יום רביעי, ו׳ אלול תשפ״וWednesday, August 19, 2026
Follow Us
Chairmen of the Senate and House of Representatives budget committees have proposed a budget deal that would restore $220 million for two more Iron Dome anti-missile batteries only months after they were said to be victims of budget sequestration. The proposed deal needs to be approved by houses of Congress before becoming law. The deal also […]
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned Congress on Tuesday that new sanctions against Iran would be “gratuitous” and could harm any agreement with Iran as well as relations with world powers in the P5+1 group. Speaking to the House Foreign Affairs Committee before leaving for another trip to Israel and the Palestinian Authority and […]
By JTA
New York Democratic Congressman Eliot Engel has been appointed chairman of an umbrella body for Jewish lawmakers worldwide, succeeding Italy’s Fiamma Nirenstein, who recently made aliyah to Israel. The steering committee of the International Council of Jewish Parliamentarians named Engel, the senior Democrat on the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, as its chairman […]
The US talks with Iran about easing sanctions, but an Israeli activist lawyer says Obama overlooks the fact that Tehran owes American terror victims billions of dollars.
By JTA
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee said there would be “no pause, delay or moratorium in our efforts” to seek new sanctions on Iran. The statement late Saturday came after days of reports that top pro-Israel groups, including AIPAC, had agreed in a meeting with senior White House staffers to suspend for 80 days lobbying […]
By JTA
The National Security Council has asked Congressmen at a White House briefing to delay passing new Iran sanctions, according to BuzzFeed. The meeting with top staffers from congressional committees dealing with Iran sanctions was called after the Obama administration launched renewed talks this month with Iran in the wake of pledges from its newly elected […]
By J. E. Dyer
As happy as I am to see the EPA and other agencies off the job, I’m concerned about morale among the hard-working law enforcement and essential-services folks.
Al Qaeda brought down the Twin Towers 12 years ago. With the help of other terrorists, it is bringing down Mideast regimes, banking on chaos to spread its policy of destruction of the West.
By JTA
President Obama asked Congress to delay a vote on whether to strike Syria while he consults with Russia over a deal that would end Syria’s chemical weapons program. “I have therefore asked the leaders of Congress to postpone a vote to authorize the use of force while we pursue this diplomatic path,” Obama said in […]
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned House Armed Services Committee Tuesday that failure to grant President Obama the freedom to attack the Assad regime in Syria will strengthen the hand of Iran. “Iran … [is] watching what you do and whether or not this means something,” he said. “If we choose not to act, […]
By giving the issue to Congress, he evades sole responsibility and makes himself look "principled."
President Obama explains why, in the end, he is not attacking Syria.
By JTA
The Kremlin’s human rights council is reviewing a prison sentence meted out to Ilya Farber, a Jewish schoolteacher convicted of corruption. The regional court of Ostashkov, north of Moscow, sentenced Farber last week to seven years in jail after convicting him of receiving $13,000 in bribes from a construction company. The company was seeking permission […]
By JTA
Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the Republican majority leader in the House of Representatives, will lead 26 GOP lawmakers next week on a tour of Israel funded by AIPAC’s educational affiliate. The visit follows on the heels of a similar one this week for 37 Democratic lawmakers led by Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the House Democratic […]
By Barry Rubin
Did President Obama have to lie in a UN speech?
By JTA
Rep. Steny Hoyer, the second-ranked Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, again will lead fellow Democrats on a tour of Israel funded by AIPAC’s educational affiliate. Two freshmen, Reps. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.) and Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), said they would be joining this week’s visit, which will include meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders as […]
By JTA
Members of the U.S. Congress have introduced legislation to award Israeli President Shimon Peres the Congressional Gold Medal. Spearheading the push to award Peres the medal are Ezra Friedlander, a New York-based lobbyist, and Rabbi David Baron of the Temple of the Arts in Beverly Hills. Should the legislation pass, Peres, who turns 90 on […]
Pro-Israeli Congressmen have introduced another bill to force the government to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, something that the government has no intention of doing it so long as the Palestinian Authority claims part of the capital. The new Congressional bill has no chance of bearing fruit but is good political […]
President Barack Obama’s approval has sunk to only one percentage point above the all-time low in November 2011, according to a new poll released Wednesday by NBC and The Wall Street Journal. Only 45 percent approve of his job as president, and 50 percent said they disapprove, mainly because of their view of his handling, […]
By JTA
The U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee has allotted $2 million for U.S.-Israel energy cooperation in the fiscal year 2014 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill. The money in the bill is the latest such appropriation under the 2007 U.S.-Israel Cooperation Act, which created a grant program to support research and development of renewable energy sources. […]
By JTA
Mikey Weinstein’s two sons were exposed to anti-Semitic evangelism in the Armed Forces. His crusade to stop the phenomenon in the army has won him a Congressional amendment to curb his activities.
