- NEWS & COMMENTARY
A new era of Jewish leadership in L.A.?
Los Angeles chose Eric Garcetti as its first elected Jewish mayor, one of a number of political contests on Tuesday that reflected the city’s diversity, as well as its numerous…
Stone-walling
In the last two years, the Western Wall in Jerusalem — also known as the Kotel — has become a place of controversy as much as of worship. It’s the site of a battle that has long been waged by…
Gun violence in America: Scandal!
Two years after his mother was shot and killed, Dallas Sonnier received a phone call from the police: His father had just been shot and killed.
- HOLLYWOOD
Spielberg to produce ‘Halo’ television series, plus other news from the Xbox One announcement
Microsoft Corp gave the world a first look at its new Xbox One on Tuesday, announcing that its first gaming console in eight years will come with exclusive video and…
Justin Timberlake and Coen brothers answer Jewish questions at Cannes
Using his preternatural smoothness, Justin Timberlake saved the Coen brothers from some serious awkwardness at a Cannes press conference for their folk singer film “Inside Llewyn Davis” on Sunday. “Jewish…
Sean Penn lobbies for Charedi man imprisoned in Bolivia
Actor Sean Penn urged a congressional hearing to pressure Bolivia to release a haredi Orthodox father of five under house arrest in the country.
- LIFE & CULTURE
Sarah Silverman sings about staying home in ‘Perfect Night’
For your listening pleasure, “Perfect Night,” in which Sarah Silverman recounts the benefits of skipping the club for the couch. Because this is a Silverman production you can expect references…
Maccabi Tel Aviv back on top but coach future uncertain
Champions Maccabi Tel Aviv have reasserted their dominance of Israeli soccer but media reports on Tuesday suggested they might have to continue their revival without coach Oscar Garcia.
7 Rules for Perfect Hummus
When was the last time you opened a tub of hummus and swooned? When was the last time a restaurant put a plate of hummus in front of you, and…
- BLOGS
State 194: A Documentary About Palestine
Opening this weekend at Laemmle’s Music Hall 3 is a very hot-button new documentary called State 194, which follows the recent history of Palestine. Many will approach this film with…
7 Rules for Perfect Hummus
When was the last time you opened a tub of hummus and swooned? When was the last time a restaurant put a plate of hummus in front of you, and…
What would my Israeli grandmother think?
When I hear about the latest events in Israel – the air strikes on weapons facilities in Syria, the flare-ups over women donning prayer shawls at the Western Wall –…
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Abrams: U.S. must address Iran’s threat to Israel
A former Bush administration official said he hopes the United States will address the Iranian president's threat to “wipe Israel off the map.”
Ha lachma anya
Cheney talks Iran in Israel; U.S. strike seen as remote
With U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney in Israel this week talking about Iran, the big question was whether President Bush would be willing to use military force in the waning days of his presidency to stop Iran's nuclear weapons program.
The other ‘N- word’
Few words have the power to upset individuals and corrode a conversation more than the N-word. Its very use short-circuits rational discourse. Thrown around with frequency in certain circles, the N-word provokes and torments, gaining totemic power with each use. The N-word I refer to is, of course, "Nazi."
Karl Rove lecture spins crowd animosity to admiration
Karl Rove spoke recently at The Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal Studios for the second in this year's Public Lecture Series from American Jewish University (AJU).
The NIE, Iran, presidential politics and the Jews
The release last week of the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran's nuclear ambitions stunned the nation's capital. After being buried for a year, the NIE has deflated the Bush administration's case on Iran by stating that Iran halted its program to develop a nuclear weapon in 2003.
Progressives should join Jews on Iran strategy
Progressives need to reach out to their natural allies in the Jewish community by acknowledging that the threats of nuclear proliferation and international terrorism exist and support the same reasoned, international approach of sanctions and international pressure that has helped bring the North Korean nuclear program under control.
Subpoenas in AIPAC trial could reveal U.S. secrets
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).
Henry Waxman: The Democrats’ Eliot Ness
In fact, Congressman Henry Waxman already did more oversight while in the minority than many Democrats have been able to accomplish with the majority. Back in 2005, David Corn wrote in the Nation magazine that Democrats considered Waxman to be their "Eliot Ness," and that many members wished the rest of the party would adopt his approach.
