| Good Friday morning, and g’mar chatima tova to those observing Yom Kippur starting this evening. In today’s Daily Kickoff , we look at Beijing’s recent shift in tone on issues related to Israel and cover last night’s Maryland Senate debate between Angela Alsobrooks and Larry Hogan. We talk to Rep. Dan Goldman about Democrats’ Jewish outreach in swing states and report on former President Donald Trump’s new ad targeting Americans in Israel. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff : Robert Kraft, Deni Avdija and Jessica Tisch. 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 and eJewishPhilanthropy stories, including: With a new $220,000 grant, Israeli researchers look to teach rabbis the latest science of forgiveness; ‘You are not alone’: Biden delivers final High Holidays greeting as president; Gov. Glenn Youngkin discusses his work fighting antisemitism in Virginia. Print the latest edition here. Spread the word! Invite your friends to sign up.👇 Share with a friend | - Vice President Kamala Harris is holding a High Holiday campaign call with Jewish voters at 1:30 p.m. ET.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian are meeting today in Turkmenistan.
| As the November election approaches, several prominent Democrats have quietly begun to sound a tougher note against Iran and even speak out more clearly against anti-Israel voices within the party, Jewish Insider Editor-in-Chief Josh Kraushaar writes. The more muscular rhetoric, from Vice President Kamala Harris down to high-profile congressional Democrats in competitive races, is another piece of evidence that underscores that showcasing support for Israel as it defends itself from Iranian attacks is a winning political issue. The most notable note of Democratic hawkishness came from Harris in her most high-profile presidential campaign interview. On “60 Minutes,” Harris named Iran as the greatest adversary of the United States. “What we need to do to ensure that Iran never achieves the ability to be a nuclear power — that is one of my highest priorities,” Harris told CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker. That’s similar to the argument Israeli leaders have advanced, as they consider targeting Iran’s nuclear program in response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack against the Jewish state last week. President Joe Biden, meanwhile, has cautioned Israel not to target Iran’s nuclear or energy sites. Another notable Democratic quote that caught our eye came from Michigan, the state where some pundits have suggested that Democrats need to pander to the faction of anti-Israel voters to win the state. But in the most high-profile debate in the state’s Senate race, Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) instead portrayed herself as a stalwart supporter of Israel and an Iran hawk. “I take a back seat to no one on the issue of Iran. I’m as hawkish as anyone,” Slotkin said. “They’ve been our adversary for 50 years. We need to pressure them, to deter them, to contain them.” When asked by the moderator if she would have any “red lines” against Israel’s behavior, she didn’t speak out against a robust Israeli military response against Iran. One Democratic strategist who has been polling Michigan told JI: “One percent of the Michigan electorate is Muslim. To watch the media talk, you’d think it was 30%. Jews comprise 2% of the Michigan electorate. Both are very small numbers — but one is twice as large as the others. And the pro-Israel community includes many people who aren’t Jewish.” In Pennsylvania’s pivotal Senate race, another small shift in the Democrats’ approach came from Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), who has been a reliably pro-Israel ally but has hesitated to speak out against a handful of anti-Israel lawmakers in his party, including Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA). That changed this week after Lee and two other prominent Pittsburgh Democrats (Mayor Ed Gainey and Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato) released an Oct. 7 statement that equivocated over the terror attack while blaming Israel for the massacre as well as a widening war in the Middle East. Casey spoke out against the statement on social media the following day, and later rebuked Lee by name in an appearance with Pittsburgh-area Jewish leaders on Wednesday. “It was especially insensitive, inappropriate, because of when they issued the statement, and I categorically condemn that statement.” In nearby suburban Pittsburgh, Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA), facing a competitive reelection, told Semafor “[it’s not] realistic to ask the Israelis to take no action in the face of a now multifront war and the Iranians themselves lobbing missiles at them.” In May, Deluzio signed onto a progressive letter suggesting military aid should be withheld in response to Israel’s operations in Gaza. These