Daily Kickoff: WaPo’s coverage of antisemitism, Israel draws more scrutiny (2024)

Good Friday morning.

In today’sDaily Kickoff, we look at theHouse Education andtheWorkforce Committeereport on antisemitism atHarvard, and interview Silicon Valley executiveJacob Helbergabout his recent donation to former President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign after supporting President Joe Biden in 2020. Also in today’sDaily Kickoff:Eylon Levy,Joel EisdorferandMaxine Dexter.

For less-distracted reading over the weekend, browse this week’s edition ofThe Weekly Print, a curated print-friendly PDF featuring a selection of recentJewish InsiderandeJewishPhilanthropystories, including:Speaking in Doha, Bridgewater’s Israeli-born CEO says Middle East ‘setting itself up for next tech wave’; Druze Israelis remain on Lebanon border: ‘We’ll die defending our land if we have to’; Paying homage to Israel’s fallen female soldiers.Print the latest edition here.

TheWashington Post’s news coverage of the Biden administration’s Israel policyand university crackdowns on anti-Israel encampments on campus have lately been colored by an obsession that wealthy Jewish donors are the main force driving leaders’ decisions,Jewish InsiderEditor-in-Chief Josh Kraushaar writes.

The supposedly straight news reporting all but ignores the antisemitismthat was present at many of the encampments in the first place and fails to grapple with the reality of public opinion — that a sizable majority of the American public,according to polls, support Israel and oppose the anti-Israel campus activism.

The most recent storycasts a sinister light on mainstream Jewish advocacy, as a group of mostly Jewish business leaders, philanthropists and communal leaders communicated on a WhatsApp channel to push for New York City Mayor Eric Adams to send the NYPD to clear the increasingly disruptive campus takeover by anti-Israel activists. At the time of the conversation cited by the paper on April 26, coverage of the antisemitic nature of a number of the protests had been reported for days (including here at JI).

Far from being able to impact the chaotic situation at Columbia University, Jewish leaders and Columbia’s Jewish students were exasperated that the school wasn’t enforcing its own code of conduct against the protesters’ rule-breaking. The frustration hit a fever pitch after anti-Israel activists broke into Hamilton Hall and took over the campus building, without any immediate recourse from city or university officials.

But in the eyes of theWashington Post, “the messages offer a window into how some prominent individuals have wielded their money and power in an effort to shape American views of the Gaza war, as well as the actions of academic, business and political leaders — including New York’s mayor.”

The story drew the wrath of New York City Deputy Mayor Fabien Levy. “The insinuation that Jewish donors secretly plotted to influence government operations is an all too familiar antisemitic trope that the Washington Post should be ashamed to ask about, let alone normalize in print,” Levy said in a statement.Read more from JI’s Emily Jacobs on theWashington Postcontroversy here.

It’s not the first time this week that the paper’s news pages posited

“The decision underscores the administration’s reluctance to defy pro-Israel donorsin the Democratic Party who criticized Biden’s decision last week to withhold the shipment,” reporter John Hudsonwrote.

It’s unusual for a reporter to pin blame on pro-Israel donors in a straight news story, especially given that bipartisan support for Israel has been long-standing, as a result of widespread public support from voters. Just last month, the vast majority of lawmakers from both parties voted to approve military aid for Israel — in a show of bipartisan consensus dealing with threats from Iran, Russia and China. Advocacy groups can’t magically create public consensus if there’s not already a groundswell of organic public support for their cause.

These stories are only the most recent examplesof theWashington Postfacing scrutiny over its coverage of Israel and antisemitism. A recent story about the StopAntisemitism watchdog group euphemized the site’s documenting episodes of antisemitism as simply people who “criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza.”

The Atlanticran an essay this monthexcoriating the paperfor “whitewashing Hamas and the murders it committed as ‘criticism’ of Israel” and for “fail[ing] to explain Hamas’s aims — which include the complete destruction of Israel by any means, including the mass murder of innocent civilians.”

