Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JTA) — Rabbi David Wolpe is stepping down from the antisemitism advisory committee at Harvard University, citing “events on campus and the painfully inadequate testimony” of the university’s president, Claudine Gay, during a congressional hearing this week on campus antisemitism. “Without rehashing all of the obvious reasons that have been endlessly adumbrated online, and with great respect for the members of the committee, the short explanation is that both events on campus and the painfully inadequate testimony reinforced the idea that I ca...
(JTA) – Harvard University’s board of directors will keep Claudine Gay as the school’s president despite pressure to force her out after she declined to say outright that calls for the genocide of Jews violated campus rules. The Harvard Corporation, the school’s board, met behind closed doors for hours Monday night before formally announcing it would “reaffirm our support for President Gay.” The board said its decision was unanimous, and the statement was signed by all 11 members, including its senior fellow and former Commerce Secretary P...
(JNS) — Israel’s Socioeconomic Cabinet on Sunday evening voted to recommend not reintroducing tens and thousands of Palestinian workers from Judea and Samaria into the country’s pre-1967 lines. The measure was reportedly opposed by almost all 15 members of the Socioeconomic Cabinet, which is smaller than the full government but includes the finance and economy ministers. Only Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter and Labor Minister Yoav Ben-Tzur abstained, according to Ynet. The decision will now be put to a vote in the Security Cabinet, which...
(JNS) — Several Hamas leaders recently left Qatar together with their entourages, cutting off communications including cellphones. The leaders left for Algeria, Lebanon, Iran and other countries, according to sources cited by Kan News’s Arabic channel. Among Hamas leaders living in Qatar are Ismail Haniyeh, head of the terrorist group’s political bureau, Mousa Abu Marzook and Khaled Mashal. They live a life of luxury in the Gulf state even as most Palestinians in Gaza live in abject poverty. Officially a major non-NATO ally of the U.S., Qatar...
(JNS) — The Israel Defense Forces is urging Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to help topple Hamas rule, with flyers dropped in the coastal enclave promising up to $400,000 for information on the whereabouts of Yahya Sinwar and other terror leaders. “Hamas’s end is near. For your future. Anyone who can present information that could help us arrest the individuals who brought destruction and ruins to the Gaza Strip will be rewarded,” read the pamphlets, photos of which were shared on social media. Gazans are offered $400,000 for informa...
(JNS) - I've been in Europe for a month and a half now, and as beautiful as autumn is, it's also cold and wet. I only returned to Israel for a few days, to visit everyone and collect items from home. After two days of traffic jams in the center, I hopped over to Kibbutz Nir Oz for the first time since that day. On that awful Shabbat, Oct. 7, Hamas hordes broke through the Gaza border fence and attacked the sleeping Israel communities opposite the Gaza Strip. They murdered scores of Nir Oz...
(JNS) - A pair of eyeglasses. In 66 days, that is the only trace found of the 70-year-old American-Canadian teacher who was shot by Hamas terrorists when out for a walk with her husband on the grounds of their southern Israel kibbutz the morning of Oct. 7. Judi Weinstein Haggai is currently the oldest woman among those kidnapped by Hamas that day whose fate is unknown. In all, more than two months after the attack, 117 people are still being held by Hamas-along with the bodies of 20 people...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The U.S. House of Representatives approved a nonbinding resolution saying that anti-Zionism is antisemitism, with support from all but one Republican and a substantial minority of Democrats. The resolution was introduced by the two Jewish Republicans in the House, Max Miller of Ohio and David Kustoff of Tennessee. It was notable for the number of Jewish Democrats who voted “present,” effectively abstaining, in part because they did not agree with the resolution’s contention that all forms of anti-Zionism were antisem...
(JNS) - Is it OK to eat? Can we look out the window? Is it alright to leave the room? These were among the questions that scores of traumatized Israeli children held hostage for over 50 days by Hamas in Gaza asked doctors and social workers during their first days of freedom and recuperation earlier this month. Slowly, the children began to regain their trust. A half-smile; an immediately granted after midnight request for schnitzel and mashed potatoes. After some days, they were released from...
WASHINGTON (JTA) - Wearing black T-shirts bearing the photos of their captive loved ones, families of American hostages held by Hamas met face-to-face with President Joe Biden for the first time, part of a high profile U.S. tour by the group to keep the hostages' plight at the front and center of public discussions about the Israel-Hamas war. "We are grateful to President Biden for his steadfast commitment to bringing our family members home and the compassion he demonstrated today," said a...
(JNS) — A member of the Turkish parliament, Hasan Bitmez, died on Thursday, two days after collapsing while delivering an anti-Israel rant on the plenum floor. Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced his death. The lawmaker, who apparently suffered a heart attack while speaking to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, was saved by his colleagues, who also had him rushed to the hospital. Turkish lawmaker gets heart attack right after saying Israel will ‘not be able to escape the wra...
(JNS) - More than 130 gatherings on Dec. 8 and Dec. 9 through BBYO's "Global Shabbat" initiative drew more than 16,000 teens from 30 countries. "This historic teen-led movement-wide initiative has been anchored in BBYO culture since it first launched in 1928," per the nonprofit, which was formerly called the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization and which split from B'nai B'rith International more than 20 years ago. The recent event had two themes-"forever young" to mark BBYO's centennial year and "re...
BERLIN (JTA) — Recognizing Israel’s right to exist is now mandatory for those who want to become German citizens in the former East German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Applicants living in the state will have to confirm in writing “that they recognize Israel’s right to exist and condemn any efforts directed against the existence of the State of Israel.” Saxony-Anhalt’s interior minister, Tamara Zieschang, a member of the center-right Christian Democratic Union party, said Tuesday that the rule went into effect at the end of November. The new sta...
