Daily Kickoff
Good Thursday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we speak to House Speaker Mike Johnson about the situation on college campuses after his visit to Columbia University, and interview Five for Fighting’s John Ondrasik about his recent trip to Israel. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Hersh Goldberg-Polin, U.K. Labour party’s David Lammy and Jessica Tisch.
As Jews around the world gathered earlier this week to ask, “Why is this night different from all other nights,” Jewish students at Columbia had an easy answer: because their campus had become the latest epicenter of anti-Israel activity following President Nemat Shafik’s testimony on Capitol Hill last week and the subsequent erection of an anti-Israel encampment in the center of campus.
Video taken on the campus and from the broader Morningside Heights neighborhood since last weekend showed widespread anti-Israel protests and demonstrations that at times turned threatening, prompting responses across the political spectrum, a visit from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Wednesday and a pointed statement from the White House. Read more about the situation at Columbia, including interviews with current students, here.
Johnson condemned the rising antisemitism at Columbia and called on the school’s embattled president to resign at an on-campus press conference that was disrupted by heckles and jeers from protesters.
“The cherished traditions of this university are being overtaken right now by radical and extreme ideologies. They place a target on the backs of Jewish students in the United States, and here on this campus, a growing number of students have chanted in support of terrorists,” Johnson said. “We just can’t allow this kind of hatred and any antisemitism to flourish on our campuses, and it must be stopped in its tracks.” Read JI’s on-campus interview with Johnson below.
The campus chaos has since spread well beyond Columbia University: At least 20 anti-Israel protesters were arrested at the University of Texas; Brown University protesters set up over 40 tents as part of a “Gaza solidarity encampment”; and police broke up attempts to establish a similar camp at the University of Southern California. Encampments have also sprung up at Harvard, MIT and NYU. Cal Poly’s Humboldt campus is closed through the weekend as protestors occupy campus buildings.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, weighed in on campus issues, telling Politico this week that it was “absolutely unacceptable” for universities to be unable to protect Jewish students. “If the universities in accordance with their policies can’t guarantee the safety and security and well-being of the students, then I think it is incumbent upon a local mayor or local governor or local town councilor, whoever is the local leadership there, to step in and enforce the law,” he said.
As university administrators across the country struggle to protect Jewish students amid the protests, the turmoil is making headlines in Israel, with commentators on the evening TV programs discussing the latest campus developments. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday night issued a special address in English on the topic, calling university presidents’ responses to campus antisemitism and anti-Israel activity “shameful.”
“What’s happening in America’s college campuses is horrific,” Netanyahu said. “Antisemitic mobs have taken over leading universities. They call for the annihilation of Israel. They attack Jewish students. They attack Jewish faculty. This is reminiscent of what happened in German universities in the 1930s. It’s unconscionable. It has to be stopped. It has to be condemned and condemned unequivocally. But that’s not what happened.”
“We see this exponential rise of antisemitism throughout America and throughout Western societies as Israel tries to defend itself against genocidal terrorists, genocidal terrorists who hide behind civilians,” Netanyahu continued. “Yet it is Israel that is falsely accused of genocide, Israel that is falsely accused of starvation and all sundry war crimes. It’s all one big libel…We have to stop antisemitism because antisemitism is the canary in the coal mine. It always precedes larger conflagrations that engulf the entire world.”
More Columbia in the headlines: Robert Kraft said he will pause his donations to the school until the campus environment changes … Shafik is facing a potential censure from the school’s senate over her decision to call in police to break up anti-Israel activity on the campus … Columbia professor John McWhorter writes in The New York Times that the “relentless assault” of his campus’ protests — which he calls “a form of abuse” — “is beyond what anyone should be expected to bear up under regardless of their whiteness, privilege or power” … Barnard suspended more than 50 students for their participation in Columbia’s encampment protest … Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) said that Columbia was caving to pressure from congressional Republicans by arresting students last week … In New York magazine, Jonathan Chait suggests that Jewish students “have been forced to endure an atmosphere of eliminationist rhetoric” … Student protesters agreed to remove a number of tents erected on campus amid negotiations with the Columbia administration over dismantling the display.
Down in Washington, the State Department’s top Middle East diplomat delivered a virtual briefing yesterday that was billed as an “overview of developments in Israel and the broader region.”
