Jewish tradition dictates the necessity of paying attention to language. More specifically, it admonishes those who use Lashon Hora, the evil language, in attacking their fellow man.  This may include libel, slander, and myriad other offenses that fall under the category of malicious falsehood. I understand that politicians toe this line more often than most; in order to attack their opponent, they pick at anything they can find, sometimes disregarding the accuracy of their words. People generally shrug this off as ‘campaigning’, but Mitt Romney’s recent speech blasting Obama’s handling of the economy, which was ridden with inaccuracies, has me wondering: why do we accept “non-factual statements” in the name of political rhetoric?

In April 2011, Arizona Senator John Kyl went on a rant against Planned Parenthood, proclaiming that over 90% of what the clinic does is provide abortions. When queried about the accuracy of this statement, as data shows that about 3% of all of Planned Parenthood’s services are abortions, Kyl’s office claimed that the senator’s words were “not intended to be a factual statement”. Late night politician Stephen Colbert sought to highlight the inaccuracy by saying and tweeting a stream of unflattering things about Kyl, all disclaimed with the tag “not intended to be a factual statement”.

Colbert’s ridiculousness highlights an important point in American political discourse: sometimes politicians lie. Or they make up data that supports their point of view with no regard to facts. I would like to make a distinction between broken campaign promises and the type of language I am discussing; the Lashon Hora I’m talking about is blatantly false information used to bolster a political argument. Sometimes, when used to defame another politician, its Lashon Hora. And sometimes it’s just bad fact-checking, bad information. In academia, every claim made in a paper must be supported through some sort of evidence – if you can’t back it up, don’t say it at all.

This isn’t about Romney versus Obama. This is about the level of accuracy we should demand of our politicians. If children in schools are taught the difference between true and false, politicians should be able to distinguish between these concepts as well. A politician cannot use the “not intended to be a factual statement” tag on their speech; by definition, our politicians are democratically elected, and should be held to a standard of proof expected in nearly every aspect of American discourse.

‘The Dictator’ talks Obama, Arab Spring, and more [Forward]

Sacha Baron Cohen’s alter egos are famous for making a splash. And his latest project, a satire loosely based on the of the rule of Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, is no exception. Forward Editor Dan Friedman has The Dictator’s take on everything from the Arab Spring to underwear.

“You’d need to make some very big changes to improve the American system of government, but I think you could manage it. First of all, I’d make it so you could wiretap phones and detain citizens indefinitely without trial in the name of “national security.” Next, I’d make sure that torture techniques like water boarding were fully legal. Finally, I’d totally ignore the U.N. if they ever told me not to invade another country. I realize this is a big stretch from how America runs itself today, but just try to imagine it.”

Brooklyn College is Kosher [NY Post]

An investigation by the City University of New York cleared the college of any anti-Orthodox discrimination in its hiring and promotional practices.

“CUNY Chancellor Matthew Goldstein last month ordered the investigation after The Post reported that Assemblyman Dov Hikind and business-school professors claimed discrimination played a role in several Orthodox Jewish professors being denied appointments and promotions.”

The Parent Trap [Haaretz]

Identical twins Daniel and Nir Moaz have a stranger-than-fiction case of possible mistaken identity on their hands. Daniel has been accused of murdering their parents in order to pay off gambling debts. However, he claims it was his brother, and it only gets stickier from there.

“Denying the motive ascribed to him in the charge sheet, Maoz, 28, said his debts were not high, that he owed money only to banks and that he earned a good salary. He said his brother Nir, on the other hand, had a tendency to violence and was constantly arguing with their parents.”

Efforts to form a coalition government in Greece after the elections that gave Golden Dawn, an anti-Semitic right wing party, 21 seats, have failed, leading for the call for new elections. However, the stakes are high; Greece’s floundering economy may signal its exit from the European Union.

“While the voting last week was cathartic for many Greeks, the failure to form a government underscored the depth of the troubles the country faces. The debt crisis here last week precipitated the collapse of a political order that helped drive the country into a downward spiral and now seems powerless to steer it out.”

Romney’s Hot Air [Huffington Post]

In a rhetoric laced speech on Tuesday, Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney laid into President Obama’s handling of the economy, claiming he unleashed a “debt inferno” that plagues this country. The Huffington Post examines some of the claims made by Romney, and points out what he got right and where he’s simply blowing hot air.

