Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JTA) — Israel’s government approved a plan on Sunday to conquer and occupy the Gaza Strip, a major expansion of its military campaign there and a sign that the war is far from ending. The plan passed unanimously in Israel’s cabinet despite warnings by the country’s military chief that it will endanger the lives of the hostages still held by Hamas. It will also trigger an extensive call-up of military reservists, many of whom have already served for extended periods during the war. The plan was approved alongside a new structure for deliver...
(JNS) — The third round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program took place in Oman last Saturday as the United States hopes to restrain the Islamic Republic through negotiations. The talks have garnered mixed reactions from Israel supporters, with some calling for a wait-and-see approach and others, viewing past as prologue, warning that Iran will only use the talks to buy time, rebuild its capabilities and persist in its malign activities. To Western thinking negotiation means compromise and reconciliation, but Iran’s ayatollahs see it as a way t...
(JTA) — An amendment saying that criticism of the Israeli government is not antisemitic was added to the Antisemitism Awareness Act today in a Senate committee hearing. The amendment was proposed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Jewish progressive leader, and approved in a 12-11 vote in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The committee adjourned before voting on the bill itself and another piece of legislation, the Protecting Students on Campus Act, which would require schools to share information about how s...
IDF intercepts drone smuggling assault rifles from Egypt By JNS Staff (JNS) — The Israel Defense Forces intercepted a drone attempting to smuggle weapons from Egypt into Israeli territory late on Monday night. IDF surveillance teams identified the UAV entering Israeli airspace. Israeli forces promptly downed the drone and, upon examination, discovered it was transporting 10 M-16 assault rifles, as well as ammunition. The seized arms were handed over to security personnel for further investigation. This event is part of a broader pattern of rece...
Hamas has released Edan Alexander, an American-Israeli citizen, back to Israel under a deal reached with the United States. The release, conducted Monday evening in Gaza, may inaugurate a new phase in the hostage crisis that has consumed Israel since Hamas attacked on Oct. 7, 2023, taking 250 captives and opening the war in Gaza. “I’m very happy to announce that Edan Alexander, an American citizen who until recently most thought was no longer living, thought was dead, is going to be rel...
(JTA) - OŚWIĘCIM, Poland - At Auschwitz for the annual March of the Living, Maggie Megidish and her daughter, released hostage Ori, stood among a delegation of survivors of both the Holocaust and Oct. 7. The visit stirred memories of their own ordeal. When a Holocaust survivor spoke of the hunger she endured in the camp, Maggie said she was transported back to the weeks she barely ate, tormented by thoughts of her daughter in captivity. "With every bite, or every sip of water, I wondered if she,...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) - Freed Hamas hostage Noa Argamani wore a stunning yellow maxi dress, designed by Israeli designer Eli Tala, to the 2025 Time100 Gala in New York on April 26. Argamani has become one of the most prominent figures in Israel and around the world in recent months, using her public platform to convey one clear message - the urgency of bringing all the remaining hostages home. The 27-year-old was included in TIME magazine's 2025 list of the 100 most influential people in the...
(JTA) - In his final public speech, delivered less than 24 hours before his death, Pope Francis addressed the war in Gaza, expressing sympathy for the Palestinian people and calling for an end to the war that includes the release of Israeli hostages. Francis made the comments in his annual Easter speech, which an archbishop delivered while Francis was seated on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. His comments about the war in Gaza, which Israel and Hamas have been fighting since Oct....
(JNS) - Nefesh B'Nefesh, Friends of the IDF and Jewish National Fund-USA have announced the resumption of "Operation Hug," an initiative that will enable hundreds more families to reunite with lone soldiers serving in the Israel Defense Forces. Amid Israel's ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza, thousands of young men and women who made aliyah and are serving in active combat units remain separated from their families abroad. These lone soldiers face unique emotional and logistical challenges,...
Mark your calendars and grab your golf clubs - on Monday, May 12, at 9 a.m., the Jewish Pavilion's 13th Annual Golf Tournament returns to Heathrow Country Club for a day of friendly competition, community spirit, and heartfelt giving. The tournament promises more than just great golf -I t's a tribute to the vision and dedication of its founder, Ken Davis, whose passion and leadership have made this event a cornerstone of local philanthropy. Thirteen years ago, Ken Davis was moved by the work of...
On Sunday, May 18 from 5-9 p.m., Temple Israel’s Roth Social Hall will transform into a casino, where you can test your luck at the tables, win prizes, and even renew your wedding vows. “It’s Vegas, Baby!” is a fundraiser you’ll want to take a gamble on! Play poker, craps, blackjack, roulette, and more while enjoying drinks and heavy appetizers. Off the tables, you’ll find a human slot machine and horse races. Take a break for some romance and renew your vows at the Oy Vegas Wedding Chapel, officiated by Rabbi Joshua Neely under the chuppah...
Historian Sandie Stratton, M.A., will speak of Minorcans in Florida: A Brief History under the sponsorship of the St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society, 4 pm., Thursday, May 8 at the St. Johns County Public Library Main Branch, 1960 North Ponce De Leon Boulevard in St. Augustine. Stratton, who earned a master’s degree in American/European History from the University of North Florida, will provide a foundational understanding as local Jews and Minorcans seek together to discover their overlapping origins in the Balearic Islands off the M...
(JNS) — Israeli enforcement authorities tore down additional illegal Palestinian Authority structures in a protected nature reserve in the eastern Gush Etzion region of Judea, the Israel Hayom daily reported on Thursday. Two buildings were razed on Thursday morning as part of a third wave of demolitions, according to the Hebrew-language newspaper, which noted that an Israeli demolition ban had been in place until a year ago. At the orders of Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also serves as a minister in the Defense Ministry with re...