are all small rhetorical shifts in a direction more supportive of Israel and against anti-Israel lawmakers — which is significant in the face of far-left calls for Harris and other Democrats to pull their support of Israel in this precarious moment for the Jewish state. It follows an election season where two of the most radical anti-Israel lawmakers were defeated in Democratic primaries. One time-tested political maxim is that actions speak as loudly as polls. It’s not a coincidence that Democrats in competitive races are sounding more supportive of Israel, as Election Day looms. It’s the clearest sign of the widespread backing of Israel in the American electorate. | beijing watch Is a shift in China's rhetoric on Israel a policy change, or 'wishful thinking?' JOHANNES NEUDECKER/DPA VIA GETTY IMAGES A recent, slight shift in the Chinese Communist Party’s rhetoric has Beijing watchers in Israel wondering if the IDF’s successes in Lebanon are impacting China’s policies. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning commented on the anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel in her press conference on Tuesday, saying that "the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people need to be realized and the reasonable security concerns of Israel need to be paid attention to." Before the Hamas attack, Jerusalem and Beijing seemed close, but in the weeks following Oct. 7, Israel-China relations took a sharp downturn. China did not condemn the massacre, refused to mention – let alone blame – Hamas, and accused Israel of going "beyond the scope of self-defense" even before it began its ground invasion of Gaza, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports. Deciphering her words: Now, Carice Witte, the executive director of SIGNAL — the Sino-Israel Global Network and Academic Leadership, told JI that Mao’s comments marked the first time China mentioned Israel’s “reasonable security concerns” in almost a year. Since Israeli operations detonating Hezbollah terrorists’ pagers and killing the Lebanese terrorist organization’s leader Hassan Hasrallah, Witte said, “China realized Israel might win and is therefore adjusting its stance, realizing that, in order to be in the Middle East, Beijing will need some level of decent relations with Israel.” But Joseph Rozen, the former director of Asia-Pacific at Israel’s National Security Council for over a decade and currently a senior fellow at the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Policy, was skeptical that anything had changed with China, noting that Chinese officials used similar language soon after the Oct. 7 attack. “It’s a bit of wishful thinking to focus on this one nuance,” he said. Read the full story here. missing in action Rep. Summer Lee absent from Kamala Harris' Pittsburgh rally Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) was notably absent from a widely attended rally for Vice President Kamala Harris in Pittsburgh on Thursday night, a couple of days after she was publicly rebuked by Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) over a controversial joint statement marking the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks that also faced condemnation in the local Jewish community, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports. Prior to the rally held in Lee’s district, which was headlined by former President Barack Obama, the freshman congresswoman privately faced resistance from Jewish leaders and other Democratic activists over her potential role in the event, according to sources. Out of sight: The fallout from her statement — which made no mention of Hamas and was accused of blaming Israel for the attacks — was apparent on Thursday evening as Lee was “passed over” for a speaking slot at the rally, said a Jewish activist familiar with the matter who asked to remain anonymous to discuss drama behind the scenes. There had been “internal brawls” in the hours leading up to the rally over Lee’s involvement, according to the activist, particularly after Casey had firmly denounced her statement as “insensitive” and “inappropriate.” Read the full story here. maryland matters Alsobrooks sidesteps debate question whether she'd be more like Cardin or Van Hollen on Israel KEVIN DIETSCH/GETTY IMAGES At the first and only Maryland Senate debate, held Thursday night, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks sidestepped a question on whether, as a senator, her position on Israel would be more aligned with retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), a stalwart backer of Israel, or Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), who has emerged as one of the leading critics of the Jewish state in the Senate, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs reports. Alsobrooks’ answer: Alsobrooks, a Democrat, is running against former GOP Gov. Larry Hogan in the unusually competitive Senate