Daily Kickoff
Good Friday morning.
Ed. note:The next Daily Kickoff will arrive in your inbox on Tuesday, Feb. 20, in observance of President’s Day. Enjoy the long weekend!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we preview the Munich Security Conference, which kicks off today, and explore how the term “cease-fire” has taken on different meanings by those calling for one. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Dara Horn, Matisyahu and Rep. Matt Rosendale.
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: At Conservative and Reform rabbinical schools, a debate over red lines on anti-Zionism; In Israel, discord in coalition over Haredi conscription; ‘If it’s Jewish, we have it’: Inside D.C.’s new Jewish history museum. Print the latest edition here.
For the third year in a row, Ukraine will dominate much of the conversation at the Munich Security Forum, which kicks off this morning. Unlike years past, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the future of the Middle East will play a prominent role, with several sessions dedicated to the Israel-Hamas war, Jewish Insider Executive Editor Melissa Weiss reports.
Vice President Kamala Harris is slated to speak this morning in conversation with Munich Security Conference Chairman Christoph Heusgan. The sit-down, “The U.S. and the World,” marks Harris’ third appearance at the annual conference since becoming vice president. Shortly after her address, she’ll meet privately with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
Israeli First Lady Michal Herzog and Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, the State Department’s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, are speaking on a panel on Friday afternoon focused on sexual violence in war. Lipstadt will speak on a second panel later today focused on disinformation.
Immediately afterwards, the relatives of hostages held in Gaza are holding an event to raise awareness about their loved ones’ captivity. Israel’s coordinator for the hostages and missing, Brig. Gen. Gal Hirsch, and Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz are both slated to attend.
Also Friday afternoon, former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will speak on a panel titled “Off Limits: Protecting International Humanitarian Law.” Speaking alongside Livni is Mirjana Spoljaric, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, which has come under fire for its failure to provide aid to the hostages in Gaza.
Noticeably absent: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who attends the conference annually, won’t be among the nearly two dozen members of Congress at the confab, having said earlier this week that he would be skipping the gathering and will instead travel to the U.S. border with Mexico days after voting against a measure that would have provided aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.
Among the other participants slated to attend the summit are Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, U.S. Ambassador to Germany Amy Gutmann, former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger, Oracle CEO Safra Catz, Harris’ National Security Advisor Phil Gordon, French National Assembly member Benjamin Haddad, former Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), former Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Strategy, Policy, and Plans Robert Silvers and the Hudson Institute’s Kenneth Weinstein.
Read our story on this year’s Munich Security Conference here.
aid arguments
Israel officials say they’re badly in need of additional U.S. military aid
Israel has an immediate need for additional U.S. military aid, sources told Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Lahav Harkov, as the support remains mired in Congress amid disputes between Republicans and Democrats, and the House and Senate, over Ukraine aid and border policy, among other issues — with no clear path or timeline moving forward. Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Yuli Edelstein said that when he was on Capitol Hill last week, he told all of his interlocutors that the aid “is extremely urgent.”
Time pressure: An Israeli security official said that “the aid package is critical for Israel’s security and for our ability to maintain readiness and defense on all fronts.” Another source said that Israel is already beginning to tap into stockpiles of munitions and air-defense interceptors that would be needed in the increasingly likely event of a war with Hezbollah along Israel’s northern border. Israel’s needs would be especially great in the event of a protracted conflict, the source added. That source noted that the situation would become critical if Congress is unable to pass additional military aid by March or April, given issues in military production supply chains. Israeli sources denied that March was a specifically problematic date in terms of supply, simply saying that the need is immediate.
Scheduling issues: But Edelstein explained that the problem comes from the intersection between congressional politics and the Knesset’s schedule. Even if Congress approves the aid package in the coming weeks, it will still take time before Israel will be able to spend the money – by his estimate, not before the second half of 2024. The Knesset is set to vote on the updated 2024 state budget next week, with all of the new, war-related expenditures. The Defense Ministry drafted its budget taking the U.S. aid into consideration, and the ministry has already placed orders based on that assumption. If the aid does not arrive on time, in some cases the ministry can make necessary procurements within Israel’s defense industry, but in many cases, the government may have to make cuts within the Defense Ministry or from other areas to fulfill its commitments.
war of words
What’s a cease-fire? It depends who you ask
“Cease-fire now!” It’s become a ubiquitous slogan for the anti-Israel left in the United States since the Israel-Hamas war began, launched by the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on the Jewish state, found everywhere from bumper stickers stuck to buildings and street signs in cities, to chants by protestors interrupting President Joe Biden’s speeches, to shouts by college students at America’s elite universities. Yet the phrase is increasingly taking on divergent meanings — used by so many people seeking so many different things that it is losing its salience as a definitive policy statement, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch and Marc Rod report.
