Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Two Israeli embassy staffers were shot and killed on Wednesday evening outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. The male victim was identified as Yaron Lischinsky. His final post on social media was a repost of a message condemning the United Nations' false claim that 14,000 infants in Gaza were facing imminent starvation, labeling it a modern-day blood libel. According to Israeli Ambassador to Berlin Ron Prosor, who taught him as a master student, Lischinsky was a Germany-born...
Israel's Yuval Raphael defied expectations to come in second in the annual Eurovision song contest on May 17, narrowly losing out to Austria after being buoyed by the popular vote but also drawing points from the juries in 14 countries. "Thank you, Europe! Am Yisrael chai!" Raphael shouted from the stage after her performance. Azerbaijan awarded Israel all 12 of the points its jury could give, in a departure from last year, when Israel did not win any country's full jury points. Azerbaijan is a...
(JTA) - Since 1540, a prestigious chain of scholars has held the title of the Regius Professor of Hebrew at the University of Cambridge. But not one of these scholars of Hebrew and Semitic studies was Jewish - until this year. In September 2025, Aaron Koller will become the first Jew to join the university's department of Middle Eastern Studies as the Regius Professor of Hebrew, a role established by King Henry VIII. Koller is packing up from New York City, where he has taught at Yeshiva...
On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists burst from Gaza, slaughtering all they encountered. Ofakim was one of the communities attacked. Forty-seven innocent, unsuspecting civilians were murdered. Using only a few small arms, Ofakim citizens fought back like lions, holding off the bloodthirsty, heavily armed terrorists until help arrived hours later. Ofakim's heroic resistance helped prevent Hamas from reaching other communities. The Lion of Ofakim is the largest in the Middle East. It is the first...
(JNS) - After signing agreements with Saudi Arabia worth about $600 billion on May 13, U.S. President Donald Trump was expected to tout the deals that evening during a speech in Riyadh at the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum. Instead, he broke news announcing a major shift in U.S. foreign policy, by saying that he intended to lift sanctions on Syria, which had been imposed during the regime of Basher Assad. "In Syria, which has seen so much misery and death, there's a new government that will...
Kinneret Council on Aging, an area nonprofit that provides life enhancing resources to the over 300 residents of Kinneret Apartments and to seniors living outside that community, has expanded the scope of its activities even further. Additional onsite activities include a monthly nutrition class provided by the Second Harvest Food Bank, and weekly English and semi-weekly Spanish classes. Fresh fruit and vegetables, canned items and protein are now available twice a month through KCOA's new...
Mark your calendars for an evening of elegance, connection, and community impact at the Jewish Pavilion Senior Services Cocktail Party, hosted by Heritage Florida Jewish News. Join friends and supporters of the Jewish Pavilion for this festive gathering at Grand Living Park at Lake Mary, 1021 Royal Gardens Circle, Lake Mary, held on Wednesday, June 4 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Guests will enjoy an open bar, gourmet heavy hors d'oeuvres, and desserts, all while mingling with Jewish Pavilion...
(JNS) — U.S.-Israeli citizen Edan Alexander’s mother Yael revealed new details of his ordeals as a captive of Hamas in Gaza. “Our hearts broke as Edan began to share the unimaginable hardship, the daily fear—just to survive the night. The hunger, the lack of water, the horrific sanitary conditions,” his mother said from Ichilov Hospital, where her son is recovering after his release on May 12. He is expected to stay at the hospital for four days. Edan, 21, was freed by Hamas after 584 days in captivity. He was 19 when he was captured while ser...
(JNS) — Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America has released its list of “18 American Zionist women you should know” for three years to “spread the word that today’s Zionists aren’t who you think of when you hear the word,” the nonprofit told JNS. “Zionism today is expressed in myriad powerful and personal ways by women of all different backgrounds and walks of life,” Carol Ann Schwartz, Hadassah’s national president, told JNS. “Hadassah’s list captures that breadth of experience and celebrates women who are not only advocating f...
(JNS) — U.S. President Donald Trump told Saudi Arabian officials that they ought to recognize Israel formally, and by doing so, “you’ll be greatly honoring me.” “It’s been an amazing thing, the Abraham Accords. It’s my fervent hope, wish and even my dream, that Saudi Arabia, a place I have such respect for, especially over the last fairly short period of time—what you’ve been able to do,” Trump said in a speech in Riyadh on Tuesday, as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman looking on. “But we’ll soon be joining the Abraham Accords. I thin...
(JNS) — Israeli civilian communities in Judea and Samaria serve as the Jewish state’s “defensive wall in every sense of the word,” President Isaac Herzog said in remarks to the Makor Rishon Settlement Conference, held in the southern Samaria town of Ofra. “During my many visits across the country—and certainly in Judea and Samaria—and especially when I fly over the land by helicopter, I become increasingly convinced of how vital, impressive, and thriving the settlement enterprise is,” Herzog said in a pre-recorded statement. He described Judea...
(JNS) — “It’s not like Elkana to break down,” said Ruhama Bohbot, the mother of Hamas captive Elkana Bohbot, who appeared in a Hamas propaganda video released on Saturday alongside fellow hostage Yosef Haim Ohana. In the video, Ohana claims that Elkana attempted to harm himself. Since the video aired, Ruhama told JNS that the family has been overwhelmed with anxiety and fear, unable to eat or sleep. They don’t know if what’s shown in the video is real and are desperately awaiting updates fro...
