September 5, 2017

Bubbe lives in the path of Hurricane Irma. Now what?

Leave a Comment / United States / Ben Sales, JTA

Beatrice Marks’ one-story home might flood this week. But she laughs off the threat.

“It doesn’t faze me one bit. Not anymore,” said Marks, 86, whose community of seniors lies in the path of Hurricane Irma, which is set to make landfall in Florida at the end of the week. “As far as the actual fear of the hurricane, we all are afraid. But it’s a thing we know that can come and go.”

Marks, who has lived in Florida for more than 70 years, is an outlier among octogenarians — living alone and driving with barely any assistance in everyday activities. But as a Jewish senior in Florida, she is far from alone.

Long a mecca for Jewish retirees, South Florida has a disproportionate number of Jewish elderly. With thousands of local seniors in their areas, Jewish communal agencies are gearing up to prepare the elderly for Irma, which officials say could be one of the worst hurricanes in decades.

“We’ve already been getting calls from people who are scared,” said Barbara Bailin, director of financial services for Goodman Jewish Family Services of Broward County on Florida’s east coast. “A lot of our seniors are in old condominiums. They might be living near the beach in things that are 40 years old, and a lot of people don’t want to leave.”

Irma, which is predicted to hit the Caribbean on Wednesday, has been designated a Category 5 storm and has the highest wind speeds recorded since the 1980s. Its current path has it crossing Puerto Rico and Cuba before reaching southern Florida on Sunday morning — just two weeks after Hurricane Harvey devastated the Texas coast.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott has declared a statewide state of emergency, and Jewish groups already are focusing on the state’s large population of Jewish seniors. In South Florida, more than a quarter of its population is seniors, according to recent population studies.

Beatrice Marks has lived in Florida for 70 years and isn’t fazed by the arrival of Hurricane Irma. (Courtesy of Marks)

Many of those seniors live independently or, like Marks, in a community where some housekeeping is taken care of, but a fraction are dependent on Jewish organizations for meals on wheels, medicine and transportation. Others turn to the agencies when other support runs out or in emergencies like these. Jewish service agencies hope to assist those clients by connecting them with relevant state agencies, helping them stock up on supplies and persuading them to get out of harm’s way.

“Everyone’s taken a little bit aback by the latest turn of events,” said Alec Rosen, vice president of community engagement for Jewish Community Services of South Florida. “We’re calling clients, making sure they have adequate food and water.”

Rosen’s organization delivers more than 100,000 kosher meals annually to 665 homebound seniors, and is ensuring that they have three days worth of food, water and medication. And while most local buildings have hurricane protections like shutters and reinforced windows, Bailin’s agency will work to persuade seniors living in insecure areas to leave their homes for government-run special needs centers, which will be safe from damage and able to provide the necessities now being cleared off of South Florida’s supermarket shelves.

Local and state governments provide a share of the assistance, from ensuring buildings are safe to transporting seniors to the evacuation centers. On Wednesday, Miami-Dade County will begin evacuating special-needs residents. But Bailin said getting seniors to go to the shelters isn’t easy.

“Seniors don’t want to leave their homes when they can’t take care of themselves anymore,” she said. “You hear, ‘I’ve lived here for 40 years and never had a problem.’”

Previous storms — like Hurricane Wilma in 2005 — have taught Bailin to prepare as much for the storm’s aftermath as for the lead-up. People often hoard perishable food, she said — a likely power outage will render it useless. Better, she recommended, to buy dry staples that will last. Jewish Family Services also holds off on providing emergency food stipends to clients until the storm passes.

“You’ve got to stop to realize the worst hurricane comes and goes within three or four days,” Marks said. “Why would you stock up on food when your lights are going to go out? You’re not going to have refrigeration. You buy crackers, you buy dry food, you’ve got cereal.”

What can distant children and grandchildren do to help? Not much, Bailin says, beyond calling service agencies to confirm that their relatives are located and have all the essentials provided. Florida’s Department of Elder Affairs has a hurricane preparedness guide.

And it’s important, Bailin said, to make the call now.

“Make sure mom and dad have a plan in place,” she said. “Encourage them to evacuate where they have emergency services. If they call us at the last minute, they can’t do anything then.”

Marks doesn’t plan to leave her home, but if she does, she will join one of her sons, who both live nearby. But she doubts they’ll be able to do much she can’t do on her own.

“As far as preparation is concerned, there isn’t too much we can do about that,” she said. “We all have shutters in our home. The water is a menace and always will be, I think.”

Bubbe lives in the path of Hurricane Irma. Now what? Read More »

Jeffrey Tuchman, groundbreaking documentarian, dies at 62

Leave a Comment / Hollywood, Obituaries / Jewish Journal

Jeffrey Tuchman, an Emmy and Peabody award-winning documentary producer, director and writer who also produced political advertising for Bill Clinton’s presidential and Hillary Clinton’s senatorial and presidential campaigns, died on Sept. 2 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from complications arising from treatment for pancreatic cancer. He was 62.

Among his many credits were the Peabody and Emmy award-winning “Voices of Civil Rights,” an oral history of the civil rights movement; “Mavericks, Miracles and Medicine,” an award-winning, four-part TV series on the history of medicine; and “The Man From Hope,” the acclaimed Bill Clinton biography shown at the 1992 Democratic National Convention, which was widely hailed as a historic piece of political filmmaking and won a Pollie Award, given for works of political communication.

He also wrote and lectured extensively on documentary filmmaking during seven years on the faculty of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Tuchman grew up on New York City’s Upper West Side — where we lived in the same building. He was the elder son of Marcel and Shoshana Tuchman, Holocaust survivors from Poland and Hungary, respectively, who imparted to Jeffrey and his brother, Peter, their zest for culture, intellectual curiosity and the pursuit of social justice.