Earlier this year,JIreportedthat theWashington Posthad made some egregious errors in its Middle East coverage, and was forced to write a lengthy editor’s note last December admitting numerous mistakes with a front-page story on Israel’s treatment of Palestinian infants.

We’re following news out of Iran this weekthat the Islamic republic plans to execute a young Jewish man, which a source in contact with the Iranian Jewish community confirmed to JI on Friday. There have been mixed reports about the planned date for the execution, which may take place as soon as Saturday, but JI can confirm that it had yet to happen as of Friday morning. The 20-year-old Jewish man, whose Hebrew name is Arvin Netanel ben Sonia, “is going to be executed due to act of self defence against a muslim man who attacked him with knife but was killed himself,” Ben Sabti, an Iran researcher at The Institute for National Security Studies,posted on X. His familyreportedlyoffered to pay damages to the deceased’s family, as permitted under Iranian law, but they refused to accept it. Iran is currentlyhometo over 8,000 Jews, a number that dwindled from over 60,000 at the start of the Iranian Revolution in 1979.

A new report released on Thursday by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce suggests that Harvard University continuously and repeatedly sidelined its Antisemitism Working Group and its recommendations, a situation that at one point prompted a majority of the working group’s members to threaten to resign en masse,Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. The report, based on internal communications and notes as well as a transcribed interview with advisory group member Dara Horn, details the work of the first of two antisemitism task forces the school has launched in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Sidelined:The House committee, investigating campus antisemitism, found that the working group provided recommendations to Harvard’s leadership in mid-December, which went largely unaddressed, that the working group identified severe antisemitic harassment and marginalization of Israeli students and that Harvard’s senior leadership sidelined the working group —including failing to consult with the group before the former Harvard president testified to the committee.

Unresponsive:The report highlights a series of incidents of antisemitism on Harvard’s campus for which the school could notpoint to any specific response or disciplinary action it had taken. It says that the working group itself found a similar pattern of unaddressed antisemitic harassment. It also outlines a messy and unclear process for transitioning from the working group into the school’s new Antisemitism Task Force.

Smokescreen:“The Committee’s report proves that former President Gay and Harvard’s leadership propped up the university’s Antisemitism Advisory Group all for show,” said Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) said in a statement. “Not only did the AAG find that antisemitism was a major issue on campus, it offered several recommendations on how to combat the problem — none of which were ever implemented with any real vigor.”

Read the full story here.

University of California Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ is retiring in just over a month, but nothing about her job is quieting down in her final days. Instead, the English professor is facing blowback from some in the local Jewish community regarding a series of actions she took this week to try to end the school’s Gaza solidarity encampment,Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.

Campus climate:On Tuesday, Christ sent a letter to the “Free Palestine Encampment” outlining an agreement she had reached with the protest leaders in exchange for them ending their encampment. The letter quickly raised eyebrows among Jewish leaders for its concessions to the protesters and language it used around antisemitism. The next day, after the tents were taken down, several dozen pro-Palestinian activistsoccupieda campus building that was not in use. They hung up the Palestinian flag and drew antisemitic graffiti that said “Zionism = Nazism” and equated the Jewish star to the swastika.

Last-minute meeting:Amid all of thetumult, Christ reached out on Wednesday to the members of the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Jewish Life and Campus Climate, a group consisting of Jewish faculty members, students and local leaders, to schedule a meeting for Thursday. The advisory committee had not been consulted in the course of Christ’s negotiations with the anti-Israel protesters, despite several reported instances of antisemitism on campus, one person who was at the meeting told JI. The person who attended the meeting, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about the conversation, said it “went badly,” with “students crying [and] professors angry.”

Positive engagement:In Christ’s Tuesday letter to the encampment leaders, she described their conversations as “quite valuable” and recognized the group’s “efforts to maintain a professional, organized, and productive approach during a very difficult time.” She responded politely to the protesters’ demands while seeming to absolve them of the antisemitic behavior that university officials acknowledge took place.

