Thompson scores a 6 in his first Israel Factor survey

Thompson

The Israel Factor was updated today, and the first analysis deals with the nomination of actor/politician Fred Thompson. The panel made its first assessment of Thompson's candidacy this month, with mixed results. On the one hand, Thompson is clearly seen as more favorable than second-tier Republican candidates (Hagel, Brownback, Huckabee) and is locked in to a head-to-head race with first-tier candidate Romney.

On the other hand, he does not manage to get himself onto the list of the "best" candidates for Israel. McCain, Giuliani, Gingrich are still far ahead of him, according to the panel. If you want to know why, the analysis is here.

Thompson, by the way, is riding high in the polls. Third among Republican voters, according to calculations made by pollster.com.

Gaza

The growing chaos in the Gaza Strip is finally getting some of the attention it deserves.

Today, the Washington Times wrote an editorial saying that "Gaza descends into chaos reminiscent of Afghanistan under the Taliban." That worrisome development has no clear remedy as of now. My weekend column dealt with the dilemma facing Israel - whether the military should re-enter the Strip.

"One of the conclusions from the cabinet meeting yesterday," writes Ze'ev Schiff today, "is that the military threat coming from the Gaza Strip has no solution in the near future."

Guest

My new guest for this week is Leon Botstein, who says that, "The vast majority of Jews in numerical terms are either members of the Reform movement or entirely unaffiliated. For them, an attachment to an institution that is Jewish is dependent on the extent to which it coheres in values with issues that are not in the narrow sense Jewish issues, but rather American political issues."

Last week's guest, Daniel Septimus, dealt with the ways the Internet will change Judaism and in doing so, also talked about the role of rabbis in today's Jewish world:

"I'm not saying we should dissolve the rabbinate. Rabbis who serve their communities with love and wisdom and help their congregants live more meaningful lives are doing holy work. But I still believe people want and need to take more responsibility for the direction of their individual Jewish lives and the Jewish community, generally."