| | Good Friday morning. In today’s Daily Kickoff , we take a deep dive into the internal politics roiling College Democrats of America as it takes a position in support of campus anti-Israel protests, and report on efforts by European nations to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff : April Delaney, Sen. Bill Cassidy and Hannah Einbinder. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a ceremony at the White House this afternoon. A new lawsuit filed by victims and survivors of the Oct. 7 attack seeks to prove that there are direct ties between Hamas and the groups helping to organize and stoke anti-Israel demonstrations on campuses throughout the U.S. The suit, filed against American Muslims for Palestine, National Students for Justice in Palestine and affiliated groups, alleges that, in organizing and distributing anti-Israel and pro-Hamas activity and materials, the groups were responding to calls from Hamas for mass mobilization in the West and thereby were providing material support, via public relations and propaganda, for terrorism in violation of U.S. law. “Those groups that began promoting and facilitating anti-Israel protests immediately following the Hamas massacre on Oct 7 — weeks before Israeli forces entered Gaza — appear to have answered Hamas’ call for mass mobilization. Recall the template fliers featuring militants on hand gliders of the kind Hamas used on Oct 7. This is an important case,” Matthew Levitt, the director of the Jeanette and Eli Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told Jewish Insider. If the plaintiffs are able to successfully argue that AMP and NSJP are providing support for terrorism, it could open the door for both civil and criminal penalties for the groups. The litigation will likely be time-consuming, and a resolution could be years away. AMP is also the subject of an ongoing lawsuit by the family of Daniel Boim, who was killed in a terror attack in the West Bank in 2004. That suit seeks to prove that AMP is an alter ego of U.S. charities previously found to have provided funding to Hamas, and the organization is attempting to avoid sanctions awarded to the Boim family in a prior case. The new suit, organized by a major U.S. law firm (Greenberg Traurig), takes those claims a step further in seeking to tie AMP directly to Hamas. Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, has publicly outlined links among AMP, SJP and those shuttered organizations, highlighting crossovers in staffing and leadership. Schanzer questioned at a congressional hearing last year whether they are “providing support for Hamas under a different name.” But even as the pressure mounts on the anti-Israel groups, several university presidents are taking the path of appeasing anti-Israel organizers instead of confronting them — an approach epitomized by Northwestern University’s administration. After seven Jewish members of Northwestern University’s antisemitism advisory committee stepped down, the university faced further pushback from Jewish community advocates. Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, Jewish Federations of North America CEO Eric Fingerhut and Rachel Garbow Monroe, president and CEO of the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, sent a letter to the university expressing “dismay and disgust” at the school’s handling of antisemitism and calling for “an immediate change.” (All three are Northwestern alumni.) The committee announced last night that it was disbanding, citing the mass resignations. April McClain Delaney, a Northwestern trustee and a Democratic congressional candidate in Maryland, weighed in on the campus situation for the first time in a statement to JI, although she did not specifically mention Northwestern or any events happening there. "It is my strong belief that antisemitism on college campuses cannot be tolerated in any way and that the demonstrations at colleges across the country have veered disturbingly and dangerously into antisemitism,” she said. “It is the responsibility of political leaders, law enforcement and university presidents to ensure that Jewish students are able to pursue their studies without fear or harassment and that they work together to restore peaceful environments where students can continue their academic pursuits." Delaney is running in a crowded primary to represent Maryland’s 6th Congressional District, which is an open seat since Rep. David Trone (D-MD) is running for Senate. The seat was represented by Delaney’s husband, John Delaney, from 2013 to 2019. Among Delaney’s eight competitors are Joe Vogel, a Gen-Z state delegate with strong ties to the Jewish community. In other political news: This week, we reported that embattled Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) was holding a fundraiser Thursday night with left-wing Jewish figures — including New York City Comptroller Brad Lander — who have been hostile towards Israel and deferential to the anti-Israel and antisemitic protests taking place on college campuses. There’s another guest that headlined the Bowman fundraiser on the Upper West Side: Columbia University law professor Katherine Franke, who was featured as one of the more notorious anti-Israel faculty members on campus during the House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing focused on antisemitism at Columbia University last month. Franke, who is on the school’s executive committee for the Center for Palestine Studies, signed a letter characterizing the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks as an example of the group’s “right to resist.” She was criticized at the hearing for a radio interview where she said “all Israeli students who served in the IDF are dangerous and shouldn’t be on campus.” At the April hearing, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik said senior university officials had spoken to Franke about her remarks, and that she was encouraged to apologize. (She hasn’t, only claiming that her comments were misinterpreted.) Spread the word! Invite your friends to sign up.