAY: Claremont, Calif., resident, Adar Belinkoff… Distinguished professor of physics at Texas A&M University, he won the 1996 Nobel Prize in Physics, David Morris Lee turns 93… Former State Department official and later president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Ambassador Morton I. Abramowitz turns 91… Moroccan-French rabbi and founder of the organization Jewish-Muslim Friendship of France, Michel Serfaty turns 81… Pleasant Hill, Calif., resident, Daniel L. Fisher… Elected four times as a Republican at-large member on the Council of the District of Columbia, she also ran for mayor of D.C. five times, Carol Schwartz turns 80… Travel editor at CBS News, Peter S. Greenberg… U.S. representative from Nevada until 2013, then SVP for the Touro University system until 2023, now running for mayor of Las Vegas, Shelley Berkley (born Rochelle Levine) turns 73… Member of the board of governors of The Jewish Agency, he is the CEO of Chair King and Fortunoff furniture retailers, David Barish… Host of HBO’s political talk show, William “Bill” Maher turns 68… Former deputy chief of the general staff of the IDF, Major General (Reserve) Moshe Kaplinsky turns 67… Actress and television host, she is the only child of comedian Joan Rivers, Melissa Rivers turns 56… Member of the U.S. House of Representatives since 2019 (D-MN), he is running against President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination in the 2024 presidential election, Dean Benson Phillips turns 55… Grief support specialist in Chicago, Diane Kushnir Halivni… Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and governor of South Carolina, now a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election, Nikki Haley (born Nimrata Randhawa) turns 52… Founder and CEO of Everywoman Studios, Abigail (Abby) Greensfelder… Recent U.K. cabinet minister and former MP, he is a member of the House of Lords, Baron Frank Zacharias Robin (Zac) Goldsmith turns 49… Prime Minister of Ukraine from 2016 to 2019, Volodymyr Groysman turns 46… Philanthropist, professional equestrian, and author, Georgina Leigh Bloomberg… Israeli actress, model and musician, Hen Yanni turns 41… Deputy chief of staff for the office of the principal cyber advisor in the Pentagon, Paul Mandelson… Senior director at Purple Strategies, Alec Jacobs… Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, Jason Berger…SUNDAY: Writer specializing in modern Judaism and women’s issues, Blu Greenberg (born Bluma Genauer)… Philanthropist, co-founder and chair emerita of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, Lynn Schusterman… Owner of the NHL’s Boston Bruins and chairman of Delaware North, Jeremy Maurice Jacobs turns 84… Writer on cultural and social issues, Elaine Showalter (born Elaine Cottler) turns 83… Attorney general of the U.S. during the Obama administration, now a senior counsel at Covington & Burling, Eric H. Holder Jr. turns 73… Actor, director and producer, Robby Benson turns 68… Chair of the real estate group at the NY/NJ law firm of Sills Cummis & Gross, Mark Levenson turns 67… U.S. senator (R-ND), Kevin Cramer turns 63… Chairman and CEO of Norfolk, Virginia-based Harbor Group International, Jordan E. Slone… Executive editor digital at the Washington Monthly, Matthew Cooper… Chief operations officer of OneTable, Andrea Greenblatt… Senior fellow at the USC Annenberg School, Cindi Leive turns 57… SVP and Washington bureau chief for CNN, Sam Feist turns 55… President and CEO of The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Rachel Garbow Monroe… Director, producer and screenwriter of films, best known as the producer or director of the eight films in the “Paranormal Activity” series, Oren Peli turns 54… Dean of School at Yavneh Hebrew Academy in Los Angeles, Rabbi Shlomo Einhorn… Peruvian model and TV host, she represented her country in Miss Universe 2009, Karen Schwarz turns 43… Congressional reporter / staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, Jennifer Haberkorn… Israeli actress, screenwriter and filmmaker, Romi Aboulafia turns 40… Deputy administrator at HHS’s Health Resources and Services Administration Jordan Grossman… Samuel Z. Eckstein…
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