National News

Washington Nudging, Not Squeezing

01/15/1999 | James Besser | Washington Correspondent

Washington Nudging, Not Squeezing

The Clinton administration’s ire over the de facto freeze in implementation of the Wye River agreement — anger directed primarily at the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — was kept at a low simmer this week as officials here tried hard to express their displeasure without getting entangled in the political melee taking place in Israel.

Apocalypse Now

01/08/1999 | by Eric J. Greenberg | Staff Writer

Israel’s arrest and expected deportation of members of a Denver-based Christian apocalyptic group has focused the spotlight on the government’s growing fear of violence from visiting doomsday believers as the millennium draws nearer.
But Sunday’s dramatic police raid of members of the group called Concerned Christians has also raised concerns from American religion experts who say Israel may have overreacted in this case.

With Israel Elections Looming, U.S. Faces No-Win Choices

01/01/1999 | James D. Besser | Washington Correspondent

President Bill Clinton and his Mideast team may be getting what they want as Israel moves toward early elections that could prematurely end the reign of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Rocky Wake Of Resignation: Congress After Livingston

01/01/1999 | James Besser | Washington Correspondent

The Rocky Wake Of Resignation: Congress After Livingston

Rep. Bob Livingston’s stunning announcement on Saturday that he will not become the next speaker of the House, after all — indeed, that he will leave Congress sometime in the next few months — rocked a capital that was already reeling from the bitter debate over the impeachment of President Bill Clinton and another round of military action against Iraq.

Clinton Facing Impeachment, Netanyahu Facing New Elections

01/01/1999 | James Besser | Washington Correspondent

With Washington and Jerusalem reeling from internal political crises, the Mideast peace process is likely to be the first casualty. Neither President Clinton, facing an impeachment trial in the Senate, nor Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, who was forced to call for new elections this week, appear to have the focus, or clout, to address the stymied Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

Jewish Leaders Mostly Mum On Impeachment

12/18/1998 | James Besser | Washington Correspondent

Mostly Mum On Impeachment

Jewish leaders have been almost invisible as the House this week moved toward the second vote of impeachment in the nation’s history and as talk about a presidential resignation mounted. “We support orderly process in government, but we aren’t taking a position because the impeachment issue has become so partisan,” said Phil Baum, executive director of the American Jewish Congress.