“When Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney decried the “prairie fire” of U.S. debt Tuesday, he ignored some of the sparks that set it ablaze.

One was the Great Recession that took hold before Barack Obama became president. That landmark event went unmentioned in Romney’s speech. Another was a series of Bush-era tax cuts that Romney wants to follow with even lower rates.”

Today’s Required Reading is done, but this story was too great not to share. Y-Love, Orthodox rapper, has come out of the closet. While these kinds of stories can get old really fast due to their gossip-ready flair, this one is particularly touching because of the artist’s own thoughts on why it was time to come out, and his journey to this point. The full story can be found in Out Magazine, but here’s a great excerpt:

“Although Jordan discovered organizations for gay Orthodox Jews—like GLYDSA and the fledgling JQY—he continued to be conflicted, alternately embracing them as much-needed support groups and cursing them as heretics. He tried a form of reparative therapy for a time and lived a double-life that was not healthy for him until he says, it finally hit him: ‘It’s God’s will to be gay.’

When asked if he decided it was time to come out publicly because of all the positive discourse in the press as of late, Jordan says his catalyst was actually the opposite. ‘It’s because of the negative backlash that’s coming. Because people like Michele Bachmann’s husband are still pedaling ex-gay therapy. Because there are kids that are jumping out of their school windows. I know what it feels like, and so I have to say something.’

Over the past few months, Jordan says he’s been coming out to close friends, but he’s urged them not to post anything on social media sites so he could still maintain his previous reputation. Now he’s ready to tell the world.

‘I’ve dealt with racism; I’ve dealt with discrimination,’ Jordan explains. ‘I want to be there at that gay pride festival, for that kid who has a baseball cap over his yarmulke. I know what it feels like to have to hide.’”

]]> http://blog.newvoices.org/2012/05/15/y-love-comes-out-music/feed/ 0 http://blog.newvoices.org/2012/05/15/gay-rabbis-mormons-and-conservative-jews-greening-tel-aviv-and-more-required-reading/ http://blog.newvoices.org/2012/05/15/gay-rabbis-mormons-and-conservative-jews-greening-tel-aviv-and-more-required-reading/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 13:00:28 +0000 John Wofford http://blog.newvoices.org/?p=12491

Does Bugs Bunny have a thing against Arabs? [Tablet]

In this piece from Tablet Magazine, Marc Tracy takes a look at some of the Arabic stereotypes in Bugs' cartoons, in light of accusations that the work fuels hatred and mistrust of Arabs in general.

"Thing is, she has a point! 1957′s 'Ali Baba Bunny' is a little problematic! So is the one where Yosemite Sam is Arab ('Sahara Hare'). But of course, these were far from the most racist Bugs Bunny cartoons, and they all were created more than a half-century ago.

Keep reading >>

Illustration courtesy of Jewish Daily Forward Artist-in-Residence Eli Valley, from the comic "Metamorphosis," evcomic.com

Space is still available for the 41st annual National Jewish Student Journalism Conference at the NYU Bronfman Center, May 20-22. Check it out on Facebook or register here.

If you’re a Masa Israel alum, you’re eligible for a limited number of subsidies for the conference. (And the whole thing only costs $40 anyway!) Apply here before they all get snapped up!

And if you’re not convinced, without further ado, here is the full conference schedule:

Sunday, May 20

2:30-3:30
Check in
Register, hang out, snack, meet the editors of New Voices

3:40-4:40
Israel 101
New Voices Features Editor Dafna Fine in conversation with Forward reporter Naomi Zeveloff, the author of several pieces in the ongoing Israel 101: Israel on Campus series.

4:40-5:10
Coffee Break!

5:10-6:10
The Birthright Panel
Moderated by New Voices Editor David A.M. Wilensky and featuring journalist Kiera Feldman, author of the official Birthright guidebook Wayne Hoffman and Jesse Paikin, a Birthright tour group leader

8:30-?
Comedy Strip Live
For those who register for this conference extra, we’re gonna go see some comedy at a legit New York comedy club.