(JNS) — U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday requiring colleges and universities to better disclose their funding from foreign sources or risk losing federal funding. The Higher Education Act of 1965 in part “requires institutions of higher education to report significant sources of foreign funding,” but since the relevant section “has not been robustly enforced, the true amounts, sources and purposes of foreign money flowing to American campuses are unknown,” Trump stated. “From 2010 to 2016, according t...
(JNS) — The war against Hamas “will not end with hostages in Gaza, period,” Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, told the inaugural JNS International Policy Summit in Jerusalem on April 27. “We haven’t finished the job,” declared Danon, a senior member of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud Party. The Israeli diplomat addressed the JNS summit just hours after touring the sites of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre with a group of approximately 30 fellow U.N. ambassadors, he revealed. “Once people ar...
(JNS) — Israeli authorities were working on Sunday afternoon (April 27) to rescue around 100 teenagers who were trapped in the Ein Prat Nature Reserve in the Judean Desert after a fire broke out on a popular hiking trail. “Firefighters from the Binyamin Regional Station are currently working on a fire in Nahal Prat,” the Israel Fire and Rescue Services said in a statement. “According to reports, many hikers remain in the stream, and it is difficult to rescue them. In addition, there is a topographical challenge, making it difficult to reach the...
(JTA) — Jewish stars are condemning Kneecap after the Irish band delivered an anti-Israel performance during its set at Coachella. At least one is calling for the Trump administration to revoke the band’s work visas in advance of its upcoming — and nearly sold-out — U.S. tour. “Their actions included projections of anti-Israel messages and hate speech, and this band openly support terrorist organizations,” wrote Sharon Osbourne on Instagram. “This behavior raises concerns about the appropriateness of their participation in such a festival and...
(JNS)- Massive wildfires sweeping through central Israel have triggered widespread evacuations, road closures, and a full-scale emergency response as flames threaten residential areas near Jerusalem. The evacuated communities include three moshavs: Eshtaol, Mesilat Zion and Beit Meir and initial estimates speak of at least 3,500 evacuees. The Fire and Rescue Authority has declared a general mobilization across six districts, deploying more than 110 teams, eight firefighting planes and a...
(JNS) — Politicians, intellectuals and activists agreed on Sunday that applying Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria is the only viable path to securing Jewish rights and safety in Israel. At the inaugural JNS International Policy Summit in Jerusalem, panelists said the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023 signaled the dangers of allowing a Palestinian state to be established in Israel’s biblical heartland. Such a development, they warned, would expose Jewish communities to even greater threats. Knesset Member Ohad Tal (Religious Zionism Par...
(JTA) - Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro revealed on Thursday that investigators had managed to retrieve ritual Passover items from the dining room that was heavily damaged by an arsonist's fire shortly after his family's seder on Saturday night. "Some just required a dusting and a cleaning," he said outside a Harrisburg firehouse where he and his wife Lori were serving lunch to first responders who rescued his family and doused the flames early Sunday morning. "Others are destroyed." Shapiro,...
(JNS) — Renowned filmmaker Quentin Tarantino and his spouse, Israeli singer Daniella Pick, recently bought property in Tel Aviv for an estimated 50 million shekels (~$13.8 million), Hebrew media reported on April 27. The nearly half an acre of land currently has two old buildings on it, according to Israeli business daily Globes. The couple plans to demolish the two adjacent houses and erect one large home instead, according to the report. The property is situated in the northern Tel Aviv neighborhood of Tel Baruch, at the corner of Yaakov a...
(JNS) — Tal Shoham, who was freed from Gaza as part of the hostage deal with Hamas on Feb. 22, revealed that the terrorists had called his wife, freed during previous ceasefire, and threatened to kill him if she talked about her own experiences in captivity. Adi Shoham was taken hostage during the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre alongside her two young children. They were released after 50 days in captivity as part of the first ceasefire agreement with the terrorist group. Tal Shoham, a 40-year-old Israeli with dual Austrian citizenship, was abducted f...
(JNS) — The Hamas terrorist group released a propaganda video on Wednesday showing a sign of life from Israeli hostage Omri Miran, who was taken captive from his home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz 565 days ago. Miran was abducted during the Hamas-led terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, 2023. Gunmen invaded the home that he shared with his wife, Lishay, and their two daughters. They moved the family to an adjacent house and then decided to abduct Omri, leaving his family behind. “Hello, my name is Omri Miran. Today, I am 48 years old. This is the second bir...
Freed Hamas hostage dons tefillin in ‘death shelter’ (JNS) — In an emotional full circle, former Hamas captive Eliya Cohen returned on Sunday for the first time to the shelter from which he was kidnapped and donned tefillin. Cohen was abducted on Oct. 7, 2023, by Hamas terrorists while attending the Nova music festival with his girlfriend, Ziv Abud. When the rocket fire began, they fled to a shelter that later became known as the “death shelter.” With them were Ziv’s nephew, Amit Ben Avida, and his girlfriend Karin Schwartzman, who were both k...
(JNS) — A clay jug estimated to be 1,200 years old, bearing distinctive camel decorations, has been unearthed at the archaeological site of Horvat ‘Anim in the Yatir Forest, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Thursday. The discovery was made during excavations carried out in cooperation with Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael–Jewish National Fund as part of a broader initiative to improve public access to the site. Yatir Forest is located on the southern slopes of the Hebron Hills, near the edge...