But missing from Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf’s 25-minute press briefing was any mention of the more than 130 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza — or, for that matter, any mention of Hamas at all. Hours earlier, Hamas released a gut-wrenching video showing the 24-year-old American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin. (More on Goldberg-Polin, with comments from the White House, below.)
Instead, Leaf focused on how to increase aid to the Palestinians and how the “international community can bolster support to the Palestinian Authority and to the Palestinian public generally.” The only hostages discussed were a number of European nationals who were taken captive in the Red Sea when their ship was hijacked by the Houthis in November.
Finally, keep an eye on the campaign trail today: President Joe Biden is traveling to Westchester County, N.Y., this afternoon for a campaign reception. The county is home to one of the most consequential Democratic primary fights — between Bowman and Westchester County Executive George Latimer — over Israel and antisemitism. Biden has not endorsed a candidate in the race.
Meanwhile, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff is traveling to Detroit today to attend the NFL draft. (He was scheduled to deliver remarks in the city at a political event for Biden’s reelection, but that was scrapped.) The Detroit area, which is home to the largest concentration of Arab American voters in the country, has been an epicenter of anti-Israel activism in the state.
campus beat
Johnson says he’ll push Biden to call in National Guard to quell Columbia unrest
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) faced down more than 100 anti-Israel protesters on Columbia University’s campus on Wednesday, vowing to push President Joe Biden to call in the National Guard to get the activists removed as they tried to drown out his address on the embattled campus, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports from the Morningside Heights campus.
Atmosphere: Protesters began surrounding the area around the press conference more than an hour in advance, with Johnson’s advance staff and Columbia University employees telling JI as the House speaker was heading to the event that they were expecting disruptions from the raucous group of protesting students. Members of the group began raising their middle fingers in the air and booing as Johnson and his colleagues arrived on the scene, with many shouting “F*** you” and demanding the lawmakers leave the campus.
Executive power: Johnson said amid constant boos from the crowd that “there is executive authority that would be appropriate… if this is not contained quickly and if these threats and intimidation do not stop. There is an appropriate time for the National Guard.” Johnson added that he planned to call Biden on Wednesday evening about what executive actions could be taken on the matter. “We have to bring order to these campuses,” Johnson continued amid constant jeers and antisemitic chants from the crowd. “We cannot allow this to happen around the country. We are better than this.”
‘Openly rebellious’: “It’s so disappointing to see students have such a high level of disrespect for their fellow students, for their classmates, for public officials who are trying to speak to them about the issue,” Johnson told JI of what surprised him most during his visit. “They’re openly rebellious and scornful, and that’s fine because that’s free speech, but when it crosses the line and they’re physically intimidating and threatening their fellow students, that’s something that must be stopped.”
Spotlight on the speaker: The Atlantic profiles Johnson and his ascendancy to the speakership in a piece titled “The Accidental Speaker,” which asks, “What if Mike Johnson is actually good at this?”
on tape
Hamas releases video of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin
On Wednesday, Hamas released a video of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, the American-Israeli hostage whose parents have become some of the loudest and most powerful advocates for the more than 130 hostages still held in Gaza. The video, posted on Hamas’ official Telegram channel, shows Goldberg-Polin reading a message that blames Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the hostages remaining in captivity, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
‘Be brave’: Goldberg-Polin’s parents, Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin, greeted the video with a mix of anguish and relief. It was the first confirmation that Goldberg-Polin is alive, after video from Oct. 7 showed him being taken to Gaza with a severe grenade wound to his arm. Goldberg and Polin authorized the release of the video to encourage the leaders who have been negotiating a hostage deal to “be brave, lean in, seize this moment and get a deal done to reunite all of us with our loved ones and end the suffering in this region,” Polin said in a video.
Immediate release: National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Wednesday that he planned to call Goldberg and Polin. “This is an innocent young man being held hostage by a terrorist organization and he should be released immediately without condition and without delay,” Sullivan told reporters.
Ultimate goal: Biden has not commented on the video of Goldberg-Polin, which was given to administration officials earlier this week, and the White House declined to say whether he planned to do so. Earlier, when speaking about the passage of the national security bill, Biden said that “everything we do is guided by the ultimate goal of bringing these hostages home, securing a ceasefire, and setting the conditions for an enduring peace.”
