Blogs

Thursday, December 18th, 2008

New York Governor David Paterson’s proposed budget will slash what many consider to be an already paltry level of taxpayer support for private schools by 41 percent, which has an alliance of private, Jewish and Catholic school advocates up in arms.

Invoking the famous Daily News headline about Gerald Ford, Teach-NYS paraphrases Paterson as telling religious and independent schools to “Drop Dead.” 

Wednesday, December 17th, 2008

The crisis now unfolding in philanthropy can be seen as nothing less than a volcano eruption that will cause both immediate and long-term destruction to the cause of promoting Jewish identity and continuity.

Sunday, December 14th, 2008

James Besser in Washington

It’s the weekend, so official reaction from Jewish groups has been limited, but communal boardrooms will be buzzing on Monday as the devastation apparently wreaked by Bernard Madoff,  the onetime hedge fund mastermind, sinks in.

Madoff was arrested on Friday after admitting to colleagues that his hedge fund was a $50 billion sham – the biggest Ponzi scheme in history.

Concerns among Jewish leaders center on three issues.

Friday, December 12th, 2008

The other day, on a lark, I created a Facebook group called “I Refuse To Join Pointless Facebook Groups,” and invited several hundred of my online friends to join. As of this writing, about three dozen have joined this pointless group, some perhaps aware of the irony, some not.

Friday, December 12th, 2008

James Besser in Washington

Speaking during a recent JCPA conference call about the new administration’s foreign policy team, I was struck by this gap between perception and reality: while so many Israel-focused Jews seem to believe a major element of Barack Obama’s transition is figuring out how to change U.S. policy on Israel and the Palestinians, the reality is that the issue is probably far down on the team’s long list of immediate priorities

Tuesday, December 9th, 2008

James Besser in Washington

Here’s the non-surprise of the year: President George W. Bush has once again waived provisions of the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act mandating that the U.S. embassy be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Back in 2000  Bush, running for the presidency,  promised to begin the move “as soon as I take office,” but then changed his mind, repeatedly invoking the law’s “national security” waiver position.

Sunday, December 7th, 2008

James Besser in Washington

In Minnesota, as it turns out, a recount won’t be enough to determine the winner of a hotly contested Senate race.   The only thing that’s certain: the  winner will definitely be a Jewish guy from New York.

Thursday, December 4th, 2008

Despite the pressures of a weekly deadline, it’s generally a fairly jovial mood here in The Jewish Week’s editorial bullpen on Tuesdays as we scramble to bang out our copy as thoroughly and accurately as humanly possible, whip it into shape and get it off to the printer on time.

Monday, December 1st, 2008

He was a tall, imposing figure, ripped straight from the pages of the Bible, with his long grey beard and uncompromising faith. But there was something missing from the picture.

Sunday, November 30th, 2008

James Besser in Washington

Mik Moore, the Jewish Funds for Justice blogger and co-creator of the “Great Shlep,” the pro-Obama youth crusade in Florida, has a provocative item this week about why predictions of an anti-Obama vote in the Jewish community proved wildly inaccurate.