Broad spectrum: For politicians seeking to win over a restive progressive constituency, employing the term “cease-fire,” even if it is implied to have a more limited or tempered meaning, can help appease frustrated activists. Such statements that call out Hamas and demand the release of hostages offer a more nuanced take than the ones coming from anti-Israel groups who place the blame for the crisis in the Middle East entirely on Israel. Meanwhile, for anti-Israel college students and far-left activists who are chanting exterminationist slogans at cease-fire demonstrations, the phrase continues to have a more sinister subtext.
Divisive debate: Israel’s strongest backers typically view any call for a “cease-fire” as problematic, and the use of the phrase has become something of a dividing line between those who back Israel’s fight against Hamas, and and those who would be OK with Israel stopping its stated quest of eradicating the terror group. In December, for instance, a group of more than 700 rabbis signed a letter saying that Jews who call for a cease-fire are “not representative” of the U.S. Jewish community, after hundreds of employees of Jewish organizations released their own letter demanding a cease-fire that includes the release of the hostages.
Cease-fire with caveats: Despite claims from some Israel critics in Congress that there’s widespread support for an immediate cease-fire in the conflict leaving Hamas in place, polling suggests that most Americans believe that Hamas must be removed from power in order to ensure peace and support continued military aid to Israel.
Read the full story here.
mapping movement
Updated New York Congressional map ensures Bowman-Latimer showdown
A proposed New York congressional map unveiled on Thursday would deliver a modest boost to Democrats seeking to retake the majority, while making no changes to the district of a vulnerable anti-Israel incumbent facing a serious primary threat. While the new congressional lines kept most districts across the state relatively unchanged, the lack of revisions to the seat held by Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) means the embattled Squad member will still face a tough primary against a formidable challenger, George Latimer, the popular Westchester County executive, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Primary pull: Latimer, a veteran Democrat who has held elective office for the past several decades, is well-known to voters in the current district, which covers more than half of Westchester County and a slice of the Bronx. If approved by the Democratic-led state legislature, the map would guarantee one of the most consequential primaries of the election cycle, pitting a moderate pro-Israel Democrat against an outspoken progressive who has drawn backlash in recent months amid a series of embarrassing scandals.
Jewish constituency: The new map would also preserve the district’s significant Jewish constituency in Westchester County. Voters there, including more liberal Jewish voters who have backed Bowman in the past, have grown increasingly frustrated with the former middle school principal’s hostile positions toward Israel amid the ongoing war against Hamas.
ultimatum
House members threaten ‘fast-track legislative options’ to squeeze Qatar over hostages
Sixteen House members sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Thursday expressing deep concerns about Qatar’s failure to help secure the release of the remaining hostages being held in Gaza, and threatened to pursue punitive measures if the hostages are not released soon, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Potential consequences: The lawmakers said they’re “deeply concerned that Qatar has not fully leveraged its relationship with Hamas to ensure all hostages are released without delay.” They continued, “If we do not see the release of more hostages, including all American citizens, in the days ahead, we will consider a menu of fast-track legislative options to hold Qatar accountable.”
Signatories: The letter was led by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Young Kim (R-CA), joined by Reps. Haley Stevens (D-MI), Mike Lawler (R-NY), Jim Costa (D-CA), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Mike Waltz (R-FL), Ritchie Torres (D-NY), David Trone (D-MD), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Donald Norcross (D-NJ), Brian Steil (R-WI), Jared Golden (D-ME), Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) and Susan Wild (D-PA).
Employing pressure: The lawmakers called on the administration to “continue to employ every tool of leverage with Doha” and to “make clear to Qatar it will be held accountable for every hostage not brought home” and that its “failure to deliver on its commitments will harm bilateral relations.” They noted that Qatar “benefits immensely” from its relationship with the U.S. as a major non-NATO ally, the host of the U.S.’s main air base in the Middle East, a beneficiary of lucrative investments in the U.S. and protection from terror victim lawsuits.
