Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 20859
(JTA) - When David Corenswet was announced as the next DC Comics Superman, Jewish movie and comic fans rejoiced: He is the first Jewish actor to portray the hero in a blockbuster. But one Jewish community in New Orleans has been particularly excited. "The Corenswet family is well known and loved" in New Orleans, said Daniel Sherman, rabbi of the city's historic Temple Sinai synagogue. "I have also heard a few groups talking about having some screening events to support David and are thrilled...
The third summit between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu this year has ended, but there are still more questions than concrete answers about the nature of their meetings and the outcome. To help understand the significance of their meetings, what took place, and what to look for in the coming weeks and months, in the recent episode of the “Inspiration from Zion” podcast, military and political analyst Elliot Chodoff and journalist Jonathan Tobin provided a deep dive into the high-level meetings. The conversation was ric...
(JNS) - Israeli player Guy Sasson and his Dutch partner, Niels Vink, delivered a commanding performance to capture the quad doubles wheelchair tennis crown at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships in London on Saturday. The duo overpowered South African Donald Ramphadi and Briton Gregory Slade in the final, securing a decisive 6–0, 6–2 victory. Sasson, 45, declared "Am Yisrael Chai" live on the BBC following his win. Born and raised in Ramat Gan, Sasson was an avid tennis player in his youth and ser...
(JNS) — A final-hour revision to the Trump administration’s reconciliation package, known as the “Big Beautiful Bill” passed on July 1, preserved the Educational Choice for Children Act, a provision that will direct new funding to Jewish schools, Rabbi A.D. Motzen, Agudath Israel of America’s national director of government affairs, told JNS. Motzen told JNS that the school choice provision in the bill, which creates a pool of federal tax credits to fund scholarships for private schools, including yeshivot and Jewish day schools, was initially...
When a loved one passes away, those left behind often face a whirlwind of emotions and tasks. As friends, we naturally want to help, but all too often, we find ourselves saying, “Let me know how I can help.” While well-intentioned, this phrase places the burden on the grieving individual to identify and ask for assistance, which can be overwhelming during such a difficult time. Instead, consider making a specific offer. Rather than asking, suggest something tangible: “Can I pick up your son from soccer practice today?” or “Would it help if I...
Rabbis and other clergy members in the United States may endorse candidates from the pulpit without jeopardizing their house of worship’s tax-exempt status, the Internal Revenue Service has decreed. The policy change reverses a ban on endorsing or opposing candidates by religious organizations known as the Johnson Amendment, enacted in the 1950s. The IRS made the change in the course of settling a lawsuit brought by two churches and a Christian broadcasting network in Texas that sought to undo the ban for all nonprofit entities. The IRS said e...
Ofira Bondorowsky, CEO of the Rosen JCC, announced that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the state budget, which includes a generous appropriation of over half a million dollars for the Jack & Lee Rosen Jewish Community Center. These funds will help expand senior programs and services and enhance security measures across the campus. “When the late Harris Rosen opened the campus in 2009, his vision was clear: to create a welcoming space where individuals of all ages, backgrounds and faiths could come together, grow and thrive. Today that vision is n...
By Aaron Bandler (JNS) — The Nysmith School, a private institution in Herndon, Va., discriminated against a Jewish family, which complained about “persistent and severe” antisemitism, by expelling its three children, according to a complaint that the Louis Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law filed with the office of the Virginia attorney general. The 40-year-old Northern Virginia school, where tuition runs from about $31,500 to $46,600 and which has an enrollment of about 500, refused to act to curb Jew-hatred on its campus and even...
(JNS) — Elon Musk’s X took its Grok artificial-intelligence offline on Tuesday after the program began branding itself “MechaHitler” and spreading antisemitic conspiracies. Users on the social-media platform noted that the newly updated large language model program had begun posting bigoted, pro-Nazi content when prompted. “These dudes on the pic, from Marx to Soros crew, beards n’ schemes, all part of the Jew,” the AI wrote in one post replying to a photo of eight Jewish men, including media host Ben Shapiro and Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y...
(JNS) — The strong support that Israel received from the United States in its short-lived war against Iran caused “a great change in our region” and could lead to peace, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Tuesday. “The coordination between our two countries — the coordination between an American president and an Israeli prime minister — has been unmatched,” he told reporters following a private meeting with U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). “It offers great promise for Israel, for America, for our region and for the wor...
(European Jewish Press via JNS) — “British Jews should leave the U.K. unless the government changes, and the Labour Party is responsible for fueling antisemitism across the country,” Israeli Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism told the Daily Mail on Tuesday. “Without a dramatic change of course by Britain’s political leadership, I see no future for Jewish life in England,” he said. “My recommendation to Jews in the U.K. is to consider leaving and make aliyah to the Land of Israel,” Chikli added. He recently gave the same a...
(JNS) — There may be no more damning indictment of higher education’s moral collapse than its willingness to accept vast sums of money from authoritarian regimes and terror sponsors. For all their lofty rhetoric about social justice, human rights, free speech and academic freedom, universities are proving that their true allegiance is to cash. Georgetown University, one of the nation’s most prestigious Jesuit institutions, is a glaring case in point. Georgetown proclaims its mission is to promote justice, compassion and the common good. Yet i...
