Ron Kampeas is the former Washington bureau chief of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Ron Kampeas
By Ron Kampeas
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Fast Forward The Bernie Sanders That Only Jewish Vermont Knows
(JTA) — Bernie Sanders reads from the Passover Haggadah in Hebrew and jokes with his seder hosts about finding hametz, traces of leavening, after they have thoroughly cleaned the house in preparation for the holiday. The presidential candidate, a socialist competing for the Democratic nomination, also follows Israeli politics close enough to understand the influence…
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Fast Forward Republican Chaos Has Washington Jews Wondering Who’s in Charge
(JTA) — “Do I know this person?” has been a common refrain in the Washington offices of national Jewish organizations since Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, resigned as House speaker last month and his chosen successor, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., the majority leader, flamed out last week. Every day sees a new Republican contender named in…
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Fast Forward Steve Gutow Lashes Out at Community at End of Decade Pleading for Civility
(JTA) — For the past 10 years, Rabbi Steve Gutow has been trying to get American Jews to be more civil to each other, especially in debates about political issues. But a decade on, as he prepares to step down from the helm of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the community seems even more bitterly…
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The Schmooze Why Mets vs. Dodgers Is Most Jewish Baseball Playoff Series Imaginable
(JTA) — Baseball doesn’t get much more Jewish than this year’s MLB National League Division Series, which starts Friday between the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Both teams feature notable Jews: Joc Pederson in the outfield for the Dodgers and Joe Wilpon in the owner’s box for the Mets. Plus, you’ve got…
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News Bernie Sanders Opens Up About Jewish Upbringing — at Last
(JTA) — I interviewed Bernie Sanders a couple years ago, when word first circulated that the Vermont senator might seek the presidency. Though he knew about JTA going in — and must have known questions about his Jewish background were coming — he didn’t want to get into it. I wrote at the time: “But…
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Fast Forward Donald Trump Gets Jews for Jesus Blessing
(JTA) — CNN reported that Donald Trump last week met with “Christian, Jewish leaders.” I tried to but could not track down which “Jewish leaders” were in the group. What also puzzled me was that it was the first day of Sukkot: That didn’t rule out the presence of a “Jewish leader,” but it made it…
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The Schmooze When Ben Bernanke Dealt With Questions About Jewish ‘Horns’
(JTA) — Ben Bernanke dealt with prejudice as a Jew crowing up in South Carolina — including being asked if he had horns — according to his new memoir. Several times, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve writes, elementary school classmates asked “quite innocently, I believe” whether he had horns. “Growing up in Dillon…
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Fast Forward Breaking Down Netanyahu’s 44-Second U.N. Staredown
(JTA) — All anyone attending the United Nations General Assembly opening seemed to want to talk about was the threat posed to the world by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. That was much to the consternation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who argued in his speech before that body on Thursday that Iran,…
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