Hours after CBS News first reported that federal officials were investigating a possible Israeli \”mole\” at the Pentagon, the first analysis hit the wires claiming that the emerging scandal wouldn\’t damage U.S.-Israel relations.
A new study reveals that the Bush administration is succeeding beyond the most optimistic projections of supporters — and the most pessimistic fears of critics — in funneling government social service dollars to religious groups, despite the refusal of Congress to pass most of its faith-based initiative.
Last week the Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy issued an exhaustive report indicated that religious groups \”are now involved in government-encouraged activities ranging from building strip malls for economic improvement to promoting child car seats.\”
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass), who claimed the Democratic presidential nomination at the party\’s convention in Boston last week, is almost certain to win a substantial majority of Jewish votes on Nov. 2. But that doesn\’t mean he doesn\’t have Jewish problems.
All of this comes to mind in the face of this week\’s effort by the Palestinians to generate anti-Israel resolutions in the General Assembly in response to the recent ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) — the judicial but injudicious arm of the United Nations — that Israel\’s controversial new security barrier is illegal and must be torn down.
Conspiracy theories unite the political extremes, a fact that stands out starkly as the fruitcake left and loony right converge around theories blaming Jewish neoconservatives for an Iraq War they despise.
Israeli politics is always a mix of high drama and low comedy, but the current fight within Prime Minister Ariel Sharon\’s divided government is anything but entertaining for Jewish leaders here.
Israeli commentators have noted that it is a struggle for the soul of the Likud party. How that turns out will have consequences for the U.S.-Israel relationship and on Israel\’s already-low standing around the world.
With things going badly in Iraq, the anti-war movement in this country is trying to expand its political base with a series of high-profile marches scheduled for this weekend.
And once again, planners of some of the events are using rising discontent over the war to boost other items on their agenda, starting with vehement criticism of Israel.
A primary sponsor of the new burst of protest: International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), the anti-war group criticized last year for barring speakers who supported Israel and for a vehemently anti-Israel approach to the Mideast conflict.
Israel and the United States have more in common than ever as both nations fight the terror scourge. That\’s good news, but Jewish leaders would be wise not to get smug about it.
The war in Iraq could produce a sharp public backlash against U.S. involvement — in that particular conflict and in a region that is hard on traditional American naivete. And that backlash could taint U.S.-Israel relations if the public links failed U.S. policies with Israel.
Stalemate has become standard operating procedure for Congress in recent years, but this year\’s legislative gridlock could be headed for the record books.
Should synagogues and Jewish day schools get federal tax dollars to help them beef up security to meet the rising terror threat?
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