We must not ignore Nuremberg’s lessons for today
Elie Wiesel once wrote: "There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest." Let history show that at this moment, we are failing that test.
How Walt and Mearsheimer’s book got the pro-Israel lobby wrong
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
Profile of Michael Mukasey, conservative judge and Orthodox Jew, chosen by President Bush to replace Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General.
5767: News of the Jewish year in review
News of the year in brief.
No child left behind?
Cartoon.
Help Bush
George W. Bush has one last chance to leave behind a great legacy in the Middle East, and I want to help him. He has a year and a half left to support and encourage agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and to midwife and recognize the state of Palestine.
Islamofascism and the GOP
Republicans are now telling us that America (and Israel) face a mortal threat from "global Islamofascism." Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Vt.) has been blasting Democrats for not "recognizing" this threat. Get used to it, because this is going to be the frame for the Republican presidential campaign in 2008.
Bush’s ‘neocons’: far from the best and the brightest
Today's neocons are far from the best and the brightest. They are largely amateur armchair warriors given to cheap rhetoric and bombast. They toss around "regime change" as if governments will fall when they snap their fingers.
L.A. Persian Jews and Muslims oppose bombing Iran
In recent weeks, calls for possible strikes against Iran by Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and other government officials have caused alarm among some local Iranian Jews and Muslims familiar with the Tehran regime.
Only democratization can fight Islamists
It is time to renew our commitment to liberalization and democratization -- it is what the Islamists fear most. Congress should pass comprehensive legislation conditioning relations between the United States and nonliberal democracies on progress toward liberalization. This is not imperialism. It is support for decent values and democracies abroad.
U.S. Jewish leaders skeptical on funding for Abbas
It took little time for the Bush administration to come up with answers to the radically changed Palestinian reality: Fund and engage with the new moderate Palestinian Authority government.
Iran nuclear threat: What to do?
As the wild ride known as the Bush Administration careens toward its end, the only question remaining is whether the president will order an attack on Iran. Mired in the endless quagmire of Iraq, desperate for some military success, Bush might try to salvage his wounded sense of mastery with one great roll of the dice.
Letters
Three cheers for the gutsy parent who spoke up about the sexual ethics program at Alonim.
U.S. Mistakes Worsen Iran Situation
The recent runoff election in Iran catapulted the ultra-conservative mayor of Tehran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, onto the international stage and set off a blaze of speculation. But while the face of the presidency may have changed, the soul of the regime has not.
From the vantage point of the United States and Israel, the Iranian government remains a repressive autocracy at home and a sponsor of terrorism abroad. It's also a regime they view as close to developing nuclear weapons. With Ahmadinejad as president, Iran's government is now dominated by hard-liners, with the reformists marginalized. This development certainly does not augur well for the future of relations between Iran and the United States and Iran and Israel, or for the cause of freedom within Iran. However, the added problem is that the regime now asserts that the election (with its high turnout) affirms the regime's legitimacy and validates its system of government.
Policy Clash Grows on Settlement Issue
On the surface, it seems that the recent public quarrel between Israel and the Bush administration over Jewish settlement blocs in the West Bank could have been put off until Israelis and Palestinians get around to negotiating permanent borders.
Jews Try to Sell Withdrawal Plan to Jews
Many of the major Jewish religious streams, lobbying groups and civil rights groups are encouraging the Bush administration, lawmakers and opinion makers to maintain political support for Israel's July 20 withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements.
Study Points to Big Church-State Shift
A new study reveals that the Bush administration is succeeding beyond the most optimistic projections of supporters -- and the most pessimistic fears of critics -- in funneling government social service dollars to religious groups, despite the refusal of Congress to pass most of its faith-based initiative.
Last week the Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy issued an exhaustive report indicated that religious groups "are now involved in government-encouraged activities ranging from building strip malls for economic improvement to promoting child car seats."
Gaza Plan Foes Face Evangelical Aid Loss
With the Gaza disengagement plan picking up momentum and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon getting set to pitch the proposal to the Bush administration at Camp David next week, right-wing Jewish groups are counterattacking, hoping to forestall U.S. support for the plan. Their partners in this fight: Christian Zionists.
