Ron Kampeas

Analysis: Gaza crisis is opportunity for Obama

Published on December 29, 2008

Does the mini-war underway between Israel and Hamas in and around the Gaza Strip present President-elect Barack Obama's incoming administration with a crisis or an opportunity?

Analysis: Obama sounding similar to Bush on foreign policy

Published on December 3, 2008

Not only is Barack Obama inheriting President Bush's Middle East, it looks like he's adopting his strategies.

Jewish organizations mostly at ease with Obama appointees

Published on November 24, 2008

Barack Obama's "team of rivals" is turning into a collection well known to the Jewish community, which should comfort those who expressed apprehension about who the president-elect would appoint to his Cabinet.

Rahm Emanuel is a fighting policy wonk with a Jewish soul [VIDEO]

Published on November 12, 2008

One thing Rahm Emanuel is not, all agree, is the president-elect's conciliatory signal to the Jewish community after a campaign fraught with worries that Obama would tip toward even-handedness in dealing with the Middle East

Jews looked past worries to embrace Obama

Published on November 6, 2008

For months, polls showed Obama languishing at about 60 percent of the Jewish vote, a critical chunk short of the 75 percent or so Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) garnered in 2004. But exit polls from the Tuesday election showed Obama matching those results, garnering about 78 percent of the Jewish vote against 22 percent for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), his Republican rival.

Obama—who won 78% of Jewish vote—faces global disarray, Mideast challenges

Published on November 4, 2008

Barack Obama's Jewish backers argue that he will boost effortss to pressure Iran and advance Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Detractors, on the other hand, have predicted that Obama could end up pressuring Israel and backing away from confrontation with Iran.

ANALYSIS: Who advises McCain and Obama?

Published on October 28, 2008

It's easy to read too much into whom a candidate chooses to advise him before an election, but it is risky to avoid the tea leaves

ANALYSIS: Obama worked hard to gain Jewish trust

Published on October 27, 2008

In response to a sustained GOP campaign to discredit him on Israel, Barack Obama has touted a growing roster of pro-Israel stalwarts who support him, repeatedly insisted that Israel's security is "sacrosanct," defended Israeli military maneuvers and vowed to do everything in his power to block Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons.

Don’t run Republican Jewish Coalition ads, pro-Israel group J Street tells Jewish newspapers

Published on October 13, 2008

A campaign by a new dovish pro-Israel group to get Jewish newspapers not to run Republican Jewish Coalition attack ads has raised questions about what's kosher and what isn't this political season.

Debate wrap up: Palin contradicts McCain, will make peace process a ‘priority’

Published on October 3, 2008

In recent weeks, John McCain's advisers have said that Israeli-Palestinian talks would not be a priority, but in Thursday's debate Sarah Palin sounded a different note.

Poll: Obama hits wall with ‘undecided’ Jews

Published on September 26, 2008

The American Jewish Committee survey published Thursday shows the Democratic presidential nominee still hovering around 60 percent among Jewish voters. His big problem: the undecideds.

McCain advisors:
No to Syria talks, little interest in Middle East peace process

Published on September 22, 2008

Two McCain advisers told participants in a weekend retreat that his administration would discourage Israeli-Syrian peace talks and refrain from actively engaging in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Politicizing Iran:
GOP spikes Obama sanctions bill, Dems scuttle Palin's rally gig

Published on September 19, 2008

Republicans and Democrats are tussling over who should appear at an anti-Iran rally next week and who is responsible for the failure of sanctions legislation. Caught in the middle are the Jewish organizations that hoped presidential politicking would push forward -- not hinder -- efforts to isolate Iran.

McCain and Obama campaigns focus on sanctions as Iran threat looms

Published on September 16, 2008

The mounting anxiety over Iran's nuclear program is sparking campaign chatter over a possible Israeli strike and prompting a bipartisan effort to revive long-stalled sanctions legislation in the U.S. Congress

Attack dog? Fresh meat? Quest for Jewish vote flips Biden and Palin roles

Published on September 10, 2008

Republicans and Democrats campaigning for the Jewish vote have flipped the traditional role of the vice-presidential candidate from "attack dog" to fresh meat.

Biden, Palin lead campaign clash on Mideast

Published on September 4, 2008

The two vice-presidential candidates led the way Wednesday as the Obama and McCain campaigns worked to draw clear battle lines on Iran and Israel.