White House meeting: Also on Wednesday, President Joe Biden met at the White House with Abigail Idan, a 4-year-old dual U.S.-Israeli citizen who was held hostage for nearly two months, and whose parents were killed during the Oct. 7 attacks. “I was just sitting with the president of the United States, going through all of the Americans being held hostage and what we can do about them, what their status is. It’s something he’s personally very focused on, even as he celebrates Abigail’s release,” Sullivan said. “This is something we will continue to make a paramount priority for President Biden and for the United States.”
pennsylvania primary
Summer Lee wins primary battle over Bhavini Patel in Pittsburgh
Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA), one of the most outspoken anti-Israel lawmakers in Congress, survived a primary challenge in the 12th Congressional District on Tuesday night against Democrat Bhavini Patel, a member of the Edgewood Borough Council. Lee won 61% of the vote against Patel, a comfortable victory margin but a relatively weak primary showing for an incumbent.
Squad goals: The race marked the first test for several anti-israel lawmakers facing contested primaries. Pro-Israel groups, including AIPAC and Democratic Majority For Israel, stayed out of the contested primary despite their disagreements with Lee. Both pro-Israel groups are focused on ousting two other Squad-affiliated lawmakers with a long record of hostility to Israel: Reps. Cori Bush (D-MO) and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY).
Coffer challenges: Lee’s anti-Israel activism helped her raise money from left-wing donors while Patel struggled to raise significant campaign cash. An outside group largely funded by top Republican donor Jeff Yass spent over a half-million dollars boosting Patel, but the effort made it easier to tag her as a GOP foil.
Background: Pennsylvania primaries are closed, meaning only registered Democrats — not independents — could participate in the primary. Lee’s Pittsburgh-area district has one of the largest Jewish constituencies in the state, and is home to Squirrel Hill, where the Tree of Life massacre took place in 2018.
washington update
Biden signs $95 billion foreign aid package
President Joe Biden signed a $95 billion aid package into law on Wednesday, a day after the Senate voted 79-18 in favor of the legislation. The bill, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports, includes $14.3 billion in U.S. aid to Israel, as well as humanitarian aid for Gaza and support for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, new U.S. sanctions on Iran and its proxies and legislation to force TikTok’s Chinese parent company to sell the app.
GOP nays: The House-passed bill, which is largely similar to the bill passed by the Senate earlier this year, picked up nine more votes from Senate Republicans, now securing support from the majority of the conference. Sens. Katie Britt (R-AL), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Steve Daines (R-MT), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), James Lankford (R-OK), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) and Pete Ricketts (R-NE) voted in support of foreign aid package after voting against it when the Senate initially considered a foreign aid package.
McConnell’s view: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who has been vocally critical of the isolationist faction of his party, spoke to reporters on Tuesday afternoon after a procedural vote on the aid package, again condemning GOP isolationists and declaring victory for traditional conservative foreign policy. “I think all of these views have been enhanced, in my opinion, in the right direction,” McConnell said, pointing to the expanded GOP support for the aid package. “I think we’ve turned the corner on the isolationist movement… I think we’ve made some progress and I think it’s going to have to continue.”
Dem defections: Among Democrats, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Peter Welch (D-VT) again voted against the foreign aid bill due to opposition to Israel funding. Sanders had intended to put forward an amendment cutting offensive aid to Israel but was blocked from doing so. In a lengthy statement, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), a vocal opponent of unconditioned aid to Israel, said he voted for the bill “despite certain reservations” because “on balance, this legislation provides the necessary resources to support the people of Ukraine and advance important American priorities at home and around the world.”
trip recap
Five for Fighting brings the spirit of ‘Superman’ to Israel
In the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, “Superman (It’s Not Easy),” by Five for Fighting, the stage name of performer John Ondrasik, became the anthem for Americans reeling from the attacks. Ondrasik would go on to perform his song at The Concert for New York City, held a month after the attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. Ondrasik made his first trip to Israel this month, where he met with hostage families, first responders and soldiers who were recovering from injuries sustained while fighting Hamas in Gaza. Ondrasik spoke to Jewish Insider’s Melissa Weiss about his five-day visit, being on the ground during Iran’s missile attack and how the music he created more than two decades ago has taken on new meaning in light of his experiences in Israel.
Setting expectations: “Obviously concerning why I was coming, I was anxious and interested about meeting with the hostage families, the troops, perhaps singing,” Ondrasik said. “So typically, I would be interested in touristy things, but there was so much to do here. We were so busy. I was really focused on doing whatever I can to support Israel and let them know in so many facets that there were artists and Americans who supported them and stood shoulder to shoulder with them. But at the end, I never could have imagined how our trip ended.”
