Daily Kickoff
Good Friday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s affirmation of the Biden administration’s commitment to removing Hamas from power, hear from Sen. Ben Cardin about the future of Israeli operations in Gaza and cover the responses of members of New York City’s congressional delegation to the anti-Israel protests outside the Nova exhibit. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Howard Fineman, Evan Gershkovich and Stephanie Hallett.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), in the closing weeks of his primary campaign, is embracing a series of far-left, virulently anti-Israel positions as new public polling shows him losing by a significant margin in the June 25 primary to Westchester County Executive George Latimer, Jewish Insider’s senior congressional correspondent Marc Rod reports.
Earlier this week, Bowman disputed the notion that the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 was unprovoked. “If we’re calling this an unprovoked attack, that means we’re going to ignore 18 human rights organizations calling Israel an apartheid state, and we’re gonna ignore 75 years of military occupation…or several hundred thousand settlers expanding into the West Bank,” Bowman said in an interview. “I am not justifying the killing of civilians by Hamas on Oct. 7, there is no justification. It’s just an explanation of what the circumstances were that led to Oct. 7 … If you want to end extremism, then we need a free Palestine.”
The New York Times published recordings from a recent meeting where Bowman made amends with the Democratic Socialists of America, during which he endorsed some of the group’s extreme anti-Israel views.
Bowman told the DSA members that he no longer supports funding for Israel’s Iron Dome, saying, “I didn’t want my ‘no’ vote” in 2021 “to be misinterpreted as ‘I want Jews to be killed,’” given that he was still working to introduce himself to Jewish constituents.
Bowman said he would not vote for any more aid to Israel, including stand-alone Iron Dome funding, “until we get a free Palestine,” adding that the U.S. and Israel should be contributing “tens of billions of dollars” to build such a state.
Bowman also said he now supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. “BDS is a nonviolent protest opportunity to hold Israel accountable,” Bowman said, adding that he’s “ready, willing and able to collaborate with you all to figure out what’s the best way to do that.” He said that suppression of the BDS movement had “nurtured extremism.”
New polling conducted by Emerson College for WPIX-TV and The Hill suggests Bowman’s last-minute outreach to hard-left voters is a reflection that he’s lost most voters in the middle. Bowman trails Latimer by 17 points (48-31%), with 21% of respondents undecided. By a similar 16-point margin (45-29%), voters preferred Latimer’s views on Israel than Bowman’s, with the rest unsure.
In a sign of Bowman’s vulnerability, Bowman is only winning Black voters by 14 points (48-34%), while he’s losing white voters by 42 points (62-20%) and is tied with Hispanic voters (36-36%). Voters under the age of 40 prefer Bowman by 9 points (44-35%), but those over 40 overwhelmingly back Latimer.
The diverse district, which has one of the largest Jewish constituencies in the country, traverses parts of the Bronx and much of Westchester County.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who lives in Westchester County (though not in Bowman’s district), endorsed Latimer on Wednesday, saying, “we need strong, principled Democrats in Congress more than ever.” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Clinton’s 2016 primary rival, is rallying support for Bowman.
military matters
Cardin predicts Israeli operations in Gaza may begin to wind down even without cease-fire deal
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, predicted in a Thursday meeting with reporters that Israel’s operations in Gaza may begin to wind down even if Hamas continues to resist and reject offers for a cease-fire, while also emphasizing that Hamas could still be pressured into agreeing to a cease-fire deal that it has been resisting, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Time-limited: Even if a cease-fire deal remains elusive, Cardin said his understanding is that “there is a finite date to how much more military operations [Israel] can do” and “there’s not much more that can be gained through the military operations” — though he said he didn’t know exactly what that timeline would be.
