Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS) — A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is calling on the State Department to update Congress on negotiations to end the Palestinian Authority’s policy of paying terrorists. In a letter sent to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the 50 members of Congress noted with concern the uptick of violence in Judea and Samaria in recent months and the P.A.’s refusal to condemn the killings of Israelis while at the same time continuing its “pay for slay” program. Led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), the letter was signed by 30 Democrats and 20 Re...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Joe Biden’s concerns about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned overhaul of Israel’s courts system should be taken into account by the Israeli parties seeking a compromise, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said after meeting Biden. Herzog’s advice, effectively aimed at Netanyahu and appearing only in his comments in Hebrew to Israeli media after his White House meeting on Tuesday, was unusual in a foreign leader insisting that the United States had a role to play in a matter of internal debate. “It’s not...
(JNS) - Israeli President Isaac Herzog met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday after visiting President Joe Biden at the White House. In statements issued before the meeting, the two leaders expressed mutual appreciation for the "unique relations" between the countries and discussed the shared goal of countering the Iranian threat. "I want to thank you Mr. Secretary for pursuing such important goals as containing and limiting, and stopping the Iranian nuclear program, as...
The Rosen JCC Saturday Night Out gives parents the chance to plan a night on the town. Children come to the Rosen JCC for playground time, books, crafts, games, pizza and a movie. The next Saturday Night Out is Aug. 26. Saturday Night Out is open for children 12 months to sixth grade. Dropped off begins at 6 p.m. and picked up 11p.m. Parents can register at www.rosenjcc.org/sno. This is the perfect time to take advantage of Visit Orlando Magical Dining. Magical Dining is open Aug. 18 – Oct. 1. This event offers diners a three-course p...
(JNS) - Nikki Haley, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, took to the stage on Monday evening at the annual Christians United for Israel Summit in Washington. The former governor of South Carolina played to an adoring, pro-Israel crowd as a darling of its movement. Haley, who trails well behind former President Donald Trump in polls very early in the presidential primary cycle, spoke with reporters before assuming the stage. She seemed prepped for a foreign-policy debate, covering an ar...
BUENOS AIRES (JTA) — In what both organizations are touting as a milestone moment for South American religious groups, leaders from the World Jewish Congress’ Latin American chapter met with leaders from the Muslim World League. Over 40 members of the groups from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Panama, Peru and Venezuela, along with three representatives of the Muslim World League based in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, met in Buenos Aires for two days last week. They discussed ways to collaborate and published a “de...
(JNS) — Ahead of a one-on-one meeting on July 19 at the White House, Israeli President Isaac Herzog and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris unveiled a new climate technology partnership, which will draw up to $70 million of U.S. and Israeli investment to support climate-healthy agriculture and use new technologies to protect critical Middle East and Africa water resources. “We are harnessing today the broad infrastructure of our cooperation to introduce a new joint initiative to address a primary challenge of our time,” said Herzog. He said...
(JNS) — Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday addressed a joint session of Congress, following a meeting the previous day with his U.S. counterpart at the White House. “At this moment in my people’s history, gathering on Capitol Hill to celebrate 75 years of Israeli independence with our greatest partner and friend, the United States of America, my soul is overflowing with pride and joy. The people of Israel are grateful to no end for the ancient promise fulfilled and for the friendship we have formed,” said Herzog. “When the State of...
(JNS) — Seven Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an Independent, opted not to attend Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s address to a joint session of Congress on July 19. The House members were Reps. Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Cori Bush (Mo.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.), Nydia Velazquez (N.Y.) and Raul Grijalva (Ariz.). “Boycotting Herzog, a former Labor Party standard-bearer who represents the State of Israel—not a political party, faction or policy...
Israel antiquities among items found at Mar-a-Lago By Ron Kampeas (JTA) — The Israel Antiquities Authority believes that a set of ancient ceramic oil lamps missing for more than three years are at Mar-a-Lago, the Florida estate of former President Donald Trump, according to Haaretz. Haaretz reported that the Antiquities Authority loaned the White House the lamps in 2019 ahead of a Chanukah party where a major donor to the Antiquities Authority, Saul Fox, would be in attendance. The lamps ultimately did not make an appearance at the event. The r...
(JNS) - Researchers at Tel Aviv University have developed a method to trick cancer cells into self-destructing. The research team, led by professor Dan Peer and PhD student Yasmin Granot Matok, encoded a toxin produced by bacteria into messenger RNA molecules. These mRNA particles were directly delivered to cancer cells, triggering the cells to produce the toxin, which ultimately led to their demise. The findings of their study were recently published in peer-reviewed journal Theranostics....
Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation has a new full-time rabbi. Rabbi Melissa Crespy brings more than 30 years of rabbinical experience to this congregation, along with a lifelong love of music, language, and connecting with her community. Rabbi Crespy's journey began in Freehold, New Jersey, where she was raised by a family she describes as "very Jewishly proud, though not so observant." Her father's side of the family are Sephardic Jews from Greece, while her mother's side helped found the...
Food and fun we're on the agenda when the Jewish chamber partnered with Rosie's Adventures for an afternoon of arts and crafts at Shalom Orlando. Adults and children of all ages gathered to put together care packages and decorations for children fighting cancer. Everyone in attendance brought gifts for the children that will go into gift bags to be distributed by Rosie's Adventures. Nicki Rodriguez founded the charity a year ago after her daughter passed away from childhood cancer. Rosie's...
