IRGC head, nuclear scientists killed in initial campaign
Israeli Air Force on X
Israeli Air Force jets take off during Operation Rising Lion on June 13, 2025.
Good Friday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we report on Israel’s preemptive attack on Iranian nuclear targets and Tehran’s retaliatory drone attack, and look at how Jewish communities and world leaders are responding. We also look at why Rep. Josh Gottheimer struggled to turn out Jewish voters in the New Jersey gubernatorial primary, and talk to Aaron Magid, the author of a new book about King Abdullah II of Jordan. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Sen. Dave McCormick, Daniel Hernandez and David Zaslav.
What We’re Watching
- Our team, reporting from Israel, New York, Washington and Paris, is working around-the-clock to provide updates following Israel’s preemptive strike on Iranian nuclear facilities and Iran’s retaliatory drone strikes. More below.
- Across Israel, events and gatherings — including Tel Aviv’s Pride parade — were canceled. Israel’s chief rabbis instructed against congregating at synagogues for Shabbat prayers. The country remains on high alert, with Home Front Command having issued guidelines canceling school and non-essential work across the country. A directive to stay near protected areas ended at 10:45 a.m. local time.
- Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is still planning to travel to Oman this weekend for nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran that are slated to take place on Sunday.
- In Washington, the Nova music festival exhibition is slated to open this weekend. At a special opening event this evening, Steve Witkoff, former hostages Noa Argamani and Omer Shem-Tov, and Nova survivor Ofir Amir are slated to speak. Organizers have not yet said how or if the opening events will be affected by the Israeli strike and Iranian retaliation.
- On Saturday, President Donald Trump’s military parade is scheduled to take place in Washington. Anti-Trump protesters have also announced a series of demonstrations across the country on Saturday.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH MELISSA WEISS
Friday the 13th has long been an auspicious day.
But Friday the 13th will now be known as something different in Israel — the day the country mounted a massive campaign against Iranian military leadership and nuclear facilities.
It’s too soon to know the extent of the damage from the ongoing strikes, the first wave of which was carried out by approximately 200 Israeli Air Force aircraft and targeted more than 100 sites around the Islamic Republic — including senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officials. Israel’s attack against Iran last year knocked out hundreds of military installations and destroyed much of Tehran’s air-defense systems; last night’s attack may have dealt it a death knell.
Reports out of Tehran are inconsistent and difficult to confirm — owing in part to Iran’s desire to minimize embarrassment following the first strikes of Operation Rising Lion — but the IDF and Iran both confirmed that the Natanz enrichment facility was targeted and damaged in the operation. Elsewhere, IRGC Commander Hossein Salami, Iranian military chief Mohammad Bagheri and other senior officials, as well as nuclear scientists, were killed.
President Donald Trump said early this morning that he “gave Iran chance after chance” to reach a nuclear agreement. He warned of “already planned attacks” that will be “even more brutal” and called on Tehran to make a deal “before there is nothing left.”
Today’s Daily Kickoff looks at how Israel, Washington and the American Jewish community are responding to the major Israeli offensive, and we will continue to report throughout the weekend on developments across the region. Sign up for Jewish Insider’s email and WhatsApp news alerts for around-the-clock reporting in the coming days. And read on for our coverage of the overnight operation, Iran’s retaliatory drone attack and how the situation is being viewed around the world.
ISRAEL ATTACKS IRAN
Israel carries out preemptive strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, without U.S. involvement
Israeli leaders said they carried out a series of preemptive strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and key personnel overnight, declaring a national state of emergency as it prepares for anticipated Iranian retaliation. U.S. officials took steps to distance themselves from the Israeli strikes, emphasizing that Washington was not involved, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
First stage: The Israeli Embassy in Washington issued a statement that Israel had launched a “preemptive, precise, combined offensive to strike Iran’s nuclear program,” and that Israeli jets had been involved in the “first stage” targeting “dozens of military targets, including nuclear targets in different areas of Iran.” The statement continued, “Today, Iran is closer than ever to obtaining a nuclear weapon. Weapons of mass destruction in the hands of the Iranian regime are an existential threat to the state of Israel and to the wider world. The State of Israel has no choice but to fulfill the obligation to act in defense of its citizens and will continue to do so everywhere it is required to do so, as we have done in the past.”
Trump’s take: President Donald Trump told Fox News anchor Bret Baier on Thursday evening that the United States would defend Israel if Iran retaliated following Israel’s strikes on Iranian nuclear and military targets. Earlier today, he posted on TruthSocial that the U.S. “makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the world BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it.”
TEHRAN RETALIATION
Iranian drone strikes intercepted before reaching Israel after strikes on nuclear, military targets
Over 100 drones launched by Iran and its proxies at Israel were intercepted on Friday morning, as Israelis continued bracing for further retaliation after the IDF launched Operation Rising Lion, reportedly destroying Iran’s main enrichment site in Natanz and killing Iran’s top three military officers. “Iran launched over 100 drones at Israel and we are working to intercept them,” the IDF spokesperson, Effie Defrin, said, hours after Israel struck Iranian nuclear sites and eliminated senior military figures, including Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Hossein Salami, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
Successfully thwarted: Three hours later, Israeli media reported that all of the drones had been shot down and the IDF Home Front Command lifted its directive for Israelis to stay near their safe rooms and shelters. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned on X prior to the drone strike that Israel “should anticipate a severe punishment … With this crime, the Zionist regime has prepared itself for a bitter painful fate, which it will definitely see.” Some of the projectiles were launched from Iraq, and the IDF prepared for possible launches from Lebanon and Yemen, where the Houthis have shot missiles provided by Iran at Israel every few days in recent months. Jordan reported intercepting some Iranian UAVs over its territory, saying that it will not allow Iran to violate its airspace.
