More in ‘AIPAC’

U.S.

The Arab Lobby

A new book explores the ‘petrodiplomatic complex’ and Saudi influence on U.S. foreign policy
By Lee Smith | 7:00 AM Sep 1, 2010

One of the characteristic laments of the Arab intelligentsia in both Washington and the Middle East concerns the inability of Arab nations to make their cases to the U.S. public. If only the Arabs weren’t so divided, the refrain goes; if only they better explained themselves and the plight of the Palestinians; if only the ...

Sundown: Jihard

Plus Mathis requests God’s forgiveness, and more
By Marc Tracy | 5:00 PM Aug 10, 2010

• Name Fox News’ imaginary Ground Zero Muslim gay bar! Oh and here is the winner. [The Daily Dish]
• Former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) dies in a plane crash; AIPAC mourns him and his “steadfast commitment to America’s alliance with the Jewish state year after year.” [JTA]
• After initially refusing it, New York City buses ...

Beinart Turning Essay Into Book

Talks to Tablet Magazine about his new project
By Marc Tracy | 1:00 PM Aug 3, 2010

Former New Republic editor Peter Beinart is turning his Tumblr, Stuff Hipster Squirrels Like To Eat, into a book.
Kidding! Actually, the basis for Beinart’s new book, tentatively titled The Crisis of Liberal Zionism, is the controversial essay, “The Failure of the American Jewish Establishment,” that he published in the New York Review of Books ...

Sundown: Rights Council To Probe Flotilla

Plus what Mad Mel said now, and more
By Marc Tracy | 5:30 PM Jul 23, 2010

• The United Nations Human Rights Council appointed a three-person team to investigate the flotilla raid. [Haaretz]
• Mel Gibson reportedly told the mother of his child, “I want Jew blood on my hands.” 13th-century Englishmen reported relief that Gibson has found a new target. [Huff Po]
• The 50 Most Influential Female Rabbis in America (only ...

U.S.

The Bridge

Former Congressman Robert Wexler wants to make Mideast peace, but he doesn’t want to be ambassador to Israel
By Allison Hoffman | 7:00 AM Jul 1, 2010

Last week, as President Barack Obama was in the Rose Garden announcing that he’d relieved Gen. Stanley McChrystal of command in Afghanistan, about 40 people were sitting in a windowless midtown Manhattan meeting room listening to a retired Israeli general, Uzi Dayan, lay out his assessment of the security risks to the Jewish state inherent ...

J Street Challenges AIPAC Over Flotilla Letter

Relatedly, senators are inundated with mail
By Marc Tracy | 10:00 AM Jun 16, 2010

J Street has not openly warred with AIPAC—the more conservative Israel group whose dominance J Street was partly founded to counterbalance—in awhile. As far as energy sanctions against Iran are concerned, the two groups have actually been on the same team (which has not necessarily been the Obama administration’s team). But now, a letter AIPAC ...

Even in California, The Establishment Wins

Taitz, Winograd, and Kaus all defeated in primaries
By Allison Hoffman | 12:00 PM Jun 9, 2010

The Lakers won last night! But point guard Derek Fisher’s game-clinching shot occurred in Boston. What happened in yesterday’s home games? The California primary ballot was, recall, loaded with drama, much of it involving Jews, Israel, or some delightful combination of the two.
Let’s start with the big news: The Soviet Jewish “Birther Queen” Orly ...

U.S.

No Direction Home

Maybe American liberal Zionism simply isn't worth saving
By Daniel Luban | 7:00 AM Jun 3, 2010

On the morning of May 31, Americans woke up to a flood of media reports about a deadly Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound humanitarian flotilla, and Israel’s liberal supporters in the United States immediately found themselves in a familiar bind. On one hand, pro-Israel hardliners called on liberal Zionists to take a firm stand in ...

U.S.

Wrong Numbers

Peter Beinart’s argument about Israel and liberal American Jews is built on misread data
By Theodore Sasson and Leonard Saxe | 7:00 AM May 28, 2010

Debate about Israel among American Jews has taken a new turn, with Jewish advocacy organizations such as AIPAC and the Anti-Defamation League increasingly under attack from inside and outside the community. The latest salvo is CUNY journalism professor Peter Beinart’s recent essay in the New York Review of Books. Beinart claims that the Jewish establishment ...

Beinart Speaks to Tablet

Defends NYRB piece, which was originally for NYT Mag
By Marc Tracy | 12:47 PM May 17, 2010

As you know, Peter Beinart has penned a blockbuster essay in the New York Review of Books condemning the Israeli leadership for their illiberal treatment of the Palestinian question, and the American Jewish leadership for making Zionism unattractive by insisting on near-unquestioning support. I talked to Beinart (whose new book, The Icarus Syndrome, comes out ...