Sen. Al Franken’s upcoming resignation marks the end of an era: It will be the end of a nearly 40-year streak of Jews representing Minnesota in the U.S. Senate. First came Rudy Boschwitz, a Jewish Republican who won the 1978 election. He kept his seat in 1984 but lost it in 1990 to Democrat Paul…
On December 7, an emotional Al Franken took to the Senate floor to announce that following allegations of sexual misconduct, which he denies in part, he’s resigning from his position as Minnesota’s junior senator. But Franken didn’t provide an exact date for his departure, triggering rumors about whether his decision to step down is, in…
(JTA) — It’s a shame Al Franken has to go, Minnesota Jews say. But he has to go. That’s the feeling Minnesota Jewish leaders expressed a day after the Democratic senator announced he would resign his seat in the coming weeks following a string of sexual harassment allegations against him. Jewish political activists in Minnesota…
With an open Senate seat looking likely in Minnesota, a familiar face is remerging. Norm Coleman, the Republican Jewish senator who narrowly lost his seat to Al Franken in 2008, is now being viewed as a potential candidate for running again and reclaiming his old seat upon Franken’s resignation. Coleman, who now serves as chairman…
Senator Al Franken has been accused of sexual misconduct for a fifth time, this time by an army veteran, CNN reported. Stephanie Kemplin, of Ohio, is claiming that Franken groped her breast during a photo op while he was on a USO tour in 2006. The first public allegation of sexual misconduct against Franken also…
Recently I ran into two Forward articles on my Facebook feed: “It’s time for Hillel to become a democratic institution” by David Schraub, and “What the Jewish establishment got wrong about the Princeton Hillel Controversy” by Yosef Kessler. Schraub advocates that Hillel should become a democratic organization, modelled after the Union of Jewish Students in…
(JTA) — The Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota affirmed its solidarity with the Muslim community in the wake of an attack on a local mosque. The blast at the Dar Al Farooq Islamic Center in Minneapolis occurred early on Saturday, while worshippers were gathered for early morning prayers. No one was injured in the…
Liberal synagogues, especially those where rabbis are outspoken about the values espoused by President Trump, are finding that attendance and membership are up – way up – since last November. Call it the “Trump bump.” It’s happening against the backdrop of the long-term trend of shrinking membership in liberal synagogues. In many places it includes…
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