ISRAEL’S HILL ALLIES
Senior Republican senators, pro-Israel Dems express support for Israel’s strike against Iran
Many of the highest-ranking Senate Republicans, along with leading pro-Israel Democrats, expressed support for Israel’s preemptive strikes on Iran, but a number of skeptical lawmakers — mostly Democrats — expressed concern that the strikes could set off a broader war in the region, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Strong support: Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said, minutes after reports of the operation began, “Proud to stand with Israel.” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) soon followed, saying, “Game on. Pray for Israel.” Cotton later added that “We back Israel to the hilt, all the way,” adding that if “the ayatollahs harm a single American, that will be the end of the ayatollahs.” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), said “Israel IS right—and has a right—to defend itself!”
And criticism: A number of congressional Democrats — and one notable isolationist House Republican — are expressing concern that the strikes will spark a broader war in the region and several described the strikes as designed to sabotage U.S. nuclear negotiations with Tehran. Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, condemned the strikes as a “reckless escalation that risks igniting regional violence” and called on the Trump administration to push for “diplomatic de-escalation before this crisis spirals further out of control.” Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), a Republican aligned with the isolationist wing of the party, also appeared to decry the strikes. “I’m sad to say but some members of Congress and US Senators seem giddy about the prospects of a bigger war,” Davidson said, appending an emoji of a bandaged, frowning face.
Read the full story here with additional comments from Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL), Jim Risch (R-ID), John Cornyn (R-TX), Ted Cruz (R-TX), John Fetterman (D-PA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY), Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Ritchie Torres (D-NY), Greg Landsman (D-OH), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Rick Crawford (R-AR) and Greg Casar (D-TX).
COMMUNAL REAX
Jewish groups warn of potential Iran-backed attacks on Diaspora Jewry, express solidarity after Israeli preemptive strike against Tehran
After Israel launched a preemptive strike on Iran’s nuclear program and military top brass last night, Jewish groups in the United States and around the world expressed solidarity with Israel and called for heightened awareness within Diaspora Jewish communities amid fears of Iran-backed attacks. With the community already on edge following recent attacks in Washington and Boulder, Colo., Jewish security groups are warning that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has a history of supporting and facilitating attacks on Diaspora Jewish communities, may again attempt such an assault, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim reports.
Safety concerns: The Community Security Service and Secure Community Network both called for Jewish communities to ramp up their security measures, even as they were not yet aware of specific threats. The New York Police Department also said that it was “deploying additional resources” to Jewish and Israeli sites throughout New York City. “Our safety can be impacted not only by domestic extremism like we saw in DC and Boulder, but by global events thousands of miles away,” Richard Priem, CEO of CSS, said in an email. “The situation is dynamic and can change at any time. Jews in America cannot afford to be complacent.”
Read the full story here and sign up for eJewishPhilanthropy’s Your Daily Phil newsletter here.
EYE ON AMMAN
Why we should be paying more attention to Jordan, according to new King Abdullah biography
American fascination with the Middle East and its colorful leaders — dictators and military generals and royals and Israeli premiers — dates back decades, from Saddam Hussein to Iran’s ayatollahs to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. One ruler has survived more or less unscathed over more than a quarter century, avoiding flashy headlines about power struggles or coups, all while keeping a tight grip on power and maintaining close, bipartisan ties with Washington. That’s Jordan’s King Abdullah II, who has ruled the country since 1999. In The Most American King, a new biography of King Abdullah, author Aaron Magid argues that the Jordanian king’s staying power is what makes him interesting — that the relative stability he has overseen demands attention in a region so often beset by chaos elsewhere, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Aid allocated: Jordan receives roughly $1.45 billion a year from the U.S., making it one of the largest beneficiaries of American foreign assistance dollars. That’s despite King Abdullah’s public criticism of Israel, America’s strongest ally in the Middle East — and even harsher language from his wife, Queen Rania, who is of Palestinian descent. “I think he does understand that having some sort of relationship with Israel is in his benefit and his national security interest,” Magid told JI in an interview this week.
FALLING SHORT
Gottheimer’s bet on Jewish vote didn’t pay off
With his path to victory narrowing in the closing stretch of New Jersey’s gubernatorial primary, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) had placed his hopes for a come-from-behind win on the state’s sizable Jewish community, a politically active voting bloc he saw as a crucial part of his coalition in a crowded race with overlapping constituencies and likely low turnout. The moderate Jewish Democrat worked to court Jewish voters by touting his pro-Israel record and commitment to fighting antisemitism. In the end, however, the veteran congressman came in fourth place in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, losing to a fellow House member, Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), by 22 points, even as she had claimed only a third of the vote in the six-way race, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Matthew Kassel report.
A look at Lakewood: Gottheimer’s poor overall performance across the state came in spite of relatively strong turnout in Lakewood, where he won more than 5,000 votes from the Orthodox community, including several unaffiliated backers, according to Shlomo Schorr, director of legislative affairs for Agudath Israel of America’s New Jersey office. With nearly 3,000 registered Democrats in the Orthodox community in Lakewood, Gottheimer’s Vaad endorsement helped him secure those votes and to claim additional support from unaffiliated residents, though hardly as many as his allies had hoped to attract: Lakewood has more than 20,000 unaffiliated Orthodox voters — suggesting that only a small fraction of them had declared as Democrats in order to vote in the primary. Even if he had sought to mobilize those Orthodox voters earlier in the primary, Gottheimer still would have come up short. “None of that would have made a difference,” Schorr told JI, given the outcome on Tuesday. “We just don’t have the kind of numbers to flip such a lopsided race, obviously.”
