Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 126 - 150 of 152
Just when you thought Secretary of State John Kerry couldn’t get any weaker on the problem of Palestinian incitement and violence, he did. Kerry met with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas in Amman, Jordan, on Feb. 21, against a backdrop of daily Palestinian stabbings of Israeli women and children, and non-stop anti-Jewish incitement in the official PA press, radio, and television. Yet the secretary of state did not threaten to withhold the Obama administration’s annual $500 million aid package to the PA over the inc... Full story
Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is backtracking, a little, on her remark last week that “there is a special place in hell” for women who failed to endorse Hillary Clinton. Writing on the op-ed page of the New York Times, Albright did not apologize or withdraw the comment, but she did concede that it was “undiplomatic” of her to say what she said. Indeed, friends of Israel have had bitter experiences with Albright’s “undiplomatic moments.” During the 2014 Gaza War, Albright told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that Israel’s anti-terrorism a... Full story
France’s announcement that it will try to convene an international conference to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been strongly criticized by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But before anyone concludes that only “right-wingers” oppose such a conference, it’s worth recalling that one of the most outspoken critics of the conference idea was prominent peace process player Yitzhak Rabin. The year was 1985, and Rabin—later the co-signer of the Oslo Accords with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat—was Israel’s defense minis... Full story
The U.S. State Department has been so pro-Palestinian for so long that it might seem startling to suggest that there is a current of anti-Palestinian racism at Foggy Bottom. But just consider: The official Palestinian Authority (PA) daily newspaper, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, published an article on Jan. 21 suggesting that the U.S. carried out the 9/11 attacks in order to have a pretext for causing “creative anarchy” in the Arab world. The article, by regular columnist Dr. Osama Al-Fara, claimed that there are “many questions” about 9/11 “that p... Full story
“I am proud of my son,” the father of 16-year-old Morad Adais, of the Palestinian village of Dura, declared this week. What do you suppose was the occasion for this burst of parental pride? What was it that young Morad did which so pleased his father? An impressive report card? Helping with home repairs? Taking care of younger siblings? No, what Morad did to bring honor to the Adais family was that he broke into the home of a young Israeli Jewish mother of six and brutally stabbed her to death. Not that the elder Adais is the exception. On the... Full story
It’s that dirty little secret nobody wants to talk about, because it makes everybody uncomfortable. It hovers in the background, it’s hidden in the closet, and it lingers in the recesses of our minds. But it’s there, written in black and white in the Oslo Accords, and it can’t be erased: the Palestinian Authority (PA) is obligated to surrender to Israel any terrorist whose extradition the Israelis request. Which is what makes the ongoing standoff in Bulgaria such an inconvenience! A Palestinian terrorist who escaped from an Israeli prison... Full story
State Department officials and Middle East “experts” are always warning us that if the Palestinian Authority collapses, Israel will be harmed because Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation will come to an end. But an incident in Ramallah this week makes one wonder if that “security cooperation” really exists at all. The Palestinian news agency “Ma’an” boasted on Dec. 22 that “Palestinian police ordered Israeli Border Police forces out of the Beituniya area of western Ramallah and threatened to use their weapons if they refused, local... Full story
The Arab journalist whom the New York Times has hired to report on Israel has come up with the most “terrifying” example yet of Israeli oppression: the issuing of parking tickets to Palestinians. The reporter, Diaa Hadid, who describes herself as “an Australian of Lebanese & Egyptian descent,” previously served as public relations officer for the pro-Palestinian group “Ittijah.” Its director, Amir Makhloul, is in an Israeli prison for espionage on behalf of Hezbollah terrorists. Hadid’s resume also includes a stint as a columnist for the anti-... Full story
Dear Imam Abdul Rahmam Ahmad: I read the text of the condolence letter that you wrote the Jewish community of Boston following the recent murder of 18-year-old Ezra Schwartz by Palestinian terrorists. As the father of a young woman who was murdered by Palestinian terrorists in Israel in 1995, I appreciated the fact that you, as the imam of the Islamic Center of New England, spoke out. I have no reason to doubt the sincerity of your expression of “great sadness” that Ezra “had his life brutally cut short in Israel...” I am glad to know that, a... Full story
A memorial ceremony was held at Ben Gurion Airport just before the body of 18-year-old Ezra Schwartz was flown to the United States for burial last Saturday night. William Grant, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, was in attendance. Yet if the ceremony had taken place at the site of the attack in which Ezra was murdered, U.S. diplomats would have boycotted the event. That’s because the attack took place in Gush Etzion, and believe it or not, the policy of the U.S. government is to boycott the funerals of American victims o... Full story
Terrorists who get caught before they strike don’t usually attract much attention. But the arrest of Mrs. Ayman Kanjou deserves extra attention, because she defies every stereotype we have ever been taught about Palestinian terrorists. Men are presumed the most likely to become terrorists, since in Muslim society they are the ones who enjoy various freedoms, while women are sheltered and carefully watched by their husbands or fathers. They didn’t stop Mrs. Kanjou. Young unmarried men are the ones whom we expect to get caught up in rad... Full story
The heartbreaking murder of Rabbi Eitam Henkin and his wife Naama, gunned down by Palestinian terrorists in front of their children, will generate tear-filled eulogies and anguished recitations of tehillim (Psalms) throughout the Jewish world. As they should. But then what? The depressingly familiar post-terrorist attack ritual is already unfolding before our eyes. The Obama administration has issued a formalistic condemnation, adding its standard, amoral appeal: "We urge all sides to maintain... Full story