Allies and foes scrape through Palin bio for Jewish material

Published on September 2, 2008

Palin is likeable enough that she got props from Ethan Berkowitz, the Jewish former minority leader in the Alaska House of Representatives who appears poised to become the first Democrat to represent Alaska in the U.S. House of Representatives since Nick Begich disappeared in a snowstorm in 1972.

McCain surrogates likely to echo Bush on Iran and Israel

Published on August 29, 2008

When it comes to Israel and how to deal with Iran, Republicans are happy to tout John McCain's consistency with the Bush presidency and his differences with Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), his Democratic rival.

Democratic platform sticks close to Jewish positions

Published on August 26, 2008

When it comes to the Middle East and Sen. Barack Obama's Democratic Party platform, things are staying pretty much the same -- which, in this case, is the kind of change pro-Israel activists can believe in.

Let the games begin: GOP plays ‘Iran card’ against Democrats Obama and Biden

Published on August 25, 2008

Republicans are hoping to score points on Barack Obama and Joe Biden's opposition to specific Iran-related measures. But in a bit of political jujitsu, Democrats are painting their candidates as tougher -- and smarter -- on Iran.

With seven rabbis and counting, Dem parley reaches out to the faithful

Published on August 20, 2008

Jewish voters and organizations are often among the first to object when Republicans and Christian conservatives attempt to inject religion into politics. But this year the Democrats are jumping into the religion game -- and looking to rabbis for help.

McCain campaign checks out sole Jewish Republican Congressman as possible VP

Published on August 5, 2008

As recently as May, the only Jewish Republican in the House discounted suggestions that he would place on the ticket, giggling as he told JTA that such speculation was "ridiculous."

How will Israel’s changes affect U.S. interests?

Published on August 1, 2008

With Israel set to choose a new leader, officials in Washington and U.S. Jews are considering how signature issues of the U.S.-Israel relationship might be affected by Israel's next prime minister

Analysis: Olmert’s journey from right-wing idealogue to unsuccessful pragmatist

Published on July 31, 2008

Ehud Olmert's political career was marked by the shift from ideologue to pragmatist, as well as frequent allegations of personal corruption. Now at the end of his premiership, his signature projects remain unfinished

Israel-Iran war talk blamed for oil price frenzy

Published on July 7, 2008

Experts are saying that talk of an Israeli strike on Iran is a key part of what's unsettling already volatile oil markets.

Jewish groups say Supreme Court’s decisions are a mixed bag

Published on July 1, 2008

Perhaps the most noteworthy development for Jewish groups that watch the Supreme Court was not what it decided this session, but what it decided not to decide

Olmert in D.C.: Iran talk, not goodbyes

Published on June 7, 2008

Expressions of love, walks down memory lane, even the rain lashing Washington's monuments: The latest meeting between Ehud Olmert and George Bush played out like the end of a movie romance -- only the Israeli prime minister says he's not going anywhere because there is work to be done, especially when it comes to facing down Iran.

McCain raps Obama on Iran and Iraq at AIPAC

Published on June 2, 2008

John McCain attacked Barack Obama’s Iran and Iraq policies in his address to the AIPAC policy conference.

Iran sanctions figure large in AIPAC lobbying

Published on June 2, 2008

As 5,000 AIPAC activists ascend Capitol Hill this week, they will be pushing a multifaceted agenda with a clear bottom line: It's the sanctions, stupid.

After weeks of feuding over Mideast, candidates head to AIPAC conference

Published on May 29, 2008

Call for Jews to shun China Olympics stirs opposition

Published on May 8, 2008

In an appeal issued April 30 and timed for the commemoration of Yom HaShoah, 185 Jewish leaders -- mostly clergy -- appealed to Jews not to attend the Beijing Olympics this summer as tourists.

Rev. Wright’s outreach to Jews still unsettling for many

Published on May 1, 2008

Barack Obama has sought to distance himself from his former pastor, calling Wright's rhetoric "offensive."

N.J. man accused of spying for Israel

Published on April 24, 2008

The arrest this week of a retired a New Jersey man on charges of transmitting classified information to Israel two decades ago shows how the Jonathan Pollard spy case continues to haunt the U.S.-Israel relationship.

Israeli twist emerges in Spitzer sex scandal

Published on March 12, 2008

Just four years after the then-governor of New Jersey, James McGreevey, resigned amid revelations of an affair with his Israeli-born ex-homeland security chief, Golan Cipel, Americans again were treated to the spectacle of the governor of a large Northeastern state standing alongside a grim-looking wife and admitting he had erred.

