Week of February 7, 2025
Week of February 7, 2025
On Tuesday, Feb. 18 at 9:30 a.m., the Jewish Pavilion Senior Services will host its annual Fashion Show at Dillard’s in the Altamonte Mall. Come enjoy a breakfast provided by sponsors, Dillard’s goody bags, and the chance to win exciting raffle prizes. Following the show, take the opportunity to shop for the fantastic outfits you’ve just seen on the runway. This year’s fashion show will honor Jane Edelstein, an incredibly dedicated professional and volunteer, and someone you will want to meet. Tickets for general admission are priced...
Sa’ar hails Trump’s executive order to curb ‘disease’ of Jew-hatred (JNS) — Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Thursday praised U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order to counter the scourge of Jew-hatred. “Thank you, President Trump, for your executive order to combat the disease of antisemitism. This critical step sends a clear message: the antisemitic support for Hamas’ October 7th atrocities will not be tolerated,” tweeted Sa’ar. “Your important decision helps ensure the safety of the Jewish people on...
(JTA) - The oldest living American-Israeli hostage has exited Gaza, one of three Israelis Hamas released on Saturday in accordance with the terms of a ceasefire deal. Keith Siegel, 65, was released after a seaside ceremony in Gaza City where he briefly walked across a stage and waved, a performance that Hamas has required of the hostages it has recently freed. He was wearing a hat and walked on his own, though he appeared to be supported by two Hamas terrorists as he mounted the stage and...
(JNS) — Israel’s cabinet minister in charge of Jerusalem affairs on Sunday asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to increase security in the city ahead of the release of hundreds of Palestinian hostages in exchange for Israeli hostages in Gaza. Minister of Jerusalem Affairs and Jewish Heritage Meir Porush made the appeal in a letter he sent to Netanyahu and other members of the cabinet, Israel National News reported. “The regular deployment is insufficient,” Porush wrote, according to the report. “We must ensure that there...
By Canaan Lidor (JNS)- Laws that ban UNRWA in Israel went into effect on Thursday, barring the United Nations aid agency for Palestinians from maintaining a presence or activities in that country, and prohibiting Israeli officials from engaging in contact with it. Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel welcomed the development. "UNRWA lies at the heart of the Arab-Jewish conflict. It has always been a non-neutral political organization, and it actually paved the way for October 7th. Any...
(JNS)- U.S. President Donald Trump said that the United States will "take over" and rebuild the Gaza Strip during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday. "The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too," Trump said. "We'll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous, unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings. " Trump said in the explosive press...
Congregation Ohev Shalom is honoring Nina and Ron Oppenheim at "The Eras Gala" on Feb. 22, 2025. The Oppenheims' connection to Congregation Ohev Shalom spans decades, and their contributions have left a lasting impact on the congregation and the Orlando Jewish community. Synagogue President Debby Gendzier reflected warmly on their involvement, sharing, "Nina and Ron Oppenheim are family to Congregation Ohev Shalom. Like family, they have been incredibly supportive in every possible way to our...
(JNS) — Saudi Arabia’s government on Tuesday contradicted U.S. President Donald Trump’s statement that Ryadh may normalize ties with Israel even without the creation of a Palestinian state. Sitting alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, Trump addressed Saudi-Israeli ties while answering questions from journalists on the subject. “Well, we’re going to see, and we’re dealing with a lot of people, and we have steps to go yet, as you know. And maybe those steps go forward, and maybe they don’t....
Hamas condemns Trump’s Gaza resettlement plan as ‘ridiculous’ By Joshua Marks (JNS) — Hamas on Wednesday rejected as “absurd” U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to relocate Gazans from the war-torn coastal enclave. Speaking to reporters alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday, Trump proposed that the U.S. take control of Gaza, resettle its Palestinian population elsewhere and transform the enclave, which he described as a “demolition site right now,” into a developed hub. Hamas...
(JNS) — Israel Defense Forces soldier Liri Albag, who was released on Saturday after 477 days in captivity in Gaza, took to social media on Friday for the first time since being freed. “The people of Israel, I want to thank you again for all your support, love and help,” Albag wrote in her first Instagram post since Hamas terrorists took her hostage on Oct. 7, 2023. “Together, we are a force,” the IDF field observer wrote. “I want to thank the soldiers of the IDF and the security services, who risked their lives and fought for us...
