Daily Kickoff
Good Friday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on Sen. J.D. Vance’s refusal to criticize Tucker Carlson over the right-wing commentator’s praise of a Holocaust denier and cover Gov. Tim Walz’s comments that anti-Israel activists in Michigan “are speaking out for all the right reasons.” We also report on former President Donald Trump’s virtual speech at the RJC’s annual conference yesterday, explore the implications of the U.S. indictment of top Hamas official Khaled Meshaal, who lives in Qatar,and look at how prosecutors in progressive strongholds are dealing with anti-Israel activists who run afoul of the law. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Guy Sasson, Dana Bash and Michel Barnier.
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 and eJewishPhilanthropy stories, including: The debate over institutional neutrality on college campuses; The high-stakes battle over understanding Palestinian public opinion in Israel; Emhoff, D.C. Jewish community mourn Hersh Goldberg-Polin and other murdered hostages; and University of Illinois reaches agreements to protect Jewish students, resolving antisemitism probe. Print the latest edition here.
What We’re Watching
- Today is the deadline given by Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-NY) to the FAA to respond to a letter the New York Republican sent last week asking the agency to disclose its guidance to and conversations with U.S. airlines regarding halted flights to Israel. Read our story from earlier this week here.
- German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is in Israel today, where she’s meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Israel Katz and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, among other officials.
What You Should Know
Amid all the hype about the impact of the anti-Israel left in Democratic primaries in this year’s elections, the significance of the much larger Jewish and pro-Israel vote is getting overlooked as the general election draws closer, Jewish Insider Editor-in-Chief Josh Kraushaar writes.
In fact, Jewish voters could be a determining factor in who wins the presidency, the control of the Senate and the House majority — given their sizable representation in some of the most consequential states and congressional districts in the country.
A sizable share of those voters who prioritize Israel and antisemitism as top issues have become disillusioned with far-left elements of the Democratic Party — especially since Oct. 7 — and have the potential to impact the outcome in a number of closely contested races. At the same time, far-right associations with antisemitic figures will make it harder for the GOP to make inroads with Jewish voters.
Any discussion about the importance of the Jewish vote has to start in Pennsylvania, which looks like the biggest battleground on the presidential map. Jewish voters make up about 3% of the population in the state. Pennsylvania is featuring a critical Senate race, between Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Republican Dave McCormick, that will help determine which party holds the majority.
And while national polls have shown a clear majority of Jewish voters remaining in the Democratic camp, several high-quality battleground polls have shown notable movement among Jewish voters away from Vice President Kamala Harris.
Teach Coalition, a group run by the Orthodox Union, commissioned a poll with Honan Strategy Group last month on Jewish voters in Pennsylvania. It found that Harris was only leading former President Donald Trump by 11 points (52-41%) among Jewish voters — well below the 72% that President Joe Biden received among Jews in the state, according to the 2020 AP/Fox News voter analysis.
The poll also found a sizable undecided vote in the Senate race, where Casey led McCormick among Jewish voters, 47-32%, but with 21% unsure or declining to say. That margin is a lot narrower than the typical Democratic voting advantage with Jewish voters.
The latest CNN poll out of Pennsylvania shows the presidential race tied; the state is close to a must-win for the Harris campaign. Holding their comfortable margins with Jewish voters is close to a necessity for Democrats if they want to hang on in the Keystone State.
The Maryland Senate race, which is surprisingly close in such a deep-blue state, is also one where the state’s large Jewish community should have an impact. Former GOP Gov. Larry Hogan is aggressively campaigning on his support for Israel and outspokenness against antisemitism in hopes of winning over a liberal-minded constituency that typically backs Democrats by overwhelming margins.
Democrat Angela Alsobrooks, in a sign of the significance of the state’s Jewish vote, held three events alone last week with the state’s Jewish community.
The battle for control of the House will also be disproportionately fought in some of the most Jewish constituencies in the country. To hold their majority, Republicans need to play defense in districts that Biden carried but where moderates (including many Jewish voters) swung towards the Republicans in last year’s midterms.
Two of the biggest toss-up races are in districts where nearly one-fifth of the electorate is Jewish, according to analysts — a Westchester County seat held by Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and a Long Island seat held by Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY). Biden comfortably carried both districts in 2020, but Republicans have made inroads since then, in part because of growing support in the Jewish community.
