Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JTA) — The Irish band Kneecap displayed a large anti-Israel message during its set Friday at Coachella, a music festival held in the California desert. A series of messages projected behind the band accused Israel of genocide in Gaza and condemned the United States for its support for Israel’s military. The messages concluded with a small phrase on top of a larger one: “F–k Israel. Free Palestine.” The progressive Twitch streamer Hasan Piker beamed the performance to his millions of followers, widening Kneecap’s reach beyond the estimated 125,...
(JTA) — A Pennsylvania man will be charged with terrorism and attempted murder after allegedly firebombing the official residence of Gov. Josh Shapiro, hours after Shapiro and his family hosted a Passover seder there. On Saturday, Shapiro posted a picture of a table set for the seder on social media, with the message, “From the Shapiro family’s Seder table to yours, happy Passover and Chag Pesach Sameach!” On Sunday, he shared that Pennsylvania State Police officers had awoken him and his family at 2 a.m. to alert them that an arsonist had set...
(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...
(JTA) - Some Jewish stories of the last year have been impossible to miss: Israel at war, antisemitism around the world, a U.S. presidential election featuring Jewish politicians. Others may have slipped under the radar, drowned out by the drumbeat of breaking news. Here, we draw your attention to eight such stories, starting with one we published at the very beginning of the year. The magical life of Albert Levis, a scholar of storytelling who has his own improbable tale Albert Levis, in his la...
(JTA) - As 2024 came to a close, we looked back and mourned the Jewish icons who have left outsized legacies on politics, the arts, sports and everything in between In chronological order, here is a selection of obituaries of 18 notable Jews who died in 2024. Pearl Berg At the time of her death, Pearl Berg was thought to be the oldest Jewish person in the world, and the ninth-oldest overall. A philanthropist active in her local Hadassah chapter, Berg was married for 58 years to Mark Berg, a...
(JTA) — Iran has executed a 20-year-old Jewish man who killed a man in a 2022 fight after the victim’s family refused to negotiate an alternative punishment. Arvin Ghahremani, 20, had been scheduled to be executed in May but received a stay after Jewish and human rights groups around the world called attention to his case. Ghahremani was arrested more than two years ago on charges that he had killed a man with whom he had a financial dispute. In a report published Monday in Mizan Online, an Iranian news agency, the prosecutor for the city of...
(JTA) — For months, the United States has signaled that Yahya Sinwar was the biggest impediment to a ceasefire deal in the Israel-Hamas war, with the Hamas leader unwilling to consider any scenarios that would require his group to cede control over the Palestinian territory. But does that mean his death, announced on Oct. 17, means the war could soon come to an end? President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris say they think it should. But both Israel and Hamas have signaled that they plan to keep fighting. “Yahya Sinwar, the lea...
(JTA) — After last school year’s pervasive anti-Israel protests, spring encampments, and an unprecedented rise in antisemitic incidents on campus, Hillel International and campus Hillels have been working overtime to ensure that college and university campuses this fall are safer, more welcoming, and more inclusive for Jewish students as the new school year begins. “We know Jewish students are coming back to campus with hope and excitement, but also with real concerns and fears,” said Adam Lehman, Hillel International president and CEO. “The me...
Written by Phelim McAleer, the play ‘October 7’ – with performances now through June 16 at the Actors Temple in New York – tells the story of Israel’s darkest day by using the compelling and dramatic accounts of those who lived through it performed by a cast of 14. ‘October 7’ is a 100 percent verbatim play consisting entirely of stories from those who were there. The interviews were conducted by veteran Irish journalists McAleer and Ann McElhinney who traveled to Israel in the immediate afterma...
(JTA) — Columbia University has rejected a demand to divest from Israel and has failed to reach an agreement with pro-Palestinian student protesters who are occupying a portion of the school’s New York City campus, according to a letter sent Monday morning, April 28, to the community by President Minouche Shafik. “All year, we have sought to facilitate opportunities for our students and faculty to engage in constructive dialogue, and we have provided ample space for protests and vigils to take place peacefully and without disruptions to acade...
(JTA) - Ron DeSantis' decision to end his presidential campaign leaves Nikki Haley as the only serious Republican challenger to Donald Trump, potentially consolidating her support among Jewish voters and donors in the party who seek an alternative to the former president. Trump responded to DeSantis' exit by ramping up his attacks on Haley, the former South Carolina governor and ambassador to the United Nations who has close ties to the pro-Israel establishment and has been a favorite among Jewish and pro-Israel donors who want to avoid a...
(JTA) — Political leaders from around the globe have condemned Hamas’ sweeping attack on Israel and pledged their support for Israel. U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, following earlier conversations between National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi. The United States “unequivocally condemns the unprovoked attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israeli civilians,” National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement. There is neve...
They say that to travel is to live, and for 25 participants, attending one of Jewish National Fund-USA’s missions to Israel felt like “sunshine” during their first international trip since the start of the pandemic. According to Dianne Ruderman, a JNF-USA partner (donor) and Sunshine Tour participant, the group of active adults ages 55+ were “treated like royalty,” during the 10-day luxury “bucket list” vacation and got to experience “the Israel [they’d] never heard about.” Although Ruderman had been to Israel before, this was her first time...
