| | Good Thursday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at the approach taken by freshman Rep. Sarah Elfreth, who was championed by AIPAC in her primary, to Israel and Jewish communal issues in her first months on Capitol Hill, and report on frustrations among Senate Republicans over the delay in moving forward on Rep. Elise Stefanik’s confirmation to be U.N. ambassador. We cover former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s comments to Dan Senor about Israel’s Hezbollah strategy, and report on Tampa Democrats’ decision to suspend an official with a history of making antisemitic comments. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Mike Huckabee, Scarlett Johansson and Alex Lasry.
Spread the word! Invite your friends to sign up.👇 Share with a friend | - Secretary of State Marco Rubio is heading to Germany today for the annual Munich Security Conference, which kicks off tomorrow. He’ll travel to Israel on Sunday, followed by stops in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
- Also slated to attend the conference, in addition to Vice President J.D. Vance, are close to two dozen senators — but their attendance is in limbo, awaiting the green light from Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), who may opt to keep the legislators in Washington on Friday for votes on Trump administration nominees.
- Concerns about security in Munich are running high ahead of the start of the summit, deepened by a car-ramming attack in the city earlier today in which 20 people were injured.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is in Ukraine today for meetings with senior officials. Last night, he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Washington today, and will meet with President Donald Trump this afternoon.
- The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hold a hearing today for Linda McMahon, the Trump administration’s nominee to head the Department of Education. McMahon’s confirmation hearing comes a day after Trump told reporters he’d like for the department “to be closed immediately.”
- The Senate Judiciary Committee is slated to hold a vote today on advancing the nomination of Kash Patel to be the director of the FBI, while the full Senate is expected to vote this morning on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to be secretary of health and human services.
- The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is holding a hearing on navigating a post-Assad Syria. Speakers include Michael Singh and Dana Stroul, respectively the managing director and director of research at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
- We’re also keeping an eye on this weekend’s planned hostage release in Gaza, following reports this morning that Israel walked back its demand that Hamas release all of the remaining 76 hostages in Gaza. Israeli media reported earlier today that Jerusalem communicated to Hamas officials that the cease-fire would hold if Hamas released three hostages this weekend, as had been agreed on last month. Earlier this week, Hamas threatened to cancel the release, alleging Israeli violations, prompting President Donald Trump, followed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to demand that Hamas release all the hostages in the enclave by this weekend. Hamas said earlier today that it intends to release three hostages on Saturday, in line with the cease-fire agreement reached last month.
| Vice President J.D. Vance, in his effort to persuade skeptical conservatives of the merits of confirming decidedly non-conservative Cabinet nominees such as Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., invoked a notable argument last week, Jewish Insider Editor-in-Chief Josh Kraushaar writes.
Vance made the case that senators must confirm these controversial nominees because they’re now part of the Trump coalition. Even if these former left-wing Democrats don’t have long-standing GOP credentials, the faction of disillusioned former Democrats and independents played a key role in President Donald Trump’s victory — and in Vance’s view, the president is obliged to reward his allies with plum administration posts.
Vance’s push worked. On Wednesday, Gabbard was confirmed as director of national intelligence, with all but one Republican (former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell) voting for her confirmation. And Kennedy is on track to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), with the Senate agreeing to advance his nomination to the Senate floor on a party-line vote.
It’s worth taking Vance’s comments about the changing GOP coalition seriously. On one hand, Trump’s 2024 victory was boosted by the endorsement of Kennedy and other like-minded Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) activists, who had previously found themselves on the left side of the aisle. Gabbard’s anti-establishment foreign policy views appealed to disaffected voters who preferred the president focus his attention at home more than abroad, a potentially decisive constituency in the last election.
On the other hand, in the two-party American political system, there’s no requirement that every ideological faction is represented in a Cabinet. Unlike in multiparty parliamentary democracies, where the leading party often needs to forge a coalition government with other like-minded partners, Trump has free rein to appoint whomever he sees fit to serve him, as long as they can win Senate approval.
