Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS) - Delegations of Jewish athletes from a record 43 countries entered a packed Teddy Stadium the evening of July 1 to cheers from family members, fellow countrymen, Israelis from across society, government officials and a lineup of Israeli performers, officially opening the 22nd Maccabiah Games. Some 3,000 athletes from five continents traveled to Israel for "Maccabiah 2026: More Than Ever!", which was postponed from 2025 because of the war. They are joined by about 2,000 Israeli athletes co...
In an Oval Office ceremony Monday morning, July 6, President Donald Trump marked the launch of the Trump Accounts program by ringing the opening bells for both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq from the White House. Lead guests included Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, and his wife, Susan Lieberman Dell, co-founder and board chair of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, along with the presidents of both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. Michael Dell was born in...
(JNS) - For Asaf Goren, the theme of the 22nd Maccabiah - "More Than Ever" - is more than a slogan highlighting the power of Jewish unity and the bond between Israel and Jewish communities worldwide. It has become the driving force behind a Maccabiah-wide initiative honoring 18 athletes with ties to the Maccabi movement who lost their lives in Israel's wars. Through sporting events and educational programming across the country, organizers hope participants will return home as ambassadors...
The Orlando Chapter of Hadassah is hosting Hadassah Game Day on Tuesday, Aug. 11 in Altamonte Springs at noon. The address is provided upon registration. The games include Mah jong, Rummikub or Scrabble. All are invited to come. Registration is required by Aug. 4. Entry is limited to guests who have registered. Register online at https://events.hadassah.org/OrlandoGameDay26 General admission is $25 and includes lunch. Checks can be made out to Hadassah and mailed to 645 Stafford Terrace., Apt. 153, Altamonte Springs, FL 3271...
Congregation Shalom Aleichem welcomed a new Torah, one that Frank Gutworth had worked on obtaining over several months/years. On June 5, 2026, members of the congregation, (l-r) Larry Shapiro, Asher Tomberg, Lorie Pierce (behind the Torah), Frank Gutworth holding the Torah, Theresa Mixon and Mitch Minkowsky, carried it into the synagogue....
(JNS) — Israel was scheduled to send a joint Foreign Ministry-Israel Defense Forces delegation to Venezuela on Tuesday to assist recovery efforts after powerful earthquakes there killed more than 1,700 people and left thousands homeless. The mission, ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, was approved following a National Security Council review to coordinate the Israeli agencies involved and address the diplomatic and logistical challenges of operating in a country that has had no formal rel...
(JNS) — The Gush Etzion Regional Council in Judea has signed an agreement with Israel’s Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Ministry that aims to provide assistance to local authorities that are at the center of international delegitimization and boycott campaigns, the ministry said on Thursday. Ministry director-general Avi Cohen-Scali, together with the ministry’s senior leadership, paid a visit to the Gush Etzion area south of Jerusalem on the previous day to hear about the many challenges facing area residents. The signing with...
(JNS) — Mass funeral ceremonies for Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei are set to begin on Saturday, July 4, more than four months after he was eliminated in the opening Israeli Air Force strikes of “Operation Roaring Lion/Epic Fury,” regime outlets said. The multi-day funeral, which state media claimed is expected to draw up to 20 million mourners, will begin when Khamenei’s body will lie in state at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla Mosque. The ceremonies will continue through Monday with a funeral procession along a six-mile route, fo...
(JNS) — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) endorsed Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary on Thursday, adding her support to a growing list of anti-Israel progressive backers that includes Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.). El-Sayed, who has called the Israeli government “evil” and accused Israel of committing “genocide,” has campaigned with Hasan Piker, a far-left streamer who has called the Israel Defense Forces a “Nazi army” and Orthodox Jews “inbred....
MORNING MINYANS Chabad of Altamonte Springs — Sunday morning minyan, 8 a.m. Weekday morning minyan 6:30 a.m., 407-720-8111. 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. Congregation Ohev Shalom — Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-298-4650. GOBOR Community Minyan at...
(JNS) — New York City politicians denounced a Nazi swastika that was carved into a parked car on the Upper East Side of Manhattan—reportedly a vehicle in which an Israeli flag was visible. Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York City who has been accused of Jew-hatred frequently and whose wife has apologized for past social media activity, including apparently lauding the Oct. 7 attacks, stated that the “swastika carved into a car on the Upper East Side is a despicable act of antisemitism.” “It is a hateful attack of intimidation on our Jewish ne...
(JNS) - For the first time in 2,000 years, Jewish authorities are conducting conservation work at the Tomb of the Patriarchs, where, according to the Bible, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah are buried. The site, revered as the burial place of the patriarchs and matriarchs of the Jewish people, is Judaism's second-holiest site. The maintenance and safety upgrades include electrical renovations, air conditioning, improved drainage, new lighting and a fire protection system....
One hundred and twenty-eight new immigrants from France landed at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport on Monday evening aboard a special flight marking the start of the 2026 summer “aliyah” season—the Hebrew term for Jewish immigration to Israel. “Immigration to Israel is the beating heart of the Jewish story,” said Maj. Gen. (res.) Doron Almog, chairman of the Jewish Agency. “At a time when Israeli society is facing heavy challenges and carrying a difficult burden on its shoulders, aliyah takes on an even deeper meaning. Every immigrant who comes her...
