| | Good Friday morning. In today’s Daily Kickoff , we look at the challenges facing LGBTQ Jews during this month’s Pride celebrations, talk to AJC CEO Ted Deutch about next week’s Global Forum in Washington and report on a push by Jewish groups for an increase in funding to the Office of Civil Rights. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff : retired Gen. Frank McKenzie, Ashlee Margolis and Rachel Smolkin. For less-distracted reading over the weekend, browse this week’s edition of The Weekly Print, a curated print-friendly PDF featuring a selection of recent Jewish Insider, eJewishPhilanthropy and The Circuit stories, including: Israeli students in U.S. warn peers against studying at American campuses; In social media war against AIPAC, Rep. Mark Pocan advances antisemitic tropes; Inside the fierce debate over aid to Gaza. Print the latest edition here. July 24 is the date for the joint session of Congress with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a statement released by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports. The previously reported date – June 13 – was one on which President Joe Biden was scheduled to be out of the country. Netanyahu’s office rejected it because American Jews will still be celebrating Shavuot that day; his office has yet to confirm the new date. Netanyahu now has more than a month to prepare for his speech — likely with assistance from Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, his closest confidant, and diplomatic adviser Ophir Falk — a high-stakes address that “will present the truth about our just war,” as the prime minister said in a statement accepting the invitation to Congress last week. Democrats in Congress remain split on whether they will attend the speech, while some who plan to attend have suggested they will disrupt portions of the address. Netanyahu will likely be back to his “fully right-wing” government by the time he’s in D.C., as Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz's June 8 deadline to leave the government is fast approaching. Gantz previously threatened to leave the war cabinet unless the prime minister outlined a plan for a postwar Gaza. Read more below. In political news closer to home: An embattled Squad member, Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), is facing growing political problems of her own back home. A group of more than 30 St. Louis-area rabbis endorsed St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell, Bush’s primary challenger, on Wednesday. The group described Bell as a supportive ally who “immediately reached out to console us following Oct. 7, committed to being a voice for our community and made clear he was our much-needed ally.” Bush, meanwhile, has a “long track record of anti-Israel votes [and] has continually fanned the flames with the most outrageous smears of Israel, accusing the Jewish state of ‘ethnic cleansing’ and ‘genocide’ as it has fought to defeat the terrorists,” the Jewish leaders said, accusing her of ignoring the Jewish community’s outreach. Bush also faces growing spending from AIPAC’s super PAC on behalf of Bell. The United Democracy Project ad campaign announced hitting the $1 million mark on pro-Bell ads as of yesterday. The Biden Victory Fund is hosting a reelection fundraiser with Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff on Tuesday night in New York City at the new Hudson Yards location of Russ & Daughters, the iconic Jewish appetizing shop and cafe, Jewish Insider has learned. It’s not an explicitly Jewish event, but the host committee includes several well-known Jewish Democrats, among them gun violence prevention advocate Fred Guttenberg and former White House Jewish liaison Jarrod Bernstein. (Plus, one of the hosts pointed out, guests will be enjoying blintzes on the eve of Shavuot, a holiday where dairy is traditionally served.) The fundraiser is hosted by Niki Russ Federman and Josh Russ Tupper, cousins and fourth-generation co-owners of the restaurant, and Andrew Weinstein, a prominent Democratic fundraiser and lawyer who also serves as a public delegate to the United Nations, where he has been spearheading programming on antisemitism in recent months. Spread the word! Invite your friends to sign up.👇 Share with a friend | 'Exclusionary inclusion' ‘The call is coming from inside the house’: Why queer Jews fear discrimination at Pride events this month  ALEXI ROSENFELD/GETTY IMAGES As millions of LGBTQ people and their allies make plans to take part in Pride parades around the country this month, many Jewish members of the queer community are skeptical about joining the celebrations, fearful that their Jewish identity will lead them to face exclusion from a community that has for decades argued forcefully about the power of inclusion, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
Don’t hide: In recent weeks, Josh Maxey, executive director of Bet Mishpachah, an LGBTQ synagogue in Washington, D.C., has been fielding calls from queer Jews ahead of this weekend’s Capital Pride celebration, asking if they should take off their yarmulkes or their Stars of David, or if they should skip the festivities altogether. “I've been telling folks that you do what makes you feel comfortable, but know that the Jewish community is behind you, and we have each other's backs,” Maxey told JI. “This is not a moment in time where we should feel, as a Jewish community, we need to go into hiding.”
