Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1902 - 1926 of 10919
(JTA) - One, just out of the army, told his dad "I love you" and "I'm sorry" then went quiet. One who just joined the army has no family nearby, so a stranger is keeping him company in the hospital. One was a peace activist. These are some of the stories beginning to emerge as Israel strives to identify the hundreds of people who are dead and dozens who are missing after Saturday's attack on southern Israel by Hamas. There are no figures yet on the number of North Americans killed or abducted...
(JNS) - In the days after Senator Dianne Feinstein's death, the California political community's attention has been divided between commemorating Feinstein's remarkable career and speculating about who Governor Gavin Newsom would appoint as her replacement. The mourning had not yet concluded on Sunday night when word of Newsom's selection of former union leader and Democratic fundraiser Laphonza Butler as the state's new senator became public. But in all the commotion, an obscure but critically...
(JNS) — As Israel entered its third day of war with Hamas, an Israeli official denied it was negotiating for the release of hostages held by the terror group via Qatar. “There is no negotiation,” an Israeli official said, according to The Times of Israel, disavowing the claim of a Hamas source to the contary. Qatari mediators have been trying to negotiate the freedom of Israeli women and children in exchange for the release of 36 Palestinian women and children from Israel’s prisons, Reuters reported on Monday. The negotiations, conduct...
(JNS) — The late Dianne Feinstein is often described as a fierce supporter of Israel throughout her more than 30 years serving as a California senator. The Democrat was proud of her “strong Jewish heritage” and did all she could “to stop the United States from selling weapons to Israel’s enemies,” Raleigh Resnick, rabbi and director of Chabad of Tri-Valley in Pleasanton, Calif., told JNS. (Feinstein attended Chanukah menorah-lightings that Chabad led in San Francisco’s Union Square.) “On the world stage, she presented herself as a proud Jew...
(JNS) — The following is full text of Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s address to the nation: My fellow Israelis, my sisters and brothers, I turn to you today while we are in the midst of a fierce war declared upon us by a cruel enemy. I turn to you while the Israel Defense Forces are fighting on a wide front, at a time when many of us are under fire and facing uncertainty, with our lives laid before us, and while the emergency, medical and rescue services are making great efforts to save lives, and various sources are working to convey to us...
Randi Weingarten, teachers’ union leader, joins J Street board By Ron Kampeas WASHINGTON (JTA) — J Street announced that Randi Weingarten, a teachers’ union leader who has become a prominent voice in national debates over COVID-19 and education, is joining its board. The liberal Israel lobby’s announcement on Wednesday said Weingarten would be joined by John Yarmuth, a retired Jewish Democratic congressman from Kentucky; Cary Sherman, a former top recording industry executive; and Jon Greenwald, a veteran diplomat. J Street also announc...
(New York Jewish Week) — The El Al desk at JFK Airport’s Terminal 4 was brimming with quiet anxiety on Monday, Oct. 9, as dozens of travelers waited to be checked in holding two documents: their passport, and their emergency summons from the Israel Defense Forces. The military reservists were preparing to board at least two specially chartered flights to Israel, where they will join a burgeoning war effort. Since Saturday’s invasion of southern Israel by Hamas, which killed at least 900 Israelis, the country has called up an unprecedented 300,0...
Rescuers without borders medics arrived at the Gaza border on Shabbat/Saturday to help the wounded. Spokeswoman Natalie Sopinsky said they were able to get there quickly because 1) the medics are armed and 2) they have an armored ambulance. “We have remained there, working hand-in-hand with Magen David Adom. This is ongoing and we are working in shifts with volunteer from around the country. All hands are needed in the war effort and we are doing our best to treat wounded civilians and soldiers.” Sopinsky stated that they now need a 2nd tea...
(JTA) - The United States Postal Service has released a new series of Forever stamps honoring Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the late Jewish Supreme Court justice and liberal icon who died in 2020. The stamp, which became available for purchase on Monday, shows Ginsburg wearing her black judge's robe and signature white collar. It was announced last year as part of the postal service's 2023 lineup of new stamps, reflecting a jump on the service's standard timeline for honoring deceased people. The...
(JNS) - The Jerusalem March, the largest and oldest march in Israel, took place during the intermediate days of Sukkot, with tens of thousands of Israelis and participants from some 90 other countries joined in. Participants had the choice of three routes on Oct. 4: A 10-km. (6.2-mile) circuit, suitable for experienced walkers; one of about 8 km. (5 miles), medium level of difficulty; and one of about 5 km. (3.1 miles), low level of difficulty and suitable for the whole family. The event...
(JNS) - Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) began a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia on Wednesday with a moment of silence for Taylor Force, the 28-year-old West Point graduate and U.S. Army veteran who was killed in 2016 while on a graduate-school trip to Israel. "His death was a deranged and inhumane action," said Wilson, who chairs the subcommittee, which is part of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. The congressman also slammed the Palestinian...
This year’s Jewish Pavilion online auction will feature luxury hotel stays, fitness packages, sports memorabilia, wine baskets and wine tastings, event tickets for unforgettable experiences, restaurant gift cards and homemade meals. The Jewish Pavilion’s 4th Annual Online Charity Auction, set to run from Oct. 22 to Oct. 27. It’s not just an auction; it’s a chance to make a difference while treating yourself to some of life’s finest offerings. Registering for this extraordinary event is a breeze — no credit card required. Just share your name a...