race in the solidly Democratic state. “I've been really fortunate to have the support of both Sen. Van Hollen and Sen. Cardin, and we have a tremendous delegation who I've worked with over the years when it comes to this issue. I will be Angela Alsobrooks as a senator,” she said. She later added that she would have attended Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s joint address to Congress, which Van Hollen skipped. Read the full story for a complete recap of the debate here. jewish outreach Harris campaign knows it can't take Jewish voters for granted, Dan Goldman says ANNA MONEYMAKER/GETTY IMAGES Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign knows it can’t take Jewish voters — who have significant populations in several key swing states across the country — for granted in a post-Oct. 7 environment, Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) told Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod, following a visit to Philadelphia’s Jewish community as a Harris surrogate. Making moves: The Harris campaign appears to be making a concerted push to shore up its support in those key communities. In the last week, the campaign dispatched Goldman to speak to Jewish voters in the Philadelphia suburbs, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) to Atlanta and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) to Phoenix. The campaign’s Jewish liaison, Ilan Goldenberg, also spoke in Atlanta and Phoenix. Similar events are planned in Pittsburgh and elsewhere in key swing states. Read the full story here. scoop Trump makes appeal to Americans in Israel – 'Your fate is in your hands' screenshot Former President Donald Trump appealed to American citizens living in Israel to vote for him in a new video on Thursday. Standing in front of American flags, the former president said: “No one in history has ever stood with Israel and the Jewish people like I have,” Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports. What he said: “No one knows this better than the tens of thousands of my fellow citizens in Israel, where I happen to be very popular,” Trump stated in the video that first aired on Channel 14, Israel’s right-wing news station. “Your fate is in your hands and the fate of the U.S.A. and Israel is also in your hands. I won't let you down,” Trump promised, asserting that he has done far more for Israel than any other presidents. However, he chose not to specify: “I won’t bother, you know just as well as I do.” Read the full story here. people of the book Investor Daniel Loeb launches 'Simchat Torah Challenge' to get 10,000 Jews to study Bible to commemorate Oct. 7 attacks Chabad of Brandeis/Facebook As American Jews attended last year’s Simchat Torah services, which fell on Oct. 8, news had already been rumbling through the pews and the communities about the terrorist attacks 7,000 miles away. Though the details at that time were still only just emerging, a day when Jews would ordinarily dance with joy to mark the start of a new journey through the Torah instead launched a year of mourning and fear. One week after the massacres, philanthropist and investor Daniel Loeb spoke at an event in Los Angeles about antisemitism in Hollywood. As he concluded his talk, he handed out chumashim to attendees. “That’s his thing,” Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff, associate rabbi at Manhattan’s Edmond J. Safra Synagogue, told Jay Deitcher, reporting for eJewishPhilanthropy. After passing out the final book, “he turns around to me and says, ‘Let’s make this a national and international project.’” Project launch: On Sept. 19, Loeb, CEO of Third Point, a hedge fund that manages an estimated $14 billion, announced the Simchat Torah Challenge, a partnership with Sefaria, Chabad, Yeshiva University, UJA-Federation of New York, Tablet Magazine, Moishe House, Hillel International and other Jewish organizations. As a way to honor those murdered and kidnapped on Oct. 7, the challenge aims to have at least 10,000 Jews read the entire Torah starting on Simchat Torah 2024 and ending Simchat Torah 2025. By Oct. 2, nearly 8,000 people had signed up. One week later, more than 9,000. Read the full story here and sign up for eJewishPhilanthropy’s Your Daily Phil newsletter here. | Bessent's Ascent: The Wall Street Journal’s Greg Zuckerman and Peter Rudegeair spotlight Scott Bessent, the founder of Key Square Capital Management and a former executive at Soros Fund Management, who now advises former President Donald Trump on economic issues. “Paradoxically, Bessent’s past association with Soros is a positive to Trump, who is impressed with the billions Soros has made in financial markets and sometimes asks what it was like working for Soros. Bessent hasn’t spoken with Soros in years. Bessent didn’t agree with a lot of work done by Soros’s nonprofit, Open Society Foundations, though he didn’t see a conflict working for him. In 