Pro-peace, pro-Israel lobbying group J Street has found itself embroiled in a sparring match with the rabbinical leader of Reform Judaism--the largest and left-most sect of mainstream Judaism in North America--over the lobbying group's criticism of Israel's Gaza offensive.
On the first day of Israel's offensive against Hamas, J Street called for a ceasefire coupled with diplomatic intervention by the U.S., circulating an online petition supporting that plan.
In an e-mail to supporters, J Street Online Director Isaac Luria reiterated the point with a tinge of relativism that sparked the ire of Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, the synagogue arm of the Reform Movement.
Israel's airstrikes on Hamas targets in Gaza are detrimental to prospects for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, according to pro-Israel, pro-peace lobbying group J Street, which is calling for diplomatic intervention by the U.S. and other nations.
A group of Iraq war veterans are calling on the nation's political leaders to "finish the job" in Iraq in a new television ad from Vets for Freedom.
The anti-withdrawal veterans group announced the launch of a multi-million dollar ad campaign in battleground states last week. It will air television ads that do not discuss candidates but call attention to post-surge security gains in Iraq.
The group released its first ad over the weekend. In it, veterans say the United States must finish the job in Iraq "no matter who is president." See the ad below:
Vets for Freedom, a veterans group opposing withdrawal from Iraq, will launch a multi-million dollar television ad campaign next week calling attention to security gains achieved by the so-called surge, the group announced today.
The ads will feature Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and are "aimed at informing the American people about the truth regarding progress in Iraq and Afghanistan," the group said today.
The group will unveil its first ad at a press conference Wednesday, where it will also launch a national "Four Months, For Victory" media and grassroots campaign.
Grassroots efforts will be concentrated in 12 states identified as home to key lawmakers: Colorado, Iowa, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Those 12 are also all battleground states in November's presidential election.
Americans United for Change has long opposed many of President Bush's policies, but this year it's found a new way to say it--with a 28-ton bus.
The group today launched its Bush Legacy Bus, a rolling museum dedicated to the "worst policy failures" of the Bush administration. The bus will travel the country for the next five months, stopping in 150 cities and bearing a simple message: that Bush's policies have wreaked havoc on America.
The bus features interactive exhibits on the Iraq war, the economy, and healthcare. A screen displays images of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, with captions that criticize the government's response. A chart entitled "not just Bush's war" traces Iraq war support to House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas). The floor shows a timeline of events in the Bush presidency.
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Along with Iraq war veterans and concerned citizens, Iraq Campaign 2008 says it will unfurl a 50-foot replica "Mission Accomplished" banner at the White House tomorrow, marking the five-year anniversary of President Bush's now-infamous speech.
The unfurling is slated to occur at 10:30 a.m. on Pennsylvania Ave.
On May 1, 2003, President Bush declared an end to major U.S. combat operations in Iraq (see the speech here) aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, anchored off the coast of San Diego. The ship bore a large banner that read "Mission Accomplished." CNN reported that, in October 2003, reporters pressed the White House on the banner, as U.S. casualties in Iraq had risen; the White House responded that the banner had been placed by the Navy.
Eight Democratic lawmakers and three activist groups will use tax day to call attention to the cost of the Iraq war, ceremonially presenting taxpayers tomorrow with a jumbo-sized IRS 1040 form showing how much each American family owes for the war.
Participating lawmakers are Reps. Jan Schakowsky (Ill.), Jim McGovern (Mass.), Peter Welch (Vt.), Lloyd Doggett (Texas), Keith Ellison (Minn.), Barbara Lee (Calif.), Dennis Kucinich (Ohio), and Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas). The groups are USActon, Americans United for Change, and Iraq Campaign 2008. The lawmakers and groups will gather on the Cannon terrace at 10 a.m.
According to Schakowsky's office, the war has cost $526 billion directly with a $1.3 trillion on the U.S. economy. When that sum is divided, Schakowsky's office says, it leaves the average American family with a $16,500 cost for the war.
A border security and immigration PAC is calling for a nationwide boycott of Absolut Vodka for an ad the Swedish distillers ran in Mexico portraying an "Absolut world" showing Mexico extending across much of the western United States.
The vodka company has pulled the ad, but William Gheen of the Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC), told The Hill "that's not good enough on this one" demanding that the ad agency as well as the executive that approved the ad be fired by Absolut.
ALIPAC and 100 other groups will go ahead with a boycott of the vodka, organizing the boycott through a website the PAC created.
"Absolut vodka is trying to sell liquor to Mexicans that aspire to control the Southwest United States," Gheen said in a statement announcing the move. "Everywhere we look, Global corporations have a hand in this brewing disaster and Absolut just made the list."
The ad has attracted attention from various other border security groups and bloggers. One bloggers on the conservative site RedState wrote, "time to pour the Absolut down the drain. The brand from my beloved Sweden will have to be replaced."
"In no way was this meant to offend or disparage, nor does it advocate an altering of borders, nor does it lend support to any anti-American sentiment, nor does it reflect immigration issues," a spokesman for the company said on its website.
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