http://www.inthesetimes.com/archives/tags/israel/ In These Times features award-winning investigative reporting about corporate malfeasance and government wrongdoing, insightful analysis of national and international affairs, and sharp cultural criticism about events and ideas that matter. en-us Expression Engine jessica@inthesetimes.com seamus@inthesetimes.com Thu, 20 Sep 2007 05:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3333/ehud_baraks_second_coming/ Nearly 10 years to the day since Ehud Barak was first elected chair of Israel's Labor party, he emerged victorious again on June 12--in a narrow primary win over his more dovish opponent, Ami Ayalon. In May 1999, Barak trounced the incumbent Likud prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, with 57 percent in a direct vote. As prime minister for 20 months, Barak negotiated within a few meters of a peace agreement with Syria, withdrew Israeli forces unilaterally from Lebanon, attempted an agreement with the Palestinians at Camp David in the summer of 2000, presided over the beginnings of the intifada that followed, made one last-ditch negotiating attempt at Taba, and then succumbed in a nearly two to one electoral debacle to… israel middle east Susan Levine Thu, 15 May 2008 05:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3683/new_jewish_lobby_counters_neocons/ On April 15, after 18 months of planning, a new progressive Jewish lobby called J Street was launched as a counterweight to the increasingly conservative American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). There is no physical J Street in Washington, D.C., but the name conjures up K Street, the hub for lobbying on Capitol Hill. Israel's Haaretz newspaper columnist Shmuel Rosner writes that the "J" in J Street also jokingly refers to Jeremy Ben-Ami, the veteran political operative and public relations professional who served as a domestic policy adviser in the Clinton administration and has worked for various progressive and peace-oriented American-Jewish organizations. Ben-Ami is executive director of both J Street -- a 501(c)(4) lobbying organization -- and of its separately… israel middle east lobbying Susan Levine