Anti-Israel identity: A strong anti-Zionist bent existed in corners of the LGBTQ community prior to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in Israel, but it has exploded in the months since. Organizations and activist groups that had never or only occasionally weighed in on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have now made opposition to the war, and to Israel, a key part of their identity.
Acting out: At the start of Pride month in June, ACT UP NY, an iconic anti-AIDS group, tore down a poster of Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) that was hanging in Trailblazers Park, a public space in Fire Island that opened two years ago to honor LGBTQ heroes. The group called Torres, a vocal supporter of Israel and one of the first two gay Black men to serve in Congress, “anything but a trailblazer.”
Not proud: “I find it truly ironic that there are anti-Israel LGBTQ activists who are essentially telling Jews to be in the closet about their Judaism and Zionism, to be ashamed of their Judaism, and that to me is not pride. That's a perversion of pride. That's the antithesis of what the LGBTQ community should stand for,” Torres told JI on Thursday.
Read the full story here. ted talk AJC CEO Ted Deutch emphasizes need for 'clear and consistent message' from Washington in support of Israel  JOHN LAMPARSKI/GETTY IMAGES American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch emphasized the importance of a “clear and consistent message” in support of Israel, and against Hamas and Oct. 7 misinformation from Congress and the administration, in an interview with Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod ahead of a major AJC convening in Washington, D.C., next week. AJC’s annual Global Forum begins on Sunday and is set to feature speakers such as National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, former Iran envoy Brian Hook, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and Canadian lawmaker Anthony Housefather, among a range of other speakers from the U.S. and around the world.
Focus points: Deutch said that rebuilding support for Israel on Capitol Hill begins with an emphasis on the Oct. 7 attack, “pushing back in the strongest way against those who have tried to rewrite the history of Oct. 7” and have supported terrorist groups through rhetoric and protests. He said that advocates for Israel must also highlight the threat that Iran poses to Israel, the U.S. and the rest of the world.
Fighting misinformation: Deutch emphasized that his former colleagues in Congress need to make sure that they’re “focused on what’s actually happening, and that we’re not distracted by misinformation and false narratives” and false equivalences between Hamas and Israel. “There needs to be moral clarity here, and pushing back against the lies of those who are calling for the destruction of Israel is of paramount importance as we defend Israel and, in turn, defend western civilization,” Deutch said.
Read the full interview here. counterview Former CENTCOM leader says Hamas maintains significant military and political power  Ahmad Seir/AP Retired Gen. Frank McKenzie, the former leader of United States Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East, said on Thursday that he believes Hamas maintains significant military and political power nearly eight months into the war in Gaza, even if it may lack the capacity to carry out another attack on the scale of Oct. 7. McKenzie, speaking at the Center for a New American Security, further emphasized that Israel “has not had significant success, in my judgment anyway,” at eliminating Hamas’ political and military leadership, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Significant power left: McKenzie’s comments provide a counterpoint to the Biden administration’s recent talking point that because Hamas can no longer carry out an attack on the scale of Oct. 7, Israel has effectively accomplished one of its key goals for the war. “The fact that Israel has had significant success in treating the foot soldiers, if you will, is a little bit misleading, because there's still, I think, a fairly effective residual combat power,” McKenzie said. “Maybe not enough to replicate what happened on 7 October, but still, there's significant combat power left inside, inside Gaza.”
Hard days ahead: McKenzie predicted that there are “still, I think, some hard days in this campaign ahead of us” because Hamas has stuck to “maximalist” demands that “have not actually changed from day one.”
