Correction: Due to an editing error, Rabbi Steve Gutow’s name was mispelled and Richard Foltin was misidentified in the print version of this story. Washington — President Bush’s pledge in his State of the Union speech to develop alternative energy sources and to end America’s dependency on foreign oil struck a positive chord with the…
WALTHAM, Mass. – Jimmy Carter’s visit to Brandeis University this week was preceded by days of fresh controversy and recriminations, but when the former president came striding onto stage Tuesday, he played every part the Southern gentleman, charming the crowd of mostly Jewish students and winning a standing ovation in the end. Carter’s visit came…
WASHINGTON — In a press conference last Monday, former secretary of defense William Cohen called for stepped up American efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The event was organized by the Campaign for American Leadership in the Middle East. The group has lined up 275 former administration officials, members of Congress, business leaders, Arab American…
According to Team Romney, the Republican presidential hopeful’s speech at the Herzliya Conference was strongly praised by cosmetics magnate Ronald Lauder, a bigwig in Jewish communal circles and a GOP donor. … ”I just want to say that you have heard one of the most comprehensive, direct, clear strategies on Iran. I must say I…
Former Massachusetts governor and GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney laid out a five-point plan for preventing Iran from going nuclear at the Herzliya Conference in Israel today. “The military option remains on the table,” Romney said, while also calling for tighter economic sanctions, diplomatic isolation of Iranian leaders, and an alliance of NATO and other…
John Edwards might be running to the left of Hillary on the Iraq war, but he sounded Joe Lieberman-like on Iran, during a speech in Israel at the high-powered Herzliya Conference. Some snippets… “Iran is serious about its threats.” “The challenges in your own backyard – represent an unprecedented threat to the world and Israel.”
Democratic leaders have put the kibosh on President Bush’s proposal for a bipartisan working group on Iraq, to be headed by Senator Joseph Lieberman. Last Friday, Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi sent Bush a letter, rejecting the new commission, which Bush suggested during his January 10 address on Iraq….
While the blogosphere buzzes with all things Hillary, it’s worth taking a moment to note that GOP contender Mitt Romney is currently making the rounds in Israel. Sponsored by the Republican Jewish Coalition, the trip has the former Massachusetts governor meeting privately with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and other Israeli officials,…
In today’s Washington Post Deborah Lipstadt writes about “Jimmy Carter’s Jewish Problem.” She breaks new ground among Carter critics by accusing the former president of ignoring the importance of the Holocaust in the Israeli psyche. The sharpest stuff comes in the second half of the piece, as she focuses in on his post-publication remarks and…
Rabbi Jonathan H. Gerard of Temple Covenant of Peace in Easton, Pa., writes that he has “been thinking about the word barukh as we use it in the liturgy.” The Hebrew word barukh is almost always translated as “blessed,” and Rabbi Gerard is of course referring to its widespread use in the many “blessings” [berakhot]…
Washington – Saudi Arabia is stepping up efforts to make its peace initiative — based on a quick Israeli return to the 1967 borders and prompt establishment of a Palestinian state — a key plank in American foreign policy. According to American and Arab diplomatic sources in Washington, the Saudis have been pressing for a…