The Rosen JCC will host Community Bingo on Thursday, Oct. 19. The event will be held monthly at the Rosen Event Center, with dates to be announced. The doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the games start at 6:30 p.m. The cost is $20 to play and for a chance to win cash prizes. There are refreshments available for an additional fee. This is a night of fun and games. It’s the perfect opportunity for friends and family to get together. Or come alone and meet new friends....
(JTA) — Benjamin Netanyahu used his address to the United Nations to tout the prospect of a diplomatic agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and to broach a topic that he has previously downplayed: Israeli-Palestinian peace. The Israeli prime minister also used the end of his 25-minute speech to herald the benefits — and warn of the dangers — of artificial intelligence, largely reprising what he told tech mogul Elon Musk in a live streamed conversation earlier in the week. And he did not mention one burning issue that has preoccupied Israe...
(JNS) — Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday in Berlin signed an agreement to provide Israel’s Arrow 3 missile defense system to Germany. At an estimated value of $3.5 billion, the deal is the largest of its kind in Israel’s history. The first missile battery, including radar, launch and interception management systems, is to be supplied to the Germans by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) by the fourth quarter of 2025. Germany is the first foreign purchaser of the system. Arrow 3 is the upper-tier layer of Israel’s missile defense...
(JNS) — President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were among the speakers Tuesday at Israel’s state memorial ceremony marking 50 years since the Yom Kippur War. The ceremony took place at the Hall of Remembrance on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. The attendees included Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and Supreme Court Justice Yitzhak Amit. On Oct. 6, 1973, a coalition of Arab states, led by Egypt and Syria, coordinated a surprise attack on Yom Kippur, “thinking that the IDF would not be able to defen...
(JTA) — Leaning into his latest controversies, Elon Musk is planning to join a bevy of Jewish men for a live chat. The conversation will focus on “X, anti-Semitism, and the future of free speech,” according to conservative pundit and social media personality Ben Shapiro, who announced Wednesday that Musk would join him on his “Daily Wire” podcast. Also participating in the conversation, Shapiro said, are Rabbi Ari Lamm, an Orthodox scholar and podcaster; former Israeli politician and Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky; an unnamed represent...
(JNS) — In the first Republican candidate debate on Aug. 24, Israel became the center of a heated exchange between two of those vying for the presidency in 2024. The Jewish state did not come up at all during the two-hour second debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, Calif., a month later, on Sept. 27. Instead, the seven candidates focused largely on domestic issues, including urban crime, illegal drugs, immigration and the Southern border. Throughout the e...
(JNS) - Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) in an interview that aired on Wednesday shot down reports that U.S.-led talks over normalization with Israel had been suspended. In an hour-long interview with Fox News' chief political correspondent Bret Baier-MBS's first ever interview completely in English and the first with a major American network since 2019-the crown prince said that peace with the Jewish state was "getting closer every day." Asked what it would take for Riyadh to join...
(JNS) — Dalia al-Aqidi secured 4.7 percent of the vote in the 2020 Minnesota Republican primary in an unsuccessful bid to unseat Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.). The Iraqi-born media adviser announced on Monday that she is again running for the Republican nomination in the state’s 5th Congressional District. “Many people assume that because Ilhan and I are both female, Muslim refugees, we must think alike,” al-Aqidi, who immigrated to the United States in 1993, told JNS. “We couldn’t be further apa...
(JNS) - Sen. Robert "Bob" Menendez (D-N.J.), a longtime supporter of Israel and critic of the Iran nuclear deal, is facing widespread calls for his resignation following charges from the U.S. attorney's office that he accepted bribes. The Democrat "allegedly agreed to use his official position to benefit" three New Jersey businessmen "and the government of Egypt in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes to Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, which included gold bars, cash...
(New York Jewish Week) — When a small group of people convened next to an inconspicuous plaque steps from the entrance to the Staten Island Ferry’s Whitehall Terminal, they weren’t there to catch a boat leaving the island. Instead, they had come to the southern tip of Manhattan to celebrate a ship that had arrived on its shores centuries before. The gathering was the 369th anniversary of an event most New Yorkers don’t know about, let alone celebrate: the arrival of the first Jewish community to the United States in 1654. That lack of awarene...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Biden administration is aiming to counter antisemitic discrimination in federally-funded transit systems, housing, food programs and other areas — one of the most major actions the White House has taken since it unveiled a far-reaching strategy to combat antisemitism in May. On Thursday, the administration announced that it is instructing eight cabinet departments to extend civil rights protections to victims of antisemitism and other forms of religious bigotry. The decision marks a broad expansion of the 1964 Civil Rig...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — As of November, Israelis will be able to enter the United States without a visa, a major change that Israel has long sought and that will ease travel for hundreds of thousands of its citizens. Israel’s entry into the Visa Waiver Program, which now includes 41 countries, means that Israelis traveling to the United States will no longer have to go through a months-long visa application process that carried the threat of denial. It also means that Palestinian-Americans living in the West Bank and Gaza will be able to enter Isr...
Israeli forces evacuate Samaria outpost; Four arrested (JNS) — Members of Israel’s coalition expressed anger on Wednesday after Israeli security forces evacuated a Jewish outpost erected near the community of Ma’ale Michmash in Samaria. Four Jews were arrested during the evacuation. Dozens of police and Civil Administration inspectors cleared out residential structures and an animal pen built on the hill. The outpost, Givat Sde Yonatan, established a few months ago in the Binyamin region of southern Samaria, sits on private Palestinian land....
