Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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I think I have read almost every commentary on the Nation-State Law that the Knesset passed last week by a slim margin (62 in favor, 55 against). Most of the commentary has been by people with more experience than I have in analyzing such laws and perhaps even more intelligence. And the arguments on both sides, for and against, all make sense given the differing perspectives of the writers. But without going into the merits of the law, or the lack thereof, once again the passage of the Nation-State Law demonstrates the government’s inability t...
Jewish tradition teaches that when our ancestors left Egypt 3,500+ years ago they were pursued by the Egyptian military still bent on their destruction. As they stood at the water’s edge faced with two very bad choices, the hand of God split the Reed Sea so our ancestors could cross on “dry” land and evade their pursuers. And when salvation came and everyone had safely crossed to the other side, the waters returned to their normal state and drowned the Egyptian enemy that had enslaved them for over 400 years. The angels, as the story relat...
Oftentimes the impact of Israel on the Western world is large enough to amaze even those of us who live here and experience the economic miracle every day. That’s the reaction many of us had this week when the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released foreign direct investment (FDI) data for 2016. The figures show that Israel is the 13th largest source worldwide for foreign direct investment into the U.S. at $55.4 million, roughly equal to that of Belgium, Australia and Sweden. What is even more impressive is that this is an a...
For those who have been confused by the incredible amount of verbiage that has surfaced on the Iran nuclear agreement since it was signed, the best analysis I have read appeared in this morning’s Ha’aretz written by Ari Shavit, titled “The Iran deal: From Thriller to Horror Story.” While I often disagree with Shavit’s politics, his analysis, which is totally bereft of political commentary but is based on his detailed reading of the entire 159-page document, is worthy of perusal and a short précis follows: The good news: The Iranians agreed not...
One cannot help but wonder what it is about Obama that (a) makes him seemingly so hostile to Israel, (b) gives him so much trouble identifying killings such as those in the Hyper Cacher market in Paris last month as anti-Semitic and (c) impels him to give history lessons on the Crusades at a multicultural religious gathering as he did at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington last week? That last item was later referred to by an African-American author in attendance as “verbal rape.” To begin to understand the president’s point of referenc...
Sunday’s solidarity event in Paris was, for this viewer, a day full of anomalies and disappointments. First there was the march of world leaders itself. There, in the front row was Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu with, to his left, the President of Mali, French President Hollande, German Chancellor Merkel, the head of the European Union, Palestinian Authority President (seemingly for life) Mahmoud Abbas and, next to him, the King of Jordan. Firstly, one wonders how Mahmoud Abbas got there and why? Is he really among the ranks of world l...
Yit’gadal v’yit’kadash sh’mei raba... May His great Name grow exalted and sanctified How do parents standing at the gravesite of teenage children say this in the spirit in which it is meant? Having been there myself the only option is to draw strength from the three Fs, family, friends and faith so that in the face of indescribable tragedy one can still sincerely affirm one’s faith in the Almighty. b’al’ma di v’ra khir’utei... in the world that He created as He willed. Is this really the plan that God had for the world he created and willed? Or...
Earlier this week the application of JStreet, which calls itself “The political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans,” was denied membership in the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations (COP). While I personally find their stance on Israel and how they approach Israeli issues in Washington unhelpful from the viewpoint of someone who lives here, nevertheless they deserve a seat on the COP. To understand that position one needs to look at several critical factors beyond whether one agrees or disagrees with the pro...
Sunday’s vote by Israel’s Cabinet to approve the release of 104 Palestinian terrorists with blood on their hands may have been the right move in the context of the re-started peace talks, but definitely at the wrong time. As a business person I enter into negotiations with prospective clients all the time in an effort to craft an agreement that addresses the needs of both of us: the client’s need to have work done to his/her satisfaction and our need to be properly compensated for the work we do. But we never enter into a negotiation by saying...