Lawler is facing former Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY), who has courted Jewish voters in his campaign and received plaudits in the Jewish community for endorsing Democrat George Latimer, the Westchester County executive, in his successful primary campaign against Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY).
D’Esposito is facing Democrat Laura Gillen, an attorney with a moderate record as a former Hempstead town supervisor. He narrowly defeated her in 2022, in a district that Biden carried by double digits.
A recent Teach Coalition poll of the six competitive New York congressional districts in the state found Harris leading Trump among Jewish voters, 56-37%. Democrats led Republicans on the generic ballot among Jewish voters in those districts, 57-34%. Biden won 63% of the New York State Jewish vote in 2020, according to the AP/Fox voter analysis.
Of the 22 House races rated as toss-ups by the Cook Political Report, five are in districts with among the largest Jewish constituencies in the country. It’s another statistic underscoring the outsized influence Jewish voters will have in the general election.
The other toss-up races where the Jewish vote will play a key role: Rep. Dave Schweikert (R-AZ) in suburban Phoenix, defending his seat against Democratic former state Rep. Amish Shah; Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-NY), running against Democratic attorney Josh Riley; and Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) in central New Jersey, running against Democrat Sue Altman, a progressive political organizer.
charged debate
How deep-blue cities are prosecuting — or not — law-breaking activists
In April, protesters on U.S. 101 in San Francisco shut down the Golden Gate Bridge and I-880 in nearby Oakland to protest Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza. Traffic was blocked for hours. The story of the two simultaneous protests diverges when it comes to the consequences the protesters on each highway are now facing. In August, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins charged 26 people with false imprisonment, trespassing and other charges, alleging that they forcibly kept drivers on the Golden Gate Bridge for more than four hours. Meanwhile, Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price has not filed charges against any of the protesters who shut down I-880. Their disparate handling of the similar incidents reflects their different approaches to prosecuting crime — and offers a window into how different law enforcement officials have dealt with rising antisemitism since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks last year and anti-Israel protests that have at times veered into unlawfulness, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
At their discretion: Even when protesters break the law, like on the Golden Gate Bridge and I-880 in Oakland, what happens to them next — and what consequences they might face for their actions — can vary widely. Prosecutors have discretion in deciding when to bring charges and how severe the charges will be. Sometimes it’s a question of capacity. Often, though, it’s a question of values. Progressive prosecutors like Price were elected on the promise that they would be more discerning in deciding which cases warrant prosecution. Since Oct. 7, some Jewish constituents represented by prosecutors who have adopted a soft-on-crime approach are frustrated by what they see as a lack of enforcement and accountability.
tuckered out
J.D. Vance declines to criticize Tucker Carlson over his friendly conversation with Holocaust denier
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), the Republican vice-presidential nominee, declined to distance himself from right-wing talk show host Tucker Carlson for hosting a Holocaust distortionist who called Winston Churchill the “chief villain” of World War II, but spoke out against the crackpot guest whom he follows on his X accounts. Carlson has drawn unusually fierce criticism from several elected Republicans over his decision to host Darryl Cooper, a self-proclaimed podcast historian, on his program. Carlson described Cooper as “the best and most honest popular historian in the United States,” and declined to push back on any of the false claims made during their conversation, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.
Vance’s response: In the interview, Cooper diminished the Holocaust by claiming that “millions of prisoners of war” had “ended up dead” in concentration camps, suggesting the Nazis did not have genocidal aims against Jews but were simply “unprepared” for the war, among other false assertions. A spokesman for the Ohio senator, who will appear with Carlson at an upcoming stop on the conservative commentator’s speaking tour, told JI in a statement that, “Senator Vance doesn’t believe in guilt-by-association cancel culture but he obviously does not share the views of the guest interviewed by Tucker Carlson. There are no stronger supporters of our allies in Israel or the Jewish community in America than Senator Vance and President Trump.”
on the record
Tim Walz: Anti-Israel protesters ‘speaking out for all the right reasons’
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, told a Michigan NPR affiliate on Thursday that anti-Israel protesters in Michigan “are speaking out for all the right reasons,” Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports. In an interview with WCMU, a public radio station serving central and northern Michigan, Walz said, “I think those folks who are speaking out loudly in Michigan are speaking out for all the right reasons. It’s a humanitarian crisis. It can’t stand the way it is, and we need to find a way that people can live together in this.”
