Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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The Meitin Alliance for Growth and Learning, known as MAGAL, a collaborative religious school between Temple Israel and Temple Shir Shalom, celebrated its 10-year anniversary this year. To honor the milestone, students created a beautiful art project that is displayed for all to see as they enter the school, located at 50 S. Moss Road in Winter Springs. Led by co-heads of school Rabbi Joshua Neely (Temple Israel) and Cantor Kim Singer (Temple Shir Shalom), MAGAL serves students in kindergarten t...
(JNS)— Israel is in “full coordination” with Washington on Iran and is preparing for all possible scenarios, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday as he convened his Security Cabinet. “We are maintaining continuous contact with our friends in the United States,” said Netanyahu according to his office, adding that he spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump “almost on a daily basis. My people and his people are in daily contact as well, including today. And I will also speak with President Trump later tonight.” There were “no...
A major milestone has been reached in the Holocaust Museum's new center, the Holocaust Museum for Hope & Humanity, in Orlando. The Center has secured gifts and pledges totaling 70 percent of its $63 million goal, representing approximately $44 million raised to date. The Center's newsletter states: "This moment reflects years of commitment from supporters who believe deeply in our mission to use the history and lessons of the Holocaust to build a more just and caring community. It also marks an...
The Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center is sending members of its team to Warsaw for its first cultural exchange program with the Mi Polin Mezuzah Center. During this visit, staff will spend time at the museum learning directly from their team, exploring their approach to storytelling, and deepening the Center’s understanding of the work behind the exhibit, Mezuzah Traces. This experience will help prepare the Holocaust Center to bring the exhibition to this community when it opens at the Center in August. To support staff p...
(JNS) — The TV show “Sesame Street” featured Black and Jewish actress Kat Graham in its celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month, which began on May 1, drawing both support from Jews and antisemitic backlash on social media. “Happy Jewish American Heritage Month,” it wrote. “Join us this May as we honor and celebrate our Jewish American friends and neighbors in our communities.” “As a proud Jewish American, I am so excited to celebrate my community and heritage this month and every month,” said Graham, best known for her role in the teen...
(JNS) — Bestselling author R.F. Kuang is facing online backlash after advance copies of her forthcoming novel, “Taipei Story,” included a brief reference to an Israeli character. Kuang, the Chinese American author of “Yellowface” and “Babel,” withdrew in December from the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, held in Dubai in January, citing a call by the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee to boycott the United Arab Emirates over alleged involvement in “the mass atrocities in Sudan.” “I have always respected or...
JNS) — Prospects for peace and reconciliation between Israel and the Palestinians hinge on the Palestinian Authority ending its “pay-for-slay” program, which provides monthly stipends for life to convicted terrorists and the families of attackers, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. “If you want reconciliation, peace, partnership, pay-for-slay must stop,” a ministry spokesperson said in a video posted to X, arguing that the payments “reward terror and incentivize future terror. “It’s the opposite of educating for peace,” the spokesman...
(JNS) — The Iranian regime’s response to the latest U.S. proposal to end hostilities was “totally unacceptable,” U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday. “I have just read the response from Iran’s so-called ‘representatives.’ I don’t like it — totally unacceptable!” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported earlier on Sunday that Tehran’s response to Washington’s plan had been submitted to Pakistani mediators. According to the regime outlet, Iran’s response sought to end “the war in the re...
It's hard to imagine the powerful mixture of faith, fun and friendship that permeated Crown Heights, Brooklyn during the recent "Shabbat in the Heights" weekend. Sponsored by Jewish Learning Institute, an educational arm of Chabad, the event in early May drew more than 500 visitors - Chabad Orthodox rabbis and their wives (and sometimes family members) and fellow Jews interesting in learning. Among participating Chabads were a group from Chabad of North Orlando, led by Rabbi Yanky Majesky and...
(JNS) — U.S. Central Command said on Sunday that more than 20 American warships are enforcing a naval blockade against Iran, with forces having redirected 61 commercial vessels and disabled four others to ensure compliance. Washington launched the maritime operation on April 13, targeting all vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports in the Arabian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, disrupting the regime’s oil exports. It is part of the Trump administration’s “Operation Economic Fury” — a sweeping pressure campaign targeting Tehran’s economy throu...
(JNS) - Growing up in Israel, Ofir Akunis remembers spending Yom Ha'atzmaut, Israeli Independence Days, dancing in Kings of Israel Square, which was renamed Rabin Square after Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated in 1995. This year, it felt different to Akunis, Israeli consul general in New York. "It's a unique feeling - to be somewhere else in the world during Yom Ha'atzmaut," he told JNS. "It's totally different. This is an ordinary day here. It's a day off for the employees...
Shekel hits 33-year high against dollar By JNS Staff The Israeli shekel gained 1.1 percent, reaching its highest level against the dollar in 33 years, amid investor optimism over a possible end to hostilities between Iran and the United States. The shekel, which has appreciated 9 percent so far in 2026, strengthened to 2.90 per dollar on Wednesday, its strongest level since October 1993, Reuters reported. ADL report says 2025 one of most violent years for American Jews By Aaron Bandler (JNS) — Although incidents of Jew-hatred declined o...
