A rally organized by the main Jewish umbrella organization to protest the scheduled visit of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the United Nations has turned into a political embarrassment. Senator Hillary Clinton canceled her attendance at the September 22 protest, upon learning that Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin had been invited. The rally’s organizers then…
The election of Tzipi Livni, Israel’s foreign minister, as the new leader of the Kadima party and presumptive prime minister-elect could push the once-mighty Israel Labor Party to the sidelines of Israeli politics, according to numerous observers and political insiders. Livni, who advocates territorial compromise with the Palestinians, was the most dovish candidate in the…
If there’s anyone unaffected by the collapse of the Lehman Brothers investment bank, it may be the Lehman family. The descendants of Mayer and Emanuel Lehman, two of the German Jewish brothers who lent the firm its name in the 1850s, remain a tightly knit clan ensconced in New York’s upper crust. But they have not…
By running advertisements that seek to tie Senator Barack Obama to Iran, Palestinians and Patrick Buchanan, and by sponsoring a poll that some say is misleading and even manipulative, the Republican Jewish Coalition is mounting an unusually aggressive campaign that has drawn criticism from Democrats and even some Republicans. Obama supporters led a September 16…
The man commonly known as the world’s richest Jew is scaling back his contributions to one of the most prominent Jewish charities. On September 9, billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson announced that he was reducing his donations to Birthright Israel in 2009 and 2010, respectively, to $20 million and $10 million, after giving $70 million…
Los Angeles — As millions of Americans have found a place for themselves in cyberspace — be it on Facebook or on MySpace — so, too, have the Jewish High Holy Days. During the month of Elul — the 29-day atonement period that falls in September this year and is meant to prepare Jews for…
Washington — With immigration reform placed on the back burner in the presidential political debate, groups supporting and opposing changes in immigration policy are intensifying their efforts to bring about change once a new administration and Congress come to Washington. Activists on both sides of the immigration divide agree that the selection of Senator John…
Washington — When then U.S. Rep. Charles Schumer of Brooklyn challenged U.S. Senator Alfonse D’Amato in 1998, Schumer told New Yorkers they didn’t have to settle for what he described as half a loaf. “Al D’Amato had a great record for Israel, and I never tried to begrudge it,” Schumer recalled of his first successful Senate…
Los Angeles — A Bay Area university has become the first in America to create an academic program based on a long-standing tradition: the Jewish commitment to social justice. This month, the University of San Francisco, a 153-year-old Jesuit institution, launched the Swig Program in Jewish Studies and Social Justice. Directed by Jewish activist Aaron…
FROM NANNY TO DIPLOMAT: FRAN DRESCHER ON MISSION TO SAVE WOMEN’S LIVES From the wilds of the Flushing area of Queens to the hit TV series “The Nanny,” Fran Drescher, now known as “The Cancer Schmancer Lady, ” has been appointed (thanks to a recommendation by first lady Laura Bush) as the newest member of…
In an annual tradition, the staff of this newspaper compiles a list of the 50 people who have made an imprint in the past year on the ways in which American Jews view the world and relate to each other. The Forward 50 has come to resemble an annual snapshot of American Jewry, with all…
