Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JTA) — Israel has killed Hamas’ third-in-command in the Gaza Strip, the United States confirmed on Monday. The killing earlier this month of Marwan Issa, alleged to be a mastermind of Hamas’ Oct. 7 invasion of Israel, is a significant achievement for Israel in its war on the terror group in Gaza, which is approaching the six-month mark. Issa served under Hamas militant leader Mohammed Deif and Yahya Sinwar, the terror group’s chief in Gaza. Israeli officials had said for more than a week that they were working to confirm that Issa had been ki...
(JNS) — At the request of Germany, Israeli authorities transferred some 70 Palestinian orphans between the ages of 3 and 15 from the Gaza Strip to Bethlehem in Judea on Monday. The National Security Council in the Prime Minister’s Office reportedly approved the move without informing the Security Cabinet. Israel Defense Forces soldiers escorted the convoy of buses with Gaza orphans and their companions, which passed through the outskirts of Jerusalem on its way to Judea, Channel 12 News reported. The move was said to have been authorized follow...
(JNS) - The Hamas terrorist organization is disseminating fictitious figures for casualties in the current war in Gaza. That's the conclusion of a deep dive into the data published in Tablet magazine in a March 7 report titled "How the Gaza Ministry of Health Fakes Casualty Numbers." "The numbers are not real. That much is obvious to anyone who understands how naturally occurring numbers work. The casualties are not overwhelmingly women and children, and the majority may be Hamas fighters,"...
(JNS) - Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz sent a sharply worded letter to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday, charging him with a blatant disregard for the atrocities committed by Hamas against the Jewish people on Oct. 7. "Your dismissal of the heinous acts as documented in the recent U.N. report-acts which are still being perpetrated-is not only inadequate but also offensive," wrote Katz. "The world has been waiting five months for your actions. The necessity to declare...
(JNS) — The White House will present alternative plans designed to dissuade Jerusalem from carrying out a full-scale military operation in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah when an Israeli delegation visits Washington early next week, Axios reported on Tuesday. According to U.S. and Israeli officials, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was surprised when President Joe Biden proposed the visit. “The fear was that the negotiations over the hostage deal could collapse and then the Israelis will just go ahead with a Rafah invasion, which...
(JNS) - Tel Aviv's bustling Dizengoff Street was lined with people garbed in Purim costumes on Sunday, even as the celebrations were noticeably muted compared to years past due to the ongoing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. "This year feels different with everything that has been happening. There are people who aren't celebrating with us because they can't and there are those who will never celebrate again," Zach Blank, 28, who immigrated to Tel Aviv from the United States 10 years ago,...
(JNS) — Despite heightened tensions five months into Israel’s war with Hamas, Jerusalem remains committed to upholding freedom of worship, Israeli officials told foreign press at a special Ramadan briefing in Jerusalem on Tuesday. “We take pride in being a nation that welcomes all faiths and protects freedom of religion and worship,” said Tal Heinrich, spokeswoman for the Prime Minister’s Office. While Israel hasn’t placed any restrictions on Arab-Israeli Muslims who wish to visit the Temple Mount during the month-long holiday, age restriction...
(JTA) — Eylon Levy, the English-language spokesman for Israel widely praised for defending the beleaguered country in English-language media, has been suspended and is unlikely to return to his role, Israeli media is reporting. According to the Israeli media reports, Levy was suspended over his response on X, formerly Twitter, to Britain’s top diplomat, who had called for more aid to be allowed into Gaza, where Israel is waging war against Hamas. Levy’s response, which has since been deleted, rejected the idea that Israel was preventing aid f...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — An overwhelming majority of U.S. Jews say Israel’s reasons for launching a war against Hamas are justified, and a substantial majority approve of how Israel is conducting the war. The Pew Research Center study published Thursday is billed as the rare survey of sentiment about the war to include enough Jewish and Muslim respondents to garner an accurate reflection of their views. It shows that Jewish views on the conflict are in many ways starkly different from those held by the rest of Americans. Far fewer U.S. res...
‘US taps Hamas ally Qatar to build port in Gaza’ By David Isaac (JNS) — At America’s request, Hamas ally Qatar has agreed to take charge of operating and financing the temporary pier on its way from the United States to the Gaza coast, Israel’s Channel 14 reported on Tuesday. Qatar consented to run the port on condition that the construction work go to the Al-Hisi firm, “a company controlled and sponsored by Hamas,” according to Channel 14 correspondent Baruch Yedid, citing Arab media reports following a meeting in Cyprus between diplomatic of...
(JNS) — The Israel Defense Forces’ Central Command, which is responsible for Judea and Samaria, has established a team to investigate alleged terror tunnels in the area. The unit, which was established several months ago, consists of engineering and intelligence specialists, as well as civilian experts, Ynet reported on Tuesday. “The special team acts upon intelligence needs or reports from the field and knows how to bring all the capabilities required to inspect them [the tunnels],” a security source told the site. He added, “In the past, we h...
(JNS) — The Biden administration is expected to impose new sanctions as early as Thursday on two Jewish outposts located beyond the Green Line that were allegedly used to launch attacks against Palestinians, according to an Axios report. The prospective sanctions to counter “settler violence” will also target three Israelis, said the report, citing three U.S. officials. The penalties would freeze the U.S.-based assets of the individuals and communities, ban those targeted from obtaining a visa to enter the United States and block their acces...
