Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1 - 17 of 17
(JNS)—The big news in Israel is not that Iran attempted to send kamikaze drones into Israeli territory last week or that Israel targeted that terrorist cell in Syria; these are not completely out of the ordinary or even unexpected. Rather, what was quite the unusual occurrence took place in central Israel when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered officials from the security establishment to brief his chief rival, former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, who serves as l...
(JNS)-As the Sept. 17 elections draw here, a flurry of activity among the various political parties continues to be a game-changer. Israel is holding a second round after the April 9 elections because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a coalition government, mainly due to Knesset member Avigdor Lieberman's refusal to sit in a government with the ultra-Orthodox parties. Now, those same parties may prove the sleeper of the election and might provide Netanyahu with the 61 mandates...
WASHINGTON (JTA)-A decade after the Bernie Madoff debacle-one so serious that Hadassah officials refuse to even utter the Ponzi schemer's name-the women's Zionist organization is back. The finances are robust-2017 tax returns show $108 million in assets-and a staff of about 200 works at its New York headquarters and eight regional offices. To build membership, Hadassah is targeting younger women, recognizing that the stay-at-home mothers who made "Hadassah lady" a cliche in the postwar years...
Do you know of an active and passionate senior over 80 who volunteers countless hours and lends their leadership skills to help organizations in our community? Then please consider nominating them for Kinneret’s 10th Annual 8 over 80 Honorary Dinner. The Kinneret Council on Aging will proudly pay tribute to eight individuals over the age of 80 who have made significant contributions to the Jewish and Central Florida community on Sunday, March 1, 2020. “The 8 over 80 event really resonates with the mission of the Kinneret Council on Aging and...
The Israel Institute will bring Ayelet Golan, an Israeli theater director, puppeteer, and performer to the University of Central Florida for a teaching residency during the Fall 2019 semester. She will be teaching puppetry in the School of Performing Arts. "I am excited to participate in this unique program, which will enable me to engage with students and their artistic worlds," said Golan. "I believe in the potential of everyday objects and materials to tell personal stories in new and...
Dr. Kathleen Deagan, distinguished research curator of archaeology and adjunct professor of anthropology at the University of Florida’s Florida Museum of Natural History will be the guest speaker at the St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society’s Sept. 9th event commemorating the 454th anniversary of the founding of St. Augustine, Florida. The program on the Archaeology at the First Franciscan Mission, Nombre de Dios 1587-1763 will begin at 1p.m. at the Main Branch of the St. Johns County Library, 1960 N Ponce De Leon Boulevard (Route US. 1),...
More than 150 Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity alumni from the University of Florida met on Aug. 23 for a reunion at the Sheraton Orlando North in Maitland. The event was chaired by Richard Schwartz, with help from Michael Kamenoff, Glen Behr and Rick Freedman. Shown here are some of the Orlando TEPs at the tailgate party held in the Southeast Steel parking lot. (Standing, l-r), Steve Shever, Richard Pearce, Howard Darvin, Ron Tetenbaum, Mitch Gelb, Glenn Behr, Barry Kahn, Jeff Gaeser, Jordy Gamson,...
The Jewish Genealogical Society meeting that was planned for Tuesday, Sept. 3, has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 10, 7 p.m.—10 p.m. because of Hurricane Dorian. The meeting will still be held at The Roth Family JCC....
(JNS)-During the upcoming American Political Science Association's annual conference in Washington, D.C., a group of political theorists is expected to discuss a resolution to boycott Israeli academic institutions. While the "Academic Boycott Resolution" will only be discussed and not voted on during the Aug. 31 meeting, the Academic Engagement Network nonetheless expressed alarm towards the APSA, which was founded in 1903 and is "the leading professional organization for the study of political...
(JNS)-U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday that the Trump administration is considering allowing U.S. citizens born in Jerusalem to list "Jerusalem, Israel" on their U.S. passports. "We're constantly evaluating the way we handle what can be listed on passports," he told JNS in a wide-ranging interview. "It's something that's actively being looked at." Despite the United States recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December 2017 and relocating its embassy from Tel Aviv...
(JNS)—The California Democratic Party’s executive board passed three pro-Israel resolutions on Aug. 25, condemning hatred towards Jews and the State of Israel. One resolution, which Progressive Zionists of California (PZC) co-founder Susan George said “sailed through,” expresses “how anti-Semitic hate speech harms Jews and other Zionists in the California Democratic Party.” It states that Zionism is “the human right to self-determination of the Jewish people in their homeland of Israel,” and mentions that anti-Semitic rhetoric has been “regular...
In case you missed it, Israel will be holding national elections on Sept. 17. Yes, this is the second time this year. Hopefully the outcome will not be a stalemate like last time. Please enjoy this series of articles offering insight beyond whether Bibi will be elected that is all relevant to that question that you are probably not getting overseas and which ultimately, at least indirectly, is part of answering that question. (For background about the electoral system from prior to the election in April, please feel free to contact me,...
Last week, I had the honor and privilege of traveling to Israel for the very first time, thanks to the American Israel Education Foundation. Every two years, AIEF sponsors a trip for freshman members of Congress to educate policy makers about Israel’s history, as well as the strong economic bond and strategic military alliance between our two nations. Israel is a critical ally of the United States of America, a bulwark of stability in an unstable region, and a true friend with shared democratic ideals. What a trip it was! I visited the Elah V...
I cannot count my first 17 years as a Jew. My father inherited a hatred of Orthodoxy from his father, a dedicated Socialist. Therefore, I would not be bar mitzvahed until my 40s—but that’s another story. My Zionism and Judaism rose together in that Wave that swept the Jewish Community in 1948 with the founding of the Third Jewish Commonwealth. Suddenly our family was part of the Zionist rush most Jews felt in the founding of a Jewish State—a country of our own. My father suddenly became as ardent a Zionist as you could find. So, my intro...
By Noa Lazimi JERUSALEM (JTA)—Fifty-two years ago, following the Six-Day War, Israel took control of the eastern part of this city. After annexing additional Arab villages to the north and south, it created what we know today as East Jerusalem, where approximately 200,000 Jews and 300,000 Arabs live. While Israel became the sovereign ruler of these territories, it did not fully integrate East Jerusalem and its Arab residents. A short stroll in the Arab neighborhoods today reveals a dire picture of decades-long neglect and lack of investment b...
By Fiamma Nirenstein (JNS)—After Palestinian LGBT organization al-Qaws announced that it had held a gathering in the West Bank city of Nablus earlier this month to discuss gender pluralism in the city, the group was banned by the Palestinian Authority. The P.A. said the group’s activities were “contrary to the values of Palestinian society” and threatened to arrest its members. Not content with that, the P.A. proceeded to ban all activities designed to promote LGBT rights in its territory. Anti-gay prejudice is nothing new in the region....
(JNS)—Joint Arab List leader Ayman Odeh’s announcement that he would be willing to join, or at least support, a center-left government sent shock waves through the Israeli political system. The Zionist parties were predictably quick to discard the notion of cooperation with Odeh and his anti-Zionist faction. More noteworthy, however, was that some of Odeh’s Arab colleagues, members of the Balad Party for example, hastily rejected his comment, even dubbing them “unfortunate.” Odeh’s words, however, weren’t intended for Zionist politicians,...
