Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS) - U.S. President Donald Trump warmly welcomed a delegation of former hostages and family members to the White House on Thursday. In a message shared by the White House, he told them: "You're not a hostage anymore ... today you're heroes." The delegation consisted of 26 former hostages, including 17 of the 20 living captives who were released in the Gaza ceasefire deal that Trump brokered in October. Trump handed each member of the delegation a special presidential coin. In his remarks to a...
(JTA) - A silver Tiffany & Co. menorah from the year 2000. A bronze, 23-inch tall Statue of Liberty menorah made in 1986 in New Jersey by German-born artist Manfred Anson. A silver Chanukah lamp, inlaid with carnelian stones, that was made in the early 20th century at the Bezalel school in Jerusalem. These are just a few of the 35 unique and historic menorahs that famed auction house Christie's is selling ahead of the Jewish holiday of Chanukah, which this year begins on Dec. 14. The menorahs,...
(JNS) — Saad Almadi, 75, a dual U.S.-Saudi citizen detained in Saudi Arabia since 2021, is on his way back to Florida, coinciding with U.S. President Donald Trump’s White House meetings with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Almadi, a naturalized U.S. citizen who moved to the United States in 1976, had traveled to Saudi Arabia to visit family and manage personal property. Upon arriving in Riyadh, he was detained and questioned about social media posts he had made from his home in Boca Raton that were critical of the Saudi government. One...
(JNS) — Alfred Dreyfus, the French Jewish military officer who was falsely accused of treason in 1894 in France, has been posthumously promoted to the rank of brigadier general, AFP reported on Tuesday. French President Emmanuel Macron and French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu signed the promotion into law on Monday, and it was published in the Journal Officiel de La République Française, the government gazette of the French Republic, the next day. The law is seen as an act of reparation for the notorious case that highlighted the ramp...
(JNS) — Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Leo Terrell, chair of the U.S. Justice Department task force to combat Jew-hatred, were among the honorees awarded for speaking out on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people at a ceremony in Washington on Wednesday. Speaking at the Endowment for Middle East Truth’s annual “Rays of Light in the Darkness” gala, Fetterman said that the more people “back away from Israel,” the more he would “lean in stronger.” “What Hamas has started was a full-on war against civilization and trying to destroy Israel,...
There is no reason to sit at home during Chanukah! Celebrations will be held all over town, beginning on Dec. 7 and going through Dec. 21! Here is a list of some of the gatherings: Rosen JCC Celebrate the second annual Community Hanukkah Fest at the Rosen JCC, 11184 S. Apopka Vineland Rd., Orlando, on Sunday, Dec. 7 from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. The day’s events include latkes, doughnuts, food trucks, arts and crafts, music, a mobile game truck, a rock wall and more. This event is sponsored by The Pargh Foundation, with support from IAC Keshet Isr...
Shalom Orlando must raise $97,000 to keep the Live Secure grants that fund security throughout the Central Forida Jewish community. Thanks to the Live Secure grants, Shalom Orlando is now the Regional Security Advisor for Jewish institutions across Central Florida. They provide: • Threat assessments for synagogues, schools and agencies • Active threat and emergency training for staff and volunteers • STOP-THE-BLEED certification and response readiness • Real-time intelligence sharing with the FBI, DHS, and local law enforcement • Advocacy...
Several years ago, I went through a long, nearly immobilizing depression. At some point during that time, I made a playlist I called “Morning,” with the hope that it would help propel me out of bed and into my day. The playlist was made up of contemporary music anchored in traditional Jewish morning liturgy. Each track contained a mantra of ancient verses that poignantly captured essential sentiments — gratitude, desperation, yearning, connection — and wordless melodies that articulated striving, divinity and even joy. Traditional prayer...
