Daily Kickoff
Good Thursday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we cover former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley’s speech yesterday at the Hudson Institute, report on AIPAC’s pause in support for Rep. Scott Perry over his vote against the supplemental bill and have the exclusive on Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno’s call to cut U.S. funding for the U.N. following the body’s offering condolences over the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Janet Yellen, Risa Heller and Rep. Jake Auchincloss.
The House Education and the Workforce Committee will hold its third hearing with college presidents today, this time featuring Northwestern University President Michael Schill, Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway and University of California, Los Angeles Chancellor Gene Block, as well as Phi Beta Kappa Society CEO and former Brandeis University President Frederick Lawrence.
Expect a focus on Schill and Holloway’s controversial decisions to strike deals with anti-Israel protesters to end campus encampments, and the clashes among police, protesters and counterprotesters at UCLA.
Jewish leaders have warned that the agreements with protesters leave Jewish students who follow campus rules ignored, while effectively rewarding those violating the rules and harassing Jewish students.
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), who chairs the committee, said in a statement previewing the hearing on Wednesday, “The Committee has a clear message for mealy-mouthed, spineless college leaders: Congress will not tolerate your dereliction of your duty to your Jewish students… Everyone affiliated with these universities will receive a healthy dose of reality: actions have consequences.”
Democrats, meanwhile, have been increasingly vocal in criticizing the hearings as political theater lacking in substance. “We feel this is a serious issue treated unfortunately in a very unserious way,” Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA), the No. 3 House Democrat said. “Republicans are looking to continue to put wedges in our community… and divide our caucus.” Aguilar also said there’s “plenty of work” for college presidents to do, including enforcing their own rules.
Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI), who chairs the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, said that lawmakers are throwing “kerosene” on the campus environment. And she said she’d visited the encampment at the University of Michigan, which police cleared on Tuesday, declaring “they’re not antisemitic.”
Ahead of the hearing, Rutgers students and faculty put out statements condemning the school’s handling of antisemitism, while the Israeli American Council wrote to committee leaders highlighting the disruption of an IAC event at UCLA and accusing the college of “bias against Jewish students and community members.”
And on Wednesday afternoon, the UCLA campus police chief was temporarily reassigned in response to UCLA police’s failure to intervene in an April 30 attack by counterprotesters on the encampment.
In the world of presidential politics, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley became one of the last Republican holdouts to say she will vote for former President Donald Trump during a Hudson Institute event on Wednesday. Her speech was familiar Haley territory: calling for a strong national defense, unabashed support of Israel and a tough criticism of President Joe Biden’s foreign policy.
In Haley’s speech, she called on Trump to reach out to the millions of Haley primary voters who share her more traditional Republican values. Trump’s selection of a running mate — one of the most important events left on the presidential campaign calendar — will go a long way in determining whether he feels the need to appeal to the Haley coalition of national security hawks. Read more here.
Haley’s newsy Hudson Institute speech comesa day before a Republican on the opposite end of the GOP’s ideological spectrum — Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) — is speaking at an event co-hosted by the Quincy Institute, an isolationist think tank calling for an end to American military intervention.
Vance, who is reportedly in consideration to be Trump’s running mate, has tried to emphasize that despite his opposition to American engagement overseas, he is still a reliable supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship. “The Israelis are our allies. Let them prosecute this war the way they see fit,” Vance said in a CNN interview earlier this month.
But many of the think tank’s scholars are ardent opponents of a close U.S.-Israel relationship. John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, who in 2007 jointly published the controversial book The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, are nonresident scholars. In 2020, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) accused the think tank of helping drive an increase in antisemitism across the country.
