An Open Letter to University of California President Mark Yudof

Posted on: March 7th, 2012

Last week, two shameful events occurred on University of California campuses that made Jewish students feel targeted, intimidated, harassed, and unsafe. We charge the UC administration with failing in their basic responsibilities - to protect Jewish students from a hostile environment and to ensure their rights to freedom of speech.

In Response to AP Story, Chicago Police, Mayor Emanuel, Promise: We Won’t Spy on Muslims

Posted on: March 7th, 2012

Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy announced in response to an AP Exposé that his department will never conduct blanket surveillance of Muslims the way the New York Police Department had done in Newark, N.J., when he was the chief of police there. Mayor Bloomberg's response to the same AP story was: "We cannot slack in our vigilance. The threat was real. The threat is real. The threat is not going away."

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Anti-Semitic Vandalism Follows Soon After UPenn’s Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Conference

Posted on: March 6th, 2012

Two Philadelphia universities - the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University - have reported being victims of anti-Semitic hate crimes in the wake of the hate-fest known as Israel Apartheid Week that recently took place across North America

Santorum to AIPAC on Super Tuesday: US Must Give Iran an Ultimatum

Posted on: March 6th, 2012

At a speech before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference, coinciding with the Super Tuesday primaries, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum accused President Barack Obama of appeasement of Iran and urged an ultimatum demanding that it put a stop to its nuclear production immediately, or the US will "tear down" its plants. Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich took a break from their race for votes in the high-stakes primaries to speak to the pro-Israel lobby.

Jewish House Majority Leader Endorses Romney for President

Posted on: March 6th, 2012

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor: Romney "by far the right man for this historic election and the only one in the race who has put forward these kind of solutions and I believe he can beat Barack Obama."

Experts: Israel’s New Bunker-Busters Can Take Out Iran’s Nuke Plants

Posted on: March 6th, 2012

Berlin-based researcher Benjamin Weinthal argues that Israel is militarily capable today of launching a successful attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. It would require successive strikes, using GBU-28 bunker busters to knock out Iran's entire nuclear program. Those devastating bombs were delivered to Israel by President Obama, who made good on a promise made by President Bush.

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Bibi: Israel Will Not Allow Those who Seek her Destruction to Possess the Means to Achieve that Goal

Posted on: March 6th, 2012

A transcript of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech before the AIPAC Policy Conference Monday.

Florida State Legislature Unanimously Passes Resolution Recognizing Israel’s Right to Judea and Samaria

Posted on: March 6th, 2012

“The members of [Florida’s Legislature] support Israel in its legal, historical, moral and God-given right of self-governance and self-defense upon the entirety of its own lands, recognizing that Israel is neither an attacking force nor an occupier of the lands of others, and that peace can be afforded the region only through a whole and united Israel governed under one law for all people.”

Obama and Netanyahu Meet: Relationship and Differences Unchanged

Posted on: March 5th, 2012

Obama sought to assure Netanyahu that the United States was keeping the military option against Iran open, and "has Israel's back," and at the same time urged Israel to wait patiently for the sanctions and, possibly, diplomacy, to do their job. Netanyahu, for his part, concentrated on Israel's undeniable right to defend itself against Iran, and reiterated that Israel sees Iran’s nuclear program as a threat to its existence. The problem is, both leaders had held precisely the same positions before and after their meeting. So why meet?

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President Obama to AIPAC: ‘When the Chips are Down, I Have Israel’s Back’

Posted on: March 4th, 2012

President Obama: "I do not have a policy of containment, I have a policy of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons." He also hailed himself as Israel's greatest friend, and said he plans to honors Israeli President Shimon Peres with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor.

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Peres to AIPAC: ‘Iran Will Not Develop a Nuclear Weapon’

Posted on: March 4th, 2012

President Peres said "there is NO space between" Israel and the US, and insisted that Obama's "commitment to Israel is deep and profound." Regarding peace with the Palestinians, he said "the principle of the 'The Two State solution' was "a paramount Israeli interest."