After attending Hunter Elementary School and Riverdale Country School in New York, he graduated from The Concord School in Hertfordshire, England, before enrolling in Hampshire College in Massachusetts, where he first began working on documentaries alongside a group of aspiring young filmmakers, including documentarians Ken and Rick Burns.

Tuchman returned to New York and embarked on a career producing nonfiction films of social import for the nonprofit Public Agenda, co-founded by public opinion researcher and analyst Dan Yankelovich and former Secretary of State Cyrus Vance Sr. Around that time, Tuchman met political consultant Mandy Grunwald, with whom he would collaborate on political work over the next several decades.

Grunwald suggested that Tuchman work with Linda Bloodworth-Thomason on the film that would introduce Bill Clinton as the Democratic Party’s nominee at the Democratic National Convention in 1992 in New York. That film, “The Man From Hope,” was widely credited with launching Clinton and establishing the narrative and themes that would transport him to the White House.

In 1994, Tuchman wrote and directed “White House,” a film portrait of the Clinton presidency as seen through the eyes of White House photographer Bob McNeely. Tuchman also wrote, produced and directed the series “Science Times: The Science of Crime” for the Discovery Channel/TLC and the series on the civil rights movement “Voices of Civil Rights” for the History Channel, which won Emmy and Peabody awards in 2006.

In recent years, Tuchman moved to Los Angeles, where he produced nonfiction projects for the California Endowment about poverty in the state and building healthy communities, as well as “We Are All Immigrants,” a study of immigration in California, and video content for the new Sacramento museum about the Japanese internment camps during World War II.

Tuchman remained involved in political advertising and advocacy messaging for nonprofits. He worked on such memorable ads as “Invisible People” for Hillary Clinton’s senatorial campaign, and “Love Wins,” a message about LGBT inclusion shown on the Jumbotron at Staples Center during a Los Angeles Kings hockey game. He also consulted and produced advertising for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 and 2016 presidential campaigns.

He is survived by his father, Marcel; brother Peter; sister-in-law Lisa Zumwalt; and girlfriend Jackie Tepper.

A memorial service is planned for New York’s Riverside Memorial Chapel on Sept. 17. Friends will gather in Los Angeles at a date to be determined. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the International Documentary Association, on whose board Tuchman served.

TOM TEICHOLZ is a film producer in Los Angeles and author of the tommywood blog at jewishjournal.com.

Jeffrey Tuchman, groundbreaking documentarian, dies at 62 Read More »

Video: Do You Think Science and Religion Can Coexist?

Leave a Comment / Blogs / Rabbi Yonah Bookstein

SoulPancake, a popular YouTube channel, recently asked me to participate in a discussion with other faith leaders about the environment. That was something I could not pass up.

The interviewer is Zach Anner, a self-proclaimed “climate change idiot” who is on a mission to, “find out what the hell climate change is and what people across America are doing (or not doing) about it!”

In this Earth Your While adventure, Zach talks with a Rabbi, an Imam, and a Reverend about their religion’s perspective on caring for the environment.

Video: Do You Think Science and Religion Can Coexist? Read More »

Episode 54 – How did an Israeli graphic novelist meet the most wanted man in Italy?

Leave a Comment / Two Nice Jewish Boys / Naor Meningher and Eytan Weinstein

Today we’re joined by Assaf Hanuka, co-author of “The Divine” together with his brother Tomer and Boaz Lavie. “The Divine” received the prestigious International Manga Award in Japan.

Assaf’s work has been published in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Time and Rolling Stone and his most recent graphic novel “The Realist” was awarded the 2016 Eisener Prize.

He joins us today to talk about his inspirations, his career and his successes, which weren’t reached without a fair share of struggle.

(Photo approved by Assaf Hanuka)

RSS Subscribe

Assaf’s website and Facebook

Episode 54 – How did an Israeli graphic novelist meet the most wanted man in Italy? Read More »

UN Ambassador Nikki Haley lays out case for US leaving Iran deal

Leave a Comment / Iran Deal / Ron Kampeas, JTA

Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, in a comprehensive speech laid out a possible case for the United States to leave the Iran deal, although she said no decision had been made.

Haley’s argument, made Monday in a speech to the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, was that the agreement was inextricably bound to other manifestations of Iran’s bad behavior, including its development of missiles, military adventurism and backing for terrorism.

“The deal drew an artificial line between the Iranian regime’s nuclear development and the rest of its lawless behavior,” she said of the 2015 pact, which trades sanctions relief for Iran for a rollback in its nuclear program.

The Obama administration, which negotiated the deal, said that by ending at least for now the threat of a nuclear Iran, the international community could more easily confront Iran for its rogue actions. The deal did not impinge on sanctions on Iran unrelated to its nuclear activities, and President Donald Trump has continued to oppose them like his Oval Office predecessor, Barack Obama.

Haley outlined possible scenarios for leaving the deal, including one that involves essentially deferring a decision to Congress, which under U.S. law oversees Iranian compliance with the deal.

Under U.S. law, she said, “We must consider not just the Iranian regime’s technical violations of the JCPOA,” referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan for Action, the deal’s formal name, but also its violation of U.N. resolutions and Iran’s history of aggression.

“We must consider the regime’s repeated, demonstrated hostility toward the United States,” Haley said. “We must consider its history of deception about its nuclear program. We must consider its ongoing development of ballistic missile technology. And we must consider the day when the terms of the JCPOA sunset. That’s a day when Iran’s military may very well already have the missile technology to send a nuclear warhead to the United States – a technology that North Korea only recently developed. In short, we must consider the whole picture, not simply whether Iran has exceeded the JCPOA’s limit on uranium enrichment.”

