fbpx
Category

January 13, 2005

Jewish-Black Ties Loosen Over Years

Until now, the 1964 murders of three civil rights campaigners has been unresolved. The recent arrest of a suspect in the Mississippi murders of Andrew Goodwin and Michael Schwerner — both Jews — and James Chaney, a black man, has re-focused attention on a relationship once bound in blood.

As Jews prepare to mark Martin Luther King Day, however, to what extent have black-Jewish relations shifted from their historic marriage?

FBI Stings Seen as Part of Policy ‘War’

Last June, leading neoconservative Richard Perle received an unexpected phone call at his home. It was Larry Franklin calling. Franklin is the veteran Iran specialist in the Pentagon\’s Near East South Asia office and the key Iraq War planner who had been pressured by the FBI into launching a series of counterintelligence stings. Perle, a former chairman of the Pentagon\’s Defense Policy Board, was an architect of the 2003 Iraq War.

Franklin, who never had phoned before, asked Perle to \”convey a message to Chalabi\” in Iraq, according to sources aware of the call. Ahmad Chalabi is the embattled president of the Iraqi National Congress. He is currently at the vortex of a Pentagon-intelligence community conflict over pre- and post-war policy, but is still endorsed by neoconservatives, such as Perle.

Something about Franklin\’s unexpected call struck Perle as \”weird,\” according to the sources. Why was Franklin calling?

U.S. Hedges Stand on Abbas Victory

It was an invitation without an R.S.V.P. Come on over, President Bush told his newly elected Palestinian Authority counterpart — but let\’s wait to set a date. The check is in the mail, I\’m just not sure how much.

Vote Generates Mix of Hope, Wariness

Edna Bar-Or wants to be optimistic about the prospects for peace after this week\’s Palestinian elections, but like many Israelis, she is not sure she can.

\”I very much hope it will bring good,\” said Bar-Or, 55, surrounded by stacks of laundry and hangers full of pressed shirts at her dry cleaning shop. \”I want to be optimistic, but I don\’t think anyone knows what will be.

Israelis followed news of the Palestinian Authority elections Sunday, pausing to listen to radio and television news broadcasts and to read newspaper front pages plastered with large photographs of Mahmoud Abbas, better known as Abu Mazen. Yasser Arafat\’s former deputy won the vote by 62 percent and will become the next president of the Palestinian Authority.

The Once and Future Yiddish Language

Given the sentimentality of much recent writing on the subject, American Jews might be forgiven for believing that no one with a critical eye, or without

Angelenos Make Aliyah Dream Reality

It\’s 4 p.m. \”Erev Christmas,\” and 21-year-old Adam Bodenstein is still rushing around his home in the Pico-Robertson area. He has yet to take a shower before Shabbat comes. In four days time, the Modern Orthodox UC Berkley graduate, who grew up in a Conservative household, will board a flight at New York\’s JFK Airport that will take him to his new home — Israel.

But this is no ordinary El Al flight. This is Nefesh B\’Nefesh\’s (NBN) eighth flight (and first-ever winter flight) in three years.

Grading Parents on Report Card Day

Report card season is meant as judgment day for kids, but in many cases it is the parents who come under scrutiny — most notably by the kids themselves.

How a parent reacts can bring a kid\’s self-esteem up or knock it down, can encourage them to put forth more effort or to become complacent and can send strong messages about priorities, values and dealing with being judged.

Briefs

The Orthodox Union\’s deaf outreach came to Long Beach for a Shabbaton gathering of the deaf and their families

Divine Protection

As the train pulled into the Iraqi border police station, the lanky Jewish boy at the window became more and more nervous. The bulging package under his robes felt heavy like lead.

One People, One Vote

Anyone hungry for good news in the world could have sat down to a full meal this week on word of the Palestinian election.

New Articles

More news and opinions than at a
Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.