On meeting with troops at Sheba Medical Center: “Three of them had lost their legs,” Ondrasik recounted. “And so we sat there and jammed on guitar and they ended up giving me guitar lessons because they’re so much better than me. They tend to have a pretty more optimistic view. You know, they’re young, they’re teasing each other. They know that they’re gonna have a great life. I actually met with one American IDF soldier who came from Florida, seven or eight years ago. And we spoke a lot about his experience and going door to door instead of just razing buildings, trying to save lives even though his commander was killed and he got shot four times trying to save him. [It was interesting to] hear from their mouths why they have these values that no one in the world wants to talk about.”
On the Israeli mindset: “But what I really was moved by was in this dark time, in this horrible time in Israel, everybody finds a way to have joy within the fear. And that’s what I took from Israel with me. And I guess it makes sense because Jewish people have been dealing with this for millennia. … I was just really moved by how Israelis live life and appreciate life,” Ondrasik said. “And I understand it, because when you’re always at risk of being bombed or [attacked by a] suicide bomber, you have a sense of, ‘I gotta live today. I’m gonna live today.’ I wrote a song called ‘100 Years,’ which is all about that. I don’t think I ever really lived it, but seeing them, they lived that.”
Worthy Reads
The Center Holds: CNN’s Scott Jennings reflects on how the recent political positions taken by Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) have boosted their standing, despite facing significant blowback from within their parties. “Steering U.S. politics away from the dysfunctional fringe and back to the wide middle — where most Americans reside on most issues — will require courage and leadership. Enter two very different voices who are showing us the way: Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. … What Johnson and Fetterman are showing us is that it’s possible to govern from the middle, even amid howling from the fringe of both parties. Most Americans want the US to support Israel in the war against Hamas. Most Americans want the US to help our allies around the world who are under threat from dictators, thugs and terrorists. People will respond to principled leadership. They get painfully little these days from most politicians. But from Fetterman and Johnson, it’s coming by the truckload.” [CNN]
Winds of War: In UnHerd, Armin Rosen considers how the norms of war have shifted since Oct. 7. “Yet events since October 7 suggest that other conflicts are not won on the ground, but in the murkier realm of perception. A war in which one side has lost 670 fighters and the other has lost as many as 15,000, along with much of their pre-conflict safe haven and military infrastructure, should not invite abstract discussions about the nature and meaning of victory. That such debates are possible, and even necessary, marks another achievement for the resistance bloc. In the absence of any real clarity, we are left facing an alarming new frontier, where both sides have discovered what they are capable of. Israel has shown that it can sustain a very long war, and pursue its enemies in places that were once considered off-limits. These enemies have shown that they can impose potentially ruinous strategic choices on the Jewish state even as their fighters and commanders suffer steep losses in the field, while also demonstrating that they enjoy near-limitless reserves of goodwill, moral legitimacy and diplomatic protection, including from Israel’s putative allies.” [UnHerd]
Double Standards in the Ivies:The New York Times’ Bret Stephens looks at the devolving situation on college campuses for many Jewish students. “Yale and other universities have been sites of almost continual demonstrations since Hamas massacred and kidnapped Israelis on Oct. 7. That’s just fine, insofar as students have a right to express their views about the war in Gaza — whatever one thinks about those views. It’s fine, too, to be willing to defy campus rules they believe are unjust — provided they are willing to accept the price of their civil disobedience, including arrest, jail time or suspension. … The sad fact of campus life today is that speech and behavior that would be considered scandalous if aimed at other minorities are treated as understandable or even commendable when directed at Jews. The calling card of antisemitism has always been the double standard. How would the Yale administration have reacted if [harassed Jewish students] had been Black students who said they were taunted, harassed and assaulted (whatever the ostensible political motive) by a mob of their white peers?” [NYTimes]
Little Rock Redux: In The Wall Street Journal, Jason Riley suggests that President Joe Biden needs to step in to address the situation on college campuses. “In 1957, white mobs in Little Rock, Ark., in defiance of the [Brown vs. Board of Education] ruling, were preventing black students from safely attending school. President Dwight Eisenhower decided to do something about it. In a prime-time television address, the president explained that ‘demagogic extremists’ and ‘disorderly mobs’ were thwarting the law and that he had an ‘inescapable’ responsibility to respond if Arkansas officials refused to protect black students. ‘Mob rule cannot be allowed to override the decisions of our courts,’ he said. Then Eisenhower sent in the 101st Airborne Division. The particulars then and now may differ, but the same principle is at stake. The federal government was obligated to come to the aid of an ethnic minority group being threatened by mob violence. Jews in 2024 deserve no less protection than blacks in 1957. And if university officials can’t handle the situation, or won’t let police deal properly with the unrest, Mr. Biden needs to step up.” [WSJ]
Around the Web
Laying Blame: CIA Director Bill Burns blamed Hamas last week for rejecting the latest potential cease-fire agreement and hostage release.
Leaving Qatar?: Hamas officials in Qatar are considering relocating to another country — Oman was floated as one of two possibilities — amid stalled negotiations for a hostage release.
Rafah Talks: Senior Israeli and Egyptian defense and intelligence officials met in Cairo to discuss a potential Israeli incursion into Rafah.
Anger at Hamas: The Financial Timeslooks at growing anger at Hamas from Palestinians in Gaza.
First Head to Roll: The head of Israel’s military intelligence directorate announced his resignation on Monday, citing the military’s failure to prevent Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attacks.
Gaza Aid: The U.N. World Food Programme agreed to assist in the distribution of aid to Gaza once the U.S. finishes construction of a pier meant to enable more aid to the enclave.
New Envoy: The Biden administration is set to appoint United States Institute of Peace head Lise Grande to be Washington’s top Gaza envoy, replacing David Satterfield.
Nancy Says: Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) called for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign, saying he “has been an obstacle to the two-state solution.”
Office Targeted: Rep. John Carter’s (R-TX) district office in Georgetown, Texas, was vandalized by anti-Israel protesters who threw red paint on the door to mimic blood, with the words “Free Gaza” painted on the ground.
Avoiding a Fight: Richmond, Va., Mayor Levar Stoney announced a bid for lieutenant governor, avoiding a primary fight with gubernatorial candidate Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA).
TikTok Talk: TikTok’s U.S.-based legal counsel, who for years led discussions between the platform’s parent company, ByteDance, and Washington over concerns about national security, is reportedly exiting his role.
Google Firings: A group representing Google staffers protesting the company’s ties to Israel said that more than 50 employees were fired over their involvement with the protests.
Defending NPR: NPR head Katherine Maher responds to allegations that the public broadcaster has taken on a bias in recent years, leveled in a Free Press essay by an editor who had since departed the company.
Campus Beat: Harvard suspended the school’s undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee for the rest of the spring semester, while the University of Pennsylvania banned its chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine from holding activities, citing repeated instances of violations of campus policies.
Deportation Threats: The Department of Homeland Security said that foreign students could face potential deportation if they are suspended while on student visas, amid an uptick in disciplinary action against campus anti-Israel protesters.
Across the Pond: The New York Timesspotlights U.K. Labour party official David Lammy, who is likely to become foreign secretary if Labour wins next month’s elections, and looks at his approach to relationships in Washington, including his friendship with former President Barack Obama.
Targeting Torres: Palestinian-American real estate developer Mohamed Hadid sent Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) a slew of racist and homophobic direct messages on X over a period of several months.
Lipstadt’s Take: Puck’s Julia Ioffe talks to Amb. Deborah Lipstadt, the Biden administration’s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, about antisemitism across the political spectrum.
Nuke Threat:The Wall Street Journalinterviews Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ CEO Mark Dubowitz about the Iranian nuclear threat.
Bay Area Hate: For CNN, Holocaust survivor Susanne DeWitt, who was verbally attacked at a Berkeley City Council meeting last month, raises concerns about escalating antisemitism in the Bay Area.
Hot Ticket: The Wall Street Journal spotlights the Aspen gatherings that are attended by A-list stars, CEOs, top athletes and others.
Cleaning Up:The New Yorker profiles Jessica Tisch, the head of sanitation for New York City.
West Side Story: West Side Raginterviews Barney Greengrass owner Gary Greengrass, whose grandfather opened the famed deli and appetizing shop in 1908.
Babs’ Bites:Vulturechronicles all the foods mentioned in Barbra Streisand’s recent memoir. (Spoiler alert: There are many.)