Rare comment: Walz has said little about the war in Gaza since Harris tapped him to be her running mate in August. His remarks in the WCMU interview, after a reporter asked how a Harris-Walz administration would handle the Israel-Hamas war, offered a look at his thinking on the topic. “I think first and foremost, what we saw on Oct. 7 was a horrific act of violence against the people of Israel. They have certainly, and the vice president said it, l’ve said it, have the right to defend themselves, and the United States will always stand by that,” Walz began. In his answer, Walz did not mention Hamas. Nor did he refer to the six hostages, including U.S. citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who were murdered over the weekend.
vegas scene
Trump leans on familiar lines about Israel, Jews who support Democrats in RJC speech
Even as former President Donald Trump drew a characteristically enthusiastic crowd response on Thursday during a virtual address to the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual donor summit in Las Vegas, his remarks still fell short of advancing any new Middle East policy proposals that would help demonstrate how his approach to Israel’s war with Hamas might differ from the Biden administration. Instead, the former president continued to invoke his oft-repeated claim that Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks “would never have happened” if he had been in the White House, while casting Vice President Kamala Harris as an anti-Israel radical whose policies would embolden Iran and its terrorist proxies in the region, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports from Las Vegas.
Mideast remarks: “When I left office, America was safe,” Trump said. “Israel was safe, the Jewish people were safe, and the whole world was at peace.” Speaking from New York, Trump — who began his 15-minute speech with an acknowledgment of the six hostages recently murdered by Hamas in Gaza — ran through a list of Middle East policy achievements that he has frequently touted to pro-Israel audiences, including relocating the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and brokering the Abraham Accords between Israel and several Arab states.
doha dilemma
Will the U.S. try to extradite Khaled Meshaal from its ally Qatar?
The U.S.’ indictment of top Hamas official Khaled Meshaal earlier this week is raising new questions about how and whether the administration will pursue Meshaal’s arrest, an issue with serious implications for the U.S.-Qatar relationship. Meshaal lives in Qatar, which is a U.S. ally, but does not have an extradition treaty with the United States, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What they’re saying: Multiple Republican lawmakers who’ve been critical of Qatar said they support efforts to ensure that Qatar turns Meshaal over for trial in the United States. Some also said the indictments were long overdue. Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC), a lead sponsor of legislation seeking to reevaluate the U.S.’ relationship with Qatar, told JI, “Although the United States does not have an extradition treaty with Qatar, we would expect a major non-NATO ally to comply with any request to extradite a terrorist leader responsible for the murder and kidnapping of U.S. citizens.”
Worthy Reads
Doug’s Discourse: CNN’s Edward-Isaac Dovere looks at how Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff is approaching conversations about Israel in the wake of the executions of six hostages in Gaza last week. “Now, with his wife suddenly the Democratic nominee and both of them thrust more into the spotlight — and as the world approaches the anniversary of those attacks and Israel’s ensuing war in Gaza — friends and advisers say they’re seeing a man continuing to search for his own response to an issue that is policy, politics and personal all at once. And advisers and campaign aides are trying to match strategy with a principal whose emotions and determination have struck them in both his private comments and public remarks. … Several people who know Emhoff said that Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s murder hit him particularly hard. He knew the 23-year-old’s parents. He’d just seen them at the Democratic National Convention. The ache of knowing that the hostage only a few years younger than his daughter had been killed just days before his body was found has been overwhelming. It’s left him raw. Going to the vigil, one person who knows him told CNN, was about standing up as a leader — but also about feeling like he needed to be with his community amid the horror and the shock.” [CNN]
A Mother’s Love: The New York Times’ Sarah Wildman reflects on her conversation with Rachel Goldberg-Polin days after the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks. “Watching Ms. Goldberg pursue her son’s freedom, and that of all the hostages, day after day after day, I long felt that there was something akin to the cancer parent in pursuit of an elusive cure. The idea that the sheer force of will as a mother can change the story line. Ms. Goldberg put that struggle before the world, cut herself open for all of us, insisted that the world invest as much as she did in her son’s return. During our very first conversation, on Oct. 11, Ms. Goldberg told me the story she would go on to tell leaders the world over — about her son and his capture, the joy he brought her, the joy she wanted to regain. At the end, she stopped me suddenly; she wanted to say she had read my articles about Orli, the daughter I lost to cancer six months earlier. ‘I feel for you and the experiences that you’ve walked through,’ she said that day, five days into her son’s captivity, as Hersh’s life and hers hung in the balance. ‘And I just wanted to mention, you know, one day, we could be friends waiting to happen.’” [NYTimes]
