Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JTA) - When Rita Zohar stepped into the role of Bessie Stern, a Holocaust survivor whose death sets in motion Scarlett Johansson's new film "Eleanor the Great," she wasn't simply acting. Zohar, 81, is a childhood survivor of the Holocaust. She was also drawing on her lived experience of loss and resilience to bring life to her character. "This role in this movie has given me a voice," Zohar told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. "Even though this is not my story, this is not what happened to me...
(JNS) — On the 84th anniversary of the notorious Babi Yar massacre, the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center revealed the names of more than 1,000 newly identified victims, announced publicly for the first time at a ceremony at the site on Monday. In Jerusalem, BYHMC and March of the Living hosted a parallel memorial at the National Library of Israel, where the newly discovered names were also read out. Speakers included BYHMC Chairman Natan Sharansky, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk and Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan. “Me...
In one of her last interviews, renowned British primatologist Jane Goodall said that she wanted to send Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with several other world leaders she disliked, on a one-way trip to space. “There are people I don’t like. And I would like to put them on one of [Elon] Musk’s spaceships and send them all off to the planet he’s sure he’s going to discover,” Goodall said on Netflix’s “Famous Last Words: Dr. Jane Goodall,” which was filmed earlier this year and premiered following her death last week at 91....
(JNS) — World leaders from across the globe on Thursday welcomed Israel and Hamas’s agreement to the first phase of Trump’s ceasefire deal, reflecting both intense global relief that the end to the two-year-old war may be in sight and respect for the American president. Among those praising the move were countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Canada and Australia, who defied the American administration by recognizing a Palestinian state just last month. United Kingdom “I welcome the news that a deal has been reached on the first stage o...
(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday marked two years since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre, pledging that Israel “will prevail” and reaffirming his commitment to achieving all the war’s objectives — the return of hostages, the elimination of Hamas and ensuring that Gaza will never again pose a threat to the Jewish state. In a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, Netanyahu recalled the immense suffering caused by the attacks, in which some 1,200 people were murdered and 251 were abducted into the terror...
Beverly Ann Osser, 70, died on October 1, 2025, in Orlando, Florida. Born Beverly Ann Jarvis on June 5, 1955, in Lexington, Ky., to Robert and Barbara Ann (Dickerson) Jarvis, she grew up with a natural curiosity about the world around her and a deep appreciation for the stories that connect us to our past. After graduating from Georgetown High School in Georgetown, Ky., Bev pursued her calling in healthcare, training to become a radiology technologist. It was a career that would span decades and touch countless lives. She brought both... Full story
Mr. Joel Robert Stern (Zusha), 80, passed away Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, at Orlando Health, Lake Mary following a brief illness. Mr. Stern was born April 29, 1945, in Brooklyn, New York to the late Morris and Florence (Kislefsky) Stern of blessed memory. Mr. Stern was a retired antique dealer and a United States Army Veteran. Mr. Stern is survived by his loving wife of 56 years, Edna (Golcman) Stern of Longwood, Florida; devoted children, Mark (Idy) Stern of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Barry (Andrea) Stern of Longwood, Florida and Debra Stern of... Full story
(JNS) — The Netflix animated series “Long Story Short,” which premiered last month, is drawing attention both for its creator, Raphael Bob-Waksberg, of “BoJack Horseman” fame, and for its treatment of Jewish family life through humor. The series follows the Schwoopers, a middle-class Jewish family, across decades. It proceeds in a non-linear fashion, highlighting the tensions, joys and incongruities of American Jewish life. Jeremy Dauber, Atran professor of Yiddish language, literature and culture at Columbia University and director of its In...
(Israel Hayom/JNS via JNS) — U.S. President Donald Trump has dispatched envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Egypt for ongoing talks on ending the war in Gaza, as Hamas presses new demands not part of the original agreement Israel accepted. As technical discussions advance on the initial stages of a ceasefire, including the release of hostages and the entry of aid supplies, the terrorist group has thrown a curveball in the negotiations. Among its demands are the release of senior terrorists Jerusalem has said are red lines, i...
JK Rowling ‘appalled, ashamed’ Jews feel unsafe in United Kingdom (JNS) — J.K. Rowling, who penned the Harry Potter book series, responded on social media to someone who posed the question of how most Brits feel when they learn that Jews don’t feel safe in the United Kingdom. “I don’t know what most Brits feel, but I’m appalled and ashamed,” the best-selling author stated. Five days after Oct. 7, Rowling stated that “we said ‘never again.’ The UK was a safe haven. Now, after the biggest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, British Je...
(JNS) — Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, referred on Monday to convicted Palestinian terrorists held in Israeli prisons, including those with blood on their hands, as “political prisoners” during a press briefing. Leavitt confirmed that Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy for special missions, and Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and former senior adviser, are in Egypt to lead technical talks with Israel and Hamas on implementing the peace plan which Trump unveiled last week. Leavitt said that Hamas’s...
(JNS) —A major security breach took place in the Binyamin community of Na’ale late this past Friday night, in the southwestern Samaria Plain, as two masked Arabs managed to infiltrate the hamlet, steal property and escape. Israel’s Channel 12 aired security footage of the intruders wandering freely between homes, apparently looking for soft targets to burglarize. Channel 12 claimed the men went undetected for about three hours. The Binyamin Regional Council could not confirm how long the pair were inside the community, but it told JNS that...
(JNS) — Hundreds of Christians marched through the streets of the Kenyan capital of Nairobi in a faith-based show of support for Israel. The event, which commemorated the second anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught on southern Israel, offered a stark contrast with the throng of anti-Israel protests held the same day throughout Europe as well as in Australia. This follows an intensive Israeli outreach to the African continent. The nearly two-mile peaceful “March for Israel,” which was convened by the King Jesus Celebration Churc...
(JNS) — Meeting with European diplomats on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly went as one would expect of representatives of countries that have been recognizing a state of “Palestine,” which the Jewish state and others say rewards Hamas, according to Daniel S. Mariaschin, CEO of B’nai B’rith International. “What we have here on an international level is a ‘don’t confuse me with the facts’ worldview,” Mariaschin told JNS. “All of these arguments, which we feel are well grounded, are clearly not getting through in terms of p...