(JNS) — The Israel Antiquities Authority announced that it is joining an international, European Union-funded research project that will use artificial intelligence, chemical analysis and other advanced technologies to investigate one of the biggest mysteries surrounding the Dead Sea Scrolls: where they were produced and copied. The five-year project, titled “Tracing Scribes and Scrolls,” has received a €2.5 million ($2.9 million) Advanced Grant from the European Research Council. It is led by Professor Mladen Popović of the Universi...
A diplomatic source familiar with the U.S.-led Board of Peace dismissed on Monday Hamas’ announcement that it intends to dissolve its governing role in Gaza after 19 years, saying the move “means nothing.” “It shows that Hamas is under pressure; they’re cornered,” the source told JNS. “So what they’re trying to say is, ‘Look, we’re not the problem, we’re not the one saying no. The technocratic committee can come in, take over our bankrupt economy, our broken services, our mountains of debt and all of our problems, and we’ll just keep our w...
(JNS) - U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Thursday urged people to "never forget" the victims of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, as the Jewish state marked 1,000 days since the Hamas-led massacre. "1000 days ago, Hamas monsters stormed out of Gaza & into Israel & massacred 1200 men, women & children-butchering them viciously taking 251 people hostage," Huckabee tweeted. "We should never forget the victims & should keep asking 'how did such a thing happen?'" the envoy added. Some 6,000...
The Maine Democratic Party called on Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for Senate in the state, to withdraw from the race after he was accused of raping a woman in 2021. The party in the state “stands with women and survivors, and that principle does not bend based on party affiliation,” the state party’s chair, vice chair and executive director stated. “We respect the women who made the hard decision to come forward.” “The Senate race comes at a pivotal moment in the struggle against a government, supported by Sen. Collins, that serves...
(JNS) — Leaders of the Washington State Democratic Party added anti-Israel statements, including blaming the Jewish state for rising antisemitism, in the party’s newly adopted platform without consulting with the Jewish Caucus of the Washington state legislative, Democratic state senator Jesse Salomon, co-chair of the caucus, told JNS. The platform states that “there has been a dramatic resurgence in antisemitism in recent years on all sides of the political spectrum, due in part to actions taken by the Israeli government.” “As co-chair...
Iran denies direct talks with US in Doha, says will meet only with Qatari mediators By JNS Staff (JNS) — Iran said on Monday that its delegation will travel to Doha, Qatar but will not hold direct talks with U.S. officials, contradicting President Donald Trump’s assertion that negotiations would take place there Tuesday, The New York Times reported. Trump said on Monday that Iran has requested a meeting with the United States, with talks set to take place on Tuesday. According to the report, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Ghari...
Dean McKay, a psychology professor at Fordham University, and Miri Bar-Halpern, a psychology lecturer at Harvard Medical School, plan to create a program to fight Jew-hatred in their field. McKay told JNS that the initiative, which the Academic Engagement Network is supporting with a $75,000 grant over three years, will “address issues in professional training that may have antisemitic components to it, which is growing increasingly common in the profession.” Anti-Zionism is embedded in the “decolonial psychology movement,” which teaches...
(JNS) - Israel, Lebanon and the United States signed a framework agreement and security annex on Friday aimed at removing the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist group from southern Lebanon and laying the groundwork for broader political cooperation between the neighboring countries. "It's the beginning of the beginning. There's a lot of work ahead," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after the signing ceremony. In a later statement, he called it "a bold decision" of Israel and Lebanon to...
(JNS) - Mosab Hassan Yousef, a former Hamas member known as "the Green Prince" leveled on Tuesday scathing criticism at President Donald Trump's decision to pause the joint Israel-U.S. operation against Iran. "We could have finished the job. You stopped. You don't know what the hell you are doing. Total arrogance. Then when you came to the picture, you dragged us into this rabbit hole. And now you're throwing us under the bus," Yousef, son of Hamas co-founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef, said during a...
(JNS) — Iran has no plans to allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to visit nuclear sites targeted during the recent war, a spokesman for its foreign ministry said on Tuesday, a day after U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Tehran had agreed to do so. “We neither had a meeting with the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, nor do we have any plans for the agency to inspect Iran’s nuclear facilities that were damaged as a result of the military aggression by the United States and the Zionist regime,” spokesp...
(JNS) — More than 700 rabbis from across the United States have signed an open letter urging New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to apologize for referring to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee as “monsters,” arguing that the rhetoric endangers American Jews. The appeal came as a new poll found that most Jewish New Yorkers believe the normalization of anti-Zionism is fueling antisemitism in the city. Among the signatories are 176 rabbis from New York, 96 from New Jersey, 76 from California and 53 from Florida, along with hundr...
(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that there is “no room for two states” between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, arguing the war created broad public consensus against creating a Palestinian state. “Before the war, the public was divided: although in my opinion most of the public was against it, a significant portion was in favor. I think that has changed,” Netanyahu told reporters, answering a question at a press conference in Jerusalem on Saturday night. “That is a basis for agreement,...