Lévy’s Lament: In The Wall Street Journal, Tunku Varadarajan talks to Bernard-Henri Lévy about the impact of the Oct. 7 attacks on the global Jewish psyche. “Mr. Lévy uses ‘Israel’ and ‘Jewish’ almost interchangeably. ‘My reference to Israel is a part of my being a Jew,’ he says. Israel is at the root of Jewish identity and inseparable from it. The point was hammered home on Oct. 7, the day that scarred the Jewish psyche more than any event since the Holocaust. Everyone realized ‘that there is no place in the world where Jews are safe.’ Before Oct. 7, ‘in the worst hypothesis, if things turned bad for Jews in the West, there was Israel. Israel unviolated, unraped, invulnerable. The shock was that even Israel could be more than unsafe — that it could, alas, be the place where the worst happens.’ There was a second shock. Rather than provoke sympathy and compassion for the Jews, Hamas’s massacre liberated hate. ‘This, for me, was a very big surprise,’ Mr. Lévy says. ‘I expected at least a moment of real solidarity in the face of this enormous crime.’ Instead, the murderers were ‘blessed, excused and praised.’ The victims were ‘accused, cursed and held responsible for their fates.’” [WSJ]
Switching Strategies: In The Times of Israel, Yossi Klein Halevi explains his shift to prioritize the release of hostages in Gaza over a military victory. “What’s changed for me is the realization that allowing the hostages to die in captivity will also have fateful security consequences for Israel, perhaps even more devastating than not destroying Hamas. If the hostages are left to die, large numbers of Israelis will believe they were sacrificed not for a higher security purpose like retaining the Philadephi Corridor on the border between Gaza and Egypt, but for the political needs of an endlessly cynical prime minister seeking to hold his coalition together. What matters for the well-being of Israel is not whether that perception is true but that many Israelis are convinced that it is. The consequences for the covenant of trust between the state and a large part of its people will be far-reaching.” [TOI]
Word on the Street
The Harris-Walz campaign announced a $361 million haul in August, with $404 million cash on hand…
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and nine other Senate Democrats urged the administration to withhold $320 million in military aid from Egypt, citing the country’s failure to comply with human rights conditions. The administration has waived those conditions in recent years…
The Washington Post spotlights GOP efforts — including by Massad Boulos, whose son is married to former President Donald Trump’s daughter Tiffany — to make inroads with Arab American and Muslim voters in swing states in an effort to edge out Vice President Kamala Harris…
The FBI raided the homes of three senior officials — including two deputy mayors and New York’s school chancellor — in New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ administration; authorities also seized the phones of Police Commissioner Edward Caban…
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore appointed Baltimore Ravens chief of staff Adam J. Neuman to the Maryland Port Commission…
In an interview with MSNBC, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro spoke about Jewish Americans being accused of dual loyalty to the U.S. and Israel, calling such accusations “deeply offensive and deeply troublesome”…
Anti-Israel activists disrupted an event at Washington’s Politics and Prose bookstore featuring CNN’s Dana Bash following the publication of her recent book, America’s Deadliest Election: The Cautionary Tale of the Most Violent Election in American History…
The University of Pennsylvania announced the establishment of an Office of Religious and Ethnic Inclusion as part of an effort to ensure that the school, whose prior administration was embroiled in controversy over its handling of antisemitism and anti-Israel activism on campus, can “fulfill its obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964”…
The city council of Portland, Maine, voted unanimously in favor of an Israel divestment resolution; the resolution targets more than 80 companies, including Volvo, Boeing, Chevron and Intel, over their business ties in Israel…
French President Emmanuel Macron named conservative politician Michel Barnier the country’s next prime minister, following nearly two months of political deadlock after a coalition of left-wing parties coalesced to keep the far-right National Rally party from victory…
Hamas released a video of Hersh Goldberg-Polin taken shortly before he was executed by the terror group; the Israeli-American’s family approved the video’s release, saying it “must serve as an immediate wakeup call to the world to act today to secure the release of the remaining 101 hostages before it is too late”…
The Wall Street Journal looks at why recent protests in Israel calling for a hostage deal have not swayed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu…
The Washington Post reports on Israel’s efforts to target Hamas officials in Lebanon…
Israeli tennis player Guy Sasson won bronze in the Paralympics’ wheelchair tennis, defeating his Turkish opponent, Ahmet Kaplan…
Rabbi Michael Lerner, the founding editor of Tikkun magazine, died at 81…
Wine of the Week
JI wine columnist Yitz Applbaum reviews the Mony 2018 VIA:
I recently caught up with my friend David after a long time, and his captivating Treasury Department stories got me in the mood for a wine that would really stand out. I didn’t want a standard cabernet, but instead a wine with a blend of flavors to keep our interesting conversation going. I found the perfect match at Mike’s Bistro, the Mony 2018 VIA.