Capitol confrontations: Lawler said Thursday that a group of “antisemitic protesters attempted to physically force themselves into my office,” sharing photos of a crowd gathered in the hallway outside his office in a congressional office building. At least some of the protesters appear to be affiliated with the far-left group CodePink, based on their attire. CodePink activists, joined by actress Susan Sarandon, also protested Torres and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), also meeting with Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Cori Bush (D-MO). Gottheimer said that someone had placed a “boycott Israeli apartheid” sticker on a poster of a freed hostage he had displayed in the hallway outside his own office. Gottheimer asked Capitol Police for security footage to find the individual responsible.
education action
House committee subpoenas Harvard leaders for antisemitism documents
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce issued subpoenas to Harvard’s leaders on Friday morning, seeking documents related to the committee’s investigation into campus antisemitism that the university allegedly withheld, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Background: The subpoena is a historic step — the first time, according to the committee, that it has issued a subpoena to a university. It comes after two months of exchanges of letters and documents between the committee and Harvard following a disastrous hearing that contributed to former Harvard President Claudine Gay’s resignation. The subpoenas, issued by Committee Chair Virginia Foxx (R-NC), specifically target Penny Pritzker, Harvard Corporation’s senior fellow; interim President Alan Garber; and N.P. Narvekar, Harvard Management Company’s chief executive officer.
Withholding: Foxx said in a statement that at least 40% of the 2,516 pages of documents Harvard had provided to the committee were already publicly available, and that Harvard had failed to address some of the priority requests she made in a letter last week, in which she threatened subpoenas.
Obstruction: In cover letters to the three Harvard officials, Foxx accused the school of failing to treat the probe “with appropriate seriousness,” suggesting that “the school is obstructing this investigation and is willing to tolerate the proliferation of antisemitism on its campus.” Foxx set a deadline for document production of March 4.
new approach
Group of bipartisan House moderates to propose slimmed-down foreign aid package
A bipartisan group of House moderates is expected to propose a new, slimmed-down version of the Senate-passed Israel aid bill. The proposed bill will remove humanitarian aid from the Senate proposal and introduce new border policy provisions, which could make it difficult to muster sufficient Democratic support. House Republican leadership has also provided no guarantees that it would see a floor vote, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What’s in it: According to public reportsand comments by the bill’s authors, the proposal will pare back the Senate proposal from $95 billion to around $60 billion, including by removing humanitarian aid for the Palestinians and Ukraine. It maintains military aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. It’s not clear if nonprofit security grant program funds will also be on the chopping block. On immigration, the bill is expected to contain language reimplementing the Remain in Mexico policy, a Trump administration program the Biden administration sought to rescind.
Who’s in behind it: The new bill is reportedly being sponsored by Reps. Don Bacon (R-NE), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Mike Lawler (R-NY), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR), Jared Golden (D-ME), Ed Case (D-HI), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) and Jim Costa (D-CA).
Not sold: And some moderate pro-Israel Democrats also expressed skepticism, in part the proposal provides no humanitarian support for the Palestinian people, which they said will be a nonstarter for most of their caucus. Senate Democrats have also rejected the idea of eliminating humanitarian support. “Anything is worthwhile to make sure that we have the appropriate funding package for Israel, for Ukraine, for our Asian partners,” Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) told JI of the effort. “But also, we’ve got to realize — let’s look at the problems with the last one, and why we didn’t get that over the finish line. And one of the reasons was because it didn’t have humanitarian aid.”
Open to considering: But some Democrats said they’d likely support a scaled-down package, like Rep. Don Davis (D-NC), who voted in favor of both of the House’s stand-alone Israel aid bills. “We’re getting at a critical time to provide assistance to Israel, but not only Israel,” Davis told reporters, saying that Ukraine, Taiwan and increased border security are also critical. “I would be open towards, right now, any alternatives that’s going to help us come closer to safeguarding the American people, especially our servicemen and women.”