👇 Share with a friend | student strife Inside the College Democrats' antisemitism problem  GRACE YOON/ANADOLU VIA GETTY IMAGES As anti-Israel encampments on college campuses sprung up at dozens of universities last week, the national leadership of the College Democrats of America (CDA) asked the group’s Jewish and Muslim caucuses to draft a statement condemning the antisemitism that was quickly appearing among some protesters. The byzantine process that followed would lead the College Democrats’ top Jewish leader to accuse the influential organization of ignoring antisemitism at campus protests to further a one-sided, anti-Israel agenda, after the organization’s leadership nixed a more inclusive statement that had been created by the top Jewish and Muslim activists in the group, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Third time’s the charm: Allyson Bell, chair of the CDA’s national Jewish caucus and an MBA student at Meredith College in Raleigh, N.C., got to work writing a statement about antisemitism with Hasan Pyarali, the Muslim caucus chair and a senior at Wake Forest University. After two drafts — one with a sole focus on antisemitism, and another that condemned antisemitism while also offering support for peaceful protests, according to documents shared with JI — the group instead authored another statement without Bell.
Far-out language: The statement that was ultimately released by the College Democrats on Tuesday ignored the middle path proposed by Bell and Pyarali. Instead, the statement described “heroic actions on the part of students around the country to protest and sit in for an end to the war in Palestine and the release of the hostages.” It called Israel’s war against Hamas “destructive, genocidal, and unjust,” language that Bell had never seen and that diverged sharply from President Joe Biden’s position. An Instagram post with the statement touted the endorsement of Pyarali and the Muslim caucus, with no mention of the Jewish caucus — except a comment on the post from the Jewish caucus’ own Instagram account, saying, “Protect Jewish students, do better.”
Hurtful moment: “It's a hurtful thing, not only to not feel heard, but also to know that the organization you're in doesn't believe that the antisemitism is happening and doesn’t care enough about it to even include the factual things that we've seen on video,” Bell told JI. “At this point, I've kind of just decided that it's worth speaking out about, even if it means that I need to move away from College Democrats of America.”
Party ties: The College Democrats statement is notable because the group touts itself as the official collegiate arm of the Democratic National Committee, the party’s campaign apparatus. The group endorsed Biden’s reelection campaign, and in the past it has served as a crucial tool for reaching young people in an election year, even as the organization has drifted far to the left of the national party in recent years. Spokespeople for the DNC and the Biden campaign declined to comment when asked if they support the message adopted by College Democrats.
Read the full story here. Cancellation call: A group of University of Maryland, Baltimore School of Social Work students has threatened to protest the school’s May 17 graduation over the scheduled keynote speaker, Sen. Ben Cardin, (D-MD), the state’s senior senator and a pro-Israel stalwart, eJewishPhilanthropy’s Haley Cohen reports for JI. campus concern Biden condemns violence, antisemitism at campus protests  KEVIN DIETSCH/GETTY IMAGES In a surprise White House address on Thursday morning, President Joe Biden condemned the violent protests that have swept American college campuses and decried the antisemitism that has taken place at many of the demonstrations, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Drawing a line: In a brief speech lasting just over three minutes — his first major comments on the campus turmoil — Biden drew a clear differentiation between lawful protests and the violence that has occurred on some campuses. “Violent protest is not protected. Peaceful protest is. It's against the law when violence occurs,” the president said. “Destroying property is not a peaceful protest. It's against the law. Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancellation of classes and graduation — none of this is a peaceful protest. Threatening people, intimidating people, instilling fear in people is not a peaceful protest. It’s against the law.”
Call out antisemitism: Biden specifically called out the hate experienced by Jewish students on many campuses. “Let’s be clear about this as well: There should be no place on any campus, no place in America, for antisemitism or threats of violence against Jewish students,” said Biden.
No policy change: The president did not mention Israel or anti-Zionist rhetoric, nor did he make any reference to the content of the protests or the protesters’ demands. But Biden said “no” when asked by a reporter if the protests will lead him to reconsider his policy in the Middle East. He also responded with a “no” when asked if the National Guard should intervene.
Read the full story here.
