Rep. Steny Hoyer, the House majority leader, walks to the Capitol for a vote, Feb. 26, 2019. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Two former top AIPAC staffers are helming a new political action committee that will steer donations to candidates in both parties who adopt a centrist pro-Israel position at a time when that gold standard for pro-Israel giving is being challenged by the right and the left.… Read more »
Beth Shalom Cemetery officials said they were trying to service the entire Jewish community in opening its new section. (Courtesy of Beth Shalom Cemetery)
ST. LOUIS (St. Louis Jewish Light via JTA) — A Jewish cemetery in a suburb here has opened a section for the burial of cremated remains and will allow for the burial of non-Jewish, immediate family members of Jews who are buried at the cemetery. The decision by the board… Read more »
A photo of Osama Iliwat's canceled visa after he was denied entry to the United States in February. (Courtesy of Iliwat)
NEW YORK (JTA) — A Palestinian peace activist was denied entry to the United States and deported, despite having a valid visa. Osama Iliwat, 42, was questioned over the course of eight hours by officials from Customs and Border Protection at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Five Democratic presidential candidates said they would re-enter the Iran nuclear deal that President Donald Trump abandoned last year. Al-Monitor, a Middle East news site, solicited the Democratic candidates about whether they would rejoin the deal. The five who said they would are Sens. Bernie Sanders… Read more »
(JTA) — Michael Steinhardt’s family and foundations responded to a New York Times article alleging a pattern of sexual harassment by the billionaire Jewish philanthropist, saying remarks that women said made them feel debased were made in “jest.” Seven women in Wednesday’s article, a joint investigation by The Times and… Read more »
Adam Milstein seen at The Jerusalem Post Conference in New York City, May 22, 2016. He said his views as expressed on Twitter had been "mischaracterized." (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Adam Milstein, a major pro-Israel funder, has withdrawn from speaking at the annual AIPAC policy conference following a series of tweets in which he accused two Muslim lawmakers of clashing with “American values.” The American Israel Public Affairs Committee distanced itself from Milstein. Milstein, the chairman… Read more »
(JTA) — The Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh is paying it forward. The congregation has raised more than $40,000 to support the victims and their families of the mosque shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand. “We feel compelled to come to the aid of those communities, just as our… Read more »
(JTA) – Faculty at California’s Pitzer College voted in favor of suspending its study abroad program in Israel, but the institution’s president said he would ignore their motion. Thursday’s non-binding recommendation by faculty at the college governing body was spearheaded by proponents of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement… Read more »
President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House, March 10, 2019. (Al Drago/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The House hearing was about foreign aid, and almost as soon as it started it took a political turn: The most powerful congressional appropriator was asking one of Washington’s most influential lobbyists about bipartisanship. “What in your view would be the consequence of making Israel a… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Donald Trump promoted on his Twitter feed a group founded by Republicans that hopes to draw young Jews away from the Democratic Party. “‘Jewish people are leaving the Democratic Party,’” Trump said Tuesday morning on his feed, quoting Elizabeth Pipko, a spokeswoman for “Jexodus,” who appeared… Read more »
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on stage during the 2019 Athena Film Festival at Barnard College in New York City, March 3, 2019. (Lars Niki/Getty Images for The Athena Film Festival)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — “It’s official,” says the fundraising appeal from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., the freshman lawmaker who has become the flagbearer for the Democratic Party’s restive progressive wing. “AIPAC is coming after Alexandria, Ilhan, and Rashida.” Not only is it not official, it’s not true. The release starts… Read more »
(JTA) — Rep. Ted Deutch, a Jewish Democrat from South Florida, called out lawmakers from both parties for anti-Semitism in a passionate address on the House floor Thursday. Deutch in his address wanted a stand-alone resolution condemning anti-Semitism. Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives were going to vote… Read more »
Neshama Carlebach says "I want to live for this moment, for today, and I want my children to know joy.” (Michael Albany)
NEW YORK (JTA) — Neshama Carlebach says she is figuring out how “to both love and not love” her father. Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, a spiritual leader and musician whose soulful melodies penetrated the hearts of people across the religious spectrum, is the man who made her into who she is… Read more »
Jason Greenblatt, left, meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a visit to Jerusalem, March 13, 2017. (Government Press Office)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The best thing everyone except for the Israelis and Palestinians can do when the Trump administration reveals its peace plan is to be supportive, Trump’s chief negotiator said. And nothing else. “It really is up to the Israelis and the Palestinians; they’re the ones who will… Read more »
(JTA) — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Israel this month with the country in the throes of an election campaign. Pompeo will be in Israel on March 20 for a summit involving Israel, Greece and Cyprus, Axios reported. State Department spokesman Robert Palladino told reporters that Pompeo’s… Read more »
(JTA) — White supremacists dramatically stepped up their propaganda efforts targeting neighborhoods and campuses in 2018 to never-before seen levels. Such efforts increased by 182 percent, to 1,187 distributions across the U.S., up from 421 total incidents reported in 2017, the Anti-Defamation League reported Tuesday. The number of racist… Read more »
Nancy Pelosi at her weekly news conference at the Capitol, Feb. 28, 2019. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Democrats are revising a statement on anti-Semitism to include other forms of bias following complaints by caucus progressives that the original resolution unfairly singled out Rep. Ilhan Omar. Despite the impassioned objections of at least one Jewish Democrat, House Democrats are set to vote on the… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Democrats reportedly are working on a new resolution condemning anti-Semitism after members of the party’s black and progressive House caucuses complained that it appeared to single out Rep. Ilhan Omar. Multiple reports said there were emotional exchanges Wednesday at a closed caucus meeting, with Jewish members who… Read more »
(JTA) — Thousands of givers have opened their hearts to those affected by the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, donating more than $6.3 million to a fund for their benefit set up by the local Jewish federation. The bulk of the money, nearly $4.4 million, from the Victims of Terror Fund will… Read more »
(JTA) — A majority of Americans still sympathize more with Israel than the Palestinians in the ongoing conflict, but the percentage of support has dropped to its lowest since 2009. Some 59 percent of Americans said they sympathize more with the Israelis, a new Gallup poll found, down from… Read more »
