Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JTA) — Eylon Levy, the English-language spokesman for Israel widely praised for defending the beleaguered country in English-language media, has been suspended and is unlikely to return to his role, Israeli media is reporting. According to the Israeli media reports, Levy was suspended over his response on X, formerly Twitter, to Britain’s top diplomat, who had called for more aid to be allowed into Gaza, where Israel is waging war against Hamas. Levy’s response, which has since been deleted, rejected the idea that Israel was preventing aid f...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — An overwhelming majority of U.S. Jews say Israel’s reasons for launching a war against Hamas are justified, and a substantial majority approve of how Israel is conducting the war. The Pew Research Center study published Thursday is billed as the rare survey of sentiment about the war to include enough Jewish and Muslim respondents to garner an accurate reflection of their views. It shows that Jewish views on the conflict are in many ways starkly different from those held by the rest of Americans. Far fewer U.S. res...
‘US taps Hamas ally Qatar to build port in Gaza’ By David Isaac (JNS) — At America’s request, Hamas ally Qatar has agreed to take charge of operating and financing the temporary pier on its way from the United States to the Gaza coast, Israel’s Channel 14 reported on Tuesday. Qatar consented to run the port on condition that the construction work go to the Al-Hisi firm, “a company controlled and sponsored by Hamas,” according to Channel 14 correspondent Baruch Yedid, citing Arab media reports following a meeting in Cyprus between diplomatic of...
(JNS) — The Israel Defense Forces’ Central Command, which is responsible for Judea and Samaria, has established a team to investigate alleged terror tunnels in the area. The unit, which was established several months ago, consists of engineering and intelligence specialists, as well as civilian experts, Ynet reported on Tuesday. “The special team acts upon intelligence needs or reports from the field and knows how to bring all the capabilities required to inspect them [the tunnels],” a security source told the site. He added, “In the past, we h...
(JNS) — The Biden administration is expected to impose new sanctions as early as Thursday on two Jewish outposts located beyond the Green Line that were allegedly used to launch attacks against Palestinians, according to an Axios report. The prospective sanctions to counter “settler violence” will also target three Israelis, said the report, citing three U.S. officials. The penalties would freeze the U.S.-based assets of the individuals and communities, ban those targeted from obtaining a visa to enter the United States and block their acces...
The largest Jewish festival in Central Florida, the 2024 Jewish Heritage Festival, is returning to The Casements in Ormond Beach on Sunday, April 7, 25 Riverside Drive, Ormond Beach, Fla., from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. The entire event is free and open to the public. The Festival will feature nationally acclaimed entertainment, as well as Kosher, Mediterranean and deli-style food vendors. Also featured will be a Health and Wellness Fair, Israeli and Judaica artists and vendors, Jewish organization booths, and exhibits including a Holocaust Memorial, I...
By Christine DeSouza In February Ethiopian National Project staff members Roni Akale and Grace Rodnitzki visited Central Florida for the BBYO convention. While here, Keith Dvorchik, in partnership with JNF and ZOA, arranged for them to speak to members of the community about the organization. Because the meeting was spur of the moment, only a handful of people were able to attend the discussion. The following is an interview with Akale and Rodnitzki about ENP. Led by hope and a donkey For 2,000 years Ethiopian Jews - descendants of the tribe...
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett chastised Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Thursday, after Schumer called for new elections in Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ouster. “Regardless of our political opinion,” tweeted Bennett, who split from a coalition of right-wing parties led by Netanyahu in 2021 to form his own government, “we strongly oppose external political intervention in Israel’s internal affairs.” Bennett blasted Schumer’s interference in Israeli democracy, declaring Israel is “not a banana republic...
