Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed two bills on Monday geared to protect Jewish residents in the state. HB 187, Antisemitism, which went into effect on July 1, codifies the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism and its contemporary examples of Jew-hatred into state law “to assist in the monitoring and reporting of antisemitic hate crimes and discrimination and to make residents aware of and to combat such incidents in this state.” The bill passed the Florida House 115-0 on Feb. 29, after h...
(JNS) — Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) sent a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland urging a federal response to the violence that occurred on Sunday at the Adas Torah synagogue in Los Angeles. “I write urging immediate action against a pro-Hamas mob’s recent assault on a Jewish community,” Cotton wrote on Tuesday. “The mob attacked Jews with bear spray, beat a man until his face and shirt were covered in blood, and chanted ‘intifada revolution.’” Noting that the anti-Israel activists had announced their plans in...
(JNS) - The lone Republican Jewish lawmaker in the Florida State legislature said Tuesday that he could never have imagined considering whether it was safe for Jews to live in the United States, even though the Sunshine State is the "gold standard" for fighting antisemitism. Randy Fine spoke after months of often violent antisemitic protests across the U.S. that have shaken American Jewry in ways not seen since World War II. "I would never have thought that I would live at a time when I would wo...
(JNS) — Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met on Monday in Washington with White House adviser Amos Hochstein. The two men discussed the ongoing conflict against Hezbollah and the “actions required to achieve a framework that enables the safe return of Israeli communities to their homes in the north,” according to an Israeli readout. Gallant reiterated his commitment to changing the security situation on the northern border. He told Hochstein that the transition to “Phase 3” in the war against Hamas in Gaza will impact developme...
(JTA) — Wikipedia’s editors have voted to declare the Anti-Defamation League “generally unreliable” on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, adding it to a list of banned and partially banned sources. An overwhelming majority of editors involved in the debate about the ADL also voted to deem the organization unreliable on the topic of antisemitism, its core focus. A formal declaration on that count is expected next. The decision about Israel-related citations, made last week, means that one of the most prominent and longstanding Jewish advocac...
How do we know there's a G-d? Do the Torah and science conflict? How do you know the Torah is true? These are some of the fascinating questions that will be discussed in "OMG - The Battle Between Faith and Logic," a six-lesson course from JLI teens. This course will tackle the greatest theological questions humanity has been asking for thousands of years. Students will stand alongside ancient Jewish thinkers who've grappled with powerful existential questions about G-d, morality, and dealing...
(JNS) — The Israel Defense Forces is pursuing a phased approach in its ongoing offensive against Hamas’s last stronghold in Rafah, Gaza. By dividing Rafah into sub-areas and deploying a single division—the 162nd—rather than two, the IDF and the Israeli Cabinet have taken a slower path, but one that has avoided another crisis with the United States. According to Israeli military assessments, Hamas’s final functioning brigade will be dismantled in Rafah within weeks. Its defeat will mark a major milestone in the war that began on Oct. 7 with Ha...
(JNS) — Released Israeli hostage Amit Soussana on Monday recalled the sexual assault she experienced at the hands of Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip during a White House event marking International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. “If someone had told me a few months ago while I was sitting in a dark room in Gaza tied up by my ankle and unable to move that I would be standing here today before you all, I would have thought that they were out of their mind,” she told attendees. “The sexual assault I experienced should...
(JNS) — With intense fighting in the Gaza Strip winding down, Jerusalem will deploy more troops to the northern border to defend against increasing Hezbollah attacks from Lebanon, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Channel 14 on Sunday night. “The intense phase of the fighting against Hamas is about to end,” he told “Patriots” host Yinon Magal, adding: “It doesn’t mean that the war is about to end, but the war in its intense phase is about to end in Rafah.” He added that the Israeli military will continue to “mow the grass” in Gaz...
(JNS) — Senior U.S. officials have assured Israel that Washington is prepared to “fully back” its ally in the event of a further escalation on the northern border, CNN reported on Friday, citing a Biden administration official. The Biden administration would offer Israel the security assistance it needs to fight Hezbollah, the senior official stated, adding, however, that the U.S. would not deploy American troops on the ground in such a scenario. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant took off for Washington overnight Saturday for meeti...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — The Israeli healthcare system is preparing to deal with pregnancies resulting from sexual assaults during captivity. An article was published in the June issue of the Israel Medical Association’s journal “HaRefuah” to instruct medical teams on addressing this “sensitive, difficult-to-comprehend, yet unavoidable matter.” The piece, written by Lt. Col. (res.) Dr. Leah Shelef, former head of the Air Force’s psychology department and current dean of Sapir College’s School of Social Work, and Professor Gil Zalsman, direct...
(JTA) - The musician Jonny Greenwood is pushing back on critics who say he should abandon a plan to tour with an Israeli collaborator because of the Israel-Hamas war. Greenwood and Dudu Tassa, an Israeli rock star from a prominent Mizrahi musical family, are scheduled to perform together on the European festival circuit this summer, a year after they released a joint record that featured singers from across the Middle East. Some of the dates were rescheduled after the pair canceled shows in the...