Read the full story here.

Bonus:Twelve peoplewere arrestedin a complex on the UC Berkeley campus after failing to disperse from the area by the deadline given by local police.

When Jacob Helberg decided in 2020 to start making major political contributions for the first time, it was a no-brainer for him to choose Democrats. A tech expert who was beginning to make a name for himself in Silicon Valley, Helberg donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to President Joe Biden’s 2020 general election campaign and that of scores of other Democratic candidates. Four years later, he’s still shaping up to be a big donor in this year’s presidential race, but this time to former President Donald Trump’s campaign. It’s a change that Helberg said has less to do with a shift in his own thinking than a shift in the Democratic Party that he does not support,he toldJewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch in an interview Thursday.

New ideology:“It became very clear that an organizing principle on the left increasingly became based on a divvying up of the world between oppressors and oppressed,” said Helberg, who serves as a senior policy adviser to Alex Karp, CEO of the defense technology firm Palantir. “It’s just an organizing principle that I fundamentally disagree with.”

Pocketbook politics:Helberg has donated $1 million to Trump’s campaign so far this year, theWashington Postreportedthis week. Part of his rationale in switching to Trump has to do with Israel and antisemitism. Helbergtweeted last weekthat “American Jews who still support Biden should have their heads examined.” But he acknowledges that part of it is economic, too — he doesn’t support Biden’s approach to taxation, particularly a proposal to raise the capital gains tax rate to 44%.

Read the full interview here.

In Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District, the candidacy of Susheela Jayapal, a Multnomah County commissioner and sister of Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) —a leading advocate for suspending U.S. arms sales to Israel —quickly raised concerns in the pro-Israel community. Democratic state Rep. Maxine Dexter has seen an influx of support for her campaign in the run-up to the May 21 primary,Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Matthew Kassel report. Dexter told JI earlier this year she wants to see a permanent end to the war in Gaza, but also said she opposes new conditions on U.S. aid to Israel.

Outside spending:The Dexter campaign has received more than $4 million in assistance from outside groups, which Jayapal and Gresham City Councilor Eddy Morales have claimed are being funded by donors connected to AIPAC. Dexter has herselfdenounced the outside spendingas “a prime example of how broken our campaign finance system is,” while alsohighlighting the lackof “hard evidence” for her opponents’ claims about the groups’ supporters.

Fundraising influx:Dexter has seen a late surge in fundraising as well, raising nearly three times the amount of money between March and April ($581,000) than she did in the three months prior ($184,000), according to federal filings. She now is the leading overall fundraiser, surpassing Jayapal and Morales.

Oct. 7 response:Dexter said she’s been in conversation with leaders in the Jewish community since before she entered the race about the Hamas attack and its ongoing impacts, both in the Middle East and at home, as well as working to educate herself on the conflict. “What happened on Oct. 7 was horrific. There was a cease-fire on Oct. 6, and Hamas killed 1,200 people brutally, created so much pain in people’s homes within a secure border of their nation. That was horrific,” Dexter said. “And of course, Israel had the right to defend itself, they were obligated to defend itself.”

Cease-fire:She also expressed concern, as a physician, about a lack of access to medical care in Gaza and widespread civilian deaths, as well as Hamas’ construction of tunnels underneath Gaza hospitals. “We need a negotiated cease-fire and long-term peace and two-state solution and end to the violence, and get food and humanitarian aid to people in Gaza, urgently,” Dexter said, calling humanitarian aid shortages, “deeply concerning, morally, just untenable in my mind.”

Read the full interview here.

