- The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism is praising the principles for global warming legislation released by Sen. Barbara Boxer on Tuesday: "Sen. Boxer’s call for action this year on climate change, including investments in renewable energy technology and assistance to Americans in adapting to the new low-carbon economy, gives us great hope that our leaders are finally poised to confront this critical issue."
- Matt Brooks, the top dog at the Republican Jewish Coalition, and William Daroff, who used to work for Brooks at the RJC before becoming the public policy guy at the United Jewish Communities, are lining up on opposite sides of the stimulus fight. Daroff sent a letter to Senators voicing support for the entire bill, while the RJC sent an alert to supporters urging them to tell their lawmakers to vote against the measure.
- The Washington Post reports retired Sen. Chuck Hagel, one of the AIPAC pro-Israel community’s least favorite senators, will be teaching about foreign policy at Georgetown University: "The Nebraska Republican, who once considered a presidential bid and retired from the Senate last year, will become a distinguished professor in the practice of national governance at Georgetown’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. … Hagel will begin working at the university immediately, planning conferences and other events on campus this spring, and will begin teaching undergraduate and graduate courses this fall."
- Politico reports Norm Coleman scored a victory in court yesterday, although it’s not clear how much the ruling will help shrink Al Franken’s 225-vote lead: A three-judge panel ruled that as many as 4,790 rejected absentee ballots can be considered for inclusion in the Minnesota Senate recount … There is a silver lining for the Franken campaign in the ruling. The three judge panel set a clear standard for including improperly rejected absentee ballots, ruling the ballots must still comply with the state’s strict statutes. So only a subset of the 4,700 absentee ballots — identified by the Coleman camp — will be added to the count."
- There are still hard feelings between New Jersey Jewish Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg and Democratic Rep. Rob Andrews, who challenged him in a primary last year, writes Politico: "Rep. Robert Andrews, who tried to oust Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg in the New Jersey Democratic primary last summer, hasn’t spoken to the senator since the Nov. 4 election. The two say they’re willing to move on from the clash, but other members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation are still sore about Andrews’ unorthodox move to shake up the state’s Democratic Party hierarchy."
- Bush Homeland Security Adviser Kenneth Wainstein has a new job. He’s the Sheila and Milton Fine distinguished visiting fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, focusing on counterterrorism issues.
- Former Ehud Barak adviser Daniel Levy, in Haaretz, says "no magical wizard" is needed to bring Arab-Israeli peace: "Rather, a determined American president who can speak in a language of common sense and shared interests to Israel’s leaders, and in so doing help Israel to locate its collective and long underutilized brain, heart and courage."
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