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Good Friday morning. 

In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at how Congress has increasingly ceded its authority over foreign policy to the White House, and interview UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk about his efforts to address antisemitism at the school. We also talk to Rep. Mike Lawler about his recent trip to the Middle East, and report on President Donald Trump’s plan to nominate far-right commentator Paul Ingrassia to a senior administration post. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Rep. Greg Landsman, Mia Schem and Michael Bloomberg.

Ed. note: In observance of Shavuot, the next Daily Kickoff will arrive on Wednesday, June 4. Chag sameach!

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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: Hostages’ long-lasting mental and physical scars of Gaza captivity are treated at ‘Returnees Ward’; Israel can’t compete in checkbook diplomacy. These tech leaders have other ideas; and Sen. Dave McCormick, in Israel, talks about Trump’s Iran diplomacy, Gaza aid. Print the latest edition here.

Pore over the latest round of polling in the New York City mayoral primary, and it is something of a political analyst’s Rorschach test. The question is what will be a bigger turnoff for Gotham voters: extremism or personal scandal?

Will Zohran Mamdani’s radicalism make it difficult for the DSA-affiliated assemblyman — polling in second place — to win an outright majority of the Democratic vote? Candidates from the far-left wing of the party typically have a hard ceiling of support, but the latest polls suggest he’s not yet facing the elevated negative ratings that candidates in his ideological lane typically encounter. There hasn’t yet been a barrage of attack ads reminding voters about his record, as he slowly inches closer to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. 

Will Cuomo’s personal baggage ultimately be a bigger factor for Democratic voters? Cuomo has been leading the race since jumping in, but holds elevated unfavorability ratings, predominantly stemming from the scandal over sexual misconduct allegations, which he continues to deny, that forced him to resign as governor. 

The city’s ranked-choice voting system requires the winner to receive an outright majority of the vote, and build a broader coalition than would be necessary if one only needed a plurality to prevail. In theory, that would advantage Cuomo, given his high name identification, moderate message and ample fundraising resources. In nearly every contest held under a ranked-choice system across the country, moderates have gotten a significant boost, including in the 2021 NYC mayoral primary, when Eric Adams prevailed. 

But if there’s a broad antipathy to Cuomo that goes beyond ideological lines, it’s plausible that any alternative to Cuomo could benefit, simply because they’re running as a candidate of change. It’s hard to overlook Cuomo’s underwater favorability rating among primary voters; a new Emerson poll found a near-majority (47%) of NYC Democrats viewing Cuomo unfavorably, with 40% viewing him favorably.

Cuomo’s lead over Mamdani in the final round of ranked-choice voting, according to the poll, stood at eight points (54-46%). It’s a lead that is outside the margin of error, but a little too close for comfort considering Cuomo's other advantages. The poll found Mamdani winning more of the votes from the third-place finisher (Comptroller Brad Lander) in the final round, suggesting that Cuomo could be vulnerable to opponents framing their campaigns as part of an anti-Cuomo coalition.

Cuomo’s strongest support comes from the Black community (74% support over Mamdani), voters over 50 (66%) and women (58%). Mamdani’s base is among younger white progressives, leading big over Cuomo with voters under 50 (61%). 

Cuomo’s margin for success could end up coming from the city’s sizable Jewish community — many of whose members view Mamdani’s virulently anti-Israel record and pro-BDS advocacy as a threat — even though he’s currently winning a fairly small plurality of Jewish votes, according to a recent Homan Strategy Group survey.  

Cuomo only tallied 31% of the Jewish vote, according to the poll, but has a lot of room for growth, especially since he still has potential to make inroads with Orthodox Jewish voters, many of whom became disenchanted with him as governor due to his aggressive COVID restrictions. (For instance: A significant 37% share of Orthodox Jewish voters said they were undecided in the Homan survey; 0% supported Mamdani.)

If those Cuomo-skeptical Orthodox voters swing towards the former governor in the final stretch, especially as the threat of Mamdani becomes more real, that may be enough for Cuomo to prevail. But it’s a sign of the times — and the state of the Democratic Party — that this race is as competitive as it is, given the anti-Israel record of the insurgent.