Continuing pressure: Cardin said that “if [the current cease-fire proposal] does not go forward, it rests solely with the responsibilities of Hamas.” He said that he’s “not surprised” that Hamas is obstructing a deal, but also argued, “just because Hamas doesn’t want to do it [does not mean] they’re not going to do it.” Cardin explained that the U.S. and others in the region, including U.S. adversaries and “those that Hamas might be listening to,” are placing pressure on the terrorist group to agree and Hamas will “find their support system eroding” if they do not.
sullivan says
Jake Sullivan affirms U.S. commitment to full removal of Hamas from power in Gaza
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday that the administration remains committed to seeing Hamas removed from power in Gaza, a goal he said Washington aims to accomplish through a cease-fire agreement and new political arrangement in Gaza, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Removing Hamas: Asked at the American Jewish Committee Global Forum in Washington, D.C., whether the administration still seeks to remove Hamas fully from power, Sullivan answered in the affirmative. President Joe Biden “explicitly said that the path forward is a Gaza where Hamas is no longer in power,” Sullivan continued.
Path forward: Sullivan said that, working through the three phases of a cease-fire deal that Biden laid out, “we can end up with an interim security enterprise and interim governance enterprise that can lead to a Gaza that is no longer a platform for terror.”
Daylight: Pressed on the administration’s growing criticism of and breaks with Israel, Sullivan insisted, “anyone who thinks they’re going to effectively drive a wedge between the president and Israel on the core question of Israel’s security — they have another thing coming.” He said the disagreements have been over “tactical” and “operational” issues the U.S. thinks are in Israel’s interest.
speaking up
New York politicians condemn pro-Hamas rally at Nova festival exhibit
A growing chorus of New York politicians condemned the pro-Hamas demonstration outside an exhibit in downtown Manhattan paying tribute to the victims of Hamas’ massacre at the Nova music festival on Oct. 7 — including some of the Democratic party’s most vocal critics of Israel, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
AOC speaks: “The callousness, dehumanization, and targeting of Jews on display at last night’s protest outside the Nova Festival exhibit was atrocious antisemitism — plain and simple,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said. “Antisemitism has no place in our city nor any broader movement that centers human dignity and liberation.”
Bowman’s response: Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), who is facing a serious primary challenge over his anti-Israel record also described the demonstration as antisemitic. “I condemn those celebrating the innocents killed on October 7. This dark day was the largest attack on the Jewish community since the Holocaust,” Bowman said. “Celebrating it is antisemitic and unacceptable. Peace cannot be achieved by weaponizing our tragedies against each other.”
Despicable and inhumane: Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told JI the rhetoric at the demonstration was “despicable and inhumane” while noting he had visited the exhibit on Friday, days before the demonstration. “[I] was incredibly moved to see the huge loss of human life on display — so many young people moved in the prime of life — to the vicious Hamas attackers,” Schumer said.
Read the full story here including additional comments from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), GOP and Democratic members of New York City’s congressional delegation, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
Bonus: The editorial board of The Wall Street Journal, weighing in on the protests outside the Nova exhibit, warns that the U.S. “has an antisemitism problem that is growing in its extremism, and these days it is mainly on the political left. Don’t be surprised if it soon breaks out into violence.”
radical rental
Jewish, pro-Israel groups slam National Press Club for renting space to ‘Hamas-adjacent’ group
Jewish leaders are raising concerns about the National Press Club serving as the venue for a conference organized by Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) earlier this week. The event, which took place on Tuesday, was titled “Unmasking the UAE: Transnational Repression & Lobbying Power” and placed a critical lens on the United States’ relationship with the United Arab Emirates. The NPC regularly rents out event space to groups that are unaffiliated with the venue itself, though the decision to permit DAWN to use their facilities was met with condemnation in the Jewish community, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.
Jewish community leaders react: William Daroff, who leads the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, told JI that allowing DAWN to hold an event at the Club gave the group unwarranted legitimacy. “There’s a reason people go to the National Press Club. They go to the National Press Club for events. It gives the imprimatur of the organization being a part of the sort of Washington media establishment – they’re having this event in the heart of the American media, with the coverage that comes from that, with the apparent stamp of approval that flows from that,” Daroff said. AIPAC spokesman Marshall Wittmann told JI: “Legitimacy should not be granted to an explicitly anti-Israel organization which is extremely hostile to America’s ally.”
