Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JTA) — The city of Miami Beach has agreed to pay $1.3 million to a small Orthodox synagogue that accused it of discrimination by sending inspectors more than once a week on average for two years At the same time, Congregation Bais Yeshaya D’Kerestir agreed to make changes to its parking and noise practices. The agreement brings to a close an extended dispute over whether the congregation, which meets in a single-family home owned by its rabbi, Arie Wohl, was a religious institution or a private gathering. The congregation argued that because i...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Speaking before one of the leading architects of the Israeli government’s judicial overhaul, Vice President Kamala Harris stressed the importance of independent courts in a democracy. Harris’s speech on Tuesday came after a week in which opponents of the judicial overhaul — which would significantly weaken the Israeli Supreme Court — protested Israeli right-wing politicians at a series of events in New York City and elsewhere. Simcha Rothman, a far-right lawmaker who is a leading proponent of the judicial overhaul, was in at...
(JNS) — Israel’s foreign minister on Wednesday took issue with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris weighing in on Israel’s judicial reform debate, saying she didn’t know a thing about it. Harris waded into Israel’s domestic political affairs during an event at the Israeli embassy in Washington on Tuesday celebrating the Jewish state’s 75th anniversary. “America will continue to stand for the values that have been the bedrock of the U.S.-Israel relationship, which includes continuing to strengthen our democracies, which as the [Israeli] ambassador...
(New York Jewish Week) — The New York Police Department has reported 100 anti-Jewish hate crimes in the city since the start of the year, a decrease of some 20 percent when compared to the same period last year. Anti-Jewish incidents have comprised nearly 45 percent of the 223 total hate crimes the NYPD has reported this year. Jews are targeted for hate crimes more than any other group in the city and have been the victims of a plurality of hate crimes each month. These incidents include assaults, vandalism such as swastikas being drawn in f...
(JNS) — After a week of testimony from survivors in the Pittsburgh synagogue mass shooting trial, a city police officer offered his perspective on the Shabbat-morning attack in October 2018 that left 11 Jewish worshippers dead. Officer Michael Saldutte testified that he drove faster than 100 miles per hour to reach the Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood after he learned about the attack. Upon arrival, Saldutte said he smelled gunpowder and saw bodies in pools of blood, the officer testified. The judge ove...
Over 150 guests supported the Jewish Pavilion by attending "Jewish Pavilion on the Lake," a festive happy hour celebration. Eighteen vendors provided delicious appetizers and desserts along with signature drinks. Carina Borkon and Jason Mendelsohn co-chaired the evening and helped arrange for wonderful raffle prizes. The event was held at Venue on Lake Lily/Maitland Civic Center. Several thousand dollars were raised to benefit seniors in long-term care....
(JTA) - As he has launched his long-shot campaign for the Republican nomination, Chris Christie has taken aim squarely at the man he once enthusiastically endorsed: Donald Trump. But alongside portraying the former president as a danger to democracy, Christie has singled out another person for criticism who is not running for president, and who may not even work on a campaign: Jared Kushner, Trump's Jewish son-in-law and senior adviser. The Christie-Kushner feud goes back two decades, dating bac...
PITTSBURGH (Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle via JTA) - When Judy Clarke delivered her opening statement to the jury that will determine the fate of the man charged with committing the massacre in the Tree of Life synagogue building, she did not deny that her client was responsible. In fact, she sympathized with the victims and their families. Clarke, 71, began her address by acknowledging the horror of Oct. 27, 2018, and its aftermath. "The tragedy that brings us together today," she said in a...
(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs via JNS) — The Israeli security establishment has begun intensive discussions on the possibility of conducting a widespread military operation in Judea and Samaria against Palestinian terror groups following the shooting attack on May 30, 2023 in which a 32-year-old civilian, Meir Tamari, was murdered near the community of Hermesh. The attack was carried out by the “Rapid Reaction” unit of the “Tulkarm Battalion,” a joint terrorist body of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Palestinian Authority chief Mahmo...
New head of Birthright’s foundation an alumnus of its inaugural trip to Israel Elias Saratovsky, who participated in Birthright’s inaugural trip to Israel in 1999-2000, has been named the new president and CEO of the Birthright Israel Foundation. Saratovsky, who will start the new position on Sept. 1, has worked at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee for more than two decades, most recently as national director of regional affairs. “I remember standing at Birthright’s Mega-Event in Jerusalem alongside thousands of other young Jewish...
(JTA) — A survey by the Anti-Defamation League found that significant portions of people in 10 European countries believe a range of antisemitic stereotypes, including more than one in three people in Poland and Hungary. The ADL measures antisemitic attitudes across a range of countries by asking respondents if they believe a set of 11 stereotypes about Jews, ranging from “Jews have too much power in the business world” to “Jews are responsible for most of the world’s wars.” This survey, taken from November to January, polled more than 6,500...
After more than a decade in planning and three years of construction with a multi-disciplinary team of archaeologists, architects, curators, researchers, designers and creatives, the new Tower of David Jerusalem Museum opened to the public in the ancient citadel as the capital's official museum on June 1st with a completely immersive experience that combines ancient Jerusalem and interactive technology. And, for the first time in its history, the ancient citadel is now accessible. The Tower of...
(JNS) - After 30 years of legal and political battles, Israel will inaugurate an elevator to improve handicap accessibility at Hebron's Tomb of the Patriarchs on June 8. The Defense Ministry's Civil Administration sent out invitations on Wednesday. The Tomb of the Patriarchs is the burial place of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and matriarchs Sarah, Rebecca and Leah. It is one of Israel's most visited tourist sites. The $1.6 million project includes a sloped path linking the parking...
