Week of December 19, 2025
Week of December 19, 2025
JOIN welcomes Rabbi Sendy Freud as new Director of Impact The Orlando Jewish community welcomes a new leader to its growing network of educators and community builders. Rabbi Sendy Freud, his wife, and their four children recently joined the Jewish Outreach Initiative of Orlando where Freud has assumed the role of Director of Impact. JOIN was founded in 2014 to serve Orlando's growing Jewish population and expanding educational needs. Since it began, JOIN has built an engaged, thriving...
(JNS) - One of the Bondi Beach gunmen, 24-year-old Naveed Akram, came to the attention of Australia's domestic intelligence agency six years ago for his close ties to a Sydney-based Islamic State terrorism cell, ABC News Australia reported Monday. Naveed and his father, Sajid Akram, 50, killed 15 people Sunday evening when they opened fire on the "Chanukah by the Sea" event celebrating the first day of the Jewish festival. The attack on more than 1,000 people gathered at Bondi Beach's Archer...
(JNS) — Wikipedia drew criticism from Jewish leaders after the site’s editors opted to freeze discussion about the title of a page that refers to Israel committing a “massacre” in June 2024. The decision means that no one can even discuss changing the title of the page “Nuseirat rescue and massacre” until at least August 2026. The page refers to the Jewish state’s liberation of the four hostages—Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv—from Gaza. Citing “Palestinian health officials,” the Wikipedia page...
(JNS) — Members of a delegation of more than 1,000 American pastors and religious leaders who visited Israel last week were targeted by a coordinated wave of online harassment on their return to the United States. The development underscored both the hostility that exists on social media against Israel and the usage of bots to amplify hate on such networks. The weeklong visit, which was organized by American evangelical leader Mike Evans with the Israeli Foreign Ministry, was the single largest gathering of pastors in Israel since the...
(JNS) - An ancient archaeological site containing Hasmonean-era palace ruins will open to Israeli visitors this weekend, after vandals defaced the location and destroyed artifacts, local officials announced. Graffiti was sprayed on a 2,000-year-old ritual bath at the Hasmonean Palaces site, and looters crushed a skull believed to belong to a noble from the Hasmonean dynasty, according to the Binyamin Regional Council, which manages the area. The Hasmonean kings ruled Judea from roughly 140... Full story
(JNS) — Israel placed third in The Economist’s ranking of the world’s strongest economies in 2025. The London-based magazine has conducted its search for the “economy of the year” for five years now. “Israel has continued its strong recovery from the chaos of 2023, and Ireland only just misses out on top spot,” The Economist reported. “Although Czech and South Korean firms have done well this year, nowhere has done better (in local-currency terms) than Israel. In the past year the share price of the country’s most valuable... Full story
(JNS) — The most powerful Jewish official in Washington introduced a resolution Monday that condemns white supremacy and antisemitism and specifically calls out far-right provocateurs Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes. The resolution introduced by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), which every other Senate Democrat co-sponsored, is a response to Carlson’s recent friendly interview with Holocaust denier Fuentes. “Antisemitism and white supremacy and, indeed, neo-Naziism—just saying the words send shudders down one’s...
(JNS)— A gunman opened fire during a final exam review for the economics class of a Brown University professor, who also teaches Jewish studies courses, in Providence, R.I., on Saturday afternoon, killing two and wounding nine, according to law enforcement, officials and media reports. On Monday morning, law enforcement said a person of interest was in custody. Rachel Friedberg, teaching professor of economics and faculty associate of the Judaic studies program and of the population studies and training center at Brown, reportedly said that...
(JNS) — A small group of Israeli civilians entered the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday evening, calling on the government to establish a permanent Israeli presence there. The group, according to Channel 12 News numbering between seven and nine people, was “under constant monitoring” and was returned to Israeli territory shortly after crossing the border, according to the Israel Defense Forces. “The IDF emphasizes that any entrance to a combat zone is forbidden, endangers the civilians and disturbs IDF operations in the area. The...