Worthy Reads
Taking It to Tehran: In The Times of Israel, Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, who previously served as prime minister, explains the motives behind Israel’s decision to strike Iran. “What does victory look like? An Iran without a nuclear capability. An Iran deterred from further escalation. An Iran that understands it cannot spread terrorism in the region without paying a price. The opening hours of this operation have shown what Israel is capable of, the strength and sophistication of our armed forces and the depth of our intelligence. Those who stand behind Iran’s nuclear program and its terrorist infrastructure can’t run and they can’t hide.” [TOI]
Waking to a New Middle East: The Free Press’ Matti Friedman reflects on “turning point” in the Middle East following Israel’s preemptive strike on Iranian nuclear targets. “After waking up my children, hustling them blearily into the safe room, and checking my phone, I saw that the siren indicated not that we were being attacked — but that we were attacking. The army’s Home Front Command warned us to stay close to shelter. After a decade and a half of news reports that Israel was about to attack the Iranian nuclear program, after years of Iranian obfuscation, Israeli indecisiveness, and American fecklessness, the Israeli air force was actually striking in Natanz and Tehran. Among the pilots, I assume, are a few people I know.” [FreePress]
Breaking Rank: The Atlantic’s Annie Lowrey describes the shortcomings of the ranked-choice voting system in the “annoyingly chaotic” New York City mayoral primary. “Seeing a no-name upstart attempt to upset a brand-name heavyweight is thrilling. But the system has warped the political calculus of the mayoral campaign. Candidates who might have dropped out are staying in. Candidates who might be attacking one another on their platforms or records are instead considering cross-endorsing. Voters used to choosing one contender are plotting out how to rank their choices. Moreover, they are doing so in a closed primary held in the June of an odd year, meaning most city residents will not show up at the polls anyway. If this is democracy, it’s a funny form of it.” [TheAtlantic]
Word on the Street
President Donald Trump will attend Sen. Dave McCormick’s (R-PA) Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit, slated for July 15 at Carnegie Mellon University; White House AI czar David Sacks, OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg are slated to attend…
Reps. Nancy Mace (R-SC), Troy Nehls (R-TX) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO) introduced legislation banning any individuals living in the West Bank or holding a Palestinian Authority passport from receiving refugee status, and dictating that any such individuals currently holding refugee status should be deported…
Reps. August Pfluger (R-TX), Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Derek Schmidt (R-KS) introduced a bill that would ban anyone who “endorses or espouses terrorist activities” committed by terrorist groups including Hamas, Hezbollah or Palestinian Islamic Jihad from entering the U.S.…
Arizona congressional candidate Daniel Hernandez said that a staffer’s car was hit by gunfire outside of his campaign headquarters, which is also Hernandez’s family residence…
New York Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, mounting a bid for mayor of New York City, said he “would not pursue” efforts to continue the U.S.-Israel Economic Council begun under New York City Mayor Eric Adams…
A Maryland man armed with a pocketknife was arrested outside the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, following a scuffle with the school’s security; the man, identified as Joseph Amr Khairy Abdalla, had been observed circling the school parking lot and refused to exit the car or identify himself to officials…
The Wall Street Journal looks at the decisions by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav that led to the impending split of the company, staff dissatisfaction and debt incurred by the company…
The Hamas-run Gaza police force claimed to have killed 12 members of a local militia that Israel had recently acknowledged arming…
Sander Gerber‘s Hudson Bay Capital Management is set to open an Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, office by the end of the year; the company already has a 10-person office in Dubai…
Pic of the Day
Israeli Air Force jets take off on Friday during Operation Rising Lion.
Birthdays
Chief political correspondent for CNN, born Dana Ruth Schwartz, Dana Bash, left, and co-anchor of a CNN global news show, Bianna Golodryga, both celebrate birthdays on Sunday…
FRIDAY: Existential psychiatrist, he is a professor emeritus of psychiatry at Stanford University, Irvin David Yalom turns 94… Professor emeritus at UCLA, he played an influential role in the development of the ARPANET, the precursor to the Internet, Leonard Kleinrock turns 91… London-born, now living in Gstaad, Switzerland, founder of Graff Diamonds, Laurence Graff turns 87… Former official in the Johnson, Nixon, Clinton and Obama administrations, Morton Halperin turns 87… Chairman and CEO of Oppenheimer & Co., then Chancellor of Brown University and now CEO of Source of Hope Foundation, Stephen Robert turns 85… Member of Congress (D-NY) since 1992 and ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, Jerrold Lewis “Jerry” Nadler turns 78… Retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Israel, he was previously attorney general of Israel, Elyakim Rubinstein turns 78… Assistant professor of ophthalmology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and director of retina surgery at Franklin Square Hospital, Michael J. Elman, MD… National political correspondent for National Public Radio and a contributor at the Fox News Channel, Mara Liasson turns 70… Chief Jewish education officer of the Jewish Federation of Broward County, Fla., Rabbi Arnie Samlan turns 70… Co-founder and general partner of Andreessen Horowitz, Benjamin Abraham “Ben” Horowitz turns 59… Founder and CEO of Overtime, Daniel Porter turns 59… Yoga instructor, Jenny Eisen Verdery… Founder and CEO of Peninsula Group, Micah Lakin Avni turns 56… Family court judge of the City of New York, serving in Brooklyn, Judge Erik S. Pitchal turns 53… White House and foreign affairs correspondent at Politico, Eli Stokols… Founder and CEO of NYC-based JDS Development Group, Michael Stern turns 46… Chief external affairs officer at BSE Global, Marissa Shorenstein… Actor, the son of Steven Spielberg and Amy Irving, Max Samuel Spielberg turns 40… Actress, known professionally as Kat Dennings, she starred in the CBS sitcom “Two Broke Girls,” Katherine Litwack turns 39… Fashion blogger and creator of Something Navy apparel stores, Arielle Noa Nachmani Charnas turns 38… Contributor at Real Clear Investigations, Benjamin H. Weingarten… Retired NFL football player after four seasons, he is the COO at Jones Soda, Gabe Carimi turns 37… Policy advocate at Protect Democracy, Ariela Rosenberg… Speed skater who represented the USA at the Winter Olympics in 2014, 2018 and 2022, Emery Lehman turns 29…