On Wednesday night, a mob of Muslims and radical leftists assaulted a synagogue in Manhattan. Much as in the past, the police allowed the mob to blockade the synagogue and terrorize the Jews in and around it with no response. The pro-terrorist mob chanted calls for death and globalizing the ‘intifada’ of Islamic terrorism. Taunts were shouted at local Jewish community members. As well as an explicit call for violence” “Take another settler out”. The pretext for the attack on the Park East Synagogue was that ‘Nefesh b’Nefesh’ (Soul to Soul)...
Chanukah, a holiday of eight days duration beginning on the evening of December 14, 2025, commemorates, according to Jewish tradition, the miracle of finding a small jar of kosher oil in the defiled Holy Temple in Jerusalem to reignite and rededicate the eternal flame of the Temple Menorah. The small jar of oil was sufficient to light the menorah for only one day, but it burned brightly for eight days until a new supply of consecrated oil could be secured; thus the holiday became known as the “Festival of Lights.” The “Festival of Light...
(JNS) — My son led Birkat Hamazon, the blessing after a meal, for the first time this summer at the Conservative movement’s Ramah summer camp in Wisconsin. This was a breakthrough—and not because 10 years ago, when he was 15 and knee-deep into Nietzsche, Nathaniel was an adamant atheist. The camp’s Atzmayim vocational program has guided Nathaniel, who is on the autism spectrum, into a role of public leadership. (Atzmayim is Hebrew for “independent.”) The program is an extension of Ramah’s storied Tikvah inclusion program. It pairs neurodi...
Almost 50 years ago the movie “Network” (1976) was released. The film is best known for the anchorman rant scene that features Howard Beale’s: “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!” But it is also known for another dramatic scene, a five-minute oratory by a man named Arthur Jensen (chairman of the conglomerate that owns the network) who convinces the same Howard Beale “the world is a business.” That concept was introduced to Beale because he had earlier caused a hysteria among the American public that was responsible f...
(JNS) — Dora Pekec, press secretary for Zohran Mamdani, told Jewish Insider on Thursday that the New York City mayor-elect “has discouraged” the language that protesters used outside Park East Synagogue in Manhattan the prior night “and will continue to do so.” She added that her boss “believes every New Yorker should be free to enter a house of worship without intimidation, and that these sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law.” The 200 protesters who reportedly shouted calls for violence agai...
Mom, who was raised in Buffalo in a family of Orthodox emigrants from Eastern Europe but strayed from strict observance when she left home, and became more traditional as she aged, religiously commemorated Thanksgiving. Her parents, unfamiliar with U.S. customs, did not prepare a Thanksgiving meal when she was young. Later, living with her folks, she convinced them to make a holiday meal that day. Then, she got married and made it part of our family tradition — and of the tradition of her out-of-town children. After she left her hometown the ye...
(JNS) — Israel on Thursday night recovered the remains of Hamas hostage Meny (Menachem) Godard, who was murdered by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization during the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre and whose body was taken into the Gaza Strip. Meny was 73 at the time of his murder and was abducted from his home in Kibbutz Be’eri. His death was officially confirmed on Dec. 8, 2023. He is survived by four children and seven grandchildren. His wife, Ayelet Godard, was also killed during the attack on the kibbutz. “The IDF expresses deep condo...
(JNS) - The rise of Jew-hatred in America is not only under the guise of anti-Zionism, but it also promulgates the false belief that Jews have exercised too much political power in America and that this alleged power has been used to promulgate views that are not in America's interest. The fact of the matter is that American history is replete with evidence that the Jewish influence-to whatever extent it has been on American politics-has been overwhelmingly beneficial to America's interest and...
I often served this salad at Chanukah family gatherings. 12 large eggs 2 cans of asparagus stems, drained or 17 pieces of celery stalks. (I actually prefer to bake fresh asparagus sprinkled with 2T. olive oil and 1 T. lemon juice to have firmer, thicker stalks.) 1 tsp. prepared mustard 1/2 tsp. salt 2 cups crushed ice One head of greens (1 iceberg lettuce, 1 romaine, 1 butter lettuce, or 1 head of cabbage) cut in 1/4" shreds 1 small jar of pimento or 1 tomato to make flame tips. Paprika Salad...
