National News

Picking A Fight With Clinton?

04/10/1998 | James Besser | Washington Correspondent

Picking A FightWith Clinton?

The drill used to be simple. In times of tension between the United States and Israel, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee would lobby lawmakers to sign statements and letters to the administration backing Jerusalem. And the members would sign on, to pretty much universal applause from organized Jewry.

Squeeze Play For Jewish Leaders as Clinton Peace Efforts Accelerate

04/03/1998 | James Besser | Washington Correspondent

American Jewish leaders felt squeezed this week. They were caught between the Israeli government, which wants them to man the barricades against what is perceived to be a sweeping new American plan for breaking the Israeli-Palestinian deadlock, and the Clinton administration, which is seeking an amber light to pursue its “bridging proposals” in the moribund negotiations.

The Spirit Moves Them: UJA Young Leadership in Washington

03/27/1998 | James Besser | Washington Correspondent

It was a moment that almost perfectly defined this week’s United Jewish Appeal young leadership conference in Washington. In one section of the vast Washington Hilton ballroom, hundreds of young Jews were intently listening as special U.S. peace envoy Dennis Ross and Israeli Ambassador Eliahu Ben-Elissar gave sharply differing views of the current Israeli-Palestinian stalemate.

Israel At 50 EventFull Of Messianic Jews

02/27/1998 | James Besser | Washington Correspondent

What may turn out to be the largest official Israel at 50 celebration in America — perhaps with participation by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — has a roster full of speakers and participants who are Messianic Jews, The Jewish Week has learned.
The event, planned by the Christian Alliance for Israel, is scheduled to attract up to 18,000 people in Orlando, Fla., from April 29 to May 3.

Onward Jewish Soldier

02/27/1998 | James D. Besser | Washington Correspondent

Onward Jewish Soldier

The tall, lanky man on the podium, the one with the boyish face and the black yarmulke, has the roomful of Evangelicals rocking. Foreign as the turf might seem, he is at home, in a comfort zone, this Orthodox rabbi and Yeshiva University graduate, before his powerful Christian hosts. He is, in the vernacular of the day, building bridges, crossing over, looking for common ground.

Scandal Scuttling Jewish Agenda?

01/30/1998 | James D. Besser | Washington Correspondent

Did he or didn’t he? Jewish leaders weren’t ready to judge whether President Clinton had a sexual relationship with a 21-year-old Jewish White House intern.
They were, however, sure of one thing: With a Clinton administration consumed by the scandal, a radically transformed political landscape will likely have an enormous impact on both the domestic and foreign policy agendas of a range of Jewish groups.