(JNS) — Seventy-one percent of Israelis oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria, according to a poll conducted on Jan. 29. The survey comes on the background of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s departure on Sunday to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C. “The findings are public just in time for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s visit with President Trump. Bibi can now go to the president of the United States with a clear statement that this is the will of the people of Israel,...
(JNS) — Prominent Israeli-American columnist and JNS senior contributing editor Caroline B. Glick is returning to the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem to serve as International Affairs Adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Glick, who worked with Netanyahu over a quarter century ago before becoming a widely read columnist, took up her new position on Sunday. “Life takes you in different directions, and I am going back to the office where I worked nearly three decades ago as the prime minister leads Israel through the...
(JNS) — Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi ordered the military on Monday to prepare for counter-terror operations in Judea and Samaria amid an uptick in terror following the ceasefire in Gaza. “In addition to the intense defensive preparations in the Gaza Strip, we must be prepared for significant operations in Judea and Samaria in the coming days in order to get ahead of and catch the terrorists before they reach our citizens,” Halevi stated following a situational assessment. Halevi’s remarks came hours...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu embarked Sunday on a Washington visit centered around a pivotal meeting on Tuesday with President Donald Trump. While the Prime Minister’s Office announced a Friday return to Israel, concurrent preparations suggest a possible extension until the following Sunday. The leadership summit will address all major regional and international issues and their interconnections: the status of the Gaza ceasefire, efforts to liberate the remaining hostages in the Strip, and subsequent phases...
(JNS) — The Trump White House has asked congressional leaders to approve about $1 billion in weapons sales to Israel, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing U.S. officials. The sales would include more than $700 million in 1,000-pound bombs (4,700 in total), along with armored bulldozers worth more than $300 million, the officials said. The 1,000-pound bombs, referred to as “general purpose bombs,” consist of 4,500 BLU-110s and 200 Mk-83s. Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozers also are part of the sale. Although they are used to...
One of the flight attendants killed in the recent plane crash in Washington, D.C., was an alumnus of a Jewish youth group with a passion for travel and a talent for comedy. Ian Epstein, one of the four flight attendants on American Eagle Flight 5342, was an alumnus of the pluralist Jewish youth group BBYO, the group posted to Facebook on Thursday. He is one of 67 victims of the crash Wednesday night over the Potomac River, in which an army helicopter collided with a passenger plane. "Our...
(JNS) — The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a nonprofit based in Los Angeles, is “deeply concerned” that Facebook parent company Meta is discontinuing its fact-checking policy and relying more on users to say which posts they deem unfactual. “This decision comes at a time of unprecedented surging antisemitism, particularly following the events of Oct. 7, making the rollback of critical safeguards exceedingly dangerous,” the center stated. “This reckless move disregards the immense responsibility social media companies bear in protecting...
Temple Israel Sisterhood started 2025 off on the right foot with a healthy and fun approach to the New Year! To ring in January, they offered both a high-energy Zumba class and a relaxing yoga session. These fitness opportunities brought members together for both movement and mindfulness, setting the tone for an exciting year ahead. The Zumba class was a hit, getting everyone moving and grooving to upbeat music while also providing a fantastic workout. The calming yoga session offered an...
(JNS) — U.S. President Donald Trump called for “permanently” resettling Palestinians outside Gaza on Tuesday, as he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took questions from reporters at the White House. Trump did not say whether he thought Palestinians would have a “right” to return to Gaza but asked why they would want to return given the level of destruction. “I don’t think people should be going back to Gaza,” Trump said. “I think that Gaza has been very unlucky for them. They’ve lived like hell. They live like...
President Donald Trump said he is “not confident” that the ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war will last, adding that the United States could help rebuild Gaza. Trump, sitting in the Oval Office, made the comments following his inauguration Monday. A reporter asked whether he was confident he could “keep the ceasefire in Gaza and conclude the three phases of the deal.” “I’m not confident,” Trump responded. “That’s not our war, it’s their war. I’m not confident.” Then, presumably referring to Hamas, he added, “But I...
