• The International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries begins today in New York City, bringing together 6,200 rabbis from 111 countries.
• Former First Lady Michelle Obama will appear at Washington’s Sixth & I Synagogue this evening to discuss her forthcoming book, The Look.
• Finance industry executives — including Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan and Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman — were invited to dinner at the White House with President Donald Trump this evening. 

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S Josh Kraushaar

Beware the law of unintended consequences: President Donald Trump’s zeal to aggressively redraw maps in GOP-friendly states is looking like it will bring less of a political advantage to Republicans than originally expected.  

Indeed, if the overall political environment remains in the Democrats’ favor — which would be consistent with the historical precedent of the opposition party gaining seats in the first midterm election of a new president — the House is likely to flip back to the Democrats’ control in 2027.

Here’s the lowdown: California’s referendum on redistricting, which passed overwhelmingly on Election Day, will allow Democrats to gain as many as five seats with a new, more-partisan map — with three Republican-held seats (of GOP Reps. Doug LaMalfa, Kevin Kiley and Ken Calvert) all but guaranteed to flip.

That should offset the expected GOP gains in Texas, which started the whole redistricting gamesmanship off with a partisan redraw that guarantees Republicans to pick up at least three Democratic-held seats, with the hope that Republicans can win two additional seats that became more favorable to them.

But there’s a catch with the Texas map. Two of the redrawn districts — the seats of Democratic Reps. Vicente Gonzalez and Henry Cuellar — are in predominantly Hispanic areas along the U.S.-Mexico border that swung dramatically to Trump in 2024, but had a long tradition of voting Democratic before then. If Democrats rebound with Hispanic voters — as happened in New Jersey and Virginia on Election Day — and the national environment remains rough for Republicans, it’s not hard to see the two Democratic incumbents hanging on.

Adding another wrinkle to the GOP’s redistricting plans: A Utah judge rejected the preferred map drawn by Republican state lawmakers, and selected a new map that would guarantee a Democratic district in Salt Lake City. That would automatically flip one seat to the Democrats, given that the state’s current delegation is made up of four Republicans, all in solidly Republican districts. 

Read the rest of ‘What You Should Know’ here.

Hate on the Right, Then and Now: The New York Times’ Bret Stephens draws comparisons between today’s rising trend of antisemitism within the GOP to past iterations of antisemitic ideology on the right. “The MAGA movement is not antisemitic. But many of its core convictions are antisemitic-adjacent — that is, they have a habit of leading in an anti-Jewish direction. Opposition to free trade, or to a welcoming immigration policy, or to international law that crimps national sovereignty, are legitimate, if often wrongheaded, political positions. But they have a way of melding with hoary stereotypes about ‘the International Jew; working across borders against the interests of so-called real Americans.” [NYTimes]

After Mamdani, Healing Divisions: Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, senior rabbi at Park Avenue Synagogue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, reflects in the Forward about how the New York City Jewish community must unite in the aftermath of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s victory. “For me, personally, the fact that about a third of New York City’s Jewish voters checked the box for Mamdani is totally bewildering. I am not unaware of the bigger political trends, the shortcomings of the other candidates, or the systemic challenges our city faces; I understand why Mamdani won. But for me, his anti-Zionist rhetoric and his intent to shut down research and economic partnerships between Israel and New York — to name but a few of his promises that would negatively impact our community — not only disqualified him from receiving my vote, but were a meaningful enough concern that I chose to publicly urge Jews and their allies to vote against him as well. And yet, it would seem that what was self-evident to me was not so self-evident to a sizeable percentage of my kinfolk. … We need to learn to walk together again. If, as I have repeatedly claimed, ahavat yisrael — love of the Jewish people — is my North Star, then it is a principle I must uphold even and especially when it is uncomfortable to do so. It is a love that must extend to Jews whose views I neither share nor understand.” [Forward]

Takeover on the Quad: John Ellis, professor emeritus of German literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz, argues in The Wall Street Journal for placing universities in a “receivership” to address the dominance of left-wing ideology in higher education. “The discrepancy between what we fund the campuses for and what they are doing is enormous. Promotion of knowledge and understanding has given way to inculcation of a poisonous fringe ideology. Students are encouraged to despise their society and kept ignorant of anything that might make them think otherwise. … The only viable solution is to place schools in ‘receivership,’ a well-established procedure to reform ailing college departments. A new chairman is imposed on a department with a free hand to make whatever appointments he thinks necessary to restore the department to health. By action of lawmakers or trustees, a new president can be imposed on a campus with a mandate to return the school to its proper mission by appointing subordinate administrators, especially deans, committed to reform.” [WSJ]

Investing in the Jewish Future: In Sapir, Jordan Chandler Hirsch argues that the Jewish people should establish a sovereign wealth fund to secure long-term communal and national resilience. “A wealth fund would allow the Jewish community to invite allies and skeptics alike into mutually beneficial investments. It could help key players solve their problems and achieve their goals, thereby securing support for ours. Skeptics who distrust our institutionalism might respect our show of independence. Anti-establishment forces might welcome Jewish capital that strengthens their projects. Most important, a wealth fund could transform both our psychology and our posture — from supplicants seeking protection into partners offering opportunity. Despite its corporate veneer, a wealth fund would not merely reproduce institutionalism. If shtadlanut sought seats at the institutional table, a wealth fund would build its own table and invite others in.” [SAPIR] 

President Donald Trump sent a letter to Israeli President Isaac Herzog calling on him to “fully pardon” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, describing the corruption case against him as “a political, unjustified prosecution.” Herzog’s office put out a statement saying that while he “holds President Trump in the highest regard … anyone seeking a Presidential pardon must submit a formal request in accordance with the established procedures”…

Following a joint meeting in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced the creation of a joint committee “for the consolidation of the state of Palestine,” which will work towards drafting a “constitution” for such a state…

