Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 2026 - 2050 of 10728
As of Monday, May 15, this was the status of the onslaught by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza against Israel. Let's hope it holds as Heritage goes to press. (JTA) - Fighting between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza ended after five days, as a ceasefire took effect and appeared to hold late Saturday night. Over the course of the fighting, 33 Palestinians were killed in Gaza, including civilians and combatants. Two civilians were killed in Israel - a woman in the central Israeli...
(JNS) - Israeli forces are "fiercely attacking the Gaza Strip and exacting a heavy price from the terrorist organizations," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an address on Wednesday night in Israel. "I would like to reiterate: Whoever harms us, whoever sends terrorists against us, will pay the price," he stated. Netanyahu said that developments in Israeli technological abilities, coupled with new operational tactics, have created "a new equation" seen in "Operation Shield and Arr...
(JNS) - On Wednesday, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews placed five bomb shelters in areas of Ashkelon identified by local authorities as lacking ample protection. The locations included residential neighborhoods where homes had no shelters as well as commercial zones where people had no safe place to go when incoming Gazan rockets are detected. The latest installation comes in addition to numerous other safety projects made possible by the IFCJ across Ashkelon, including a...
(JTA) - Tom Nides, the gregarious U.S. ambassador to Israel, is resigning this summer, at a time of unresolved tensions in the U.S.-Israel relationship he strove to uphold. An administration official confirmed to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that Nides would be gone by this summer. The report first appeared in Axios on Tuesday morning. Axios quoted Secretary of State Antony Blinken as saying that Nides wanted to spend more time with his family. "Tom has worked with characteristic energy and...
Over 120 golfers hit the greens for the Jewish Pavilion's Charity Golf Tournament on Monday, May 8, at Heathrow Country Club. More than $20,000 was raised to benefit the Orlando Senior Help Desk at the Jewish Pavilion. Special thanks to committee members, golfers, sponsors and advertisers. The golf supporter's book can be found on the Jewish Pavilion website where it will remain for the year. The board encourages patronage of their businesses. Anyone (all races and religions) can call the...
Recently Dr. Edward Zissman brought a soferet to The Jewish Academy of Orlando to restore their sefer Torah. Soferet Linda did the restoration and fixed everything that needed to be fixed. All the children from K to fifth grade had the opportunity to watch the soferet work. She checked the entire Torah and used the traditional techniques for different issues: re-wrote some letters, patched a tear, and cleaned the parchment....
Heritage Florida Jewish News is accepting nominations for the 2023 Heritage Human Service Award, which will be presented at the annual meeting of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando this summer. “For more than 30 years, individuals who have made major, voluntary contributions of their talent, time, energy and effort to the Central Florida community have been honored with the selection and presentation of this award,” said Jeff Gaeser, editor and publisher of the Heritage. Last year’s recipient was Dr. Edward Zissman. Former recip...
The Tenth Annual Commemoration of the largest mass arrest of rabbis in U.S. history will take place outdoors at the Hilton St. Augustine Historic Bayfront, 32 Avenida Menendez, St. Augustine, at noon, Sunday, June 18. This 30-minute event sponsored by the St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society, is free and all are welcome. On June 18, 1964, 16 rabbis and a Reform Jewish administrator, in St. Augustine at the request of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., were arrested and held in the St. Johns County Jail. Overnight, they wrote a letter...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — After being thwarted by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Rep. Rashida Tlaib succeeded in spotlighting Palestinian perspectives on Israel’s founding in an event on Capitol Hill — with help from one of Congress’ most powerful Jewish members, Sen. Bernie Sanders. The Palestinian-American Democrat from Detroit also introduced a congressional resolution calling on the suspension of some aid to Israel. Tlaib’s event on Wednesday, called “Nakba 75 & the Palestinian People,” featured the Arabic word for “catastrophe” that Palestinians u...
(JNS) — Israel is prepared for a multi-front conflict against Iran and its terrorist proxies, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday after the Jewish state launched “Operation Shield and Arrow” against Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip. “It’s clear that 95 percent of Israel’s security problems come from Iran,” the prime minister said in a Zoom address to a conference organized by the Israel Defense and Security Forum. “We are dealing with an attempt by Iran to start a multi-front campaign against us. I instructed the IDF [I...
(New York Jewish Week) — New York Republican Rep. George Santos, who spread a series of falsehoods about being Jewish and other parts of his life story, was arrested Wednesday on federal criminal charges on Long Island. The indictment said that Santos — who has also gone by other names, including the last name Devolder — used donations to a fraudulent political fund for personal expenses, such as buying designer clothes and paying off his credit cards. He was also accused of lying about his finances on congressional disclosure forms and receivi...
(JNS) — Israel on Wednesday continued making preparations for rocket attacks and the threat of a wider conflict following the air force’s targeted killing of three top Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders in strikes across the Gaza Strip. The IDF identified the targets of the operation as Khalil Bahitini, PIJ’s commander in northern Gaza; Jahed Ahnam, a senior member of the terror group’s military council; and Tarek Azaldin, who directs its activities in Judea and Samaria. Israel also struck 10 sites in Gaza belonging to PIJ, including weapons...
MELBOURNE (JTA) - Jews in Australia have seen their community prosper in many areas, from business to the arts to the highest levels of government. But there is one arena that Aussie Jews have not featured prominently in: Australia's biggest sport, Australian Rules Football. AFL, referred to colloquially as "footy," is a uniquely Aussie sport, which has been played in some form since teams from Melbourne and Geelong first came together in a paddock in East Melbourne in 1858. Professional footy...
