Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Central Florida Hillel kicked off its 20th anniversary with a tree planting on Sunday, July 11. The year 2021 marks the 20th year that Central Florida Hillel has been recognized as a Jewish organization by the Greater Orlando Jewish Federation. Central Florida Hillel would not be where it is today without the support of the Orlando Jewish community. UCF Hillel has supported thousands of Jewish knights as well as students from Stetson University, Rollins College, Valencia Community College,...
Reports about the Arabs who live in Judea and Samaria is always covered in the mainstream media - their living conditions, their suffering, their plight, etc. There is not much coverage about Jews who live in Judea and Samaria and are successfully creating community and building businesses through many struggles while living in the midst of constant danger or fears of being evacuated because they live in certain areas. Some call these settled lands Israeli-annexed land, others claim it is...
(JNS) — Former Labor Party leader and Jewish Agency chairman Isaac Herzog was sworn in as Israel’s 11th president on Wednesday, saying he would work to repair divisions within Israeli society. The ceremony took place at the Knesset in Jerusalem and marked the end of Reuven Rivlin’s seven-year term. The 60-year-old son of the sixth president of Israel, Chaim Herzog, also served as the country’s ambassador to the United Nations. He was sworn in using the same 107-year-old Torah that his father use...
Israel just inaugurated a new president. He is largely a ceremonial figure as the official “head of state.” He has a limited but very structured constitutional role. Nonetheless, amazingly, he is a Palestinian. Isaac “Bougie” Herzog is Israel’s 11th president. His father was also (Israel’s sixth) president, Chaim Herzog. He was also a Palestinian. How do I know this? Because I am a Palestinian too. “What?!!” you ask. “But Jonathan, you’re Jewish. How ...” Yes. Stick with me. The new President Herzog’s grandfather was Israel’s renowned first...
(JNS) - The countdown started weeks ago, and it's finally time for many to return to sleep-away camp after a year of lockdowns, Zoom school, and separation from friends and family amid a worldwide pandemic. "I'm so happy! It'll be so nice to see everyone," said 14-year-old Eliana Menasha, who calls herself a "full-on camper" and noted that "last year was kind of hard." While camps in parts of the South and the Midwest have been operating for several weeks now, most Jewish camps in the Northeast...
Once again this fall, Jewish high school students in the North Orlando area will have a unique opportunity to earn college credits while exploring the tenets of Judaism. Over the last year, the stock market came to a crashing halt only to rebound to record highs. Oil prices fell below $0 a barrel and cryptocurrency exploded. Millions lost their source of income and the president of the United States sent checks in the mail. As we experience a time of profound economic flux, CTeenU's newest...
JFS Orlando CARES, the emergency rental assistance program of Jewish Family Services of Greater Orlando, provided relief for those impacted financially by COVID-19 since October 2020. With the completion of the program on June 30, 2021, JFS Orlando distributed more than $884,043.39 in rental assistance to help 339 families remain housed, impacting a total of 860 individuals. Dedicated to providing relief to those severely impacted during the pandemic, JFS Orlando CARES was open to Orange County residents and provided up to three months of...
(JNS) — Anti-Israel activists took to social media to accuse the Israel Defense Forces of exploiting the collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Fla. Rafael Shimunov, a political activist from Queens, N.Y., questioned the motives of involvement by the Israeli military. He tweeted: “I really don’t understand the IDF’s involvement in rescue attempts of people tragically crushed under buildings in Miami. Their expertise is crushing buildings with people in them, not rescuing them.” He added: “As if we don’t have any expertise or...
This letter, written by George Washington in 1790, is a response to Moses Seixas, warden of the Touro Synagogue in Newport. In it, Washington addresses the tolerance and freedom of religion in the newly established nation: Gentlemen. While I receive, with much satisfaction, your Address replete with expressions of affection and esteem, I rejoice in the opportunity of assuring you, that I shall always retain a grateful remembrance of the cordial welcome I experienced in my visit to Newport, from all classes of Citizens. The reflection on the...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Andrew Saul, the Social Security Administration Commissioner who President Joe Biden fired last week, claimed the move was illegal and vowed to stay in the post. Saul, a businessman who has donated heavily to Jewish causes, gave the comment to The Washington Post on Friday. Biden said the Trump-appointed official was thwarting changes that Biden wanted at the agency. The government is able to cut off access to computer networks, so it’s not clear what options Saul has. Democrats, government unions, and advocates for the dis...
(JTA) — The suspect in the stabbing of a Boston Chabad rabbi has been charged with committing a hate crime and civil rights offense. Khaled Awad, 24, was arrested Thursday after allegedly stabbing Rabbi Shlomo Noginsky outside of his school and synagogue in the Brighton neighborhood. Noginsky survived the stabbing and has been released from the hospital, which he called a “miracle.” Awad was charged initially with assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon and assault and battery on a police officer. Prosecutors now have added the h...
(JNS) — There is no more obvious sign that American education is in trouble than the fact that most state legislatures have become battlegrounds over how to teach history. The subject can be fraught with controversy under any circumstances. But in the last year, as efforts to put critical race theory into public-school curricula have increased, the entire question of how to think not just about the history of ourselves but the United States itself has become wrapped up in controversies about education. On the one hand, some Americans believe t...