Iran has smuggled advanced armaments to terror groups in the West Bank over several months, the Washington Free Beacon reports, including rockets, explosive drones, anti-tank missiles and rocket-propelled grenades, hoping to use it as another launch pad in addition to Gaza to attack Israel…

Sens. Jim Risch (R-ID), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) met with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa at the Capitol on Tuesday. A person familiar with the situation told Jewish Insider that Van Hollen had “reiterated his support for the lifting of the Caesar sanctions while also stressing his long-held position that the U.S. must ensure that the Government of Syria complies with the six conditions included in the amendment he and Senator Graham added to the NDAA”…

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) urged the State Department to take action to ensure the release of Kamran Hekmati, an Iranian-American dual citizen and Suozzi constituent imprisoned in Iran. “This is about more than one man. It’s about defending the basic rights of American citizens abroad and standing up to regimes that traffic in hostage diplomacy,” Suozzi said…

Rep. Gabe Amo (D-RI) led 125 House Democrats in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio seeking “clarity on your plan to ensure desperately needed humanitarian aid reaches Palestinian civilians in Gaza” and urging that aid be distributed through “reputable international institutions”…

Saudi Arabia is set to host a U.S.-Saudi investment summit at the Kennedy Center in Washington next Wednesday, a day after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman‘s visit to the White House…

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) met with Malcolm Jallow, an anti-Israel left-wing member of the Swedish parliament who has espoused antisemitic views and has associations with pro-Hamas individuals…

The New York Times speaks to Iranians deported back to Iran by the Trump administration in the first U.S.-chartered deportation flight to the country in September…

The New York Times profiles Jack Schlossberg, grandson of President John F. Kennedy, who is preparing to run for Congress in New York’s 12th Congressional District…

After receiving backlash for canceling planned shows in Israel as a result of pressure by the BDS movement, British comedian John Cleese said he was only postponing the shows “following advice about safety.” The “Monty Python” actor, who has a history of anti-Israel commentary on social media, claimed he is “hugely fond of Israeli audiences”…

Argentine President Javier Milei met with Rabbi David Yosef, the Sephardic chief rabbi of Israel; Isaac Sacca, the Sephardic chief rabbi of Argentina; and Eyal Sela, the Israeli ambassador to Argentina… 

Israeli authorities arrested four suspects after dozens of settlers launched an arson attack in the Palestinian villages of Bei Lid and Deir Sharaf in the West Bank….

Israeli actress Gal Gadot won Israel’s Genesis Prize, sometimes called the “Jewish Nobel,” for her outspoken support of Israel in Hollywood since the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks. Gadot said she will donate the $1 million award to organizations “that will help Israel heal”… 

Israeli pop star Noa Kirel and soccer player Daniel Peretz tied the knot on Tuesday in an A-lister affair in Jaffa: spotted at the nuptials were Israeli celebrities Eden Daniel Gabay, Idan Raichel, Eran Zahavi, Reef Neeman, Ron Bitton, Ron Aluf and Mor Hamami…

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts recently toured a site in Saudi Arabia for a possible Universal theme park location, raising speculation that he might bring in Saudi funds for a potential Comcast bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery…

Wonderful, an Israeli AI startup, has secured $100 million in a Series A funding round led by Index Ventures, with backing from Insight Partners, IVP, Bessemer and Vine Ventures…

Shulem Lemmer shared on social media “The March Medley” he performed together in June with the Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion, featuring Gur’s “Shir Hamaalos” and Modzitz’s “Ein Kitzvah,” at the 2025 MDA Chassidut B’Class concert in the Caesarea amphitheater.

Rabbi of the Dohány Street Synagogue in Budapest, Hungary, Róbert Frölich turns 60… 

Co-founder and dean of the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia, Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky turns 101… Professor emerita of history at Columbia University and expert on Japan, Carol Gluck turns 84… Author and senior fellow at USC’s Annenberg School, Morley Winograd turns 83… Accountant and former PwC partner in Phoenix, Steven M. Scheiner, CPA… Former New York state senator, he is a descendant of Rabbi Shmuel Salant, the former Ashkenazic chief rabbi of Jerusalem, Stephen M. Saland turns 82… Sportscaster for “Thursday Night Football” on Prime Video, after more than 50 years at NBC and ABC, Al Michaels turns 81… U.S. senator (D-RI), Jack Reed turns 76… Attorney in Brooklyn, Bernard C. Wachsman… Member of the New York state Assembly since 2006, her district includes Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Linda B. Rosenthal turns 68… Author of young-adult fiction and winner of the 2015 National Book Award for Challenger Deep, Neal Shusterman turns 63… Author, journalist and former political advisor to Al Gore and Bill Clinton, Naomi Rebekah Wolf turns 63… University of Chicago professor, he won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics, Michael Kremer turns 61… Mayor of Oakland, Calif., until 2023, Elizabeth Beckman “Libby” Schaaf turns 60… Partner in the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis, Sanford E. “Sandy” Perl turns 60… White House chief of staff for the last two years of the Biden administration, Jeffrey Zients turns 59… British journalist and political correspondent for BBC News, Joanne “Jo” Coburn turns 58… Hasidic lecturer with many thousands of followers, Rabbi Avraham Elimelech Biderman turns 58… SVP and general manager of MLB’s Minnesota Twins from 2016 until 2024, Thad Levine turns 54… Member of the Knesset until 2019 for the Yisrael Beiteinu party, Robert Ilatov turns 54… Restaurant critic and food writer for the Boston Globe, Devra First turns 53… Israeli fashion model and actress, Nina Brosh turns 50… Former member of the Knesset for the United Torah Judaism party, Eliyahu Hasid turns 49… Campus support director at Hillel International, Aviva Zucker Snyder… Actress best known for her roles on “The Young and the Restless” and “The Bold and the Beautiful,” Kelly Kruger turns 44… Co-founder of Purple Acorn, Dave Weinberg… Assistant professor of Jewish studies at Oberlin College, Matthew D. Berkman turns 41… Director of strategic talent initiatives at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Spencer F. Lucker… New Jersey-based primary care physician known as Doctor Mike, he is an internet celebrity on YouTube and Instagram, Mikhail Varshavski turns 36… Activist in the fight against antisemitism throughout the U.S., Adela Cojab turns 29… Catcher in the Washington Nationals organization, Cameron J. Stubbs turns 29…

• Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa will visit the White House today, becoming the first Syrian head of state to do so. More below.
• White House advisor Jared Kushner met today in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and Aryeh Lightstone, senior advisor to White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
• Columbia University’s School of International and Political Affairs is hosting a discussion on the slain Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s legacy, 30 years after his assassination. Speakers include former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Columbia’s acting President Claire Shipman and SIPA’s Dean Keren Yarhi-Milo.
• The Anti-Defamation League’s annual Concert Against Hate is taking place this evening and will honor Marion Ein Lewin, Holocaust survivor, health policy leader, advocate and educator; Michael Lomax, president and CEO of the United Negro College Fund; Wesley Seidner, a senior at Oakton High School in Fairfax County, Va.; and Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt.

A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S Emily jacobs and marc rod

The firebombing of a hostage-release march in Boulder, Colo., this summer triggered a wave of calls from lawmakers — particularly Republicans — for action to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod report.

Legislation to that effect was introduced in both the Senate and House in July, taking a new approach to designating the group as compared to previous legislative efforts that had stalled over the course of the last decade.

The legislation would require the imposition of sanctions on the Muslim Brotherhood, making it illegal to provide support to the group, making its members and affiliates inadmissible to the United States and blocking transactions involving assets held by Muslim Brotherhood members in U.S. financial institutions.

There were also calls from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for the Trump administration to investigate the group and take action to designate it through executive authorities. The secretary of state has the authority to designate a group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), and the White House could issue an executive order on the subject.

But so far, none of those efforts have come to fruition. The Senate bill currently sits at 11 co-sponsors, having recently picked up Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) as its first Democratic supporter, while the House bill has 19 co-sponsors from both parties — below the levels of support previous iterations of the bill had amassed.

Fetterman’s co-sponsorship could help the bill receive consideration by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as the panel often only considers legislation with bipartisan support. A source familiar with the matter tells JI that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), the bill’s co-sponsor in the Senate and a member of the committee, is pushing for the panel to mark up the bill at their next business meeting. 

Read the rest of ‘What You Should Know’ here.

What Mamdani Could Do: Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt and Ari Hoffnung, ADL’s senior advisor on corporate advocacy who served as deputy comptroller of New York City, lay out how Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani could “weaponize” city funds to “carry out his anti-Zionist agenda,” in the New York Post. “His most consequential lever is the city’s $300 billion pension system: The mayor appoints trustees across each of the five pension boards. Mamdani or his appointees could pressure the boards to divest from companies linked to Israel, including major firms like Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Lockheed Martin, all long targeted by BDS activists. … Procurement represents another powerful lever. Many of the companies targeted by the BDS movement — Dell, Microsoft, Motorola and others — are deeply embedded in the infrastructure that keeps New York running. The city holds contracts worth about $400 million with Dell, $300 million with Motorola and $100 million with Microsoft — covering everything from laptops in the schools to police and emergency communications. Walking away from those partnerships under the banner of ‘human rights’ might make for good headlines but would dramatically punish our nation’s largest city: disrupting services, inflating costs and compromising public safety.” [NYPost]

The New New Antisemitism: In Tablet, David Reaboi examines how speakers and attendees at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s 40th anniversary leadership summit grappled with the issue of growing antisemitism on the right. “The confusion on display wasn’t unique to the RJC; it reflects a broader failure of imagination across Jewish institutional life. For decades, antisemitism was something safely external: a pathology of the far left, the campus fringe, or hostile regimes abroad. What’s emerging now is different. The new antisemitism speaks the language of patriotism, faith, and anti-elitism; it arrives disguised as cultural critique. It’s a theory of how the world works. To an audience conditioned by cable news, it sounds insightful rather than bigoted. Inside the ballroom, there was no framework for understanding this shift. Politicians could condemn hate, but they couldn’t recognize it when it wore their party’s colors.” [Tablet]

The Right’s Heritage: In his “Commonplace” Substack, Oren Cass warns that the infamous video by Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, defending Tucker Carlson’s interview with neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes is a symptom of a larger problem endangering the conservative movement. “What’s a little monarchism, race science, and misogyny among friends? In theory, to quote Roberts, ‘when we disagree with a person’s thoughts and opinions, we challenge those ideas and debate.’ But in practice, as his next sentence clarifies, ‘we have seen success in this approach as we continue to dismantle the vile ideas of the Left.’ And only the Left. Vile ideas on the Right see little challenge — wouldn’t want to ‘sow division,’ after all, like the Jews, sorry, like that venomous coalition of globalists serving another country’s agenda. When you spend enough time in the fever swamp, even if you think you’re just hanging out on the bank, that is how you find yourself talking.” [Commonplace]

Cornell University agreed to conduct “annual surveys to evaluate the campus climate for students, including the climate for students with shared Jewish ancestry” as part of an agreement it reached with the Trump administration on Friday, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports… 

Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, the new executive chairman of Israeli spyware company NSO Group, hopes to use his ties to the Trump administration to help rebuild the company’s U.S. business, he told The Wall Street Journal, after the Biden administration placed the company on an export-prohibition list in 2021…

Michael Blake, the New York assemblyman mounting a primary challenge against Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), scrubbed posts showing his support for AIPAC and participation at the group’s events from his social media accounts. Blake’s campaign has been attacking Torres for the congressman’s support of Israel and ties to AIPAC despite his own prior support and ties…