One-third of the Palestinian journalists listed by the Committee to Protect Journalists as being killed in the war in Gaza were employed by terrorist groups,Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkovhas learned. The high number of journalists reported by NGOs killed in Gaza has made headlines in theWashington Post,The New York Timesand elsewhere, without any mention of their affiliations with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Affiliated media:Out of 100 Palestinian journalists onthe liston May 17, 33 worked for “Hamas-affiliated” media, such as Al-Aqsa Voice Radio, Al-Quds Al-Youm, Quds News Network and others. Another two worked for Palestinian Islamic Jihad outlets Kan’an and Mithaq Media Foundation. Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV was named aSpecially Designated Global Terroristby the U.S. Treasury Department in 2010; the outlet employed 13 of those listed by CPJ. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) claims that 105 journalists were killed in Gaza, but onlylists23 of them. Several worked for terrorist organizations’ media outlets, but those affiliations are not listed on the RSF website.

Hamas affiliates:These include Hassouna Salim, the director of the Hamas propaganda arm Quds News; Mohamed Khalifeh, director at Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV; Abdallah Iyad Breis, the lead photographer for the Hamas Education Ministry’s TV channel; and others.

Different standards:Both organizations say that they only included journalists “killed in connection with their work or where there is still some doubt that their death was work-related,” according to CPJ. RSF also noted in a statement to JI that they list journalists “killed in the line of duty or for reasons related to work.” In that vein, CPJ removed journalists Shai Regev and Ayelet Arnin from its list because they were attending the Nova festival, but not reporting on it. RSF did not include Oded Lifsh*tz, a hostage held by Hamas in Gaza since Oct. 7, who wrote for Haaretz as recently as last year. Both included Roee Idan, who took photographs for Ynet on the morning of Oct. 7 before being killed by Hamas. But a review of their lists indicates that their standard of only including journalists who were on duty was not applied consistently.

Read the full story here.

Two of Israel’s highest-profile spokespeople since Oct. 7 – former government spokesman Eylon Levy and Lt. Col. (Res.) Jonathan Conricus – lamented the state of Israel’s public diplomacy on Wednesday in a webinar for the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy,Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov, who moderated the session, reports.“The whole public diplomacy operation…was improvised and set up on the fly,” Levy, who recently departed his government role amid reports of political infighting, said. “The fact that I was able to become a government spokesman tells you the best and worst about Israel. The best is that Israel knows, in times of emergency, to be flexible and agile and creative and give young people responsibility. The worst, because this is not the way it should work.”

‘Not too late’:Levy, whom Israeli media said in January was being targeted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife, Sara Netanyahu, over his participation in the pre-Oct. 7 protest movement, pointed out that when the war began, Netanyahu did not have a spokesman for foreign media. He added that the department that handles media relations “is still largely improvised.” He became the government spokesman after joining a volunteer effort to organize a daily press briefing about the war, which was eventually adopted by the government’s Public Diplomacy Directorate. “The IDF spokesperson’s unit is a veritable empire when you consider the number of people it was able to bring into reserves, but the civilian effort doesn’t have that,” Levy said. “The incredible mobilization we’ve seen in recent months needs to be formalized and institutionalized and made official. It’s not too late to do it in this war.”

Front and center:Conricus, the former IDF spokesperson to foreign media and a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, also said that the military taking the lead in communications “is not how it’s supposed to be. It should be driven by men and women, preferably women, in suits who do not represent the military… I’m propagating for women of color.” Conricus said the IDF has improved in its communications with the international media in this war, prioritizing it more than in past crises. “[IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel ] Hagari speaks in English and really puts international media front and center. We’ve seen multiple cases where international media has been given access to breaking news that Israeli media, the vaunted military correspondents, are not getting access to,” he pointed out. “That is part of an understanding that I think is correct…that communicating well with the world…is a very important enabler for the IDF to continue to operate. If we don’t do it right, we are shooting ourselves in the foot and we are limiting our freedom of action to operate and pursue our strategic goals.”

Read the full story here.