Monday, May 22

9:30-10
Breakfast
Register, hang out, eat breakfast

10-11
Orthodox Jews and the Press
Moderated by Forward reporter Josh Nathan-Kazis and featuring Jewish Week Editor Gary Rosenblatt, Beacon founding editor Simi Lampert and Chabad spokesman Motti Seligson

11:10-12:10
Two Mini-Workshops
New Voices Editor David A.M. Wilensky on how to write editorials and op-eds that don’t put people to sleep; and how to actually make money at this journalism stuff

12:15-1:15
Lunch

1:25-2:25
What’s Changing on Campus
New Voices Editor David A.M. Wilensky in conversation with David Project Executive Director David Bernstein on the David Project’s new findings and approach to Israel advocacy on campus. It’s a whole new world.

2:25-3:55
Coffee Break!
Sponsored by the Jewish Daily Forward

2:55-3:55
Eli Valley Says Things
Eli Valley is the artist-in-residence at the Forward, the creator of a series of satirical controversy-inducing comics about the contemporary Jewish community. He says things.

4:45-6
Walking Tour of the Lower East Side
Samuel Norich, the publisher of the Forward, will lead us on a person tour of the old Jewish Lower East Side.

Tuesday, May 22

9:30-10
Breakfast
Register, hang out, eat breakfast

10-11
Writing About Religion
Columbia Journalism professor Ari Goldman teaches the wildly popular course on writing about religion. We’ll get a little taste of that.

11:10-12:10
The Times at The Times
Jim Schachter, associate managing editor of The New York Times, is in charge of newsroom innovation at the Times, dealing with online projects like blogs.

12:15-1:15
Lunch

1:25-2:25
Steal This Job
New Voices editors will talk about their jobs, why you should apply to work for New Voices and we’ll all talk about how create more cooperation between the Jewish student press in the coming year.

2:25-3:55
Coffee Break!
Sponsored by the Jewish Daily Forward

2:55-3:55
Founding a Magazine
Alana Newhouse is the founder and editor Tablet Magazine, one of the most ascendant publications on the American Jewish scene.

4:05-5:05
The State of Journalism in Israel and the Territories
Featuring Rob Mahoney of the Committee to Protect Journalists, this session will feature a short film and discussion of what it’s like to be a journalist in the region today.

So go register!

Hazing and a Jewish fraternity. | Photo from George Washington University website. (http://www.gwu.edu/~aepi/)

I feel bad for the caretaker of Charles C. Moskowitz’s grave. The founding father of Alpha Epsilon Pi has probably made a racket rolling around the past month, as his progeny at Boston University and the University of Pennsylvania have smeared the reputation of his fraternity.

These hazing episodes give critics prime material to decry AEPi as an excuse for binge drinking and abusive behavior. Unfortunately, some AEPi members I have met and know do use AEPi to justify and promote their irresponsible drinking, excessive drug use and bullying of other members. Witnessing this behavior has made me furious and led me to question my affiliation with AEPi and the purpose of Greek life altogether.

During my two and a half years in AEPi, I’ve realized that brothers who use AEPi as a way to live their twisted fantasies, like the members at BU and UPenn, did a bad job of reading their pledge packets. They failed to understand the greater purpose of AEPi and Greek life.

Greek life is a training ground for challenges awaiting after graduation. Managing a chapter’s finances introduces brothers to the realities of money management they’ll see as entrepreneurs and board members of nonprofits. Corralling brothers to organize and participate in a chapter philanthropy event is a better introduction to project management than they’ll learn about in any business class.

But the real benefits of Greek life are seen years after brothers have moved out of the mold infested fraternity house basements. They are seen five years after graduation, when a friend helps a fraternity brother hunt for a job. They are seen when the former house manager cooks a brisket after work for a fraternity brother whose wife is undergoing chemo. The value of AEPi becomes apparent when 15 fraternity members travel to a dying steel town in Northeast Ohio for the funeral of a brother who never had the opportunity to toss his graduation cap with his pledge class.

In a recent email to active members AEPi executive director Andy Borans told members that “Hazing does not work, it is immoral, it is illegal, and it will stop.” But the lure of hazing is endemic in fraternity culture. When AEPi is resurrected at UPenn and BU, I’m sure the next generation will be tempted to haze. Let’s hope that the future leaders at BU and UPenn, and current brothers with mixed up priorities, realize the real benefits of a fraternity, so they can reap the benefits years after graduation.

Hungary, the Jews, and the far-right. | Photo by Flickr user Leigh Phillips (CC BY-NC 2.0)

The decimated, post-Holocaust Jewish population of Eastern Europe is the main concern for a number of Jewish activists in the region, but for András (the S is pronounced like “sh”) Ligeti a representative of Hungarian Union of Jewish Students, it isn’t the number of Jews in Hungary that’s the issue. The more pressing concern, Ligeti said, is the question: “Am I a Jew?”