The proposed immigration bill now in the Senate has been altered to t remove requirements that would affect Israeli and other foreigners wanting to work temporarily in Jewish summer camps, but the House may block its passage. Provisions for the J-1 non-immigrant visa for exchange visitors now “allow an important cultural exchange” between American youth […]
Michele Bachmann has a lot in common with Sarah Palin – attractive, pro-Israel, a Tea Party darling, candidate for president and a target of media mockery. Soon, like Palin, she will be out of office.
By Bruce Walker
There are good reasons for Republicans to be hopeful about the 2014 midterm election.
The video story was part of a theme that has run through Obama’s presidency from the beginning.
By JTA
Former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in Boston on Sunday for pushing for policy changes aimed at reducing gun violence. Giffords, Arizona’s first Jewish representative in Congress, has become an advocate for stricter gun control after being shot in the head in 2011. Earlier this year, […]
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Wednesday with a delegation of senior members of the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, led by Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA.) "The last time I was here, we had a situation during the Second Lebanon War,” said Rep. Royce. “I was in Haifa and I saw what things […]
By JTA
In a letter timed for Passover, a broad array of Jewish groups urged President Obama and Congress to facilitate a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. "American Jews know too well the impact of restrictive immigration policies, and we have seen how the immigration issue can become a flashpoint for xenophobia," said the letter sent […]
The chairman of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee said on Tuesday that there is a “high probability to believe that chemical weapons were used: in the Syrian civil war." “We need that final verification, but given everything we know over the last year and a half, I would come to the conclusion that they are […]
By JTA
A Republican and a Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced on Monday legislation that would make Israel a “major strategic ally,’" a one of a kind designation. The bill, sponsored by Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) and Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), is timed for this week’s annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference, and […]
Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz expressed concern Sunday that U.S. financial difficulties would affect Israel's economy. "We are very worried about the financial difficulties in the U.S., and I hope they won't hurt us," he said at the weekly Cabinet meeting. Steinitz's comments came after Obama on Friday night ordered $85 billion in automatic, across-the-board cuts, […]
It's not always clear what the Israel Lobby's accomplishments really consist of.
By J. E. Dyer
It is unconscionable of Obama to handle the sequestration threat the way he has - crippling our ability to readily strike Iran.
By JTA
The chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee on human rights will convene a hearing on anti-Semitism Wednesday, saying it is worsening, especially in Europe. "It is getting demonstrably worse all over the world, but especially Europe," said Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), who is chairman of the subcommittee and also co-chairs the U.S. Helsinki […]
The “Unbreakable Alliance” motto for President Barack Obama’s visit to Israel next month may be undermined by massive budget cuts in US aid for Israel’ anti-terrorist missile programs.
Why would the Senator insist on the Biblical teachings regarding homosexuality but not those of protecting Israel?
While it is the right of every American to lobby congress for their legitimate needs, I think our case has already been well made.
By Rafi Farber
Just about everything they both say is idiotic.
Out of prison since 2010, Abramoff is committed to reforming the lobbying industry that he helped tarnish.
On Friday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton released the following press statement: The United States and the international community remain committed to maintaining pressure on the Iranian regime until it fully addresses concerns about its nuclear program. That’s why today I am pleased to announce that China, India, Malaysia, Republic of Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Sri […]
Jonathan Pollard’s long incarceration has taken its toll and he is now seriously ill. While he is not the first inmate to suffer in this manner, most are given consideration for compassionate early release. It in no way diminishes the severity of his crimes to suggest he should be sent home. His sentence was Draconian, as attested to by a growing number of former senior federal officials, including several from Congress and the intelligence community.
This is not the first time Weiner has reared his head since his awkward exit from office less than 18 months ago.
A new exhibit at the Library of Congress is celebrating 100 years of Hebraica with its new exhibit, “Words Like Sapphires”.
By Abraham Cooper and Yitzchok Adlerstein
Sometimes, only a period of separation will save a troubled marriage. That is why the Simon Wiesenthal Center and other Jewish groups are pulling out of the Christian-Jewish Roundtable. Fifteen liberal Protestant leaders, including those of the Presbyterian, Lutheran and Methodist denominations, chose the Jewish High Holiday season to urge Congress to curtail U.S. aid to Israel.
By JTA
Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and his wife for a second time have given $500,000 to a Super PAC supporting Rabbi Shmuley Boteach's bid for Congress.
Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan/Brooklyn) recently traveled to Israel where he joined Israeli and international leaders to call for better recognition of the rights of Jewish refugees from Arab countries. “I am proud to have visited Israel this week to speak about the absolute necessity of recognizing the plight of Jewish refugees from Arab countries,” said […]
By JTA
Republican senators plan to introduce a non-binding resolution pledging military, economic and diplomatic backing for Israel should it strike Iran.