SATURDAY: Retired Soviet nuclear scientist, now writing from Skokie, Ill., on Jewish intellectual spirituality, Vladimir Minkov, Ph.D. turns 92… Retired U.S. district judge for the District of Maryland, Marvin Joseph Garbis turns 89… Former vice chair of the board of the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, Dr. Beryl A. Geber… 45th and 47th president of the United States, Donald J. Trump turns 79… Former French diplomat and advisor to former French Presidents Chirac and Sarkozy, Jean-David Levitte turns 79… Television sportscaster and journalist, Len Berman turns 78… Writer, critic, philosopher and magazine editor, Leon Wieseltier turns 73… Chairman and chief investment officer of Duquesne Family Office, Stanley Druckenmiller turns 72… Businessman and philanthropist, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2017 for services to philanthropy, Sir Leonard “Len” Blavatnik turns 68… Political activist, Pamela Geller turns 67… Co-founder of Virunga Mountain Spirits, a distillery in Rwanda, William Benjamin (“Bill”) Wasserman… President of Blue Diamond HR LLC, Michelle “Shel” Grossman… President of Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., Maud S. Mandel turns 58… Senior advisor to Tollbit, Campbell Brown… Singer-songwriter with ten studio albums, Joshua Radin turns 51… Co-founder of Kelp, now a part of Signal AI where he is an SVP, Daniel M. Gaynor… Australian fashion model, author, philanthropist and businesswoman, Kathryn Eisman turns 44… NYC-based businessman, Pavel Khodorkovsky turns 40… Deputy assistant secretary at HUD and then senior advisor at OMB in the Trump 45 administration, Paige Esterkin Bronitsky… Director of public affairs at San Francisco’s District Attorney’s office, Lilly Rapson… Actor, Daryl Sabara… and his fraternal twin brother, also an actor, Evan Sabara, both turn 33… Digital manager at the Republican National Committee, Julia Cohen… Associate attorney at Manning & Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez, Trester, Jacob Ellenhorn… Vienna-based European editor for Moment Magazine, Liam Hoare…
SUNDAY: Iranian-born British billionaire, he was knighted in 1989 and made a life peer in 2004, Baron David Alliance turns 93… Former president of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Phoenix, Stuart C. Turgel… Former president of the National Rifle Association, Sandra S. (Sandy) Froman turns 76… Ethicist and professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School, Laurie Zoloth turns 75… Internationally recognized authority on Yiddish folk and theater music, Zalmen Mlotek turns 74… Entrepreneur, currently living in Estonia, VP of the Eurasian Jewish Congress, he rebuilt a synagogue and a community center in Estonia, Alexander Bronstein turns 71… President and CEO of the PR firm Edelman, founded by his father Daniel Edelman in 1952, Richard Winston Edelman turns 71… Chicago-based political commentator, Art Friedson turns 71… Chief Rabbi of Poland, Rabbi Michael Schudrich turns 70… Israeli Druze politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Likud, Fateen Mulla turns 65… Novelist, screenwriter, teacher and freelance journalist, Jill Eisenstadt turns 62… First woman certified by the NFLPA as a player agent, she is now general counsel for USA Lacrosse, Ellen Marsha Zavian turns 62… Director at Citrin Cooperman Advisors, Reuben Rutman… Los Angeles-based attorney, Daniel Brett Lacesa… Regional director of the ADL based in Los Angeles, Jeffrey I. Abrams… Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, now deputy managing editor at The New York Times, Clifford J. Levy turns 58… Retired news anchor for Israel Public Broadcasting, wife of Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Geula Even-Saar turns 53… Former head speechwriter for Michelle Obama and author of a 2019 book Here All Along and an upcoming book As a Jew, Sarah Hurwitz… Ethiopian-born Israeli marathon runner, he represented Israel at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Zohar Zimro turns 48… Political staffer, Adam Jentleson turns 44… Co-founder of Evergreen Strategy Group and former director of speechwriting for Hillary Clinton, Daniel Baum Schwerin… Director of corporate communications and public affairs at Google, Rebecca Michelle Ginsberg Rutkoff… Chief advancement officer at Birthright Israel Foundation, Jaclyn “Jackie” Saxe Soleimani… Senior recruiter at The Carlyle Group, Victoria Edelman Klapper… Correspondent with the “PBS NewsHour” and “PBS News Weekend,” Ali S. Weinberg Rogin… Associate at Blackstone, Elli Sweet… Jimmy Ritter… Joel Winton… A former member of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration and Democratic nominee for Sheriff of Bucks County, Pa., Danny Ceisler turns 33…
Community Security Initiative director Mitch Silber said antisemitic rhetoric online is ‘happening at a much higher run rate than before D.C. and Boulder’
Tom Brenner For The Washington Post via Getty Images
Metropolitan Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation officers stand guard at a perimeter near the Capital Jewish Museum on May 22, 2025 in Washington.
The American Jewish community is facing an “elevated threat” following a surge of violent antisemitic attacks across the country in recent weeks, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security warned last week.
In a joint statement, the FBI and DHS called for increased vigilance among Jewish communities, noting the possibility of copycat attacks after a shooting in Washington in which two Israeli Embassy employees were killed and an attack in Boulder, Colo., in which 15 people were injured in a firebombing targeting advocates calling for the release of hostages in Gaza. “The ongoing Israel-HAMAS conflict may motivate other violent extremists and hate crime perpetrators with similar grievances to conduct violence against Jewish and Israeli communities and their supporters. Foreign terrorist organizations also may try to exploit narratives related to the conflict to inspire attacks in the United States,” the agencies warned.
Jewish organizations that track threats to the community are similarly concerned about online rhetoric following the attacks.
The Anti-Defamation League highlighted that, one day after the incident in Boulder, videos allegedly recorded by the assailant shortly before the assault began circulated on a Telegram channel called Taufan al-Ummah, which translates to “Flood of the Ummah,” a reference to the Al-Aqsa Flood, Hamas’ name for its Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel. The circulated posts celebrated Soliman’s actions.
The ADL also noted that extremists responded to the attack by spreading conspiracy theories which blamed Jews for the firebombing. Additionally, the Bronx Anti-War Coalition posted a threat shortly after the attack: “May all Zionists live in perpetual fear and paranoia until the day the criminal entity crumbles.”
“The volume of alerts when our social media web scraping tools highlight postings that may be real threats is happening at a much higher run rate than before D.C. and Boulder,” Mitch Silber, director of the Community Security Initiative, which coordinates security for Jewish communities in the New York region, told Jewish Insider.
“I would say it’s unprecedented,” Silber said of the threat Jews are confronting.