“The Soviet-influenced government really caused assimilation,” Ligeti said. The government encouraged a repression of unique cultural heritage in the hope of cultivating a uniform, socialist society.

During the socialist era, Soviet influence engineered national opinion against Israel. Many Jews were made to profess their Zionism in secret. Ligeti recalled a story told to him by his father: “When Soviet newspapers reported that the Jerusalem tram was bombed during the ’67 war, he knew everything was okay because Jerusalem had no tram. It was Soviet propaganda.”

The fall of the soviet-style regime brought a Jewish revival to Hungary. Around that time, Ligeti joined Habonim Dror, the international Labor Zionist youth organization. The revival has since lost momentum and Jewish identity has started to fall out of fashion.

Disenchanted youth, disillusioned by a faltering economy, started to care less about their heritage. “Hungary is a country of quick changes to the zeitgeist,” said Ligeti. He cited these sudden shifts as the reason behind the rise of the far-right party, known as Jobbik, in contemporary Hungary. The lack of a democratic tradition and pluralistic institutions left a void for radical “Hungary-First” movements like Jobbik to rise on the national political scene, saids Ligeti.

Jobbik is known for the anti-Semitic rhetoric of its members, even calling on Jews to reject their identity and “become” Hungarian. While this position would illicit calls of commendation anywhere else, the lack of a proactive Jewish leadership allows this language to become part of the discourse with little rebuke, according to Ligeti.

Ligeti lobbied the Jewish federation to create a real strategy to combat anti-Semitism. “The real issue is that they should approach the young generation, not the other way around,” said Ligeti. “It’s a young volunteer group who are monitoring the press about anti-Semitism and political issues regarding the Jewish community.”

Many older Jewish Hungarians don’t have much faith in the ability of Hungarians to combat the far-right elements of their society. “Our grandparents—survivors of the Holocaust—are seeing Jobbik march like they did in the 40s and they are saying to leave. I see democracy [for Hungary]. Maybe not in the next 20 or 30 years. But, if young Jews are leaving, there will be no population in 50 years,” said Ligetti.

Nevertheless, Ligeti believes in the future of Hungarian Jewry. “Budapest has the largest Jewish population per capita in Europe.” He also referenced the many Jewish organizations that do exist in Hungary, including the first Israeli Culture Institute outside of Israel and the largest international Jewish summer camp in central-eastern Europe, called Szarvas. “Hungarian Jewish culture is beautiful. We have a nice history. The government and the Jewish community must do what they can to make Jews feel safe and calm in Hungary,” said Ligeti.

Haredim and the Internet… part whatever [Haaretz]

Hmm… so it’s tough to know what to make of it, but whatever you think, it’s an intriguing report. Maya Epstein writes:

“To put things into proportion, both the Arab and Haredi communities are relatively impoverished, and their proportion of households with Internet is lower. But among those who do surf, they tend to be friskier than the non-Haredi Jewish population.

First of all, only 55 percent of Israelis with below-average income have Internet, compared to 85 percent of Israelis with above-average income, according to the survey, which was commissioned by Google Israel and conducted by Dr. Yuval Dror, Head of Digital Studies at the Rishon Letzion College of Management.”

Guess they’ve seen “Charlie Bit Me” after all. And yeah, we’ve posted the above video before. But it seemed fitting again for some reason.

Jewish ‘types’ and the sci-fi flick [Cracked]

We only occasionally post blatant comedy around here (because we are all very, very serious all the time, clearly): an Onion post here, a satire write-up about ultra-Orthodox Jews and the Internet there. To rectify that, here’s a post from Cracked.com. They make jokes, and stuff.

“Now, I know some of you are saying, ‘Wait a second. So what if the Jawas share some undesirable traits that are consistent with the negative stereotypes of Jews? Gladstone, aren’t you being the racist here by seeing greedy little creatures and instantly thinking ‘Jews’?’ That is a very fine point! And yes, that’s entirely possible. All I have to say in response to that is um, well, he does call them Jawas. Seems less than accidental that they have a ‘J,’ ‘W’ and ‘S’ in one word like that. I tried longer than I care to mention to see if there any other such words in the English language. Aside from the obvious ‘jaws,’ the closest I came was ‘JelloWombats.’”

