National News

AIPAC Changes its Tune after Accusations of Likud Tilt

05/28/1999 | James Besser | Washington Correspondent

That squeak audible over Washington this week was the sound of the pro-Israel lobby turning on a dime. Stung by criticism by some Labor leaders of a longstanding pro-Likud tilt, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), began a quick readjustment at this week’s annual policy conference in Washington.
“What you’re hearing is an organization adapting to a new environment,” said Gary Polland, a longtime AIPAC activist from Texas who objected to the softening of some traditional AIPAC positions.

Gunning For A New Life

05/28/1999 | James Besser | Washington Correspondent

Friends knew Tom Diaz was changing when he started reading about ants. It wasn’t just the science that intrigued him, although the Capitol Hill staffer was known among colleagues as a wonk’s wonk. It was the miracle of creation — the endless variety, the questions science couldn’t answer.
The ants were early signs of a personal reassessment that ultimately produced a dual conversion in Diaz’s life — to Judaism and away from the gun culture that had always been part of who he was.

Reform Rabbis Embrace Ritual — Carefully

05/28/1999 | by Eric J. Greenberg | Staff Writer

After months of intense debate, Reform Judaism this week charted a cautious new course into the next century by approving a moderate platform designed to keep the peace among its traditional and classical wings.

AIPAC's Barak Blunder?

05/21/1999 | James Besser | Washington Correspondent

This weekend’s American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference will feature all the usual elements of the annual pro-Israel extravaganza: congressional and administration machers by the score, foreign diplomats, on-the-make politicians and more than 900 charged-up AIPACers and 600 college students.
But the mood may be dampened by a new challenge facing the powerful lobby group: how to adjust to a new Labor government in Israel that includes officials who have harshly criticized AIPAC for a pro-Likud tilt.

Clinton Administration Running Out of Patience as Israel Votes

05/14/1999 | James Besser | Washington Correspondent

Administration officials are straining to keep up their public facade of impartiality as the election campaign in Israel heads toward a noisy conclusion. But just below the surface are mounting concerns about the impact of a victory by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the promised U.S. effort to revive the Israeli-Palestinian talks — and a growing realization that even a victory by his chief opponent, Labor leader Ehud Barak, is no guarantee that a new U.S. initiative will advance quickly.