Quad Concerns:In theWashington Post, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA)reflectson the anti-Israel protests and encampments that have occurred on dozens of college campuses in recent weeks. “At a time of campus protests that echo what America saw during the Vietnam War, we must begin with the lessons of Kent State and Jackson State. Our nation must always stand for free speech, whether that speech is critical of Israel, of Hamas or of America. Criticism of the policies of a government in power is neither a rejection of patriotism nor an expression of bigotry. An open society like ours is designed for sharp disagreement and controversy. But the defense of dissent does not absolve us of the moral responsibility to call out protests when they devolve into toxic and vile threats against Jews or any other ethnic group. Prejudice is not a form of discussion. … Universities must treat every single community member as an equal in dialogue and the pursuit of truth, and there must be consequences for anyone who violates this basic moral standard. Students should be able to walk freely on campus expressing their religious and cultural identity without being harassed or targeted.”[WashPost]

Spying Games:InThe Atlantic, Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who was imprisoned by Iran for more than two years on charges of espionage,comparesIsrael’s relative success in conducting covert activities, as opposed to Iran. “The incompetence and lack of professionalism of much of the Iranian intelligence apparatus stands in stark contrast to the efficiency of Israel’s, which is alleged to have carried out sophisticated sabotage and assassination plots on Iranian territory… From what I came to understand, Israel has been able to capitalize on the Islamic Republic’s record of poor governance, economic mismanagement, poverty, and political repression to offer would-be collaborators valuable ways out. These could take the form of bundles of cash or offers of permanent residency, not only for Iranians who assist their operations, but for their family members as well. In this respect as in many others, the Islamic Republic has become its own greatest adversary: Having shown itself over the decades to be impervious to ideological moderation or reform from within, it has become so hated that its own people — its biggest victims — are willing to embrace the possibility that the enemy of their enemy is their friend. I lost track of the number of Iranians in prison who advocated for heavier economic sanctions and openly welcomed American or Israeli air strikes on Iran.”[TheAtlantic]

The Jewish Vote:InThe Wall Street Journal, the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue’s Rabbi Ammiel HirschcautionsDemocrats not to take Jewish voters, who have historically voted Democratic, for granted amid an explosion of antisemitism in left-wing circles. “Criticism of Israeli policies isn’t necessarily antisemitic. But since Oct. 7, American Jews understand much better the nexus between anti-Zionism and antisemitism. Most of us don’t blame Israel for the explosion of antisemitism in America. On the contrary, it is clearer to us than ever why there must be an Israel. We now realize that in most cases anti-Zionism constitutes, or leads inevitably to, antisemitism. American politicians who seek the support of the American Jewish community would be well-advised to heed these realities. Michigan won’t be the only state that matters in November. And even in Michigan, there are many different constituencies. Ignore American Jews at your own political peril.”[WSJ]

Cairo Conundrum:InThe Washington Examiner, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Haisam Hassaneinlooks athow Israel’s control of Rafah “threatens Egypt’s ability to exploit the chaos in Gaza” as Cairo works to appease both Hamas and the global powers working to end the war. “But Cairo does not come to the table with clean hands. For the better part of the last two decades, Egypt has allowed weapons and money to flow to Hamas. In a 2013 interview, Hamas’s Moussa Abu Marzouk said that former Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman helped the terrorist group and opposed any effort to dismantle it. Egyptian security officials have looked the other way while Hamas and other Palestinian militants dug tunnels on the Egyptian-Gaza border. That gave Cairo the ability to use the situation in Gaza as a tool for regional influence and to ensure Egypt’s role in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict would not be eclipsed by regional competitors such as Qatar and Turkey. … While it may be hard for policymakers in Washington to come to terms with Egypt’s double game, it’s a painful conversation that must be had. No serious effort to turn the page on Hamas will yield the desired results without cutting this umbilical cord between the Sisi regime and Hamas.”[WashingtonExaminer]

Holding Up Aid:The U.S. ismulling sanctionson Israelis who participate in efforts to disrupt aid convoys bound for Gaza.

Killed on Oct. 7:Israelconfirmedthat two Thai agricultural workers who were believed to be held hostage by Hamas were killed on Oct. 7; their bodies were taken to the enclave, where they remain along with six other Thai nationals who are believed to be alive.