Bonus: Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff spoke on Thursday with Jewish students at Columbia and Barnard, and with Hillel leaders at Emory University, the University of Texas at Austin and Hillels of Georgia. “No one should be harassed and targeted simply because of who they are. Students want to go to class, and they want to feel safe,” Emhoff said in a post on X. state debate Israel braces for wave of Palestinian state recognitions  SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES Israel is pushing back as the United Nations as well as several countries in Europe and beyond are expected to recognize a Palestinian state in the coming weeks. After months of debate among U.N. member states, individual countries and parliaments over whether to recognize an independent Palestinian state, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said this week that five European states could do so by the end of May. In addition, the U.N. General Assembly is expected to vote on Palestinian membership on May 10, following a U.S. veto in the Security Council last month, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
Erdan’s reaction: Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Gilad Erdan told the General Assembly on Wednesday that “by advancing a Palestinian state, you are telling the Hamas murderers and rapists that terror pays off. It makes me want to vomit. You know the Palestinian Authority doesn’t meet the criteria for statehood.” Erdan added, “You prefer a rogue state and to hell with the Jewish state. This is a clear message to the Palestinians that they never, ever, ever have to sit at the negotiating table, let alone make any compromises.”
Background: The majority of U.N. states already recognize a Palestinian state. When the question of promoting “Palestine” from observer status to full U.N. membership was brought to the Security Council in April, 12 members voted in favor, with Britain and Switzerland abstaining, while the U.S. vetoed the resolution. The resolution, which is nonbinding, is set to go to a General Assembly vote next week; only the Security Council can admit new member states to the U.N.
Leading the effort: The leaders of Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and Malta announced in March their "readiness to recognize Palestine," arguing that "the circumstances are right." Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has been a leading figure in the push for Palestinian statehood, lobbying other European states to join the effort. Sánchez told journalists traveling with him to Amman, Jordan, last month that he aims to have his government recognize a Palestinian state "in the first half of this year," and expressed hope that a "critical mass" of Western states will follow suit.
Read the full story here.
Court concerns: Lawmakers on Capitol Hill, on both sides of the aisle, are raising concerns about the possibility of International Criminal Court arrest warrants targeting Israeli officials over the war in Gaza, with some floating retaliatory measures including possible sanctions, JI’s Marc Rod and Emily Jacobs report. exclusive Sen. Bill Cassidy renews call for Bernie Sanders to hold antisemitism hearing  CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), the top Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, sent a letter to Senate HELP Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Thursday urging him to convene a hearing on the uptick in antisemitism on college campuses. Cassidy’s letter, obtained exclusively by Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs, marks the second time in six months that the Louisiana senator has written to Sanders requesting that he allow for a full committee hearing “on ensuring safe learning environments for Jewish students, as required by the Civil Rights Act of 1964.” Cassidy released a statement last week re-upping his call for a hearing, though he told JI that effort got no response.
Declining situation: “It is our duty to ensure federal officials are doing everything in their power to uphold the law and ensure students are not excluded from participation, denied the benefits of, or subject to discrimination at school based on race, color, or national origin,” Cassidy wrote to Sanders. “In the six months since my last letter requesting a hearing, the situation has only gotten worse.”
Direct discussion: Cassidy asked that Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and Catherine Lhamon, the Department of Education’s assistant secretary for civil rights, be invited to testify, saying that the committee “must engage in a direct discussion” with both “about the actions they are taking to address antisemitism on college campuses.”
Sanders’ speech: For his part, Sanders delivered a Senate floor speech on Wednesday largely expressing support for anti-Israel protests on college campuses and rejecting many of the accusations of antisemitism leveled at anti-Israel demonstrators. “Protesting injustice and expressing our opinions is part of our American tradition. And when you talk about America being a free country, whether you like it or not the right to protest is what American freedom is all about. That’s the U.S. Constitution,” Sanders said. “I share those concerns about violence on campuses, or, for that matter, any place else, and I condemn those who threw a brick through a window at Columbia University. That kind of violence should not be taking place on college campuses. I am also concerned and condemn the group of individuals at UCLA in California who violently attacked the peaceful encampment of anti-war demonstrators on the campus of UCLA.”
Read the full story here. on the hill Senate GOP demands Democrats hold hearings on campus antisemitism  Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans penned a letter on Thursday to the committee chair, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), to request that he hold a hearing on how the uptick in antisemitism on college campuses is violating the civil rights of Jewish students. The letter was led by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), the top Republican on the committee, and signed by every Republican who serves on the panel, including Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Josh Hawley (R-MO), John Kennedy (R-LA) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.
