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September 16, 2004
Why John Kerry?
I have spent more than two decades working in Washington, D.C., to bolster the American-Israeli special relationship. I have worked with both Republicans and Democrats across the political spectrum.
After seriously considering the records of both President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry, I can say without reservation that Kerry will be a better president for the United States and will enhance the American-Israeli relationship.
Jewry’s Myopic Plan
The call for \”Jewish continuity\” sounded by American Jewish communal leaders more than a decade ago as an antidote to rising intermarriage rates and other signs of weakening identity has spawned a veritable industry aimed at making American Jews more Jewish. There has been an ever-more impressive array of endeavors to promote day schools, send kids to Israel, transform synagogues and bolster adult Jewish learning, to name just a few.
Do I Know You?
I was headed into a pizza joint for a slice when I noticed a guy whose face looked eerily familiar. I couldn\’t place him but he gave me a subtle nod, frat-boy style.
Just as I snapped my head back to make sure it actually was the dude from \”Average Joe,\” he was craning his head back, too.
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It begins as 100,000 Jews amassed last Saturday evening in the streets of Jerusalem to protest Prime Minister Ariel Sharon\’s plan to pull 7,500 Jewish settlers out of the Gaza Strip and thousands more, eventually, from the West Bank. Protesters whose placards called Sharon a traitor were told to take them down — but that didn\’t make the sentiment any less apparent. To be blunt, civil war is in the air.
Song of the Torah
Let me the set the scene for you: It\’s the final hours of Moses\’ life and after five epical books, it\’s time to wrap it up; make the quintessential points that will capture the essence and function of the entire Torah. How does Moses do this? With this week\’s Torah portion of Haazinu, otherwise known as \”Shiras Haazinu.\” In the Torah scroll, this portion is scribed in lyrical/poetic form, rather than prose.
Valley AIPAC Shows Support for Lobby
Hundreds of people — politicians and rabbis, Democrats and Republicans, Americans and Israelis, young and old — squeezed past dozens of tables to find their assigned seats for dinner.
Just two weeks after CBS News broke the story that the FBI has been investigating an American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) staffer for alleged espionage, the pro-Israel lobby hosted its largest event ever in the San Fernando Valley.
Jewish Aid Sought on Gang Problem
\”I\’d love to tell you I\’m some brilliant mastermind that chartered this treaty, but the reality is that week by week, we\’re still working the streets,\” William \”Blinky\” Rodriguez said about the gang treaty he helped broker to bring rival groups together to talk. \”We\’d be out until 2, 3, 4 in the morning.\”
Making the Grade
Jewish parents have good reason to be interested in public school test scores released by the California Department of Education on Aug. 31, although they may need help deciphering them.
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