One of the factors in the early formation of humans into social groups was a common belief in spiritual powers, mythical gods and superstitions. The consensus of so-called religious beliefs within these groups at the dawn of civilization was as much a driving force in the formation of tribal community life as was the need to collectively survive by delegating and cooperating in food gathering, hunting and protecting against other tribal communities. While unanimity of religious belief within the tribe was beneficial to its safety, well-being...
(JNS) — Over the last couple of months, everyone once again attempted to take sides in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Hamas, acting under insidious and aggressive tactics, used an emotionally charged court case as a reason to wage a large assault on Israel from the Gaza Strip. More than 4,000 rockets later, of which many misfired and ended up hurting Palestinians, we are seeing a lull in hostility. However, as Israelis and Palestinians are clearing the rubble from this horrifying violence, there is an age-old conflict arising in the United S...
(FLAME via JNS) — As the Palestinian Authority tightens its iron grip on dissent in the West Bank—and a dissident is brutally murdered while in P.A. custody—Western media virtually ignore the story. One Palestinian activist accuses the United States government itself of supporting the increased repression. Ironically, just last February, P.A. leader Mahmoud Abbas seemed to have found a new love for the freedom of speech. Reversing more than a decade of strangling speech critical of his regime, he decreed a ban on “the detention, arrest,...
(JNS) — The Biden administration is determined to provide aid to the Palestinians in violation of the spirit, if not the letter of the Taylor Force Act, which bars U.S. aid from going to the Palestinian Authority (PA) so long as it continues its pay-to-slay policy. PA President Mahmoud Abbas has repeatedly said he will not end the payments to terrorists and, in recent months, has tried to restructure the means of payments in hopes President Joe Biden will ignore the deception. Regardless, the Palestinians don’t need the money and should not...
(JNS) Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Massachusetts Boston put together a “March for Palestine” at the Massachusetts State House on June 24. The event began with a UMass Boston SJP member taking the microphone and telling the crowd that participants would be marching to the local offices of the Anti-Defamation League and the Jewish Community Relations Council. The choice of these locations seemed interesting, given that the Israeli Consulate is only a short walk away from the State House. “I’m so sorry; I’m still lea...
MORNING MINYANS (Please note, because of the coronavirus, some minyans have been canceled or held virtually.) Chabad of North Orlando and Chabad of Altamonte Springs are holding in-person 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. Congr...
(JNS) — During a symposium about online anti-Semitism sponsored by the U.S. State Department last year, a representative from the social-media platform TikTok assured that his company was working to combat hate. Speaking in October 2020, Jeff Collins said TikTok’s mission is “to inspire and bring joy. … There’s no place for hate on TikTok, and we are investing a lot in people and tech to really get this right.” The goal, stated Collins, was to “disrupt the ecosystem of hate” by limiting the “discoverability” of such content. His comments coinci...
(JTA) - Rabbi Anna Levin Rosen has counseled Jewish students at the University of Chicago through crises before. But she says the last two weeks have been "devastating." First, Ilan Naibryf, 21, disappeared in last month's Surfside, Florida, building collapse. He had been visiting with his girlfriend, Deborah Berezdivin, whose family owned two units in the building; neither of them has been found yet. Then, last week, Max Lewis, 20, was struck by a stray bullet while riding the train back from...
BOSTON (JTA) - Days after a series of violent acts stunned Greater Boston and threatened its Jewish community, residents are jolted but resolute, vowing to continue taking pride in their Jewish identity. The latest incident occurred on Thursday, when Chabad Rabbi Shlomo Noginski was stabbed eight times outside of Shaloh House, a Jewish school and synagogue in Brighton, where he teaches. Less than a week prior, on June 26, in Winthrop, a seaside town just north of Boston, a white supremacist who...
(JNS) —To the honorable President of Israel, Truth be told, I’m a little envious of you. In a short while, you will find out exactly how magnificent the privilege of the presidency is. Over the next seven years, you will meet Israelis from all walks of life, and let me tell you right now—you’ll want to embrace all of them. You’ll want to share their laughter and their tears; and all the excitement they experience. I’m sure you feel that you already know this, having such extensive experience as a public servant, but believe me, you have yet to...
I must mention and salute ... I'm talking about DAN NEWLIN, (probably not Jewish). I want to take this opportunity (on the 4th of July!) to thank him for his care and generosity to our military. Mine is a military family. My departed spouse fought in Korea; my sons have served. Actually, my eldest is still serving. He was in the Army for more than 12 years and then switched to the Navy in 2003 where he is today a Navy commander! (I never served but I prayed a lot!) Anyway, Dan was presented a...
(JNS) — At the end of June, the new Israeli government led by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett approved 31 new building projects throughout Judea and Samaria. The projects were green-lighted by the subcommittee on Jewish “settlements” within the Civil Administration. A Civil Administration spokesperson shared the list of approvals with JNS, which include the construction or enlargement of public buildings within various communities, such as a new shopping mall in Mishor Adumim just outside of Jerusalem, and a school for students with...
Given my life experiences, which I share in this article, I have conveyed my wild dream of peace in my thoroughly researched, new thriller, "The Sword of David." The novel's goal has been to educate the reader, but more important, with its unexpected ending, to make you think, which is why I wrote the novel. An action-packed fiction thriller, "The Sword of David" tells the story of an Israeli commando traveling across the globe, following clues in search of a major biblical treasure that could c...