A frustration for Trump, who wants to kill the deal, is that U.N. inspectors continue to confirm that Iran is abiding by the deal. Trump’s top security advisers have counseled against quitting the deal, saying that would play into Iran’s efforts to make the United States responsible for any escalation in tensions.

If Trump refuses in October — the next deadline — to certify compliance, she said, “What happens next is significantly in Congress’s hands.”

Trump’s decertification “would signal one or more of the following three messages to Congress,” Haley said. “Either the administration believes Iran is in violation of the deal; or the lifting of sanctions against Iran is not appropriate and proportional to the regime’s behavior; or the lifting of sanctions is not in the U.S. national security interest.”

In those circumstances, she said, “Congress then has 60 days to consider whether to reimpose sanctions on Iran.”

Former Obama administration Iran hands mocked the speech, saying that however Trump frames abandonment of the deal, the U.S. will be blamed.

“No matter how convoluted this gets, the bottom line will be that the U.S. will be blamed for collapse,” Ilan Goldenberg, who worked on Iran and Israel policy for Obama, said on Twitter. “The reality is that if this is the tack Trump takes, he will be killing the deal, but trying to blame others.”

UN Ambassador Nikki Haley lays out case for US leaving Iran deal Read More »

Jewish woman sues Denny’s for serving bacon in her vegetarian omelet

UC Irvine anti-Israel group punished for disrupting pro-Israel event

The lie at the heart of the DACA repeal

Leave a Comment / Rob Eshman / Rob Eshman

President Donald Trump’s decision to rescind DACA only makes sense if you remember Charlottesville.

You have to recall what the white supremacists who marched in that Virginia town chanted: “You will not replace us! You will not replace us!”

Sure, they lapsed into, “Jews will not replace us,” but DACA isn’t about being anti-Semitic, it’s about being anti-Them.

Trump’s order to phase out Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals in six months would affect some 800,000 young people who were brought to this country as children when their parents crossed the border illegally. They had no more complicity in that action than a toddler strapped inside a getaway car is guilty of bank robbery. They’ve known no other country but the United States, where they went to school, found jobs (some 91 percent are employed) and made lives.

By canceling DACA, Trump would be uprooting these people and sending them back to countries they do not know, whose languages some of them do not even speak. And for what?

Despite what Trump’s ever-dwindling number of defenders claim, repealing DACA has nothing to do with whether President Barack Obama’s executive order was constitutional.

As others have pointed out, a guy concerned with our nation’s highest laws doesn’t pardon a guy like Joe Arpaio, indicted for subverting it. And if he really wanted Congress to exercise its rightful power in passing a law for the Dreamers, why give them a six-month deadline before phasing out DACA? Why not a year? Kicking it to Congress demonstrates Trump’s essential cowardice.

No, what Trump wants to do is make good on an applause line from his campaign rallies, promising his die-hard supporters that he would put an end to DACA. They’re not interested in a go-slow approach that would put the measure on more solid constitutional footing. They’re not interested in a compromise that would maximize the potential good these hundreds of thousands of Dreamers can bestow on America. They’re not interested in fairness, because how is it fair to punish someone for something they didn’t do?

So, what are they interested in? One clue can be found in the Breitbart story announcing Trump’s decision. Its headline is, “Open Borders, Corporate Interests Brace for End of DACA.” In other words, the only people who these Trump supporters think care about making sure these Americans stay in America are the “globalists.”

The story’s writer, John Binder, claims that with the Dreamers out, some 30,000 jobs will open up each month.

“Ending DACA could be a major stimulus for the 4.4 percent of unemployed Americans who will see more than 700,000 new job openings across the United States,” Binder writes.

That’s ludicrous, of course. It assumes none of the Dreamers are self-employed, that their roles can easily be filled by the ranks of the remaining unemployed — many of whom are far less well-educated, less well-trained, less motivated, far older or not even living in areas where the Dreamers work. Some 250 work for Apple — in what fantasy world are those jobs just ripe for the picking? But Breitbart knows that.

Shafting the Dreamers is not about the promise that an eager army of neglected (white) Americans will magically slip into the work shoes of the 700,000 gainfully employed Dreamers. It’s about the fear that these Americans are no longer needed at all. “You will not replace us!” The Charlottesville chant echoes in Trump’s shortsighted and cruel new action. See, he is saying, I won’t let them — these brown, line-hopping hordes — replace you.

It doesn’t matter that setting these Dreamers loose on America boosts the economy and will improve the future for us all, as every highly motivated group of immigrants, from Irish to Italians to Jews to Latinos, has done throughout American history. It’s not about reality, it’s about revenge. If you think you’re going to replace us, take this.

There’s a tragic coda to Breitbart’s gloating story. On the very same website is a story about Alonso Guillen, 31, a disc jockey in Lufkin, Texas. Four days after Hurricane Harvey submerged Houston, Guillen volunteered to pilot a rescue boat. He and two friends were en route to the boat when their truck struck a bridge and overturned, throwing the men into the raging current of Cypress Creek. Guillen drowned. According to his family, Guillen was a recipient of the DACA program — his parents brought him from Piedras Negras, Mexico, when he was a child. His father became a legal permanent resident. His mother, Rita Ruiz de Guillen, was in Mexico awaiting approval of her immigration application when she heard of her son’s death. When she tried to enter the United States to attend the funeral, immigration officials turned her back.

“I’ve lost a great son, you have no idea,” his mother told reporters. “I’m asking God to give me strength.”

There’s a word for Americans like Alonso Guillen.

Irreplaceable.