The PJ Library and the Jewish Chamber of Commerce will partner to present a special child-friendly mitzvah project benefiting Rosie’s Adventures Childhood Cancer Foundation. This event will take place on July 14 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. and is designed to bring families together for a day of creativity, compassion, and community service. A day of crafting for a cause The event invites families to participate in making crafts and bracelets that will be donated to children battling cancer. These handmade items aim to brighten the hospital rooms and l...
(JNS) - The most ancient ship ever found in the deep sea has been discovered off Israel's northern coast, shedding light on trade more than three millennia ago and revealing the existence of advanced navigation skills in that era, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Thursday. The 3,300-year-old ship's cargo, including hundreds of intact amphorae, was located 55 miles from shore at a depth of just over 1 mile, the state-run archaeological body said. The dramatic find was uncovered...
(JNS) - Many of the 120 hostages who remain in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip are believed to be alive, a senior Israeli official involved in ongoing negotiations with the terrorist organization said on Tuesday. "Dozens are alive with certainty," the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to not being authorized to speak to the press, told AFP. He claimed the vast majority of the captives are being held by Hamas, and not by other terror groups in the coastal enclave. The...
(JNS) — Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned on Wednesday of the potential outbreak of a wider conflict with Hezbollah, as the Iranian-backed terror group continued to launch rockets and drones at the Jewish state. Gallant made the comments during a situation assessment with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi at the military’s Northern Command. “We are achieving readiness on land and in the air, strengthening our intelligence systems and preparing for every scenario,” said Gallant. “We must all remember that Hezbollah started a wa...
(JNS) — Hundreds of people gathered in Paris on Wednesday to demonstrate against Jew-hatred in the wake of the antisemitic rape of a 12-year-old girl that shocked the country over the weekend, local media reported. The rally in the French capital was organized by Collectif Nous Vivrons (“We Will Live Collective”), which was founded following Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre in Israel and the ensuing wave of antisemitism in Europe. “This antisemitic rape is a continuation of a climate hostile to Jews, fueled in particular by irresponsible political...
(JTA) — Months after Jewish students and Hillel and Chabad staff lambasted the Anti-Defamation League’s “report cards” for campus antisemitism, the group has released an updated version. The new report cards — published this week, after nearly all schools had finished their academic year — incorporate seismic events on campus, such as the widespread and contentious pro-Palestinian encampment movement, but don’t contain major changes. Some schools went up a letter grade in how the ADL viewed their response to antisemitic incidents; ot...
Herzog: ‘We are utterly grateful to the United States of America’ (JNS) — Israeli President Isaac Herzog met on Wednesday with a bipartisan delegation of members of the United States Congress, led by Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). “I say repeatedly, we are utterly grateful to the United States of America for standing with us in this war. And I’m very grateful to the president of the United States for being here at the beginning of the war and sending a clear message on behalf of the American people,” said Herzog. “And we also respect tremendously...
(JNS) — Israel’s government and military remain fully committed to eliminating Hamas terrorist rule in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office clarified on Wednesday evening. The statement came after Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told Channel 13 News that the government’s war goal of ending Hamas rule in Gaza can only truly be accomplished by putting in place a viable alternative. “The Security Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has defined the destruction of Hamas’s m...
(JNS) — Intelligence documents compiled by the Israel Defense Forces’ Gaza Division only three weeks before Oct. 7 warned that Hamas was preparing for a massive cross-border attack during which at least 200 hostages would be taken, according to Israeli media reports. The memo, which was internally circulated on Sept. 19, was brought to the attention of at least some top intelligence officials in the military’s Southern Command, Israel’s Kan News reported on Monday night. The document detailed drills by the Gaza terrorist group’s Nukhba fo...
(JTA) - Nicole Tolkacheva, 52, has endured nearly two and a half years of war as her native Odesa gets pounded by Russian missiles. "Every morning, the city checks who and what survived the night," she said of Ukraine's storied Black Sea port city. "In this life, you don't know what's safer: running to the shelter and risking your life on the way or staying at home and risking being buried under the rubble." But one recent weekend, Tolkacheva got a reprieve from the war. She and 200 fellow Ukrai...
By (JTA) — Ten Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza on Saturday in one of the bloodiest days for the Israeli military since the beginning of its war with Hamas. An additional soldier died of wounds sustained in battle earlier in the week. The casualties came as Israel is negotiating with Hamas over a potential ceasefire that would see the release of hostages held by the terror group. Israel reportedly expects Hamas to reject the ceasefire offer, made with U.S. support. The incidents also came on the first day of a pause Israel announced that w...
(JNS) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has informed members of his government of his intent to dissolve the War Cabinet set up after Hamas's Oct. 7 attack. The premier told ministers on Sunday that the powerful forum, which was established when National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz joined the wartime government in October, had become obsolete following the latter's June 9 decision to return to the opposition. Discussions on the war will continue to take place in a small forum with...
(JNS) — Jerusalem will not commit to ending the war in Gaza until Hamas releases all of the hostages held by the terrorist group, according to a senior Israeli official. The official told the Ynet website that the captives must be freed in the first and second phases of the proposed ceasefire agreement approved by the United Nations Security Council on June 10. The U.S.-drafted resolution is aimed at reaching a three-phase ceasefire deal to end the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Noting that Israel has accepted the ceasefire proposal, t...