This wine is a blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, petit verdot and malbec, offering a versatile and wonderful taste experience. Although there is just a touch of malbec in this wine, it imparts a rich flavor of chocolate and tobacco on the front palate, followed by a warm raspberry sensation in the mid-palate and a long, lingering finish with hints of strawberries dipped in white chocolate. This wine can be aged for another five years or more, and pairs wonderfully with a giant veal chop, but its versatility means it can be enjoyed with a variety of dishes.
Pic of the Day
Approximately 25,000 people gathered at the Western Wall in Jerusalem last night for this year’s second Selichot gathering.
Birthdays
Bahraini ambassador to the U.S. from 2008 until 2013, after the prior four years in the Bahraini Parliament, both firsts for a Jewish woman, Houda Ezra Ebrahim Nonoo turns 60 on Saturday…
FRIDAY: Retired 36-year member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Sander Levin turns 93… Co-founder and chairman of Murray Hill Properties in NYC, Norman Sturner turns 84… Madelon “Madi” Portugal… Chair of the New York State Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee, Helene Weinstein turns 72… Oncologist and bioethicist, he is the older brother of U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel and Hollywood talent agent Ari Emanuel, Ezekiel Jonathan “Zeke” Emanuel turns 67… Co-founder of Kol HaNeshamah: The Center for Jewish Life and Enrichment and co-author of a new siddur, Dr. Adena Karen Berkowitz… Founding managing director at Olympus Capital, Daniel R. Mintz… Former governor of New Jersey and two-time candidate for president, Chris Christie turns 62… Toronto-based publisher and entrepreneur, she serves on the board of governors of Shalem College, Elisa Morton Palter… Rabbi of Temple Shalom in Louisville, Ky., Beth Jacowitz Chottiner turns 60… Treasurer of Southfield, Mich., Irv “Moishe” Lowenberg… Chess master since age 14, grandmaster then followed, Ben Finegold turns 55… National director at AIPAC, Joseph S. Richards… Chief communications officer at Bloomberg LP, Jason Schechter… Israeli film, television and stage actor, Amos Tamam turns 47… Author, he won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his novel The Netanyahus, Joshua Cohen turns 44… Former rabbi at Beth El Synagogue in Minneapolis for 14 years, now a consultant, Avi S. Olitzky… Visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation, Daniel Flesch… Communications director at the William F. Buckley, Jr. Institute at Yale University, Ari Schaffer… Australian-born entrepreneur, Ben Pasternak turns 25… Actor, Asher Angel turns 22…
SATURDAY: White Plains, N.Y., resident, the school at the Westchester Jewish Center bears her name, Beverly Cannold turns 99… Considered one of the “Founding Mothers” of NPR, she is now a special correspondent on NPR’s “Morning Edition,” Susan Stamberg turns 86… Member of the U.K.’s House of Lords, he was a managing director of Marks and Spencer, Baron Andrew Zelig Stone turns 82… Longtime political columnist for Time magazine and author of the novel Primary Colors, Joe Klein turns 78… Color commentator for New York Yankees radio broadcasts, Suzyn Waldman turns 78… Former national political editor at the Washington Post, Maralee Schwartz… Owner and CEO of Gristedes Foods, John Catsimatidis turns 76… Pulitzer Prize-winning former national correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, now director of literary journalism at UC-Irvine, Barry E. Siegel turns 75… Minneapolis area school counselor and language arts teacher, Sandra Sevig… Russian-born mathematician, he is a professor emeritus at UCSD, Efim Zelmanov turns 69… Chief rabbi of the U.K., he was