2014, however, when some people at the foundation wanted to restrict the fund from making investments in companies doing business in Israel, Bessent went to Soros and threatened to resign. The idea was dropped. Spokespeople for Soros Fund Management and the foundation said their organizations never pursued any restrictions on Israel-related investments.” [WSJ] Talk Troubles: The Financial Times’ Andrew England, Felicia Schwartz, Neri Zilber and James Shotter do a deep dive into the July breakdown of cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas, focusing on CIA Director Bill Burns, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani and Egyptian Gen. Abbas Kamel. “It was late July when three secretive men charged with a near-impossible mission believed they were finally on the cusp of a breakthrough. The US spy chief, the head of Egyptian intelligence and Qatar’s prime minister arrived on a summer day at a private Qatari-owned villa in Rome, convinced that a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was tantalisingly close. In the wake of Hamas’s October 7 attack and Israel’s subsequent offensive in Gaza, the negotiators had relentlessly nudged, cajoled and pressured both parties to accept an agreement that would secure the release of Israeli hostages and a permanent end to war in the besieged Palestinian enclave.” [FT] School Daze: In the San Francisco Chronicle, Tyler Gregory, the executive director of the Bay Area Jewish Community Relations Council, calls on Northern California school administrators to adjust their approach to combating antisemitism. “Bay Area school administrators have to set a new tone and take this widespread antisemitism more seriously than last year. To ensure that every student feels safe, welcome and seen, public school leaders must not only denounce antisemitism but forcefully act to counter it and equip staff with tools to establish and sustain strong relationships that can better prepare school communities when an international or local crisis strikes. Stopping the normalization of antisemitism in our schools will require a multipronged approach, including training for staff and students, clear delineations between legitimate criticism and antisemitic tropes, curricula about Jewish history, culture, antisemitism and consistent enforcement of anti-hate policies and procedures, and deepening community connections.” [SFChronicle] Targeting Iran This Time: In The Wall Street Journal, the Hudson Institute’s David Asher considers how Israel could strategically retaliate against Iran for its ballistic missile attack earlier this month. “Israel’s most effective course of action would be to target key leadership, military support and financial infrastructure of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Intelligence and Security Ministry. That would weaken the regime’s pillars while avoiding direct harm to civilians, which could otherwise foster sympathy for the regime. Combined with attacks on Iran’s external oil-export capacity to deprive the regime of its financial lifeblood, a top-down leadership-focused approach would pressure the regime without disrupting essential domestic services.” [WSJ] | Be featured: Email us to inform the JI readership of your upcoming event, job opening, or other communication. | President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are nearing an agreement on how Israel will retaliate against Iran for its ballistic missile attack earlier this month... The U.S. is facing pressure from Gulf states to keep Israel from striking Iranian oil fields, with Gulf leaders concerned that an escalation could prompt Iranian proxies to target Gulf oil fields; Gulf states are also pushing back against the potential use of their airspace by the U.S. and Israel to conduct attacks against Iran… Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told Sky News that “Israel should strike Iran’s nuclear program and strike [Iranian] regime centers” as it works to “accelerate the toppling of the regime and to slow down the acquisition of nuclear weapons”; Bennett confirmed that Israel has the capability to strike Iran without the assistance of other countries… A senior advisor to Iran’s supreme leader warned that an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities could change the Islamic Republic’s nuclear doctrine… The Department of Justice charged a 24-year-old Chicago man with assaulting two law enforcement officials during an anti-Israel protest in Washington, D.C., in July that was timed to coincide with Netanyahu’s address to Congress… The Cornell graduate student who was facing deportation to the U.K. after being suspended for participating in an anti-Israel campus protest that shut down a campus career fair will be allowed to complete his dissertation remotely but remains banned from campus, which will allow him to stay in the U.S. and keep his visa… NPR looks at former Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz’s departure from the publication, which sources said came in part because she called President Joe Biden a “war criminal” in an Instagram post and then lied to Post editors about having done so… Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija said he will not play in the team’s Friday night game against the L.A. Clippers on Yom Kippur, noting that “the best way for me to start the season will be by respecting the Jewish tradition along with my brothers and sisters worldwide”... New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his Foundation to Combat Antisemitsm are partnering with Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, the National Football League, the National Women’s Soccer League and NASCAR on a star-studded ad titled “Time Out Against Hate” that premiered last night... New York Gov. Kathy Hochul plans to include legislation in next year’s state budget that would expand how city parkland can be used, giving a boost to Mets owner Steve Cohen’s languishing effort to secure a state gambling license to build a casino in Queens… New York Sanitation Department head Jessica Tisch is the top contender to replace NYPD Commissioner Tom Donlon amid reports that Donlon, whose background check will likely prevent him from holding the position, is expected to step down in the coming days… Some Bay Area educators boycotted the San Francisco Unified School District’s mandatory antisemitism workshop hosted by the American Jewish Committee; those who refused to attend the AJC training chose instead to participate in a far-left social justice group’s anti-bias training… The Associated Press looks at how Hurricane Milton is affecting High Holiday plans in Jewish communities across Florida… The Wall Street Journal reports on efforts by white supremacist groups to assist in the hurricane clean-up work… The Washington Post reviewed nine of the District’s top bagel shops… Netflix’s “Nobody Wants This,” starring Adam Brody as a rabbi in a relationship with an agnostic podcast host, was renewed for a second season… A new initiative backed by the Blavatnik Family Foundation, the Arcadia Fund and the David Berg Foundation will create a digital archive dedicated to the Soviet Jewry movement and Refuseniks… The U.K.’s Labour party saw a drop in support from Muslim voters in this year’s general election… The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to a group comprised of survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs that advocates against the use of nuclear weapons… Israeli authorities foiled an ISIS-linked terror attack on Tel Aviv’s Azrieli Mall and arrested five Israeli Arabs from the central Israeli town of Taybeh in connection with the plot… German Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged that Berlin would send “further deliveries” of weapons to Israel “soon,” following a drop in arms exports to Israel earlier this year… Iranian officials denied that Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani had been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon following the death of Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah last month and said that Qaani is slated to receive an award from Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei… The Wall Street Journal reports on Iran’s stepped-up efforts to recruit gang members and local militias to conduct attacks against targets around the world… | Heiko Rebsch/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images Karsten Lissau, the father of one of two individuals killed in the 2019 terror attack targeting a synagogue and restaurant in Halle, Germany, on Yom Kippur spoke this week at a ceremony commemorating the fifth anniversary of the attack. | Andrew Harnik/Getty Images Second gentleman of the United States, Douglas Emhoff turns 60 on Sunday... FRIDAY: Professor emeritus of history at UCLA, winner of both a Pulitzer Prize and the Israel Prize, Saul Friedländer turns 92... Former assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted then VPOTUS Spiro T. Agnew in 1974, he is the author of four novels, Ronald S. Liebman turns 81... Israeli novelist and documentary filmmaker, Amos Gitai turns 74... U.S. senator (D-WA), Patty Murray turns 74... Senior circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, Barry G. Silverman turns 73... Past president and then board chair of Congregation B'nai Tzedek in Potomac, Md., Helane Leibowitz Goldstein turns 71... Israeli ambassador to Germany, he has also been Israel's ambassador to both the U.K. and the U.N., Ron Prosor turns 66... NYC-based philanthropist, Shari L. Aronson... Former EVP at JFNA, now CEO at the Vancouver, B.C.-based Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation, Mark Gurvis turns 65... Owner of Sababa Travel, Sharon Kleiman Rockman... Los Angeles-based real estate agent, Peter Turman... President and CEO of NYC-based real estate firm Tishman Speyer, Rob Speyer turns 55... Chief commercial officer at Vienna, Va.