Vance’s address will push back on those views, a source familiar with the matter tells JI, instead touting why he believes supporting Israel is a critical component of the America First agenda.
pennsylvania problems
AIPAC pauses fundraising for Scott Perry, as he faces competitive reelection
As Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) faces another hotly contested general election race, AIPAC has halted its fundraising for the former Freedom Caucus chair following his vote against supplemental funding for Israel last month, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
On hold: The pro-Israel group removed the fundraising portal on its PAC website for Republicans who voted against the supplemental package, but Perry is the most endangered of the group, running in a district that the Cook Political Report rates as “lean Republican.” AIPAC spokesperson Marshall Wittmann said the group has not withdrawn its endorsement of Perry but did not answer further questions about when or if it might resume fundraising for the Pennsylvania Republican.
New opportunity: Perry’s vote could open a lane for Janelle Stelson, his Democratic challenger and a former TV news host, to attack him as insufficiently supportive of Israel, and to potentially pick off moderate voters concerned about his votes against Israel and Ukraine aid. Democratic Majority for Israel, which backs pro-Israel Democrats, endorsed Stelson on Monday.
Explaining the vote: Perry said in a statement that he voted against the bill due to what he described as funding for Hamas, referring to humanitarian aid funding. “I have been and remain one of the most vehement defenders in Congress of the State of Israel. I staunchly support her right to defend herself and her people by responding to the heinous and unprovoked attacks by Hamas on Oct 7th and beyond,” Perry said. “I have grievous concerns, however, about provisions in the recent House funding bill that also allocates Billions to Hamas – terrorists! I will not support both sides of the same war; I will not support terrorists; and I will not callously, negligently, and dangerously spend hard earned American Taxpayer dollars on terrorism that is aimed not only at one of our greatest allies, but at America as well.”
exclusive
Bernie Moreno calls on the U.S. to leave the United Nations over Iran appeasement
Bernie Moreno, the Republican Senate nominee in Ohio, told Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs that he believes the United States should withdraw from the United Nations due to its targeting of Israel and appeasement of Iran. Moreno, who is challenging Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D-OH) bid for a fourth term, said in an interview on Wednesday that the U.N.’s decision to offer condolences over the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday, as well as the scores of workers associated with Palestinian terrorist groups through one of its relief agencies, was evidence that the U.S. should leave the organization.
Funding role: “This is a global terrorist who was head of one of the most deadly crime terrorist organizations ever in modern history. We should celebrate the fact that this evil SOB is dead. The fact that the United Nations would lower its flag and pay condolences is grotesque. It shows you how far off mission the U.N. has gotten,” Moreno said. “At this point in time, honestly, it’s time to have a conversation about the U.S. role in funding the U.N. I don’t believe we need to. I think we should stop funding it,” he continued. “I don’t think we need to be a part of the United Nations any longer. I think we should take that money and spend it on the real needs we have in America.”
Israel position: Moreno has aligned himself ideologically with former President Donald Trump and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH). He said that he believes the Republican Party will come around to supporting his anti-U.N. stance, predicting that “by the time January 2025 comes around, my position will be the mainstream in the Republican Party.” Asked why standing with Israel was a part of the America First agenda he touts, Moreno said: “Israel is doing the work for us that we wouldn’t want to do, which is to fight terrorism there instead of fighting it here. They’re the tip of the spear for the battle for Western civilization. They’re the only democracy in the Middle East. They’re our strongest ally, and also an amazing partner for us economically.”
Resolution: Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI) and nine GOP co-sponsors introduced a resolution condemning the State Department statement expressing condolences for the death of Raisi.
palestinian position
Spain, Ireland, Norway recognizing Palestinian state is largely symbolic, experts say
The significance of the planned recognition of a Palestinian state by Ireland, Spain and Norway is largely symbolic, experts told Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov. The moves by the European countries are damaging “in terms of the message it sends – commit Oct. 7 and you’ll obtain what you couldn’t before,” Emmanuel Navon, CEO of Europe-Israel relations advocacy organization ELNET and an international relations lecturer, said.
Meaningful messaging: “The consequences are not legal, it’s more about the message,” he said, adding that the practical implication is probably that “instead of the PLO Embassy having a plaque saying ‘Palestine Liberation Organization,’ it’ll say “State of Palestine, but that’s about it.” Navon also pointed out that the recognition is not of a state in specific borders.