Worthy Reads
The Campus Antisemitism Fix: In The Atlantic, Dara Horn reflects on how universities have failed to — but still could — address antisemitism on college campuses. “It is fairly obvious what Harvard and other universities would need to do to turn this tide. None of it involves banning slogans or curtailing free speech. Instead it involves things like enforcing existing codes of conduct regarding harassment; protecting classroom buildings, libraries, and dining halls as zones free from advocacy campaigns (similar to rules for polling places); tracking and rejecting funding from entities supporting federally designated terror groups (a topic raised in recent congressional testimony regarding numerous American universities); gut-renovating diversity bureaucracies to address their obvious failure to tackle anti-Semitism; investigating and exposing the academic limitations of courses and programs premised on anti-Semitic lies; and expanding opportunities for students to understand Israeli and Jewish history and to engage with ideas and with one another. There are many ways to advocate for Israeli and Palestinian coexistence that honor the dignity and legitimacy of both indigenous groups and the need to build a shared future. The restoration of such a model of civil discourse, which has been decimated by heckling and harassment, would be a boon to all of higher education.” [TheAtlantic]
Hostage Horrors: The Associated Press’ Julia Frankel interviews released hostage Sharon Alony Cunio, whose husband, David, remains in captivity months after Sharon and their twin toddlers were freed. “Sharon said David, an electrician born and raised in Nir Oz, blamed himself — he was the reason the family lived so close to the Gaza border. Sharon cried all the time, she said, and David once beat himself until he bled inside the mouth. Other times, he managed a bit of levity. ‘I would tell him, “You’re the best man I have ever known,”’ Sharon said. ‘And he told me, “It’s about time you figured that out.”’ One day, Sharon said, David was pulled out of the room to speak with a Hamas officer. The man told him Israel had decided to bring back only women and children, Sharon recalled, and David would be taken somewhere with the other men. ‘We sat there for three hours, just hugging. Me, him, and the girls,’ Cunio said. ‘I’m begging him not to go and begging to stay with him. The girls are crying. “Why are you leaving? Why are they taking Daddy? Can they take other dads? Why do you have to take ours?”’ Three days later, Red Cross vehicles ferried Cunio and the girls back to Israel.” [AP]
Starmer’s Storm: The Wall Street Journal’s Joseph Sternberg cautions that antisemitism is making a reappearance in Britain’s Labour party, posing a major challenge for the party leader and likely next prime minister of the U.K., Keir Starmer. “It’s an electoral nightmare for Labour and Mr. Starmer, and for more reasons than the obvious. The obvious is that Mr. Starmer was supposed to have purged antisemitism from the party already… Mr. Starmer’s clean-up job since replacing Mr. Corbyn in 2020 has been impressive. He apologized to Britain’s Jewish community for his predecessor’s failings, and purged Corbynistas — including Mr. Corbyn. Despite some hemming and hawing about international law, Mr. Starmer has held firm to his view that Israel has a right to defend itself after the Hamas attack… This week’s antisemitism scandals put all that work at risk. But the greater danger to Mr. Starmer’s electoral prospects isn’t his politicians, it’s his voters. Post-Oct. 7, Labour’s antisemitism problem has been the tendency of anti-Zionism and outright antisemitism to bleed into each other. That’s especially true within Britain’s Muslim population — which has become an important part of Labour’s base. Particularly in Rochdale, where Mr. [Azhar] Ali’s connections within the large Muslim community were viewed by the party as an electoral asset.” [WSJ]
Around the Web
Some Daylight: President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke for 40 minutes last night in a conversation that covered the hostage situation, humanitarian efforts and Israel’s planned next stage of fighting in Rafah; in a statement on X posted shortly after, Netanyahu said he opposed any U.S. recognition of a Palestinian state.
Palestinian State Talk:Axiosreports that in a conversation with Secretary of State Tony Blinken last week, Netanyahu said that U.S. recognition of a Palestinian state would “be a prize” for the backers and orchestrators of the Oct. 7 terror attacks.
Emhoff in NYC: Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff met in New York with Jewish American, Muslim American and Palestinian American youth leaders, in an event hosted by U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield and Rashad Hussain, the U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.
Haley Protection: A congressional advisory committee approved former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley’s request for Secret Service protection; the request will now go to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for final sign-off.
Bid Bust: Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) dropped his bid for Senate days after entering the race, citing the endorsement by former President Donald Trump of his primary opponent Tim Sheehy the same day that Rosendale announced his candidacy.
UNRWA Anxiety: Reps. Andy Ogles (R-TN) and Mary Miller (R-IL) introduced a resolution to designate the United Nations Relief and Works Organization as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Agriculture Action: Members of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism met with officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Wednesday to discuss the agency’s work in implementing the administration’s national antisemitism strategy, which spans from providing access to kosher food to the needy to combating antisemitism at rural schools, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Capitol Arrests: U.S. Capitol Police arrested 13 protesters demonstrating in the Capitol Rotunda against the Israel-Hamas war and in support of immigrant protections.