This is an ongoing article. Heritage will print articles as JTA reports them. Day 1: 911 dispatcher and rabbi take the stand PITTSBURGH (JTA) — When Shannon Basa-Sabol was asked to recount the events of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting in court on Tuesday, what stood out was her memory of the death of Bernice Simon. Basa-Sabol, a 911 dispatcher, took the stand for close to an hour, describing the ins and outs of her job. But when the crowded courtroom heard a recording of Simon’s 911 call from the Tree of Life Congregation, Basa-Sabol pau...
Two weeks ago, the White House released a national strategy to fight antisemitism. In December, President Biden established a government task force to create a national strategy to counter antisemitism and other forms of religious bigotry. Among the initiative, monitoring technology platforms was mentioned, with over 10 separate calls for tech companies to establish a zero-tolerance policy for hate. This part of the strategy will help shield our students from the onslaught of online antisemitism. President Biden said, “It sends a clear and f...
Summer is just starting but now is the best time to plan for the next school year 2023-2024. When the school day ends many parents know this is just the beginning of homework, enrichment activities and searching for ways to entertain their children while they continue working. The Rosen JCC After-School Program offers just what the busy parent needs. The After School program offers onsite certified tutors to provide homework help. The staff supervises kids with playground time, games, snacks and crafts. It offers enrichment activities...
(JTA) — Israel’s under-20 men’s team defeated Brazil 3-2 in the quarterfinals of the FIFA U-20 World Cup on Saturday, their most shocking win in a string of dramatic underdog victories at the tournament. The player who scored the winning goal in extra time dedicated the win to three Israeli soldiers killed in an attack the previous morning. The team, making its first-ever appearance at the under-20 World Cup, is now through to the semifinal round, in which they will face Uruguay on Thursday. Israel — facing a country known for its interna...
(JTA) — A man rushed the stage and unfurled an Israeli flag at a Roger Waters concert in Frankfurt on Sunday in protest of the former Pink Floyd frontman’s continued criticism of Israel. Video circulating on social media showed a group of fans chanting “Am Yisrael Chai” (“The people of Israel live”) while the protester makes it to the main stage, where he lasts a few seconds before security guards chase him away. Since at least last week, Berlin police have been investigating Waters over a costume he has been wearing at concerts for years t...
(JNS) — German police have launched a criminal investigation after former Pink Floyd bassist and anti-Israel provocateur Roger Waters wore a Nazi-style uniform during a recent concert in the German capital. On May 17 at Mercedes-Benz Arena, the British musician dressed up in a costume resembling that of an SS soldier and pretended to fire a rifle. Waters also compared the murder of Anne Frank in the Holocaust to the accidental killing in Jenin in May 2022 of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. “The State Security Department at...
(JNS) - Police detectives working in eastern Jerusalem who stopped a vehicle discovered 2,000-year-old bricks with imprints of Roman seals, the Israeli Police announced on Wednesday. A 68-year-old Palestinian was arrested on Tuesday night and is suspected of intending to sell the bricks on the black market. According to the Israel Antiquities Authority, which has examined the artifacts, the bricks came from the Hebron area, and were used in a structure by the Roman military unit that destroyed...
(JNS) - The U.S. seeks to silence Israeli opposition to a revived Iran nuclear deal by offering to broker a Saudi-Israeli normalization deal in exchange, Israel Hayom reported on Thursday. Israel's Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi flew Wednesday to Washington for meetings with U.S. officials about the possible Iran deal, which Israel strongly opposes, and Saudi-Israel relations, which Israel strongly supports. Although U.S. President Joe Biden...
(JTA) - An Egyptian security officer opened fire on Israeli soldiers on a routine patrol, killing two, and hours later killed a third before being felled in a shootout, the Israeli army said, in what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called a "severe and extraordinary incident." The Egyptian military said the shootout occurred while the officer, who has now been identified as Mohamed Salah Ibrahim, was pursuing drug smugglers across the border. Cross-border attacks are rare between...
(JTA) — Israel’s health ministry tweeted that Elon Musk was engaging with “fake news” regarding COVID-19 data, the third Israeli government ministry to comment on the Twitter owner’s views in recent weeks. Musk had replied to a tweet from Zero Hedge, a far-right blog site that features conspiracy theories and has been accused of spreading Russian propaganda. The tweet claimed Israeli data showed “zero young healthy individuals died of COVID-19.” The billionaire businessman wrote “Zero …” In response, the health ministry wrote: “Elon, unfortunat...
Israeli man killed in shooting as West Bank violence continues (JTA) — An Israeli man was killed in a terror attack on Tuesday in the northern West Bank, the latest in a string of violent incidents in the territory this year. The Israel was identified as Meir Tamari, 32, a resident of the nearby settlement of Hermesh. He was shot while driving on a road close to the settlement and was treated by medics before his death was confirmed. Israeli forces have closed off roads in the area in order to find the attacker. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade c...
(JNS) - Trans activists failed in their efforts to cancel a talk by U.S. journalist Abigail Shrier to promote the Hebrew-language translation of her 2020 book "Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters." Activists' threats did succeed in driving the May 28 event out of Tel Aviv. Sella Meir, the Hebrew publisher, first intended to hold the book launch at the ZOA House cultural center, then moved it to Social Space, another Tel Aviv location, before transferring it to the c...
