Kentucky State Treasurer Jonathan Miller told the Forward yesterday that he is “seriously” considering a run for Governor. Miller, 38, is one of several young-gun candidates that have emerged since the state’s more prominent Dems – including former Gov. Brereton Jones and U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler – have said they plan to sit out next…
As the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee prepares to dole out committee assignments, a number of Jewish lawmakers are jockeying for position. California Rep. Adam Schiff is aiming for a spot on the powerful Appropriations committee. As we’ve mentioned before, Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida and Allyson Schwartz of Pennsylvania are both vying…
Those interested in hearing Senator Joseph Biden’s latest views on U.S. Middle East policy should think about attending the Israel Policy Forum’s dinner in New York next Monday night. Biden, the incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is also a rumored 2008 contender. He will be the keynote speaker at the event, which…
Rep. John Dingell won’t back down from a fight.
Ron Kalom writes from Taos, N.M., to ask: “Dos pintele yid? Dos pintele yud? Dos pintele yod? Which one is correct, and how does one translate this Yiddish idiom?” Let’s take these words one by one. Dos means “the” or “that” in Yiddish — in this case, “the.” Pintele (PIN-teh-leh), a noun with a diminutive…
George Edward Preston, longtime engineer for du Pont, E.I. and a survivor of the Nazi death camps at Auschwitz and Birkenau, died last week at his home in Wilmington, Del. The cause of death was multiple organ failure. He was 92. In 1965, his testimony at the Auschwitz war-crimes trials in Frankfurt am Main, Germany,…
A California lawmaker’s campaign to become chair of a key congressional committee over the objections of House Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi is dividing Jewish lawmakers and failing to attract public support from Jewish groups. For months, speculation has bubbled in Washington over Pelosi’s alleged desire to keep the reins of the House Intelligence Committee out of…
The front of the room is where the action is: Democratic lawmakers are spouting their pro-Israel credentials and their initiatives for health care reform; the Jewish donors, who came to Washington for intimate meetings just like this one, are eating it up word for word. In the back stands Reva Price, with a ubiquitous smile,…
Planners of a new pro-peace Jewish lobbying initiative say they are considering an initial, two-phase strategy, entailing fundraising for existing peace groups in its first stage and launching a new action initiative in the second stage. The group aims to raise millions of dollars in the coming months to fund existing groups working toward a…
In a further indication of his acceptance into the political mainstream, controversial right-wing Israeli politician and newly minted government minister Avigdor Lieberman will be hosted next month in New York by the most influential umbrella organization of American Jewish groups. The leader of the secular nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party, Lieberman is best known for his…
As Qassam rockets launched at Israel from Gaza continue to terrorize residents of Sderot, the slow trickle of charitable dollars that previously flowed into the Jewish state’s poverty-stricken southern region is poised to become a tidal wave. Last week, Russian Israeli billionaire Arkady Gaydamak set a high bar for philanthropic giving in Israel’s south when…