Read the full story here. cabinet shakeup Gantz set to leave Israeli government as his deadline for postwar plans looms  ALEXI J. ROSENFELD/GETTY IMAGES Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz and his National Unity party are threatening to leave the government as early as this weekend, as the June 8 deadline Gantz set last month for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pass a plan for a postwar Gaza approaches, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports.
Gantz’s conditions: Last month, Gantz said the plan would need to include six conditions: returning the hostages; destroying Hamas; finding an alternative to Hamas to govern Gaza; allowing for residents of Israel's north to return home; advancing normalization with Saudi Arabia; and the creation of an outline for Haredim to serve in the IDF. As of Friday, the only condition that had been fulfilled was advancing a plan for Haredi enlistment – and it's a plan that Gantz does not support. The rest of the conditions relate to the Israeli proposal publicly described by President Joe Biden last week, as well as Hezbollah's escalation in the north, which has led even more Israelis to be evacuated from their homes and increased the chances of a second front opening in the ongoing war.
Exit concerns: The Biden administration reportedly expressed concern to Gantz about his possible departure. Einav Zanguaker, the mother of Hamas hostage Matan Zangauker, told Gantz on Thursday: "If you leave [the government]...what will be? You are abandoning Matan to die." Gantz responded that he is "committed to this struggle, no matter where I am."
Read the full story here. seminar speaker Lawyer with ties to Hamas-linked group to speak at D.C. gathering next week  TEMPLE GARDEN CHAMBERS website The National Press Club will host a conference next week featuring a British lawyer with ties to a Hamas-linked group. The two-hour seminar was organized by the International Human Rights Advisors and Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), the latter of which is headed by an anti-Israel activist who calls for a boycott of Israel, and will place a critical lens on the United States’ relationship with the United Arab Emirates, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports.
Hamas affiliation: Rhys Davies, a U.K.-based human rights attorney, will speak at next Tuesday’s event despite his ties to the Arab Organization for Human Rights in the U.K., a group led by a Hamas activist sanctioned by the Israeli government. Mohammad Jamil Hersh, AOHR’s founder and current director, was sanctioned by the Israeli government in 2019 for “his work with the designated terrorist organization ‘Arab Organization for Human Rights in UK,’ that belongs to and acts on behalf of the designated terrorist organization Hamas.” Then-Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett described the organization at the time as “a charity affiliated with Hamas.”
No comment: Davies did not respond to JI’s request for comment on whether he is still on the advisory board, with the page on the organization’s website having been taken down in 2021. He has continued to appear at AOHR events alongside Hersh since 2021, including at a forum where both discussed the potential legal routes to hold “the Israeli occupation accountable for its practices against Al-Aqsa Mosque” in December of 2022.
Read the full story here. scoop Broad coalition of Jewish groups urges 'highest possible funding' for Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights  JEMAL COUNTESS/GETTY IMAGES FOR JDRF In a letter sent to key members of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees on Friday, a coalition of 23 Jewish groups, spanning a range of political and denominational positions, urged Congress to “provide the highest possible funding” in 2025 for the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Broad backing: The widespread support for funding for the office, known as OCR, is notable given political divisions over the issue on Capitol Hill. Democrats critical of Republicans’ approach to combating antisemitism on campuses have emphasized calls for increased funding for the office. Some Republicans, meanwhile, have downplayed the need for additional funding for the office, often arguing that it has the resources it needs but must better prioritize antisemitism cases. But calls for increased funding span the political spectrum. In the 2024 funding process, a bipartisan group of 51 lawmakers urged Congress to provide funding in excess of the administration’s budget request for OCR.
Background: House Republicans sought to cut funding to OCR, the office responsible for investigating complaints of antisemitism on campuses, for 2024. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has said the office’s staff are severely overstretched, with each staffer working 50 cases in light of a post-Oct. 7 surge in complaints.
Responsibility: “It is Congress’s responsibility to ensure that OCR has the resources it needs to conduct immediate and robust investigations into these complaints. OCR cannot protect the rights, safety and wellbeing of students if it does not have adequate resources to appropriately investigate and respond to its increased caseload,” the letter reads.