Bell’s Boost:Two St. Louis-area chapters of Indivisible, a progressive organization that has been deeply critical of Israel and U.S. policy toward Israel,endorsed Rep. Cori Bush’s (D-MO)primary opponent Wesley Bell, suggesting significant challenges for Bush’s reelection. Bell is also endorsed by AIPAC.

Center Stage:TheWashington Postlooks athow Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) has moderated many of his positions in the run-up to his Senate bid in purple Arizona.

In the Courts:A man accused of striking Paul Kessler during dueling protests in Los Angeles last yearwill facemanslaughter charges, following a determination by the city’s medical examiner that the 69-year-old pro-Israel activist died from blunt force trauma associated with being struck with a megaphone and the subsequent fall.

On the Move:Joel Eisdorfer, a senior adviser to New York City Mayor Eric Adams,will departthe mayor’s office next month.

On the Hill:Despite publicly expressed concerns about the administration’s decision to withhold some arms transfers from Israel and its threats to suspend further arms transfers, all but 16 Democrats voted on Thursday against a bill that sought to force the administration to allow arms sales and transfers to proceed,Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.

Lobby Day:Some 1,200 pro-Israel activists from around the country affiliated with NORPAC, a bipartisan political action committee, took to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to advocate for continued support of Israel in its war against Hamas and to demand action from members of Congress to curb the unprecedented levels of antisemitism on U.S. college campuses,eJewishPhilanthropy’s Haley Cohen reports for Jewish Insider.

Faculty Vote:The undergraduate faculty at Columbia Universitypasseda symbolic no-confidence vote in President Minouche Shafik over her handling of the campus anti-Israel protests.

Berkeley Brouhaha:TheSan Francisco Chroniclereports onpressure mounting on Berkeley Public Schools officials following an anti-Israel walkout at a local middle school that reportedly included incidents of physical violence and antisemitism.

Campus Beat:A student at Oregon’s Reed Collegewas struckby a rock thrown through his dorm window, a day after his mezuzah was desecrated by an unknown individual.

Coming Soon:“We Will Dance Again,” the documentary about the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack at the Nova music festival,will premiere exclusivelyon Paramount+ this fall.

Cannes Statement:A survivor of the Oct. 7 attack at the Nova music festivalappearedat the Cannes Film Festival this week wearing a yellow dress decorated with the faces of some of the remaining hostages.

Take Two:The Academy Museum of Motion Pictureswill open“Hollywoodland: Jewish Founders and the Making of a Movie Capital,” this Sunday, two years after the museum came under fire for omitting the contributions of Hollywood’s Jewish founders.

Net Gains:The Wall Street JournalspotlightsColumbia University tennis coach Howard Endelman, who left a job in private equity to coach the team, now making its first Elite Eight appearance in the school’s history.

French Arson:Police in Rouen, France,killeda man who was attempting to set fire to a local synagogue.

Shots Fired:The area around Israel’s embassy in Stockholm, Sweden,was sealed offfollowing reported gunshots in the vicinity.

ICC Ask:South Africais pushingthe International Court of Justice to force an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and halt Israeli operations in Rafah.

War Coverage:PoynterinterviewsFox News correspondent Trey Yingst about covering the Israel-Hamas war.

Stuck in Gaza:The Wall Street Journalreports ona group of American medical professionals unable to leave Gaza while Egypt refuses to work with Israel to reopen the Rafah border crossing.

JI wine columnist Yitz Applbaum reviews theMika Cabernet Shiraz 2021:

Whenever I am in the general vicinity of Israel, I make sure to jump on a plane to visit my grandson. He’s a bit too young to drink wine, but I let him taste a little on my finger. During my most recent visit, I gave him a finger full of a wine I had never tasted as we opened a 2021 Mika Cabernet/Shiraz from a renowned female winemaker in the Golan. It opens with a strong burst of northern Israel shiraz, with earthy and spicy notes. As you continue to drink, the sun-soaked cabernet begins to take over and soften the initial boldness. The finish leaves a punch of tart raspberry and subtle pipe tobacco flavors. This wine is best enjoyed within the next three years and pairs nicely with sweet challah from Vizhnitz.