Both houses of Congress unanimously passed bills awarding World War II hero, Raoul Wallenberg, with the country’s highest civilian honor, the Congressional Gold Medal, in recognition of his heroism in saving 100,000 Jews during the waning days of the Holocaust. The legislation is expected to be signed by President Barack Obama shortly.
By JTA
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives will hold a moment of silence for the 11 Israeli athletes and coaches slain by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Munich Olympics. “We’re going to give one-minute speeches on the House floor and devote a substantial moment of that to silence on Thursday,” Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) said […]
Soon after the oral argument in the Supreme Court on Obamacare, when it appeared there was considerable skepticism among the justices as to its constitutionality, President Obama expressed the view that it would be “unprecedented” for the unelected court to overturn legislation passed by an elected legislature.
"I have not been able to move the peace process forward in the Middle East the way I wanted," he told WJLA-TV, the ABC affiliate in Washington on Sunday, in response to a question on whether there was "anything you believe you failed at, not because Congress wouldn't play ball, but that rests squarely on your shoulders and has you desperate to get that second term to atone for it?"
By JTA
The U.S. Senate voted unanimously to award Raoul Wallenberg the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award given by Congress.
The UN Security Council has not managed to have a discussion about Syria since April, but President Obama has finally figured out how to have the Council "briefed" on the subject by Navi Pillai – a renowned Israel-basher: give up Israel for Syria. As a veto-wielding member, the U.S. could have nixed the program, but instead insisted only that the Syrian meeting be held in the morning and the Israel-bashing in the afternoon; Ms. Pillai will have time in between for lunch.
These are members of the American Colony, a Christian community in Jerusalem founded by immigrants from the United States and Sweden. The image is part of a Library of Congress online presentation titled "The American Colony in Jerusalem, 1870-2006." This presentation features selected documents from the American Colony in Jerusalem Collection. The full collection in […]
The traditional view of the United States Supreme Court as the ultimate, objective, arbiter of our system of government and thereby protector of our liberties took an enormous hit last week when the court upheld the constitutionality of Obamacare.
By J. E. Dyer
We must not let our concept of the purpose and character of a tax be corrupted, precisely because taxing us is a power accorded Congress in the Constitution. The definition of “tax” is, in fact, the most important limit on what Congress can do with its power to tax. In the wake of the Obamacare ruling, defining “tax” is defending our liberty – or, from the opposite perspective, attacking it.
By J. E. Dyer
Understand this: it doesn’t matter if ObamaCare is repealed next year. Repeat as necessary until understood. The SCOTUS ruling is on the books. Congress can make you buy anything, as long as it fines you if you don’t. The concept of constitutional limits on the power of government has been effectively removed from our guiding idea of law and jurisprudence.
By J. E. Dyer
This is what a tax now looks like? This is an open invitation to “tax” via whatever mandate sounds good to you. What sort of unequal-before-the-law mandate would not fit this definition of a tax? Congress can do anything it wants, by the logic of this decision, with the judicial precedent set that levying mandates equals using the power to tax.
Chief Justice John Roberts joined the Democrat-appointed justices to rule 5-4 that Congress has the power to impose the healthcare mandate under its power to levy taxes.
There certainly is wide enough room for thoughtful and well-meaning people to disagree about the appropriate approach to the presence in the United States of millions of people who have come here illegally. But those same thoughtful Americans should be very concerned with President Obama’s unilateral amendment of federal law in this regard. It is yet another indication that the president believes no federal asset is unavailable to him in his reelection bid and that he has a presumptive monopoly on knowing what is right for America.
The candidacy of New York City Councilman Charles Barron for Congress against New York State Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries to replace the retiring Edolphus Towns has attracted much more than the usual interest.
With Congressman Steve Rothman being accused of dual loyalties simply over a pro-Israel voting record in government, what could I, who has a daughter serving in Israel’s military, expect from these same opponents? What charges would they lodge against me? How ugly would the attacks be?
Americans are sick and tired of rancorous, scorched-earth politics, which has given Congress a nine percent approval rating. Let’s show America that politics is an honorable profession, a noble calling, filled with people who put values, country, and integrity first. Let’s start winning people back to the political theater by demonstrating that politics are inspiring rather than depressing, ennobling rather than corrupting, and harmonious rather than rancorous.
What a difference a year makes. Last year I praised President Obama for not wanting to “spike the football” by releasing gruesome death photos of Osama bin Laden. But this year, forget spiking the football – the president is doing an end-zone dance.
By J. E. Dyer
President Barack Obama's recent self-congratulatory comments on the killing of Osama bin Laden must be viewed against the backdrop of past presidents, and how they related to the role of the military.
US President Barack Obama on Tuesday declared May “Jewish American Heritage Month”. In a ceremony kicking off the month, the president praised Jewish Americans for bearing “hardship and hostility” with the “deep conviction that a better future was within their reach”.