Read the full story here. | The NATO Necessity: For MSNBC, Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) pen a joint op-ed touting the importance of NATO amid rising authoritarianism around the world. “As Americans, we must never forget the role we play when it comes to establishing and maintaining world order. NATO has remained united throughout these dangerous times because Americans have been engaged. That truth harkens back to World War II, when America answered the call to join the war and fight for democracy. Since Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, America has answered again — not by sending our men and women to fight on European soil, but by sending weapons, resources, equipment and training to Ukraine and our allies to ensure they can claim victory. The truth is: If Putin is successful in Ukraine, China, Iran or North Korea will not hesitate to follow his example of invading and conquering sovereign nations. It’s why we, senators from different parties, speak with one voice over and over again to urge our colleagues to support Ukraine and our allies. World War II taught us that what starts in a foreign land does not stay isolated. The ripple effects are felt across oceans and nations — even more so now in our globally connected world.” [MSNBC]
Neutrality on the Quad: The Washington Post’s Jason Willick considers the decision by some top universities to end the practice of issuing statements on current events and political causes. “It’s telling that the official turn toward neutrality is coming amid the ructions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Support for Israel, broadly speaking, is not a topic that divides liberals and conservatives so much as a topic that unites conservatives and divides liberals among themselves. Elite university leaders answer to primarily liberal stakeholders, including activist student organizations and left-leaning faculty, though alumni are probably more politically mixed. Institutional statements about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict of the kind university leaders had been offering about other issues — almost always on the progressive side — thus tend to fracture and inflame university politics. … If anything good comes of the campus fight over Israel, it might be that universities realize cause-based political advocacy in service of identity groups is an institutional dead end. But principles aren’t ratified when they are convenient to announce. They are ratified when implementing them entails risk and requires courage.” [WashPost]
Don’t Bury Bibi: In The Wall Street Journal, Israeli journalist Amit Segal posits that tensions between the U.S and Israel could potentially propel Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to future electoral success. “The polls also hint at an intriguing scenario: Mr. Netanyahu’s main competition might come from a new hawkish All-Stars party composed of several figures who will join forces and attack Mr. Netanyahu for not being hard-line enough. If Mr. Netanyahu loses, his successor may turn out to be even more Bibi than Bibi. Even those who come to bury Mr. Netanyahu shouldn’t think his ideology is dead, and in any event, it is premature for both. Since Oct. 7, a lot of people have been stopping me in the street to ask me if this is Mr. Security’s last term. Absolutely, I answer them. That’s what I thought about every one of his last four terms.” [WSJ]
Attending Harvard While Jewish: In Tablet, Harvard graduate student Shabbos Kestenbaum reflects on the last year on his campus, culminating in a large-scale walkout at the school’s commencement ceremony last month. “While I resigned myself to the hourslong spectacle of each successive speaker lambasting the ‘genocide in Gaza’ and ‘complicity of the [Harvard] administration,’ I was shocked, but not surprised, to see close to 1,000 students, faculty, and supporters interrupt the commencement and stage a mass walkout. While yelling about divestment and the supposedly draconian measures of temporarily suspending a handful of antisemitic students, the group demonstrated their hallmark tactic: making the narrative about themselves while ruining a public event for everyone else. Conveniently, Harvard will no longer have to comment on, let alone denounce, the disaster that was commencement. While I can provide countless more examples and infuriating testimony, I will conclude with these words: I have seldom experienced such disdain and contempt for a minority group as the way in which Harvard treats its Jewish student population.” [Tablet] | Be featured: Email us to inform the JI readership of your upcoming event, job opening, or other communication. | Northern War Warning: Biden administration officials have in recent weeks warned Israel that a “limited” war with Iranian proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon could provoke the terror group’s sponsor in Tehran.
Clooney’s Closeup: Actor George Clooney, who is slated to headline a fundraiser for President Joe Biden next month, reportedly called the White House last month to push back on the Biden administration’s criticism of the International Criminal Court’s actions against the Israeli government; Clooney’s wife, Amal Clooney, was a prosecutor involved in the decision to seek arrest warrants for top Israeli officials.