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For decades, Jewish and pro-Israel groups invested significant resources in building bipartisan relationships with members of Congress to steer legislation, while securing foreign aid and blocking unfavorable initiatives concerning the Middle East, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports. But that playbook has become less relevant in recent years as Congress increasingly cedes its authority over foreign policy to the White House, a trend that has accelerated with President Donald Trump’s return to office. The status quo has frustrated pro-Israel advocates who had prioritized Congress as a vehicle of influence, prompting many to reassess the most effective way to reach key Washington stakeholders.

‘Increasingly irrelevant’: Congress’ growing disengagement from foreign policy has raised concerns among pro-Israel leaders as Trump has ignored the legislative branch while responding to a range of consequential issues affecting the Middle East. That Congress had no role in Trump’s decisions to reach a ceasefire with the Houthis and to lift sanctions on Syria has stoked speculation it could be sidelined from ratifying a potential nuclear deal with Iran. “Congress is increasingly irrelevant except on nominations and taxes,” said Elliott Abrams, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who served as a special envoy for Iran in the first Trump administration.

Read the full story here.

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After Oct, 7, 2023, Julio Frenk, then-president of the University of Miami, was swift and clear in his unequivocal condemnation of the Hamas terror attacks on Israel, and in his guidance about the university’s rules around protesting, harassment and violence, and continued disavowals of antisemitism. Now, in his new role as chancellor of the University of California, Los Angeles, Frenk is attempting to bring some Florida to deep-blue California as he wraps up his first semester. “When we engage with each other, we do that respectfully and without — obviously no hatred, no harassment, no incitement to violence, but also no expressions that are deeply offensive to the other side,” Frenk told Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch in an interview this week.

Protest problems: During UCLA’s large anti-Israel encampment last spring, Jewish students were barred from accessing parts of campus by the protest organizers. The tents popped up just days after Frenk had accepted the offer from Michael Drake, president of the University of California system. “I had already said yes, and he said, ‘Are you going to change your mind?’ And I said, ‘No, I'm not going to change my mind. I think this is a very important challenge to face and fix if I can, and I'm going to give it my all,’” Frenk recalled. “What drew me here is just the reputation, the standing, and I know that that spring, the images of UCLA going to the world were not very enticing. But to be honest, facing that challenge was something that attracted me.”

Read the full interview here.

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As visitors entered the Capital Jewish Museum on Thursday morning, open for the first time after an antisemitic attack killed two Israeli Embassy staffers steps from its doors last week, they walked past a makeshift memorial to Sarah Lynn Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky before security guards wanded them down and checked their bags. The museum might be reopening, but its staff — and the broader Washington Jewish community — now feel a heaviness that did not exist last week, when the museum was on the cusp of unveiling a major new exhibit about LGBTQ Jews ahead of the World Pride Festival next month. The presence of police officers and heightened security precautions in the newly reopened space were stark reminders of the violence perpetrated by a radicalized gunman who said he killed the two young people “for Gaza,” Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.

Stop by: A brief ceremony marking the museum’s reopening began with a cantor leading the crowd in singing songs for peace. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser pledged to continue to support the Jewish community and called on all Washingtonians to do the same. “It is not up to the Jewish community to say, ‘Support us.’ It is up to all of us to denounce antisemitism in all forms,” Bowser told the several dozen people at the event. Bowser, who was instrumental in the creation of the museum, which opened in 2023, urged people in the local community to visit.

Read the full story here.

EMIL NICOLAI HELMS/RITZAU SCANPIX/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

For Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH), the murder of two Israeli Embassy employees outside the Capital Jewish Museum last week brought to life fears he has harbored for months, amid rising extremism in anti-Israel demonstrations, Landsman told Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod in an interview on Wednesday.

Worst fears: The Jewish Ohio congressman said that days before the shooting, while attending a public event in downtown Cincinnati, he had a “really vivid image of being shot in the back of the head. What I saw was myself laying on the ground in the way in which you would be if you had been shot in the head … I wasn’t alive, I was dead.” Landsman continued, “And then, literally two or three days later, that’s what happened outside the Jewish museum. That’s what happened to these two innocent people.” He said he feels the country has been on a “trajectory” toward such violence by anti-Israel agitators, and that it will continue without a change in course.

Read the full interview here.