(JNS) — Eric Adams, the outgoing New York City mayor, was asked on Friday during an ABC interview at Gracie Mansion what advice he has for Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect. “You’re the mayor now, and it can’t be merely listening to the extremism of his party, like the Democratic Socialists of America, who never governed anything,” Adams told Bill Ritter, of the network. “You are now the mayor. You have to make tough decisions, and if you believe that you could just push those decisions to the side, it’s not going to happen....
(JNS) — The Redlands, Calif., Police Department, located some 60 miles east of Los Angeles in San Bernardino Valley, said that it is investigating both what it called an incident targeting a Jewish family and a “potential hate crime.” A Jewish family in Redlands had just returned home on Friday evening when “a vehicle drove past the victims’ residence, yelled an antisemitic slur and fired several shots,” the department stated at about 10:30 a.m. local time on Sunday. The department said that there were no injuries nor damage, and...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — As Australia mourns the victims of the Chanukah massacre at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, local media outlets searched for the hero seen in video footage struggling with one of the attackers and pulling the weapon from his hands. Australian network 7NEWS reported that the hero is a Bondi Beach stall owner named Ahmed Al-Ahmad. A family member of the hero who risked his life to snatch the weapon from one of the gunmen said he was shot twice. In a conversation with 7NEWS outside the hospital, Mostafa revealed that...
(JNS) — The Israel’s Cabinet is set to approve next week a $31.8 million budget to strengthen the eastern Negev cities of Arad, Dimona, Yeruham and Mitzpe Ramon, the Prime Minister’s Office and Finance Ministry announced in a joint statement on Thursday. The decision is to be green-lit in a special session in Dimona on Dec. 14, as part of a national plan to encourage demographic growth and sustainable economic development in Israel’s south, the statement read. The budget planned for 2026 involves investment in infrastructure, personal...
(JNS) — “The fact that Israel is in a good situation in the worldwide AI race does not say anything about the future,” warned Dror Bin, CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority, at AI Week 2025, currently taking place at Tel Aviv University. “We need to make sure that we remain in the forefront of this race—in industry, among entrepreneurs, investors, companies, as well as the government,” he said. Investors, government agencies and start-ups gathered in Israel for AI Week, now in its sixth year, an annual conference that celebrates...
(JNS) - The importance of the City of David, the capital of ancient Israel, and specifically its Pilgrimage Road, was the topic of discussion at an event featuring U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and former IDF Spokesman Maj. (res.) Doron Spielman at the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem on Dec. 9. The ancient site's excavation has aroused worldwide opposition. The Pilgrimage Road, a Second Temple-era route, connects the Pool of Siloam to the Temple Mount. It is located just south...
(JNS) - Legendary Jewish film director and actor Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer were found dead in their Los Angeles home on Sunday afternoon, according to TMZ. The outlet cited law enforcement sources in reporting that the couple suffered lacerations consistent with a knife attack. A family member is being questioned by investigators, a law enforcement official told the Associated Press. Reports indicate that the suspect is the couple's son, Nick, who has a long history of drug...
(JNS) — Yeshiva University’s latest IRS Form 990 shows that the school ended fiscal year 2023 deeper in the red than the prior year, as spending again exceeded reported revenue. The filing, which the Commentator, a student paper, reported, lists $394 million in total revenue and $427 million in total expenses, producing a $33 million net loss. The shortfall widened substantially from 2022, when it reported an $8 million loss. Major spending categories included more than $130 million in salaries and wages, more than $116 million in grants...
(JNS) — Rosie the Riveter may get a spot on the National Mall in Washington. The House of Representatives, without dissent, approved legislation for a memorial on or near the Mall to honor the women who took up jobs traditionally held by men when the latter went off to fight World War II. Congress approved such a memorial in 2022, but Tuesday’s vote authorized its placement on the Mall, the grassy area between the U.S. Capitol and Lincoln Memorial and the site of numerous demonstrations in the nation’s capital. It would join the...