Press club comment: Reached for comment on their decision to rent space to the organization, a spokesperson for the National Press Club told JI, “As we are also a business and we are open, same as a hotel or convention center, we are renting spaces and providing food and beverage to the client, like any rental business without discrimination.”
on the hill
House committee approves bill making changes to campus antisemitism investigation procedures
The House Education and Workforce Committee voted 25-15 on Thursday to advance the Civil Rights Protection Act, a bill that places new requirements on universities and the Department of Education relating to investigating complaints of discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion or shared ancestry under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
The dispute: Lawmakers supporting the bill said it was aimed at addressing rising antisemitism on college campuses. Democrats, arguing that the bill, which was introduced last Friday, had been moved too hastily and adds onerous new requirements on the Department of Education, voted nearly unanimously against the legislation. Rep. Kathy Manning (D-NC) was the only Democrat who supported it.
New regulations: The bill, led by Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR), would require schools receiving federal funding to make public and distribute to students and their families their procedures for investigating complaints of discrimination and information on how to file complaints with both the school and Department of Education. Schools would also have to designate an employee to coordinate efforts to comply with Title VI and implement procedures for timely communication with and notifications for complainants. Any school that does not comply with these provisions for two consecutive years would become ineligible to receive aid for at least the next two years.
money matters
House Appropriations Committee approves 2025 State Department funding bill
The House Appropriations Committee this week approved its drafts of the 2025 State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs, Homeland Security and Defense funding bills, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Antisemitism office boost: On top of other provisions previously reported by JI, the State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs funding bill also includes a funding boost for the State Department’s Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, from $1.75 million to $2.5 million for 2025, and urges the State Department to add full-time staff to the office to ensure its “stability and continuity of operations.”
Gaza focus: The legislation also includes a provision barring the use of refugee funding to admit or resettle Palestinians from Gaza in the U.S. During an Appropriations Committee meeting, lawmakers approved, by a voice vote, an amendment cutting all funding to the Maldives until the island nation reverses its policy barring Israeli citizens from the country.
Pier problems: The committee approved, by a voice vote, an amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill that would ban any funding for the Gaza pier or its operations. The committee ultimately voted along party lines, 34-25, to approve the bill. The administration did not request funding for the pier in 2025.
Read the full story here.
Elsewhere on the Hill: The House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday rejected an amendment to the 2025 Homeland Security Appropriations bill that would have boosted fiscal year 2025 funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program up to $385 million, meeting the administration’s request level, from the $305 million proposed in the draft bill, JI’s Marc Rod reports.
Worthy Reads
Good vs. Evil: In The Wall Street Journal, Ruth Wisse considers the boundaries of good and evil in the context of the Israel-Hamas war and how it is playing out on the global stage. “Reluctance to impose the death penalty, belief in saving life at any cost, and a political culture of accommodation have made Jews the most liberal and most easily targeted people in the Middle East. … When a peace-loving civilization indulges its would-be destroyers, it creates a moral imbalance that must end in its own destruction. Israel is learning at too high a cost that the hardest part of protecting liberal democracy is stopping the wicked before they massacre the pure and the good. Feeling no comparable urgency, the U.S. moves in the opposite direction. Apart from Sept. 11, recent assaults on America haven’t come from abroad but from an expanding coalition of homegrown grievance groups that define their opportunity as inequity, civil rights as racism, and democracy as oppression. Sponsored partially by foreign interests, these groups claiming victimhood at the hands of an unjust America have coalesced behind protesters claiming victimhood at the hands of Israel.” [WSJ]
A Palestinian’s Plea: In The Free Press, Gaza-born political analyst Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, who sought asylum in the U.S. as a teenager, suggests that anti-Israel activists in the U.S. are doing more to harm the Palestinian cause than to help it. “Things got much worse after October 7. Those who claimed to be in solidarity with Gaza didn’t just avoid condemning Hamas’s horrendous attack — they dismissed it, claiming the extent of the atrocities committed against Israeli civilians was being exaggerated, or outright invented. When I tried to argue that we shouldn’t look the other way, they scolded me. Focus on what matters, they told me. That was a turning point for me. I needed to walk away from the pro-Palestine groups that were my community, my second family. Right now, I am not engaged with any of these groups. It often feels like Palestinians have become pawns for activists, our plight making it easier to criticize Israel. But it’s my family in the crosshairs. My brother and surviving family members are still over there, along with many people I grew up with. This is personal to me.” [TheFreePress]
Downfalls of Daylight: In Foreign Affairs, Shalom Lipner posits that the Biden administration is a necessary ally as Israel finds itself increasingly isolated. “To avoid a broader collapse of the U.S.-Israeli relationship, it is imperative for Netanyahu to shift course quickly and find ways to work more closely with the Biden administration. That is especially true if, as Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi remarked on May 29, ‘The fighting in Gaza will continue for at least another seven months.’ Going it alone against its adversaries without U.S. support is not a viable strategy for Israel, whose war footing rests on access to foreign munitions and the suppression of international prohibitions on its actions. The United States should be part of the solution, not part of the problem.” [ForeignAffairs]
Around the Web
Deal Drama: Secretary of State Tony Blinken criticized Hamas for its failure to accept the recent cease-fire proposal; Blinken said that Hamas’ counter to the deal included “some” changes that “are workable” and “some [that] are not.”