PETE KIEHART FOR THE WASHINGTON POST VIA GETTY IMAGES

President Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate far-right commentator Paul Ingrassia to head the agency tasked with rooting out corruption and protecting whistleblowers in the federal government, Jewish Insider’s Danielle Cohen reports. Ingrassia, 29, currently serves as the White House liaison for the Department of Homeland Security. He briefly served as the White House liaison to the Department of Justice early in Trump’s second term, but was reassigned after clashing with the DOJ’s chief of staff after urging the president to hire only individuals who exhibited what Ingrassia called "exceptional loyalty,” according to ABC News. 

Part of a pattern: Ingrassia has trafficked in a number of conspiracy theories, as have several other controversial administration appointees, including Department of Defense Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson and Acting Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy Darren Beattie. On Oct. 7, 2023, as the Hamas attacks were still underway, Ingrassia posted on X calling illegal immigration to the U.S. “comparable to the attack on Israel,” writing, “The amount of energy everyone has put into condemning Hamas (and prior to that, the Ukraine conflict) over the past 24 hours should be the same amount of energy we put into condemning our wide open border, which is a war comparable to the attack on Israel in terms of bloodshed — but made worse by the fact that it’s occurring in our very own backyard. We shouldn’t be beating the war drum, however tragic the events may be overseas, until we resolve our domestic problems first.” 

Read the full story here.

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Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), returning from a trip to Israel, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, characterized leaders in the region as being open to the Trump administration’s efforts to reach a new nuclear deal with Iran, but also suggested that they are skeptical that Iran will actually agree to a deal that dismantles its nuclear program, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

What he said: “I think folks are realistic about the prospects of Iran coming to an agreement, but still want to give the process a chance and try to avoid a conflict if possible,” Lawler told JI on Thursday. “But ultimately, you know, I think everybody is very clear about the fact that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.” Asked about the potential contours of a deal, Lawler said, “my general view is that the nuclear program, obviously, is a major threat, but so too is their continued funding of terrorism, and all of these issues are going to have to be addressed, one way or the other.”

Read the full interview here.

Gaming Out the Jewish Future: eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross spotlights an initiative launched by philanthropist Phil Siegel using “war games” that simulate potential future scenarios facing the American Jewish community to get leaders to think more about long-term planning. “The Jewish community may not have direct control over nuclear war, global demographic trends or international trade wars, for instance, even though these have a profound influence on the Jewish community. (Most of the scenarios include a geopolitical element as well, such as peace in the Middle East in the first one or an acute housing crisis in Israel that prevents American Jews from emigrating despite harsh conditions in the U.S. in the third scenario.) However, the Jewish community does have control over creating new organizations and initiatives or coordinating existing ones. ‘The game itself and the scenario itself were less important. It was more about how people think — What types of things influence us? Do we have more or less agency over them?’ [Israeli educator Barak] Sella said. ‘Is there an optimal scenario and does the Jewish community have a 2050 outcome that we are working toward?’” [eJP]

Delay of (End) Game: The Washington Post’s David Ignatius calls for an end to the Israel-Hamas war, positing that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has for a year rejected subordinates’ suggested strategies for winding down the conflict. “What’s agonizing is that Israeli military and intelligence leaders were ready to settle this conflict nearly a year ago. Working with U.S. and Emirati officials, they developed a plan for security ‘bubbles’ that would contain the violence, starting in northern Gaza and moving south, backed by an international peacekeeping force that would include troops from European and moderate Arab countries. … The Israeli-Palestinian dispute might seem intractable, but ending this conflict would be relatively easy. I’m told that Israeli military officials keep working on ‘day after’ plans, honing details as recently as this week. But they have had no political support from Netanyahu. ‘The “exit ramp” has been staring us in the face for a long time,’ argues Robert Satloff, director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. It’s a mix of Arab states and Gaza Palestinians, operating under a Palestinian Authority umbrella, he explains. “It is messy, with overlapping responsibilities and lots of dotted lines. But it checks all the boxes to enable the process of reconstruction and rehabilitation to get off the ground.’” [WashPost]

Mumbai Makeover: In The Wall Street Journal, Howard Husock interviews Rabbi Yisroel Kozlovsky of the Chabad House of Mumbai, India, about the city’s Jewish revival since the terror attack in 2008 in which Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife and unborn child were killed. “Now in his 12th year in Mumbai, the rabbi recalls his unease upon receiving the assignment from Chabad’s headquarters in New York. He arrived in 2013 to find the building untouched since the terror attacks, its walls still bloodstained. His successor had been forced to live and hold services in rented apartments for the Jewish visitors and expats. (There are reportedly no more than 5,000 ethnic Indian ‘Bene Israel’ Jews in the country.) ‘Imagine our feelings when we walk in and see the destruction firsthand. It was still one big mess,’ Rabbi Kozlovsky says. ‘We knew immediately, though, we wanted to bring life back to the building.’ … Rabbi Kozlovsky has nevertheless decided not to shy away from the events of 26/11, as the locals refer to the attack, but to make it the basis of a mission. He has set out to build an artistic multimedia memorial to educate the hundreds of visitors, almost all non-Jewish Indians, who come here each week, mainly through class trips. ‘Restoration and resilience are not good enough responses to terror,’ he says of the project. ‘We are building a memorial and museum to teach history, to be a beacon of light.’” [WSJ]

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U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Thomas Barrack, who is also serving as Syria envoy, said in Damascus on Thursday that relations between Syria and Israel are a “solvable problem” that “starts with a dialogue”; Barrack also raised the U.S. flag over the ambassador’s residence in Damascus for the first time since the embassy’s closure 13 years ago…

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that any nuclear agreement with the U.S. must include the full lifting of sanctions and preservation of Tehran’s enrichment capabilities…

Saudi, Qatari and Emirati leaders reportedly told President Donald Trump during his trip to the region last week that they opposed military strikes on Iran’s nuclear program…

The Wall Street Journal reports on Israeli concerns over Washington’s ongoing nuclear talks with Iran, positing that a deal could put Israel “in a bind with its most important ally on its most pressing national security question”…

Columbia University reached a settlement with a Jewish social work student who had filed a lawsuit against the school alleging antisemitic discrimination…

California’s state Assembly unanimously advanced antisemitism legislation backed by Jewish groups in the state; AB715 would improve the process for making discrimination complaints, as well as create an antisemitism coordinator position for the state’s K-12 schools…

A Yonkers, N.Y., man was sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to attacking a Jewish barber last year…

A Michigan man who in 2022 threatened parents and students at a synagogue preschool pleaded guilty to a federal gun charge…

The Wall Street Journal reports on the efforts of small wine importer and distributor Victor Owen Schwartz to challenge the Trump administration’s tariffs in court...

The board of Ben & Jerry’s issued a statement labeling Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide, setting up another battle with parent company Unilever, which has for years clashed with the ice cream company’s independent board over its approach to social issues, including Israel…

CBS News profiles Karin Prien, the first Jewish federal cabinet member to serve in post-WWII Germany; the daughter of Holocaust survivors who was born in the Netherlands, Prien moved to Germany with her family when she was 4 and now serves as the country’s minister for education, family affairs, senior citizens, women and youth…

Former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg met with United Arab Emirates National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan for a conversation largely focused on the opportunities presented by AI technology…

The Associated Press reports on efforts to free Israeli-Russian Princeton researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, who was kidnapped by an Iranian-backed militia group in Iraq in 2023…

Iran’s embassy in India said it is investigating the disappearance of three Punjabi men who went missing earlier this month in Tehran while transiting through Iran en route to Australia, where a local travel agent had promised them jobs…

An increasing number of oil tankers are turning off their transponders as they near Malaysia, an area used to transfer Iranian oil bound for China, as Tehran continues to work to evade U.S. sanctions…

Missouri philanthropist Bud Levin died at 88…

Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik, who headed the NYPD during the 9/11 terror attacks, died at 69…

Dr. Robert Jarvik, who oversaw the design of the first artificial heart, died at 79…

HALEY COHEN

Following her return to Israel, Mia Schem — who was kidnapped from the Nova music festival in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and spent 55 days in Hamas captivity — famously had the phrase “We will dance again” tattooed on her arm. On Thursday night, approximately 800 New Yorkers joined Schem in dancing again at the sold-out inaugural Tribe of Nova Foundation benefit held at Sony Hall, a concert venue in Times Square.