As significant, Trump doesn’t have to worry about elements of his coalition forcing him out of office, as often happens in parliamentary democracies. Just look at Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is always attuned on catering to his right flank and Haredi coalition partners to prevent his government from collapsing.
But considering the analogy more, it seems that with these picks, Trump is accommodating a growing group of voters with a deep public antipathy towards elites and institutions. If the U.S. democratic system is supposed to be reflective of the public sentiment, Gabbard and Kennedy’s ascension is small-d democracy in its purest form.
Indeed, GOP senators who decided to back Gabbard and Kennedy despite ample reservations are doing so in response to public pressure. Some skeptical senators claim to have received commitments that they won’t be letting their controversial personal views impact their policy. Others claim their roles will be constrained in the administration by more established officials.
They’ve taken heat for too easily falling in line for Trump rather than performing their advise-and-consent duties.
But they’re also responding to a shifting public mood that is increasingly embracing conspiratorial views once well outside the political mainstream. We’re now past a tipping point that will be hard to come back from. | early reservations Is AIPAC’s big bet on Sarah Elfreth paying off?  ANDREW HARNIK/GETTY IMAGES As the legislative session nears its third month on Capitol Hill, the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC, whose political arm spent heavily to propel several freshman Democrats to office, is now voicing some early reservations with one new lawmaker who was among the top recipients of its largesse last election cycle. Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-MD), a former state senator from Maryland, won her seat in Congress after she had clinched the nomination in a crowded primary where her campaign was fueled by more than $4.2 million in outside support from AIPAC’s super PAC, marking one of its largest investments of the 2024 election season. Days into her first term, however, Elfreth broke with AIPAC in voting against legislation — which passed the House with bipartisan support — that would impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court for issuing arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
AIPAC reaction: Even as the bill faced opposition from a range of House Democrats, including pro-Israel stalwarts frequently aligned with AIPAC, a spokesperson for the group on Tuesday expressed dissatisfaction with Elfreth’s decision, which carried added significance as the first Middle East policy test for newly elected members of Congress. “Pro-Israel activists are disappointed by Rep. Elfreth’s vote against the ICC bill and have conveyed to the congresswoman how important this issue is to our community,” Marshall Wittmann, an AIPAC spokesperson, said in a statement to JI. “Rep. Elfreth has committed to building a strong pro-Israel voting record, and we are continuing to work with her to ensure this vote was an isolated exception.”
Notable: Harry Dunn, a nationally recognized former Capitol Police officer, who ran against Elfreth in last year’s primary, is now “strongly considering” mounting a campaign to succeed Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) if the 85-year-old congressman chooses to retire at the end of his current term, according to a Jewish leader who has spoken with Dunn about his plans and asked to remain anonymous to discuss a private conversation.
Read the full story here. time lag Stefanik’s confirmation delay begins to frustrate Senate Republicans  KENT NISHIMURA/GETTY IMAGES It has been two weeks since the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to advance Rep. Elise Stefanik’s (R-NY) nomination to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has yet to begin Senate floor proceedings on her confirmation. Despite being nominated to a key foreign policy role, Stefanik isn’t high up on the list of Cabinet nominees slated to be confirmed, and there doesn’t appear to be a clear timeline for when her nomination will receive floor consideration, a situation that’s beginning to frustrate some Senate Republicans, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod report.
Timeline trouble: Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), the No. 2 Senate Republican, told JI last week that the Senate is working with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on timing for Stefanik’s nomination. “I’m ready to go with her,” Barrasso said. “That would take the numbers out of the House down one, so we’re going to make sure that we’ll time it appropriately.” He noted that when Stefanik’s nomination does come up, it will be able to move quickly. Two sources familiar with the matter told JI that the situation is aggravating Republican senators, who want to confirm higher-profile nominees, especially those with bipartisan support, sooner rather than later.
