Ron Kampeas is the former Washington bureau chief of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Ron Kampeas
By Ron Kampeas
-
Fast Forward Senate passes bill elevating anti-Semitism monitor to ambassador
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The U.S. Senate passed a bill that would elevate the position of the anti-Semitism monitor to ambassador, adding punch to the envoy’s mission of pressing other governments to confront anti-Jewish bigotry. “Anti-Semitism continues to rise at an alarming rate across the globe,” Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., who led sponsorship of the bipartisan…
-
News A Netanyahu adviser once gave Tony Blinken Hanukkah joke advice. Thankfully, he ignored it.
WASHINGTON (JTA) — A decades-old memo unveiled by the National Archives on Tuesday shows that Tony Blinken, President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for secretary of state, knows when Hanukkah humor is good, and when it’s as undercooked as a raw latke. The Archives is posting documents relating to the celebration of Hanukkah every day of the…
-
Fast Forward Floridians can now ‘Stand with Israel’ on their license plates
(JTA) — Floridians can now stand with Israel even while stuck in traffic. A graphic designer from Boca Raton has come up with the winning design in a contest to create a specialty license plate saying that “Florida Stands with Israel.” Daniel Ackerman’s blue, white and orange design was chosen among more than 100 submissions…
-
Fast Forward Raphael Warnock lauds Black-Jewish alliance in video ad amid accusations that he’s hostile to Israel
(JTA) — A Jewish Democratic group released a video ad Tuesday featuring the Rev. Raphael Warnock, the party’s challenger in one of two key Senate runoffs in Georgia, talking up the Black-Jewish alliance. The Jewish Democratic Council of America’s ad comes as Warnock tries to fend off attacks by his opponent, incumbent Republican Kelly Loeffler,…
-
Fast Forward Trump rescinds Sudan’s terrorist status as it closes in on ties with Israel
(JTA) — The Trump administration rescinded Sudan’s status as a state sponsor of terrorism, part of the effort to establish ties between Israel and the Arab country. “This represents a fundamental change in our bilateral relationship toward greater collaboration and support for Sudan’s historic democratic transition,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday in a…
-
Fast Forward New Hampshire state representative apologizes for sharing post from neo-Nazi website
(JTA) — Dawn Johnson, a Republican just elected a state representative in New Hampshire, apologized for sharing a post from the neo-Nazi website the Daily Stormer. “I have removed the report as it came from a source I do not agree with and thanks to a couple of people who showed me,” she said. Johnson…
-
Fast Forward Israel formalizes ties with Bhutan, the nation seeking ‘gross national happiness’
(JTA) — Israel and Bhutan, a small Buddhist majority Himalayan kingdom snuggled between India and China, have established full diplomatic ties. Ron Malka, the Israeli ambassador to India, posted photos on Twitter Saturday of the signing ceremony. Bhutan and Israel already have cordial, informal ties. Bhutan has over the last 20 years emerged from centuries…
-
Fast Forward Trump administration sanctions 2 top Iranian spies it blames for Robert Levinson’s abduction
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Trump administration named and sanctioned two top Iranian spies it says are responsible for the abduction and death in custody of Robert Levinson, the Jewish-American former FBI agent who went missing in 2007. The sanctions announced Monday were the first formal U.S. allegation that Iranian officials were involved in the abduction…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion Outrage over Nicholas Kristof’s op-ed on sexual assault of Palestinians is missing the point
- 2
Culture At Eurovision, Israel’s near triumph shows the limits of tolerance
- 3
Opinion The profound internal contradiction that could spell doom for Hillel
- 4
Opinion I run The Jewish Theological Seminary. Here’s the real story about President Isaac Herzog speaking at our commencement
In Case You Missed It
-
Art This Jewish artist hadn’t painted in more than 5 decades. Then came Oct. 7.
-
Opinion How can I explain to my 93-year-old mother why it suddenly seems ok to hate Jews?
-
Looking Forward The bizarre antisemitic book that taught me to better understand Judaism
-
Music For Bob Dylan’s 85th birthday, an 85-minute playlist