The event was held with the goal of raising at least $1 million to aid families of victims and survivors of Nova, where 411 festivalgoers, mostly young people, were killed and 44 were taken hostage, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports. 

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Medical director of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee's Ethiopia spine and heart project, Dr. Richard Michael Hodes turns 72... 

FRIDAY: Santa Monica, Calif.-based historian of Sephardic and Crypto-Jewish studies, Dolores Sloan turns 95... Real estate developer, landlord of the World Trade Center until 9/11, former chair of UJA-Federation of New York, Larry A. Silverstein turns 94... Partner in the NYC law firm of Mintz & Gold, he is also a leading supporter of Hebrew University, Ira Lee "Ike" Sorkin turns 82... Board member of the Collier County chapter of the Florida ACLU and the Naples Florida Council on World Affairs, Maureen McCully "Mo" Winograd... Cape Town, South Africa, native, she is the owner and chef at Los Angeles-based Catering by Brenda, Brenda Walt turns 74... Former professional tennis player, he competed in nine Wimbledons and 13 U.S. Opens, now the varsity tennis coach at Gilman School in Baltimore, Steve "Lightning" Krulevitz turns 74... Former chief rabbi of France, Gilles Uriel Bernheim turns 73... Encino, Calif.-based business attorney, Andrew W. Hyman... Literary critic, essayist and novelist, Daphne Miriam Merkin turns 71... Israeli physicist and philosopher, Avshalom Cyrus Elitzur turns 68... Former member of Congress for 16 years, since leaving Congress he has opened a bookstore and written two novels, Steve Israel turns 67... Former science editor for BBC News and author of six books, David Shukman turns 67... Founder of Krav Maga Global with 1,500 instructors in 60 countries, Eyal Yanilov turns 66... Editorial writer at The New York Times, Michelle Cottle... Film, stage and television actress; singer and songwriter, she sang the national anthem at Super Bowl XLIX in 2015, Idina Menzel turns 54... Writer, filmmaker, playwright and DJ, known by his pen name Ithamar Ben-Canaan, Itamar Handelman Smith turns 49... Member of Knesset who served as Israel's minister of agriculture in the prior government, Oded Forer turns 48... Director of engagement and program at NYC's Congregation Rodeph Sholom, Scott Hertz... Chief of staff for Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), Reema Dodin turns 45... Tsippy Friend... Israeli author, her debut novel has been published in more than 20 languages around the world, Shani Boianjiu turns 38... Rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer, known professionally as Hebro, Raphael Ohr Chaim Fulcher turns 38... Senior counsel at Gilead Sciences, Ashley Bender Spirn... Ice hockey defenseman, he has played for four NHL teams and is now in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, David Matthew Warsofsky turns 35... Deputy chief of staff for U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Miryam Esther Lipper... Senior reporter for CNN, Eric Levenson... Challah baker, social entrepreneur and manager at Howard Properties, Jason Friend... 