Read the full story here. reversal of fortunes How skeptical Senate Republicans got to ‘yes’ on Tulsi Gabbard  ANDREW HARNIK/GETTY IMAGES Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s confirmation on Wednesday was a striking reversal of fortunes for a Cabinet nomination that appeared to be precarious weeks earlier, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod report. The former progressive Democrat’s positions on a range of issues, including her opposition to government surveillance authorities under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, leaker Edward Snowden, the Assad regime in Syria, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Trump administration’s Iran policy had engendered deep skepticism among Senate Republicans.
Key players: Some Republican senators who had concerns about Gabbard but don’t sit on the Intelligence Committee said the support of Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who chairs the panel, had a significant impact. Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) told Punchbowl News he credited Cotton and “pro-Gabbard people he spoke to from the intelligence community” as having “played a major role in getting him to support Gabbard.” A member of the Senate GOP leadership team told JI that Gabbard securing the support of every Republican on the Intelligence Committee to advance her nomination to the Senate floor also helped encourage other wary members to get on board. “When you look at how diverse the Intel Committee is, it was a signal to those of us who are not on the committee that she was reported out,” the senator said.
Read the full story here.
Rebel with a cause: Gabbard was confirmed 52-48, with only Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the longtime former GOP leader, breaking with his party. It’s the second time that McConnell, who has said he plans to dedicate the final acts of his career to standing up for traditional conservative approaches to foreign policy, has broken with the GOP majority on a key national security nominee, following his vote in January against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. scoop Scott, Rosen reintroduce Antisemitism Awareness Act in the Senate  PHOTO: Associated Press Sens. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV), joined by 32 other senators, will reintroduce the Senate version of the Antisemitism Awareness Act on Wednesday, following the bill’s reintroduction in the House last week, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Co-sponsors: Other lawmakers supporting the bill include Sens. James Lankford (R-OK), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Rick Scott (R-FL), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Susan Collins (R-ME), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Mike Crapo (R-ID), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Katie Britt (R-AL), Ron Wyden (D-OR), John Cornyn (R-TX), Chris Coons (D-DE), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), John Boozman (R-AR), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Steve Daines (R-MT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), John Fetterman (D-PA), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Mark Warner (D-VA), John Barrasso (R-WY) and Gary Peters (D-MI).
Read the full story here.
Elsewhere on the Hill: The House Education and Workforce Committee voted on party lines on Wednesday to advance legislation that would tighten requirements for colleges and universities to report and disclose foreign donations. podcast playback Gallant: ‘This dramatic day could have changed the course of the war’  ANDREW HARNIK/GETTY IMAGES For then-Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the horrific day of Oct. 7, 2023, ended with a phone call to his U.S. counterpart, then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, to ask for the return of 50,000 shells that were taken from American storage facilities in Israel and sent to Ukraine. “And the secretary said, ‘Why do you need so many shells if you are fighting against Hamas in Gaza?’ I said to him, we are in the Middle East, I understand that everything can happen,” Gallant explained Thursday on Dan Senor’s “Call Me Back” podcast in the first episode of a new monthly series in which Gallant will reflect on his experience as defense minister during the Israel-Hamas war. “General Austin, Secretary Austin, did it and he sent back the 50,000. But this can teach you about some mistakes that were done before the war,” Gallant recalled, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen and Danielle Cohen report.
Roger that: Gallant also told Senor about an early regret he had, describing Oct. 11 as a “dramatic day” that “could have changed the course of the war” and “eliminated all the chain of command of Hezbollah immediately.” Gallant asserted that Israel could have detonated 15,000 walkie-talkies that Israel had packed with explosives and distributed to Hezbollah operatives in an undercover operation. “In this walkie-talkie, there [were] three times more explosives than we had in the beepers later on,” Gallant said, referring to the operation Israel conducted on Sept. 17, 2024, when it detonated several thousand Hezbollah pagers and the following day, when it detonated hundreds of walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah operatives. The operations killed dozens and injured thousands of terror operatives.
Read the full story here.