Mexican security agencies foiled a plot last summer by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to assassinate Israel’s ambassador to Mexico, Einat Kranz Neiger, U.S. and Israeli security officials revealed…

The Wall Street Journal chronicles the rise and fall of Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts, through his redirecting of the organization’s policy priorities and current controversy over his defense of Tucker Carlson. The story noted that Roberts encouraged employees working on Ukraine policy to watch Carlson’s monologues, which were rife with conspiracy theories about the war, to delete past tweets in support of Ukraine aid and to write papers reflecting the new, more isolationist policy that he had embraced…

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) asked the Justice Department to open an investigation into the anti-Israel activist group Code Pink for acting as an unregistered foreign agent of the Chinese government and providing “material support to foreign terrorist organizations,” the Washington Free Beacon reports…

The Free Press publishes an excerpt from Sen. John Fetterman’s (D-PA) memoir, Unfettered, which will be released tomorrow, in which he reflects on the deep depression he fell into following his stroke… 

The Wall Street Journal introduces key players in New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s inner circle, some of whom are “in line for key roles in his administration”…

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani says he’s seeking to distance his country from both Iranian and U.S. influence, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal ahead of Iraq’s Tuesday election where he’s seeking a second term…

Reporting from the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Politico‘s Sam Sutton explores the “cross-pollination between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia’s political and commercial enterprises,” and the rise of top-down capitalism in both countries…

Tim Davie, the BBC’s director general, and Deborah Turness, head of BBC News, resigned on the heels of the publication of an internal report accusing the British national broadcaster of bias, including in its coverage of the war in Gaza and the way it edited a speech by President Donald Trump…

The New York Times spotlights the continuing isolation of Israeli academics even after the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel…

The head of Germany’s Jewish community has warned about potential risks to the Jewish community due to rising support for the far-right party Alternative for Germany in the country’s eastern states…

Ruby and Hagit Chen salute their son Itay’s grave at the Kiryat Shaul military cemetery in Tel Aviv at his funeral on Sunday. Itay Chen, an American Israeli IDF soldier who was 19, served in the 7th Armored Brigade’s 75th Battalion and was killed in battle with terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, and kidnapped to Gaza. His body was returned to Israel last Tuesday.

Actress and producer, Zoey Francis Chaya Thompson Deutch turns 31…

Manager of the Decatur, Ga.-based Connect Hearing, Murray Kurtzberg… One of the four deans of Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, N.J., Rabbi Yerucham Olshin turns 82… Professor emeritus at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, he is a co-founder of Nebraska Jewish Historical Society, Oliver B. Pollak, Ph.D. turns 82… Energy consultant, president and CEO of K Street Alternative Energy Strategies, LLC, Howard Marks turns 81… Former executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at California State University, Los Angeles, now the executive director of the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation, Raphael J. Sonenshein, Ph.D. turns 76… Israeli journalist, Elli Wohlgelernter turns 72… Chief administrative officer at the Legacy Heritage Fund, Elaine Weitzman… ESPN’s longest-tenured “SportsCenter” anchor, Linda Cohn turns 66… Rabbi at Temple Beth Kodesh in Boynton Beach, Fla., Michael C. Simon… Professor at Bar-Ilan University, Adam Ferziger turns 61… Senior rabbi of Leo Baeck Temple in Los Angeles, Ken Chasen turns 60… Former MLB right-fielder for 14 seasons, he founded Greenfly, a software firm for sports and entertainment organizations, Shawn Green turns 53… National security editor at The Washington Post, Benjamin Pauker… President of Democratic Majority for Israel, Brian Paul Romick turns 49… Co-founder in 2004 of Yelp, where he remains the CEO, Jeremy Stoppelman turns 48… Executive director of the Ruderman Family Foundation, Shira Menashe Ruderman… Chief investigative reporter at ABC News, Josh Margolin turns 46… Senior advisor on the public health team at Bloomberg Philanthropies, Jean B. Weinberg… YouTube personality, he came to fame as a child actor on Nickelodeon, Josh Peck turns 39… 

Editor’s note: Daniel Naroditsky, whom we featured in the “Birthdays” section of Friday’s Daily Kickoff, died on Oct. 20. We apologize for the error. 

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump continued to voice his frustration today with Hamas’ ongoing violence in the Gaza Strip, including a recent ceasefire violation where Hamas terrorists shot an anti-tank missile at IDF machinery and killed two soldiers, though he stopped short of calling for action against the terror group. 

At a bilateral lunch at the White House with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Trump told reporters, “We made a deal with Hamas that they’re going to be very good, they’re going to behave, they’re going to be nice and if they’re not, we’re going to go in — we’re going to eradicate them if we have to, they’ll be eradicated.” 

Trump claimed the violence was committed by rogue members of the terror group: “I don’t believe it was the leadership — they had some rebellion in there among themselves — and they killed some people, a lot of people.” 

Despite his phrasing, Trump emphasized that the U.S. will not send troops into Gaza. “We don’t need to [have U.S. boots on the ground] because we have many countries, as you know, signed on to this deal,” he said. “We had countries calling me when they saw some of the killing with Hamas, saying, ‘We’d love to go in and take care of the situation ourselves.’ In addition, Israel would go in in two minutes if I asked them to go in. … But right now we haven’t said that. We’re going to give it a little chance and hopefully there will be a little less violence”…

Trump advisors Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, in Israel to help shore up the ceasefire, reportedly told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in their meeting today not to take any action that could risk the first phase of the agreement, Israeli media reports, despite the recent violations by Hamas…

Netanyahu appointed Israeli-American businessman Michael Eisenberg as his representative to the U.S.-led international body monitoring the implementation of the ceasefire, according to Israeli media. Eisenberg previously helped establish the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Vice President JD Vance, set to land in Israel tomorrow, is expected to visit the monitoring body’s command center…

The Trump administration’s nominee for ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, former Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC), is also in Israel this week on a trip focused on “religious freedom, unity and resilience after the release of hostages.” Yesterday, he met with American hostage families and today visited Yad Vashem and the Western Wall…

The military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said today it was handing over the remains of a hostage held in Gaza to IDF troops. The army announced the casket is now in Israel and headed for identification…

Meanwhile in the U.S., Politico reports that Paul Ingrassia, the Trump administration’s nominee to head the Office of Special Counsel, said on a text chain of Republican operatives last year that he has “a Nazi streak” in him “from time to time” and that all holidays commemorating Black communities “need to be eviscerated.”