Committee call: The senators urged Durbin to convene a hearing "on the civil rights violations of Jewish students" and "the proliferation of terrorist ideology -- two issues that fall squarely within this Committee's purview.” The group wrote: "With this current state of inaction, it is incumbent upon this Committee to shed light on these civil rights violations. This Committee owes it to Jewish students, and all students who attend universities with modest hope of having a safe learning environment, to examine these civil rights violations.” A spokesperson for Durbin did not immediately respond to JI’s request for comment on the letter.
GWU response: Separately, Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) requested a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser’s response to protests at The George Washington University’s campus this week. The duo penned a letter on Thursday to Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), who chairs the committee, requesting he bring in Bowser and D.C. Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith to testify on their respective responses to university requests to bring DCMP onto campus to clear out an anti-Israel encampment, requests Bowser denied.
Read the full story here. AAA ISSUES House-passed antisemitism bill faces initial objections in Senate  DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES The fate of the House-passed Antisemitism Awareness Act (AAA) in the Senate remains unclear after a bipartisan effort to unanimously fast-track passage of the bill encountered objections on both sides of the aisle. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told reporters on Thursday, “There are objections on both sides, so we're going to look for the best way to move forward.” He was unable to offer a timeline on when he would announce next steps, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Emily Jacobs report.
‘Holding pattern’: One senior GOP senator who serves on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) leadership team, speaking on condition of anonymity, told JI on Thursday afternoon that the AAA was "in a holding pattern" after it became clear midday that the bill would not pass by unanimous consent. The bill will likely have to be included in a broader package of legislation if it is to move forward through the Senate.
On the right: Objections to the bill on the right have been growing on and off the Hill, with populist influencers Tucker Carlson and Charlie Kirk on Thursday echoing Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Matt Gaetz’s (R-FL) accusations that the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism would label the Bible as antisemitic, claiming that Christian scripture dictates that Jews are responsible for Jesus’s death. Other Republicans opposing the bill, claiming it limits free speech, include Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Ron Johnson (R-WI) and, reportedly, Mike Lee (R-UT).
Time to think: Kenneth Marcus, the founder and president of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law who implemented the executive order as the head of the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights under the Trump administration, told JI that it hasn’t been unusual to see some initial conservative concerns during state-level legislative battles over IHRA. “Sometimes they are persuaded, and sometimes they’re outvoted, but more often than not, cooler heads will prevail,” Marcus said. He said he thinks some senators are just starting to give thought to the bill and that, given sufficient time, supporters will be able to bring them on board. Marcus added that those claiming the bill would encroach on free speech “really have a misunderstanding of the way the statute would work.”
Read the full story here.
Bonus: Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), a supporter of the IHRA definition who voted against the AAA in the House, called the bill “unconstitutional.” “It does not solve the problems that we are having here on campuses. What it does is restrict academic freedom,” he continued. “We don't need a different law to solve the problem that we are seeing right now… We need leadership of these universities to enforce the laws that already exist.” | What’s in Their Hearts: In USA Today, Elisha Wiesel weighs in on the campus anti-Israel demonstrations. “Some are surely there not because they have a deep understanding of the Middle East, nor even necessarily tremendous empathy, but for the excitement, the illusion of camaraderie, the chance to demonstrate to their classmates that they are as righteous and revolutionary as anyone else. The demagogues offer them a chance to be part of the club. All one needs to do is treat the Jews as the ‘other,’ the one nation not allowed to defend itself from rape, terror and murder. And surely some are there out of genuine compassion and the desire to follow their conscience. We have no way of knowing what is in their hearts. But all who chant these slogans must agree to the same price: Blame the Jews. Universities are obliged to allow free speech. They are also obliged to make sure that every one of their students can attend their classes free of harassment and verbal assault. But above all, they are obliged to teach.” [USAToday]