Timing: Yonatan Freeman, an expert on International Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said that “what matters more about this recognition is the timing. It seems like they are piling on to the kind of mantra we’ve been hearing from the [International Criminal Court] and about the Rafah operation, lawsuits against Germany — all of these things are accusations that we are committing war crimes or genocide. The timing is the challenge,” Freeman added, “but I think if you look at what it really means in terms of practical policy changes, I don’t think we should fear the possibility that these countries will now announce that they’re not trading with Israel or some kind of sanctions … I don’t think there will be a significant impact.”
On the Hill: There was bipartisan agreement from lawmakers in opposition to Ireland, Spain and Norway’s decision to recognize Palestinian statehood. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said there would be a time for further discussion “after peace is restored there, but I think it’s premature.” Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) suggested that, as long as Hamas remains in control of Gaza, the decision effectively recognized Hamas. “Until Hamas is dismantled or radically changes its ways — its founding charter is to kill all Jews — there is no way any country or anyone should recognize Hamas,” Lieu said.
up in arms
Democrats divided on opposition to Biden arms hold
A bill that sought to build bipartisan consensus around legislative efforts to respond to President Joe Biden’s freeze on some arms transfers to Israel — and his threat to suspend further arms sales — picked up new bipartisan support at a House Foreign Affairs Committee meeting yesterday, but Democrats ultimately remained divided on the issue, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Background: The House voted last week on a bill that sought to force the administration to unfreeze the arms sales, with just 16 Democrats supporting it. Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul (R-TX) introduced a second bill, the “Maintaining Our Ironclad Commitment to Israel’s Security Act,” which would require notifications to Congress before arms transfers to Israel could be paused, and offered Congress the opportunity to vote to block such moves. McCaul told reporters last week that he was hoping that the bill would be a bipartisan effort that could become law.
Continued opposition: But 13 Democrats ultimately opposed the bill at a House Foreign Affairs Committee meeting. Meeks and other Democrats sought to expand the bill to apply to any halts on arms sales globally — referencing former President Donald Trump’s halt on arms transfers to Ukraine — an effort that the committee rejected along party lines.
Results: Nine Democrats — Reps. Dina Titus (D-NV), Susan Wild (D-PA), Dean Phillips (D-MN), Colin Allred (D-TX), Kathy Manning (D-NC), Greg Stanton (D-AZ), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Jim Costa (D-CA) and Brad Schneider (D-IL) — ultimately voted for the bill. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) did not vote but is a co-sponsor of the bill and expressed his support for it during Wednesday’s meeting.
on the hill
House committee approves 2025 defense bill, with new cooperative Israel, Middle East programs
The House Armed Services Committee approved its draft of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, the annual defense and national security policy bill, on a bipartisan basis on Wednesday night, adding a series of amendments seeking to enhance cooperation, across a variety of areas, with Israel and other U.S. allies in the Middle East, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Smooth sailing: All of the approved Middle East-related amendments to this year’s bill were included in larger bipartisan packages of amendments, passing without controversy. The full NDAA passed by a 57-1 vote; Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) was again the only committee member to oppose the bill.
Digging deep: Amid Israel’s continued efforts to destroy Hamas tunnels in Gaza, Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) led an amendment to require the U.S. to hold annual military exercises on counter-tunnel operations with Israel and potentially other U.S. allies, including efforts to infiltrate, operate in and destroy tunnels.
Look to the stars: An amendment by Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) would require the administration to assess ways that the U.S.’ Middle East allies and partners can integrate their efforts to protect space systems, such as satellites. The legislation would ask the Pentagon to provide an assessment of threats posed by Iran and its proxy groups to U.S. and allied space systems or using space capabilities, a description of existing and planned coordination efforts and a strategy and recommendations for implementing a joint space and satellite security program.