Brussels synagogue briefly evacuated after false bomb threat By Canaan Lidor (JNS) — Unidentified individuals on Tuesday phoned in what turned out to be a false bomb threat at the Great Synagogue of Brussels, Belgium, leading to the building’s brief evacuation until the police’s bomb squad determined that there was no danger, a Jewish community security source said. “A bomb threat was received by phone targeting the Great Synagogue of Brussels,” the source told JNS after reports emerged in the Belgian media that the street of the...
(JNS) — Every time antisemitism spikes abroad — constantly, these days — certain Israeli pundits, politicians and members of the public leap to the same ostensibly comforting conclusion: that it will finally spur Diaspora Jews to “come home.” The reference is to well-off Westerners, not members of the tribe escaping poverty and persecution at the hands of hostile regimes. The latter is and has always been a given. Anyone imagining that the former is about to follow suit is engaged in fantasy. Nevertheless, Israel’s Aliyah and...
(JNS) — Call it was it was. The attack on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, at the start of the eight-day holiday of Chanukah was not random. It was not a “disturbance.” It was not an isolated violent incident untethered from global events. It was not an unfortunate individual suffering from mental illness. It was a terrorist attack, carried out against Jews, on a Jewish holiday, in a moment deliberately chosen for its symbolism. Jews everywhere understood that immediately—because we always do. On the very first day of the “Festival...
(JNS) — We live in strange times. Diaspora Jews in the West are wondering whether they should immigrate to Israel, while a growing number of Israelis insist they would like to leave. It is a fascinating juxtaposition that reveals Israelis do not grasp the extent to which Jew-hatred has been renormalized in the West, nor do they fully appreciate that Israel has a very bright future. It’s hardly surprising that many Israelis are dissatisfied. They are emerging from two years of incessant war, a prolonged hostage crisis, rolling terror...
(JNS) — A recent article in The Jerusalem Post by Cookie Schwaeber-Issan (“Don’t ask, don’t tell’ aliyah,” Nov. 18) makes the uncomfortably true statement that “there is an unacceptable and antagonistic attitude present in Israel’s Interior Ministry [and the office of the Chief Rabbinate] who are discriminating against Jews who are not connected to the faith or even their community.” While the writer astutely points out that this is occurring “at a time when we are witnessing the worst wave of global antisemitism since the...
(JNS) — To describe the state of American Jewry after the warm spring of the 1950s through the early 1970s is akin to watching a shriveled brown leaf fluttering aimlessly in the wind in the midst of a cold and bitter winter. At mid-century, the images of the Holocaust were still seared into the consciousness of the American public. Today, young students and even congressional staffers I meet on Capitol Hill dismiss it as “ancient history.” The moral memory that once anchored U.S. society has been steadily eroding. A major turning point...
(JNS) — Democratic Colorado gubernatorial hopeful Phil Weiser calls Denver home, but he returned to the city of his youth this week for a quick fundraising visit. In an interview at a wine bar on Manhattan’s Upper East Side before the private fundraiser, Weiser, who had iced tea, spoke with JNS about his Jewish identity and his successful legal efforts, as the state’s current attorney general, to win back hundreds of millions of dollars in federal money that the Trump administration had cut, including funds for healthcare, education and...
(JNS) - The sanctuary at Nusach Hari B'nai Zion in suburban St. Louis contains a majestic wooden-framed aron kodesh, or "holy ark," that holds the synagogue's Torah. Less visible is a tiny metal plaque that credits Kenny Bressler for creating the ark. Bressler designed and built the ark by hand in a workshop that sits behind his house. That's where the ark magic happens. A master woodworker, he has become a specialist in synagogue arks. "I've become the go-to ark guy," said the 70-year-old....