Speaking Truth to Power—Not
There's nothing bashful about Jewish organizations, but in 2004, many suddenly go mute if the subject involves potential conflict with the Bush administration.
Bribe Charges Cloud
The state prosecutor's recommendation to indict Ariel Sharon on bribery charges came just as the Israeli prime minister was putting the finishing touches on his plan for Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank.
Slaying Raises U.S. Peace Plan Concern
The death of Sheik Ahmad Yassin will pave the way to Palestinian moderation, Israel and its friends in Washington say.
But others, including Bush administration officials, are worried that the road just got a lot bumpier.
World Briefs
World Briefs
Gaza Pullout Raises Troubling Questions
If Israel pulls its troops out of Gaza, how can Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon be sure that Hamas won't seize power in the ensuing chaos?
Who Causes Anti-Semitism?
There is a gathering hysteria in the American Jewish community that is dangerously self-destructive. Life as a Jew these days may not be -- is not -- a bed of roses, but neither is it a bed of thorns. Yet to hear some in our community tell it, thorns are all there are.
Consider: George Soros, the multibillionaire and philanthropist, spoke on Nov. 5 to a meeting of the Jewish Funders Network. In response to a question about the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe, he responded that "the policies of the Bush administration and the Sharon administration contribute to that."
Can there be any doubt that he is right?
Voiding of Holocaust Law Sparks Anger
Holocaust survivors and Jewish organizations have reacted with anger and disappointment to Monday's U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down a California law that required European insurance companies to disclose information about all their Holocaust-era policies.
June Gloom
Two steps forward, three steps back.
That is the definition of any Middle East peace process, and the most important question now is whether President Bush, who very publicly committed himself to a "road map to peace" last month, will tough it out.
Creation of Mini-Iraq Seen in Peace Plan
While the Bush administration has put an end to the Iraqi terrorist state, its "road map" will create a Palestinian Arab terrorist state -- a mini-Iraq. This will endanger Israel and undermine America's war against terrorism.
New Chance to Build Israel-Iraq Ties
As the United States begins rebuilding Iraq, pro-Israel activists are watching closely, seeing an opportunity for the Jewish state to improve ties with another Arab neighbor.
Road Map’s Route Leads Toward Clash
Note to AIPAC: ‘Road Map’ Is Alive
The Bush administration is calling out the heavy hitters to convince the American Jewish community that it won't ignore Israel's concerns as it mounts a renewed push for Israeli-Palestinian peace.
Five Bush administration officials addressed the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's (AIPAC) annual policy conference this week, including Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.
Jewish Silence on Tax Plan Deafening
Washington is buzzing about the Bush administration's huge new tax cut proposal, but the silence from Jewish groups is deafening -- and revealing.
GOP Sweep Boosts Bush
It was a stellar night for the Republicans across the nation, and Tuesday's dramatic election results, with the GOP snatching back control of the Senate and tightening its grip on the House, will be a big boost for the foreign policy agenda of the Bush administration.
But with a razor-thin majority in the Senate, where the filibuster rules, the Republican leadership will not exactly have a blank check on the domestic front -- good news for liberal Jewish groups.
Israel Bolsters Local GOP Support
While the Bush administration's strong support for Israel might not yet be paying off dividends in the Middle East, the stance has certainly been a boon for local Jewish Republicans.
Zinni’s Third Time Around
Peace envoy Anthony Zinni's return to the Middle East later this week is seen as an attempt to address mounting international pressure on the Bush administration.
Security vs Civil Liberty
As the United States intensifies its war against terrorism at home and abroad, the Jewish community may be poised to serve as a bridge between the Bush administration and some of its critics in the civil liberties community.
Moments of Truth
On Sunday, with crews still collecting body parts and shredded flesh after three horrific explosions in Israel, Secretary of State Colin Powell said it is the "moment of truth" for Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Beyond Stem Cells
Were you queasy last week, when U.S. senators quoted the Bible in their effort to stop potentially life-saving stem cell research?
Fighting the Israel Bash-a-Thon
Critics of the United Nations have been handed a big load of new ammunition as the international body careens toward a high-profile conference that could be the biggest Israel bash-a-thon ever.
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