The fight against de-legitimization of Israel has taken center stage in the U.S. Jewish organizational world, and now the powerful pro-Israel lobby AIPAC is taking on the cause with full force. While the congressional lobbying agenda of AIPAC remains focused on sanctioning Iran, ensuring foreign aid to Israel and strengthening U.S.–Israel relations, the group is…
Lee Rosenberg, AIPAC’s incoming president, is also a close friend of President Obama. On Sunday, when he delivered the evening’s keynote speech at the lobby’s policy conference, he made clear that on the issue of resolving the latest dispute between the Obama administration and the Netanyahu government, he is on Israel’s side. In his candid…
AIPAC’s annual policy conference is set up to be the great show of Israel-U.S. reconciliation after a couple of tense weeks following the announcement of new building plans in East Jerusalem during Vice President Biden’s trip to the region. This goal is expected to be achieved not only by having the two key protagonists of…
The pro-Israel lobby AIPAC managed to kick off its annual policy conference without even one mention of the 800-pound gorilla in the room — the latest spat between the U.S. and Israel over building in East Jerusalem. The opening plenary showcased Israel’s quest for peace, spoke of the Jewish state as a world leader in…
The best show in town is about to get even better. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s annual parley is known for pulling in top names from the administration, Congress and the Israeli government. But this year, the pro-Israel lobby’s policy conference will put many of the key players in the American-Israeli relationship onstage, as…
Breaking rank with most Jewish organizations, America’s largest synagogue movement is calling on Israel to declare a moratorium on new building in East Jerusalem, following the latest dispute over plans to build 1,600 new housing units in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood. Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, called for the move…
This week felt like a comedy of errors. My son came down with a cold, which he was kind enough to share with me. On Saturday morning, I woke up with laryngitis. I was invited to speak as a guest rabbi — but giving a sermon is a little tricky if you can’t speak! Having…
As Passover rapidly approaches, cleaning and preparing for the holiday is a topic that comes up more and more. It seems like a huge undertaking and most people dread Passover cleaning– me included. But this year, I’m a little excited. I’ve divided my cleaning into two parts, my kitchen and the rest of my apartment….
A bill now stalled in the Knesset has once again opened up a rift between Israel and North American Jewry over the question of who is a Jew. The touchy issue, exposing the divide between the pluralistic Jewish Diaspora and Israel, where the Orthodox establishment has authority over virtually all functions of religious life, was…
The dispute between Israel and the United States over building plans in East Jerusalem has left some supporters of Israel with a bitter aftertaste. It was not only the harshness of the Obama administration’s admonition of Israel; it was also the sense that a new element has been introduced to the bilateral relationship: the question…
Whenever he is asked about prospects for a two-state solution, Moshe Elad, who was the first head of Israeli-Palestinian security coordination after the Oslo Accords, answers with a question of his own: “In the West, people see removing settlements as the most effective way of moving things forward. But say we reach a point where…
אַבֿרהם שטערן, אַ פֿרומער ייִד, האָט פֿאַרטראַכט חשבון־מכשירים וואָס האָבן דערפֿירט צום מאָדערנעם קאָמפּיוטערײַ.