Mr. Robot: Banks led another amendment that seeks to further advance Middle East air- and missile-defense integration efforts. The amendment would require the administration to produce a new strategy on implementing those coordination efforts, particularly focusing on the potential use of artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies.
keyboard warriors
Meta Oversight Board to review post alleging all Israelis are ‘criminals’
As social media companies struggle to strike a balance between hate speech and free expression on their platforms, Meta’s Oversight Board announced on Tuesday that it would review three recent posts — including one, tied to the war in Gaza, calling all Israelis criminals — that the board previously removed, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Haley Cohen reports for Jewish Insider. The board, an independent entity that reviews Facebook, Instagram and Threads posts, also said it would consider recommending changes to Meta’s hate speech policies.
Problematic posts: In January, a Threads user, replying to a video on the Israel-Hamas war, posted, “All Israelis are criminals” as well as the text “genocide.” In a December incident, a Facebook user wrote in Arabic referring to Russians and Americans as “criminals.” In March, an Instagram user commented on a post, “All Indians are rapists.” In all three cases, Meta removed the content after it was flagged by the automated system.
Board considerations: The board said on Tuesday it is considering whether Meta “should moderate allegations of criminality based on nationality.” The board is asking for the public to offer perspectives on the impact of Meta’s policies on the ability of users to speak out against governmental actions and the effect of posts calling an entire group of people “criminals.” The board also is seeking suggestions for criteria to distinguish between attacks on a group of people and attacks on institutions.
Worthy Reads
Taking on Tehran: In Politico, Ray Takeyh and Suzanne Maloney, respectively a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and vice president and director of the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution, consider how the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi may affect the country’s future. “The ascension of Raisi to the regime’s second highest office was not a function of any discernible charisma or political skill, but rather an acknowledgment that he possessed the qualities most valuable for late-stage autocracy — mindless loyalty to the ruling system, a track record of unhesitating brutality and deep integration within the religious, familial and security networks that underpin the state. In this sense, he was a reliable functionary of the clerical state, a symptom not the cause of its domestic repression and regional aggression. For that reason, his death is not likely to precipitate meaningful changes in Iranian policies. What may have changed is the considerable appetite for risk that Tehran has demonstrated over the past several years. … However, Khamenei and the security services will be acutely aware of the risk inherent in any perception of vulnerability, both in terms of their external posture as well as internal politics. As a result, we should expect a skittish, reactive Iran that may be more dangerous if it perceives itself on the defensive.” [Politico]
The ‘Z’ Word:The New York Times’ Joseph Bernstein looks at the “new social litmus test” on college campuses over the term “Zionist.” “Some Jewish students on campus believe these dynamics amount to a kind of litmus test: If you support Palestine, you’re in. If you support the existence of or aren’t ready to denounce Israel, you’re out. And they say this is not limited to pro-Palestine protests. It is, instead, merely the most pointed form of a new social pressure that has started to drip down from the public square onto the fabric of everyday campus life, seeping into spaces that would seem to have little to do with Middle East politics: club sports, casual friendships, dance troupes. … This pressure, some students say, has forced them to choose between their belief in the right of the Jewish state to exist and full participation in campus social life. It is brought to bear not only on outwardly Zionist Jews, for whom the choice is in some sense already made, but to Jews on campus who may be ambivalent about Israel.” [NYTimes]
Drawing a Line: In Tablet, a retired U.S. Army veteran who uses the pseudonym Cynical Publius considers the line between anti-Zionism and antisemitism. “When you know that Israel is the freest, most liberal state in the region; when you know that war is hell and civilians die in all wars; when you know that the IDF engages in state-of-the-art mitigation measures to protect innocent civilians; when you know all of these things and still engage in the blood libelish lies of ‘Israel is committing genocide,’ No. 2 is the only logical conclusion. The only stain is the one on that person’s soul — a black stain of Jew hatred that goes back millennia. The hate of the well-informed stands out because it’s purposeful. Ultimately, antisemitism is a mind virus. Any so-called influencer or self-styled intellectual who spreads it to fellow Americans, under the guise of informing them, is a predator.” [Tablet]