(JNS) — Zionism is the unwavering support for a Jewish state in its ancestral homeland. It is the recognition that, as the indigenous people of Israel, Jews have the right to live in peace and security without denying the rights of others. It is not about exclusion. It’s about survival, dignity and self-determination after thousands of years of persecution and exile. Every few years, the World Zionist Congress, the legislative body for the World Zionist Organization, gives Jewish communities worldwide the power to choose their rep...
(JNS) — There are many unknowns in the aftermath of Israel’s 12-day war with Iran, but one thing is certain: It will spark renewed calls for that long-cherished diplomatic mirage of a two-state solution. It already has. Forgive me if I respond to calls for Palestinian statehood with profound skepticism, if not outright disbelief. It’s not just that the Hamas-led terror attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the broad support it received among Palestinians, has deepened Israelis distrust of Palestinians (assuming that was even possi...
(JNS) — When America’s largest teachers’ union severs ties with the Anti-Defamation League, it’s tempting to reach for the popcorn. After all, few organizations have done more to undermine Jewish security and moral clarity in recent years than the ADL — and few institutions have been more responsible for indoctrinating children with radical, antisemitic ideologies than the National Education Association. But the spectacle is no cause for amusement. It is, in fact, a grim warning — another signpost on the road to civilizational hell. Becau...
(JNS) — We Jews are in the worst of times. We are in an age of foolishness and of incredulity. We are in a season of darkness; in a winter of despair. We are challenged, to borrow from Neil Mach in his “Ask Phyliss Fannock,” with so much “malicious blather [that] craves a gullible audience.” We are under an onslaught from without, and we are being undermined from within. Truth is twisted; facts are meaningless. One recent example is the appearance of a website promoting the Antizionist Legal Studies Movement. This particular group is devoted t...
Some moments pierce through everything and demand to be written. The catastrophic flash flooding in central Texas is one of them. For those who missed it, the Guadalupe River rose more than 25 feet in under two hours. The violent flash flood swept through Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp near Hunt, Texas, as well as a nearby all-boys summer camp, Camp La Junta. While both were impacted, Camp Mystic took the brunt of the resulting devastation. When the flood hit, there were 750 girls, ages 8 to 17, there. As of now, 27 campers and...
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, 9 a.m., 407-647-3...
On Aug. 18, 1790, President George Washington wrote to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island. He assured them: “Everyone shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid.” He continued with words that the Jewish people, among many others, have carried close to heart for over two centuries: “The Government of the United States... gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.” It was a promise. It took time for it to become...
Jerusalem, Israel — A unique friendship and partnership between an Iranian and an Israeli has given birth to one of the most remarkable hands-on tourist experiences in Israel, drawing interest and participants from all over the world at a time when tourism in Israel is down, but when the importance of solidarity with Israel has never been more important. Root & Branch is a unique partnership between Marziyeh Amirizadeh and her nonprofit, NewPersia.org, and Jonathan Feldstein and the Genesis 123...
(JNS) — Wikipedia editors decided to roll a page on the “destruction of Israel in Iranian policy,” which garnered more than 62,000 page views in the past 30 days, into a larger article called “Iran-Israel relations.” Experts told JNS that, while discussions were underway on whether to delete the page or combine it with another, it ought to be a standalone article. Max Abrahms, an associate professor of political science at Northeastern University, said at the time that if the page was deleted or merged, “Israel will be less popular, the Islamic...
Most people think of Cuba as a land of cigars, salsa, sun-soaked beaches and antique cars. But to me, it symbolizes perseverance and the roots of a resilient Jewish community that contributed to the state of Israel. For many years now, Cubans have made aliyah to Israel to look for a better life, including my parents. As Nazi Germany destroyed Europe, a few nations offered refuge to Jewish people, while others, like the United States and Canada, enforced strict immigration laws. Cuba, with its...
Makes 4 burgers. 1/ 4 cup diced yellow onion 2 T. avocado oil or neutral oil, plus 2 T. for frying. 1/2 cup chopped spinach leaves 1 minced garlic cloves 1 lb. kosher ground chicken chicken 1/2 -1 T. fresh basil or 1/2 tsp. dried basil 1/8 tsp. dried mint (optional) 1/2 tsp. thyme 1/2 tsp. dried oregano 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. pepper 1/4 cup bread crumbs 1 egg Bread wraps, pitas or buns to serve burgers. Garnish each burger with a lettuce leaf and a tomato slice. In a large saucepan, heat 2 T....
(JNS) - According to Steve Rubin, director of Tourism in the Jerusalem Development Authority, Jerusalem is the capital and most populous city in Israel as well as being holy to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. As the current war passed the 21-month mark, Jerusalem is also starting to bounce back as "a world leader in tourism and most certainly as the epicenter of culture in Israel," he said. In an interview in the JNS Studio in Jerusalem on July 7, Rubin said, "Since Oct. 7 [2023], Jerusalem...