(JTA) — President-elect Joe Biden filled the months before Inauguration Day lining up a slate of Cabinet secretaries, assistants and advisors, many of them Jewish. Biden’s choices reflect a diverse cross-section of American Jewry and possess expertise gleaned from decades of experience in government, science and medicine and law. Here’s a rundown of the Jewish names you should know as the Biden administration begins. Antony Blinken, secretary of state Blinken, a longtime Biden advisor with an extensive diplomacy resume, is the stepson of a Holo...
(JTA) - The final book published by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks before he died in November is the Jewish Book Council's top book for 2020. "Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times," published in the United States in September, was awarded the Everett Family Foundation Book of the Year when the Jewish Book Council announced its 2020 National Jewish Book Awards on Wednesday. Sacks shared his vision for a moral future - one that he said would include an end to "cancel culture," changes in...
(JTA) — 70 Faces Media, the publisher of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, has acquired the New York Jewish Week brand. In a deal completed late last month, the 45-year-old Jewish Week will join the growing stable of brands at 70 Faces Media, which also publishes Alma, Kveller, My Jewish Learning and JTA Hebrew. The Jewish Week will retain a focus on Jewish New York, while drawing on 70 Faces Media’s experience and resources as North America’s largest and most diverse Jewish media organ...
BUENOS AIRES (JTA) — The Jewish owner of a large Argentine hypermarket chain has started selling kosher meat for far less than competitors this month, claiming that the country’s kosher supervision industry has artificially driven up costs for consumers. Roberto Goldfarb, the founder and CEO of Diarco, first announced his intentions in a call in May with El Lazo, a Jewish youth center associated with the Chabad Lubavitch movement. On the call he called the kosher supervision industry a “mafia” that cons buyers and charges more than necessary “w...
(JTA) - Abraham Foxman, the former longtime leader of the Anti-Defamation League, has broken his tradition of not endorsing political candidates to back Joe Biden, arguing that President Donald Trump is a "demagogue" whose reelection would be a "body blow for our country and our community." Foxman laid out his thinking in an opinion piece for The Times of Israel in which he asserted that Trump's presidency has "given succor to bigots, supremacists, and those seeking to divide our society" and...
(JTA)—At this point, we know well how to wash our hands to protect ourselves from the coronavirus. But how do we soothe our souls? When we recently asked for stories about how local Jewish communities are adapting to the public health threat, we received plenty of examples of changes that are underway, from “Spock” greetings instead of handshakes to chopsticks as Torah pointers. We also got a request for spiritual guidance. So we reached out to several rabbis around the world and asked them to offer their advice. We’ll update this page with ad...
NEW YORK (JTA)—The spread of COVID-19, a new coronavirus, is reshaping Jewish communities. We’re collecting the news flowing in from across the globe here. (If you want to skip the minute-by-minute updates and just understand the broad ways that Jewish life is changing because of the coronavirus, we’ve got you covered here.) As always, we want to hear from you. Have questions or tips? Email us. 2:50 p.m. Quarantine tally in Israel rises: After Israel added new travel restrictions, the number of Israelis estimated as being under quarantine becau...
(JTA)—After weeks of skirting questions about whether he would attend the annual conference held by AIPAC, Bernie Sanders has declared his intentions: No, he won’t go, and not because his schedule won’t allow it. In a two-tweet statement, Sanders said he would skip the conference—a traditional can’t-miss for presidential candidates—because he is “concerned about the platform AIPAC provides for leaders who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights.” “As president, I will support the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians and do every...
NEW YORK (JTA)-Philissa Cramer, a co-founder and editor at large of the award-winning education news organization Chalkbeat, has been named editor in chief of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Cramer comes to JTA after 11 years at Chalkbeat, an independent journalism nonprofit covering American education with bureaus in seven locations. She was a co-founder of Chalkbeat's predecessor, GothamSchools, and served as bureau chief of the site's New York bureau; managed editors and reporters across the...
NEW YORK (JTA)-All of the gloom and doom that many in the Jewish community have felt toward the end of this decade should not obscure the fact that the 2010s were full of innovation. Yes, there was an alarming rise in anti-Semitism across the U.S. and the world, which culminated in several violent attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions. But that didn't stop the community from growing, evolving and adapting to modern life. Here's a look back at 10 huge developments from the past 10 years that...
(JTA)-The 2010s were nothing if not turbulent. The decade brought us unprecedented political polarization, war and increasing conflict in Israel, dozens of horrific mass shootings, and a new age of election hacking and private data collection enabled by the proliferation of social media. It was capped by arguably the most shocking presidential election in American history. These are the Jewish figures who steered us through it all, and who had the largest impact on life and culture in the last 1...
(JTA)—For many Jews around the world, there’s probably no love lost for 2019. As the year draws to a close, the Jewish community continues to grapple with the continued rise of global anti-Semitism—one major community in Europe is facing the possible election as prime minister of a man who many Jews consider an anti-Semite. And Israel is caught in the grip of political paralysis following two fruitless elections (with a prime minister facing prosecution for corruption). Meanwhile, with a U.S. presidential election looming next year that is su...
