National News

Vouchers Get a Boost

05/07/1999 | James Besser | Washington Correspondent

The debate over school vouchers is heating up around the country, and Jewish groups on both sides of the issue are jumping into the fray. But despite all the noise, most observers agree Jewish voters haven’t strayed too far from their traditional opposition to plans that provide indirect public support for private and parochial schools.
The impetus for the new push comes from Florida, where the state legislature passed a major voucher plan last week.

Indyk Blasts ZOA President

04/30/1999 | James Besser | Washington Correspondent

Indyk Blasts ZOA President

A top State Department official, criticized for hiring a pro-Palestinian activist, fired back with both barrels this week. Speaking before the Anti-Defamation League leadership conference on Monday, Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs Martin Indyk read an angry statement defending his hiring of Joseph Zogby, a young lawyer and the son of longtime Arab-American leader James Zogby.

The Two Sides Of A Killer

04/30/1999 | by ADAM DICKTER | Staff Writer

Details are still sketchy about the life of Dylan Klebold, the Colorado teenager who fell into a dark world of rebellion that culminated in the murder of 12 students and a teacher at Columbine High School.
But one odd piece of information seems clear: The 17-year-old Klebold’s Jewish lineage was no impediment to his adoption of the neo-Nazism and Hitler-mania that informed his last days.

Masorti Head In Israel Encouraged

04/30/1999 | Gary Rosenblatt | Editor & Publisher

Rabbi Ehud Bandel, the leader of the Masorti (Conservative) movement in Israel, takes satisfaction in the Orthodox establishment’s stepped-up opposition to his group’s efforts. He sees it as a sign of serious concern on the part of the Chief Rabbinate.

Jews Disagree On Lessons From Colorado Killings

04/30/1999 | by Steve Lipman  | Staff Writer

The murder of a dozen high school students and one teacher by two classmates in Colorado forced the Jewish community once again to find a balance between its support for civil liberties and desire to put its religious values in the cultural marketplace.
The killings were committed by Dylan Klebold, who had Jewish lineage, and Eric Harris, both of whom were reportedly influenced by neo-Nazi ideology and carried out their yearlong designs on Hitler’s birthday, April 20.

Spiritual Struggle

04/30/1999 | by Eric J. Greenberg | Staff Writer

Baltimore — What do an expert on Buddhism, a Christian theologian and a former Reagan administration bureaucrat have to say about Jewish spirituality to a room full of Conservative rabbis? That was the question here this week when all three addressed several hundred rabbis and guests at the 99th annual convention of the Rabbinical Assembly, the organization representing the world’s 1,500 Conservative rabbis.