Shades of Gray: Far-left commentator Briahna Joy Gray, who repeatedly cast doubt on the sexual violence perpetrated against Israeli women on Oct. 7, was fired by The Hill. Before her ouster, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) highlighted a clip of her rolling her eyes and interrupting the sister of an Israeli hostage who urged her to believe Israeli women. “I have as much sympathy for Briahna Joy Gray as she has for the hostages. None,” Torres tweeted after her firing.
Pressing Hamas: The Biden administration is pushing Arab allies to exert pressure on Hamas to accept the terms of the recently proposed cease-fire and hostage-release deal; Oct. 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar, meanwhile, told negotiators that Hamas will only accept a deal that commits to a permanent cease-fire.
Clash Over PA: Axios reports on tensions between Emirati and Palestinian officials during a recent meeting with Secretary of State Tony Blinken, in which the Arab officials clashed over the Palestinian Authority’s resistance to implementing reforms.
Turtle Bay Talk: Israel is opposing a U.S.-led U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a cease-fire and return of the remaining hostages over a dispute in the resolution’s language.
Haley Voters: The Biden reelection campaign is targeting Republican voters who had previously backed former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley as potential supporters; the campaign tapped former Rep. Adam Kinzinger’s (R-IL) chief of staff to head the effort.
Backing Bowman: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) endorsed Bowman on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC rescinded its endorsement of former Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY), amid outcry from members about Jones’ backing of Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s (D-NY) opponent, Westchester County Executive George Latimer.
Get Off My Lawn: State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told anti-Israel protesters demonstrating outside of his home that he hopes “you’ll tell Hamas to accept the cease-fire deal.”
What’s Wrong With This Picture: Politico looks into why the White House did not arrange a photo with Jewish staffers to mark Jewish American History Month in May, as has been customary with minority groups, as well as Jewish staffers, in the past.
Pier Problems: A U.S. pier constructed off the coast of Gaza meant to assist in the delivery of aid to the enclave sustained at least $22 million in damage, the Pentagon assessed, and will need the repairs completed before the pier is again operational.
Declawing the Lion’s Den: The State Department announced sanctions on the Lion’s Den, a Palestinian militant group operating in the West Bank.
Settler Sanctions: The Associated Press looks at the impact that U.S.-imposed sanctions have had on West Bank settlers since the measures were put in place.
Press Push: Newsguild, the country’s top news union, is facing internal criticism and pushback from dues-paying members over union leaders’ anti-Israel activism.
Taking a Stance: The NAACP called on the Biden administration to halt arms shipments to Israel.
Flag Fracas: An auto repair shop in Jacksonville, Fla., is under fire for flying a flag with a swastika; the shop’s Palestinian-American businessman said he hung the flag “in remembrance of the Holocaust,” describing the war in Gaza as a “modern-day Holocaust.”
On the Rise: The NYPD reported 55 antisemitic incidents in the month of May, the highest number of incidents since November 2023.
Pause for a Cause: Los Angeles publicist Ashlee Margolis instructed her employees at The A List to pause working with celebrities who use their platforms to share anti-Israel content.
In the Courts: A Palestinian-American software engineer who was fired from Meta is suing the company, alleging he was terminated because of his national origin and for investigating the alleged suppression of a Palestinian photojournalist’s posts; Meta said Ferras Hamad was let go for violating the company’s data-access policies.
Display Drama: An exhibition at San Francisco’s Contemporary Jewish Museum will go forward without the inclusion of six pieces submitted by artists critical of Israel, after the artists withdrew when the museum wouldn’t agree to a litany of demands, including control over how the works would be displayed and the museum’s full divestment from Israel.
Raw Material: Following an uproar, the Portland Teachers Union took down teaching materials that referred to Israelis as colonialist settlers, described Israel as being an “apartheid” state and said that Hamas was a “Palestinian Resistance Force.”
D-Day Moment: A touching moment between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a WWII veteran from Maryland was captured on video during Thursday’s D-Day commemoration events in France; 99-year-old Melvin Hurwitz told Zelensky he was “the savior of the people,” and the Ukrainian president responded, “No, no, no, you saved Europe.”