(JNS) - The head of a state-funded university in Norway said on Tuesday he had no plans to discipline a professor who last month called the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, massacres "the most beautiful thing that has happened in our century." Following an uproar this week over comments made on April 21 by Professor Bassam Hussein of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Rector Tor Grande told broadcaster NRK that Hussein's views do not represent NTNU, the country's largest university. He...
(JNS) - A rare sight, a halo surrounding the sun, was seen in Israel's northern skies on Saturday, May 2. The striking halo was reportedly spotted by residents in the city of Kiryat Shmona in the Galilee Panhandle and at Shavei Zion beach near Nahariya in the Western Galilee. Dr. Amir Givati, director of the Israel Meteorological Service, told Ynet that the phenomenon is the result of high-altitude clouds typical of heatwave conditions. Due to their high altitudes of four to five miles in the...
(JNS) — Several pro-Israel, Democratic House members, including multiple Jews, could face tough races to be reelected to Congress if proposed redistricting maps, which Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled come to pass. “The proposed map is a blatant attempt to push out pro-Israel, Democratic champions in Congress,” Brian Romick, president of Democratic Majority for Israel, told JNS. “It’s bad for our country. It’s bad for those who care about Israel, and it’s a violation of Florida’s redistricting constitutional amendment,” Romick said. “We...
Sent to Heritage by Rabbi Naftali For many readers unfamiliar with Orthodox Jewish life, the word Hatzalah may sound unfamiliar. Yet in Orthodox Jewish communities across the country, the presence of Hatzalah often marks something significant: a community that has developed enough internal strength, organization, and volunteer commitment to build one of its most serious communal services — rapid emergency medical response. The Hebrew word hatzalah means “rescue,” and that is exactly what Hatzalah South Florida provides: highly trained volunteer...
(JNS) - Israeli journalist Amit Segal shared video footage on Monday, May 4, showing rare May snowfall on Mount Hermon, noting that it marked the first snowfall on the mountain's upper slopes this late in the season in 15 years. A clip posted to his X account showed the popular northern resort blanketed in white as an unseasonably cold front swept through the region....
Members of the Temple Israel Sisterhood gathered Sunday afternoon for a flavorful and festive luncheon at Sabbaba Market, celebrating the restaurant's recent transition from kosher dairy to kosher meat service. The special event, playfully dubbed a "meat-up," gave attendees the opportunity to sample Sabbaba's newly expanded menu under the supervision of the Greater Orlando Vaad Hakashrut. The gathering drew enthusiastic diners eager to support the local kosher establishment and enjoy a...
Looking for some entertainment that will really blow your mind? On Sunday, May 17, Temple Israel proudly presents Mentalmania, a comedy, mindreading, and ESP show from mentalist Mark Stone. One of the most sought-after entertainers in the country, Mark Stone will have your jaws dropping and your minds wondering just how he does it. He has performed for corporate audiences, colleges, private parties, holiday events, civic groups, religious organizations, and on cruises and television. Doors open...
(JNS) — U.S. Central Command said early on Monday that it would begin supporting “Project Freedom” to ensure the free flow of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global trade route. The operation, directed by U.S. President Donald Trump, aims to safeguard merchant vessels transiting the strait, through which U.S. Central Command noted that roughly a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil and significant volumes of fuel and fertilizer pass. CENTCOM said the mission will include guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 aircraf...
(JNS) — The lower house of the Swiss parliament voted on Tuesday against recognizing Palestinian statehood, following the example of the upper house last year. In the vote at the National Council of Switzerland, 116 lawmakers out of 200 voted against recognition and 66 voted in favor, according to a bulletin by the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, the country’s bicameral parliament. Another 11 lawmakers abstained and the vote of the remaining seven lawmakers was not recorded. The vote was on a text submitted by the Geneva Canton and, in additio...
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Monday that the United States must moderate its demands on the Islamic Republic, warning that Washington “cannot use the language of threats and force.” He said “our priority is to end the war,” urged the “other side” to abandon “excessive demands” and reiterated Tehran’s claim that it is the “guardian and protector” of the Strait of Hormuz. “The international community must hold the United States and the Zionist regime accountable for imposing insecurity on this waterway and for creati...
(JNS) — The U.N. Security Council returned its focus to Gaza on Tuesday during an open debate on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, after months in which other global crises had drawn attention away. The council had concentrated heavily on Gaza following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, before a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in late 2025 shifted priorities. “A pivotal juncture has been reached” in U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, said Tony Blair, the former British prime minister and a founding executive board m...
(JNS) — Most Jewish New Yorkers, 58 percent, think that Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York City, is doing a poor job, while 32 percent approve of his job performance and 10 percent weren’t sure, according to a survey from the Jewish Majority. Mercury Group, which conducted the poll and surveyed 664 Jewish adults who voted in November in the New York City mayoral election, found that 84% of respondents support the city passing a law creating barrier zones around the doors of houses of worship to prevent harassment and intimidation of wor...
(JNS) - A jurist who reviews anti-terrorism legislation for the British government and the head of the opposition called last week for a ban on anti-Israel rallies in the near future following a series of serious antisemitic attacks. Jonathan Hall, the independent reviewer of terror legislation, said the government should consider a "moratorium" on the marches following the April 29 stabbing of two Jews in London's Golders Green neighborhood, allegedly by a Somalia-born British citizen named Ess...