ROB ESHMAN is publisher and editor-in-chief of TRIBE Media Corp./Jewish Journal. Email him at robe@jewishjournal.com. You can follow him on Instagram and Twitter @foodaism and @RobEshman.

The lie at the heart of the DACA repeal Read More »

Jewish groups attack Trump’s DACA decision as immoral

Leave a Comment / United States / Ron Kampeas, JTA

An array of Jewish groups and lawmakers attacked as immoral President Donald Trump’s move to end an Obama-era program granting protections to undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as children.

The Trump administration said Sept. 5 that it would end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in six months. President Barack Obama had launched DACA in 2011 after multiple attempts failed in Congress to pass an immigration bill that would settle the status of 11 million undocumented immigrants. The program protected those who arrived as children from deportation and granted them limited legal status.

In statements, Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the principal objection to Obama’s so-called Dreamers program was that it was unconstitutional because it was established by an executive order, and indicated that Trump was ready to sign any congressional legislation that would accommodate the “Dreamers.” It was unclear what would happen in the meantime or, should Congress not pass legislation, what would happen to the 800,000 people who have sought and received DACA’s protections.

Trump, in a statement, said his hand was forced by attorneys general from conservative states who plan to sue to kill DACA.

“The attorney general of the United States, the attorneys general of many states and virtually all other top legal experts have advised that the program is unlawful and unconstitutional and cannot be successfully defended in court,” he said.

Republican leaders in Congress have expressed a willingness to pass the legislation necessary to protect the affected immigrants, but Jewish groups and lawmakers said ending the program presented immoral perils, given the failures of Congress in the past to agree on comprehensive immigration reform.

“DACA recognized these individuals for who they are: Americans in everything but paperwork,” Melanie Nezer, the vice president for public affairs of HIAS, a major Jewish immigrant advocacy group. “Their hopes and dreams are no different from kids who are born here, and there is no legitimate reason for inflicting this needless suffering on them and their families.”

The Reform movement called the action “morally misguided” and demanded that Congress act to redress the rescission.

“It is imperative that Congress step up in support of these young people who grew up in the United States and who want to give back to the only country they know as home,” said Rabbi Jonah Pesner, who directs the Reform movement’s Religious Action Center. “We call on Congress to protect DACA recipients from deportation by immediately passing a clean bipartisan Dream Act of 2017 — and on the president to support it.”

Richard Foltin, the American Jewish Committee’s director of government affairs, called the decision “devastating,” and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said it was one of “a long list of actions and policies by this administration that have deeply hurt immigrants and their families.” The ADL noted the pardoning last month of Joe Arpaio, a former Arizona sheriff who had been convicted of discriminatory practices against Latinos, and the threat to withdraw funding from cities offering sanctuary to undocumented immigrants.

Other Jewish organizations condemning the decision included Bend the Arc, J Street, the National Council of Jewish Women, T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, the Shalom Center and the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect. Bend the Arc listed rallies across the country it would join to oppose the decision.

The Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the umbrella body for public policy, said it “strongly opposed” the decision and called on Congress to act to protect the “Dreamers.”

“The Jewish community has a long history of active engagement in the struggles of new immigrants and in development of our nation’s immigration policy,” it said. “We believe that Congress must enact a permanent solution and we call on lawmakers to act immediately to protect immigrant youth by passing the ‘Dream Act of 2017,’ bipartisan legislation that would replace fear and uncertainty with permanent protection.”

Jewish Democrats also slammed the decision.

“Terminating #DACA now puts 800,000 talented young #DREAMers who love, contribute to, and live in America officially at risk of deportation,” Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat on the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, said on Twitter.

Terminating #DACA now puts 800,000 talented young #DREAMers who love, contribute to, and live in America officially at risk of deportation.

— Eliot Engel (@RepEliotEngel) September 5, 2017

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Engel’s counterpart on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the decision was “clearly written with little thought of the human consequences.”

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called the decision “cruel and arbitrary.”

Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), one of two Jewish Republicans in Congress, in a long and anguished statement, said he supported Trump’s decision but added that he would work to pass legislation to protect the undocumented immigrants.

“I am very much willing to work with any of my colleagues on either side of the aisle on this issue and others to find common ground however possible,” he said. “Working together productively and substantively, I am hugely confident that long overdue progress can absolutely be achieved at least in part to move the needle more in the right direction.”

Dreamers and their supporters on the night of Sept. 4 held a candlelight vigil outside the home of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, the daughter and son-in-law of the president. The couple, who both serve as advisers to the president, reportedly advocated for continuing DACA.

Jewish groups attack Trump’s DACA decision as immoral Read More »

Daily Kickoff: Trump admin taking “multi-years” approach to peace process | Zuckerman selling Daily News | Bibi Chief of Staff curse | Amar’e retires

Leave a Comment / Jewish Insider's Daily Kickoff / Jewish Insider Staff

Have our people email your people. Tell your friends to sign up for the Daily Kickoff here!

JI EXCLUSIVE — Trump administration official on peace process: “These efforts take multi-years” – by Aaron Magid: Last week, a senior Trump administration official suggested that the U.S.-led process is unlikely to achieve immediate results. “This is a very challenging set of circumstances. There is a reason these efforts take multi-years,” the official told Jewish Insider. The official also dismissed Palestinian accusations of bias. “You saw that by the positive statements that were put out which is unusual. It’s been many years since actually both the Israelis and the Palestinians have put out positive statements about the meetings,” the official emphasized.

Shibley Telhami, a professor at University of Maryland and non-resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute, expressed concern for a dragged out U.S.-led peace process. “The Palestinians are always worried that the peace process is an end to itself that is intended to divert attention from the fact that they are still under occupation. That it is intentionally intended to legitimize the status quo, disarm the political arguments and pacify them,” he said.