Families of terror victims can have their day in court

Published on March 7, 2008

About 20 lawsuits targeting the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) -- some dating back to the mid-1990s -- have been held up in recent months while the Bush administration considered a federal judge's request to weigh in on the issue. In a Feb. 29 letter to Judge Victor Marrero of the U.S. District Court in New York, the Bush administration made clear it did not want to intervene -- for now.

Congressman Tom Lantos left behind human rights legacy

Published on February 14, 2008

Obituary for Congressman Tom Lantos.

In economy-focused State of the Union speech, Bush offers no new Mideast ideas

Published on January 31, 2008

Just weeks after his first presidential visit to Israel, President Bush made clear his priority for his final year in office: the economy, stupid.

If the president has a Middle East breakthrough up his sleeve, he was not ready to reveal it Monday in the State of the Union address that precedes his last year in office.

Candidate profile: John Edwards

Published on January 31, 2008

In 2004, John Edwards lost the Democratic presidential nomination because he was considered a foreign policy lightweight. He won the vice presidential slot because his social policies had depth.

Four years later, Edwards' social and domestic positions remain pretty much the same -- positions that are favored by the vast majority of American Jewish voters.

His foreign policies now have substance, too. That's what worries some Jewish voters.

Candidate profile: Barack Obama

Published on January 31, 2008

Ask about Barack Obama's natural constituencies and you might hear that he's the first black with a viable shot at the White House, or about his Kenyan father and his childhood in Indonesia, or the youthfulness of his followers, or the millions of Oprah junkies swooning over his candidacy.

What you might not hear is that the Illinois senator has made Jewish leaders an early stop at every stage in his political career.

Candidate profile: Rudy Giuliani

Published on January 31, 2008

Rudy Giuliani's admonition in 2004 to Jews who favored President Bush's tough foreign policy but balked at his social conservatism was prescient:

"You're never going to find a candidate you agree with completely," Giuliani said at a Republican convention event sponsored by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the United Jewish Communties. "You've got to figure out what's important."

He might have uttered the same words this year -- not to U.S. Jews, who give him high favorable ratings, but to conservative Republicans.

Candidate profile: Hillary Clinton

Published on January 31, 2008

Seven years of hard work cultivating the Jewish leadership in New York and nationally paid off for U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.)

Now she's hoping to capitalize on that support as she engages in a tough battle for the Democratic nomination.

D.C. museum launches service for Holocaust archive searches

Published on January 24, 2008

Museum launches service for Holocaust archive searches

As Obama surges, Jewish supporters cheer

Published on January 10, 2008

With the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary under his belt, Barack Obama has suddenly emerged as the frontrunner in a Democratic presidential primary battle that just three weeks ago conventional wisdom had all but ceded to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-New York).

Israel and U.S. Jews intensify efforts to isolate Iran

Published on November 15, 2007

American Jewish groups are aggressively attempting to rally support for isolating Iran until it ends its suspected nuclear weapons program. They are lobbying Congress, reaching out to friendly nations overseas and seeking allies in the United States.

Subpoenas in AIPAC trial could reveal U.S. secrets

Published on November 8, 2007

Subpoenas issued to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley and other top Bush administration officials could end up shedding unprecedented light on the Bush administration's inner workings and the government's dealings with the pro-Israel lobby American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

Candidates make their case at Jewish GOP conference

Published on October 18, 2007

Each of the leading GOP presidential candidates to some degree has run away from the Bush legacy. But this week they made their case before one of the president's most loyal constituencies: Republican Jews.

Jewish groups change tack on Supreme Court cases

Published on October 4, 2007

With hot-button domestic issues not expected to play a major role in the new U.S. Supreme Court session, Jewish groups are entering the fray over the right of judicial review for foreign detainees.

How Walt and Mearsheimer’s book got the pro-Israel lobby wrong

Published on September 20, 2007

Questions about how Jews, Israel, the pro-Israel lobby and the U.S. government interact are critically important and beg for a little light. But "The Israel Lobby" is not the place to start. All Walt and Mearsheimer have achieved with their massive diversion based on unfounded accusations of overly broad Jewish influence is to help those who want to shut down that discussion.

Bush picks Orthodox Mukasey for Attorney General

Published on September 20, 2007

Profile of Michael Mukasey, conservative judge and Orthodox Jew, chosen by President Bush to replace Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General.

Giuliani doubts if Palestinians are ‘peace partners’ yet

Published on August 23, 2007

Rudolph Giuliani's foreign policy is neither a blueprint nor a prescription, his top adviser on the matter says. It is an outline of how the former can-do New York City mayor does business.