Silber also called it “unprecedented that American Jews are being targeted because of Israel’s actions,” referring to the Boulder attack, the killing of the two Israeli Embassy staffers, and an attempted arson attack on the home of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro during the holiday of Passover. The suspect in the Boulder attack told investigators he “wanted to kill all Zionist people” and had planned the attack for a year. The shooter in Washington yelled “Free Palestine” shortly after the attack and the arsonist cited Shapiro’s support for Israel as his motive.
These attacks, according to Silber, are distinct from other antisemitic incidents that have occurred in recent years, such as the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh — which remains the deadliest attack on Jews on U.S. soil — and the 2022 hostage-taking at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas.
“The key element that’s different here is the motivation of the attacks,” Silber said. The Tree of Life shooter was motivated by HIAS immigration actions and the Colleyville shooter was looking to get an al-Qaida fighter freed. “Of course, antisemitism is the broad brush,” he continued, “but if you look at recent attacks, they are really attacks against Jewish communities in the U.S. because American Jews are stand-ins for the Israelis that these attackers can’t reach.”
CSI is responding in “a multitude of different ways,” Silber said. “It’s been a tsunami of requests from organizations.”
“We’re encouraging any Jewish institution or organization to let us know if they are having an event and that way we can let local law enforcement know,” Silber continued, adding that the group’s new plans include subsidizing armed guards to complement law enforcement at outdoor events hosted by Jewish organizations, as well as expanding its team of analysts searching on social media, surface web and dark web for threats.
“We have more hands on keyboards to give ourselves a better chance of detecting a Boulder or D.C. before it happens,” Silber said.
Community Security Service, a group that provides self-defense and safety training to Jewish institutions, also told JI it is beefing up services in light of the recent attacks.
“Both of the attacks within a two-week timespan have been accompanied by the same kind of slogans that we’ve been hearing on college campuses and yelled at synagogues,” said Richard Priem, CEO of CSS. “That is a new manifestation. Of course we are concerned.”
Following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and ensuing war in Gaza, CSS saw a dramatic increase in Jewish communities requesting security support, which lasted for about a year, according to Priem. “But over the last two weeks, we’ve had dozens of inquiries from organizations,” he said.
“We are making sure that more quarters of the community use the training that we have for them,” Priem said. “Not just by deploying volunteers for large- or small-scale events but also just giving them guidance and training on how to organize themselves in a way that makes them less vulnerable.”
“We will open some community-wide training sessions in the coming weeks that are open to anyone to give awareness to pre-attack indicators,” he continued. “We have to get out of this mindset that the only way we’re going to solve this is by outsourcing to more companies. We’re not going to get out of this situation unless we as a community start taking ownership and realize we have to do training. We have to pay attention. Whether there’s an increased threat or not, people should do preventative training now.”
Marc Calcano, a former NYPD officer who runs a New York City-based private security firm with several high-profile Jewish clients, echoed that “the level of terror” American Jews face is “extremely high right now” and warned that the Boulder attack, in particular, could be easily replicated.
“I instruct individuals and large groups but I think it’s time for us to do this on a larger scale, which is creating an institution where many can come, here in New York and other states to learn how to physically defend yourself,” Calcano said.
The Jewish community can use fear “to its advantage,” he continued. “We have to learn how to protect ourselves.”
Israeli Embassy staffers killed outside Jewish Museum
Embassy of Israel to the USA
Yarón Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim
Good Thursday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we detail the latest on last night’s deadly attack outside the Capital Jewish Museum in D.C. and report on the response from Jewish communities and Israeli officials. We highlight Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch’s podcast interview with former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the lead-up to New York’s mayoral primary, report on remarks by Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the urgency of humanitarian aid for Gaza as well as his predictions for the expansion of the Abraham Accords, and cover Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s press conference last night. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Sen. Ted Cruz, Bruce Pearl and Richard Priem.
What We’re Watching
- The UJA-Federation of New York and JCRC-NY will be hosting a town hall this evening with the leading Democratic New York City mayoral candidates. Jewish Insider Editor-in-Chief Josh Kraushaar and New York Jewish Week managing editor Lisa Keys will be co-moderating the forum.
- The Brandeis Center will host a briefing on Capitol Hill featuring current college students and recent graduates sharing their personal experiences with antisemitism on campus. Kenneth Marcus, chairman and CEO of the Brandeis Center, Alyza Lewin, president of the Brandeis Center, and Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) will also deliver remarks.
- The House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Africa subcommittee will hold a hearing on the ongoing civil war in Sudan.
- The Qatar Economic Forum wraps up today in Doha.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH ji’s TAMARA ZIEVE
It was an evening dedicated to humanitarian service — young Jewish professionals gathering under the theme “Turning Pain Into Purpose,” discussing interfaith collaboration and working to counter the rising tide of “us versus them” narratives. The event spotlighted efforts to respond to humanitarian crises in the Middle East and North Africa — including in Gaza.
But what was supposed to be a night rooted in shared humanity was rocked by deadly violence. Outside the Capital Jewish Museum, where the American Jewish Committee was hosting the event, an assailant opened fire on a group of four people, killing a young couple, both Israeli Embassy employees.
Eyewitness Paige Siegel, who was a guest at the event, told Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod that she heard two sets of multiple shots ring out, and then an individual, who police have since identified as suspected shooter Elias Rodriguez, 30, of Chicago, entered the building appearing disoriented and panicked, seconds after the shooting ended. She said security allowed the man in, as well as two other women separately. (Police say the suspect had discarded his weapon.)
Siegel said she spoke to the man, asking him if he had been shot. He appeared panicked and was mumbling and repeatedly told bystanders to call the police. Siegel said that she felt the man was suspicious.
JoJo Drake Kalin, a member of AJC’s DC Young Professional Board and an organizer of the event, told JI’s Danielle Cohen the man appeared disheveled and out of breath when he entered the building. Kalin assumed he had been a bystander to the shooting who needed assistance and she handed him a glass of water. Siegel said that the man was sitting in the building in a state of distress for approximately 10 to 15 minutes, and she and a friend engaged him in conversation, informing him that he was in the Jewish museum.
Siegel then said that the man started screaming, “I did it, I did it. Free Palestine. I did it for Gaza,” and opened a backpack, withdrawing a red keffiyeh.