JelloWombats, indeed.

Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. I want peace for Israel and Palestine. Prepare to… die? [Salon]

This isn’t exactly big news, but turns out movie and television star (just star, basically) Mandy Patinkin had something eloquent to say about Israeli-Palestinian peace. The actor, perhaps best known for his role in “The Princess Bride,” was recently quoted as saying the following:

“Patinkin is a supporter of the Israeli left that advocates a two state solution to Israeli-Palestinian conflict and an end to settlement building in the West Bank.

Patinkin said he wants his grandchildren ‘to be able to have Hummus with their neighbors in Hebron,’ a West Bank town.”

Amen. Even the six-fingered man could agree with that. (On second thought…) Tablet Magazine also featured the following:

“Mandy Patinkin, the (Jewish) actor whose most famous role is in 1987′s The Princess Bride, is a board member of the liberal group Americans for Peace Now. And currently, according to an APN spokesperson, he’s on a tour of East Jerusalem organized by the related Israeli organization Peace Now. Patinkin, Claire Danes, and other cast members of the Showtime series Homeland are in Israel to do some filming—appropriate, given that Homeland is based on the Israeli series Halufim (Prisoners of War).”

Fertility and motherhood [Forward]

It’s no surprise that we have an obligatory Mother’s Day-related post (by the way, “Hi Mom!  I’m on the Internet!”), but this one’s good enough to transcend its holiday connections to just make for a powerful read.

“This past year my husband and I completed an intensive process to become certified as adoptive parents to a special–needs child. But, because we are in our 40s, we were warned that it might take a couple years for us to find a match. Over the years we’d been through numerous doctors and treatment plans, multiple operations and procedures. Our marriage had been tempered by physical and emotional pain, disappointment and tears. We knew how to wait.

And then, before our official clearances were even finalized, our son suddenly came into our lives. An out-of-state agency emailed us a photo of our little boy. Handing my husband the iPhone image of our son, his sweet face slightly obscured by a feeding tube, I said, ‘This is our baby. Can’t you just feel it?’ A few weeks later, after clearing a final array of legal and logistical hurdles, we were spending 12 hours a day with our son in the NICU. A couple of weeks after that, we brought him home.”

I think I have something in my eye.

Is ‘TED’ all it’s cracked up to be? [Tablet]

In this piece from Tablet Magazine, Liel Leibovitz explores the popularity of the TED series of educational videos, and claims that the TED-Ed program (new from the series) leaves some things to be desired:

“Which is not to say that there’s no room for video, audio, and other multimedia. As a college professor, I rarely teach a class without pulling up some clever or entertaining clip to illustrate my point. But that’s not what TED’s new educational initiative, named TED-Ed, seeks to do. The idea behind each video is to help the professor ‘flip’ his or her lesson, namely to encourage students to watch the videos at home and then discuss them in class. To aid in the discussion, TED-Ed provides questions and quizzes; one video, for example, contributes to our understanding of Islamist extremism by asking penetrating questions like where was the talk’s presenter born.

This is trivial nonsense, and TED, sadly, can’t hope for much better as it enters the classroom: The videos are too brief to explore any topic in depth, which means that any discussion they may incite is likely to do little but skim the shallow waters of its given subject matter.”

John Travolta and the gay, Jewish Hollywood elite [Tablet]

In another piece from Tablet (which wins the “Twice-in-One-List” award from us today), Rachel Shukert takes on recent news that actor John Travolta faces a sexual harassment lawsuit, wherein he was accused of saying that Hollywood is controlled by “homosexual Jewish men” who trade favors for roles:

“It may surprise you (although probably not) to hear that I have no quarrel with the airing of the trope that Jews are prominent, even dominant, in the movie industry. The reason for this is that it’s true, and saying it aloud no more makes John Travolta a Jew-hater than asserting that there are a lot of, say, African-American hip-hop artists makes one a racist. It’s not anti-Semitic to make a statement of fact; it’s anti-Semitic to imply that there’s something wrong with it. The real question raised by this statement is the linking of ‘homosexual,’ a descriptor that is relevant to the particulars of the accusation at hand, with ‘Jewish,’ which is not. What, indeed, does one thing have to do with the other? And what does the almost unconscious linking of the two—whether by Travolta or merely by the recollection or fabrication of his anonymous plaintiff—tell us about the nature of prejudice itself?”