knighted by King Charles III as part of the 2023 New Year Honours, Rabbi Sir Ephraim Yitzchak Mirvis turns 68… 2023 Nobel Prize laureate in Medicine, professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Drew Weissman turns 65… Global co-chair of the Israel practice at Latham & Watkins until his retirement in 2023, Stuart Kurlander… President of Hofstra University since 2021, Susan Poser turns 61… Personal finance journalist and CEO of the multimedia company HerMoney, Jean Sherman Chatzky turns 60… Vice provost at Yeshiva University, author and a community scholar for Congregation Etz Chaim in Livingston, N.J., Dr. Erica Brown turns 58… Award-winning special writer at The Wall Street Journal and author of six best-selling books, Gregory Zuckerman turns 58… Part-owner of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, the NFL’s Washington Commanders and MLB’s Cleveland Guardians, David S. Blitzer turns 55… Tax partner with RSM US LLP, Benjamin Berger… Screenwriter, producer and director, Alex Kurtzman turns 51… Author of three New York Times bestsellers and an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon turns 51… Rabbi of Baltimore’s Congregation Shomrei Emunah, Rabbi Binyamin Y. Marwick… Deputy chief of staff and legislative director for Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), Eric B. Kanter…
SUNDAY: Chair emeritus of Bath & Body Works, Leslie H. “Les” Wexner turns 87… U.S. senator from Vermont, he was a 2016 and 2020 presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders turns 83… Labour party member of the U.K. House of Commons, Dame Margaret Eve Hodge (née Oppenheimer) turns 80… Pharma executive, Samuel D. Waksal turns 77… Chairman of Douglas Elliman and its parent company, NYSE listed Vector Group, he is also chairman of Nathan’s Famous, Howard Mark Lorber turns 76… Owner of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles since 1994, Jeffrey Lurie turns 73… Former co-chair of the Jewish National Fund, he was previously a member of Knesset, Eli Aflalo turns 72… CEO of Weight Watchers until early 2022, Mindy Grossman turns 67… Owner of Sam’s Fine Wines & Spirits in Walpole, Mass., for 41 years until 2022, Jay W. Abarbanel… British physician and professor of neuroscience at Columbia University, Daniel Mark Wolpert turns 61… Founder and president of Cedille Records, a classical music label, he is the son of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, James Steven Ginsburg turns 59… Real estate developer in Russia, Zarakh Iliev turns 58… Australian businessman and supporter of Israel, James Douglas Packer turns 57… Senior rabbi of the Jewish Center of Princeton, Rabbi Andrea Merow… Aspen, Colo., resident, Adam Goldsmith… Actress, model and television personality, she is the host of “Penn & Teller: Fool Us,” Brooke Burke turns 53… Founder and executive education consultant at Atlanta-based JewishGPS, Robyn Faintich… Principal and co-founder of BerlinRosen, now known as Orchestra, Jonathan Rosen… One of the world’s best-selling music artists, known professionally as Pink, Alecia Beth Moore turns 45… Head coach for the University of Hawaii men’s basketball team, Eran Ganot… and his twin brother, the creative director of an eponymous clothing line, Asaf Ganot, both turn 43… Founder and CEO at SPARK Neuro, Spencer Gerrol… Director of corporate communications at Related Companies, Andrei Berman… Drummer for the funk metal band Infectious Grooves, he is the son of Bruce Springsteen drummer Max Weinberg, Jay Weinberg turns 34… Senior national correspondent for Jewish Insider, Gabby Deutch… and her twin sister, an MBA candidate at Tulane, Serena Deutch… Director of education at Itrek, Gilad Peled… Philip Ehrensaft…
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