In support of Head & Neck Cancer Awareness month, Jason Mendelsohn has announced the second annual Raise Your Glass event is taking place on Sunday, April 7, 5 p.m. – 7:30 p.m., at Mercedes-Benz of Orlando in Maitland, located at 810 N Orlando Ave. Mendelsohn is a survivor of HPV-related tonsil cancer, and his cancer story has been shared in over 100 countries. Most recently, he shared his story as part of a virtual Congressional Briefing to support the Prevent HPV Cancer Act. As well, he served on the executive board of the Head & Neck Cancer...
Chabad Lubavitch of North Orlando and Decision Tactical invite the entire community to an exclusive screening of “Supernova - The Music Festival Massacre” on Thursday, April 11, 2024. The massacre at the Supernova Festival in the Negev desert marks a historic turning point for Israel: On Oct. 7, 2023, at 6:30 a.m., Hamas terrorists broke through the borders from Gaza into Israel, launching a planned and coordinated attack. Among their targets – a yearly techno music festival with over 3500 young revelers in attendance. Soon the festival groun...
(JNS) - Thousands of Jewish teens and adults from 46 countries gathered at a Rosen Shingle Creek hotel in Orlando, Fla., for BBYO's annual international convention. Held from Feb. 15-19, the convention, themed "Forever Young," celebrated BBYO's centennial anniversary. Founded as the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization, BBYO includes the leadership programs Aleph Zadik Aleph, a fraternity, and the B'nai B'rith Girls, a sorority. Throughout the five-day event in Orlando, young people mingled; heard from and met celebrities and high-profile speakers;...
(JNS) - For about a year, officials at the Florida Holocaust Museum in downtown St. Petersburg kept a closely guarded secret that the museum was seeking to become the permanent home of a treasure trove of documents from the late Elie Wiesel. On Feb. 3, at its annual "To Life" fundraising gala, the museum's biggest annual social event, museum board chair Mike Igel let the secret out, telling the audience the Wiesel Foundation had chosen the museum to house and exhibit a collection of Wiesel's memorabilia, including his 1986 Nobel Peace Prize,...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) - A rare and exciting archaeological find has been unearthed in Jerusalem, providing an extraordinary glimpse into the ancient past. During excavations carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority in the Western Wall Plaza, a small-stamped clay seal was discovered dating back to the First Temple period around 2,700 years ago. The clay seal contains ancient Hebrew writing indicating it belonged to the "Governor of the City" of Jerusalem, the highest municipal position during that time. "This is the first time such a...
(ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla) - One of Israel's most distinguished statesmen, Ambassador Michael Oren, a diplomat who worked at the highest levels of the Israeli government, was the featured speaker at Jewish National Fund-USA's second annual Stand with Israel Legacy Luncheon in Altamonte Springs on Feb. 12, 2024. The "thank you" event for local partners (donors) who are members of the organization's Legacy Society was attended by over 100 philanthropists. The solidarity portions of the afternoon included a moment of silence to remember the hostages...
Local screenwriter and novelist Katherine MK Mitchell, a former talent agent and story-analyst in the Hollywood film industry, will lead a workshop titled “Screenwriting 101,” at the Maitland Library auditorium on March 23 from 10:30 a.m. – noon. The class will include basic information on screenwriting vs. narrative and the comparisons of writing requirements between the forms; challenging writers’ block; anecdotes; adaptations; specialty writers, infomercials; and suggested educational reading materials. The Maitland Library is located...
(JTA) — Vice President Kamala Harris called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza and placed most of the onus on Israel for a shortfall in humanitarian aid entering the enclave. The call for a cessation of fighting was not actually a change in the U.S. position on the war. In her speech, at a civil rights-focused event on Sunday in Birmingham, Alabama, Harris made clear that she was not referring to a permanent ceasefire, which progressive activists have advocated for months. Rather, she was voicing support for the current Israeli-backed propo...
(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday night hit back at U.S. President Joe Biden for claiming that the Jewish state’s “incredibly conservative government” risked losing it international support. “Since the start of the war, I have been leading a diplomatic campaign to block pressure designed to end the war prematurely and to secure strong support for Israel,” said Netanyahu in a video message. “We have had considerable success. Today, a Harvard-Harris poll was published which shows that 82 percent of the American publ...
