Blogs

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

James Besser in Washington

Monday, April 13th, 2009

Invariably, when I come back to work after the two days of Seders, people will come over and ask, “so how was your Passover?”

This makes me a little crazy, even though it’s an innocuous question, even a caring one. What I want to say is, “Well, the first two days of the holiday were fine, but of course there are six more to go, so it’s way far from over, only one-quarter of the way complete, in fact, got that?”

Sunday, April 12th, 2009

What if I skip the next few paragraphs? Would anyone notice? If they do, would they mind, or be glad?

These are the questions that can often cross your mind when you lead a seder, as I’ve found myself doing for the past 20 years or so. It’s not a role I’ve ever sought out, and I’d much rather share the responsibility with others, but it seems to fall on me by default.

Tuesday, April 7th, 2009

Friday, April 3rd, 2009

Wednesday, April 1st, 2009

I am a big fan of Jeffrey Goldberg as a thoughtful, knowledgeable and often fearless journalist, who has interviewed Islamic militants in Gaza, among other hair-raising encounters in his reporting for The New Yorker, and more recently at The Atlantic.

He scored journalistic scoops during the Presidential election with exclusive interviews with both Barack Obama and John McCain, focusing on their views on Israel and other Jewish issues.

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

James Besser in Washington

This has to be one of the most jarring headlines in recent memory.

“54% of public dissatisfied with new government,” the online version of Ha’aretz  blared in its Wednesday morning edition (read the story here).

Monday, March 30th, 2009

James Besser in Washington

What is about J Street, the pro-peace process lobby and political action committee, that has the leaders of major Jewish groups in such a snit?

I’ve had calls from three of them in the past two weeks, complaining about the new kid on the pro-Israel block; even some liberal Jewish leaders are joining the anti-J Street chorus.

Friday, March 27th, 2009

James Besser in Washington

Pro-Israel groups are in PR high gear, trying to spin the incoming Israel government as not a problem for a peace process -minded Obama administration.

Thursday, March 26th, 2009

James Besser in Washington

Reading Gary Rosenblatt’s interesting column about the film Waiting for Armageddon, I was struck by how much we don’t know about the beliefs and motives of the evangelical Christians who ardently support Israel.