Hostage families pleas: With the future of the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and the continued release of hostages in question, a group of former hostages and hostage family members pleaded with House members on Wednesday to help ensure that the hostage releases continue, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. u-turn Tampa Democrats reverse course, suspend antisemitic official after outcry from Jewish activists  JOE RAEDLE/GETTY IMAGES After Tampa Bay Democrats voted last month not to discipline a party activist accused of antisemitism, the leadership of the local party reversed course and decided on Monday to suspend the member for two years, citing “repeated violations of our standards for respectful and inclusive discourse,” Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch.
Targeted hate speech: The steering committee of the Hillsborough County Democratic Party, which encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in Florida, determined that precinct captain Russ Miller “had engaged in antisemitic hate speech targeting both the Hillsborough County Democratic Jewish Caucus and individual members.” But Steve Shaiken, the chair of the Jewish Caucus, said the suspension is not enough to absolve his concerns. “There has been no meaningful or significant change,” he told JI.
Read the full story here.
Elsewhere: Democratic lawmakers in Michigan largely condemned recent comments from a contender for the state’s Democratic Party chair suggesting his party is “not the Jewish party,” Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who was unavailable for comment, was in the UAE on a delegation to the United Arab Emirates, where she was spotted traveling with Osama Siblani, a prominent Arab-American activist in Dearborn who has praised Hamas and Hezbollah. | DOGE Dilemma: The Atlantic’s Shane Harris raises concerns about the national security issues associated with the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency. “But the legion of Elon Musk acolytes who have set up shop inside federal agencies in the past few weeks do not appear to have been subjected to anything approaching rigorous scrutiny. President Donald Trump has also nominated to key national-security positions people whose personal and financial histories contain at least caution flags. This deviation from past practice has created a new kind of counterintelligence predicament, officials and experts have told me. Rather than staying on high alert for hidden threats, the counterintelligence monitors have to worry about the people in charge. The public knows very little about how, or if, staff at the new Department of Government Efficiency that Musk runs were vetted before they obtained access to the Treasury Department’s central payment system or the files of millions of government employees at the Office of Personnel Management. These two databases could help U.S. adversaries uncover the identities of intelligence officers and potentially their sources, people with knowledge about how the systems are set up told me.” [TheAtlantic]
The Case for Population Transfers: Wall Street Journal columnist Sadanand Dhume suggests that recent history provides a number of examples of successful population transfers, following criticism of President Donald Trump’s suggestion to relocate the population of Gaza in order to allow for the rebuilding of the enclave. “Many population transfers have taken place over the past century. In the 1920s, Greece and Turkey agreed to a forced population swap: Greek Orthodox Christians in Turkey moved to Greece, while Muslims in Greece moved to Turkey. After World War II, millions of Indians and Pakistanis were forced to find new homes, as were ethnic Germans from Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union. In the 1970s, Uganda expelled Indians. Only in the Palestinian case has the refugee question festered endlessly. … No one knows if Mr. Trump’s plan will succeed. Removing Gazans by force would create a humanitarian crisis, but it’s not unreasonable to believe that the majority would leave if given the chance to build a better life elsewhere. Either way, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation if Arab states had welcomed Palestinian Arabs the way many other countries around the world have welcomed refugees.” [WSJ]
Sassoon in the Spotlight: The New York Times' Benjamin Weiser and Jonah Bromwich spotlight attorney Danielle Sassoon, as the interim U.S. attorney in Manhattan decides how to proceed with the corruption case of New York City Mayor Eric Adams amid an effort by the Department of Justice to drop the charges. "Before the Adams case vaulted her into the spotlight, her life had been characterized by achievement that was noteworthy even in environments where achievement is the norm. Born and raised in New York City, she attended the Modern Orthodox Ramaz School on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, where she was first in her class and received awards for academic excellence. In high school, she spent hours each day studying the Talmud, an effort that she has said prepared her to study law. Rebecca Kaden, a close friend who met Ms. Sassoon right before they began their