Take Two: The New York Times’ Pamela Paul reflects on the Academy Museum of Motion Picture’s omission of Hollywood’s Jewish founders from its original museum exhibition. “The museum highlights nonwhite and other marginalized contributors to the industry to help remedy the industry’s long record of exclusion. ‘I don’t think you open a cultural institution at this historical moment and not be reflective of a diversity of histories and perspectives,’ Jacqueline Stewart, the museum’s current director and president, told me when I asked about the museum’s focus on representation. She pushed back on the criticism. ‘There were references to Jewish filmmakers from the very beginning,’ she said, mentioning a clip of a Steven Spielberg Oscar acceptance speech. ‘That seems to get lost.’ But in bending over backward to highlight various identity groups at every point, the museum unintentionally leaves out part of what makes the movies such a unifying and essentially popular medium: the ability to transcend those differences. In a pluralistic, immigrant nation, Hollywood helped create a uniquely American culture that speaks to a broad audience. That’s part of what we call the magic of movies.” [NYTimes]
Around the Web
Johnson’s Ultimatum: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) gave Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) a deadline to sign onto his invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress and said he would otherwise proceed without the New York senator, causing pushback from some Democrats.
Bank Bluster: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen cautioned Israel against cutting ties between its banks and Palestinian lenders, warning that the move would further destabilize the Palestinian Authority; the U.S. has raised concerns that Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich does not intend to renew a waiver this summer that facilitates billions of dollars in Israeli imports.
New Oct. 7 Video: The families of five female Israeli hostages who were taken hostage from a base near Israel’s border with Gaza on Oct. 7 released an extended video showing the girls bloody and abused by Hamas terrorists before being taken to the enclave.
Settlements Move: Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant lifted restrictions barring Israelis from areas in the northern West Bank that were evacuated as part of the 2005 disengagement that also saw Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
After Mitch: Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) announced a bid for Senate Republican leader, framing himself as an outsider challenging the GOP establishment; Scott previously tried to unseat Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) last year.
Angst on the Left: Axioslooks at infighting among House progressives amid debates over how to respond to campus protests.
Campus Controversy: Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) suggested that universities that don’t adequately address campus antisemitism should risk losing their federal funding.
Bowman Targeted: A new United Democracy Project digital ad, targeting Jewish voters, highlights Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s (D-NY) comments denying Oct. 7 atrocities, including sexual violence.
Fêting Fetterman: Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) will receive Yeshiva University’s Presidential Medallion at its upcoming commencement ceremony.
The ICC’s Man: The New York Timesdoes a deep dive into International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan’s decision to publicly seek arrest warrants for top Israeli and Hamas officials.
Poland’s Position: Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said that Warsaw backs a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, following the announcements by Norway, Sweden and Spain that those countries would unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state.
Gershkovich Honored:Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained in Russia for more than a year, was named the recipient of the Los Angeles Press Club’s 2024 Daniel Pearl Award for Courage and Integrity in Journalism.
Survey Says: A new Siena College poll found that a majority of New Yorkers support peaceful protests “in support of those suffering in Gaza,” but believe the protests on campus “went too far” and crossed the line into antisemitism and back police intervention.
Field Trip: Eighth graders enrolled in New York City’s public school system will have the opportunity to participate in a citywide field trip to the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Lower Manhattan, part of $2.5 million public-private initiative with the city and the foundation of Blackstone’s Jon Gray.
No Cap and Gown: The Harvard Corporation voted against a faculty effort to allow the graduation of 13 students who violated the school’s code of conduct during anti-Israel campus demonstrations.
Content Deal:Wall Street Journal owner News Corp inked a $250 million content deal with OpenAI.
Going West: Risa Heller Communications is opening a Los Angeles office, and hiring Netflix veteran Erika Masonhall as managing director of the West Coast branch.
