WASHINGTON, DC (Press Release)- The Office of the First Lady announced on Tuesday, Nov. 16, that Susan Sher, Chief of Staff to Michelle Obama, will be returning to Chicago after the first of the year, after nearly two years of service. Sher started in the White House Counsel’s Office in January, 2009, to support the Office […]
Susan Scher to leave White House position as chief of staff to First Lady Read More »
USABy Brad Dayspring WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)– On Nov. 10, Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Regency Hotel in New York. Early the next morning, after a handful of journalists asked for details, our office released a short readout divided into three different issue areas – Iran,
Press secretary tells of Eric Cantor’s now controversial meeting with Netanyahu Read More »
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By Barry Rubin HERZLIYA, Israel — You’re traveling through another dimension–a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind; a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That’s a signpost up ahead: your next stop: the Twilight Zone! –Rod Serling’s introduction to the “Twilight Zone” television series Just when
Commentary: Barack Obama an intellectual? An ideologue is more like it! Read More »
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By Jeanette Friedman SOUTH ORANGE, New Jersey — The auditorium at Jubillee Hall was filled November 14, as curious Seton Hall students, Jews (including Holocaust survivors and educators), Muslims and Christians came to hear Imam Abdullah Antepli describe how a trip he took to Auschwitz last August changed his life. He was one of the
U.S. imam describes self as a ‘recovering anti-Semite’ following trip to Auschwitz Read More »
USABy Barry Rubin HERZLIYA, Israel — Six years ago, on November 11, 2004, Yasir Arafat died. On that occasion, former President Bill Clinton explained why he wouldn’t attend Arafat’s funeral: “I regret that in 2000 he missed the opportunity to bring [Palestine] into being….” Not Israel, but Arafat did so. Today, the Arafat era’s lessons
Six years after his death, Arafat’s legacy one of terror, stubbornness, greed Read More »
International, Middle East, USAWASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) released a statement decrying the immense infusion of anonymous cash into the 2010 elections and calling for passage of the DISCLOSE Act as a step toward transparency in campaign funding. NCJW’s Board of Directors on Friday, Nov. 12, released the following statement: “The 2010 election season
By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA –The day after news broke that a Catholic archbishop suggested that Judaism has been displaced, Abe Foxman fired off a letter to Cardinal-elect Kurt Koch, the newly appointed president of Vatican’s Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, wrote on Oct. 25: “We
Reacting to anti-Semitism in the white and black communities Read More »
USAWASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)– Congressman Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) on Wednesday, Nov. 10, condemned a group of conspirators for defrauding a Holocaust fund and commended the FBI for uncovering the crime. The Memphis Congressman has a long history of working to ensure fairness for Holocaust survivors and chaired a hearing this past September on the Holocaust Insurance
WASHINGTON, DC (Press Release) – The National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) on Wednesday condemned Republican Congressman-elect Allen West’s (R-FL) decision to appoint talk radio host Joyce Kaufman as his Chief of Staff. NJDC President and CEO David A. Harris said upon hearing of Kaufman’s appointment: “Congressman-elect Allen West’s constituents – but especially his Jewish constituents – should
New congressman’s appointment of radio commentator to staff riles Jewish Democrats Read More »
USABy Barry Rubin HERZLIYA, Israel — Here’s a really interesting op-ed piece on al-Jazeera by a moderate Muslim with some useful ideas. But it also shows the weaknesses of that standpoint. Mohamed El-Moctar El-Shinqiti (his transliteration, not mine) was born in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, so he isn’t strictly speaking a mainstream Arab. But
A moderate Muslim voice from Mauritania Read More »
International, USASACRAMENTO (Press Release)–California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner on Tuesday, Nov. 9, announced that he is filing a lawsuit challenging a California Office of Administrative Law (OAL) determination, issued last month at the behest of the insurance industry, that the Commissioner’s efforts to stop insurers from investing in Iran constituted an “underground regulation.” The Commissioner’s lawsuit contests
NEW ORLEANS (Press Release)— The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) on Tuesday awarded Jay Feinberg, from Boca Raton, Florida, the 2010 Jewish Community Hero Award. The award marked the culmination of the second annual Jewish Community Heroes contest, in which more than 300,000 votes were cast online to recognize the selflessness and courage of those
Jay Feinberg, bone marrow foundation founder, named Jewish Community Hero Read More »
USABy Barry Rubin HERZLIYA, Israel (Press Release)–What effect will the congressional elections have on U.S. foreign policy generally and Middle East policy in particular? It isn’t a matter of the individual candidates, since nobody lost or won who will have some big influence on U.S. policy in the next couple of years. The important factor
Will Obama be pragmatic or an idealogue in second half of term? Read More »
Middle East, USAWASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)–The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund has announced that more openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) candidates won election to public office in the U.S. in 2010 than in any year in America’s history. At least 106 of the group’s record-breaking 164 endorsed candidates were winners as of Wednesday morning, including Providence,
More LGBT candidates elected this year than any before Read More »
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