“The deep irony I felt after the guy pulled out the keffiyeh was, ‘if only you knew,’” Drake Kalin reflected. “It was Jewish professionals gathering not for a political agenda but for our collective humanity,” Kalin added. “Which I won’t let this event take from me.”
The two victims of last night’s attack, Yarón Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, were due to be engaged soon — Israeli Ambassador Michael Leiter said that the man had purchased a ring earlier this week and was planning to propose next week in Jerusalem.
Milgrim’s last job before joining the embassy’s public diplomacy department was at Tech2Peace, where she researched peace-building theory and, according to her LinkedIn profile, designed and implemented a 12-person study on the role of friendships in the Israeli-Palestinian peacebuilding process.
Lischinsky emigrated from Germany to Israel at age 16, where he studied government, diplomacy and strategy and served in the IDF, according to his LinkedIn profile. The last post shared on X by Lischinsky, an employee of the embassy’s political department, called out a United Nations official for “blood libel,” for spreading a false claim that 14,000 babies in Gaza would die within 48 hours without aid.
Reactions to the killings have been swift. President Donald Trump said of the shooting, “These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW! Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA.”
Leiter said Trump vowed to him that the administration would do everything it can to fight antisemitism and demonization and delegitimization of Israel. “We’ll stand together tall and firm and confront this moral depravity without fear,” Leiter said.
Attorney General Pam Bondi spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, updated him on the details of the incident and asked to convey her condolences to the families of the couple, according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office.
“We are witness to the terrible cost of the antisemitism and wild incitement against the State of Israel,” Netanyhau said. “Blood libels against Israel have a cost in blood and must be fought to the utmost. My heart grieves for the families of the young beloveds, whose lives were cut short in a moment by an abhorrent antisemitic murderer. I have directed that security be increased at Israeli missions around the world and for the state’s representatives.”
In a press conference in Jerusalem this morning, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said the attack was “the direct result of toxic antisemitic incitement against Israel and Jews around the world that has been going on since the Oct. 7 massacre.” He pointed a finger at incitement by “leaders and officials of many countries and international organizations, especially from Europe.”
Sa’ar noted that “there is not one week without terror attacks or attempted terror attacks around the world — usually more than one.”
The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem and Israeli missions around the world will lower their flags to half-mast today to honor the memory of Milgrim and Lischinsky.
security concerns
After deadly shooting, Jewish communities go on high alert
Jewish communities are going on high alert following the deadly shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington on Wednesday night, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Judah Ari Gross reports. Richard Priem, CEO of the Community Security Service, which trains security teams at synagogues and other institutions, told eJP this morning that his organization and other security groups would be stepping up their “posture” in the wake of the shooting in case additional attacks had been planned or others are “inspired” to act by this one.
Increased measures: “We’re definitely going to be present, we’re definitely going to do something that increases our posture because anytime there’s an attack, certain people get activated and think, ’Now’s the time,’” Priem said. “But we don’t know yet if there might be a direct, correlated threat.” Such security measures may include additional guards posted outside buildings, tighter involvement of local law enforcement and increased coordination between different Jewish security groups, such as national ones like the Anti-Defamation League and Secure Communities Network, as well as local ones like New York’s Community Security Initiative or various neighborhood watchdog groups.
Read the full story here and sign up for eJewishPhilanthropy’s Your Daily Phil newsletter here.
Security funding: The Capital Jewish Museum is one of the recipients of a $500,000 security grant for local nonprofits recently announced by the D.C. government.
new york, new york
Cuomo predicts Jewish vote could decide mayoral race
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the leading Democratic candidate in New York City’s upcoming mayoral primary, predicted that Jewish voters could ultimately swing the outcome of the June election in a new podcast interview released today, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
‘Use your vote’: “You have 600,000 registered Jewish Democrats. The whole turnout in the primary is 800,000,” he said in a conversation with Ammiel Hirsch, senior rabbi of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York. “They could decide the election. Use your voice, use your vote, get aggressive. Passivity does not work.”
shifting sentiment
Rubio: Israel’s Gaza aid blockade hurt Israel’s security, standing
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a shift, said in a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Wednesday that Israel’s 11-week blockade of aid into Gaza was damaging Israel’s national security and international standing and that U.S. pressure had contributed to Israel’s decision to release the hold. He also said that current levels of aid entering Gaza are not sufficient. The remarks are strikingly similar to comments made since the beginning of the war in Gaza by Democrats, particularly progressives, who have criticized Israel’s policy toward aid to Gaza, and stand in contrast with Rubio’s and other Republicans’ previous comments arguing against allowing aid to flow back into Gaza, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What he said: “In the interim period, the one thing we’ve made abundantly clear is that the humanitarian situation — and I think this was acknowledged by the prime minister in his statement — the humanitarian situation, the direction that it was headed was undermining Israel’s standing and national security,” Rubio said.
More from Rubio: In his second consecutive day of hearings on Capitol Hill, Rubio said that he expects that additional Arab countries will join the Abraham Accords by the end of the year, if not earlier. “We do have an Abraham Accords office that is actively working to identify a number of countries who have lined up and already I think we may have good news, certainly before the end of this year, of a number of more countries that are willing to join that alliance,” Rubio said a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Wednesday.
WAR ROOM
Netanyahu lays out newest phase of Gaza war, view on Iran negotiations in press conference
Striking a defiant tone on Wednesday amid intensifying international pressure to end the war in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid down his conditions for the end of hostilities, Jewish Insider’s Tamara Zieve and Lahav Harkov report. “The world is telling us to end the war,” Netanyahu said, in the first press conference he has held in Israel since December. “I am prepared to end the war according to clear conditions: Hamas lays down its weapons, steps down from power, returns all the hostages, Gaza is demilitarized and we implement the Trump plan” to relocate residents of Gaza.
