Ron Kampeas is the former Washington bureau chief of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Ron Kampeas
By Ron Kampeas
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News Israelis Are Just Like Other Jews — Only Different
(JTA) — There were bagel breakfasts, a Friday night kiddush in English and Hebrew, and plenty of talk about how to keep the grandkids Jewish. In some ways, the inaugural conference last weekend of the Israeli American Council was much like other Jewish gatherings, except the Jews were Israelis and a lot of what makes…
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Fast Forward Europe Jews Come to U.S. To Learn Security Best Practices
European Jewish institutions increasingly find themselves potential terror targets. But attempts to ramp up security at synagogues, day schools, museums and community centers from Paris to Copenhagen have been stymied both by a lingering distrust of the police among some communities and by law enforcement’s reluctance to single out any ethnic minority for special treatment…
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News Lee Zeldin Wins To Become Sole GOP Jew in Congress
(JTA) — Republicans swept to control of the United States Senate as well as winning dramatic races for fresh faces with close Jewish and pro-Israel ties. In Long Island, Lee Zeldin, a state senator, was set to become the sole Jewish Republican in Congress, ending a short drought that commenced with the defeat of Rep. Eric…
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Israel News Jerusalem Passport Case Is Clash Between Congress and White House Powers
(JTA) — A lawyer for a boy born in Jerusalem whose parents want Israel listed as the birthplace on his U.S. passport tried mightily this week to make a Supreme Court hearing mainly about their wish, but the justices kept upping the ante. That might mean bad news not just for 12-year-old Menachem Zivotofsky and his…
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Fast Forward Rabbi Barry Freundel, Accused in Mikveh Peeping, Seemed ‘Aloof’ to Washington Synagogue
(JTA) — Rabbi Barry Freundel was known to the Washington Jewish community as a champion of moral rectitude. But on Tuesday, the spiritual leader of Kesher Israel congregation for the past 25 years, was charged with the most intimate of transgressions: voyeurism. Freundel, 62, was taken away Tuesday in handcuffs, after uniformed officers and plainclothes detectives…
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Fast Forward What Would Republican Senate Mean for Jewish Agenda?
(JTA) — Should Republicans win the Senate and maintain control of the House of Representatives on Nov. 4 the political gridlock that has characterized much of President Obama’s term is poised to intensify. Jewish strategies, however, will remain the same: focus on areas, however marginal, where successes are within reach. Among the areas: funding for elderly…
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Opinion Blaming the Messenger on E. Jerusalem Settlements
(JTA) — That Jerusalem building approval blow-up between the Netanyahu and Obama governments? Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and pro-Israel media watchdogs like Honest Reporting are pressing the storyline that Peace Now is at fault. Which is kind of like blaming routers for the bad news you posted on the Internet. Let’s review: On Sept. 24 the…
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News New Israel Fund Sharpens Elbows for Fight With Right
(JTA) — In a strategic shift, the New Israel Fund is arming itself with a set of sharp political tools and picking a fight. Its target: Israel’s political right. Its weapons: Opposition research, media monitoring, and staking its claims to patriotism and Zionism. If NIF’s dramatic language, outlined in a Sept. 18 release, and its…
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Sports An op-ed compared an NBA team to Israel as underdog success stories. Then the threats poured in.
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News Mamdani’s first Jewish Heritage event reveals a narrowed circle
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