
Ron Kampeas is the former Washington bureau chief of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Ron Kampeas is the former Washington bureau chief of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
(JTA) — “It’s so noisy,” Kenny says. Yes, it’s noisy. This is Vegas. The Venetian. The casino floor. The bikinis, the brides-to-be, the blonde with the “I’m 21, bitches” T-shirt. The whoops, the hissing, the groans, the bells. This is Las Vegas, where Sheldon Adelson, who owns the Venetian, is the unanointed king. It’s also where…
(JTA) — Election Day is 19 months away, but the campaign already has begun. Aside from Democrat Hillary Clinton, three Republican candidates with reasonable chances at the nomination have declared and several others are on the cusp. The Republican Party says it’s been making inroads with Jewish voters, who traditionally have favored Democrats by 2-to-1…
Courtesy of Reuven Spolter // A scene from a ‘man seder’ in Oak Park, Michigan (JTA) — I’m backing my midlife crisis into a tight space near the synagogue entrance, and because this is my midlife crisis – a 2013 blue Mustang – I’m taking my time. No way anybody’s gonna scratch my crisis. As…
(JTA) — American Jewish groups moved to calm continuing tensions between Jerusalem and Washington in the wake of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decisive reelection this week. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and the Anti-Defamation League all released statements Thursday welcoming Netanyahu’s affirmation of support for…
(JTA) — Sarah Palin has not one but two posts on her Facebook page congratulating Benjamin Netanyahu on his reelection. Maybe two makes up for none from President Barack Obama. In each post Palin says Americans in the heartland “will sleep better knowing Bibi remains the voice of reason and strength in the beautiful nation of…
The Obama administration’s first response to news that Benjamin Netanyahu had been reelected as prime minister of Israel appeared to be avoidance. White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on Wednesday that the president would wait until Netanyahu had been formally charged with forming a government before congratulating him, although several European leaders and U.S….
(JTA) — Part of the reason Israeli-Palestinian peace talks failed last year is because the sides were so far apart in their fundamental visions of what two states would look like. Another reason is that the two sides could barely stand each other. Those are two of the contentions contained in a blistering critique of…
(JTA) — It was not the first time John Lewis had invoked the Jewish-black alliance that fought for equality during the civil rights era. But it was the first time that the Georgia congressman, a civil rights hero, invoked it to explain why he was skipping a speech by an Israeli prime minister. “In many…