Dore Gold, former Director-General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, cautioned that the peace process shouldn’t be rushed. “Diplomacy isn’t instant coffee,” Gold explained. “You have Abu Mazen (Abbas) in the later years of his life with questions about succession. The whole break between Hamas ruling Gaza and Fatah-dominated forces in the West Bank. Perhaps the conditions aren’t right for nine months. There are significant diplomatic changes going on, the strategic convergence of Israel and the Arab states that might allow for new opportunities in the future.”

Dan Arbell, former Deputy Chief of Mission at the Israeli Embassy: “A prolonged process is definitely something Netanyahu will feel more comfortable with rather than a compressed with benchmarks and timetables and very tough framework… The fact that both sides are publicly supporting a process is pretty obvious is that nobody wants to be on the Trump administration’s bad side; nobody wants to be considered a spoiler. I don’t give it a lot of weight. It’s niceties. Clearly, [Abbas] is not happy with what’s going on and he’s not pleased with how the administration is handling it at this point. It seems to me that the Palestinians are running out of patience. The speed of things suits the Israelis side.” [JewishInsider]

MEDIA WATCH: “The New York Daily News Is Said to Be Nearing Sale” by Sydney Ember and Andrew Ross Sorkin: “The Daily News, the nearly 100-year-old tabloid owned by the real estate magnate Mortimer B. Zuckerman, is close to announcing an agreement for its sale to Tronc, the publisher of The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune… The sale of The News may also mark the end of the political influence of Mr. Zuckerman, who often used the paper’s bold, front-page headline — known as “the wood” — for commentary about candidates and politicians, locally and nationally… Under the terms of the deal, Tronc would assume control of The News’s operations, its printing plant in Jersey City and its pension liability… No cash would change hands.” [NYTimes]

— An internal memo on Monday night from Zuckerman’s co-publisher Eric J. Gertler celebrated the Daily News as an iconic New York City institution. “For the newspaper that once emblazoned the immortal words ‘Ford to City: Drop Dead’ across its front page, I can only imagine today’s cover reading ‘Mort to News: Carry On’!” Gertler wrote. “ [CNNMoney]

DRIVING THE CONVO: “On DACA, President Trump Has No Easy Path” by Glenn Thrush, Maggie Haberman and Julie Hirschfeld Davis: “Moderates, including Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and the National Economic Council chairman, Gary D. Cohn, had urged the president to reach beyond his hard-right populist base to embrace a program that enjoys significant public support, even among Republicans. Business leaders, among them political allies like the media mogul Rupert Murdoch and Stephen A. Schwarzman… believe any move to limit legal immigration limits the work force and hurts the country’s international reputation. But the moderates in Mr. Trump’s midst, Mr. Cohn in particular, are somewhat less influential these days, after several expressed their disgust at the president’s response to the racial riots in Charlottesville, Va., last month.” [NYTimes]

“Dreamers Hold Vigil Outside Jared Kushner And Ivanka Trump’s Home To Save DACA” by Doha Madani: “A group of protesters held a candlelight vigil outside the Washington D.C. home of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump on Monday night to ask for the couple’s help in saving an Obama-era program.” [HuffPost]

“Trump’s Visa Crackdown Could Have ‘Drastic Impact’ on Jewish Summer Camps” by Judy Maltz: “Participation of Jewish counselors and staff from Israel and other countries in the J-1 Camp Counselor and Summer Work Travel programs is critical to the mission of the Jewish camp field – and the American camp experiences as a whole,” Jeremy Fingerman, CEO of the Foundation for Jewish Camp told Haaretz. “Elimination of these cultural exchange programs would have a drastic impact – both educationally and operationally – on the many programs we support.” [Haaretz]

INSIDE THE ADMIN: “Steve Bannon’s right-hand woman remains in the White House” by Hunter Walker: “Julia Hahn is a 26-year-old former writer from Bannon’s site, Breitbart News. Earlier this week, a source familiar with the situation told Yahoo News that Hahn was staying on in her position as a special assistant to the president and deputy strategist in the wake of Bannon’s departure last month… In addition to the secrecy surrounding Hahn and her duties, her rather unconventional background contributed to the interest in her work. Hahn hails from Beverly Hills, where her grandfather built a bottling company fortune, her father has produced movies, and she attended one of the Los Angeles area’s top private schools before going on to University of Chicago. Her grandmother is a well-known philanthropist and staunch advocate for gun control…” [YahooNews]

DRIVING THE WEEK: “Global crisis over North Korea” by Mike Allen: “CFR President Richard Haass… said Mattis’ language (“threat” rather than “capability”) suggests the U.S. is focused on a preemptive response (against a threat deemed to be imminent), rather than a preventive attack, “something that would be unacceptable to many Americans and to South Korea… Preemption… would place the onus on NK not to do something that would trigger a preemptive strike [put missiles on alert, or launch them] rather than on us to undertake a preventive, bolt out of the blue attack.”” [Axios]

VIEW FROM JERUSALEM: “Israel condemns North Korea nuclear test” by Moran Azulay: “North Korea must comply with all Security Council resolutions on this issue and refrain from testing and developing weapons of mass destruction and its means of delivery,” a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. “A resolute international response will prevent other countries from behaving similarly.” [Ynet; Haaretz] • Ex-Israeli intelligence chief: Trump should attack North Korea if he can [ToI]

Former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon tweets: “The international response led by the US to the North Korean regime’s provocations, sheds light on how it will behave toward the Iranian regime on their nuclear efforts in the near future.” [Twitter]

HAPPENING TODAY — U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley will discuss U.S. policy toward Iran and the threat of Hezbollah at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) at 11 am. The speech — followed by a Q&A moderated by Danielle Pletka — is titled “Beyond the echo chamber: Considerations on U.S. policy toward Iran.” [Livestream]

