Ron Kampeas
By Ron Kampeas
-
News Joe Biden poured him a drink and he gave Jared Kushner an aliyah. Rabbi Levi Shemtov is optimistic about D.C.’s transition.
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Some of Rabbi Levi Shemtov’s most prominent congregants are likely to leave his synagogue soon, but the Washington, D.C. rabbi isn’t sweating it. After all, Shemtov has been through decades of presidential transitions as Chabad’s main man in Washington, and even though this one is unfolding unusually, he’s confident he can continue…
-
Fast Forward Rashida Tlaib removes tweet with ‘river to the sea’ phrase associated with Israel’s elimination
(JTA) — Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., removed from her Twitter feed a retweet that said “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” a phrase that has been associated with calls to wipe out Israel. On Nov. 29, the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Tlaib retweeted a tweet from an…
-
Fast Forward Gregory Meeks, who said West Bank annexation spending was off-limits with US defense aid, likely to chair House Foreign Affairs panel
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Rep. Brad Sherman, a solidly pro-Israel Democrat from California, has withdrawn from the race to chair the House Foreign Affairs Committee — a move that likely will lead to Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York becoming the first Black chairman of the influential panel. Sherman withdrew after finishing last in a preliminary…
-
Fast Forward Biden says he will reenter Iran deal without new conditions, then negotiate for a new agreement
(JTA) — President-elect Joe Biden established a sequence for how he plans to deal with Iran, and it starts with reentering the 2015 nuclear deal without conditions. Biden’s comments in an interview posted Wednesday by New York Times columnist Tom Friedman were the most detailed account of his plans for reentering the pact, which traded…
-
Fast Forward Dianne Feinstein will step down as top Democrat on Senate Judiciary Committee
(JTA) — Dianne Feinstein, the veteran Jewish senator from California, plans to step down from her role as the top Democrat on the powerful Judiciary Committee. “California is a huge state confronting two existential threats — wildfire and drought — that are only getting worse with climate change. In the next Congress, I plan to…
-
Fast Forward Seth Rich’s parents, Fox News settle over false claim he was killed for leaking damaging information in 2016 election
(JTA) — Fox News and the parents of Seth Rich, the Jewish Democratic National Committee staffer killed near his Washington, D.C., home in 2016, settled the family’s lawsuit over a story that intimated he was killed for leaking damaging information about Democrats. Joel and Mary Rich said they were “pleased with the settlement of this…
-
Fast Forward Trump’s White House is throwing an in-person Hanukkah party despite COVID concerns
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Trump White House is throwing an in-person Hanukkah party, one of a series of recent events the administration has held despite coronavirus concerns. The reception will be held Dec. 9 in the afternoon, a day before the holiday’s first candle lighting, according to an invitation obtained by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency….
-
Fast Forward Biden speaks with Netanyahu and Rivlin, assures Israeli leaders ties will remain ‘close’
(JTA) — President-elect Joe Biden assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call Tuesday that the ties between their countries would remain strong. “The president-elect noted that he expects to work closely with the prime minister to address the many challenges confronting our countries,” Biden’s transition team said in a statement following the…
Most Popular
- 1
Fast Forward Ye debuts ‘Heil Hitler’ music video that includes a sample of a Hitler speech
- 2
Culture Is Pope Leo Jewish? Ask his distant cousins — like me
- 3
Opinion It looks like Israel totally underestimated Trump
- 4
Opinion The staggering hypocrisy behind Trump’s deal to free the last living American hostage
In Case You Missed It
-
Culture A great Israeli author’s searing reflection on Oct. 7 would be a must-read — if you could find it in English
-
Culture How the Oct. 7 aftermath splintered the New York Dyke March
-
Opinion Anti-Israel rhetoric is fueling an alarmingly powerful new wave of antisemitism on the right
-
Fast Forward Joe Rogan defends Ye’s ‘Heil Hitler’ song
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism