Thousands signed an Israeli petition demanding that President Shimon Peres use the Presidential Medal of Freedom as a platform to push for the release of convicted spy Jonathan Pollard Monday. Peres’ office said he had discussed Pollard during a meeting with Barack Obama prior to the AIPAC conference, at which the US President announced the medal. But Pollard is still serving a life sentence for passing classified information to Israel. “Due to the superior values the medal represents, we feel we …More

While US and Israeli leaders were talking tough on Iran at last week’s AIPAC Policy Conference, reports and rumors began swirling that Iran may very well be closer to the bomb than previously believed. Some foreign intelligence agencies are now beginning to say that in 2010, Iran may have been involved in an experimental detonation of a uranium bomb in North Korea. The accusation was first made public by senior German defense figure, Hans Ruhle, and first appeared on the website of the German newspaper Die …More

Close on the heels of President Barack Obama’s overtly pro-Israel speech to AIPAC, the Emergency Committee for Israel released a new video questioning the leader’s actual commitment to the Jewish State. The 30-minute video, posted to YouTube March 3, focuses on Obama’s diplomatic record, particularly on his failed effort to pressure Israel to stop settlement expansion. “Daylight: The Story of Obama and Israel” opens by quoting Obama’s pro-Israel platform from the 2008 …More

This past week was the AIPAC Policy Conference. Over 12,000 Jews and Israel supporters joined together for three days of sessions, speakers, and lobbying. The conference is of insurmountable importance to Israel supporters in the U.S. and the gathering of such large numbers parallels this week’s Torah portion. Where the mass gathering at AIPAC showed the great potential of strong numbers, the Torah portion, however, shows the great risk as well. In the Torah portion of Ki Tisa, it tells of the greatest …More

After AIPAC, The Jewish Daily Forward wonders whether differences between Benjamin Netanyahu and Barack Obama over how to handle Iran will play a role in the American presidential elections. [The Jewish Daily Forward] After former Shas minister Shlomo Benizri falsely professed regret to achieve early release from prison, the Israel Prison Service plans to test a treatment program for prisoners convicted of political corruption. [Haaretz] A Defense Ministry initiative will move Kirya army base offices outside Tel …More

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is worried about a “nuclear duck.” Iran wants to do surgery on the “Zionist cancer.” Republicans unequivocally support Israel and promise to bomb Iran. Who will save us from these “Words of Warcraft”??? Jon Stewart, of course! Slicing through the rhetoric like a knife through a bagel, Stewart gets down to the heart of the matter. Turns out everyone is in an election season. What are the odds? Stewart takes a moment to assure Iran, …More

While Israel will study the US position on Iran, National Security Adviser Maj. Gen. Yaakov Amidror said Tuesday that the Jewish State will make a decision on their own. [Israel Hayom] The FBI is evaluating whether to investigate the followers of Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto for illegally contributing to the campaign of US Representative Michael Grimm. [Haaretz] Twenty-five Belarusian educators are completing a Holocaust instruction course at Yad Vashem to run seminars on the atrocity once they return. [Israel …More

This year’s AIPAC Policy Conference can be summed up in one word: Iran. From the information sessions to the chatter in the hallways to the featured speeches, Iran dominated discussion. Over the last ten years Iran has been developing a nuclear program that most Western leaders claim is a breach of international law. They accuse the regime of trying to build nuclear weapons. Iran claims they are pursuing nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, specifically for the development of medical isotopes. However, …More

“As prime minister of Israel, I will never let my people live in the shadow of annihilation,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said of Iran in a fiery speech at AIPAC Monday. “We have waited for diplomacy to work, we have waited for sanctions to work. We cannot afford to wait much longer.” His words were met with applause in the packed room, though some Israelis have expressed reservations about the sharpening of rhetoric against Tehran. Opposition Chairwoman Tzipi Livni worried, …More

The international hacker group Anonymous threatened to launch a cyber war against AIPAC. In a video released Sunday on YouTube -- the same day that the American Israel Political Action Committee opened its well-attended annual policy conference -- Anonymous called on its followers to attack the AIPAC website and "make them pay for their crimes." "AIPAC wants to lobby for more wars, more destruction, more deaths than they have already committed, and unfortunately our president has decided to defend them for it," …More

Following the final plenary, AIPAC helps state delegations of participants from the conference drive to Capitol Hill to lobby their state officials on pro-Israel legislation. Briefed by AIPAC officials before they go, the experience allows normal citizens to take part in one of the country’s most defining and controversial democratic processes. Armed with literature on specific resolutions, the delegations meet their officials in private rooms where both parties can speak candidly. Unfortunately, Jspace was …More

Tuesday morning’s plenary featured speeches by republican presidential candidates Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, and Newt Gingrich. Current US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta also addressed the audience. Speaking first was former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. Considering today is Super Tuesday, there was a surprising lack of campaign rhetoric in Santorum’s address. Instead, he wasted no time in diving into the issue of Iran’s nuclear program. Discussing his time as a Pennsylvania senator, …More