Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1491 - 1515 of 11388
(JTA) — A man charged with multiple counts in the killing of Detroit synagogue president Samantha Woll has had a murder charge dismissed by the judge in the case. Woll, a 40-year-old Democratic and interfaith activist and president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, was found stabbed to death outside of her home on Oct. 21, 2023. Her killing came just two weeks after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, alarming Jews in Detroit and beyond who feared that she had been the victim of an antisemitic attack. But law enforcement was quick to say tha...
(JTA) - The 2024 Paris Olympics conclude on Sunday, and at least 21 Jewish athletes from the United States, Australia and Israel will return home with some new hardware: The tally includes six golds (with one athlete winning two), seven silvers and five bronzes. The medal total of 18 is more than all but 15 countries. Israel in particular has racked up a historic medal collection, with seven total medals, its most ever in a single Olympics. Israel won three medals on Aug. 3 alone, its most...
(JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has apologized for the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas in which more than 1,200 Israelis were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage. “I am sorry, deeply, that something like this happened,” he told Time Magazine during an hourlong interview this week in Jerusalem. The interview, which Time published in full, was Netanyahu’s first major one with any news organization since Oct. 7. Eric Cortellessa, Time’s national political correspondent, interviewed the prime minister shortly after his visit to...
(JNS) — “Hezbollah and Iran have taken you, the residents of Lebanon, as their hostages.” This was the message Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant sent to the Land of the Cedars on Thursday. Gallant, a former IDF major-general, published the message in Arabic, saying, “Hezbollah and Iran have taken you as hostages for their narrow interests. If Hezbollah does not cease its aggression in the north, Israel will enter into a harsh war.” The minister in his missive called the 2006 Second Lebanon War an “adventure” that Hezbollah undertook. Be...
Starting in September, the Jewish Chamber of Commerce is excited to announce a new opportunity for professionals to connect and grow their networks. Held on the first Tuesday of every month from September through December, the Chamber will host a free monthly networking breakfast at One Senior Place in Altamonte Springs. The event will begin promptly at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 9:30 a.m. The breakfast gatherings aim to bring together members of the Jewish community and beyond, offering a relaxed...
From Sept. 22-27, the Jewish Pavilion Senior Services will host its 5th annual online charity auction, featuring an array of fantastic items. Bid on luxury hotel stays, fitness packages, sports memorabilia, gift baskets, event tickets, restaurant gift cards, homemade meals, self-pampering experiences, wine tastings, one-of-a-kind items, and much more. This auction is an excellent opportunity to treat yourself while supporting a wonderful charity and finding unique gifts. Easy Online Registration Registering for the auction is simple and does...
Aug. 17-18, Florida Kids & Family Expo — Join the Holocaust Center from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the 9th Annual Florida Kids & Family Expo on Aug. 17 & 18 at the Orange County Convention Center, 9800 International Dr., Orlando. The Holocaust Center will be part of the largest kids and family expo in the United States. The Center will present the all-new VR tour of Anne Frank’s annex and Holocaust Center educators will be on hand to chat with. Sept. 14, Holocaust Center Benefit Concert — Opera Orlando will present the premiere of “Defiant Requiem:...
(JTA) — Pennsylvania’s Jewish governor, Josh Shapiro, hasn’t had the easiest week when it comes to, well, being Jewish. So, when it came to speaking publicly about Vice President Kamala Harris and the man she chose over him to be her own running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Shapiro had a point he wanted to make. “I lean on my family and I lean on my faith which calls me to serve,” Shapiro said at a rally Tuesday in his hometown, Philadelphia. “And I am proud of my faith!” Shapiro was among the top two or three contenders that Harris, the D...
(JTA) — J.D. Vance, the Ohio senator who is Donald Trump’s running mate, said he “feels bad” that Josh Shapiro, the Jewish Pennsylvania governor who was in contention to be Kamala Harris’ running mate, has to “run” from being Jewish to get the job. Harris, the vice president who is the Democratic presidential nominee, on Tuesday named Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. Shapiro was in the top two or three in contention and was also subject to a campaign from the progressive left to keep him off the ticket because of his views on Isra...
(JNS) — Three deans at Columbia University, who the university’s president said exchanged messages that “disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes,” have resigned, the New York Times reported on Thursday, adding that a fourth, who participated “to a lesser extent,” remains in his job. “About time. Actions have consequences, and Columbia should have fired all four of these deans months ago,” stated Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee. “Instead, the university continues to send mixed sig...
(JTA) — WASHINGTON — The White House condemned as “inflammatory” a pledge by Missouri Rep. Cori Bush to AIPAC that she would “tear your kingdom down,” implying that heated rhetoric like hers could inspire political violence. Bush, a member of the “Squad,” the group of far-left Democrats that is harshly critical of Israel, lost a costly primary on Tuesday to St. Louis County prosecutor Wesley Bell. Political action committees allied with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee spent more than $9 million against Bush, making the election th...
(JNS) — As some 10,000 people braved the summer heat and rain in line to enter Temple University’s Liacouras Center in North Philadelphia on Tuesday afternoon for Vice President Kamala Harris’s first event with her newly-announced running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, half a dozen protesters chanted “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” and “Kamala, Kamala, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide.” The protesters, some of whom were clad in keffiyehs and masked, used bullhorns and yelled for hours in front of an essentially...
(JNS) - A medical opinion submitted in the case of the Hamas terrorist who was allegedly raped at the Israel Defense Forces' Sde Teiman detention center suggests that the IDF reservists suspected of attacking him could be innocent, Israel's Channel 14 News broadcaster reported on Thursday. The expert opinion-written by Professor Alon Pikarsky, director of general surgery at Jerusalem's Hadassah-University Medical Center and a board-certified general surgeon specializing in colorectal...