freshman year at Harvard University, said she always knew Ms. Sassoon would be a lawyer. The future U.S. attorney was cerebral, a dynamic thinker eager to discuss and debate ideas." [NYTimes] | Join ADL and other experts and leaders to learn strategies to unmask hate at Never Is Now the world's largest summit on antisemitism and hate, March 3-4 in NYC! ________ Avoid a $15k HVAC bill — especially in the coming cold. Imagine your HVAC goes kaput on the coldest time of the year. Did you know a new one could cost up to $15,000? Homeownership comes with surprises, but unexpected appliance breakdowns shouldn’t break the bank. Good thing a home warranty can protect your essential appliances and systems from costly repairs, keeping your wallet happy and your home running smoothly. Check out our home warranty options and safeguard your budget today. Be featured: Email us to inform the JI readership of your upcoming event, job opening, or other communication. | President Donald Trump officially nominated former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be U.S. ambassador to Israel…
Trump also nominated John Hurley to be undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, the position previously held by Brian Nelson…
Darren Beattie, the interim undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs who came under fire for his far-right ties and associations with white supremacists, is expected to be replaced by attorney Sarah Rogers, whose nomination was announced by Trump on Tuesday…
The Wall Street Journal reports on a U.S. intelligence assessment that indicated that Israel plans to strike Iranian nuclear facilities in the coming year…
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and 10 other Senate Democrats introduced a resolution opposing any use of U.S. troops or funds to take over Gaza…
Puck does a deep dive into the circumstances that led to director Brett Ratner helming Amazon’s upcoming documentary about Melania Trump, noting his ties to Trump insiders Len Blavatnik and former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin…
Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY) raised concerns about the influence of isolationist staffers such as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Mike DiMino in the administration's foreign policy at a House Armed Services Committee hearing Wednesday…
The Free Press reports on how the Department of Government Efficiency’s freezing of funding for the National Endowment for Democracy is affecting the agency, created during the Reagan administration, that aims to promote democracy around the world…
Elon Musk’s Tesla will ink a deal with the United Arab Emirates to construct an underground transportation system in Dubai; the project was announced during Musk’s virtual appearance at the World Governments Summit in the Emirati city…
New York City Mayor Eric Adams reportedly considered running for reelection as a Republican in the party’s mayoral primary later this year, holding conversations earlier this week with GOP officials in the city; Adams’ team yesterday shot down speculation that he could run on the Republican line…
Thrive Capital’s Josh Kushner cautioned employees of OpenAI against leaving the company, which Thrive backs, saying that doing so would be an unwise economic decision…
Scarlett Johansson criticized a viral AI video of herself and other Jewish celebrities in which they appeared to condemn artist Kanye West over his recent antisemitic comments; the actress said that she was “a Jewish woman who has no tolerance for antisemitism or hate speech of any kind” but “also firmly believe that the potential for hate speech multiplied by AI is a far greater threat than any one person who takes accountability for it”...
The Wall Street Journal looks into how West purchased ad time in local markets during the Super Bowl to promote athletic wear on his Yeezy website, only for the site to change its inventory and sell a single white T-shirt with a swastika on it by air time…
Google removed Jewish American Heritage Month and Holocaust Remembrance Day, as well as a number of other cultural observances and occasions, from its calendar platform…
Nearly 200 Columbia faculty members signed onto a letter to interim President Katrina Armstrong urging the university to take additional measures to protect Jewish students, including implementing a mask ban and establishing stronger disciplinary measures against violations of the student code of conduct…
UCLA suspended its chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine for vandalizing the home of UC Regent Jay Sures, who is Jewish…
The Boston University Board of Trustees rejected two petitions to divest the school’s endowment from companies operating in Israel…
Former Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry was named CEO of the New York New Jersey 2026 World Cup Host Committee…
The Washington Post talks to family members of recently freed hostages about their loved ones’ conditions in captivity; the brother of American-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel said his brother was held in 33 different locations, including "a family home, where he was locked in a room, alongside a family with children"...
Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer said Israel plans to maintain five strategic posts in Lebanon ahead of the deadline for the temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah; Dermer said Israel would maintain the positions “until Lebanon implements its treaty obligations”…
A group of Israeli scholars, including three Nobel laureates, sent a letter to Trump saying they would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize if he helped to free the remaining 76 hostages in Gaza…
Former New Yorker writer Jeffrey Toobin is joining The New York Times as a contributing writer…
Holocaust survivor Yehuda Lindenblatt, the oldest active Hatzolah volunteer in New York City, died at 88… |  The Hostages Families Forum Headquarters Speaking at a roundtable on Wednesday hosted by the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Chairman Brian Mast (R-FL), former hostage Ilana Gritzewsky recounted her time in captivity before being released in November 2023. Her boyfriend, Matan Zangauker, remains in captivity.
"On the way to Gaza, they kept beating me because, for them, I was a prize,” Gritzewsky recounted. “They also started touching me everywhere and at that point on the motorcycle, I passed out. Physically and mentally, I couldn't handle it anymore. I guess my body preferred to shut down.”
“After more than 50 days,” she continued, “I found out that my boyfriend, Matan, was also a hostage, just a short distance away, but I couldn't reach him. I begged the terrorists to let me see him. They said, 'Later.' The next day, they told me I was leaving. I refused. I wanted to see Matan. I knew that if I would leave, my soul would remain there, in Gaza. I left with a hole in my heart.”
Read more on the meeting here from JI’s Marc Rod. |  Wikimedia Commons Israeli film and theatre actress, Dalia Friedland turns 90...
Rabbi and Talmudic scholar, also emeritus professor of economics at New York University, closely identified with the Austrian school of economic thought, Yisroel Mayer Kirzner turns 95... Former chair of the Toronto-based Mackenzie Institute think tank, he was a North York and Toronto city councillor, Norman "Norm" Gardner turns 87... Professor at American Jewish University in Los Angeles and scholar of biblical literature and Semitic languages, Ziony Zevit turns 83... Newsletter editor specializing in U.S. intelligence, military and foreign policy issues, Jeff Stein turns 81... U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) turns 79... Professor of anthropology at the University of Toronto, author of 'I Did Not Know You Were Jewish’ and Other Things Not to Say, Ivan Kalmar turns 77... Former CEO of the Cleveland Browns and president of the Philadelphia Eagles, Joe Banner turns 72... Radio broadcaster for the New York Mets, Howard "Howie" Rose turns 71... Painter and photographer, Ron Agam turns 67... Ukrainian businessman, previously president of the United Jewish Community of Ukraine, Ihor Kolomoyskyi turns 62... Casting director, Amy Sobo... President and CEO of the congressionally chartered National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Jeffrey Rosen turns 61... Member of the Knesset for United Torah Judaism, Moshe Shimon Roth turns 61... Internet entrepreneur best known as the co-founder of Zynga, maker of online social games, Mark Pincus turns 59... A former chair of national women’s philanthropy of the Jewish Federations of North America, Rochelle "Shelly" Kupfer... Former senior speechwriter for Treasury secretaries Geithner and Lew during the Obama administration, Mark Cohen... Retired Israeli soccer player, he made 89 international appearances for Israel and won nine league championships, more than any other Israeli player, Alon Harazi turns 54... Founding partner of Drowos Wealth Management Group at Center Street Capital Advisors, Bryan M. Drowos... Publisher of Southern California's Jewish Link, Dov Blauner... Investigative reporter at Reuters since 2018, following 12 years as a Wall Street Journal reporter, Mike Spector... Executive director of media relations for Columbia University, Samantha Slater... Principal at Aviv Recovery, Jonathan Neuman... Director of philanthropy at LPPE LLC, Daniel Sperling... Founder and owner at Miami's Cadena Collective, Alejandra Aguirre turns 34... | | | | | |