During the past few days, Arabs in Jerusalem stoned a Jew to death in the Armon HaNetziv neighborhood, wounded three Israeli policemen in the Jabel Mukaber neighborhood, and hurled rocks and firebombs at policemen on the Temple Mount. How did the Obama administration respond? By condemning “all sides.” White House spokesman Josh Earnest put it this way at his daily press briefing: “The United States remains deeply concerned by the recent violence and escalating tensions surrounding Haram al-Sharif, or the Temple Mount, as it’s also known.... Full story
The Obama administration announced Sept. 8 that it is putting Mohammed Deif and three other Palestinian terrorists on its “designated terrorists” list. That’s basically a slap on the wrist—for someone who should be subjected to U.S. prosecution, not U.S. name-calling. Deif was trained in the art of bomb making by the infamous Hamas leader Yehya Ayyash, nicknamed “The Engineer.” When Ayyash was killed in 1995, Deif was chosen as his successor. Deif then masterminded bombings in which hundreds of Israelis, as well as a number of Americans,... Full story
You won’t read about it in the New York Times or the Washington Post. But this week’s arrest of four Palestinian terrorists who were plotting to attack a Jewish holy site tells you everything you need to know about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict today. The reason you won’t hear about it in the American news media is because the terrorists were caught before they struck. Apparently intentions don’t count. No casualties, no news coverage—and even when there are casualties, there isn’t always news coverage. Did your daily newspaper report abou... Full story
An Israeli soldier who shot back at an Arab who was trying to murder him is now under investigation, following protests by self-described human rights activists. Given the focus of the activists’ concern, perhaps it would be more accurate to call them terrorists’ rights activists. The activists, from the B’Tselem non-governmental organization, have released a highly edited five-second piece of security camera footage (from a nearby gas station) that shows part of the incident. Even with the selective editing, you can clearly see the terro... Full story
My eye was drawn this week to one of those little news items that appear in the Israeli media, but never make it into the American press. I call them the near-misses: the bomb that was discovered just before it went off, the bullet that struck just inches from its intended target. No casualties? That apparently dictates that the news is not fit to print. This time it was a shower of rocks that were hurled at an Israeli automobile on the afternoon of May 8. Chen Borochov made the mistake of driving through an Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem known... Full story
The president of a normal, civilized country naturally is anxious to distance himself from any suspicion of ever having had a connection to a terrorist. That’s how President Barack Obama reacted when the Bill Ayers controversy erupted. But the recent decision by the Palestinian Authority’s president to give awards to three Arab terrorists reminded us that some governments are neither normal nor civilized. Ayers, the co-founder of the 1960s Weather Underground terrorist group, was involved in planting bombs at New York City police hea... Full story
As part of the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) ongoing campaign to isolate and delegitimize Israel, the Palestinian Football (Soccer) Association is trying to get Israel suspended from international soccer’s governing body. The Palestinians are seeking to have an anti-Israel resolution considered at next month’s annual congress, in Zurich, of the Federation Internationale de Football Association, better known as FIFA. The resolution will argue that Israel should be suspended because it does not sufficiently permit free access between Pales... Full story
President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, Denis McDonough, used his appearance at the recent J Street conference to take a carefully aimed jab at Israel’s prime minister. McDonough was irked that prior to the recent Israeli election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that in view of radical Islam’s global rise, he did not expect a Palestinian state could safely be created in his lifetime. Then, in a post-election interview, the prime minister clarified that while he was pointing to the hazards of such a state, he had not withdrawn the p... Full story
Did you know that the United States Senate has been underwriting a series of events publicly glorifying a Palestinian terrorist who murdered an American citizen—in fact, a senator’s niece? Well, it is, and this outrage must come to an end. The terrorist’s name is Dalal Mughrabi. On March 9, 1978, she headed a squad of 13 Palestinian terrorists who set out from Lebanon towards Israel, in several small boats. They were members of Fatah, the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). At the time, Yasser Arafat was chair... Full story
A major book publisher, deluged with criticism for leaving Israel off a map in its Middle East Atlas, has apologized and withdrawn the book from circulation. You don’t have to know the name of the publisher to know one thing for certain: it’s not the Palestinian Authority’s publishing division. Because if it were, there would be no outcry, no apology, no withdrawal. Why is there such a double standard? Before answering that question, let’s acknowledge the good news. HarperCollins, a major American publisher, this week apologized for omittin... Full story
The scenario has been repeated more times than I can remember: Palestinian terrorists murder Israelis. The Obama administration condemns the attack. And that’s it. No change in U.S. policy, no penalties or consequences for those who encourage and praise the killers. The Palestinians are, quite literally, getting away with murder. Secretary of State John Kerry condemned the Nov. 18 slaughter of four Jews in a synagogue in Jerusalem’s Har Nof neighborhood. He even acknowledged that it was “a pure result of incitement, of calls for days of rage... Full story
Amid the ongoing controversy over the Metropolitan Opera’s performance of “The Death of Klinghoffer,” little has been said about the Palestinian leader who masterminded the attack in which Leon Klinghoffer was murdered. The decision to hijack the Achille Lauro cruise ship in 1985 was made by Muhammad Zaidan, also known as Muhammad Abbas or Abu Abbas, leader of the Palestine Liberation Front. (Not to be confused with his comrade-in-arms Mahmoud Abbas, the current president of the Palestinian Authority.) Four of Abu Abbas’s agents seized the shi... Full story
On Aug. 30, Palestinian terrorists set a Jewish man on fire in Jerusalem, and on Sept. 1, other Palestinian terrorists tried to set an entire bus full of Israeli Jews on fire. Yet I couldn’t find any mention of these horrific attacks in the New York Times, the Washington Post, or any other major American news outlet. Why is it that news about burning Jews is not considered fit to print? The first of the firebomb attacks took place in Jerusalem’s City of David neighborhood. A Molotov cocktail—a flaming bottle of gasoline that explodes upon conta... Full story