(JNS) — The United Nations announced Aug. 5 that nine staff members of the scandal-plagued UNRWA organization “may have been involved” in the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel, as its internal investigation into Israeli allegations came to a close. The U.N. Internal Oversight Services handled the months-long fact-finding investigation in the wake of Jerusalem’s stunning allegations that a number of UNRWA employees had taken part in the atrocities of Oct. 7. The contention had led to 16 countries suspending assistance to UNRWA,...
(Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. via JNS) — On May 15, 2024, the Israel Defense Forces announced that a Hezbollah drone had hit the Israeli Air Force facility that operated the “Sky Dew” High Availability Aerostat System. This strike was unusual in that it took place far from the Israel-Lebanon front. It drew Israel’s attention, and not only because it represented a gradual escalation in the reaction equation. The fact that the aircraft accurately hit its target was not, in itself, the worst aspect of the incident. Hezboll...
(JNS) — Analysts are still poring over the data from Wesley Bell’s victory over anti-Israel ‘Squad’ member Cori Bush in the Missouri Democratic primary on Tuesday night, but Rabbi A.D. Motzen is sure that the Jewish vote made a difference in Bell’s nearly 7,000-vote margin of victory. “I can’t say with certainty that Jews made up the entire 7,000-vote margin, as we only worked on the Orthodox community,” the national director of government affairs at Agudath Israel of America told JNS. “We also don’t know how many took a Republican ballot—n...
Israeli company installs water-generation machine in Vatican City (JNS) — Watergen, an Israeli company specializing in water-generation technology, has installed one of its machines at the Office of Papal Charities in Vatican City. The machine, which produces clean drinking water from the air, will provide Cardinal Konrad Krajewski and his team with a sustainable water source on-site. The installation reflects a shared commitment to addressing global water scarcity. Krajewski, who leads the office with a focus on humanitarian aid, will b...
(JTA) — On Oct. 9, as the toll of Hamas’ attack on Israel was still being tallied, Tim Walz stood before a room of Jewish Minnesotans and condemned the invasion of two days earlier. “If you did not find moral clarity on Saturday morning, and you find yourself waiting to think about what you needed to say, you need to reevaluate where you’re at,” the governor said at the event, which was co-hosted by the local Jewish Community Relations Council. Those words resonated with Steve Hunegs, the JCRC’s executive director. He also said they tracke...
(JNS) — A squadron of United States Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets arrived in the Middle East on Thursday to “mitigate the possibility of regional escalation by Iran or its proxies,” the U.S. military confirmed. In an earlier statement, U.S. Central Command, the geographic command responsible for the Middle East, Central Asia and parts of South Asia, said that the planes were dispatched to “address” Tehran’s anticipated attack. The statement, which was shared on X, was modified to read “mitigate” some 30 minutes after it was fi...
Shalom Orlando launched Shayna's Village at the Heller Family Grove, formerly the Jewish Community Center's youth wing, on Wednesday, July 31. Channel 2 News and the Orlando Sentinel covered the grand opening. Shayna's Village, formerly the Shayna Cai Presser Parenting Center, was created to honor Shayna Cai Presser with Presser-Cohen family's continuing generosity. Now the completely revamped one-of-a-kind Shayna's Village offers a new level that focuses on children with special needs. It will...
(JTA) - Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor who burst into national view after calling Republicans "weird," will be Kamala Harris' running mate on the November Democratic ticket. Multiple outlets reported the choice early Aug.6, hours before Harris was set to appear with her pick at a Philadelphia rally. Harris' decision ends speculation that Josh Shapiro, the Jewish governor of Pennsylvania, could be in line for the role. Walz and Shapiro were reportedly the two final choices narrowed from a...
The Heritage Florida Jewish News received two awards, including one first place honor and one second place honor, at the Florida Press Association Annual Best Weekly Newspaper awards banquet July 26 in Orlando. The awards honor work published during 2023. Marilyn Shapiro won second place in the Feature Story-Profile category for her article titled “What goes around eventually comes around,” in the Feb. 10, 2023, issue. The judge’s notes stated “Comprehensive research enabled the writer to create an interesting and compelling feature profile...
(JNS) — With the assassinations of Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Mohammed Deif in Gaza, along with Hezbollah’s Fuad Shukr in Lebanon, coupled with a major strike on the Houthis’ oil refineries in Yemen, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has clearly decided to escalate towards actually winning the war against Iran and its terror proxies. The timing is important. First, Israel has largely completed its intensive operations in Gaza, severely diminishing Hamas’s capacities and punishing the Palestinians living there for supportin...
The ZOA Law and Justice center has assisted numerous Florida municipalities in putting together resolutions standing up for Israel and criminalizing acts that support terror. “Recently, it was brought to our attention that the city of Miramar, Florida is trying to pass an extremely antisemitic resolution. We’ve created a petition to fight against it and we need your help,” said Allison Zur, regional director of ZOA-Florida. To view and sign copy and paste in your browser “Zionist Organization of America/Mayor Messam: Abandon Dangerous Resolut...
Jake Gould, who was appointed to the board of the Jewish Federation of Volusia & Flagler Counties in March and has been working on young professional programming in the Greater Daytona Beach area, announced that they are hosting their first large-scale kickoff event on Sunday, Aug. 25, from 7-9 p.m. It is an Israel Bar Night at the rooftop bar of the Streamline Hotel, 140 S Atlantic Ave, Daytona Beach. There will be kosher Israeli appetizers, and Israeli music. This is an opportunity for young Jews all across North Florida, including...