Haley writes in The Jerusalem Post… “For the United States, this is a time for strength, resolve and accountability at the United Nations… Just as Hezbollah is stepping up its efforts, the United States, and now the United Nations, are stepping up our efforts against them.” [JPost]

“How Iraq War Hawks Can Help Stop Trump from Going to War with Iran” by Jon Finer, Rob Malley, and Jeff Prescott: “[David] Frum said that he preferred to convey his views on Trump unravelling the deal in The Atlantic, but rejected a comparison to 2002, arguing it would be hard to imagine “Trump striking out in October, 2017—with no preliminary work to build support, zero Democratic buy-in, unsure even of his own party.” … Bret Stephens… said that he “wrestles with the dilemma” of a policy he may support but a President he’s not sure he trusts to implement it. “Even the best advice, if put through a flawed vessel, is going to come out wrong on the other side,” he said… “Among the many reasons the Trump Presidency depresses me is that I can’t trust him to carry out those few points of his agenda on which I actually happen to agree.”” [NewYorker]

“Iran, Turkey, and Russia Aren’t Natural Friends. It’s Up to the U.S. to Keep It That Way” by Dov Zakheim: “The national interests of the three are not congruent. Much will depend on the United States, however. Should Washington remain active in Syria, or increase its efforts there, Turkey will be far less likely to abandon the West for other partners. If, however, the United States washes its hands of Syria, the Turkish-Russian-Iranian connection may be the start of a beautiful friendship.” [FP]

SCENE THE OTHER DAY: Kansas Governor Samuel Brownback, Trump’s pick for Ambassador of Religious Freedom, visited the Old City of Jerusalem on Friday. [Pic]

LATER THIS WEEK: “Mayor Emanuel to go to Israel to dive into water talks” by Michael Sneed: “Watch for Mayor Rahm Emanuel to head to Israel [on] Saturday (Sept. 9)… “A key focus of the trip will be highlighting Chicago’s leading role in advancing water technology innovation and conservation while leveraging Israeli water expertise,” said a mayoral source. Traveling with a delegation of academic and business leaders from the Chicago area, the mayor will keynote the WATEC conference, which brings together thousands of water technology businesses from around the world… Emanuel will take part in the signing of a first-of-its-kind agreement with Technion — the Israel Institute of Technology — and Current, the non-profit organization that is propelling Chicago’s water economy.” [CHSunTimes]

2018 WATCH: “Rep. Schneider Withdraws Endorsement of Daniel Biss” by James Neveau: “In a Facebook post Sunday night, [Rep. Brad] Schneider said that he was “surprised” to learn that [David] Biss’ running mate Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, a Chicago alderman, was a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement… Republican Congressional candidate Jeremy Wynes, who is running for the 10th District seat in Congress, accused Schneider… of showing an “inclination to shut off funding to America’s allies in Israel” after the Congressman endorsed Biss’ candidacy for governor.” [NBC5]

2020 WATCH: “Long List of Top Democrats Have 2020, and Money, on Their Minds” by Ken Vogel and Rachel Shorey: “They used to start coming to talk to you two years before the election. Now, it’s six months after the last presidential election,” said the Wall Street billionaire Marc Lasry, a major political donor who has met recently with several Democrats mentioned as prospective presidential candidates. “It’s gotten ridiculous,” Mr. Lasry said. “Everybody believes they can be the person who will stack up great against Trump. I tell them all that it’s way too early, and that they need a clearer message about what they want to do, not just about opposing Trump.”” [NYTimes]

“Bernie Sanders Is Staging a Comeback but Is Still Awkward About Being Jewish” by Allison Kaplan Sommer: “I was very, very surprised,” said Risa Starr, a marketing professional who was also in the Riverside Church audience for Sanders’ speech. “There is an uptick on swastikas and other graffiti being painted on synagogues; there are Jewish cemeteries being defaced. And here is a political figure who is Jewish and even refuses to mention that there is anti-Semitism in America. He just ignores it.” … Just a few days after the Manhattan speech, during an appearance in Iowa, Sanders… noted that “the African-American community and Jewish community were outraged” when the president said “there are nice people on both sides.” [Haaretz]

** Good Tuesday Morning! Enjoying the Daily Kickoff? Please share us with your friends & tell them to sign up at [JI]. Have a tip, scoop, or op-ed? We’d love to hear from you. Anything from hard news and punditry to the lighter stuff, including event coverage, job transitions, or even special birthdays, is much appreciated. Email Editor@JewishInsider.com **

BUSINESS BRIEFS: Israel set for $28 billion infrastructure spending boost [Reuters] • Trian’s Nelson Peltz Latest Tactic: Playing Nice [Bloomberg] • P&G Proxy Fight Pits Former Finance Chief Against Longtime Protégé [WSJ] • Inside the tech mogul Reid Hoffman’s 2017 political playbook for funding candidates, causes and companies [Recode]

STARTUP NATION: “Israel-based Via gets investment from Daimler for European expansion” by Zac Estrada: “Via announced Monday a $50 million investment and joint-venture agreement with Daimler to launch on-demand shuttle services across Europe… “We are delighted to have the Daimler Group on board as an investor and strategic partner,” said Daniel Ramot, co-founder and CEO of Via. “Combining Via’s technology with the exceptional design and engineering of Mercedes-Benz Vans is ideal for our vision of offering efficient, affordable, sustainable, and convenient shared rides everywhere.””[TheVerge; TechCrunch]