Randy Fine, a Jewish Florida state senator whose bruising demeanor has made him a new favorite on the right, easily won the Republican primary for an open House seat. An Associated Press estimate showed that Fine took more than 80 percent of the GOP vote on Tuesday. The district is deep red, making his victory in the April 1 special election all but assured. He would replace Michael Waltz, who left Congress to become Trump’s national security advisor. Fine decided to run in the district, even though he does not currently live there, after...
(JNS) - "We did it," Efrat Machikawa, the niece of redeemed hostage Gadi Mozes, told JNS on Sunday. Mozes, 80, was among the three Israelis and five Thais redeemed from terrorist captivity as part of Hamas's truce with Jerusalem, 482 days after they were abducted during the terror group's Oct. 7, 2023, massacre. Machikawa was reunited with Mozes on Friday. "It's such a relief. It's quite amazing. It feels like my body was all tense, slowly it's allowing itself to calm down. It's a very special...
(JNS) — Following U.S. President Donald Trump’s push in favor of relocating Gaza residents, Israel’s Otzma Yehudit Party on Tuesday said it had introduced a bill that would financially compensate those choosing to leave the enclave. According to a statement by the party, those choosing to leave the Strip would receive a “financial assistance package” determined by the Finance Ministry under the proposed legislation, which is scheduled for a review next week by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation. Anyone who accepts the package...
(JNS) — U.S. President Donald Trump’s statement that resettling Palestinians living in Gaza “could be temporary or long term” has raised many eyebrows. Calling Gaza “literally a demolition site right now,” he said, “I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations, and build housing in a different location, where they can maybe live in peace for a change …. You’re talking about a million and half people, and we just clean out that whole thing.” He went on to say, “You know over the centuries it’s had many, many...
(JNS) — The ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Hamas terror group went into effect on Jan. 19 and included the release of some of the surviving hostages kidnapped by the terrorist group on Oct. 7, 2023. Three of these victims—Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher—were returned to Israel alive in the first week of the deal. It is to be devoutly hoped that as many as possible will shortly be returned safe and sound to their surviving family members. “Safe and sound,” in this case, is a relative term. We know for a...
(JNS) — The Anti-Defamation League was founded 111 years ago to “stop defamation of the Jewish people and secure justice and fair treatment for all.” It fulfilled that noble purpose for decades, and I was once proud to contribute to the organization. It fought antisemitism and defended Israel and did its best to stay out of divisive partisan politics. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. On Jan. 20, the ADL posted the following on X: “We unequivocally condemn Pres. Trump’s issuance of 1,500 pardons and commuted sentences for Jan 6...
(JNS) — The recent ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas are just the latest chapter in a series of high-stakes decisions with unpredictable outcomes. The hostage deal has been a source of both intense joy and extreme apprehension. There have been countless times in the last 16 months that tragedy was supplanted by triumph. The notion that patience is a virtue has never been truer. There is a tendency to jump to conclusions and allow emotions to dominate opinion. The complexities of the situation, including many factors unknown to...
(JNS) — Liberal and left-wing adversaries of Israel indulge in an abiding fantasy that one day the Jewish state, which they falsely regard as an ethnostate built upon an ideology of Jewish supremacy, will be replaced by a single state of Palestine. They fancifully believe that it will be a multiethnic democracy granting equal rights to all its citizens, regardless of religion or national origin. As fantasies go, this one has enjoyed a good deal of mileage, surfacing every few years at times of tension in the Middle East and gripping the...
(JNS) — The entertainment industry is abuzz as once again, the world awaits the high drama when envelopes are opened, and we find out who will get the Oscars, Grammys and other similar prizes. In between the stars doling out trophies to other stars, the audience is treated to edgy humor and lots of commercials. The winners thank their agents, their studio bosses, and, maybe, their spouses or parents. Even the losers get a generous “everyone wins” gift bag. Washington, on the other hand, has been referred to as “Hollywood for ugly...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) - Fresh testimony emerged on Friday about IDF soldier Agam Berger's 482-day ordeal in Hamas captivity. Yaffa Deri, wife of Shas Party Chairman Aryeh Deri, and their daughter Margalit Peretz, visited the released IDF observers at the hospital, revealing intimate details of Agam's spiritual resilience. "Agam found a siddur [Jewish prayer book] in Gaza and maintained her religious observance, including fasting on Tisha B'Av," Deri said. Berger, 20, released during the...