Reality Check: In the Jewish Review of Books, Shalom Hartman Institute President Yehuda Kurtzer writes about the recent film “Israelism” and reflects on conversations with college students about the documentary, which focuses on millennial anti-Zionists. “As a liberal Zionist, I aspire to be what Michael Walzer has famously called a ‘connected critic,’ and I struggled watching Israelism and its translation of complexity into conspiracy. Entirely missing from the film was the majority of Jewish leaders and educators in America who know and teach about Palestinians and occupation, neither lying to their students nor concluding that Israel’s challenges require them to abandon their loyalties. Where, in Israelism’s world, are the majority of American Jews — and the majority of Israelis — who know the present is untenable but fear the alternatives? Or the parallel majority on the Palestinian side, who know that the path toward mutual safety and security lies in recognizing our inextricability? And what happens to us in this desperate attempt to generate mass appeal for the most populist and partisan version of our impossible story?” [JewishReviewofBooks]
History Lesson: The New York Times’ David Brooks looks to history as he contemplates what effect the campus protests could have on the November presidential election. “In the 1960s, for example, millions of young people were moved to protest the war in Vietnam, and history has vindicated their position. But Republicans were quick to use the excesses of the student protest movement to their advantage. In 1966, Ronald Reagan vowed ‘to clean up the mess at Berkeley' and was elected governor of California. In 1968, Richard Nixon celebrated the ‘forgotten Americans — the nonshouters; the nondemonstrators’ and was elected to the presidency. Far from leading to a new progressive era, the uprisings of the era were followed by what was arguably the most conservative period in American history.” [NYTimes]
Cost of War: In The Wall Street Journal, Lance Morrow considers the “tragic arithmetic” of the Israel-Hamas war. “Hamas operates by Hama Rules. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators don’t tell us how Israel should respond when assaulted thus. A cease-fire now wouldn’t be enough, in this view — if Israel had any decency, it would vanish from the face of the earth. Next morning, the land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea would revert to the fig tree and the olive grove and the plashing of fountains: to the prelapsarian, pre-1948 never land of all-Palestinian Palestine. And all would be well. From the river to the sea, the land would be, in the Nazis’ wistful term, judenrein — cleansed of Jews. In Gaza the cost in innocent Palestinian lives is high. The arithmetic is bitter indeed. But the grown-up world, if it still exists, must face it. Decent people grieve for the innocent Palestinians. They are victims of Hamas, of its evil leadership and deeds.” [WSJ] | Be featured: Email us to inform the JI readership of your upcoming event, job opening, or other communication. | Stolen Aid: The State Department said that Hamas seized a large shipment of Jordanian aid that arrived in the enclave earlier this week; an individual with knowledge of the incident told JI that the convoy was carrying flour from the World Food Programme.
Oct. 7 Death Toll: A Kibbutz Be’eri resident believed to have been taken hostage alive was determined to have been killed on Oct. 7; Dror Or’s wife was also killed during the terror attack, during which two of their three children were taken hostage.
Cease-fire Conversation: Hamas plans to send a delegation to Cairo to continue negotiations over a potential cease-fire and hostage release, with a delegation arriving as early as Friday.
Invite to Bibi: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is expected to join House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress.
Task Force Convening: The White House’s antisemitism task force convened in Washington on Wednesday; officials in attendance included Attorney General Merrick Garland, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt and Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat, the chair of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.
The Parent Trap: The Wall Street Journal reports on efforts by parents of students on campuses with anti-Israel protest movements to push back against those administrations’ responses to the demonstrations.
On the Ground: Daniel Gordis’ “Israel from the Inside” Substack publishes an English-language version of an essay written by an Israeli graduate student at Stanford University about his experiences on the campus.
Outside Interference: The NYPD said that more than a quarter of those arrested at anti-Israel protests at Columbia University this week and more than 60% of those arrested in similar demonstrations at CUNY were not affiliated with either school.
Altman + Apex: Israeli AI security startup Apex raised $7 million in a round co-led by Sequoia Capital and Index Ventures; among the angel investors is OpenAI’s Sam Altman.
Paramount Proposal: Sony and Apollo Global Management jointly submitted a $26 billion offer to acquire Paramount Global, which had previously been in talks with David Ellison’s Skydance Media.
Hims Hires: Hims founder and CEO Andrew Dudum expressed support for the campus protests, encouraging participants to apply for jobs at the telehealth company.
High Court: The Wall Street Journal looks at an under-the-radar Supreme Court case filed by Defense Department employee Stuart Harrow over $3,000 in lost wages.
Funny Girl: The Washington Post spotlights comic Hannah Einbinder ahead of the release of her stand-up special, “Everything Must Go,” next month.
Alex’s Award: Comedian Alex Edelman will be honored with a special Tony Award for his one-man show, “Just For Us,” about his experience attending a gathering of white supremacists in Queens.