Transition: Rachel Smolkin is departing CNN Digital as senior vice president of global news at CNN Digital and will join Oregon Public Broadcasting as CEO. |  courtesy Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) visited an exhibition in the rotunda of a Senate office building about the Tree of Life synagogue attack, its aftermath and efforts to rebuild and preserve the memory of the attack. |  Wesley Hitt/Getty Images Offensive tackle in the NFL for nine seasons until he retired in 2022, he started in 121 straight games in which he played every offensive snap, his Hebrew name is Mendel, Mitchell Schwartz turns 35 on Saturday...
FRIDAY: Chicago and Aspen-based businessman, he owns large stakes in Maytag, Hilton Hotels, the New York Yankees and the Chicago Bulls, Lester Crown turns 99... Rehoboth Beach, Del., resident, Dennis B. Berlin... Former five-term Democratic congressman from California, he now serves as counsel in the Century City office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Mel Levine turns 81... Professor of linguistics at Georgetown University, and author of 25 books, Deborah Tannen turns 79... Epidemiologist, toxicologist and author of three books about environmental hazards, Devra Davis turns 78... Deputy secretary of state of the U.S. until last July, Wendy Ruth Sherman turns 75... Former staff director at the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Hillel Weinberg... President of Shenkar, a design and engineering college in Israel, he is a grandson of former Israeli PM Levi Eshkol, Sheizaf Rafaeli turns 69... Member of the U.S. House of Representatives (D-PA), Susan Ellis Wild turns 67... Former vice president of the United States, Mike Pence turns 65... Jerusalem resident, Deborah Lee Renert... U.S. District judge for the Southern District of New York, Jesse Matthew Furman turns 52... U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) turns 52... Brooklyn rapper better known by his stage name Necro, Ron Raphael Braunstein turns 48... One-half of the Arab-Jewish electronic music duo Chromeo, David "Dave 1" Macklovitch turns 46... Israeli actress, singer and pianist, she performs in Hebrew, Russian, French and English, Ania Bukstein turns 42... Senior director of place-based initiatives at the Nathan Cummings Foundation, Isaac Luria... Editor of The New York Review of Books, Emily S. Greenhouse... Actress and model, Emily Ratajkowski turns 33... Canadian ice hockey forward, he played for China in the 2022 Winter Olympics, now a businessman in Ontario, Ethan Werek turns 33... Andrea Gonzales… Associate director, strategic partnerships, at Enter: The Jewish Peoplehood Alliance, Zohar Mandel…
SATURDAY: Hebrew University mathematics professor and 2005 Nobel Prize laureate in economics, Robert Aumann turns 94... Guru of alternative, holistic and integrative medicine, Dr. Andrew Weil turns 82... Hedge fund manager, founder of the Paloma Funds, Selwyn Donald Sussman turns 78... Detective novelist, best known for creating the character of V.I. Warshawski, Sara Paretsky turns 77... Founder and CEO of Sitrick and Company, Michael Sitrick... Classical pianist, teacher and performer at the Juilliard School and winner of a Grammy Award, he is the child of Holocaust survivors, Emanuel Ax turns 75... Community affairs adviser at the Phoenix-based Yeshiva High School of Arizona, Miriam Pinkerson... Former member of Knesset from the Zionist Union party, now a professor at Ben-Gurion University, Yosef "Yossi" Yona turns 71... Barbara Jaffe Panken... Senior adviser at O2 Investment Partners, Robert Harris (Rob) Orley... Journalist, stand-up comedian, author, cartoonist and blogger, Aaron Freeman turns 68... CEO of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, Stacy Ritter turns 64... AVP for campaign at the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago, Patti Frazin... Moscow-born, living in the U.S. since 1976, he is a major figure in the Russian energy sector and co-founder and CEO of the Genesis Prize Foundation, Stan Polovets turns 61... Winner of many Emmy and SAG awards, star of the long-running TV series "The Good Wife," Julianna Margulies turns 58... Israel's state comptroller and ombudsman, Matanyahu Englman turns 58... Actor, screenwriter and producer, Dan Futterman turns 57... Former congresswoman (D-AZ), she is a survivor of an assassination attempt near Tucson in 2011, Gabrielle Giffords turns 54... Actor who starred in USA Network's "Royal Pains," he also wrote and created the CBS series "9JKL," Mark Feuerstein turns 53... Executive director at Consulate Health Care in New Port Richey, Fla., Daniel Frenden... Head of North America for the Jewish Agency and President and CEO of Jewish Agency International Development (JAID), Daniel Elbaum... Former deputy chief of staff for Charlie Baker when he was governor of Massachusetts, Michael Emanuel Vallarelli... Senior educator at Hillel Jewish Student Center at Arizona State University, Rabbi Suzy Stone... Businesswoman, art collector and editor, founder of the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Dasha Zhukova turns 43... Fourth-generation supermarket executive at Klein's ShopRites of Maryland, Marshall Klein... Corporate litigation partner in the Wilmington office of Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, Daniel Kirshenbaum... Three-time Tony Award-winning theatrical producer, he is the co-founder at Folk Media Group, Eric J. Kuhn turns 37... CEO of BZ Media and the Bnai Zion Foundation, Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm...
