Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS) KFAR ADUMIM, Israel - It was four decades ago that three childhood friends from New Jersey who had immigrated to Israel heard of a young Jerusalem rabbinical student who was looking for scuba divers who could help him find snails off the Mediterranean coast. The three young men knew nothing about snails or the centuries-old search for the biblical blue known as tekhelet, but it was an adventure that would change their lives. "It became a hobby that became an obsession that tuned into a...
Two Israeli embassy staffers were shot and killed on Wednesday evening outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. The male victim was identified as Yaron Lischinsky. His final post on social media was a repost of a message condemning the United Nations' false claim that 14,000 infants in Gaza were facing imminent starvation, labeling it a modern-day blood libel. According to Israeli Ambassador to Berlin Ron Prosor, who taught him as a master student, Lischinsky was a Germany-born...
After a gunman murdered two people outside a Jewish museum, a wide range of major Jewish groups has asked the federal government to sharply increase its funding for religious institutions’ security to $1 billion. The request is one of several made by the coalition in the wake of the attack outside the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday, when a shooter killed two employees of the Israeli embassy. In the wake of the shooting, Jewish security analysts are assessing what went wrong, and how such attacks can be prevented in the future. One piece o...
(JNS) - A 2,300-year-old ring set has been discovered in Jerusalem's ancient City of David. It is the second such find at the same site within the last year, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Wednesday. The small size of the ring, gold and set with a red gemstone, indicates that it belonged to a youngster living in Jerusalem during the Second Temple period more than two millennia ago, the state-run archaeological body said. The member of the excavation team who found the previous...
(JNS) - On May 19, two weeks before the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, celebrity chef and cookbook author Jamie Geller, who now serves as the spokesperson and chief communications officer of the Jewish educational organization, Aish, set out with her team - including the writer of this article - to taste and rate some of the best cheesecakes in Jerusalem. Jerusalem has a plethora of bakeries, each with its unique style of cheesecake presentation. "We aimed to sample as wide a variety of different...
On Sunday, June 8, 2025, at 7 p.m., Nate's Shul will host an engaging talk by Joel Haber, an accomplished researcher, writer, and licensed culinary tour guide based in Jerusalem. In his presentation, titled "They Tried to Kill Us, We Won, Let's Eat: How Jewish Food Conquers Antisemitism," Haber will explore the profound connection between Jewish history and cuisine, and how food has served as both a reflection of cultural identity and a powerful response to adversity. Jewish cuisine is often...
The exhibit “Margret Rey and the Making of Curious George” will be on display from June 5 through Aug. 22 at the Center. This exhibit uncovers the incredible story of Rey, a Jewish woman who, with her husband, escaped Nazi-occupied France on handmade bikes, carrying manuscripts of Curious George. The exhibit highlights Rey’s resilience and creativity, offering a unique look into the origins of a beloved children’s classic....
(JNS) — Auburn University men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl didn’t mince words talking about his Jewish identity and love for the United States and Israel during a Jewish American Heritage Month breakfast in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. “I’m a Jewish-American basketball coach, who coaches basketball in Auburn, Ala.,” he told attendees. “Don’t tell me this isn’t the greatest country in the world.” About 100 people attended the event, which included speeches from more than half a dozen members of Congress, including Sens. Jim Banks (R-Ind.)...
Elias Rodriguez, the Chicago man charged with killing two Israeli embassy employees outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, shot his victims multiple times, including firing at one repeatedly as she attempted to crawl away, according to an FBI agent’s account of the incident. The account was filed as the Justice Department charged Rodriguez with multiple crimes on Thursday, some that carry a potential death sentence if convicted. He is being charged with the murder of foreign officials, first-degree murder and o...
WASHINGTON — Following Wednesday, May 21, evening’s horrific terror attack on an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee at the Capital Jewish Museum, the leadership of Christians United for Israel expressed their heartbreak and outrage over the cold-blooded murders of Yaron Lischinsky, Sarah Milgrim and the wounding of four others: “May the God of all hope comfort those who mourn as we weep for Yaron and Sarah. We pray for their loved ones and continue to stand resolutely with Israel and the Jewish people against this unmitigated evil....
(JNS) — Despite being one of the worst foreign-policy decisions in the history of the United States, the “wisdom” of the 2015 nuclear deal is embraced as an article of faith by Democrats. Some see the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as genius simply because it was President Barack Obama’s idea. Others support it because they missed the day in school when their history teacher taught how the policy of appeasement led to the ravages of World War II. A third group, radical progressives, support it because they are inherently antisem...
(JNS) — The May 21 terror attack in Washington, D.C., where two Israeli embassy staffers planning to get married were shot and killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum is more than a national tragedy. It is a harbinger. The murder of Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, allegedly committed by Elias Rodriguez while shouting “Free, free Palestine,” is not only an act of terrorism; it is a symptom of a far more dangerous climate of normalized antisemitism in the United States. You would have to be intentionally wearing blinders not t...