President Obama’s support of marriage equality… and Israel [Haaretz]

Looks like the President’s recent support of the equal rights of all has led to a bit of a discussion in Israel over the possibility of a similar shift in thinking. Haaretz writes:

“Speaking to a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender group within the Likud party on Thursday, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said that Israel is unlikely to recognize same-sex marriage in the foreseeable future, but said that he was reconsidering his opposition to such a measure.

Steinitz said, referring to a possible move to support same-sex marriage here, ‘I don’t see that happening in the State of Israel in the near future.’ He did, however, tell 25 members of the Likud LGBT group, established five months ago, that he was reconsidering his opposition to such a measure.

‘Today, I understand that issue much more than in the past. I’m not totally against it like I used to, but I’m not saying I’m totally for it,’ he added.

When one participant asked Steinitz whether he would be the first Likud minister to come to Tel Aviv’s annual gay pride parade the finance minister was visibly embarrassed. He told aides to note the date but made no promises.”

 Prominent feminist theologian gets ordained [Jewish Journal]

Mazel tov to Rachel Adler, feminist theologian, and now–rabbi! In this charming piece from Jewish Journal, we’re given some insight into Adler’s stint as a “student rabbi,” her studies, her previous work, and her ordination.

“‘It felt ridiculous to be introducing Rachel as a ‘student’ rabbi,’ Edwards said. ‘I couldn’t do it without laughing, and I would have to explain why I was laughing. So, somewhere along the way, ‘scholar-in-residence’ evolved as a secondary title.’

Adler, who is 68 and a professor of Jewish religious thought and feminist studies at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), will be ordained as a Reform rabbi at the college on May 13.

David Ellenson, president of HUC-JIR who served as Adler’s advisor when she earned a doctorate in religion in 1997, calls Adler ‘arguably the leading feminist theologian in the entire world.’”

The president came out in favor of same sex marriage yesterday, declaring in an interview with ABC News that he believes same-sex couples should be able to be married. Obama’s announcement, after years of equivocation, comes on the heels of the passage of a constitutional amendment in North Carolina on Tuesday that banned gay marriage. The president was hesitant to go into the political afacets of this stance.

“At a certain point, I’ve just concluded that– for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that– I think same-sex couples should be able to get married. Now– I have to tell you that part of my hesitation on this has also been I didn’t want to nationalize the issue. There’s a tendency when I weigh in to think suddenly it becomes political and it becomes polarized.”

Jews Support Obama’s Support of Gay Marriage [Forward]

Several prominent Jewish leaders released statements in favor of the president’s support of same-sex marriage Wednesday. However, the Orthodox remain adamant in their opposition.

“‘I am pleased that the President has made a decisive statement in support of marriage equality,’ said National Jewish Democratic Council chair Marc R. Stanley in an emailed statement. ‘President Obama has admirably continued to demonstrate the values of tikkun olam in his work to make America a better place for all Americans.’”

Lag B’Omer and the Hunger Games [Tablet]

Lag B’Omer, a Jewish holiday intended as a celebration of bravery during the period of destruction of the first temple, traditionally involves children playing with bows and arrows as a means of remembering the trials and tribulations of the past. This year, however, traditions are in sync with popular culture as never before. Marjorie Ingall examines how this holiday may be interpreted through feminist and various other lenses, using everyone’s favorite archer, Katniss Everdeen, as an example.

“The upshot: Here we have an activity that can tie together a seasonal holiday, a sport for non-sporting types, cultural relevance to engage the easily distracted youth of today, and the power to make girls feel good about themselves. Maybe Jewish camps and schools should take a closer look. As an archer might say, get the point?”

House reaffirms support for Israel [JTA]

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill expanding military support for Israel on Tuesday. The bill, which was sponsored by Jewish congressman Eric Cantor, garnered overwhelming bipartisan support, passing by a margin of 411-2. The legislation appears to be directed towards giving Israel the capability to contain the nuclear threat opposed by Iran.

“Some provisions appear aimed at assisting Israel particularly in any possible confrontation with Iran. The legislation recommends that the United States provide Israel with “air refueling tankers, missile defense capabilities, and specialized munitions.” Israel has sought an air-refueling capacity as a means to cover the distance to Iran in the case of a strike. “Specialized munitions” could include bunker busting bombs that could reach redoubts where Iran is suspected of building a nuclear weapon capability.”