Across the Pond: Recent municipal elections across the U.K. indicate that the Israel-Hamas war is factoring into voters’ decisions, with some traditional Labour strongholds flipping amid criticism of Labour leader Keir Starmer over his response to the war and refusal to call for a cease-fire in the early months of the conflict, even as Labour made gains across the country.
Turkey Tensions: Turkey announced it is halting trade with Israel, citing the ongoing war in Gaza.
Bogota’s Bind: Colombia’s decision to cut ties with Israel could threaten Bogota’s ability to fight drug cartels and crime in the South American country, which uses Israeli-made weaponry that can only be serviced by Israeli companies.
On the Sea: Iran’s foreign minister said the country had released all crew of a Portuguese-flagged ship linked to Israel, but remained in possession of the vessel.
Eye on Iran: The Wall Street Journal suggests that Iran’s missile and drone attack on Israel last month was instructive for North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, as Pyongyang faces similar U.S.-backed adversaries in Japan and South Korea.
EU Aid: The European Union announced an aid package to Lebanon totaling more than $1 billion, in an effort to bolster efforts to stop asylum seekers from transiting to Cyprus and Greece. | JI wine columnist Yitz Applbaum reviews the Chateau Malartic Lagraviere White 2020:
As I look back on the unforgettable Passover we just experienced in Europe, I find myself reflecting on the most cherished moments of our journey. Was it the awe-inspiring Doheny Synagogue in Budapest or the grandeur of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna? After much contemplation, I realized that the true highlight was the discovery of the Chateau Malartic Lagraviere White 2020 Bordeaux. This Bordeaux blend, crafted with meticulous care and aged to perfection, opens with an earth-shattering sweetness that has apple cake written all over it. The mid-palate is a whirlpool of chocolate mousse, and the finish is a blend of dried apricot and fresh lime. This wine lingers on your tongue and leaves a lasting impression on your psyche. Purchase as much as possible while it's available; this wine should last at least five years. Enjoy with your extra Shmurah matzah and mayonnaise. |  courtesy Karin Mayer Rubinstein, CEO and president of Israel's Association of the Tech Industries (IATI), led the bell-ringing ceremony at Nasdaq Exchange in New York on Thursday. She was joined by Israeli business leaders as well as Mark Wilf, chairman of the board of the Jewish Agency for Israel. |  Leonardo Cendamo/Getty Images Pulitzer Prize-winning author of three nonfiction books, historian and journalist, Tom Reiss turns 60 on Sunday...
FRIDAY: Writer and founder of the New Americans Museum in San Diego, Deborah Shainman Szekely turns 102... Founder and CEO of Westgate Resorts, David A. Siegel turns 89... Senior research scholar at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism at Reichman University, Ely Karmon, Ph.D. turns 83... Television journalist, David Marash turns 82... U.S. Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID) turns 81... Venture capitalist and economist, William H. Janeway turns 81... Francine Holtzman... U.S. senator (D-OR), his original family name was Weidenreich, Ron Wyden turns 75... Six-time Tony Award-winning Broadway producer, Stewart F. Lane turns 73... Retired attorney, he represented political parties, campaigns, candidates, governors and members of Congress on election law matters, Benjamin L. Ginsberg turns 72... Retired in 2017 as chair and CEO of multinational food and beverage company Mondelez International, Irene Rosenfeld turns 71... Retired partner from the Chicago office of DLA Piper, Mark D. Yura turns 71... Political reporter and columnist for The Richmond Times-Dispatch, Jeff E. Schapiro... Retired senior advisor at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Susan Steinmetz... EVP at NBCUniversal News Group, Stephen Labaton turns 63... Former owner of the NBA's Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center, Mikhail Prokhorov turns 59... Lobbyist since 2010, he was previously deputy assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs in the Bush 43 administration, Scott A. Kamins... Veteran of 13 NHL seasons, who in 2005 sat out a hockey game to observe Yom Kippur, he is now an assistant coach for the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning, Jeff Halpern turns 48... Israeli singer and actress, winner of multiple Israeli Female Singer of the Year awards, Miri Mesika turns 46... Reporter for Politico New Jersey and author of New Jersey's Playbook, Matthew R. Friedman... Educated at the Hebrew Academy of San Francisco, he was a defensive lineman in the NFL from 2004 until 2011, Igor Olshansky turns 42... Managing director and co-head of executive communications of SKDKnickerbocker, Stephen Andrew Krupin... President of Flaxman Strategies, Seth Flaxman... Israeli minister for women's advancement, May Golan turns 38... Benjamin S. Davis… Director of the Judaism and State Policy Center at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Israel, Tani Frank… Foreign correspondent for NBC and a former Middle East correspondent for the Daily Telegraph, Raf Sanchez...