Cease-fire Qualms: President Joe Biden expressed his own concerns about the odds for a cease-fire deal, telling reporters at the G7 that “the biggest hang-up” in negotiations is Hamas’ refusal to agree to a deal.
Heading to Washington: Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi are traveling to Washington next week for meetings with their American counterparts.
Military Meetup: U.S. Central Command convened a meeting of top generals from Israel and Arab nations in Bahrain on Monday.
Bahrain-bound: The White House announced the nomination of Stephanie Hallett, the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, to be ambassador to Bahrain.
Pier Problems: The U.S. military is considering temporarily dismantling the pier it built off the coast of Gaza and relocating it to Israel’s port of Ashdod for a second time amid concerns that rough sea conditions could cause its collapse.
Sinwar’s Stance: American intelligence officials indicated that Oct. 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar believes that Hamas has the upper hand and is poised to survive the war intact.
Unknown Fates: A spokesperson for Hamas said the terror group does not know how many of the remaining 120 hostages are still alive.
American Intelligence: The Washington Postlooks at the role that U.S. intelligence agencies are playing in Israeli efforts to locate hostages in Gaza.
Survey Says: A new poll from the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found declining support for Hamas among residents of Gaza, but an uptick in support for the terror group from Palestinians in the West Bank.
D.C. Visit: Senior Biden administration officials met with Lebanon’s top military general in Washington earlier this week, as the White House works to calm tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.
Northern Front: Hezbollah fired hundreds of missiles and drones into Israel, injuring several, following an Israeli strike that killed a senior Hezbollah commander.
Backing Hogan: Former President Donald Trump endorsed Republican Senate candidate Larry Hogan in Maryland, despite Hogan’s previous criticism of the former president.
Gold Medal: By a voice vote, the House passed a bill seeking to grant a congressional gold medal to 60 U.S. and international diplomats who helped save Jews during the Holocaust.
On The Scene: The Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation honored Joe Scarborough, co-host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” for his Holocaust-related coverage and post-Oct. 7 support for the Jewish community, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Haley Cohen reports.
Words Watch: Sens. Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced a bill that would place individuals who have expressed support for a terrorist group, urged violence against Jewish people or been disciplined for such conduct at an institute of higher education on the no-fly list.
Mulling the Mask: N.Y. Gov. Kathy Hochul is mulling the implementation of a ban on some mask-wearing on New York City subways, citing concerns over people using masks to shield their identity while committing antisemitic acts.
Police Probe: The NYPD is investigating after the homes of the director, president and two trustees of the Brooklyn Museum were vandalized with red paint and graffiti; a banner hung outside the home of the museum’s director, who is Jewish, labeled her a “white-supremacist Zionist.”
Caught Red-Handed: The Washington Free Beaconreports on text messages exchanged between Columbia University administrators that appeared to dismiss Jewish student and alumni concerns about antisemitism on campus.
Incoming Chief: UCLA appointed Julio Frenk as its next chancellor, beginning in January 2025; the outgoing University of Miami president’s father was a German Jew who fled the Nazi regime for Mexico in the 1930s.
Campus Beat: The University of California, Berkeley is asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit tied to the recent on-campus anti-Israel protests, arguing that the incidents are still under investigation by campus officials.
