James D

Is the Electoral College Good for Jews?

Published on November 23, 2000

The current system may be cumbersome and hard to explain, but it has magnified the power of the tiny Jewish minority in this country.

Jewish Surprises on Election Day

Published on November 16, 2000

Last week just didn't go at all like the pundits and prognosticators predicted.

Low Expectations

Published on November 2, 2000

The broad range of Jewish public policy concerns are distilled to a few litmus-test questions, almost all on the Middle East; candidates are encouraged to spit back slogans, not detailed explanations of what they really think or what they would really do once in office.

The Hope Deficit

Published on October 26, 2000

Since the latest spasm of Mideast violence began almost a month ago, American Jewish leaders have been getting together for almost daily conference calls.

What Makes Joe Run (So Well)?

Published on September 28, 2000

What Makes Joe Run (So Well)?

Media Sex and Violence Hits Political Big Time

Published on September 14, 2000

Across the spectrum, Jewish groups expressed concern about the report's conclusions but differed over exactly how the government should respond.

St. Joe Faces the Image Crunch

Published on August 31, 2000

For Joseph Lieberman, elevated to a kind of sainthood by a press corps enraptured by his Orthodox Judaism and his image of rectitude, the next few weeks could offer some harsh splashes of reality.

Briefs

Published on April 27, 2000

Briefs

Internet Activism: Power, No Accountability

Published on April 20, 2000

By now it's a cliché: the Internet, a medium that gives anybody with a computer access to a worldwide audience, is changing the way we share information. And, because information is power, it also changes the way we do politics.

There Oughta Be a Law

Published on April 20, 2000

The bill would clarify an amendment to the 1964 Civil Rights Act passed nearly 30 years ago that requires employers to "reasonably accommodate" the needs of religious employees unless it causes the employer "undue hardship."

Endpaper

Published on April 6, 2000

Long before last August, when he had his bar mitzvah at Santa Monica's Beth Shir Shalom, 13-year-old Alex Miller has practiced what he has been preached: charity and tikkun olam.
For him, it all began in 1996, when Miller's third grade class participated in Super Sunday.

"I really enjoyed it," he recalls. "Whenever a phone opened up, me and my friend would run for it."

Living in Denial

Published on April 6, 2000

Arab Anti-Semitism Batters Peace Process

A Letter From The Editor

Published on March 30, 2000

I first thought of publishing an Orange County section of The Jewish Journal -- or better yet a separate edition -- about five years ago. When I took a closer look, though, our resources seemed too thin. We lacked the necessary funds and staff. And so we -- the publisher, the board of directors and I -- set the idea aside.

Letters

Published on March 30, 2000

Letters to the Editor, Point of View in response to Articles.

Assad’s Chump Gambit

Published on March 30, 2000

Administration officials were in stiff-upper-lip mode this week in the wake of the failed Geneva summit between President Bill Clinton and Syrian President Hafez al-Assad.

Reform Rabbis: Same-Sex Ceremonies Kosher

Published on March 30, 2000

Whatever you want to call it, the Reform rabbis' final decision on Jewish same-sex commitment ceremonies is being touted as "groundbreaking" and a major step forward for gay and lesbian Jews.

Flip Side of Gun Debate

Published on March 23, 2000

This week the debate over gun control -- already not a model of civil democratic dialogue -- reached new depths when the National Rifle Association (NRA) accused President Bill Clinton of tolerating gun violence to further his own narrow political ends.

Does the Jewish Vote Matter to Gore and Bush?

Published on March 16, 2000

The all-but-certain nominees are now turning their sights on each other. The campaign for the general election will be bloody, but hardly inspiring; all indications suggest it will be another low-turnout, high-spending exercise.

Washington Watch

Published on March 9, 2000

Spending 90 minutes in a small room with Yasser Arafat doesn't quiet old qualms. In military garb and his trademark headdress, Arafat still evokes images of the stubble-bearded terrorist mastermind who caused so much misery and fear for Jews worldwide.

Ivry to Jews: Don’t Lecture Us

Published on February 24, 2000

David Ivry isn't the slickest or most media-savvy envoy in recent years, but he knows what he wants, and has the right credentials to get it.

Stars, Bars and the Jewish Vote

Published on February 17, 2000

Despite what many analysts see as a modest conservative shift in the Jewish electorate, even some Jewish GOP leaders say the party could be poised for yet another disaster when the Jewish votes are tallied in November.

Resisting Palestinian Calls for Intervention

Published on February 10, 2000

The talks, which were supposed to produce a "framework" agreement on difficult final status issues by next week, haven't even resolved the fight over a delayed West Bank pullback mandated by last year's Sharm el-Sheikh agreement.