SATURDAY: Former chairman and CEO of American International Group, now chairman and CEO of the Starr Companies, Maurice Raymond "Hank" Greenberg turns 99... Executive director of the Texas A&M Hillel for 30 years, now a security consultant for the tourism industry, Peter E. Tarlow turns 78... U.S. special envoy for climate change in the Obama administration, now a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, Todd D. Stern turns 73... Executive director at Har Sinai Oheb Shalom Congregation in Baltimore, Lee Sherman... Partner at NYC-based Mintz & Gold, he was EVP and general counsel for both the Las Vegas Sands and News Corporation, Lawrence "Lon" A. Jacobs... Northern Virginia-based portrait artist, Ilisa G. Calderon... Member of the U.S. House of Representatives (D-VT), Rebecca A. "Becca" Balint turns 56... Triathlete and winner of international ironman competitions, Joanna Sue Zeiger turns 54... Director of congregational education at NYC's Park Avenue Synagogue, Bradley Solmsen... State Attorney for Palm Beach County, Fla., Dave Aronberg turns 53... Chair and director at NYC's department of city planning, Daniel Garodnick... Mechal Wakslak... President of national expansion at Veterans Community Project, he served as the secretary of state of Missouri, Jason Kander turns 43... Managing director of food programs at NYC's Met Council on Jewish Poverty, Jessica Chait... Tech entrepreneur, best known as a co-founder of both Vine and HQ Trivia, Rus Yusupov turns 40... SVP at BerlinRosen, Allison Fran Bormel... Director of development at Americans for Ben-Gurion University, Rebecca Leibowitz Wasserstrom... Production coordinator and assistant to the executive producer of ABC's “General Hospital,” Steven A. Rosenberg... Speechwriter and senior advisor to the secretary of state, Shana Mansbach... Manager of public policy and external affairs at Meta/Facebook, Sasha Altschuler... Actor best known for voicing the title character of the animated film “Finding Nemo,” Alexander Gould turns 30... Manager of member relations and engagement at British American Business, Elliot Miller... Medalist in the women's halfpipe event at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, Arielle Townsend Gold turns 28... Consultant at The Boston Consulting Group, Olivia Breuer...
SUNDAY: Senior U.S. district judge for the Northern District of Illinois, Robert W. Gettleman turns 81... Journalist, columnist, author, Richard Bernstein turns 80... Best-selling author of 20 novels, Linda Fairstein turns 77... Retired chief judge on the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, he was once president of the Jewish Community Council of Washington, Peter B. Krauser turns 77... Docent at NYC's Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ruth Klein Schwalbe... Gayle Schochet... Member of the Knesset, almost continuously since 1988, for the Haredi parties of Degel HaTorah and United Torah Judaism, Moshe Gafni turns 72... President of American Jewish World Service, Robert Bank turns 65... David Shamir... Managing director of Lauder Partners, Gary Lauder turns 62... Senior managing director of Jewish Funders Network, he is a graduate of Yeshiva College and Yale Law School, Yossi Prager... Emmy Award-winning television writer and producer, known for “The Simpsons,” Josh Weinstein turns 58... Special education consultant and nanny, Nancy Simcha Cook Kimsey... Owner of D.C.-based PR firm Rosen Communications, Nicole Rosen... Director of public relations at UJA-Federation of New York, Emily Kutner... Executive director of Micah Philanthropies, Deena Fuchs... Head coach of the football team at the University of Washington, Jedd Ari Fisch turns 48... President of Charleston, S.C.-based InterTech Group, Jonathan Zucker... News correspondent, Lara Berman Krinsky turns 44... Former Israeli national soccer team captain, Yossi Benayoun turns 44... Mayor of Bat Yam, Israel, Tzvika Brot turns 44... Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives since 2013, Michael H. Schlossberg turns 41... Former professional golfer, now an orthopedic surgeon, David Bartos Merkow, MD turns 39... Partner at New Enterprise Associates, Andrew Adams Schoen... Maxine Fuchs... Blake E. Goodman... | | | | | |