The US Agency for International Development will pour $147 million into Palestinian Authority infrastructure, education, health projects, and humanitarian aid, just six months after a funding freeze was imposed by President Barack Obama.
On recent occasions we have noted that several of President Obama’s public actions reflect a disdain for the traditional American view of the governmental process. Most stunning perhaps was his threat to the Supreme Court that it had better come out his way on Obamacare, or else. Having steamrolled the legislation through Congress (urging, it will be recalled, violations of longstanding procedures if necessary) he issued his challenge to the Supreme Court despite its constitutional duties to pass on the law’s constitutionality.
The US Congress is expected to pass legislation giving $680 million to Israel to pay for more Iron Dome anti-missile systems.
The Washington Post quoted a Republican congressional aide as saying that the House Armed Services Committee will propose the increase when it convenes next week to formulate the 2013 fiscal year's defense budget. There are currently four operational and actively deployed Iron Dome batteries in Israel, but "at least ten" are needed to defend the whole country.
Washington, D.C. was created in 1790 as a result of a political compromise. “Washington was a Federal city. It did not have a ‘State’ government. It was under the direct control of Congress for even the simplest of things; schools, streets, courts and land use by private individuals and corporations. Accordingly, Congress dutifully passed on the last day of the first session of the 28th Congress, June 17, 1844, ‘A Bill, concerning conveyances or devices of places of public worship in the District of Columbia.’
President Obama’s extraordinary public broadside on Monday against the Supreme Court, in reaction to questions posed by the justices during the course of three days of oral argument in the Obamacare case, is further confirmation that liberal supporters of Obamacare, including the president himself, are beginning to panic.
By Sara Lehmann
When Lee Terry began serving as a Republican congressman in 1999, representing Nebraska’s second congressional district, he didn’t realize he would become one of the House of Representatives’ Jewish members. Always a friend of Israel, Terry discovered his Jewish roots some ten years ago and began a personal odyssey to reconnect with his heritage.
US Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Queens, Manhattan) released the following statement on the retirement from Congress of her friend and colleague, Congressman Gary Ackerman: "Gary Ackerman is a quintessential New Yorker, a consummate legislator, and a dear friend. Even after 15 terms in Congress, Gary was a breath of fresh air in Washington. His passion, keen […]
Ackerman was most recently involved in the successful efforts to free Israeli-American citizen Ilan Grapel from prison in Egypt on spy charges. Grapel is a constituent of Ackerman's.
If Syria and Egypt have nothing to fear from the President of the United States, what will Iran fear?
Drew Zahn of World News Daily reports that Rep. Walter B. Jones Jr., R-N.C., has introduced a resolution declaring that the president's use of offensive military force without Congressional authorization would be considered "an impeachable high crime and misdemeanor." Jones cites Obama's authorization of military force in Libya as an example for such unilateral action. […]
By Tzvi Fishman
After his astounding speech in Congress, the GOP has been working behind the scenes to get Israeli PM Netanyahu to run for President of the U.S.A.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor: Romney "by far the right man for this historic election and the only one in the race who has put forward these kind of solutions and I believe he can beat Barack Obama."
The Oak Lawn Patch reported that Arthur Jones, 64, a Lyons, IL, insurance salesman who organizes family-friendly, neo-Nazi events around Adolf Hitler's birthday, hopes to be the Republican candidate chosen to run against Democratic Congressman Dan Lipinski in Illinois' 3rd Congressional District. "As far as I’m concerned, the Holocaust is nothing more than an international […]
We were disappointed by the Obama administration’s announcement that it intended to ask Congress to waive a ban on funding UNESCO because of its recognition of Palestinian statehood.
By Ron Kampeas
"The Department of State intends to work with Congress to seek legislation that would provide authority to waive restrictions on paying the U.S. assessed contributions to UNESCO," says a footnote in the budget that the White House submitted to Congress this month.
Lieberman's visit comes as the rhetoric between the West and Iran is heating up, and a day after the conclusion of the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement.
The funds were released as a result of intense lobbying on the part of the Obama administration.
Boteach declared his intent to run for Congress as a Republican in New Jersey's 9th District.
Move comes in response to Iranian attempts to "conceal transactions of sanctioned parties."
Egypt's military receives $1.3 billion a year from the US.
By Sara Lehmann
New York’s 9th Congressional District will forever be remembered not only for the departure of disgraced veteran Congressman Anthony Weiner but also for who replaced him. Bob Turner’s victory marked the first Republican win in that district since 1923, and his September 2011 election stunned the Democratic Party.
The guarantees will extend through September 2015, are worth $3.8 billion.
After months of threatening to impose harsh sanctions on Iran, US President Barack Obama signed into law tough embargos aimed at Iran’s central bank and financial sector.
August 14, 2026 
