• Chief-of-staff Rahm Emanuel’s family met with Shimon Peres; the Israeli president gave the bar mitzvah boy a pocket watch a Kiddush cup and a book of Psalms. [Ynet]
• Shmuel Rosner wonders why many magazines—he singles out Foreign Policy—give disproportionate attention to Israel. [Rosner’s Domain]
• Cyprus denied permission for the Gaza-bound “Freedom Flotilla” to mass in its waters. Though the practical effect will be minimal, Israel lauded the island nation. [Ynet]
• A conservative organization is pushing one American Christian minister’s line that the oil spill in the Gulf is retribution for President Obama’s tough line on Israel. [Religion Dispatches]
• Doug Quinn—previously seen mixing Rosh Hashanah cocktails for Tablet Magazine—is New York’s best bartender: The Times said so. [NYT]
• The White House’s Jewish Heritage reception is going on right now. Allison Hoffman will file a dispatch tomorrow, but for now, it’s streaming live!
Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.