Atheists Target Religious Jews in Williamsburg

Posted on: March 4th, 2012

"You know it’s a myth … and you have a choice," the billboards declare, in Patterson in English and Arabic, and in Brooklyn in English and Hebrew. Next to the text on the Arabic billboard is the word Allah, and on the Hebrew sign is the Hebrew word for the Tetragrammaton, which Jews are not permitted to pronounce. Including the "Shem ham'forash" in the Hebrew billboard is particularly provocative, since it is sacred and so may not be erased in print, presenting protesters with a dilemma.

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ADL Praises Mormon Church Prohibition of Holocaust Victims’ Posthumous Baptism

Posted on: March 4th, 2012

"Without exception," reads the letter from LDS President Thomas S. Monson and other church leaders, "church members must not submit for proxy temple ordinances any names from unauthorized groups, such as celebrities and Jewish Holocaust victims. If members do so, they may forfeit their new family-search privileges. Other corrective action may also be taken."

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Occupy AIPAC Advocates Palestinian State, Against Iran Strike

Posted on: March 4th, 2012

Occupy AIPAC is a weekend long series of events to coincide with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual Policy Conference, going through March 6. The Occupy AIPAC website says the group is gathering in Washington DC for a policy-style summit on the issues of Iran, the Arab Uprising and Palestine and "the affects of AIPAC in determining US foreign policy around those topics."

As Megillah Story Unfolds Anew, the Times Publishes Op-Ed by Modern-Day Mordechai

Posted on: March 3rd, 2012

So who are the Megillah characters in this round? We definitely have our Hamman in President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. King Achashverosh should be President Barack Obama. Benjamin Netanyahu would be Esther, given his direct dealings with the ruler of the free world. And, if you ask me, I'm voting in favor of Amos Yadlin for the role of Mordechai. On June 7, 1981, Amos Yadlin, who later became chief of Israel's military intelligence, was one of eight Israeli fighter pilots who bombed the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak.

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Shabbat Across America Unites Thousands of Jews

Posted on: March 2nd, 2012

Beginning Friday night, March 2, hundreds of communities across the continent will take part in an historic national Jewish event to celebrate what unifies all Jews — Shabbat. More than 500 colleges and synagogues will take part in the medley of traditions across the United States and Canada, with 40,000-50,000 Jews expected to participate.

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Plagued by Charges of Ineptness and Corruption, Olmert to Keynote at J Street Conference

Posted on: March 2nd, 2012

Although J Street describes itself as a pro-Israel organization that supports peace between Israel and its neighbors, many Israelis and US Jews, including many public figures, have said that J Street is anti-Israel, particularly in relation to the security challenges facing the Jewish state. Several US Jewish leaders have objected to J Street's position on Israel, and have publicly disassociated themselves from the organization.

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Tea Party’s Jewish Enfant Terrible’s Death Raises Suspicions

Posted on: March 2nd, 2012

Andrew Breitbart, who enraged the Left and delighted Tea Partisans both with his unabashed opinions and his video shenanigans, collapsed and died outside his Los Angeles home Thursday morning.

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Clinton, Panetta, Push Back Republican Criticism on Israel

Posted on: March 1st, 2012

Republicans see a political opening in the disagreements between Washington and Jerusalem over two major issues: Jewish settlements and their influence on the peace talks with the Palestinians, and the Obama administration's pressure on Israel to hold off on a military strike against Iran. A House Budget Committee pressed Panetta on reduced budget requests for Israel's missile defense program against ballistic missiles and rockets.

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Republicans Challenging Obama on Jewish Vote in 2012

Posted on: February 29th, 2012

It turns out all the Republicans who are still standing are moving in on the Jewish vote, save for Ron Paul who just doesn't seem to care. The Jews, for a variety of reasons, appreciate being courted. Like the Jewish attorney from NJ who calls on fellow Jews to ignore Rick Santorum's views on abortion, contraception, and religion, and concentrate instead only on the his views on Israel.