New Hire: The Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia hired a Harvard Law school student charged with misdemeanor assault and battery and violations of the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act in connection with an October incident in which he accosted an Israeli student on the Cambridge campus.
Fenced In: The president of California State University, Los Angeles was forced to shelter in her office after anti-Israel protesters erected a barricade around the building.
Documentary Debut: Fox News Media released a special documentary through its Fox Nation platform this week on the impact of the global uptick in antisemitism following Oct. 7, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.
Evan’s Indictment: Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been falsely imprisoned in Russia for more than a year, will stand trial on charges of espionage.
Follow the Money: Patagonia launched an internal investigation into donations the apparel company has directed to a group linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Raisi’s Successor: The Atlanticlooks at the remaining candidates to succeed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
Eye on Iran: Iran is expanding its uranium-enrichment capacity at two underground sites, following last week’s vote by the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency calling on Iran to increase its cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
Allies in Arms: Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have engaged in conversations to provide weapons to the Al-Shabaab militant group in Somalia.
Chomsky Update: Noam Chomsky, 95, was hospitalized in his wife’s native Brazil, where he is recovering from a stroke he had a year ago.
Remembering: Longtime journalist and political correspondent Howard Fineman died at 75. Morrie Markoff, believed to be the oldest man in the U.S., died at 110.
Pic of the Day
Former hostage Almog Meir Dan, who was rescued from captivity in Gaza by Israeli forces last weekend, posed next to a mural calling for his release.
Birthdays
Former dean of Yeshiva College, U.S. ambassador to Egypt for President Bill Clinton, and U.S. ambassador to Israel for President George W Bush, Daniel C. Kurtzer turns 75 on Sunday…
FRIDAY: Retired Soviet nuclear scientist, now writing from Skokie on Jewish intellectual spirituality, Vladimir Minkov, Ph.D. turns 91… Retired U.S. district judge for the District of Maryland, Marvin Joseph Garbis turns 88… Former vice chair of the board of the Jewish Federation-Council of Greater Los Angeles, Dr. Beryl A. Geber… Joanna Lerner… Senior fellow at Project HOPE, she directed the Medicare and Medicaid programs in the Bush 41 administration, Gail R. Wilensky, Ph.D. turns 81… 45th president of the United States, Donald J. Trump turns 78… Former French diplomat and advisor to former French Presidents Chirac and Sarkozy, Jean-David Levitte turns 78… Television sportscaster and journalist, Len Berman turns 77… Writer, critic, philosopher and magazine editor, Leon Wieseltier turns 72… Chairman and chief investment officer of Duquesne Family Office, Stanley Druckenmiller turns 71… One of the wealthiest individuals in the U.K., he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2017 for services to philanthropy, Sir Leonard “Len” Blavatnik turns 67… Co-founder of Virunga Mountain Spirits, a distillery in Rwanda, William Benjamin (“Bill”) Wasserman… President of Blue Diamond HR LLC, Michelle “Shel” Grossman… President of Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., Maud S. Mandel turns 57… Senior advisor to TollBit, Campbell Brown… Singer-songwriter with nine studio albums, Joshua Radin turns 50… Co-founder of Kelp (now a part of Signal AI), Daniel M. Gaynor… Australian fashion model, author, philanthropist and businesswoman, Kathryn Eisman turns 43… NYC-based businessman, Pavel Khodorkovsky turns 39… Former deputy assistant secretary at HUD and then senior advisor at OMB, Paige Esterkin Bronitsky… Director of public affairs at San Francisco’s District Attorney’s office, Lilly Rapson… Actor Daryl Sabara… and his fraternal twin brother, also an actor, Evan Sabara, both turn 32… Senior copywriter at OnMessage, Julia Cohen… Associate attorney at Phillips Whisnant Gazin Gorczyca & Curtin, Jacob Ellenhorn… Vienna-based European editor for Moment Magazine and the author of The Vienna Briefing, Liam Hoare…