Even a rainy forecast couldn't wash out the generosity and good cheer at this year's Jewish Pavilion Senior Services Golf Tournament, held on May 12 at the Heathrow Country Club. While the weather cut the day short - forcing play to end early after 128 enthusiastic golfers hit the course - the event still delivered a memorable experience for all involved and raised over $25,000 to benefit the Orlando Senior Help Desk, a vital free information and referral service for local seniors and their...
(JTA) - If she found it unnerving to see someone make a throat-slitting gesture at her as she walked the carpet at the first event in the Eurovision song contest, Yuval Raphael wasn't letting on. "It was a stressful situation, scary at times," Raphael, Israel's competitor in this year's song contest, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in an interview Monday. She was speaking a day after the competition's "turquoise carpet" kickoff, when Israel filed a police report accusing a pro-Palestinian...
Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael, the Jewish National Fund, will be allocating $100,000 to support New York City's Israel parade for the first time. The annual parade, known as Israel Day on Fifth, took place on Sunday, May 18, with the theme "Hatikvah," the name of Israel's national anthem, which means "the hope." KKL-JNF billed it as the "largest global gathering in support of Israel." The allocation by KKL-JNF underscores an effort to strengthen bonds between Israeli and American Jews, the group...
(JNS) — After a seven-year hiatus, Israel’s Consulate General in New York revived its official Israeli Independence Day celebration with an event in Midtown Manhattan on Sunday night that blended solemn speeches with Israeli folk dancing, themed cocktails and reflections on the country’s resilience in the wake of the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. As many as 800 guests attended, including the mayor of New York City, Eric Adams; Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.); and Ofir Akunis, the Israeli consul general in New York,...
(JNS) — Where can rabbis gather to hear from the Speaker of the House and a progressive Democratic senator about their support for the State of Israel? Where can they join Christian ministers to advocate for Israel, participate in a respectful discussion about the administration’s efforts against antisemitism, study biblical texts, learn about troubling antisemitism trends, and hear from influential authors and student leaders confronting anti-Israel activity on campus? If you said the Annual Conference of the Zionist Rabbinic Coalition, you...
(JNS) — Five tiny figurines — including black wood-carved heads depicting African figures — have been uncovered in Israel’s Negev Desert, offering rare insight into unexpected cultural connections in the region some 1,500 years ago, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced. The statuettes were discovered in 2017 during an excavation at Tel Malhata in the Arad Valley, in graves belonging to women and children. The findings date to the Byzantine period and suggest trade or cultural ties that extended far beyond the immediate region. The res...
Argentine Supreme Court discovers over 80 boxes of forgotten Nazi documents By Grace Gilson (JTA) — The Supreme Court of Argentina discovered over 80 boxes of material from the Nazis in its basement last Friday, prompting court officials to work with local Jewish organizations to review their contents. The boxes were sent in 1941 from the embassy of Nazi Germany in Tokyo to German diplomats in Argentina. Their contents include Nazi postcards, photographs and propaganda material, which, the court said in a statement Monday, were “intended to...
(JNS) — Israelis are increasingly concerned about the possibility of a large-scale terrorist invasion led by Palestinian terrorist organizations from Judea and Samaria, according to a new survey made public on Thursday. The poll, published by the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs and conducted by the Lazar Research Institute, surveyed a representative sample of approximately 700 Jewish and Arab Israelis. Eighty-one percent of the Jewish Israeli respondents have concerns about a large-scale terror attack emanating from Judea a...
(JNS) — Families of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza issued an urgent demand for clarification from Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government on May 7, following a statement by U.S. President Donald Trump that only 21 captives remain alive—contradicting Jerusalem’s official figure of 24. In a statement issued by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, relatives called on the government to disclose any updated intelligence. “Following the U.S. president’s statement last night regarding the number of living hostages st...
(JNS)- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone conversation on Tuesday with Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old Israel Defense Forces soldier and dual U.S-Israeli citizen released from captivity in Gaza the previous day. Alexander, who had been held by the Hamas terrorist organization for over 580 days, is currently receiving medical care in an Israeli hospital, as confirmed by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office. According to Israeli media reports, Alexander's medical condition has rul...
(JTA) — Cardinal Robert Prevost, who was just elected as Pope Leo XIV, studied under a pioneer in Jewish-Catholic relations when he attended seminary in Chicago. The Rev. John T. Pawlikowski, who taught for nearly half a century at the Catholic Theological Union until his retirement in 2017, served as co-founder and director of the school’s Catholic-Jewish Studies Program and also served four terms on the board of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. More than 40 years after Leo’s ordination as a priest, Pawlikowski remembers the new pope as a...
(JNS) - Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, 69, a Chicago native, was elected as the new pope of the Catholic Church on May 8. He will be called Leo XIV. The first U.S.-born pope is also a Peruvian citizen and was previously archbishop of Peru, the Associated Press reported. Most recently, the new pope was prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, "one of the most important jobs in the Catholic Church," the AP reported, as "the powerful head...
Crown Heights, Brooklyn. That was the destination for a recent memorable, uplifting Shabbaton sponsored by JLI, the educational arm of Chabad Lubavitch. More than 25 people who represented the Chabad of North Orlando thought they were leaving home in Orlando for a weekend away. What most people said after the weekend was that they felt like they had arrived at home in Crown Heights. Here's how some of the participants described their two-and-a-half days in one of the world's premier bastions of...
