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United States

A Push for Peace: Behind the Scenes

How did it come about that, just prior to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright\’s visit to the Middle East, the government of Israel released some funds it was withholding from the Palestinian Authority? And then after her departure, it transferred 50 percent of the moneys owed to the Palestinians?

In

More than a century ago, Theodor Herzl was a prominent Europeanjournalist who lived in Vienna and was essentially a Jewish assimilationist. He wasn\’t much concerned about Jewish life or identity. As an intellectual, he considered himself a citizen of Europe.\n\nThen came the assignment that would change his life, and world Jewry, forever.

Cleared of Charges?

Charges against a Brooklyn Chassidic rabbi of groping a 15-year-old girl during a transpacific flight were part of an extortion plot and will be dismissed by federal prosecutors.

A Bridge Over Troubled Water

As Israel nears its 50th birthday, events have shifted attentionaway from the stalled peace talks. What dominates the headlines nowis the warlike rhetoric among Jewish factions — both within Israeland in the Diaspora — as they clash over the issue of religiouspluralism.

Yom Ha Shoah

In truth, though, many other Orthodox Jews — including most of Agudath Israel\’s constituency — do not consider Yom Ha Shoah to be the appropriate time for focusing on the destruction of Jewish Europe.

A Perfect Orange

In addition to the usual bathing suits,socks and shorts, as suggested by Camp Hess Kramer on its inventory list, my daughter, Samantha, needed an orange sweat shirt with blue (preferably royal) lettering\nspelling out the words \”Leadership \’97\” on the front and her name on the back. Right away, I could foresee trouble.

Disney, Boycotts and the Hollywood Elite

It\’s hard to feel sorry for the Walt Disney Company, a multi billion-dollar mouse-forged empire that seems to own a part of most children\’s hearts, including that of my own 2 1/2-year-old. Yet, in recent weeks, the venerable Burbank entertainment giant has been subjected to two major boycotts, one from the right-leaning Southern Baptists and the other from Latino media activists.

Justice for Jonathan Pollard

The argument that Pollard was a spy, and that is all that matters, may be legally valid, but it is not morally valid.

Bilingual Blues

Here we go again. For the third time in four years, Californians are about to be treated to another racially tinged slugfest, this time over bilingual education.

The Prospect of War

During the yearlong tenure of the Netanyahu government, Syria has become the forgotten front in the Israeli-Arab peace process. The two sides aren\’t negotiating, and Warren Christopher\’s frequent-flier shuttles between Jerusalem and Damascus are already a relic of Middle East diplomacy.

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