Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1988 - 2012 of 11021
(JNS) — After more than 3,000 Jewish pilgrims visited the Temple Mount in Jerusalem during the first days of the week-long Sukkot holiday, one of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s key ultra-Orthodox coalition partners on Wednesday demanded that the holy site be closed to Jews. “The ascension to Temple Mount involves a severe prohibition of karet,” tweeted United Torah Judaism Party MK Moshe Gafni, using the Hebrew religious term for divinely-inflicted premature death. “It pains my heart that 3,000 Jews violated this severe prohibiti...
The Israeli-American Council, the Jewish National Fund and the Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando quickly pulled together a rally on Sunday, Oct. 8, to show their support for Israel and where many call "home." T-shirts stating "I Stand With Israel" were available in the foyer of the JCC as approximately 350 people gathered to stand in solidarity. Intermingled with the crowd were Representative Anna Eskamani, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings and Val Demings, as well as Congressman...
(JNS) - "The era of reasoning with these savages is over," Israel's ambassador to the United Nations told an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting on Sunday, referring to the Hamas terrorist organization. Following the weekend's unprecedented terrorist assault on Israel by the Gaza-based Iranian proxy group, envoy Gilad Erdan said the time has come to "obliterate Hamas terror infrastructure, to completely erase it, so that such horrors are never committed again." He continued: "These...
SAN FRANCISCO (J. Jewish News of Northern California via JTA) - Dianne Feinstein was an eshet chayil, the Hebrew term for a woman of valor, Rabbi Jonathan Singer proclaimed in his opening remarks at a memorial service for the U.S. senator who died Sept. 29 at 90. The event outside San Francisco City Hall was attended by about 1,500 invited guests, all gathered to remember a pathbreaking politician who spent a decade as the city's first woman mayor. Singer, the co-senior rabbi of Congregation...
(Oct. 9, 2023, JTA) — A massive military operation is underway to place Gaza under a “complete siege,” Israel’s defense minister said on Monday, 48 hours after a surprise attack by Hamas left 800 Israelis dead, thousands wounded and more than 100 captive in Gaza. “We are going to change the Middle East,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday, according to Israeli media. Meanwhile, a second front in the war has threatened to open up. On Monday, a number of gunmen entered Israel’s north from Lebanon, where the Hezbollah ter...
(JNS) — Israeli forces have regained control of all the communities near the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces announced on Monday morning after two days of combat with Hamas terrorists. “We are in control of the ‘Gaza envelope’ communities,” IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told journalists during a press briefing. He warned, however, that there are still terrorists in the area. Hagari added that the military has called up 300,000 reservists. Early Monday morning, exchanges of fire took place at Kibbutz Be’eri, Kibbutz Holit, Kibb...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The U.S. State Department confirmed that there were at least 25 Americans among the hundreds of people killed after Hamas invasion of Israel. “At this time, we can confirm the deaths of nine U.S. citizens,” said a State Department statement released early Monday. “We extend our deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected.” The front page of the State Department’s website on Monday morning was headlined “Israel Under Attack” with a link to information. “The United States unequivocally con...
(JNS) — Pro-Hamas rallies in Tampa and Fort Lauderdale are “abhorrent,” according to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate. “Hamas is a terrorist group that is dedicated to the destruction of Israel and commits atrocities to further that end.” “We are proud of the relationship between Florida and Israel and remember well the support we received from the IDF following the Surfside tower collapse,” he added. “Florida stands with Israel as it faces one of its greatest challenges.” Images and footage of pro-Palestinia...
(JNS) — Israeli forces killed several terrorists attempting to enter Israel from Lebanon, Army Radio reported on Monday afternoon. “The IDF forces killed a number of militants who crossed into Israeli territory from Lebanese territory,” the Israel Defense Forces confirmed in a statement. The IDF was searching the area to make sure additional terrorists had not entered the country, while attack helicopters carried out strikes near the border. Residents near the border fence were instructed to remain in their homes, with their doors locked and li...
Join the Jewish Pavilion for an evening of community, connection, and celebration. The Jewish Pavilion Harvest and Post-Sukkot Networking Festival is set to take place on Thursday, Nov. 9, from 5-7 p.m. at the Watercrest Winter Park senior community. This event promises an evening filled with appetizers, desserts, drinks, and lively music, all for a couvert of $25 per person. No celebration is complete without music, and the Jewish Pavilion Networking Festival will feature a live band to set...
Breast cancer awareness is not merely a cause; it’s a movement that brings communities together. On Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc., hosts its 2nd Annual Hadassah Walks for Breast Cancer Awareness. This event will take place throughout Florida, and promises a day filled with purpose, education, and camaraderie. In the Hadassah Florida Central Region, the following chapters are proud to Walk for Breast Cancer Awareness: • Tampa Ameet Chapter, Lylah Pinellas Chapter, and St. Petersburg Chapter are joini...
A major expansion of Shayna’s Village programming is underway and will use the JCC’s former “youth wing,” renamed Heller Family Grove, thanks to the generosity of the Heller Family. Karen Duncan will continue to lead Shayna’s Village programming, along with two new additions to the team: Karen Spector, senior director of Education and Engagement for Shayna’s Village; and Stefani Rabideaux, Shayna’s Village social media and Art director. Shayna’s Village will continue to offer parenting classes and programs, and with the expansion, the new Shayn...
The Rosen JCC knows how busy parents are with their children and are always looking for ways to help parents with their childcare needs. When Orange County Public Schools close, it can be difficult for families who still need childcare. The JCC offers School Out Days. Kids can be dropped off at 9 a.m. and picked up at 4 p.m. (extended hours are available). Kids get a day of games and fun activities. This month OCPS will be closed on Monday, Oct. 16 and Friday, Oct. 27. To learn more and register for School Out Days visit www.rosenjcc.org/sod....