“Israel pledges $1M in aid for Houston Jewish community after Harvey” by Rebecca Savransky: “The money pledged by Israel will go toward restoring places such as synagogues, schools and Jewish community centers damaged by the storm. “The Jewish State is measured by its response when our brothers around the world are in crisis,” Diaspora Affairs Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement released Monday… “For years the Jewish communities stood by Israel when it needed their help; now it is our turn to stand by Houston’s Jewish community,” Bennett added.” [TheHill; JPost]

“Top US Jewish leader Malcolm Hoenlein urges PM: Rethink Western Wall prayer, or risk wider chasm” by David Horovitz: “For American Jews “to stand with Israel, and to feel that they are wanted, and that their concerns are taken into account, will require somewhat of a different approach. And I do think that the prime minister has to look for a resolution [to the Western Wall prayer issue] that restores the confidence, that ends the controversy… I hope in the New Year, with Rosh Hashanah coming, that everybody does the introspection that they’re supposed to do, on all sides, and that we, instead of broadening the divide, can find the way to bridge it.” [ToI]

BUZZ ON BALFOUR: “New Arrests in Israel’s Submarine Scandal, and New Questions on Netanyahu” by Isabel Kershner: “Public interest in the case has been intense. Apart from concern that corruption has taken root on the watch of an entrenched political leadership, many worry about its bearing on national security and the integrity of the military… A senior Israeli official… said that trying to blame the prime minister for not knowing about something he was not involved in was unfair. The official urged patience, saying that nobody yet knows what actually transpired.” [NYTimes]

“Israeli PM sheds statesmanlike persona as scandals mount” by Aron Heller: “Yoaz Hendel, a former spokesman for Netanyahu, said the prime minister is feeling the pressure and is now turning to his base. “Netanyahu was always above the fray and maintained a statesmanlike appearance,” said Hendel. “This is the fight of his life and that can rattle anyone, especially someone like him with a historical perception of himself.””[AP]

KAFE KNESSET — The Chief of Staff Curse — by Tal Shalev and JPost’s Lahav Harkov: David Sharan, who served in the Prime Minister’s Office between 2014-2016, is Netanyahu’s third chief of staff who has gotten into trouble in recent years. Early Sunday morning, Sharan was arrested and charged with accepting bribes, fraud and breach of trust in the File 3000 case, a/k/a “the Submarine affair.” In fact, only the serving chief of staff, Yoav Horovitz, is clean and innocent of every misdoing. A source close to Netanyahu told Kafe Knesset with humor that Horovitz “probably should be changing the Mezuza on his office door because it appears there might be some kind of curse on the office itself.”

Sharan’s arrest, however, is considered much more troublesome for a different former boss, more so than than for Bibi. Before joining the Prime Minister’s Office, Sharan was one of Energy Minister Yuval Stenitz’s most loyal advisors. Sharan accompanied Steinitz for 14 years of his political career… Steinitz himself has not yet been summoned for testimony or investigation. Senior sources in the political system told Kafe Knesset they find it “hard to believe that Steinitz knew anything about what was going on.” Sources close to Steinitz said that he was “shocked by the reports, which he had only heard for the first time from the media,” adding that Steinitz’s integrity was well known and had never been put to the test. If Steinitz is called to testify, they added, he would do so as required. Read today’s entire Kafe Knesset here [JewishInsider]

“Argentinean Jewry to partly pay for Netanyahu visit” by Tal Schneider and Noga Tarnopolsky: “Sources inform “Globes” that according to internal discussions between the Jewish community leaders, the Jewish community leaders have undertaken to pay $100,000 to defray the large cost of the visit… The Jewish community leaders asked the owner of the Alvear Hotel, Jewish real estate tycoon and businessman David Sutton, for a discount on Netanyahu’s stay in the hotel.” [Globes]

TALK OF THE TOWN: “Friends Recall Selflessness That Embodied Queens Assemblyman” by Kate Taylor: “An Orthodox Jew, [Michael] Simanowitz attended Yeshiva Tiferes Moshe in Kew Gardens as a child, according to Chaskel Bennett, a classmate and a board member of Agudath Israel of America… Mr. Bennett, who lost touch with Mr. Simanowitz for a number of years before reconnecting with him in Albany, said that the assemblyman was a strong supporter of measures to help religious and other private schools, including a proposed tax credit meant to expand access to them… “He was a proud Jew, proud of who he was, proud of his heritage,” Mr. Bennett said.” [NYTimes]

PODCAST PLAYBACK — Legendary Chicago political consultant Don Rose talks to David Axelrod about his upbringing on the Axe Files:“My grandfather had a strange history. He and his brother built the first synagogue in El Paso, Texas, and then many years later – I have no idea how they migrated down there well after I was 7-8 [years old] – moved to Vincennes, Indiana to start a dry goods business and they built the first synagogue in Vincennes, Indiana.” [CNNPodcast]

SPOTTED — at the annual Labor Day bash hosted by Discovery Communications chief David Zaslav and wife Pam at their East Hampton home on Saturday: Jeff Zucker, Sen. Chuck Schumer, Iris Weinshall, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Sandra Lee, Andy Lack, Steve Clemons, Bob Kraft, Harvey Weinstein, Lloyd Blankfein, Dan Loeb, Leslie Moonves, Katie Couric and John Molner, Aryeh Bourkoff, Rita Braver, Mark Hoffman, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Joe Kernan, Lorne Michaels, Jonathan Wald, Mark and Sally Ein, Ken Auletta, Baruch Shemtov, Robert Zimmerman, Ken Lehrer, Carl Bernstein, Scarlett Johansson, and Harry Connick Jr. [NYPost; Playbook]

SPOTTED YESTERDAY IN JERUSALEM: NBA’s Atlanta Hawks Coach Mike Budenholzer and Assistant Coach Ben Sullivan visited the Dan Family Aish HaTorah World Center [Facebook]

