Daily Kickoff: Day 12 in search for kidnapped boys | Primaries Today | Huckabee in Israel – Proposes Scarlett Johansson for U.S. Secretary of State
By Jacob Kornbluh & JI StaffOperation Brother’s Keeper DAY 12: Four arrested overnight in West Bank as sweep continues [ToI] — Israel Nabs Suspects In Passover Shooting [AP] — U.N. urges Israeli restraint in hunt for teens, warns of violence [Reuters] — U.N. Fails to Agree on Condemnation of Israel [INS] — Bendouin Trackers Hunting for Clues to Kidnapped Boys [NYTimes] — Israelis Uncover Explosives Workshops, Tunnels During Search for Kidnapped Teens [FreeBeacon] — HAPPENING TODAY: Rachel Frenkel, mother of Naftali Frenkel, will address the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. She will be joined by the mothers of the other two kidnapped teenagers in order to enlist international help in freeing their children.
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Daily Kickoff: Day 5 in search for kidnapped boys | Israel concerned about U.S. Iran cooperation | BuzzTorah: BuzzFeed for Jews | Lew to visit Israel
By Jacob Kornbluh & JI Staff
DAY 5: Netanyahu: It’s Going To Take Time: “We are here in the midst of a complex operation. We need to be prepared for the possibility that it may take time. This is a serious event and there will be serious consequences. We are working together in a considered, responsible and very determined manner.” Netanyahu urged the international community to decry the kidnapping: “I expect all responsible elements in the international community – some of whom rush to condemn us for any construction in this place or for enclosing a balcony in Gilo – to strongly condemn this reprehensible and deplorable act of abducting three youths.” After 5 days and without mentioning Hamas, the EU finally released a statement: “We condemn in the strongest terms the abduction of 3 Israeli students in the West Bank and call for their immediate release.” [Statement] (more…)
Daily Kickoff: US & Iran to team up on Iraq; Scott Walker Eyes 2016 As He Visits Lakewood, NJ; Moise Safra Passed Away at 79; Top 20 Israeli StartUps
By Jacob Kornbluh & JI Staff
DRIVING THE DAY: For the first time in over a year, Israeli PM Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas spoke together on the phone today: The call was initiated by Abbas who condemned both the kidnapping of three Israeli boys and the series of “Israeli violations” – a reference to Israeli military raids and arrests in the West Bank since the boys disappeared on Thursday. [Reuters] — Since Saturday, 150 people have been taken into custody as the search for the boys continues [JPost] — Kerry Points Finger at Hamas in Israelis’ kidnapping [JTA] — BuzzFeed: Who Was Behind The Kidnapping Of Three Israeli Teens, And Why Are They So Hard To Find? [BuzzFeed] — At 11:30am, PM Netanyahu will hold a meeting at the IDF central command in Jerusalem and give a statement to the press. (more…)
Daily Kickoff: Josh Mandel shatters his own Israel Bonds record; Cantor to the Hamptons for Shabbat; Starbucks brings Israeli powermat tech to stores
By Jacob Kornbluh & JI Staff
Heard On Michael Fragin’s ‘Spin Class’ Radio Show — BuzzFeed: Eric Cantor Blames Democrats For Defeat, Supporter Phil Rosen Says: “What we’ve discovered is that out of the 60,000 people who voted in the Republican primary, 15,000 of them were Democrats and all of those votes — 100% of those votes — went against Eric Cantor,” Rosen said. “That factor is giant.” “I’ve heard it not just from Eric, I’ve heard it from 2 other people involved in politics in Virginia,” Rosen said.[BuzzFeed] — Open Primary: With Virginia’s open primary system, Democrats could attempt to influence the outcome of the race—and it appears that they may have tried to some degree. Virginia has no party registration, so voters can easily vote in a Republican primary one year and a Democratic primary the next. [Politico] — Ben Smith gets back to writing inside Jewish politics baseball in his piece “Eric Cantor, Anomaly – Jewish Republicanism never amounted to much. But can anyone hold the Kock and Adelson wings of the party together now?” [BuzzFeed] (more…)
Daily Kickoff: NYTimes on Cantor’s Jewish Donors; Senate Hearing on Iran Today; Pulver’s Zula Raises $3M; David Yarus’s ‘Kosher Tinder’ App – JSwipe
By Jacob Kornbluh & JI Staff
TOP TALKER: Eric Cantor announced at a press conference yesterday that he will step down as House Majority Leader and will not attempt to run as a write-in candidate in the fall. Cantor began the press conference by invoking his Judaism: “Growing up in the Jewish faith, going to Hebrew school, reading the old testament, I learned a lot about individual setbacks but I also learned that each setback is an opportunity and that there’s always optimism for the future. While I may have suffered a personal setback last night, I couldn’t be more optimistic about the future of this country.”
[Video] In a closed door meeting of the House Republican Conference, Cantor said, quoting a Holocaust survivor: “Suffering is part of life, misery is a choice.” (more…)
Daily Kickoff: Eric Cantor’s Jewish Cousin vs. Israeli Gov’t; Talmudic Coders; U.S. Jewish Mayors Fulop & Garcetti; 27 Things Jewish Moms Love
Top Talker: American Jewish Family Accuses Israel of Caving In To China; Urges U.S. Court to Reject Israeli Attempt to Silence Witness: “An American family that is suing the Bank of China in a U.S. terrorism case accused Israel on Tuesday of caving in to Chinese pressure by blocking a key witness from testifying. The lawsuit revolves around allegations that Bank of China knowingly allowed Palestinian militants to use its accounts to finance their operations, including the suicide attack that killed 16-year-old Daniel Wultz, and 10 others. Bank of China denies the allegations. (more…)