SATURDAY: Investment advisor at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles, Alfred Phillip Stern turns 92... Businessman and philanthropist, Ira Leon Rennert turns 91... Professor at Yale University and the 2018 winner of the Nobel Prize in economics, William Dawbney Nordhaus turns 84... Food critic at Vogue magazine since 1989 and judge on “Iron Chef America,” he is the author of the 1996 award-winning book The Man Who Ate Everything, Jeffrey Steingarten turns 83... Founder and retired CEO of the Democratic Leadership Council, Alvin "Al" From turns 82... Author, political pundit and a retired correspondent for HBO's “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,” he has won 14 Emmy Awards during his career, Bernie Goldberg turns 80... Comedian, actress and TV producer, Susie Essman turns 70... Founder and chairman of the Katz Group of Companies with operations in the pharmacy, sports (including the Edmonton Oilers), entertainment and real estate sectors, Daryl Katz turns 64... Reality television personality, best known for starring in and producing her own matchmaking reality series, “The Millionaire Matchmaker” on Bravo TV, Patti Stanger turns 64... Jerusalem-born inventor, serial entrepreneur and novelist; founder, chairman and CEO of CyberArk Software, one of Israel's leading software companies, Alon Nisim Cohen turns 57... Entrepreneur, best known as the co-founder of CryptoLogic, an online casino software firm, Andrew Rivkin turns 56... Former Democratic mayor of Annapolis, Md., now head of policy at SWTCH, Joshua Jackson "Josh" Cohen turns 52... Program director of synagogue and rabbinic initiatives at the Board of Rabbis of Southern California, Melissa York... Israeli actress, singer and dancer, she played a Mossad agent in the espionage TV series "Tehran," Liraz Charhi turns 47... Author of the “Money Stuff” column at Bloomberg Opinion, Matthew Stone Levine turns 47... Freelance writer in Brooklyn, Sara Trappler Spielman... Attorney and NYT best-selling author of the Mara Dyer and Shaw Confessions series, Michelle Hodkin turns 43... Senior advisor at the U.S. Department of Commerce until earlier this year, Bert Eli Kaufman... Senior product manager at Tel Aviv-based Forter, Zoe Goldfarb... Stephanie Oreck Weiss... Chief revenue officer at NOTUS, Brad E. Bosserman... Senior rabbi and executive director of Jewish life at D.C.'s Sixth & I, Aaron Potek... Managing editor at Allbritton Journalism Institute, Matt Berman... Medical student in the class of 2027 at the University of Nicosia Medical School, Amital Isaac... Brad Goldstein... Basketball player in Israel's Premier League until recent years, while at Princeton he won the Ivy League Player of the Year award, Spencer Weisz turns 30... Professional golfer on the PGA Tour, Max Alexander Greyserman turns 30... Rapper, singer, songwriter and producer, known by his stage name, King Sol, Benjamin Solomon turns 27…

SUNDAY: Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, pianist and conductor, he has taught at Yale, SUNY Purchase, Cornell, Brandeis and Harvard, Yehudi Wyner turns 96... Holocaust survivor as a child, he served as the Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Israel for 10 years and twice as Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv for 16 years, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau turns 88... NYC-based attorney, author of two books regarding the history and operations of El Al, owner of 40,000 plus pieces of memorabilia related to El Al, Marvin G. Goldman turns 86... Grammy Award-winning classical pianist, Richard Goode turns 82... Former member of the Knesset for the Yisrael Beiteinu party, Shimon Ohayon turns 80... Retired attorney in Berkeley, Calif., Thomas Andrew Seaton... Pediatrician in the San Francisco Bay area, Elliot Charles Lepler, MD... Former member of the Knesset for the Shinui and the Hilonit Tzionit parties, Eti Livni turns 77... Founding editor of The American Interest, Adam M. Garfinkle turns 74... Former editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News and co-author with Michael Bloomberg of Bloomberg by Bloomberg, Matthew Winkler turns 70... Contributing editor at The Free Press, Uri Paul Berliner... Founding rabbi of Congregation Aish Kodesh in Woodmere, N.Y., Rabbi Moshe Weinberger turns 68... Former IDF officer and now a London-based political scientist and journalist, Ahron "Ronnie" Bregman turns 67... Member of the Knesset for the Shas party for 16 years ending in 2015, Amnon Cohen turns 65... Owner of MLB's Athletics (temporarily playing in Sacramento), he is the chair of Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) Foundation, John J. Fisher turns 64... Poet, performance artist and essayist, Adeena Karasick turns 60... Founding editor and publisher of the Dayton Jewish Observer, Marshall J. Weiss... Television personality and matchmaker, Sigalit "Siggy" Flicker turns 58... Actress, voice actress and film director, Danielle Harris turns 48... Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and writer, Spencer J. Ackerman turns 45... Comedian, writer, actress, director and producer, Amy Schumer turns 44... Partner in Oliver Wyman, a global management consulting firm, Daniel Tannebaum... President and CEO of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, Yael Eckstein turns 41... Musician, songwriter, author, actor and blogger, Ari Seth Herstand turns 40... CEO of The Good Food Institute, Ilya Sheyman turns 39... Political reporter for NBC News and MSNBC until earlier this year, now a newspaper editor in Maine, Alex Seitz-Wald... Senior writer at Barron's covering the Federal Reserve, Nicole Goodkind... Former engineering lead at Palantir Technologies, now in a MPP program at Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs, Naomi S. Kadish... Executive business partner at Lyft, Isabel Keller... NYC-born Israeli pair skater, she competed for Israel at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Hailey Esther Kops turns 23...