SPORTS BLINK: “Schwartzman powers into US Open quarters” by Howard Blas: “[Diego] Schwartzman – the 25-year-old Jewish Argentine – defeated No. 5 seed Marin Cilic of Croatia 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 on Friday and returned to the same court on Sunday to knock out No. 16 Lucas Pouille of France… in his first career Grand Slam fourth round match. Schwartzman advances to the quarterfinals and faces Pablo Carrreno Busta of Spain, who defeated Israeli-born Canadian Denis Shapovalov in straight sets earlier in the day on Sunday… Schwartzman is loving the New York crowd, which has cheered for him throughout his matches so far. “They are helping a lot in the matches… I am really happy for that and thank everyone for doing that.”” [JPost]

“Amar’e Stoudemire retires after season in Israel” by Kevin Zimmerman: “Stoudemire announced with an Instagram post that he was retiring after he spent the 2016-17 season with Hapoel Jerusalem in Israel and led the team to a Israeli Premier League title. “I would like to thank Hapoel Jerusalem president, Ori Allon, and the entire Hapoel Jerusalem organization for giving me the opportunity to retire as a champion and doing it in the holiest of cities made even more special,” Stoudemire wrote.” [AZSports; NBCSports]

DESSERT: “Coming Soon: Rosenberg’s Kosher” by Daliah Singer: “Just in time for Rosh Hashanah… two of the (Denver) city’s most beloved Jewish bakeries are joining forces: On September 15, Rosenberg’s Bagels & Delicatessen will merge with the longstanding the Bagel Store to form Rosenberg’s Kosher, the state’s largest purveyor of Kosher food. In Yiddish, one might refer to the union as “beshert,” or meant to be. “It’s an honor to be able to serve the Jewish community in its entirety,” says Rosenberg’s owner Joshua Pollack of opening a kosher location of his überpopular bagel shop. “Bagels are for everybody.” [5280; 303Mag]

BIRTHDAYS: Long-time member of Knesset (1977-2002), he served in multiple ministerial positions under PMs Rabin and Peres, he is a dean at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Amnon Rubinstein turns 86… Author, educator, and activist, best known for his books promoting public education, Jonathan Kozol turns 81… New York-based real estate developer, Jacob Frydman turns 60… Russian investigative journalist and editor in chief of the Moscow-based independent political weekly the New Times, she is active in the Russian Jewish Congress, Yevgenia Albats turns 59… Retired Major General in the IDF and the former head of its Manpower Directorate, she was the first woman to be made Major General (the IDF’s second highest rank), Orna Barbivai turns 55… CEO of Caesars Acquisition Company, Caesars Interactive Entertainment (which sold to an Israeli startup for $4.4 billion), the World Series of Poker and Chairman of Cirque du Soleil, Mitch Garber turns 53… Nationally syndicated newspaper columnist and a senior editor at Reason magazine, Jacob Z. Sullum turns 52… Entrepreneur and investor, chairman of Mentored, an education technology platform, Eric Aroesty turns 47… Born in the Soviet Union, made aliyah in 1998, she is a member of the Knesset since 2016 for the Yisrael Beiteinu party, Yulia Malinovsky turns 42… Director in the DC office of Baron Public Affairs LLC, Jeremy Furchtgott turns 26… Anthony Klor turns 24… Shoshanna Liebman… Catherine Nelson… Stu Shloss…

YESTERDAY: Born in Tel Aviv, award winning computer scientist and philosopher who is a pioneer in artificial intelligence, he is the father of slain WSJ journalist Daniel Pearl, Judea Pearl turns 81… Louisville, Kentucky resident and principal of Bluegrass Progressive Strategists, Mark Ament turns 66… Celebrity doctor who is a board-certified internist, addiction medicine specialist and media personality, best known as “Dr. Drew,” Drew Pinsky, M.D. turns 59… Former member of the US House of Representatives from New York’s 9th district (1999-2011), Anthony Weiner turns 53… Member of Knesset for the Labor / Zionist Union party and the Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, he was the Secretary General of the Labor party until early 2017, Yehiel Bar turns 42… Special assistant and personal aide to President George W. Bush (2006-2009), Partner of Thrive Capital, Jared Weinstein turns 38… Actor Max Greenfield turns 37… Real estate strategic advisor, political strategist and commentator, E. O’Brien (“Obi”) Murray… Professor in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, Edmundo N. Kraiselburd, Ph.D…. Melissa Kaplan…

Gratuity not included. We love receiving news tips but we also gladly accept tax deductible tips. 100% of your donation will go directly towards improving Jewish Insider. Thanks! [PayPal]

Daily Kickoff: Trump admin taking “multi-years” approach to peace process | Zuckerman selling Daily News | Bibi Chief of Staff curse | Amar’e retires Read More »

GET HOME DELIVERY! CLICK HERE »

Jewish Journal

Connect. Inform. Inspire.

Jewish Journal

Bubbe lives in the path of Hurricane Irma. Now what?

Jeffrey Tuchman, groundbreaking documentarian, dies at 62

Video: Do You Think Science and Religion Can Coexist?

Episode 54 – How did an Israeli graphic novelist meet the most wanted man in Italy?

UN Ambassador Nikki Haley lays out case for US leaving Iran deal

Jewish woman sues Denny’s for serving bacon in her vegetarian omelet

UC Irvine anti-Israel group punished for disrupting pro-Israel event

The lie at the heart of the DACA repeal

Jewish groups attack Trump’s DACA decision as immoral

Daily Kickoff: Trump admin taking “multi-years” approach to peace process | Zuckerman selling Daily News | Bibi Chief of Staff curse | Amar’e retires

Jewish Journal