Curtain Goes Down: The American Theatre of Actors is under fire after canceling upcoming performances of a musical about a Jewish woman in Poland during the Holocaust; the theater cited rising insurance costs associated with the work’s Jewish themes.
Like, Really?: In The Wall Street Journal, Tevi Troy reveals his litmus test for interviews: the number of times a job applicant used the word “like.”
In Mourning: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei prayed over the coffins of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and six other government officials, who died in a weekend helicopter crash.
Transition: Puck’s Teddy Schleifer is rejoining The New York Times, where a decade ago he worked as a Washington-based reporting fellow; Schleifer will be a correspondent on the Times’ politics desk.
An Irish Welcome: Rabbi Yoni Wieder spoke with Irish President Michael Higgins on a welcome call today; Wieder was installed on Tuesday as the chief rabbi of Ireland.
Pic of the Day
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) delivered closing remarks yesterday at the Zionist Rabbinic Annual Coalition conference on Capitol Hill.
Birthdays
Former dean of the Yale School of Architecture and founder of an eponymous architecture firm, Robert A. M. Stern turns 85…
Emeritus professor of physics and the history of science at Harvard, Gerald James Holton turns 102… Businessman and attorney, he acquired and rebuilt The Forge, an iconic restaurant in Miami Beach, Alvin Malnik turns 91… Businessman, optometrist, inventor and philanthropist, Dr. Herbert A. Wertheim turns 85… Founder and chairman of law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, leading D.C. super-lobbyist based in Denver, longtime proponent of the U.S.-Israel relationship and national board member of AIPAC, Norman Brownstein turns 81… British fashion retailer and promoter of tennis in Israel, he is the founder, chairman and CEO of three international clothing lines including the French Connection, Great Plains and Toast brands, Stephen Marks turns 78… Special counsel at Cozen O’Connor, focused on election law, he was in the inaugural class of Yeshiva University’s Benjamin Cardozo School of Law, Jerry H. Goldfeder turns 77… Award-winning television writer and playwright, Stephanie Liss turns 74… Israeli diplomat, he served as Israel’s ambassador to Nigeria and as consul general of Israel to Philadelphia, Uriel Palti turns 70… Editor-in-chief of a book on end-of-life stories, Catherine Zacks Gildenhorn… Israeli businessman with holdings in real estate, construction, energy, hotels and media, Ofer Nimrodi turns 67… President of Newton, Mass.-based Liberty Companies, Andrew M. Cable turns 67… Best-selling author and journalist, whose works include Tuesdays with Morrie, he has sold over 40 million books, Mitch Albom turns 66… Resident scholar at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Reuel Marc Gerecht… Chairman of the board of the Irvine, California-based Ayn Rand Institute, Yaron Brook turns 63… Actor, comedian, writer, producer and musician, H. Jon Benjamin turns 58… Former ski instructor, ordained by HUC-JIR in 1998, now rabbi of the Community Synagogue of Rye (N.Y.), Daniel B. Gropper… Film and television director, Nanette Burstein turns 54… Australian cosmetics entrepreneur, now living in NYC, she is known as the “Lipstick Queen,” Poppy Cybele King turns 52… Prominent NYC matrimonial law attorney, Casey Greenfield turns 51… Member of the Knesset for the New Hope party, she served as Israel’s minister of education in the prior government, Yifat Shasha-Biton turns 51… Retired attorney, now a YouTuber with 607,000 followers and 176 million views, David Freiheit turns 45… President of the Newton and Rochelle Becker Charitable Trust until six months ago, Dylan Tatz… Tech, cyber and disinformation reporter for Haaretz, Omer Benjakob… Professional golfer on the LPGA Tour, she turned pro at age 17 and is the youngest-ever winner of a modern LPGA major championship, Morgan Pressel turns 36… Senior manager of brand and product strategy at GLG, Andrea M. Hiller Tenenboym…