SUNDAY: Former executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas, Walter Julius Levy turns 102... Journalist for 30 years at CBS who then became the founding director of Harvard's Shorenstein Center, now a fellow at GWU, Marvin Kalb turns 94... Retired Israeli diplomat who served as ambassador to Italy and France and World Chairman of Keren Hayesod - United Israel Appeal, Aviezer "Avi" Pazner turns 87... Author of 12 books, journalist, lecturer and social activist, Letty Cottin Pogrebin turns 85... British businessman, co-founder with his brother Maurice of advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi, Charles Saatchi turns 81... Diplomat and Shakespeare historian, he was national editor of Washingtonian magazine for more than 17 years, Kenneth Adelman turns 78... Founder and chairman of Commonwealth Financial Network (a broker/dealer network) and chairman of Southworth Development (a golf and leisure business), Joseph Deitch turns 74... Professional mediator, for 11 years she was a syndicated advice columnist in many Jewish newspapers, Wendy J. Belzberg... Israel's former minister of defense and deputy prime minister, he is serving in the war cabinet since the Oct. 7 attack, Benny Gantz turns 65... Canadian journalist, author, documentary film producer and television personality, Steven Hillel Paikin turns 64... Producer, director, playwright and screenwriter, he has won an Academy Award, five Primetime Emmy Awards and three Golden Globes, Aaron Benjamin Sorkin turns 63... Former lead singer of the Israeli pop rock band Mashina, Yuval Banay turns 62... CEO of Jewish Women’s International, Meredith Jacobs... Managing director at Major, Lindsey & Africa, Craig Appelbaum... EVP of Jewish Funders Network, Rabbi Rebecca Sirbu... Screenwriter, director and producer, Hayden Schlossberg turns 46... Founder and CEO of Delve LLC, Jeff Berkowitz... NYC-based writer, actor and entrepreneur, he is a co-founder of Swish Beverages, David Oliver Cohen turns 44... Jerusalem-born Academy Award-winning actress, producer and director, Natalie Portman turns 43... Online producer, writer and director, who together with his brother Benny, are best known for their React video series, Rafi Fine turns 41... Multimedia artist known for her work in photography, makeup, hairstyling and textile crafts, Anna Marie Tendler turns 39... Israeli tech entrepreneur, he is the founder and chairman of Israel Tech Challenge, Raphael Ouzan turns 37... Director of the Yale Journalism Initiative, Haley Cohen Gilliland... Deputy assistant secretary for strategic communications at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Jeff Solnet... Ice hockey player for the NHL's Edmonton Oilers and best-selling author of children's books, Zachary Martin Hyman turns 32... Founder and CEO of The Fine Companies, Daniel Fine... Future congresswoman from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Emilia Levy...
BIRTHWEEK (was Thursday): Assistant director of the Katz JCC in Cherry Hill, N.J., Sara Sideman… | | | | | |