U.S. at Center Stage in Syria Talks

Published on January 6, 2000

They were called "Syrian-Israeli" talks, but this week's second round of negotiations between the two countries was very much an American affair -- in a storybook small town chosen by the White House, with President Clinton playing host and mediator.
So it was no surprise that when the talks were snagged over a disagreements over what to talk about, it was Clinton who held the negotiators' hands, cajoled, nudged and pleaded.

Washington Report

Published on January 6, 2000

Washington Report,news briefs, information, updates,Washington, Government

Washington Report

Published on January 6, 2000

Rep. Peter King (R-NY) isn't Jewish, but this week's political about-face by the Long Island lawmaker reflected a mounting problem for Jewish backers of Texas Gov. George Bush.

A Gathering of Friends

Published on January 6, 2000

A Gathering of Friends

Washington Report

Published on January 6, 2000

Washington Report

Barak: Don’t Write Off American Jews

Published on December 16, 1999

The revived Syrian-Israeli talks, which began this week in Washington, could be yet another false start on the twisting road to peace. Or the two countries could move with blinding speed to conclude an agreement that will transfer the Golan Heights back to Syrian control.

Snoozing Toward November 2000

Published on December 2, 1999

This week, a bevy of presidential candidates paraded before the Republican Jewish Coalition to display their political wares. The RJC did its best to pitch the event as a watershed in Jewish politics, but that's a stretch; in reality, the first election year of the new millennium is shaping up as a yawner, from a Jewish perspective.

Nation/World Briefs

Published on December 2, 1999

The Nation/World Brief, news, media, info, updates from around the nation and the world.

Tough Choices for Hate Law Boosters

Published on November 4, 1999

For Jewish leaders, lobbying sometimes involves tough choices between winning and doing the right thing. That dynamic is very much in play this week as many Jewish groups, with a boost from President Bill Clinton, fight desperately to save a new hate crimes law that has become cannon fodder in the nation's culture wars.

Managing the Bitter Debate Ahead

Published on October 7, 1999

Next month, Prime Minister Ehud Barak will travel to Atlanta for the General Assembly of the United Jewish Communities, the central philanthropic and service organization in the American Jewish world.

Arafat’s Final Chapter

Published on September 30, 1999

Spending 90 minutes in a small room with Yasser Arafat doesn't quiet old qualms. In military garb and his trademark headdress, Arafat still evokes images of the stubble-bearded terrorist mastermind who caused so much misery and fear for Jews worldwide.

Peace by Fits and Starts

Published on September 2, 1999

Despite the usual last-minute posturing, complaining and maneuvering in the region, administration officials prepared for Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's Mideast trip this week confident Israel and the Palestinians will sign an agreement that will lay out implementation of the long-delayed Wye River accord.

Touching Her Bases

Published on July 29, 1999

First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton touched all the Jewish and pro-Israel bases and avoided treacherous curve balls during a Tuesday appearance before more than 2,100 delegates at Hadassah's 85th national convention in Washington.
In a speech laced with nods to the Jewish community's core issues, including Jerusalem, terrorism and anti-Semitism at home and abroad, the all-but-announced candidate for the Senate from New York appealed to what political scientists say is her Jewish political base -- Upper West Side liberals, Westchester soccer moms and pro-Israel moderates.

Barak Wows Washington

Published on July 22, 1999

A self-confident Prime Minister Ehud Barak dazzled administration Mideast policy-makers during his inaugural official visit to Washington this week -- and reshuffled the American Jewish deck by elevating a pro-peace process group to the top rung of the communal hierarchy.

Auschwitz Talks to Resume

Published on June 3, 1999

Miles Lerman said negotiators will focus on three areas. Currently, most visitors come only to the Auschwitz l site; Lerman said an overall plan must "induce visitors to come to Birkenau, where they will learn that 95 percent of the victims there were Jews."

AIPAC Adapts

Published on May 27, 1999

That squeak audible over Washington this week was the sound of the pro-Israel lobby turning on a dime.
Stung by criticism by some Labor leaders of a longstanding pro-Likud tilt, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), began a quick readjustment at this week's annual policy conference in Washington.

Preparing for the Worst

Published on April 29, 1999

Mark Levin knows about as much as anybody about Jews in the former Soviet Union. But sitting in his office during a recent chat with reporters, he admitted he had no easy answers to the toughest question of all: When should Jewish leaders push the panic button and do everything possible to convince Russian Jews to get out while the getting is good?

Israeli Election: Who Cares?

Published on April 29, 1999

Israeli voters go to the polls on May 17 in what could be the most critical election in the young nation's history.

Turning a Blind Eye

Published on April 8, 1999

The congressional spat over the Council of Conservative Citizens, a group described as a slicked-up white supremacist organization with links to extremist groups around the world, is in danger of devolving into political farce.