Matisyahu performs “One Day” alongside musicians including Idan Raichel, Five for Fighting’s John Ondrasik and Kisha Dillz on Thursday at the“We Will Dance Again” concert at MITin Cambridge.

Film producer, he is the CEO of Miramax since six weeks ago,Jonathan Glickmanturns 55 on Saturday…

FRIDAY:President of the Philadelphia-based Honickman Foundation, her family owns one of the largest soft drink bottlers in the U.S.,Lynne Korman Honickmanturns 88… Annapolis, Md., attorney,Robert M. Pollock… News anchor for 45 years at WPVI-TV (ABC Channel 6) in Philadelphia until he retired in 2022, known professionally as Jim Gardner,James Goldmanturns 76… Canadian philanthropist and the first woman to serve as lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia,Myra Ava Freemanturns 75… Corporate and securities attorney at NYC’s Eilenberg & Krause,Sheldon Krauseturns 69… Comedian, puppeteer and actor,Marc Weinerturns 69… Founder and president of ENS Resources, a D.C.-based consulting and lobbying firm focused on natural resources and sustainable energy,Eric Sapirsteinturns 68… Host of “Marketplace Morning Report” on public radio,David Brancaccioturns 64… Author of the 2005 bookStars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewishand a 2017 book about Jewish holidays, she is an honorary president of NYC’s Central Synagogue,Abigail Pogrebin… and her identical twin sister,Robin Pogrebin, reporter on the culture desk forThe New York Times, both turn 59… Former general manager for corporate strategy at Microsoft, she was also an EVP at Hillel,Kinney Zalesneturns 58… CPA and founder of the Baltimore Hunger Project, it provides food packs for the weekend that are discreetly slipped into over 2,100 poverty-stricken public-school children’s backpacks each Friday,Lynne Berkowitz Kahn… Israeli author and playwright,Sarah Blauturns 51… Reporter forThe New York Timescovering campaigns and elections,Reid J. Epstein… Former member of Knesset, when elected in 2013 she became the youngest female Knesset member in Israel’s history,Stav Shaffirturns 39… Executive director of Informing Democracy and digital strategy adviser to Democratic organizations and candidates,Jenna Ruth Lowenstein… Digital and social media strategist at AARP,Sarah Sonies… Senior writer at Microsoft’s Future of Work group,Rebecca Rose Nelson Kay… Israeli judoka, he was the 2019 World Champion and won a team bronze medal at the 2020 Olympics,Sagi Aharon Mukiturns 32… Program advisor to the education director at the Boston Jewish Education Program, she is also a student rabbi at Temple Shir Tikva,Heather Renetzky… External communications representative at Apache Corporation,Katherine (Katie) Keenan…

