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Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs

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JACPAC's News & Opinion Digest

August 10, 2012  

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This week's issue highlights the following significant developments here and in the Middle East:

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Remember to check out our blog to keep up with current issues and opinion and to sort fact from fiction on the Internet.  Be sure to read Presidential Ponderings, thoughts and observations from JACPAC President Gail Yamner. 

Israel & The Middle East
 
Oren's Iran article gets thumbs up from Bahraini FM
When Bahrain's foreign minister tweeted an article about Iran by Israeli's US envoy, it underscored the shared nature of the Iranian threat, according to the envoy.
More...


Barak: Nuclear Iran far more dangerous than preemptive Israeli strike
Defense Minister Ehud Barak hinted Wednesday that Israel may attack Iran if sanctions fail to rein in Tehran's nuclear program. 
More...

In Egypt, Anti-Semitism Is Back in Fashion
A travel tip for the international executive class: If you find yourself doing business in Egypt and you feel the urge to insult your interlocutor, 1) try not to insult your interlocutor; and 2) if you must, cast aspersions on the chastity of the person's mother or sister. This insult will be taken hard, but it may eventually be forgiven.
More...


hamasAnalysis: Morsy, Hamas and the short-lived honeymoon

For Hamas, the timing of Sunday night's terror attack in Sinai could not have been worse.
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Syria: the view from Israel
As the Syrian crisis has reached the tipping point and
the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime seems to be a matter of time, Israel has abandoned the passive stance it has maintained since this crisis began in March 2011.
More...
Reproductive Rights

texasTexas doctors object to abortion counseling rule
Texas medical groups object to a proposed rule for the state Women's Health Program that would ban abortion counseling, calling it a gag order on doctors.
More...


Fatal Fetal Defect Counselors Brace For Influx of Families After Arizona's Abortion Ban
Arizona's new 20-week abortion ban goes into effect Thursday, with very real effects for families expecting babies with fatal fetal defects.

Judge bars birth control mandate
A federal judge in Colorado, acting on one of two dozen cases across the nation challenging the new health care law's promise of free birth-control for women workers, on Friday temporarily barred the enforcement of that mandate against a Catholic family's private business firm.  
More...
Separation of Religion and State
 
laschool14 Wacky "Facts" Kids Will Learn in Louisiana's Voucher Schools
Thanks to a new law privatizing public education in Louisiana, Bible-based curriculum can now indoctrinate young, pliant minds with the good news of the Lord-all on the state taxpayers' dime.
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Missouri voters pass prayer amendment
An amendment to the Missouri Constitution guaranteeing the right to pray was passed overwhelmingly on Tuesday.
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Political Bytes

adelsonFor Sheldon Adelson, political and Jewish giving are all of a piece
Call it the Adelson conundrum: What happens when the guy who acts as if he owns the room really does?
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Voters Face Competing Views of Capitalism
Veterans of Massachusetts politics recall an earlier U.S. Senate race of gentility, large swaths of policy agreements, two candidates of patrician backgrounds, and fat political r�sum�s squaring off in memorably civil debates: the William Weld-John Kerry campaign in 1996. This is not that race.
Voter Rights

votersPartisan Rifts Hinder Efforts to Improve U.S. Voting System
Twelve years after a too-close-to-call presidential contest imploded in a hail of Florida punch card ballots and a bitter 5-to-4 Supreme Court ruling for George W. Bush, the country's voting systems remain as deeply flawed as ever with any prospect of fixing them mired in increasing levels of partisanship.

Voter ID laws could swing states
At least 5 million voters, predominantly young and from minority groups sympathetic to President Barack Obama, could be affected by an unprecedented flurry of new legislation by Republican governors and GOP-led legislatures to change or restrict voting rights by Election Day 2012.
FYI
 

Health Reform's Quiet Victory: Pregnancy Assistance Fund Benefits Vulnerable Populations

Shauna Humphreys has been leading programs that serve at-risk teens of the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma for several years. But the impact of her work has increased dramatically over the past two years because of the Pregnancy Assistance Fund (PAF), a provision of the Affordable Care Act supporting a range of services for pregnant teens and young adults.

More...

doctor
Op-Ed: Obama, Jewish tradition agree on universal health care, by Ezekiel Emanuel
Why does every Jewish mother have to have a doctor in the family? It might be because the immigrant mentality desperately desires a secure and well-paid profession, but in fact, there is a deeper reason why Jewish mothers want a doctor son.
More...   

Our members count on JACPAC to provide information on current events, candidates, and elections.  JACPAC depends on membership support to make this possible.

 

If you have not renewed your membership, please consider doing so today, to help us pursue a strong US-Israel relationship, reproductive rights, and separation of religion and state.  Together we can make this a better world!

   

Sincerely,

 
Gail Yamner, President
Marcia Balonick, Executive Director
Joy Malkus, Research Director 

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Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs (JACPAC) is a national network committed to the special relationship between the US and Israel and a social agenda that includes reproductive rights and separation of religion and state.  JACPAC supported US Senate and House candidates who uphold this agenda and maintains ongoing dialogue with those it helps elect.  In addition, JACPAC serves as a political resource for the Jewish community, furnishing information about candidates, elections and issues.

www.jacpac.org