-based 10Pearls, Asher Epstein... Former chief executive at the U.K.-based Anglo-Israel Association, now a Substack writer about kosher wines, Joshua E. London turns 49... Executive director of the StandWithUs Israel office in Jerusalem, Michael Dickson turns 47... Member of the Council of the District of Columbia, Brianne Nadeau turns 44... Podcast host, opinion commentator and satirist, Jamie Weinstein turns 41... Actress and model, Michelle Trachtenberg turns 39... SATURDAY: Long-time baseball reporter for The New York Times, he is enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame, Murray Chass turns 86... U.S. ambassador to Italy during the Trump administration, he is a co-founder of private equity firm Granite Capital International, Lewis Eisenberg turns 82... Longtime Fox News anchor, more recently at CNN, Chris Wallace turns 77... Retired CEO of Wakefield, Mass.-based CAST, a nonprofit whose mission is to transform education for students with disabilities, Linda Gerstle... Pediatrician and medical ethicist, John D. Lantos, MD turns 70... Dermatologist in Los Angeles, Lamar Albert Nelson, MD... First female rabbi ordained in Conservative Judaism, Amy Eilberg turns 70... Co-founder of both Apollo Global Management and Ares Management, he is the owner of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks, Tony Ressler turns 64... Deputy director of the White House's National Economic Council until 2022, now a distinguished professor at Northeastern University, Seth D. Harris turns 62... Former executive director of Startup Nation Central until 2022, now a strategic adviser to Israeli startups, Wendy Singer... Editor of The Wall Street Journal's Weekend Review section, Gary Rosen... Managing director at Goldman Sachs, he completed 31 years there earlier this year and is now a part-time advisory director, Raanan Agus... Los Angeles-based trial attorney for many high-profile clients, Babak "Bobby" Samini turns 54... Producer, actress and screenwriter, Alexandra Brandy Smothers... Former member of the Knesset, she now serves as the co-chair of the Green Movement of Israel, Yael Cohen Paran turns 51... Computer programmer, creator of the BitTorrent protocol and founder of Chia cryptocurrency, Bram Cohen turns 49... Only son of the current rebbe of the Belz Hasidic dynasty, Rabbi Aharon Mordechai Rokeach turns 49... Israeli actress, model and television anchor, Miri Bohadana turns 47... Reporter and host of “The Daily” at The New York Times, Michael Barbaro... Minority leader of the Florida Senate, Lauren Book turns 40... Freelance journalist, Rosie Gray... Argentine fashion model and artist, Naomi Preizler turns 33... Pitcher for Team Israel in the 2020 Olympics and 2023 World Baseball Classic, he is the founder of Stadium Custom Kicks, Alex Katz turns 30... Taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7 and rescued by the IDF in June 2024, Noa Argamani turns 27... SUNDAY: Former deputy assistant secretary at the USDA, he retired earlier this year as an attorney working on organic food law, Richard D. Siegel turns 85... Musician, singer, songwriter, best known for his lead role in the Simon & Garfunkel duo, Paul Simon turns 83... Immediate past chair of the Anti-Defamation League, Esta Gordon Epstein... Founder of PublicAffairs Books, an imprint of Perseus Books at Hachette Book Group, Peter L.W. Osnos turns 81... Author of 12 cookbooks, Mollie Katzen turns 74... U.S. senator (D-WA), Maria Cantwell turns 66... Former White House press secretary under President George W. Bush, now a media consultant and Fox News contributor, Ari Fleischer turns 64... Partner at FGS Global until earlier this year, Jack Krumholtz... Former AP bureau chief for Israel and the Palestinian Territories, now a home builder in the Indian state of Goa, Steven Gutkin... Co-chairman of Disney Entertainment where she is responsible for television and streaming, Dana Freedman Walden turns 60... Richard Lamke... Attorney general for England and Wales for parts of 2021 and 2022, he was a member of the U.K. Parliament for 14 years until this past May, Michael Ellis turns 57... Emmy Award-winning film director, producer and screenwriter, Amy J. Berg turns 54... Award winning actor, comedian and screenwriter, Sacha Baron Cohen turns 53... Israeli fashion model, Shiraz Tal turns 50... Adjunct professor of Jewish studies at Ohio University and director of member engagement at the Academic Engagement Network, Sarah Livingston... E-bookstore owner and author, Emily Gould... Pentagon correspondent for CNN, Oren Liebermann turns 42... Land use attorney at Seattle-based firm of Hillis Clark Martin & Peterson, Joshua E. Friedmann... Political reporter for NBC News, Rebecca Shabad... Film director, producer and screenwriter, Jordan David "J.D." Lifshitz turns 32... | | | | |