(JNS) - The Hamas gunman aimed his rifle at the elderly couple in their home in Ofakim, southern Israel, early Saturday morning. He held a grenade on Rachel Edri's head, began screaming "Allah Akbar" and announced he was a "martyr." But Edri maintained her composure. Thinking quickly, she offered the group of five terrorists refreshments, and later a meal, engaging them in small talk, playing for time until security personnel could arrive. For the next 20 hours, Rachel and her husband, David,...
(JNS) — The Harvard Divinity School student group Jews for Liberation doesn’t mince words in its description on the school’s site. The group “offers warm, creative spiritual and political space for anti-Zionist and non-Zionist Jews, as well as Jews questioning their relationship with Zionism,” it states. Student groups must register annually with the school’s Office of Student Life, which “prioritizes anti-racist and anti-oppressive practices” and “reflects the rich diversity and plurality of our community,” but evidently doesn’t consider av...
On Sunday, Oct. 1, a Sukkot Wine and Whiskey Party brought together a blend of guests at Oakmonte Village, creating a harmonious blend of culture, music, and camaraderie. With music by accomplished violinist, Adam Mendelsohn, this festive gathering proved to be a delightful celebration of Sukkot. The event, organized by the Jewish Pavilion, was attended by 50 senior residents of Oakmonte Village and 20 board members from both the Jewish Pavilion and the Legacy Committee. The gathering was a...
(JTA) - One, just out of the army, told his dad "I love you" and "I'm sorry" then went quiet. One who just joined the army has no family nearby, so a stranger is keeping him company in the hospital. One was a peace activist. These are some of the stories beginning to emerge as Israel strives to identify the hundreds of people who are dead and dozens who are missing after Saturday's attack on southern Israel by Hamas. There are no figures yet on the number of North Americans killed or abducted...
(JNS) - In the days after Senator Dianne Feinstein's death, the California political community's attention has been divided between commemorating Feinstein's remarkable career and speculating about who Governor Gavin Newsom would appoint as her replacement. The mourning had not yet concluded on Sunday night when word of Newsom's selection of former union leader and Democratic fundraiser Laphonza Butler as the state's new senator became public. But in all the commotion, an obscure but critically...
(JNS) — As Israel entered its third day of war with Hamas, an Israeli official denied it was negotiating for the release of hostages held by the terror group via Qatar. “There is no negotiation,” an Israeli official said, according to The Times of Israel, disavowing the claim of a Hamas source to the contary. Qatari mediators have been trying to negotiate the freedom of Israeli women and children in exchange for the release of 36 Palestinian women and children from Israel’s prisons, Reuters reported on Monday. The negotiations, conduct...
(JNS) — The late Dianne Feinstein is often described as a fierce supporter of Israel throughout her more than 30 years serving as a California senator. The Democrat was proud of her “strong Jewish heritage” and did all she could “to stop the United States from selling weapons to Israel’s enemies,” Raleigh Resnick, rabbi and director of Chabad of Tri-Valley in Pleasanton, Calif., told JNS. (Feinstein attended Chanukah menorah-lightings that Chabad led in San Francisco’s Union Square.) “On the world stage, she presented herself as a proud Jew...
(JNS) — The following is full text of Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s address to the nation: My fellow Israelis, my sisters and brothers, I turn to you today while we are in the midst of a fierce war declared upon us by a cruel enemy. I turn to you while the Israel Defense Forces are fighting on a wide front, at a time when many of us are under fire and facing uncertainty, with our lives laid before us, and while the emergency, medical and rescue services are making great efforts to save lives, and various sources are working to convey to us...
Randi Weingarten, teachers’ union leader, joins J Street board By Ron Kampeas WASHINGTON (JTA) — J Street announced that Randi Weingarten, a teachers’ union leader who has become a prominent voice in national debates over COVID-19 and education, is joining its board. The liberal Israel lobby’s announcement on Wednesday said Weingarten would be joined by John Yarmuth, a retired Jewish Democratic congressman from Kentucky; Cary Sherman, a former top recording industry executive; and Jon Greenwald, a veteran diplomat. J Street also announc...
(New York Jewish Week) — The El Al desk at JFK Airport’s Terminal 4 was brimming with quiet anxiety on Monday, Oct. 9, as dozens of travelers waited to be checked in holding two documents: their passport, and their emergency summons from the Israel Defense Forces. The military reservists were preparing to board at least two specially chartered flights to Israel, where they will join a burgeoning war effort. Since Saturday’s invasion of southern Israel by Hamas, which killed at least 900 Israelis, the country has called up an unprecedented 300,0...
Rescuers without borders medics arrived at the Gaza border on Shabbat/Saturday to help the wounded. Spokeswoman Natalie Sopinsky said they were able to get there quickly because 1) the medics are armed and 2) they have an armored ambulance. “We have remained there, working hand-in-hand with Magen David Adom. This is ongoing and we are working in shifts with volunteer from around the country. All hands are needed in the war effort and we are doing our best to treat wounded civilians and soldiers.” Sopinsky stated that they now need a 2nd tea...
(JTA) - The United States Postal Service has released a new series of Forever stamps honoring Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the late Jewish Supreme Court justice and liberal icon who died in 2020. The stamp, which became available for purchase on Monday, shows Ginsburg wearing her black judge's robe and signature white collar. It was announced last year as part of the postal service's 2023 lineup of new stamps, reflecting a jump on the service's standard timeline for honoring deceased people. The...
