NSW Labor Israel Action Committee zoom session quizzes JTA Washington correspondent
Around 40 people participated in a question and answer session with Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) Washington correspondent Ron Kampeas as part of NSW Labor Israel Action Committee (LIAC)’s “Lox and Loaded” zoom online speaker series.
The COVID factor on the US presidential campaign; American Jewish voting patterns; a Biden-Harris administration’s possible view on the Middle East; Kanye West bid for the presidency; Trump’s relationship with Bibi Netanyahu; Sudan’s normalising relations with Israel and New York (NY) City Mayor Bill de Blasio and NY Governor Andrew Cuomo’s comments on ultra-Orthodox Jews gathering during COVID were among the topics canvassed in a NSW Labor- sponsored special weekend zoom with a senior Washington correspondent.
Moderated by long-time Israel supporter and former Federal MP for Eden- Monaro, Dr Mike Kelly, it was hosted by LIAC co-convenor Lorin Muhlmann.
“It was a smashing success with a wide-range of topics,” Ms Muhlmann said.
“It was also exciting to hear from a senior correspondent from Washington who is at the centre of all things political.”
Among the attendees were former Federal MP for Melbourne Ports Michael Danby; former Federal NSW Senator Michael Forshaw, former NSW Labor leader Luke Foley and NSW Shadow Treasurer Walt Secord – who is also deputy chair of the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Israel.
LIAC is a group within the NSW Labor Party which promotes a two-state solution and a balanced approach to Israel within the Labor movement.
Mr Kampeas has been covering international affairs for almost 30 years. In 1992, Mr Kampeas joined The Associated Press (AP) in Jerusalem.
For more than 10 years, he worked at AP in its bureaus in Jerusalem, New York, London and, most recently, Washington. He also worked for The Jerusalem Post in Israel. He was made Washington bureau chief of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in the summer of 2003.
Born in Montreal, Canada, Mr Kampeas is “responsible for coordinating coverage in the American capital and analysing political developments that affect the Jewish world”. As the JTA correspondent, Mr Kampeas’ articles and analysis are carried in Diaspora and Israeli publications.