SATURDAY: Iranian-born British billionaire, he was knighted in 1989 and made a life peer in 2004, Baron David Alliance turns 92… Former president of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Phoenix, Stuart C. Turgel… Former president of the National Rifle Association, Sandra S. (Sandy) Froman turns 75… Ethicist and professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School, Laurie Zoloth turns 74… Internationally recognized authority on Yiddish folk and theater music, Zalmen Mlotek turns 73… VP of the Eurasian Jewish Congress, he has rebuilt a synagogue and a community center in Estonia, Alexander Bronstein, Ph.D. turns 70… President and CEO of the PR firm Edelman, founded by his father Daniel Edelman in 1952, Richard Winston Edelman turns 70… Chief rabbi of Poland, Rabbi Michael Schudrich turns 69… Israeli Druze politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Likud, Fateen Mulla turns 64… Novelist, screenwriter, teacher and freelance journalist, Jill Eisenstadt turns 61… First woman certified by the NFLPA as a player agent, she is now general counsel for USA Lacrosse, Ellen Marsha Zavian turns 61… Director at Citrin Cooperman Advisors, Reuben Rutman… Los Angeles based attorney, Daniel Brett Lacesa… Regional director of the ADL based in Los Angeles, Jeffrey I. Abrams… Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, now deputy managing editor at The New York Times, Clifford J. Levy turns 57… Chief political correspondent for CNN, born Dana Ruth Schwartz, Dana Bash turns 53… Retired news anchor for Israel Public Broadcasting, Geula Even-Saar turns 52… Former head speechwriter for Michelle Obama and author of a 2019 book about her rediscovery of Judaism, Sarah Hurwitz… Ethiopian-born Israeli marathon runner, he represented Israel at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Zohar Zimro turns 47… Co-anchor of a CNN global news show, Bianna Golodryga turns 46… Co-founder of Evergreen Strategy Group, he is a former director of speechwriting for Hillary Clinton and was also the principal collaborator on HRC’s two memoirs, Daniel Baum Schwerin… Director of corporate communications and public affairs at Google, Rebecca Michelle Ginsberg Rutkoff… VP of institutional advancement at Birthright Israel Foundation, Jaclyn “Jackie” Saxe Soleimani… Diversity recruiter at The Carlyle Group, Victoria Edelman Klapper… Correspondent with the PBS NewsHour and PBS News Weekend, Ali S. Weinberg Rogin… Analyst at Blackstone, Elli Sweet… Jimmy Ritter…
SUNDAY: Brig. Gen. (ret.) in the IDF, then a member of Knesset, later chairman of Ha’aguda Lema’an Hachayal, a non-profit IDF veterans group, Avigdor Kahalani turns 80… Professor at Nanjing University and China’s leading professor of Jewish studies, Xu Xin turns 75… Rickey Wolosky Palkovitz… Former chief investigative correspondent at Yahoo! News and author of a recent book on the 2020 presidential election, Michael Isikoff turns 72… UC Berkeley professor and WSJ columnist, Alison Gopnik turns 69… Professor of Jewish studies at the University of Freiburg (Germany), Gabrielle Oberhänsli-Widmer turns 67… Distinguished fellow in Jewish studies at Dartmouth College, Shaul Magid… Southern California resident, Roberta Trachten-Zeve… President of GEM Commercial Flooring Company in Overland Park, Kansas, Matthew Elyachar… Pulitzer Prize-winning business reporter and bestselling author, he is a past president of Washington Hebrew Congregation, David A. Vise turns 64… Former chair of the Broward County, Fla., JCRC, he is the co-founder of The Alliance of Blacks & Jews, Keith Wasserstrom… Actor, screenwriter, producer and director, Daniel Zelman turns 57… Senior correspondent for military and intelligence affairs for Yedioth Ahronoth and The New York Times, Ronen Bergman, Ph.D. turns 52… CEO and founder of NYC-based Marathon Strategies, Philip Keith (“Phil”) Singer… Geographer and writer, Joshua Jelly-Schapiro turns 45… Singer and songwriter, Benjamin Lev Kweller turns 43… Portfolio manager at One8 Foundation, Alyssa Bogdanow Arens… Pitcher for Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, he is now on the roster of the Minnesota Twins, Zachary D. “Zack” Weiss turns 32… Head video producer at Ocean One Media, Perry Chencin… Catcher on Israel’s National Baseball Team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, then playing at Lynn University, Tal Erel turns 28… Israeli artistic gymnast who won a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Artem Dolgopyat turns 27…
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