Ingrassia, who has a history of promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories, including calling the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel a “psyop,” is scheduled receive a confirmation hearing in the Senate on Thursday…

The Council on American-Islamic Relations filed a lawsuit against Northwestern alleging that the university violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by adopting time, place and manner restrictions on student protest and requiring students to watch an antisemitism training video, Jewish Insider‘s Danielle Cohen-Kanik reports.

Among other allegations, the suit, filed in federal court in Illinois, claims Northwestern violated students’ rights by requiring them to agree to the school’s code of conduct, which now incorporates the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, as well as mandatory bias training that includes a video on antisemitism created in collaboration with the Jewish United Fund, the city’s Jewish federation…

Dartmouth College joined five other universities in rejecting the Trump administration’s “Compact for Academic Excellence” over the weekend. With a deadline of today, the University of Arizona, the University of Texas at Austin and Vanderbilt University are the only schools offered early access to the compact that have yet to respond publicly…

John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council under the Biden administration, is set to become director of the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics on Nov. 15, according to Axios…

An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for reporting on the U.K. Jewish community’s reaction to rising antisemitism in the country after the Yom Kippur attack on a Manchester synagogue and reflections from a 21-year-old Argentinian activist who was awarded with a trip to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum for her work in tolerance.

This evening, Aish is hosting former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in conversation with Elisha Wiesel on “the future of New York City” about the upcoming mayoral elections. 

Tomorrow, the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control will hold a hearing on Hezbollah’s drug trafficking activities in Latin America.

Hillel International CEO Adam Lehman will appear at 92NY in New York City tomorrow evening to discuss “the state of Judaism on campus.”

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

Hamas continues to delay its return of the deceased hostages in Gaza, citing difficulty in locating and unearthing them. The terror group has so far returned nine out of the 28 bodies it holds, though Israel told mediators yesterday that it believes Hamas knows the whereabouts of at least six other bodies, Arab officials told The Wall Street Journal. Israel shared some of its own intelligence on their locations today and is convening an international task force, including Egypt and Turkey, to work on recovering the rest of the remains…

Hamas is also continuing its campaign to execute its rivals in the enclave; President Donald Trump posted this afternoon on Truth Social, “If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the Deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them”…

Israel took credit for the death of Houthi Chief of Staff Muhammad al-Ghamari, announced by the terror group today, as a result of an Israeli strike on Houthi leadership in Yemen in August. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that al-Ghamari has “joined his comrades from the thwarted axis of evil in the depths of hell”…

Meanwhile on the campaign trial, New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani refused to say that Hamas should disarm on a Wednesday appearance on Fox News, instead asserting, “I don’t really have opinions about the future of Hamas and Israel beyond the question of justice and safety, and the fact that anything has to abide by international law. That applies to Hamas, that applies to the Israeli military, applies to anyone you could ask me about.”

In response, Rep. Laura Gillen (D-NY), a Long Island swing district Democrat who has remained vocally opposed to Mamdani’s candidacy, said on social media, “Pro-Hamas Zohran is unfit to hold any office in the United States”…

Despite maintaining his anti-Israel positions, Mamdani continued his outreach to Jewish leaders in the city over the holiday of Sukkot, including meeting with representatives of the Satmar Hasidic community in Williamsburg as well as with leadership at Reform Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope, The New York Times reports. 

The conversations have not assuaged communal concerns over his potential mayoralty, with at least one meeting ending with Mamdani and “some attendees ‘totally apart from one another’ on key issues.”

Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, a progressive Reform leader and senior rabbi at Manhattan’s Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, likewise was unpersuaded in a video and statement he released today, telling Mamdani, “I do not speak for all Jews, but I do represent the views of the large majority of the NY Jewish community, which is increasingly concerned about your statements about Israel and the Jewish people”…

Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), mounting a primary challenge to Israel critic Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), said today that he is returning political donations he has received from AIPAC and will reject the group’s support going forward, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. 

AIPAC said in a statement that Moulton “is abandoning his friends to grab a headline, capitulating to the extremes rather than standing on conviction. His statement comes after years of him repeatedly asking for our endorsement and is a clear message to AIPAC members in Massachusetts, and millions of pro-Israel Democrats nationwide, that he rejects their support and will not stand with them.”

Moulton’s changed stance on accepting support from AIPAC is yet another sign of how even more-moderate Democrats are facing pressure from the party’s activist base to distance themselves from embracing Israel… 

CNN unearthed since-deleted social media comments from Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, who has made opposition to Israel and AIPAC a central focus of his campaign, on a range of far-left issues, including calling himself a communist, saying he’s “disgusted” with America and repeatedly disparaging police officers. “I can honestly say that that is me just being an a**hole on the Internet,” Platner said about the posts…

Claudia Milne, senior vice president for standards and practices at CBS News, announced today that she is stepping down from her position, the first executive to do so since Free Press founder Bari Weiss was named editor-in-chief of the outlet. 

Milne oversaw the standards department during a period of perceived anti-Israel bias by the news organization, including when the department instructed CBS employees not to refer to Jerusalem as being in Israel (reported on by The Free Press)…

An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for reporting on the New York City mayoral debate and an appearance by Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and antisemitism envoy nominee Yehuda Kaploun at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, both taking place this evening.

