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

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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]

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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…

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