Recent Blogs

• Appreciating President George H.W. Bush’s Contributions to Diplomacy in the Middle East

  George H.W. Bush was one of the great foreign policy leaders of the 20th century. Anyone who cares about Israel and Middle East peace owes him a debt of gratitude.

• The Two-Way Street: Entering Kislev, A Bright Light in the Darkness

  Earlier this week, a bright light shone through the recent darkness. We celebrated an electoral breakthrough as talented leaders who boldly oppose anti-Semitic rhetoric, hate and warmongering won across our nation. And yet, we cannot forget what else is happening in our country. Violence and hatred are exploding in many directions, and despair can seem like a rational response. In today’s America, bombs arrive at the doorsteps of former presidents and current office-holders, and the President worries only about the implications for his political prospects. Anti-Semites are empowered to spew their rhetorical venom and, unbearably, to take the lives of dear souls in a synagogue in Pittsburgh. Racist language and imagery is increasingly accessible in public discourse. Democratic institutions, norms of decency, core principles of Jewish ethics and truth itself are all under attack in today’s America. The successes we saw in the midterms this week provided some much needed rays of hope, but the road ahead remains long and challenging.

• Bringing Home the Win

  As long as my family has lived in Dallas, I’ve felt unrepresented and unheard in Washington, both by our Representative and our two Senators. It is thrilling to be on the cusp of a moment when that could all change.

• Note from a political frontline

  Greetings from Bangor, Maine, where the New England fall is at its magnificent height and where the temperatures are falling but the political heat index is red hot. I’m spending the week volunteering to help elect Jared Golden, a Democrat endorsed by J Street fighting to win Maine’s Second Congressional District from Republican incumbent Bruce Poliquin.

Texas Lawmaker Plans to Tweak Anti-Boycott of Israel Law That Has Drawn ACLU Lawsuits, USA Today

“The Texas lawmaker who wrote an anti-boycott of Israel law that has led to the canceling of contracts for a debate judge, a translator, a speech therapist and a public radio station reporter said Thursday that he will introduce legislation next month to clarify individuals were never the intended targets.
The comments by Texas Rep. Phil King follows the filing of a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas over the 2017 law that requires contractors doing business with the state to certify they are not engaged in boycotts of Israel.”

On the Rainy Lebanese Border, IDF Fights Tunnels and Drums Up Support, Times of Israel

Judah Ari Gross reports, “While diplomats in New York discussed the attack tunnels dug into Israel from Lebanon on Wednesday, Israeli soldiers on the border were preparing to seal them shut… Their boots and pants caked with rust-colored mud, combat engineers and civilian construction personnel walked around the site of the first tunnel the army said it found inside Israel, in an apple orchard south of the town of Metulla, boring into the earth with massive construction machines and pumping a concrete slurry into the ground.”