Curriculum Crisis: The New York Timeslooks at the activist bent of the push to institute ethnic studies programs in schools across the country.
Radio Silence: Two Matisyahu concerts slated for this week were canceled, citing concerns about safety and staff shortages; the artist slammed the venues as “either anti-Semitic or have confused their empathy for the Palestinian people with hatred for someone like me who holds empathy for both Israelis and Palestinians.”
Us and Them: The New Yorkerexplores how recently published books take on the relationship between Israel and the diaspora.
Staff Cuts: The Intercept laid off 15 staff members; Editor-in-Chief Roger Hodge is also departing the publication.
Good Genes: The Boston Globespotlights the friendship between two Palestinian-American and Jewish scientists who co-founded a gene-editing startup after meeting as undergraduates at MIT.
Slime Time: The New York Times interviews Marc Summers ahead of the former “Double Dare” host’s debut of his off-Broadway show, “The Life & Slimes of Marc Summers.”
Reality Check: The BBC cut from its spinoff of “The Apprentice” the final scenes of a British doctor who had posted antisemitic comments on social media.
Across The Pond: More antisemitic incidents were recorded in Britain last year than ever before, with two-thirds of the incidents occurring on or after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
Jumping Ship: The nine-member board of Democrats Abroad Israel resigned, citing “the hostile environment in Democrats Abroad against Jews in general and… American Jews living in Israel in particular.”
Rebuilding Gaza: The U.N.’s trade body estimated Gaza reconstruction costs at approximately $20 billion, with its director calling for a “new Marshall Plan” to aid in the effort.
Griffiths’ Gaffe: Chief U.N. aid official Martin Griffiths is under fire for calling Hamas a “political movement,” saying that “Hamas is not a terrorist group for us.”
Building a Wall: Egypt is constructing an enclosure along its border with Gaza as it braces for the possibility of Palestinians attempting to enter the North African country through the Sinai Desert.
Cross-border Fire: Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel, saying the barrages were in retaliation for an Israeli strike that killed 10 people in Lebanon.
Shooting Attack: One person was killed and three others were seriously wounded in a shooting in southern Israel this morning.
Navalny News: Russian prison officials said that Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, 47, died in prison, giving no cause of death.
IRGC in Yemen: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is reportedly working on the ground in Yemen with Houthi militias as the Iran-backed group scales up its attacks on vessels transiting through the Red Sea.
Arms Concerns: The Wall Street Journal reports on Iran’s growing stature as a global arms supplier.
Digital Dig: The U.S. recently conducted a cyberattack on a suspected Iranian spy ship as part of the Biden administration’s response to the attack that killed three U.S. service members in Jordan last month.
Remembering: Former French Justice Minister Robert Badinter, who oversaw the abolishment of the country’s death penalty after witnessing the state’s use of the guillotine, died at 95.
Pic of the Day
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres (center) visited the Ohel-Jakob synagogue in Munich, saying he was “very moved” by the visit. “There is no room for antisemitism and all other forms of hatred in today’s world,” he tweeted. Joining him for the visit were (from left) U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt, former Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD).