By (JNS) — Iran-backed terror groups are plotting to turn the Islamic holy month of Ramadan into the “second phase of Oct. 7” and set the Middle East on fire, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant charged on Tuesday. “The main goal of Hamas is to take Ramadan, with an emphasis on the Temple Mount and Jerusalem, and turn it into the second phase of their plan that began on Oct. 7. This is the main goal of Hamas, and it is being amplified by Iran and Hezbollah,” Gallant said following a situational assessment at the Israel Defense Forces’ C...
(JNS) — The United States on Feb.21 called on the International Court of Justice not to issue an advisory opinion that Israel must immediately withdraw from Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem. Instead, Richard Visek, acting legal adviser at the U.S. State Department, argued on day three of public hearings at The Hague on Israel’s “ongoing occupation” that the conflict with the Palestinians should be resolved within “the established framework,” citing United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338. He also emphasized Israel’s “v...
(JNS) — Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday received an award from the Israel Heritage Foundation in appreciation of his efforts to forge normalization agreements between the Jewish state and four Arab nations under the guise of the Abraham Accords. The award, a menorah, was presented to the former president at Mar-a-Lago by IHF Executive Director Rabbi David Katz, Executive Vice President Joseph Frager, Executive President Stephen Soloway, Executive Chairman Sam Nahmias, Lewis Topper and Harley Lippman. “This menorah, which represents...
(JNS) - "I can't allow myself to get caught in the emotional rollercoaster around hostage negotiations," said Jonathan Dekel-Chen, whose son Sagui, 35, was kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7. "It is hard if not impossible to survive that when your loved one is being held captive by a terror organization," he told JNS. On Oct. 7, some 200 terrorists stormed Kibbutz Nir-Oz, murdering 40 residents and abducting 80 more. "I have been worried for Sagui's life since then. Every day is another day that the abuse the hostages are enduring could be too...
(JNS) — The Biden administration is privately pressing several United Nations agencies to take over the responsibilities of the beleaguered UNRWA but is being rebuffed by U.N. chief António Guterres, according to a report by Devex. Anticipating that the U.S. Congress will pull funding for UNRWA, the Palestinian-only refugee and social services agency with extensive ties to Hamas, Washington has approached the heads of the World Food Programme, UNICEF and other U.N. relief agencies, requesting they begin assuming the work traditionally ca...
WASHINGTON, D.C. (JTA) — For months, President Joe Biden has asked for — and Congress has debated — sending wartime foreign aid to Israel as it battles Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The bill currently on the table, passed in a bipartisan vote by the Senate last week, would see some $14 billion go to Israel as part of a $95 billion foreign aid bill. Biden is now pushing the Republican-led House to take up the bill. The majority of the bill’s funds would aid Ukraine in its war against Russia, and a smaller portion is earmarked to help Taiwan deter C...
By (New York Jewish Week) — The philanthropic organization Broadway Cares said it would allocate funds to Israeli civilians in need after complaints from a rabbi and pro-Israel group about the theater charity’s contributions to Gaza relief efforts. In a statement to the New York Jewish Week, the nonprofit also acknowledged that it had “created confusion among our valued supporters.” The group vowed to provide more information about where it was allocating the money it raised. “Transparency is of the utmost importance to us,” read the stateme...
(JNS) — Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, the “military wing” of Hamas, fired 40 Grad rockets in two barrages at army bases near Kiryat Shmona on Wednesday morning. Only 10 crossed the border and several were intercepted, according to the Israel Defense Forces. A building in Kiryat Shmona was hit, causing damage but no injuries according to police. The Hamas terror group says its Lebanon branch fired a barrage rockets at the Kiryat Shmona area this morning. Police said they were dealing with rocket debris at several sites in the Kiryat Shmona area. “Prop...