The largest Jewish festival in Central Florida, the 2024 Jewish Heritage Festival, is returning to The Casements in Ormond Beach on Sunday, April 7, 25 Riverside Drive, Ormond Beach, Fla., from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. The entire event is free and open to the public. The Festival will feature nationally acclaimed entertainment, as well as Kosher, Mediterranean and deli-style food vendors. Also featured will be a Health and Wellness Fair, Israeli and Judaica artists and vendors, Jewish organization b...
By Christine DeSouza In February Ethiopian National Project staff members Roni Akale and Grace Rodnitzki visited Central Florida for the BBYO convention. While here, Keith Dvorchik, in partnership with JNF and ZOA, arranged for them to speak to members of the community about the organization. Because the meeting was spur of the moment, only a handful of people were able to attend the discussion. The following is an interview with Akale and Rodnitzki about ENP. Led by hope and a donkey For 2,000...
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett chastised Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Thursday, after Schumer called for new elections in Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ouster. “Regardless of our political opinion,” tweeted Bennett, who split from a coalition of right-wing parties led by Netanyahu in 2021 to form his own government, “we strongly oppose external political intervention in Israel’s internal affairs.” Bennett blasted Schumer’s interference in Israeli democ...
In support of Head & Neck Cancer Awareness month, Jason Mendelsohn has announced the second annual Raise Your Glass event is taking place on Sunday, April 7, 5 p.m. – 7:30 p.m., at Mercedes-Benz of Orlando in Maitland, located at 810 N Orlando Ave. Mendelsohn is a survivor of HPV-related tonsil cancer, and his cancer story has been shared in over 100 countries. Most recently, he shared his story as part of a virtual Congressional Briefing to support the Prevent HPV Cancer Act. As well, he served...
Chabad Lubavitch of North Orlando and Decision Tactical invite the entire community to an exclusive screening of “Supernova - The Music Festival Massacre” on Thursday, April 11, 2024. The massacre at the Supernova Festival in the Negev desert marks a historic turning point for Israel: On Oct. 7, 2023, at 6:30 a.m., Hamas terrorists broke through the borders from Gaza into Israel, launching a planned and coordinated attack. Among their targets – a yearly techno music festival with over 3500 young revelers in attendance. Soon the festival groun...
(JNS) - Thousands of Jewish teens and adults from 46 countries gathered at a Rosen Shingle Creek hotel in Orlando, Fla., for BBYO's annual international convention. Held from Feb. 15-19, the convention, themed "Forever Young," celebrated BBYO's centennial anniversary. Founded as the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization, BBYO includes the leadership programs Aleph Zadik Aleph, a fraternity, and the B'nai B'rith Girls, a sorority. Throughout the five-day event in Orlando, young people mingled; heard...
(JNS) - For about a year, officials at the Florida Holocaust Museum in downtown St. Petersburg kept a closely guarded secret that the museum was seeking to become the permanent home of a treasure trove of documents from the late Elie Wiesel. On Feb. 3, at its annual "To Life" fundraising gala, the museum's biggest annual social event, museum board chair Mike Igel let the secret out, telling the audience the Wiesel Foundation had chosen the museum to house and exhibit a collection of Wiesel's...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) - A rare and exciting archaeological find has been unearthed in Jerusalem, providing an extraordinary glimpse into the ancient past. During excavations carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority in the Western Wall Plaza, a small-stamped clay seal was discovered dating back to the First Temple period around 2,700 years ago. The clay seal contains ancient Hebrew writing indicating it belonged to the "Governor of the City" of Jerusalem, the highest municipal position...
(ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla) - One of Israel's most distinguished statesmen, Ambassador Michael Oren, a diplomat who worked at the highest levels of the Israeli government, was the featured speaker at Jewish National Fund-USA's second annual Stand with Israel Legacy Luncheon in Altamonte Springs on Feb. 12, 2024. The "thank you" event for local partners (donors) who are members of the organization's Legacy Society was attended by over 100 philanthropists. The solidarity portions of the afternoon inc...
Local screenwriter and novelist Katherine MK Mitchell, a former talent agent and story-analyst in the Hollywood film industry, will lead a workshop titled “Screenwriting 101,” at the Maitland Library auditorium on March 23 from 10:30 a.m. – noon. The class will include basic information on screenwriting vs. narrative and the comparisons of writing requirements between the forms; challenging writers’ block; anecdotes; adaptations; specialty writers, infomercials; and suggested educational reading materials. The Maitland Library is located...
(JTA) — Vice President Kamala Harris called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza and placed most of the onus on Israel for a shortfall in humanitarian aid entering the enclave. The call for a cessation of fighting was not actually a change in the U.S. position on the war. In her speech, at a civil rights-focused event on Sunday in Birmingham, Alabama, Harris made clear that she was not referring to a permanent ceasefire, which progressive activists have advocated for months. Rather, she was voicing support for the current Israeli-backed propo...
(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday night hit back at U.S. President Joe Biden for claiming that the Jewish state’s “incredibly conservative government” risked losing it international support. “Since the start of the war, I have been leading a diplomatic campaign to block pressure designed to end the war prematurely and to secure strong support for Israel,” said Netanyahu in a video message. “We have had considerable success. Today, a Harvard-Harris poll was published which shows that 82 percent of the American publ...
By (JNS) — Iran-backed terror groups are plotting to turn the Islamic holy month of Ramadan into the “second phase of Oct. 7” and set the Middle East on fire, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant charged on Tuesday. “The main goal of Hamas is to take Ramadan, with an emphasis on the Temple Mount and Jerusalem, and turn it into the second phase of their plan that began on Oct. 7. This is the main goal of Hamas, and it is being amplified by Iran and Hezbollah,” Gallant said following a situational assessment at the Israel Defense Forces’ C...
