Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 37
(JNS) - The head of a prominent group of American Christian media broadcasters urged members in the association to cease using the term "West Bank" when reporting about Israel's biblical heartland. The announcement by the National Religious Broadcasters during their annual Christian Media Convention in Nashville, Tennessee, comes amid an intense media war of narratives in reporting about Israel as the war against Hamas in Gaza rages for a fifth month. "NRB opposes the use of the erroneous term...
(Ettinger Report via JNS) - FBI Director Christopher A. Wray visited Israel on Feb. 14, 2024, meeting with leaders of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency and Israel Police. The goal of the visit was to benefit from Israel's unique urban and tunnel warfare experience against Islamic terrorists, who are advancing the vision of Iran's ayatollahs and the Muslim Brotherhood. Director Wray considers Israel's to be the most effective battle-tested laboratory for the U.S. armed forces, law enforcement...
(JNS) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to not cave to international pressure demanding a ceasefire in the war against Hamas. "There is considerable pressure on Israel at home and abroad to stop the war before we achieve all of its goals, including a deal at any price to free the hostages," said Netanyahu during a visit to the IDF Sky Rider Unit at the Zikim Base along the border with the Gaza Strip. "We very much want to achieve another release and we are prepared to go far but...
(JNS) — Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh submitted the collective resignation of his entire government on Monday, the P.A.’s official Wafa news agency reported, amid talk of a unity deal with the Hamas terrorist organization. During a Cabinet meeting in Ramallah, Shtayyeh explained that “this decision comes in light of the political, security and economic developments related to the aggression against Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, and the unprecedented escalation in the West Bank, including the city of Jerus...
Jewish joy is blooming at Temple Israel, and so are the vegetables in the Gan Chesed: Garden of Kindness. Officially installed in October of last year through the generosity of the Magness Family Children's Play Area Fund and the hard work of the garden committee led by Temple Israel member Lauren Brown, the community garden has been growing beautiful winter produce. Some of that produce has even been served at TI Supper Club Shabbat dinners. February's Supper Club included baba ganoush made...
On Feb. 15, the isles of Dillard's Altamonte Mall were transformed into a runway of compassion and style as over 200 attendees gathered for the annual Jewish Pavilion Fashion Show. This glittering event served a dual purpose: to raise funds for the Jewish Pavilion and to pay homage to Lisa Eichenblatt, an esteemed board member, sponsor, realtor specializing in seniors, and community leader. With the support of sponsors from the Jewish Pavilion, attendees were treated to a breakfast buffet....
The Rosen JCC will be hosting an open house for our Early Childhood Learning Center (ECLC). Choosing a preschool for your child is the first step in their education. The Open House will be March 6th 9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. or 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. and March 7th 9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Your child deserves a high-quality, evidence based early childhood education in a caring and nurturing environment. The program offers an expanded STEAM education focused on lessons based on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics. Come learn how our award...
ORLANDO (JTA) — Ethan Smith ranks fifth in his New Jersey high school class, scored high on the SAT and aced a full slate of five Advanced Placement tests last year. On Oct. 1, he submitted his application to a nearby Ivy League school, the University of Pennsylvania. Six days later, Hamas attacked Israel, launching a war that has been accompanied by a reported spike in antisemitism in the United States — including on college campuses. About two months after that, Penn President Liz Magill told Congress that calling for the genocide of Jew...
(JNS) — The Knesset plenum on Wednesday voted 99-11 to back the government’s decision to reject any unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood, amid reports the Biden administration is considering such a move. All coalition lawmakers and most members of the opposition Yesh Atid, National Unity and Yisrael Beiteinu parties voted in favor of supporting Sunday’s Cabinet statement against “international diktats regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians.” The Labor Party boycotted the vote and its members were not in attendanc...
(JNS) — The Israel Defense Forces in the coming days will start an internal investigation into the military’s response to the Oct. 7 Hamas-led massacre and the period preceding the cross-border invasion. Army commanders will be leading the probe, including from the Gaza Division; Unit 8200, the Military Intelligence Directorate’s main information-gathering unit; the Southern Command; and the Operations Directorate, responsible for preparing the IDF for war. The investigation is expected to conclude towards May, after which external inves...
(JNS) — Sixty-three percent of Israeli Jews oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state, and most believe terrorism will either stay the same (27.5 percent) or increase (44 percent) should one be created, according to the Israel Democracy Institute’s eleventh War in Gaza survey, published on Wednesday. The survey puts the majority of Israeli Jews at odds with the Biden administration, the European Union and other international players pushing Palestinian statehood in the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre. It also underscores the diffe...
By Mitchell Bard (JNS) - The Biden administration is trying to pressure Israel to accept its idyllic vision of the Middle East by threatening to recognize a Palestinian state. The Israeli government should answer in the immortal words of actor Clint Eastwood in the "Dirty Harry" films: "Go ahead. Make my day." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should explain what will happen the day after the United States makes its announcement. Israel will recognize "Palestine" and inform the...
