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Congress
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Fast Forward Rep. Henry Waxman, Leading Jewish Liberal, Retires From Congress
Democratic U.S. Representative Henry Waxman of California, a leading liberal who helped craft President Barack Obama’s landmark healthcare overhaul, said on Thursday he will retire from Congress at the end of this year. “In 1974, I announced my first campaign for Congress,” Waxman, 74, said in a statement. “Today, I am announcing that I have…
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Israel News Is AIPAC Shooting Itself in Foot With Quixotic Iran Sanctions Push?
(JTA) — In previous AIPAC-vs.-White House dustups, the pro-Israel lobbying group’s strategy was to speak softly and let Congress carry the big stick. But in the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s face-off with the Obama administration over new Iran sanctions, congressional support may not be so readily available and keeping a low public profile is…
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News Debbie Wasserman Schultz Squeezed Hard as Iran Sanctions Fight Heats Up
As Jewish groups push Congress to increase sanctions on Iran — and President Obama pushes back hard in the opposite direction — one lawmaker standing at the crossroads of this clash exemplifies the challenge the Jewish groups face. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida is a member of the House of Representatives; not the Senate, where…
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Fast Forward Controversial Non-Profit Security Plan for Jewish Groups Gets 30% Funding Boost
Congress budgeted $13 million for a controversial nonprofit security assistance program that mostly aids Jewish institutions. The money was in the $1.1 trillion budget passed this week by both houses of Congress. Last year the program received just $10 million. The program, which has existed since the mid-2000s, has so far disbursed $151 million through…
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Fast Forward Natan Sharansky Joins Political Prisoners in Pleading for Help at Congress Hearing
Natan Sharansky joined Forward opinion editor Gal Beckerman and the relatives of political prisoners in asking the U.S. Congress to speak of their loved ones during meetings with foreign officials. Sharansky, imprisoned by the Soviets for nine years because of his activism on behalf of Soviet Jews who wanted to emigrate, recalled at a hearing…
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Fast Forward Israel Aid Back to $3.1B in New Budget
Funding to Israel was restored to its pre-sequester levels in the spending bill the U.S. House of Representatives passed. The bill keeps funding for Israel at $3.1 billion for 2014, the amount designated in a 2007 10-year memorandum of understanding that guaranteed Israel an average of $3 billion a year in assistance. The $1.1 trillion…
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Life Throwback Thursday: Jewish Congresswoman from Utah
Welcome to Throwback Thursday, a weekly photo feature in which we sift 116 years of Forward history to find snapshots of women’s lives. Florence Prag Kahn, the first Jewish woman to serve in Congress, was a pioneer in many ways. She was born in 1866 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her parents were Polish Jewish…
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Israel News Jewish Lawmakers See End-of-Year Split on Priorities
For Jewish and pro-Israel groups, the congressional year is ending with an odd reversal: the prospect, however fragile, of bipartisan comity on budget issues coupled with a rare partisan disagreement on Middle Eastern policy. The groups that deal with social welfare and justice issues are heartened, albeit warily, by the end-of-year budget forged by Rep….
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News Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s selection as JTS commencement speaker roils graduating class
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Opinion How Israel became a country where teenagers murder each other in cold blood
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Sports NBA coach Steve Kerr: ‘Israel sought revenge for Oct. 7 and now 72,000 Palestinians have been killed’
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Film & TV A new documentary challenges stereotypes about Orthodox Jewish women — and their wigs
In Case You Missed It
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Fast Forward A new Hebrew press in Berlin argues that Israel doesn’t own the language
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Fast Forward Jewish library and Chabad near Buenos Aires attacked, Argentine Jewish advocates say
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Fast Forward Cornell’s Jewish president clashes with students following on-campus debate about Israel
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Fast Forward U of Michigan apologizes after faculty chair praises pro-Palestinian students during commencement speech