On Friday, July 28, Chabad of North Orlando will host "Rolene's Shabbos" in loving memory of a special woman. Rolene Hunter was the first to become a member of Chabad Lubavitch of North Orlando's Jewish Legacy Society by remembering the Longwood Chabad in her will and leaving a portion of her estate to help ensure a Jewish tomorrow. "Rolene was taken from us way too soon but she will forever remain in our hearts," Rabbi Yanky Majesky remarked. "Though as an individual we may pass on, the communi...
PITTSBURGH (JTA) — Jurors in the trial of the gunman who killed 11 Jewish worshipers in a Pittsburgh synagogue took less than two hours to find him eligible for the death penalty, setting up a final phase of the historic proceedings in which the gunman may be sentenced to death. On Thursday morning, the seven women and five men on the jury unanimously found that Robert Bowers, who attacked the Tree of Life building on Oct. 27, 2018, met all four thresholds of intent necessary for capital punishment. The jurors also agreed with the g...
Friends of the Main Library St. Augustine and the St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society have formed a partnership to celebrate the Jews who landed on Florida’s Coast with Pedro Menendez de Aviles. Rabbi Merrill Shapiro, founder and chairman of the St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society, will speak about the Jewish presence in St. Augustine at the time of the city’s founding and in the years that followed. The one-hour celebration will take place at the Main Library, 1960 North Ponce De Leon Boulevard in St. Augustine on Friday, Sept. 8 at...
Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc., is hosting a Game Day on Sunday, Aug. 8 from noon to 4 p.m. The event will be held at One Senior Place, Altamonte Springs. The cost is $20 and includes a light lunch. To register, visit https://events.hadassah.org/OrlandoGameDay23....
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Harvard’s 20th-century antisemitic Jewish quotas were a key part of the Supreme Court’s decision to gut affirmative action on Thursday, as the winning litigant and two conservative justices cited them in the landmark case. The 6-3 decision Thursday, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, bars universities from using race as an explicit factor in considering admissions, but allows race to be cited by applicants in essays describing their life experiences. Students for Fair Admissions, the conservative advocacy group that...
(JNS) — A group of U.S. Republican senators sent a letter on Tuesday to Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling on the Biden administration to rescind its “discriminatory” guidance halting bilateral scientific and technological cooperation with Israeli entities operating in Judea and Samaria. The administration late last month issued the directive applying to areas Israel captured in its defensive 1967 Six-Day War. “The guidance does something America has never done before: unilaterally impose territorial restrictions on U.S. scienti...
(JNS) — Florida Gov. and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis on Tuesday denounced U.S. President Joe Biden over his failure to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House. “Biden meets with dictators of countries such as Venezuela but snubs the democratically elected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This is not how you should treat an ally,” the presidential hopeful noted on Twitter. Biden has been widely criticized for neglecting to invite Netanyahu to Washington. Former U.S. Ambassador to Israe...
(JNS) - During his visit to Israel two months ago, Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, spoke from the Knesset plenum. It was only the second time that a U.S. speaker addressed the full Knesset. McCarthy's speech was dedicated to the strong ties between Israel and the U.S. and the threats faced by both nations. He also sent a message to the Israeli government and the assembled MKs. "While the Chinese Communist Party may disguise itself as promoters of innovation, in...
(JNS) — Palestinian Authority security forces have begun entering Jenin in recent days, following the Israel Defense Forces’ intensive security operation to degrade the terrorist presence in Jenin camp on July 3 and July 4. Israel is watching closely to see whether the P.A. is able to re-establish control in a city where a power vacuum saw Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hamas, localized terror groups and Iranian financing create a terrorist hornet’s nest as well as a budding rocket launch base. The Israeli security establishment appears to be monit...
(JTA) – Jeff Nitz, a social worker and lay leader at his church, sees himself as a trained listener. But beginning in 2020, his congregation — Mosaic Church in the evangelical Christian hub of Lynchburg, Virginia — started becoming riven by fierce COVID-era fights over masking, distancing and vaccinations. Used to bridging divides among his fellow parishioners, Nitz was at a loss. “I’m used to doing active listening, but there were times where it felt like I would much rather just avoid this person than having the deeper conversat...
WASHINGTON (JTA) —A congressional committee approved an increase in funding for the office of Deborah Lipstadt, the State Department’s antisemitism monitor, from $1.5 million to $2.5 million. The U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee approved the bill, which pays for State Department and foreign operations, late Wednesday. It now goes to the full House and must be reconciled with parallel Senate legislation. Senators who focus on antisemitism hope to get similar language into the corresponding Senate bill. This week, a bip...
Israel’s men’s soccer team is headed to the Olympics for the first time since 1976 By Gabe Friedman (JTA) — Israel’s national men’s soccer team qualified for the Olympics for the first time in nearly 50 years by making a surprising run at a major under-21 European tournament. Israel lost to England on Wednesday in the semifinals of the UEFA European U-21 Championship, a biennial contest among the continent’s best under-21 teams. But three days earlier, after a win in the playoff round against Georgia, Israel earned a place at the 2024 Paris...