As we age, maintaining good health becomes an increasingly important part of living independently and vibrantly. At the Orlando Senior Help Desk, we are al-ways looking for natural and gentle ways to support the well-being of our sen-iors. One of the newer additions gaining attention in the world of holistic health is Korean Retinal Tea, a traditional herbal infusion now being studied for its po-tential benefits, especially for eye health and cognitive clarity. What Is Korean Retinal Tea? Korean Retinal Tea is an herbal tea made from a blend...
(JNS) - Israeli authorities have rearrested a Palestinian terrorist released from prison a few months ago as part of a hostage deal with Hamas, the Israel Police Spokesperson's Unit said on Thursday. He was taken into custody on suspicion of bomb-making. Detectives from the Judea District Crime Fighting Unit and National Counterterrorism Unit officers from the Shai (Judea and Samaria) District raided his Bethlehem home on Wednesday night and detained him for questioning. The terrorist was...
(JNS) — Israeli forces overnight Wednesday carried out a sweeping counterterrorism operation across Judea and Samaria, seizing weapons and arresting suspected terrorists linked to recent attacks, the IDF and Shin Bet said in a joint statement. Guided by Shin Bet intelligence, IDF troops searched more than 70 locations, finding weapons concealed inside residences, including a “Carlo” submachine gun hidden in a microwave and a hunting rifle stashed behind a curtain, according to the military. At the same time, soldiers launched a major opera...
For Negin Nader Bazrafkan, Yiddish lessons have been an unexpected perk of moving into her Upper West Side apartment. Her roommate - and unofficial Yiddish teacher - is 96-year-old Rebecca Schull, a retired actress best known for her roles as Fay Cochran on the sitcom Wings and as protagonist Mike Ross' grandmother on Suits. From Schull, Bazrafkan has learned words like chutzpah, schmuck, simcha, klutz, schmutz, and faynshmeker. Her favorite is tuches, slang for buttocks, a word that makes them...
(JNS) - The body returned to Israel on Tuesday from Gaza has been identified as that of Dror Or, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said. The identification was completed in coordination with the National Center for Forensic Medicine, the Israel Police and the Military Rabbinate. "The Government of Israel shares in the deep sorrow of the Or family and all the families of the abducted fallen," said the PMO. "The IDF expresses deep condolences to the families, continues to make every effort to...
(JNS) — A high-level delegation of South African Christian leaders visited Israel in mid-November with a clear mission: to witness the reality on the ground, strengthen long-standing ties with the Jewish state and return home as “ambassadors for truth” at a time when diplomatic ties between Jerusalem and Pretoria are under intense strain. Three members of the delegation—Shaun Zagnoev, chairman of the South African Friends of Israel (SAFI); Pastor Bert Pretorius, founder and president of the South African Coalition for Families and Faith (...
Last year, Amsterdam’s Royal Concert Hall held its 10th anniversary of a Hanukkah concert series that was rebooted 70 years after it was halted by the Nazis, in what some Dutch Jews saw as a repudiation of antisemitism that had swelled during the war in Gaza. This year, the concert has been called off — and the prestigious concert hall citing the chosen singer’s ties to the Israeli army. The Chanukah Concert Foundation, which organizes the event, had booked Shai Abramson to sing. Abramson is a retired lieutenant colonel for the IDF who serve...
(JNS) — In the hours leading up to the United Nations Security Council’s unanimous vote, 13 to 0, on Monday to approve a U.S.-drafted resolution endorsing Washington’s 20-point plan for Gaza, experts told JNS that Israelis worry about the plan’s “pathway” to Palestinian statehood. Bezalel Smotrich, the Israeli finance minister, stated that the “deterioration” was due to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “silence,” and Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Israeli national security minister, stated that his party would not be part of any governmen...