In the Jewish calendar, Tu B'Shvat is the 15th day of the month Shevat. It begins on the evening of Feb. 12. As this minor holiday acknowledges trees and the fruits of the tree, typically fruits like raisins, figs, grapes, pomegranates, dates, oranges, and olives are eaten. There are many ways to celebrate the holiday with your children and grandchildren: Myrna Ossin suggests arranging a platter of tree fruits in the shape of a tree; embed pieces of cooked broccoli like tree leaves on top of a...
Caregiving is a demanding role, often requiring juggling multiple responsibilities including ensuring that loved ones are transported to critical medical appointments or social engagements. For caregivers of seniors, transportation can become a significant challenge, particularly when the person they care for is unable to drive. Fortunately, ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft have stepped in to make this task easier, offering solutions designed to alleviate some of the stresses caregivers face. These services now allow caregivers to...
With deep sadness, we announce the passing of Dennis Ross Wagner, devoted husband, loving father, and proud, blinded veteran, who left us on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, at age 84. Born on June 28, 1941, in Hampshire, IL, Dennis lived a life marked by dedication and deep love for his wife Linda and service to the military, Children of the World and Special Olympics. A veteran of the Army, he honorably served his country during the Vietnam War Era and as an honor guard member for President John F....
It is with great sadness that we announce the unexpected passing of Joy Benjamin Zerivitz, who tragically left us on Jan. 25, 2025, in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. She was 61 years old. A longtime resident of Central Florida, Joy lived in Altamonte Springs, Florida, with her loving husband, Don, her sons, Ben (Olivia) of Winter Park, Florida, and Teddy (Kayla) of Salt Lake City, Utah, and their beloved family cat, Scout. Born in Orlando, Florida, Joy was the cherished daughter of George z"l and...
Joshua Manuel Miguel, 35, passed away on Jan. 18, 2025. Born on Feb. 27, 1989, in Homestead, Florida, Joshua was a devoted son, brother, and father who proudly served his country. His unwavering love for his family and steadfast faith defined his life and will continue to inspire those who knew him and a proud United States Army veteran. He is deeply missed by his beloved son, Aahmir; his mother, Aida; and his siblings, Jose, Danny, Monica, Marjy, Madelyn, and Jose Angel. Joshua’s presence brought warmth and strength to those around him,...
Bernice Davids of Longwood, Florida passed away suddenly on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. Born in Cleveland, Ohio on June 3, 1930, she was the last surviving child of Tillie and Louis Kornick. She was preceded in death by her husband, Joseph Davids. She is survived by her children: Dr. Mark (Debbie) Davids of Longwood, Florida; Enid (Michael) Rudney of Havertown, Pennsylvania; and Idelle Davids of Asheville, North Carolina. She was the proud grandmother of Aaron (Gabriella) and Benjamin and the very...
Mrs. Charlotte Brownstein, 87 Orlando, Florida passed away Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, at Harbor Chase of Dr. Phillips following a long illness. Mrs. Charlotte (Ettenger) Brownstein was born Jan. 24, 1937, to the late Max and Eve (Cohen) Ettenger of blessed memory. She moved to Delray Beach, Florida in 2001 from Bucks County, Pennsylvania before moving to Orlando, Florida in 2020. Mrs. Brownstein had worked as a phlebotomist and lab technician for the VA. Worked as Preschool teacher and assisted her...
MORNING MINYANS Chabad of South Orlando — Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. and 10 minutes before sunset; Saturday, 9:30 a.m.; Sunday, 8:15 a.m., 407-354-3660. Congregation Ahavas Yisrael — Monday - Friday, 7:30 a.m.; Saturday, 9:30 a.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-644-2500. Congregation Chabad Lubavitch of Greater Daytona — Monday, 8 a.m.; Thursday, 8 a.m., 904-672-9300. Congregation Ohev Shalom — Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-298-4650. GOBOR Community Minyan at Jewish Academy of Orlando — Monday – Friday, 7:45 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Temple Israel — Sunday,...