(JNS) — Jews often say, “We have to take care of Eretz Yisrael,” the Land of Israel. It sounds noble to some, and it might even sound responsible. But to me, “have to” sounds like the teenager who “has to” clean their room or take out the trash. It’s a duty. A chore. For many Jews today, especially in the Diaspora, that’s exactly what supporting Israel has become: a burden. Contrast that with what I’ve heard from many non-Jews, particularly Evangelical Christians, who say with joy, “We get to take care of Israel.” They see it as a privilege....
(Israel National News, Arutz 7 via JNS) — One of the problems today is convincing too many oblivious people to support the United States, free Western societies and the State of Israel, instead of supporting Hamas terrorists and other anti-American, anti-free-world entities. It sounds bizarre, but unfortunately, we deal with this unbelievable problem every day. It was instigated by nefarious domestic and foreign actors who invested billions of dollars over many years to brainwash people from all walks of life. We should find ways to share w...
(JNS) — In his inaugural address, Pope Leo XIV expressed concerns about the rise of artificial intelligence, warning that it could undermine human dignity and replace human conscience with algorithms. The pope’s discomfort with AI resonates with a long history of the Catholic Church confronting transformative technologies that challenge its authority and influence. While non-Catholics have no place critiquing Vatican policy, Christian-Jewish relations have been impacted by its responses to major shifts. It thus behooves us to review those piv...
Dear Mr. President, You are about to make a decision for which you will be remembered by history. Your legacy will either be as a world leader who saved, or failed to save, many lives. The decision concerns Iran’s intention to develop a nuclear arsenal. There can be no reasonable doubt that Iran’s mullahs are determined to obtain nuclear weapons, despite their assurances to the contrary. Nor can Israel, which is the intended target of an Iranian bomb, be expected to rely on deterrence or containment. Iran must be prevented from achieving the...
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...
(JNS) — Five United Nations trucks carrying humanitarian aid, including baby food, entered the Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom Crossing on Monday, the Israeli military confirmed. The transfer followed the recommendation of Israel Defense Forces officials and was carried out under the directive of the political echelon. The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (emphasized that all aid was subjected to “a thorough security inspection” by the Defense Ministry’s Crossing Points Authority. The IDF reiterated that it “will continue...
(JNS) - American Jewish leaders, who attended Pope Leo XIV's inaugural Mass in Rome on Sunday and met with the pontiff at the Vatican the following day, are optimistic about the future of Jewish-Catholic relations. But they told JNS that they remain clear-eyed about what they think is likely to be a continuation of the Church's approach of holding Israel uniquely responsible for the war that Hamas started on Oct. 7, 2023. "There is a feeling that there is a desire for a renewed moment, but...
Some stories must be told, to remember that even in the darkest moments there is hope. On the right in the above photo, is Yuval Raphael, a 24-year-old Israeli woman. When Hamas attacked the Nova music festival in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Yuval Raphael went from dancing with friends to hiding in a bomb shelter, pictured on the left. Yuval, speaking with her father thought she was going to die, he told her hang up and to play dead and she would survive. So after the attackers broke into the...
(JNS) - At the time of the Temple in Jerusalem, a dozen loaves of bread representing the 12 Tribes of Israel, called "Showbread," were presented by priests on a special table every Shabbat as an offering to God. Eliezer Meir Seidel, an expert baker and owner of the Showbread Institute in Karnei Shomron, is proud that he can now produce the special 12 loaves of "wonder bread" displayed weekly in the Temple. From the musical instruments of the Levites to the unique spice mix of the holy incense,...
(JNS) — Jordanian textbooks justify the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre and promote antisemitism and violent jihad, marking a troubling decline in the Hashemite Kingdom’s educational standards, an international think tank reported Monday. A study by the London-based watchdog IMPACT-se found that nearly 300 textbooks used in the 2023–2025 curriculum “promote antisemitism, glorify violent jihad, and express strong hostility toward homosexuality.” At the same time, and somewhat contradictorily, the materials also “generally advocate concepts of r...
(JNS) - The Auschwitz Memorial, together with the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation and leading figures from the European film industry, announced at the Cannes Film Festival on May 15 the launch of a 1:1 digital replica of the German concentration and extermination camp available for filmmakers. The Auschwitz-Birkenau Virtual Film Location harnesses 3D-scanning technologies to preserve and protect the site's historical integrity, while offering filmmakers a revolutionary tool rooted in accuracy...
(JNS) — Yarden Bibas, who was a Hamas hostage for 484 days and whose wife and children were murdered by the terror group in captivity, spoke with Israeli media about his best friend, David Cunio, who remains in captivity. Yarden, who didn’t want to speak about himself, told Israel’s Channel 12 News in the interview that he and David had been friends since first grade. “When they were introducing the students, something about his name, about his appearance, caught my eye,” he said. “During the first break I went and actually offered him friends...