(JNS) - As New York City eateries roll out their Chanukah doughnut offerings, including sufganiyot filled with flavors like pistachio cream or mango, bakery owners told JNS that customers continue to overwhelmingly demand classic jelly doughnuts, such as strawberry and raspberry. They also have found an increase in pre-orders well ahead of the holiday, which began Dec. 14 at night and lasts eight days. Those in this particular food business believe that this reflects the growing role that...
(JNS) - Come Dec. 14, most Jewish households welcomed in the holiday of Chanukah by kindling the first candle on their menorah. Many of us in the Diaspora chose to light them in a private setting indoors, surrounded by family and friends, yet out of the view of strangers. Some (a smaller number of households, I suspect) may be bolder and choose to display the menorah in a window visible to passing foot and vehicle traffic. An even smaller number of families may light the chanukiyah the way the...
Hadassah, the Woman’s Zionist Organization of America, is alive and strong in Central Florida. Founded in 1912 by Henrietta Zold, it is one of the largest international, volunteer Jewish organizations, with nearly 300,000 members in the United States. Hadassah was founded before Israel was a state and before women could vote. For 100+ years, Hadassah has worked proactively to find and implement solutions to some of the most pressing challenges facing each generation. Together, we’re advancing women’s health, supporting a strong Israel...
(JNS) - The most powerful scene in the 2025 film "Nuremberg" occurs when the prosecution shows documentary footage from the liberation of Nazi concentration camps. Amid the image of unspeakable horror, a calm voice describes how prisoners were murdered at Mauthausen in Austria. The speaker is an American GI who survived the camp. Lt. Jack Taylor was an experienced agent of the Office of Strategic Services, the wartime precursor to the CIA. In late 1944, he parachuted into Austria to lead a...
Vibrotactile technology is a new, non-invasive way to help the body and brain by using small, gentle vibrations on the skin. These vibrations can send information to the nervous system, helping improve balance, manage pain, and even support those living with conditions like Parkinson’s disease or after a stroke. The technology is often in the form of a patch. How does it work? • Stimulating the skin — Tiny vibrating devices, often worn on the body, gently stimulate special touch receptors in the skin. • Sending messages to the brain...
These make great gifts for friends or service people. Makes 1 loaf or 3-4 mini loaves with 12 mini muffins. 8 T. water 2 T. flaxseed meal 1 1/4 cups sugar or granular sugar substitute 1 cup 14 oz. canned pumpkin purée 1/2 cup canola oil 1 1/4 cups coconut flour 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. nutmeg 1/4 tsp. cloves Pecan halves to decorate tops (optional) Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 5x9 bread pan or 3-4 mini loaf pans with parchment paper that overlaps pan...
For a no-meat Chanukah meal, I make tuna salad molded in a fish mold, decorated with thin rounds of cucumber for scales and an olive eye, a green salad, potato pancakes, and Star Cookies. Both kids and adults enjoy decorating the cookies for dessert. I have different sprinkles, candies, and white and blue frostings in piping bags for people to make their own designs. (I also use this recipe to make the base for Hamantaschen at Purim.) Makes 15-5" large stars, 30-3" small stars. 1 cup butter (2...
“The Little Menorah” is a joyful, Chanukah album suitable for children of various ages, centered on Max the Menorah, a warm and engaging character created by educator and children’s entertainer Bonnie Charyn. Beloved initially by families for its gentle storytelling and memorable melodies, the project has been fully remastered and revived by Orlando producer Carl West. This newly re-released edition preserves the nostalgia of the original while elevating it with improved audio quality, updated production, and new supplemental content,...
On Oct. 7, 2023, families across Israel were shattered in ways no words can fully capture. Parents kissed their children goodbye and never saw them come home. And yet, in the deepest darkness, some have made an impossible choice: not only to survive, but to build. This January, at the 10th National IAC Summit held in Hollywood, Fla., the Jewish community will hear directly from bereaved parents who are transforming their personal loss into a mission for Israel’s future. Speakers will include Rabbi Doron Perez, father of Capt. Daniel Perez...