Talk of tension: Addressing reports of strained ties between the U.S. and Israel, Netanyahu said that he spoke to President Donald Trump about 10 days ago and Trump told him, “Bibi, I want you to know I have a total commitment to you and to the State of Israel.” Referring to Trump’s recent Middle East tour, which excluded Israel, Netanyahu said, “I have no opposition to the U.S. deepening its ties to the Arab world … I think this can help broaden the Abraham Accords that I’m very interested in.”
On Iran: “Iran remains a serious threat to Israel. We are in full coordination with the U.S. — we talk to them all the time. We hope that it’s possible to reach an agreement that will prevent a nuclear weapon from Iran and will prevent Iran from having the ability to enrich uranium. If it is reached, of course, we will welcome it,” he said, before adding, “In any case, Israel reserves the right to defend itself against a regime that threatens to destroy us.” Netanyahu previously called for total dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, which would go farther than stopping Iran from enriching uranium. An official in Netanyahu’s office denied that his remark reflects a change in policy.
TEHRAN TALK
Some Senate Republicans skeptical of excluding terrorism, missiles from Iran talks
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) argued on Wednesday that sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program can’t be separated from other sanctions on the regime as part of a nuclear deal, contrasting the approach apparently being taken by the Trump administration to that of the Obama administration. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said in congressional testimony this week that talks with Tehran have revolved solely around Iran’s nuclear program and have not addressed its sponsorship of terrorism or its ballistic missile program, but said that sanctions related to terrorism and missiles would remain in place if those issues are not addressed in a potential deal. “The Obama administration invented the category of ‘nuclear sanctions’ as an excuse to give the Ayatollah whatever he wanted for a nuclear deal,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said to Jewish Insider, JI’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod report.
Tillis’ take: Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) expressed confidence that the Trump administration understood that any deal must be multifaceted, though he noted that congressional Republicans haven’t been briefed on the talks. “I have to believe at the end of the day, they realize that it’s not just about enrichment, but it’s all the other enabling capabilities, because the reality is the world’s a dangerous place and if they had that underlying capability, maybe then they’ll build their own bomb,” Tillis told JI.
Read the full story here with additional comments from Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL), James Lankford (R-OK), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and John Kennedy (R-LA).
ON THE HILL
House lawmakers call on Appropriations Committee to address antisemitism in health care
A bipartisan group of House lawmakers is urging colleagues to take steps to address antisemitism in the health care field in the 2026 appropriations process for the Department of Health and Human Services and related agencies. In a letter sent Wednesday, the lawmakers called on the leaders of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies to demand reports from HHS on the rise of antisemitism in health care, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
What they said: “Failure to confront this pernicious ideology harms not only Jewish medical professionals, students, and patients but threatens to destroy the very foundations of our healthcare system,” the letter reads. “Dangerous rhetoric from individuals in positions of influence raises fears among Jewish and Israeli students, families, and patients about whether they will receive equitable and compassionate care. Antisemitic hate and bigotry put Jewish patients at risk and undermine the ethical foundations of medicine, where commitment to the patient should be paramount.”
Signed on: The letter was signed by Reps. Buddy Carter (R-GA), Dan Goldman (D-NY), Mike Lawler (R-NY), Greg Landsman (D-OH), Troy Balderson (R-OH), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Tim Kennedy (D-NY), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Tom Suozzi (D-NY), Don Bacon (R-NE), Shelia Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), Sarah Elfreth (D-MD), Mike Carey (R-OH), Laura Friedman (D-CA) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL).
Education confrontation: House Democrats urged Education Secretary Linda McMahon not to make cuts to the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights as employees work through the backlog of cases, which includes scores of civil rights complaints from Jewish students alleging discrimination at their universities since the Oct.7, 2023, attacks on Israel, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.
Worthy Reads
Terror Comes to Washington: Commentary Editor John Podhoretz reflects on the nature of last night’s deadly attack outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington. “This is a different kind of event from the attacks on synagogues in Pennsylvania and California in 2018, which were the work of white supremacists. It happened at a secular Jewish site, and targeted an event sponsored by the American Jewish Committee for young diplomats. And it was self-evidently an act of anti-Semitic terror in the nation’s capital — which raises similarities to the 2015 attack on the Hyper Casher supermarket in France’s capital, Paris. The only analogue here I can think of was the invasion of the headquarters of the B’nai Brith in D.C. in 1977 by Hanafi Muslims, during which 104 staffers at the Jewish organization — including my wife’s cousin, William Korey, an expert on Soviet Jewry — were held hostage for three days and repeatedly threatened with execution and torture. Two other buildings in DC were invaded as well, and a security guard at one of them was shot in the head and killed.” [Commentary]
Private Sector Diplomacy: The Atlantic’s Andrew Exum writes approvingly about Trump’s transactional approach to Middle East foreign policy in The Atlantic. “Trump unabashedly uses the American private sector as an instrument of national power. In fact, he does this better than any previous president has in my lifetime…Trump may well understand that with the Democratic Party likely divided on Israel for the next generation, his Jewish and evangelical-Christian supporters have nowhere else to go. This puts him in a position of power relative to the Israeli prime minister — one that must surely make Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders very uncomfortable. Making them still more uncomfortable will be the fact that everyone who mattered seemed to be in those meetings in the Gulf. Everyone, that is, except them” [TheAtlantic]
Red Lines on Iran: The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board endorses Trump’s Iran diplomacy. “Iran’s rulers are unhappy with the direction of nuclear talks, which is a sign President Trump is pushing in the right places. No one is ever pleased to make far-reaching concessions, but those are what the U.S. and the world need to get a deal worth making… Iran long insisted it would never negotiate with Mr. Trump. It spent the Biden years talking about killing him. But after Mr. Trump resumed sanctions enforcement and built up a military threat that Iran had to take seriously, Iran came to the table. Its other options are worse. Tehran may decide it can’t abandon enrichment or allow its centrifuges to be dismantled. And it may call the U.S. and Israeli bluff on the use of force, but that could be a mistake its leaders come to regret” [WSJ]
Word on the Street
President Donald Trump is reportedly set to appoint Thomas Barrack, the current U.S. ambassador to Turkey, as a special envoy for Syria…
The Department of Defense formally accepted a luxury Boeing 747 jumbo jet from Qatar for President Donald Trump’s use as Air Force One, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement on Wednesday, Jewish Insider’s Danielle Cohen reports.