33 Parties File for Israeli Elections

Published on April 8, 1999

Thirty-three Israeli political parties signed up by Tuesday night's registration deadline to run in the May 17 Knesset elections, breaking the previous record of 27 parties. In addition to the large political parties, several special-interest parties and newcomers to the political scene registered, including the Casino Party, which seeks to legalize gambling, and the Green Weed Party, whose platform calls for the legalization of marijuana and other recreational drugs.

Overshadowed Again

Published on March 25, 1999

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat came to town this week, seeking Washington's blessing for Palestinian statehood in return for postponing a unilateral declaration on May 4, when the interim Oslo period expires

Tough Times for the Religious Right

Published on March 18, 1999

t may be the worst of times for Christian right groups -- which could be good news for Jewish leaders.

Too Close for Comfort

Published on February 18, 1999

Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Louis Freeh recently had some ominous words for Congress, but legislators and many Jewish leaders weren't in a listening mood.

‘We Made Him a Symbol’

Published on February 11, 1999

Even the weather suggested mourning; at the Jordanian Embassy in northwest Washington, a cold drizzle turned the adjacent construction sites into mud holes, and a large portrait of King Hussein, who died on Sunday, was streaked with rain.

Jerry Falwell: Antichrist is Jewish

Published on January 21, 1999

The Rev. Jerry Falwell may be good friends with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, but he also believes that an apocalyptic whirlwind is about to descend on the world -- and that the ultimate villain in these events will be a Jew.

Pollard, Once Again

Published on December 10, 1998

Jewish leaders often lust for media attention, but mention the Jonathan Pollard case, and most dive for cover.

Seeking Moral Restitution

Published on December 3, 1998

This week's Washington Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets was intended to zero in on the rapidly growing list of stolen Jewish property and the governments that have balked at returning it.

The Ethnic Revolution

Published on November 26, 1998

Contrary to the ever-hopeful predictions of the Republicans, Jewish voters proved remarkably resistant to change in this month's congressional voting.

Opportunity Missed

Published on November 19, 1998

As U.N. weapons inspectors returned to Iraq this week and U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf stood down from high alert, the world breathed a sigh of relief after yet another race to the brink with Saddam Hussein.

Nation/World Briefs

Published on November 12, 1998

Nation/World Briefs

No Earthquake, but Tremors for the GOP

Published on November 5, 1998

Two months ago, most pundits were predicting that the White House sex scandal would trigger a Republican earthquake at the polls. But Tuesday's electoral tremors mostly rattled a GOP leadership that made Bill Clinton's moral lapses a top issue despite polls suggesting voters were tired of the controversy and opposed to impeachment.

Politics

Published on October 22, 1998

Asked to discuss the accomplishments of the 105th Congress, which erupted last week in a frenzy of last-minute wheeling and dealing as lawmakers tried to avert another politically costly government shutdown, Rep. Ben Cardin's response was succinct. "It will be a very brief conversation," said the Maryland Democrat, a senior member of the Jewish delegation in the House.

‘One of the Most Dismal Sessions Ever’

Published on October 15, 1998

Asked to discuss the accomplishments of the 105th Congress, which erupted last week in a frenzy of last-minute wheeling and dealing as lawmakers tried to avert another politically costly government shutdown, Rep. Ben Cardin's response was succinct.

Politics

Published on October 8, 1998

LAPD officer Terri Utley says that since Los Angeles is such a diverse, multicultural place, it's difficult to know sometimes what the taboos and customs are in different groups. "Our goal is to serve, cooperate and not offend," she says.

ADL reports on Hate Group

Published on September 24, 1998

Hate groups have been out of the news in recent months, but that doesn't mean they are not exploiting recent events--including the tumult on the stock market and the Monica Lewinsky scandal--to expand their base.

The Russian Meltdown

Published on September 3, 1998

For several years, Soviet Jewry activists in this country -- the term seems archaic, but nothing better has been invented -- have complained that their communal colleagues are ignoring the fate of the world's biggest endangered Jewish population.

Cover Story

Published on August 20, 1998

The expulsion of Jews from the IberianPeninsula 500 years ago brought a tragic end to a Jewish presencethat had thrived for centuries in Sepharad, the Hebrew word forSpain.

Nation

Published on July 30, 1998

Nation

Yeasty Mix at UJA Conference

Published on March 26, 1998

It was a moment that almost perfectly defined thisweek's United Jewish Appeal young leadership conference inWashington. In one section of the vast Washington Hilton ballroom,hundreds of young Jews were intently listening as special U.S. peaceenvoy Dennis Ross and Israeli Ambassador Eliahu Ben-Elissar gavesharply differing views of the current Israeli-Palestinianstalemate.