On Sunday evening, Americans for Ben-Gurion University will hold a benefit in New York City featuring a performance by comedian Alex Edelman and honoring special guest Sasha Troufanov, who was held hostage by Hamas for almost 500 days.

We’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat Shalom!

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

President Donald Trump heaped praise on the leaders of Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Indonesia at a Cabinet meeting at the White House today, lauding them as key parties responsible for getting Israel and Hamas to agree to the first phase of his peace plan for the region, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.

Trump also confirmed in his remarks that his team is organizing a Mideast trip for him to commemorate the deal, which would include stops in Egypt and Israel, where he’s been invited to address the Knesset.

The president said he is planning to depart from Washington on Sunday and hopes to time his trip to be there when the remaining hostages are released, which he said will happen on Monday or Tuesday. That’s later than some reports which speculated they could be returned to Israel as soon as this weekend… 

Israeli and Hamas negotiators signed the final draft of phase one of the deal in Egypt today, and the Israeli Cabinet is now meeting to vote to approve it.

Former Mideast envoy Jared Kushner and current envoy Steve Witkoff joined the Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, coming off of negotiations in Egypt and having already met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The deal is expected to be approved, despite statements from National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that their parties will oppose it. The meeting, as well as an earlier Security Cabinet briefing, were delayed after Ben-Gvir demanded to retain a veto on the release of specific Palestinian prisoners in the exchange, according to Israeli media…

Preparations are underway for Trump’s brief visit, with the Knesset lit up today in red, white and blue and the King David Hotel reportedly getting ready to boot out guests staying in the luxury lodgings for Sukkot to accommodate the president and his entourage…

Anti-Israel Democratic lawmakers offered tepid support for the deal throughout the day, while reiterating their strident criticisms of Israel, JI’s Marc Rod reports.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) didn’t explicitly praise the deal but said he hopes it will lead to the end of a “horrific war.” He made no mention of the Israeli hostages set to be released, but asserted one-tenth of the Gazan population was killed or injured during the war. Read more reactions from lawmakers here…

Joining the pack, New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani told a local radio station today that he hopes the deal is “lasting” and “brings peace” but that it shouldn’t erase “Hamas’ horrific war crime on Oct. 7 … and the Israeli government’s horrific war crimes since then”…

The Atlantic Council’s Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, who grew up in Gaza, writes in The Free Press about the “self-styled peace activists” in the West denouncing the peace deal as a “colonial attempt to continue the genocide” who have “little understanding or interest in how dealmaking works.”

“One of the first steps to freeing Palestinians from the horrors of war is to free them from the ‘Free Palestine Movement’ in the diaspora and Western world. The unholy alliance between the far left, far right, and Islamist hooligans who normalize Hamas’s narrative is harmful first and foremost to the Palestinian people,” Alkhatib argues…

In her first week as editor-in-chief of CBS News, The Free Press founder Bari Weiss reportedly told staff today that former secretaries of state Hillary Clinton, Antony Blinken and Mike Pompeo have agreed to appear on a Middle East roundtable on the network…

The New York Times profiles Jewish stand-up comedian Mordechi Rosenfeld, known as Modi, who has a “personal mantra that guides his comedy: ‘Moshiach energy’ … For Mr. Rosenfeld, the slogan reflects a Messianic idea inspired by the last leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch Orthodox movement, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Mr. Rosenfeld interprets it as a mandate to pour positive energy into the world to help bring the Messiah”…

An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider tomorrow morning for reporting on the Senate’s agreement, which had been stalled for weeks, to move toward passage of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act today.

Tomorrow, NOTUS will host a virtual event on “Mapping the New Global Order” with former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Reps. Don Bacon (R-NE) and Jason Crow (D-CO).

Over the weekend, we’ll be keeping an eye on President Donald Trump’s travels to the region and engagement with Israeli officials, as well as developments in the hostage-release process.

In observance of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, we’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Thursday. Chag Sameach and Shabbat Shalom!

Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking

There has been a whirlwind of political activity in Israel today, starting with the bombshell news that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to ask the Security Cabinet to approve an expansion of Israel’s war in Gaza, which would see the IDF control all of the enclave.

The move will have reverberations throughout Jerusalem and Washington, from Netanyahu’s own government to hostage families, Capitol Hill and the White House. Officials on both sides of the aisle in the U.S. have been pushing hard for a comprehensive ceasefire and an end to the war — including Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who was in Israel just days ago at the behest of President Donald Trump. Stay tuned to Jewish Insider for how this will play out in the coming days…

In other headlines coming out of Israel, the Cabinet voted unanimously this morning to oust Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, with whom the current government has been at odds since it was formed, accusing her of political bias.

Shortly after the vote, the Israeli Supreme Court issued an injunction temporarily blocking the firing and ordering the government to continue abiding by Baharav-Miara’s legal opinions until the court issues a final ruling. 

It’s the first time an Israeli government has ever voted to oust the AG, and with some Cabinet ministers already boycotting her and pushing back on the court’s decision, Israel could be edging toward a constitutional crisis.