(JNS) — Ahead of a visit to Israel by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Sunshine State’s chief financial officer told JNS that Norway is out of line in considering divesting from the Jewish state. Jimmy Patronis, the Florida CFO, sent a letter late last month to Heidi Olufsen, Norway’s consul general in New York, to “express serious concerns regarding reports that Norway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund is reviewing recommendations by your nation’s ethics committee to add Israel to its excluded funds list.” Among the world’s largest investo...
(JNS) — At one point, the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel appeared to adopt a small-ball strategy: enough singles, even soft ones, in the court system would knock the pitcher out of the game. No need to swing for the fences. That strategy, however, which seeks to win narrow injunctions that result in U.S. state legislatures tweaking relevant laws, appears to be a doomed game plan, as evidenced by recent court decisions. The latest swing and miss came earlier this month when a federal appeals court rejected a challenge...
French parliament rejects resolution calling Israel ‘apartheid’ (JNS) — After a group of far-left members of France’s National Assembly put forward a measure labeling Israel an “apartheid state,” the lower house of Parliament rejected it by a margin of 199 to 71. “We can only reject the use of the term apartheid to describe the situation in Israel,” Laurence Boone, French secretary of state for European affairs, tweeted. “This term carries a heavy load, attached to terrible suffering and bruised memories.” “We commend France’s National Ass...
(JTA) — Florida’s state education department rejected two new Holocaust-focused textbooks for classroom use, while forcing at least one other textbook to alter a passage about the Hebrew Bible in order to meet state approval. The books were rejected as part of a broader review of new K-12 social studies material. According to documents provided by the state, the education department did not approve any new texts on the Holocaust this year. Reached by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a spokesperson at the department’s press office was unabl...
(JNS) — Last month, Germany’s Federal Justice Office began the process of fining Twitter, under the country’s Network Enforcement Act, for failing to remove hate speech. The German law requires social-media sites to remove illegal content within seven days, and for the most egregious material, within 24 hours. The German office stated publicly that hateful material was published on Twitter, “which the authority considers illegal and, despite user complaints, was not deleted or blocked by the provider within the legally stipulated periods...
LONDON (JTA) - At a reception of faith leaders at Buckingham Palace the day after Queen Elizabeth's death in September, King Charles pulled Britain's chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, aside for a word. The reception was pushed earlier in the day than originally planned to accommodate Mirvis, since it fell on a Friday. But it ran long and Shabbat was approaching. According to Rabbi Nicky Liss, head of the Highgate Synagogue, Charles asked Mirvis what the rabbi was doing sticking around - didn't he...
(JNS) - Both houses of Congress reintroduced legislation this week to honor the late Roddie Edmonds, who put his life in danger to save Jews during World War II and the Holocaust, and is one of five Americans Yad Vashem names as "Righteous Among the Nations." Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) put the bill up again in the House after an unsuccessful bid last session. This time is different, he told JNS. "I've been here a little longer. I've got a little more seniority, and I know a few more people,"...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — Preserving the Eternal, an advocacy group that seeks to prevent the destruction of Jewish national heritage sites by Palestinians, has sounded the alarm over what appears to be a deliberate effort to destroy a key landmark in Samaria. El-Unuk, one of the six “Gilgal” sites that were identified by the archaeologist Adam Zertal as dating to the Israelites’ entry into the land following Joshua’s conquest, is in Area B of Judea and Samaria, under Palestinian civilian...
The Holocaust Center is hosting a virtual conversation with Holly Huffnagle, U.S. Director for Combatting Antisemitism with The American Jewish Committee. This Zoom webinar will be held on May 18, noon. She will talk about the agency's response to antisemitism in the United States, and how her experience as a researcher and policy advisor to the Special Envoy for monitoring and combatting antisemitism at the U.S. Department of State led to her current position. This program is part of Community...
Heritage Florida Jewish News is accepting nominations for the 2023 Heritage Human Service Award, which will be presented at the annual meeting of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando this summer. “For more than 30 years, individuals who have made major, voluntary contributions of their talent, time, energy and effort to the Central Florida community have been honored with the selection and presentation of this award,” said Jeff Gaeser, editor and publisher of the Heritage. Last year’s recipient was Dr. Edward Zissman. Former recip...
The Jewish Pavilion is known for giving its seniors the opportunity to continue their traditions where they live. The organization works with more than 50 facilities and they always need our help to bring these traditions to life. At many of the communities, The Jewish Pavilion has a Jewish drawer or box filled with what is needed for its parties, services and dinners. After hosting more than two dozen Passover meals and another dozen Purim parties, supplies are running a bit low. Please consider donating any sort of Judaica you might have at...
May is packed with many fun events for adults and kids at the Rosen JCC. Saturday Night Out is an opportunity for parents to plan a night out. Drop your children at the Rosen JCC on May 20, 6 p.m. – 11 p.m. The children get a chance for playground time, reading, games, art projects, a movie and pizza. Parents can plan their own night of fun. Space is limited, sign up at www.rosenjcc.org/sno Summer Camp J starts on May 30 and runs till Aug. 30. It offers General, Sports, Basketball, Art and Dance Camp. Our General Camp offers children a wide m...