On the Market: Photographer Annie Leibovitz listed her California estate for $8.995 million.
Red Alert: Interpol activated a red alert for Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi, who is currently traveling to Pakistan and Sri Lanka, over his involvement in the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people; Interpol issued the alert at the request of Argentina.
Klimt Sale: A long-lost and unfinished 1917 painting by Gustav Klimt was sold at auction for $37 million, amid concerns that the work may have been looted from a Jewish family during the Holocaust.
Burden of Proof: The Art Institute of Chicago said that investigators seeking to seize a 1916 painting sold by its Jewish owner, who died in the Holocaust, have not proved that the work was sold under duress.
Houthi Hits: Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen said they have attacked 98 vessels transiting through the region in recent months.
Slate of Sanctions: The State Department announced new sanctions on four entities and two individuals involved in malign cyber activities benefiting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Chip and Sales: Nvidia is acquiring Israeli startups Run:ai and Deci.
Remembering: Howie Schwab, a longtime ESPN researcher and eventual star of “Stump the Schwab,” died at 63. Phyllis Pressman, whose family founded Barneys New York, died at 95. Former WebMD chair Martin Wygod, who with his wife became a top thoroughbred horse breeder, died at 84. Anthropologist Barbara Joans, who studied biker culture, died at 89.
Pic of the Day
Thousands of people braved unseasonably high temperatures on Thursday to take part in the Cohanim prayer at the Kotel in Jerusalem.
Birthdays
Emmy Award-winning actor, comedian and producer, he is descended from a Sephardic family rooted in Thessaloniki, Hank Azaria turns 60…
Retired attorney, Myron “Mike” Sponder… Social worker and health spokesman of the Green Party of the U.K., he is the older brother of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Larry Sanders turns 89… Hedge fund manager and founder of Renaissance Technologies, James Harris Simons turns 86… Hedge fund manager and founder of Omega Advisors, Leon G. “Lee” Cooperman turns 81… Hedge fund manager and founder of CAM Capital, Bruce Stanley Kovner turns 78… Rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva University since 1973, rabbi of the Young Israel of Riverdale Synagogue since 1974, Rabbi Mordechai Willig turns 77… David Handleman… Longtime chairman and CEO of Village Roadshow Pictures, now president of Through The Lens Entertainment, Bruce Berman turns 72… Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations from 2018 to 2021, he was previously president of Bed, Bath and Beyond, Arthur Stark turns 69… Administrative law judge at the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, Beth A. Fox… Commissioner of the National Basketball Association since 2014, Adam Silver turns 62… Senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, focused on security issues in the Middle East, Michael Scott Doran turns 62… Litigator at Quinn Emanuel, he served as U.S. ambassador to the Czech Republic in the Obama administration and clerked for Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun, Andrew H. Schapiro turns 61… Infomercial pitchman, better known as Vince Offer, Vince Shlomi, or “The ShamWow Guy,” Offer Shlomi turns 60… CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester (N.Y.) since 2016, Meredith Dragon… New York Times bestselling author and adjunct professor of neuroscience at Stanford University, David Eagleman turns 53… Deputy director of community health at the Utah Department of Human Services, David E. Litvack turns 52… Manager of the Oakland Ballers baseball team in the Pioneer League, Micah Franklin turns 52… Democratic party strategist, she is a co-founder of Lift Our Voices, Julie Roginsky turns 51… President of the Alliance for Downtown New York, the nation’s largest business improvement district, Jessica S. Lappin turns 49… Senior editor-at-large for Breitbart News, Joel Barry Pollak turns 47… Attorney turned grocer and now professor, she founded Glen’s Garden Market north of Dupont Circle, Danielle Brody Rosengarten Vogel… Co-founder of WeWork and now Flow, Adam Neumann turns 45… Director of development at Yaffed, Adina Mermelstein Konikoff… Managing director, head of social, content and influencer at Deloitte Digital, Kenneth R. Gold… Spokesperson and director of public affairs and planning division at FEMA, Jaclyn Rothenberg… Film and television actress, model and singer, Sara Paxton turns 36… Senior political reporter in Manhattan, Emily Cahn Singer… Former NHL ice hockey defenseman, now a color analyst for Westwood One and ESPN, Colby Shane Cohen turns 35… TikTok Star, he runs the culinary website CookWithChefEitan, Eitan Bernath turns 22…
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