Meanwhile, Likud MK Yuli Edelstein was officially pushed out of his chairmanship of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee today, over coalition disagreements on a Haredi conscription bill. He was replaced by Boaz Bismuth, also from Likud, whom the party hopes will be more amenable to reducing sanctions on Haredim who dodge the draft. Israeli voters across a large swath of the political spectrum, including the Likud base, are on Edelstein’s side of the debate…

Getting a front-row seat to these developments, House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) trip to Israel with a House Republican delegation continues today. The group visited the town of Ariel, making Johnson the highest-ranking elected federal official to visit a West Bank settlement. While there, Johnson told a meeting of senior Yesha Council officials that “Judea and Samaria are the front lines of the State of Israel and must remain an integral part of it,” and stopped by Ariel University…

Also in Israel this week are two delegations of freshman House members, one from each caucus, organized by the AIPAC-affiliated American Israel Education Foundation. The Democratic trip is led by Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the former House majority leader, and Rep. Pete Aguilar, (D-CA), the caucus chair…

Back at home, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations CEO William C. Daroff met with Under Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby at the Pentagon today. Though Colby had faced criticism around his nomination from pro-Israel circles for his calls to scale back U.S. involvement in the Middle East, Daroff told JI that Colby “expressed a clear and serious understanding of U.S. strategic interests in the Middle East, including the vital importance of deterring Iran, preventing regional adversaries from gaining dominance, and sustaining Israel’s security following the Twelve Day War.” Daroff said he was “encouraged by [Colby’s] principled and grounded approach”…

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said in grant notices made public Friday that states must guarantee they will not engage in boycotts of Israeli companies in order to qualify for a tranche of more than $1.9 billion in natural disaster preparedness grants…

Software analytics giant Palantir topped $1 billion in revenue for the first time, it shared in an earnings report today. The company has secured several large contracts with the Trump administration, including an agreement announced last week for $10 billion over the next decade with the U.S. Army…

Veteran Democratic political strategist Howard Wolfson, an outspoken supporter of Israel and Jewish causes, appeared on Daniel Gordis’ “Israel from the Inside” podcast today with the message that “the war for hearts and minds” in U.S. support for Israel “has been lost.” The former communications director of Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, Wolfson said that he’s “clanging the alarm bell as loudly as I can and hoping that the Israeli public and the decision-makers in Israel understand how far Israel has fallen in public approval in the United States and what the implications of that are.”

“Israel is getting absolutely decimated” in information warfare, Wolfson continued. “And that may not be fair, it may not be accurate, but I think those questions of fairness and accuracy, they’ve become largely irrelevant. It’s not about fairness and accuracy. It’s about effectiveness and about impact.”…

An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead

Keep an eye on Jewish Insider this week for a dive into the lessons learned from Israel’s disengagement from Gaza 20 years ago this month, an analysis of what a new poll of New York City Jewish voters means for Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral prospects and a look into the latest fundraising figures from pro-Israel campaign groups.

Tomorrow morning, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar will meet with American Jewish leaders in New York, JI has learned, and then head to a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the situation of the hostages held in Gaza. Sa’ar prompted the special session after videos of two hostages — Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski — were released by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, showing the two men looking haggard and severely emaciated.

• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is meeting with President Donald Trump today at the White House.
• Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Randy Fine (R-FL) are speaking at a Sephardic Heritage International DC event this evening on Capitol Hill commemorating the anniversary of the Farhud pogrom that took place in Iraq in 1941.

A QUICK WORD WITH ji’s MATThEW KASSEL

With just under three weeks until New York City’s mayoral primary on June 24, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is slowly but surely securing commitments from a range of key leaders in the Orthodox Jewish community, a large and politically influential voting base whose widespread support is seen as crucial to his pathway to the Democratic nomination.

In the coming days, Cuomo is expected to garner endorsements from several prominent Orthodox leaders in Brooklyn and Queens, including major Hasidic sects in Borough Park and Williamsburg that can traditionally turn out thousands of votes, according to people familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to address private plans.

But as most top Orthodox leaders have not historically taken sides until relatively late in the primary season, some Jewish community activists are voicing anxiety about their continued delay in publicly backing Cuomo — as he increasingly faces competition to his far left from Zohran Mamdani, a Queens state assemblyman whose fierce opposition to Israel has drawn mounting accusations of fueling antisemitism.

“Now that the race has been essentially a two-man race for the past few months, what are they waiting for?” one Jewish leader, granted anonymity to speak candidly, told Jewish Insider. “Are they considering Mamdani?”

Read the rest of ‘What You Should Know’ here.

Full-Court Press: In the Baltimore Sun, former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan calls for “moral clarity” in the face of rising antisemitism in the U.S. “When innocent people are attacked for their faith or identity, neutrality is not courage. It is cowardice. People are hungry for real leadership. Not performative outrage. Not partisan talking points. Real leadership, rooted in principle and courage. That is what communities expect from their elected officials, civic organizations, media institutions and universities. They want to know that when a synagogue is firebombed or a Jewish student is harassed, someone will speak up. When extremists target a faith community, there should not be silence or spin. There must be action.” [BaltSun]

Choppy Waters: The Wall Street Journal’s Stephen Kalin and Shelby Holliday look at how the maritime warfare perpetuated by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen has reshaped the U.S. response to threats in the region. “Officials are now dissecting how a scrappy adversary was able to test the world’s most capable surface fleet. The Houthis proved to be a surprisingly difficult foe, engaging the Navy in its fiercest battles since World War II despite fighting from primitive quarters and caves in one of the world’s poorest countries. The Houthis benefited from the proliferation of cheap missile and drone technology from Iran. They fired antiship ballistic missiles, the first-ever combat use of the Cold War-era weapon, and they innovated how they deployed their weaponry. The latest technologies have transformed maritime warfare, much the way they have rewritten the script for land wars in Ukraine — forcing militaries to adapt in real time.” [WSJ]

The Show Must Go On: The Washington Post’s Marc Fisher reflects on his recent visit to a new LGBTQ exhibition at the Capital Jewish Museum, which opened on the same day the museum reopened following an attack the week prior in which two Israeli Embassy officials were killed. “Jewish museums chronicle the centuries-long tension among Jews between insisting on belonging to the culture where they live and accepting the outsider status foisted upon them by dominant forces in their society. …  The exhibit confronts contradictions, which are at the heart of Judaism. People like the shooter cannot bear such nuance; to them, it somehow makes sense to take out one’s wrath toward Israel against a Jewish American institution — one that barely mentions Israel. The museum, like all good encounters with history, cherishes clashes between past and present, but the shooter can only see the binary: us and them.” [WashPost]