Birthdays
President and CEO of MLB’s Arizona Diamondbacks, Derrick Hall turns 55 on Saturday…
FRIDAY: Financier and activist shareholder, Carl Icahn turns 88… Founding national director of American Friends of Lubavitch and the director of Chabad activities in Greater Philadelphia, Rabbi Abraham Shemtov turns 87… Educator, theorist, writer and professor emeritus of political science at the University of Hawaii, Michael Joseph Shapiro turns 84… Chair emeritus and founding chair of the Jewish Electorate Institute, Ralph Grunewald… Secretary-general of the World Council of Religious Leaders, Bawa Jain turns 67… Deputy America editor at the Washington Post, Susan K. Levine… Co-founder, president and managing partner of Avenue Capital Group, Sonia Gardner turns 62… British serial entrepreneur and philanthropist, Maurice Samuel Ostro turns 59… Co-director of Women for Israel’s Tomorrow, Nadia Matar turns 58… Past president of Hebrew Free Loan in Detroit and founder of Brilliant Detroit helping children out of poverty, Carolyn Glaser Bellinson… President of the Sixteen Thirty Fund, Amy Kurtz turns 55… Reporter for The New York Times, she is the author of a novel and two cookbooks, Jennifer Steinhauer turns 55… Spokesman for Bloomberg LP, Ty Trippet… French actress, director and screenwriter, Géraldine Nakache turns 44… Regional director of the Westchester region of Birthright Israel Foundation, Marissa Schaevitz Levey… CEO of FinePoint and the author of Brag Better, Meredith Fineman… U.S. senator (D-GA), Jon Ossoff turns 37… Second of three sisters who are members of the rock band Haim, Danielle Sari Haim turns 35… Rachel Rubenstein… Actor, singer and dancer, he is one youngest-ever winners of a Tony Award at 15 years old, Kiril Jacob Kulish turns 30… Eric McDonald…
SATURDAY: Real estate developer and former co-owner of the New York Mets, Saul Katz turns 85… Former president of AIPAC in the early 1990s, Steven Grossman turns 78… Executive director of American Jewish Archives and professor of Reform Jewish History at HUC-JIR, Gary Phillip Zola turns 72… One of the most popular Israeli basketball players of all time, Miki Berkovich turns 70… Owner of Lynn’s Photography in Beachwood, Ohio, Lynn Katz Danzig… Professor of mathematics at Princeton University, Noga Alon turns 68… Chairman of Israel’s Shas party, Aryeh Deri turns 65… Partner in the D.C. office of Kirkland & Ellis specializing in international trade and national security, Ivan A. Schlager turns 63… Rabbi of Khal Ahavas Yisroel Tzemach Tzedek in Baltimore and kashrus administrator at the Star-K, Rabbi Dovid Heber… Filmmaker known for directing and producing big-budget action films, Michael Benjamin Bay turns 59… Executive director of American University’s Women and Politics Institute, Betsy Fischer Martin turns 54… Professor of international relations at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sharon Pardo turns 53… Brigadier general in the IDF, he served as the chief of the Combat Engineering Corps, Oshri Lugasi turns 52… Deputy chief of the civil division at the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York and rebbitzen of NYC’s Congregation Shearith Israel, Layaliza Klein Soloveichik… Chief content officer at Gannett/USA Today, Kristin Roberts… Executive director of the Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life (the Columbia/Barnard Hillel), Brian Cohen… Israeli actress, law school graduate, model and beauty queen who won the Miss World beauty pageant in 1998, Linor Abargil turns 44… Actor and filmmaker, Joseph Gordon-Levitt turns 43… Assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security until a few months ago, now a partner at Brunswick Group, Samantha Erin Vinograd… Assistant managing editor for CNN Politics until 2022, now a coordinator at the Allbritton Journalism Institute, Dianna Heitz… Professional ice hockey defenseman for the NHL’s New York Rangers, Adam Fox turns 26… Miriam Schulman…
SUNDAY: Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshiva University, Rabbi Hershel Reichman turns 80… Former U.S. Representative from New York for 32 years, Eliot Engel turns 77… Former national and Washington correspondent for The New York Times, Michael Janofsky… Russian pharmaceutical oligarch, Boris Spiegel turns 71… Principal at NYC-based Liebman Advisors, Scott Liebman… Israeli singer and actress, Ilana Avital turns 64… Portfolio manager at Capital Group, Hilda Lea Applbaum… Co-principal of the Institute for Wise Philanthropy, Mirele B. Goldsmith… Director of development for the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Lori Tessel… Director of the digital diplomacy bureau at Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, David Saranga turns 60… Author and school safety activist who had a daughter, Meadow, who was killed in the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018, Andrew Scot Pollack turns 58… Chair of the chemistry department at Stony Brook University, Nancy Sarah Goroff turns 56… CEO of an eponymous Baltimore-based branding, marketing, PR, advertising and design firm, David F. Warschawski turns 53… Actor, comedian, writer, director and producer, Isaac “Ike” Barinholtz turns 47… Co-founder of StockX, Josh Luber turns 46… Singer-songwriter and pianist, Regina Spektor turns 44… SVP of development for J Street, Adee Telem… Instagram celebrity known commonly as The Fat Jewish, Josh Ostrovsky turns 42… President of baseball operations and general manager of MLB’s Milwaukee Brewers, David Stearns turns 39… Editorial writer and opinion columnist for the Washington Post, James P. Hohmann… Senior program manager at NYC’s Housing Authority, Dylan Sandler… Political reporter at CBS Interactive, Rebecca R. Kaplan… French actress, Esther Garrel turns 33…
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