(JNS) — The U.S. Senate passed H.R. 2670, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 which outlines how Pentagon’s budget for next year, by a vote of 87 to 13 on Wednesday evening. Six Democrats and six Republicans—including Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and J.D. Vance (R-Ohio)—voted against the bill, as did Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). “It’s nothing to celebrate,” Hawley wrote of the bill. “Defense contractors get paid billions, while Missourians poisoned by their government get nothing. It...
(JNS) — The Israel Defense Forces struck several terror sites in Lebanon on Tuesday in response to ongoing rocket-fire at the Jewish state. The military said that two launches were detected, to which it responded by shelling the source of the fire. The rockets landed in open fields, causing no injuries or damage. Later on Tuesday, IDF air defenses intercepted a “suspicious aerial target” that had crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory, causing sirens to blare in the Western Galilee. The military said it also shot down several more projecti...
(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that there is no way the Palestinian Authority would be allowed to rule the Gaza Strip in a post-Hamas world during a stormy discussion on Monday in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee. “Oslo was the mother of all sins. The difference between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority is only that Hamas wants to destroy us here and now, and the P.A. wants to do it in stages,” the prime minister said. “We cooperate with them against Hamas when it serves their interest and ours up...
(JNS) — Israel’s parliament on Thursday approved a 25.9 billion shekel ($7 billion) supplementary wartime budget for 2023. The amendment to the 484 billion shekel ($132 billion) 2023 state budget approved last May passed its final vote in the Knesset plenum with 58 lawmakers in favor and 44 opposed. Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel of the ruling Likud Party was absent from the vote and Likud Knesset member Yuli Edelstein abstained after initially voting yes. National Unity Party members led by War Cabinet minister Benny Gantz did not vot...
Maccabi World Union unveils memorial to victims of Oct. 7 By Rolene Marks (JNS) — Maccabi World Union unveiled a memorial to the 1,200 victims of the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre at the Kfar Maccabiah hotel and sports club complex in Ramat Gan on Wednesday. Since the onset of Israel’s war against Hamas, MWU has been active in helping tens of thousands of residents from the south who evacuated their towns and kibbutzim on the border with Gaza. MWU turned Kfar Maccabiah into a small village to accommodate evacuees from Sderot, a city on the Gaza bor...
(JNS) — Leaders of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria on Monday expressed outrage over the lack of funding for their security, claiming the Israeli government has failed to allocate “a single shekel” to protect the 500,000-plus citizens living in the area since Hamas launched its war against the Jewish state on Oct. 7. During a heated debate in the Knesset Finance Committee, the heads of the Binyamin Regional Council, Gush Etzion Regional Council, Samaria Regional Council, Mount Hebron Regional Council and Beit El Council lashed out at op...
Last Thursday, Dec. 7, Dr. Daniel Layish and Keith Dvorchik hosted a meeting with a group from CityServe Israel. The discussion was about how the Christian and Jewish communities can help the moshavs and kibbutzim in the southern Negev region that was attacked by Hamas. A spokesman from Moshav Ein Habesor, Dr. Yftach Gepner, who has lived in Orlando and now lives in Ein Habesor, shared his experience on Oct. 7. Ein Habesor is about 4 miles east of Gaza. On that fateful Simchat Torah, he woke to...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Following last month’s historic March for Israel that brought nearly 300,000 people to the National Mall, the nation’s most prominent American Jewish organizations have today joined forces to launch The 10/7 Project — a new centralized communications operation. The 10/7 Project is designed to promote continued U.S. bipartisan support for Israel by working to ensure more complete and accurate information about the Israel-Hamas war in real time for policymakers and the American public. The 10/7 Project is led by the America...
By Ben Sales (JTA) — The president of the University of Pennsylvania announced her resignation on Saturday, Dec. 9, after facing growing backlash for declining to say outright that calling for the genocide of Jews violated the school’s code of conduct. “I write to share that President Liz Magill has voluntarily tendered her resignation as President of the University of Pennsylvania,” Scott Bok, the chair of the school’s board of trustees, said in a statement. Bok subsequently said he would als...
On Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, at 8:30 a.m., the Jewish Pavilion and the Maitland Chamber of Commerce will come together for a celebration of Tu B’Shevat. This special event will take place at New Hope for Kids in Maitland, 544 Mayo Ave., Maitland. Tu B’Shevat holds significance in the Jewish calendar as a celebration of nature, trees, and the environment. Volunteers and dedicated Jewish Pavilion staff are gearing up to prepare homemade dishes, drawing inspiration from Jewish culture and the essence of Tu B’Shevat. To be a part of this $10 celeb...
Shalom Orlando, in collaboration with the Kabbalah Centre, is excited to announce the launch of its newest spiritual offering, the Kabbalah One Class, designed to provide a profound exploration of the mystical teachings of Kabbalah. This insightful course will take place at Shalom Orlando’s Maitland campus. Kabbalah is a proven system of spirituality that is grounded in ancient wisdom. With practical, everyday strategies, along with answers to humanity’s biggest questions, this system helps you design your best life and create meaningful cha...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — If there’s a trait that unites the 100 members of the U.S. Senate, it is volubility: These folks, who invented the filibuster, know how to talk. It was remarkable to see them then exiting a screening room on Tuesday in the bowels of the Capitol building, barely able to shape their mouths into a single word. The unusual silence came after two senators, Jacky Rosen, a Jewish Nevada Democrat, and Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, screened for their fellow senators 43 minutes of harrowing footage of the carnage Hamas ter...