President Donald Trump announced last night that citizens of 12 countries will be barred entry to the United States, while citizens of seven other countries will face restrictions. The planned executive order was scooped yesterday by Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch…

Jason Isaacman, an ally of Elon Musk who had been the Trump administration’s pick to head NASA until his nomination was pulled last month, reportedly told associates that he believes that Musk’s departure from the White House gave the administration an opportunity to rescind the nomination; White House officials said the nod was pulled over Isaacman’s past donations to Democrats, which Isaacman disputed, saying the White House was aware of the donations…

Former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre will release a book later this year about her time in the Biden administration and departure from the Democratic Party…

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) launched the Save New York PAC to boost GOP candidates running in local races across the state…

Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Bill Keating (D-MA), Valerie Foushee (D-NC) and Becca Balint (D-VT) are leading more than 90 Democrats on a resolution calling on the administration to “urgently use all diplomatic tools” to increase humanitarian aid into Gaza, as well as release the hostages and end the war in Gaza; Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) is leading similar legislation in the Senate with the support of nearly all Democrats…

A group of lawmakers from more than 30 countries came together on Wednesday to discuss ways that the Abraham Accords can be leveraged to address energy security issues in the Middle East, the Caspian Sea Basin and the Eastern Mediterranean, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod has learned…

Reps. August Pfluger (R-TX) and Randy Fine (R-FL) introduced a resolution condemning the antisemitic attack on a hostage awareness march in Boulder, Colo., and calling for congressional action “to secure the border and deport migrants who overstay their visas”…

The U.S. vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution that called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war without conditioning a ceasefire on the release of the remaining hostages; the other 14 members of the council voted in favor…

The IDF found and returned the bodies of U.S.-Israeli citizens Judith Weinstein-Haggai and Gad Haggai, who were killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports…

The Wall Street Journal interviews victims and witnesses of the terror attack on marchers at a Boulder, Colo., walk on Sunday to call attention to the plight of the hostages in Gaza…

A federal judge issued an order barring the deportation of the wife and children of the Egyptian national accused of attacking the Boulder hostage march…

Germany’s Federal Research and Information Point for Antisemitism said that antisemitic incidents in the country had nearly doubled between 2023 and 2024, finding 8,627 incidents of violence, vandalism and threats targeting Jews last year…

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation suspended operations for a second day, as both the foundation and Israeli officials address safety concerns tied to a series of deadly incidents near distribution sites in recent days…

Israeli officials said the country exported a record $14.8 billion in weapons in 2024, an increase of $1.8 billion from the year prior…

Stu Sandler is joining the office of Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) as chief of staff; Sandler was previously  the deputy director of the Republican Jewish Coalition…

Aaron Bandler is joining the Jewish News Syndicate as U.S. national reporter, based out of Los Angeles…

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis spoke on Wednesday at a vigil held at the site of the weekend terror attack targeting a hostage-awareness march in Boulder, Colo., in which 15 people, including a Holocaust survivor, were injured.

Actor, voice actor, comedian, writer and producer, Nicholas Kroll turns 47…

Lithuanian-born Holocaust survivor, co-founder of the Virginia Holocaust Museum in Richmond, Va., known for his ever-present cowboy hat, Jay M. Ipson turns 90… Training director and broker associate of the Santa Monica, Berkshire Hathaway Home Services branch, Saul Bubis… Owner of the NFL’s New England Patriots, Robert Kraft turns 84… The first woman to serve as international president of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, Judy Yudof turns 81… Senior project manager in the AI field, Dan Yurman… Israeli politician, diplomat and businessperson, he served as consul general of Israel in Philadelphia from 1988 to 1992, Israel Peleg turns 76… VP of new business development at Maresco & Partners, Linda Greenfield… Author of 11 personal finance books, financial advisor, motivational speaker and television host, Susan Lynn “Suze” Orman turns 74… Staff member at Burbank Temple Emanu El, Audrey Freedman-Habush… Portrait photographer and visual anthropologist, she is the author of The Jews of Wyoming: Fringe of the Diaspora, Penny Diane Wolin turns 72… Former commissioner on the U.S. International Trade Commission, now a consultant, Dean A. Pinkert turns 69… Best-selling instrumental musician, the saxophonist “Kenny G,” Kenneth Bruce Gorelick turns 69… Columnist for the New York Post, Andrea Peyser turns 66… Senior associate general counsel at Compass real estate, Sam Kraemer… EVP and managing director at DC’s Burson Cohn & Wolfe (BCW), Michael Heimowitz… Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament for eight years until 2022, Gila Deborah Martow turns 64… VP of government affairs at Invenergy, Mark S. Weprin turns 64… First-ever Jewish speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, she served from 2020 until 2022, Eileen R. Filler-Corn turns 61… Manager of the Jeff Astor Legacy Fund, Beth Astor Freeman… Member of Congress (D-PA-6), her father is a Jewish Holocaust survivor from Poland, Christina Jampoler Houlahan turns 58… Member of the British House of Commons for 15 years, now a member of the House of Lords, Baron Ed Vaizey turns 57… Entrepreneur, venture capitalist and author, he holds more than 100 granted and pending patents, Nova Spivack turns 56… Professor of Israel studies at UCLA, Dov Morris Waxman turns 51… Film and television actress, she has a recurring role in the Fox series “The Cleaning Lady,” Liza Rebecca Weil turns 48… Co-founder of BlueLabs and director of analytics for the campaigns of both Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Barack Obama in 2012, his father and grandfather were both rabbis, Elan Alter Kriegel… Research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, he was previously a member of the New Hampshire state Legislature, Jason Bedrick turns 42… Humorist, novelist and screenwriter, Simon Rich turns 41… Partner relationship manager at Voyant, Arielle Levy Marschark… Account director on the corporate PR team at M Booth, Maya Bronstein… Clara Moskowitz… Susan Stein…