The State Department announced that anyone involved in the sale or transfer to or from Iran of 10 materials found to be used in Iran’s nuclear, military and ballistic missile programs will now be subject to mandatory sanctions…
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said at a conference in Tehran on Wednesday about nuclear negotiations with the U.S. that Iran “not give up this right to use peaceful nuclear technology in any way. No matter what they say, do, how they threaten us or impose sanctions, it makes no difference.” Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said that the fifth round of nuclear talks will be held in Rome on Friday…
Xiyue Wang, who was wrongly imprisoned in Iran for more than three years until Trump arranged for his release during his first administration, was named as a senior advisor for Iran at the State Department…
In a tense meeting at the Oval Office yesterday, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa refuted unsubstantiated claims made by Trump about genocide against white South Africans…
Speaking at one of the university’s commencement ceremonies on Wednesday, Columbia University’s acting president, Claire Shipman, said, “I know many in our community today are mourning the absence of our graduate, Mahmoud Khalil,” referring to the anti-Israel protest leader who is currently facing deportation proceedings, and said, “We firmly believe that our international students have the same rights to freedom of speech as everyone else, and they should not be targeted by the government for exercising that right.”
Some 100 pro-Palestinian protesters outside the campus attempted to disrupt the ceremony…
Charl Kleinhaus, an Afrikaner who was granted refugee status in the United States and said Jews are “untrustworthy and a dangerous group” on social media, confirmed that he is being resettled by HIAS and its affiliate, the Jewish Family Services of Western New York. Kleinhaus said his posts were “completely misinterpreted” and he “probably should have worded it better”…
The Vaad of Lakewood, N.J., endorsed Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) for the Democratic nomination in the New Jersey gubernatorial election, specifically calling on unaffiliated voters to cast their ballots for him in the June 10 primary…
New York state Democratic lawmakers moved to block a bill in the state Assembly to include the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism in state education law…
The Wall Street Journal spotlights shifting sentiment in the Israeli public toward the war in Gaza…
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the United Arab Emirates’ national security advisor, met with Stephen Schwarzman, chairman and CEO of Blackstone, to discuss investment trends…
Arc magazine chronicled the role of the Lubavitcher Rebbe in supporting President Jimmy Carter’s creation of the Department of Education…
Amy Schumer, Israeli actor Yadin Gellman and Israeli director Eliran Peled are co-producing a romantic comedy called “Now More Than Ever” about the divides between Israeli and American Jewry post-Oct. 7…
Eliana Goldin, a recent Columbia University graduate and pro-Israel activist, shared her experience being fired from the Columbia Daily Spectator student newspaper…
Philanthropist and Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, whose father was Jewish, died at 65…
Pic of the Day
Auburn University men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl addressed a Jewish American History Month breakfast on Capitol Hill yesterday. Guests included more than 25 House members and senators, antisemitism envoy nominee Yehuda Kaploun and former deputy envoy Aaron Keyak. The event was hosted by the Combat Antisemitism Movement, Jewish Federations of North America, Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, AEPi and Operation Benjamin.
Birthdays
Author, activist, actress and producer, she served until 2023 as a special envoy against antisemitism at Israel’s Foreign Ministry, Noa Tishby…
Senior fellow emeritus at the Hudson Institute, Irwin M. Stelzer turns 93… Retired U.S. district court judge from Massachusetts, now a senior lecturer at Harvard Law School, Nancy Gertner turns 79… Award-winning staff writer at The New Yorker since 1989, Connie Bruck turns 79… Former Skadden partner and then vice-chair at Citibank, J. Michael Schell turns 78… Cognitive scientist and CEO emeritus of Haskins Laboratories in New Haven, Philip E. Rubin turns 76… Director emeritus of policy and government affairs at AIPAC, Ambassador Bradley Gordon turns 76… Gloria Woodlock… Charles Scott… Former member of Knesset from the Zionist Union party, he was previously a major general in the IDF, Eyal Ben-Reuven turns 71… Immediate past chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Dianne F. Lob… Former member of Congress (D-AZ-1), now a business and transactional attorney in Phoenix, Sam Coppersmith turns 70… Senior consultant as to philanthropy and impact at private equity firm Cresset Capital, Sanford Ronald “Sandy” Cardin… U.S. Sen. (R-AK) Lisa Murkowski turns 68… General partner of Google Ventures where he co-leads the life science investment team, David Schenkein turns 68… Former head coach of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, he was the winning coach of the EuroLeague Championship in 2014 with Maccabi Tel Aviv, David Blatt turns 66… Actor, he appeared in all five seasons of the HBO program “The Wire” as defense attorney Maurice Levy, Michael Kostroff turns 64… British writer, philanthropist and documentary filmmaker, Dame Hannah Mary Rothschild turns 63… Partner at Sidley & Austin, he clerked for Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist in the 1996 term, David H. Hoffman turns 58… Former relief pitcher for seven MLB teams, Alan Brian “Al” Levine turns 57… Harvard Law School professor since 2007, he clerked for Supreme Court Justice David Souter in the 1998 term, Noah Feldman turns 55… Israeli cookbook author and TV cookery show host, Shaily Lipa turns 51… Israel’s minister of communications in the prior government, Yoaz Hendel turns 50… Executive director of American Compass, Oren Cass… Co-founder of Facebook in 2004, Dustin Aaron Moskovitz turns 41… Retired slot receiver and kick returner for the NFL’s New England Patriots, member of three Super Bowl-winning teams, Julian Edelman turns 39… Co-founder and former CEO of Tinder, Sean Rad turns 39… Film, television and theater actress, Molly Ephraim turns 39… Washington bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times, Michael Wilner turns 36… J.D. candidate at Harvard Law School in the class of 2026, he is a summer associate at Weil Gotshal, Alex Friedman turns 25… Law clerk for a federal judge in the Eastern District of New York until earlier this year, Peter Walker Kaplan… Emma Kaplan… Aryeh Jacobson… Rebecca Weiss… Benjamin Weiss…