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Daybreak: Obama Reassures Jewish Donors

Plus, Abbas says he would skip U.N. push, and more in the news

by
Marc Tracy
June 21, 2011
Obama leaves the Thomas Sweet ice cream parlor in Georgetown on June 19, 2011.(Martin H. Simon-Pool/Getty Images)
Obama leaves the Thomas Sweet ice cream parlor in Georgetown on June 19, 2011.(Martin H. Simon-Pool/Getty Images)

• President Obama’s fundraising dinner for Jewish donors last night was sold out, with 80 tickets starting at $25,000. He privately told them “there may be tactical disagreements” over Israel-Palestine but not over the prime need to ensure Israel’s security. [Haaretz]

• “I don’t know if the U.S. has another option,” President Abbas said, “but if it does, we will not go to the U.N.” Something tells me the U.S. will find another option. [Ynet]

• Syria’s President Assad gave his first address in two months, offering “national dialogue.” [NYT]

• According to Egyptian reports, the investigation into Ilan Grapel’s alleged espionage continues. [JPost]

• The Holocaust memorial in Salonika, Greece—once home to a gigantic Jewish population—was vandalized with swastikas and other anti-Semitic graffiti. [JTA]

• Dylan plays Tel Aviv. And apparently not everyone had received the memo about how he totally, utterly lost his voice. [Haaretz]

Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.