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Daniel Lurie, Jewish Levi Strauss heir and philanthropist, is running for San Francisco mayor

(J. Jewish News of Northern California via JTA) — Daniel Lurie, an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune who is a philanthropist and nonprofit founder, is running for mayor of San Francisco.

Lurie is seeking to lead the California city at a time of great challenge. San Francisco experienced a steep population decline during the pandemic; the tech economy on which much of its tax base rests is shaky; and high rates of property crime, homelessness and drug abuse have troubled locals and undercut perceptions nationally.

Lurie will challenge Mayor London Breed, who will be running for a second full term next year. This is Lurie’s first campaign for public office, and in a video announcing his campaign, he highlighted public safety, affordable housing and combating “the era of open-air drug dealing.”

“When I say I’m going to do something, I get it done and I bring everyone along with me,” Lurie, 46, said in the video, posted on Tuesday. “I love this city, but what we are seeing on the streets of San Francisco is not progressive.”

Though Lurie is not widely known by San Franciscans, his family’s roots are deep and their wealth has made them prominent in the Jewish community locally and beyond.

His mother, Mimi Haas, is a billionaire, according to Forbes, who owns 16% of Levi Strauss & Co. and for years sat on its board. Her second husband, from 1981 until his death in 2005, was Peter E. Haas, the great-grandnephew of Levi Strauss.

Mimi is also president of the Mimi and Peter Haas Fund, a grant-making organization focused on early childhood education. The Haas family has donated massive sums to institutions across the Bay Area, much of it anonymously.

Lurie’s father, Rabbi Brian Lurie, was director of the San Francisco-based Jewish Community Federation from 1974 to 1991. In the late 1990s, he was president of the San Francisco Jewish Museum for five years as it transitioned from a small operation into the Contemporary Jewish Museum. Later, he served as president of the New Israel Fund, which funds progressive causes in Israel.

Daniel Lurie’s own resume includes chairing the host committee for Super Bowl 50 in 2016. The committee raised millions for charity.

He earned his master’s degree in public policy from the University of California, Berkeley in 2005, and that same year, he founded Tipping Point Community, which has given more than $350 million to Bay Area organizations involved in combating poverty through housing, early childhood education and employment opportunities.

In addition to Breed and Lurie, the 2024 San Francisco mayor’s race will include Supervisor Ahsha Safaí.

A version of this story originally appeared in J. Jewish News of Northern California and is reprinted with permission.


The post Daniel Lurie, Jewish Levi Strauss heir and philanthropist, is running for San Francisco mayor appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

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Riding Anti-Trump Wave, Australia’s Albanese Secures 2nd term

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a press conference with New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Aug. 16, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Tracey Nearmy

i24 NewsAustralia’s Anthony Albanese claimed a second term as prime minister on Saturday, in a comeback against once-resurgent conservatives that commentators said was powered by voters’ concerns about the impact of US President Donald Trump.

Peter Dutton, leader of the conservative Liberal party, conceded defeat and the loss of his own seat, echoing the fate of Canada’s conservatives and their leader Pierre Poilievre, whose election losses last week were also widely attributed to a Trump backlash.

Supporters at Labor’s election party in Sydney cheered and hugged each other as Albanese claimed victory and said his party would form a majority government.

“Our government will choose the Australian way, because we are proud of who we are and all that we have built together in this country,” Albanese told supporters.

The Australian Electoral Commission website projected Labor would win 81 of 150 seats in the House of Representatives, increasing its majority in parliament, with 68% of the vote counted.

The post Riding Anti-Trump Wave, Australia’s Albanese Secures 2nd term first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Israeli PM Netanyahu Postpones Upcoming Visit to Azerbaijan

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem, Feb. 16, 2025. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has postponed next week’s visit to Azerbaijan, his office announced on Saturday, in part due to recent developments in Gaza and Syria.

The prime minister’s office also cited “the intense diplomatic and security schedule” and said that the visit would be rescheduled, without announcing a new date.

Netanyahu was to visit Azerbaijan from May 7-11 and was expected to meet with President Ilham Aliyev. Israel and Azerbaijan maintain close security and energy ties.

The post Israeli PM Netanyahu Postpones Upcoming Visit to Azerbaijan first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Israel Says It Intercepted Missile Fired from Yemen; Houthis Claim Responsibility

Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

Israel’s military said on Saturday it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen and Houthi forces claimed responsibility for the attack, the third of its kind by the Iran-aligned group in 24 hours.

The Israeli military said sirens were activated in a number of areas in Israel after the missile was launched. No casualties or serious damage have been reported from the missile salvos.

The claim of responsibility, announced by the Houthis’ military spokesperson, came amid an intensification of US airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.

In March, US President Donald Trump ordered large-scale strikes against the Houthis to reduce their capabilities and deter them from targeting commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

The deadly strikes on the group have been the biggest US military operation in the Middle East since Trump took office in January.

The Houthis say their attacks on Israel and Red Sea shipping are in solidarity with the Palestinians in the war between Hamas terrorists and Israel in Gaza.

The group pledged to expand its range of targets in Israel in retaliation for a renewed Israeli offensive in Gaza launched in mid-March, breaking a two-month-old ceasefire after the mediated talks on terms for extending it broke down.

The post Israel Says It Intercepted Missile Fired from Yemen; Houthis Claim Responsibility first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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