(JNS) — When I was a child, my grandmother called me her “little shiksa.” In Yiddish, shiksa means a non-Jewish woman. This was meant as a compliment. My grandmother was a glamorous woman who knew a thing or two about beauty and fashion. I loved her immensely, so I clung to the nickname she gave me with pride. At the time, American beauty as shown in magazines and movies was pretty singular: white skin, blue eyes and an upturned nose, the likes of Farrah Fawcett and Christie Brinkley. Dark-skinned Barbie dolls did not exist. At the time, it wa...
(JNS) — While Israeli commandos rescued two elderly men being held hostage in Gaza, Hamas supporters in America were taking an elderly man hostage in Washington, D.C. Hamas may be losing in Gaza, but it’s winning in Michigan. U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib is now the latest Michigan Muslim terror activist to urge Hamas supporters in the state to reject Biden in the primary by casting an “uncommitted” vote. According to Tlaib, who became the only member of Congress to refuse to vote to condemn Hamas rapes of Jewish women, her goal is to “create...
(Jewish Journal via JNS) — It is hard not to despair when one reads about the billions of dollars poured into Gaza, where a “Singapore on the Mediterranean” could have been created. Instead, the funds were used to purchase weapons and build tunnels in an attempt to destroy Israel. It is hard not to despair when, 80 years after the Holocaust, antisemitism has returned with a vengeance, including on the campuses of many universities. It is hard not to despair when political correctness—a movement intended to be inclusive and non-dis...
(CAMERA via JNS) — Her history is so replete with antisemitic rhetoric that multiple governments have condemned her. She doesn’t believe Israel has a right to self-defense. She has legitimized Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre by claiming that Palestinians “are actually forced to resort to armed struggle.” Just over a week ago, she even claimed that the Oct. 7 attack—the deadliest mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust—was not antisemitic. Yet, bewilderingly, CNN once again decided to amplify this antisemite’s horrific allegations against the Jew...
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...
(JTA) — At least one Israeli was killed in an early morning shooting attack on the highway leading from the Israeli West Bank settlement of Ma’aleh Adumim to Jerusalem. Eleven others were wounded in the terror attack Thursday morning, one seriously. The three gunmen were killed at the scene by security forces. The attack occurred amid Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, and amid an accompanying rise in violence in the West Bank. Hours earlier, a house in northern Israel was hit by a missile fired from Lebanon. Another missile shot by the Houth...
(JTA) - Last summer, Jared Armstrong traveled from his adopted home of Israel back to the United States to confront a problem - running basketball clinics across the country in a bid to improve Black-Jewish relations. Now, following Hamas' Oct. 7 invasion of Israel, the professional basketball player is bringing his clinics to the southern coastal city of Ashkelon, where he lives, aiming to provide kids with a diversion and a chance to have fun as the war continues to rage just miles away in...
(JNS) — France confirmed that 45 Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza have received urgent medications that entered the enclave over a month ago in a deal brokered by Paris and Doha. The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs’ deputy spokesperson expressed this to local media, and the government ministry also contacted the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group representing the families of those captured by Hamas on Oct. 7, which confirmed the exchange in a statement. “We wish to personally thank President Emmanuel Macron of Franc...
What started as an idea in 2023 for a Temple Israel Men’s Club camping weekend turned into a full Shabbaton held Feb. 2-4, 2024, at Lake Louisa State Park in Clermont. The cabins were comfortable and well-stocked two-bedroom houses with screened-in porches overlooking Dixie Lake. The 10 participants enjoyed kosher food and reading Torah against the backdrop of a natural Florida environment. “Many of us have had experience at Jewish summer camp growing up so we decided to re-create the best par...
The instinct for many older people is to stay at home as long as possible. Even if a person at home has visitors, he or she may still be alone most of the time, especially if he or she no longer drives. One option is to hire a companion care company to facilitate your transportation needs. Another option is to contact Go Go Grandparent, 855-464-6872 (an Uber service geared toward the elderly). Jewish Family Services, 407-644-7593, offers a RIDE program for medical appointments, etc. There are also public transportation services such as Send a...
(JNS) - A rare multi-compartment stone container dating back around 2,000 years has been revealed to the public for the first time at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. The box, carved from soft limestone, measures 30 x 30 cm (about 12 x 12 inches) and and is divided into nine equal-sized interior compartments. The box was discovered in a destruction layer inside an ancient store dated to the end of the Second Temple period that once stood alongside the Pilgrimage Road in the City of David. The...
(JTA) — Pearl Berg, thought to be the oldest Jewish person in the world and the third oldest American, died Feb. 1 in Los Angeles. She was 114. A philanthropist active in her local Hadassah chapter, Berg was married for 58 years to Mark Berg, a businessman and investor. He died in 1989. “She maybe had a sip of Sabbath wine but she didn’t drink, she didn’t smoke, she ate sensibly, she had good emotional balance and she clearly had remarkable genes,” Berg’s youngest son, Robert Berg, told the Los Angeles Times. Berg was born Oct. 1, 1909, in In...
(JTA) - A bronze statue of the late Jewish singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse was defaced when a sticker with the Palestinian flag was placed over the statue's Star of David necklace. The management of Camden Market, where the statue is located, said the sticker was removed and that the incident had been reported to police, who are investigating. "Camden Market remains first and foremost, a place of diversity - a global destination that welcomes everyone," said the statement, which was posted to...