SATURDAY:Leader and rebbe of the Hasidic dynasty of Ger since 1996,Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Alterturns 85… Chairman and co-founder of K2 Intelligence and Kroll Bond Rating Agency,Jules B. Krollturns 83… Best-selling author of spy thriller novels,Andrew Gary Kaplanturns 83… Widow of Bernard “Bernie” Madoff,Ruth Madoffturns 83… RetiredNew York Timescolumnist and editorial writer, he was the NYT’s Jerusalem correspondent for four years in the early 1990s,Clyde Habermanturns 79… President of Everest Management and trustee of the Cheetah Conservation Fund,Gary Kopffturns 79… Managing partner for Volt Energy and former Senate Watergate Committee counsel,K. Barry Schochet… Los Angeles-based attorney and board member of American Friends of Nishmat,Linda Goldenberg Mayman… Long-time Washington correspondent forNewsweek, now writing forSpyTalk,Jonathan Broderturns 76… Longest-serving member of the Maryland House of Delegates, starting in 1983,Samuel I. “Sandy” Rosenbergturns 74… Chair of the executive of the Jewish Agency for Israel, a former IDF major general and leading activist for the disability community,Doron Almogturns 73… Senior advisor at Moelis & Company, he was previously a major general in the IDF, then CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries,Shlomo Yanaiturns 72… Director of nutrition and hospitality at Philadelphia’s Temple University Hospital,Nancy Baumann… Attorney in Atlanta, he was the director of congregational engagement at the Union for Reform Judaism for nine years,Alan Kitey… Bethesda, Md., orthodontist and president of the Aleph Bet Montessori board,Dr. Alan Hellerturns 61… Venture capitalist, podcast host, chairman of HaShomer Hachadash and author of a book on business principles derived from the Book of Genesis,Michael A. Eisenbergturns 53… Former CEO at Waze,Noam Bardin… VP for communications strategy at Strategic Marketing Innovations (SMI),Bryan Benderturns 52… Head of development at NYC charter school system, Uncommon Schools,Sarah Danzig… Author of Substack-based newsletter, Slow Boring,Matthew Yglesiasturns 43… Director of a team of researchers at Gartner in London,Eliza Krigman… Staffer for the Senate Armed Services Committee,Eric Trager… Foreign correspondent for NBC News,Joshua Lederman… Former acting undersecretary of defense for intelligence and security, now a member of the National Archives Public Interest Declassification Board,Ezra Asa Cohenturns 38… Tech entrepreneur in the Web 3 and gaming space,Dan Garon… Co-founder of Rebel acquired by Salesforce,Joe Teplow… Associate in the D.C. office of Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe,Lauren DePinto Bomberger… Executive producer of the “Net Zero Life” podcast,Netanel (Tani) Levitt… Director of communications at Anduril Industries,Sofia Rose Gross Haft… Five-time member of the U.S. Women’s National Gymnastics Team, now a technical program manager for Apple,Samantha “Sami” Shapiroturns 31… Chief development officer at TAMID Group,Rachel Philipson… Head of the Yad Vashem America desk,Chen Harkov…

SUNDAY:Retired senior counsel in the D.C. office of Blank Rome,Harvey Sherzer… Retired chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals, now of counsel in the NYC office of Latham & Watkins,Jonathan Lippmanturns 79… Clinical psychologist, author, teacher, public speaker and ordained rabbi,Dennis G. Shulmanturns 74… Former member of the California State Senate, she was also a member of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus,Hannah-Beth Jacksonturns 74… Israeli novelist and journalist,Edna Shemeshturns 71… Nurse and former member of the Wisconsin State Assembly,Sandra (Sandy) Paschturns 70… Harvey D. Harman… Retired chief of the general staff of the IDF, now a member of the Knesset and a minister without portfolio,Gadi Eizenkotturns 64… Chabad-Lubavitch rabbi, born in Milan, now chief rabbi of Russia,Rabbi Berel Lazarturns 60… Journalist, teacher and playwright,Gersh Kuntzmanturns 59… Professor of mathematics at the University of Chicago,Alex Eskinturns 59… Author of 28 novels that have sold over 40 million copies in 34 languages,Jodi Picoultturns 58… Business manager for NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan,Estee Portnoy… Former CEO of Bend the Arc,Stosh Cotler… Israeli-born chef, owner of multiple NYC restaurants, she is a cookbook author and comedian,Einat Admonyturns 53… Israeli actress and fashion designer,Dorit Bar Orturns 49… Canadian food writer and cookbook author,Gail Simmonsturns 48… Member of the Knesset for the Likud party since 2019,Ofir Katzturns 44… Pitcher for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic and is now pitching coach for the UC Davis Aggies,Zachary “Zack” James Thorntonturns 36… Activist, advocacy educator, engagement strategist and TED speaker,Natalie Warne… Ice hockey forward currently playing for SKA Saint Petersburg (Russia) of the Kontinental Hockey League,Brendan Leipsicturns 30…