Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama each won a stamp of approval from Jewish voters Tuesday, as both Democratic presidential contenders captured significant Jewish support in key primary contests. While Clinton laid claim to the overwhelming backing of Jewish communities in New Jersey and in her home state of New York, Obama won the…
For that quiet expatriate in each of us, Ruth Ellen Gruber is living a European dream. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1971, she went to Europe, spent 10 years as a United Press International correspondent and never returned to live in the United States. Now, with the release of her newly updated “Jewish Heritage…
I apologize in advance for the possible vapidity of this column. In my next piece I will discuss my plan for Middle East Peace, the fate of the Jewish people in an age of rampant intermarriage, and Martin Buber. But right now, I’m anxious about my hair. It’s getting gray, and I am not happy…
Hillary Clinton scored a big win among Jews in New York and New Jersey, but the picture was mixed in other Super Tuesday states. According to the latest exit polls, Clinton won big among Jews in her home state of New York, with 65 percent of the total compared to 33 percent for Obama. Clinton…
Chicago, Illinois Obama’s Jewish Neighbors Barack Obama may have a deadlock on at least one segment of the Jewish community: his neighbors. KAM Isaiah Israel, the oldest synagogue in Chicago, is directly across the street from Obama’s house. Members of KAM, a large Reform synagogue, report having seen the Illinois senator engaged in mundane activities…
In what could be a major blow to the United Nations, the United States is pulling back its involvement in an upcoming U.N. anti-racism conference due to concern that it would stir up the same anti-Israel sentiments that marked the first such conference, the Forward has learned. “We are not participating, because we are concerned…
California San Francisco Surrogates Tussle A week before Super Tuesday, campaign representatives for the three leading Democratic presidential contenders — and former Alaskan senator Mike Gravel, who remains in the race — took turns selling their candidates to San Francisco Jewish Democrats. In a lively forum at the Raoul Wallenberg Jewish Democratic Club, a group…
Despite a damning report stating that Israel’s summer 2006 war with Hezbollah “failed to achieve its objectives,” Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his government seem to be emerging politically unharmed. The report of a national commission headed by retired judge Eliyahu Winograd was expected to send shockwaves through the Israeli political system. But the commission’s…
Washington – Tensions are re-emerging between Jewish organizations and some mainline Protestant churches in the wake of a renewed drive for churches to divest from companies doing business with Israel. The United Methodist Church opened discussions last Friday on a resolution calling for divestment from Caterpillar, the tractor manufacturer, because the company supplies Israel with…
In more than a quarter-century of public life, John McCain has been called a lot of things. But this week, on the cusp of what proved to be a pivotal win in the Florida Republican primary, one of his leading supporters bestowed upon the Arizona senator a new title: “Maccabee.” “McCain is definitely part Maccabeean,”…
Mere minutes before he was inducted into Camelot, Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama shifted his attention from the Kennedy clan to the Jewish tribe. Immediately prior to accepting the endorsement of Senator Edward Kennedy on Monday afternoon in Washington, Obama conducted a conference call with Jewish reporters in an effort to dispel concerns on a…
