Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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BERLIN (JTA) - A federal German cultural organization has returned a 16th-century sculpture to the heirs of its pre-war Jewish owner who faced Nazi persecution. The Berlin-based Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, or SPK (for Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz), announced today that the "Maria Lactans" statuette depicting Mary nursing an infant Jesus would be given back to the family of German Jewish banker and entrepreneur Jakob Goldschmidt, who fled Nazi Germany soon after Hitler came to...
(JNS) — The Palestinian Authority, PLO and Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) last week called “on the peoples of the world and their democratic and progressive forces” to actively participate in the BDS Movement against Israel and to “dismantle Israel’s system of settler colonialism, apartheid, and military occupation.” The joint P.A.-PLO-BDS statement demands “the dismantling of Israel’s regime of settler-colonialism and apartheid.” Their communique refers to Zionism as a “racist, genocidal ideology that encourages terrorism and fasci...
(JTA) — Jews made up nearly half of America’s biggest philanthropic donors last year, according to a calculation by Forbes of who gave the most money away in 2022. In a year that saw their fortunes take a hit amid declines in the stock market, America’s 25 “most generous givers” donated a collective $27 billion, up from $20 billion in 2021, for a lifetime total of $196 billion, according to Forbes. They included 12 billionaires with Jewish backgrounds — a dramatic overrepresentation when compared to the proportion of Jews in the overall U.S...
(JTA) — Within two weeks, a series of Bay Area billboards equating anti-Zionism with antisemitism were targeted by activists. In the first incident, an unknown group of culprits wrote “Free Palestine” on them, leading the billboards’ sponsor to replace them and call the graffiti “a hate crime.” The second time they were targeted, a group of Jews took the credit. On Tuesday night, a group of self-proclaimed “anti-Zionist Jews” papered over three billboards paid for by the New Jersey-based group JewBelong. It was a further escalation in a nationa...
(JTA) — A New Jersey synagogue is crediting recent safety improvements after a Molotov cocktail thrown at its door overnight caused little damage. Still, Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield canceled activities on Sunday as the police investigated, marking the second time in recent months that the suburban congregation suspended activities because of an antisemitic incident. Last November, the Reform synagogue of about 500 families near New York City briefly closed its doors while the FBI investigated a “credible threat” against New Jersey synag...
Brazilian teenager dies after soccer accident at Hebraica Jewish sports club By Marcus M. Gilban SAO PAULO, Brazil (JTA) — A 14-year-old Brazilian boy died on Friday after a soccer goal post fell on him at Sao Paulo’s Hebraica club, the main meeting place for the local 60,000-strong Jewish community. Alexandre Andrei Mirocznik was playing with four friends at one of the several courts and fields at the Hebraica, a sports facility that combines the functions of a Jewish community center and a country club. As he hung from a goal post and swung b...
(JNS) — A massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake centered in southern Turkey killed more than 2,300 people combined in that country and Syria early on Monday, toppling buildings and causing shockwaves felt across the region, including Cyprus, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and Israel. Emergency medical services in Turkey and Syria said that the death toll was expected to rise in both countries as hundreds of people potentially remained trapped under collapsed structures. The quake struck just after 4 a...
ISTANBUL (JTA) — Israel is sending aid to Turkey and Syria in the wake of a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that has left over 2,000 dead as of Monday evening here. Israel will send medication, tents and other supplies to Syria, its neighbor that it considers a hostile state, according to Hebrew language media. The Israeli military will also send rescue teams to both countries, the Israeli embassy in the Turkish capital Ankara told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. That embassy was only recently formally re-established after years of diplomatic t...
(JNS) - Over the course of his illustrious career, Israel "Izzy" Tapoohi has helmed some of the most recognizable Israeli franchises, including Africa-Israel Investments, Bezeq, Israel Bonds and the Israel Electric Corporation. But, as he announces his retirement at year's end, Tapoohi, 76, says nothing has been more fulfilling than his role over the last six years as president and CEO of the Birthright Israel Foundation, the non-profit organization that raises funds in the United States to...
(JNS) — The House of Representatives voted today to oust Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from its Foreign Affairs Committee. The decision followed repeated promises from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to remove her over a history of antisemitic remarks. All but one Republican–218–voted to strip Omar of the assignment, while 211 Democrats backed her. Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio) voted present. Omar has accused Israel of having “hypnotized the world” and Jews of buying control of Congress. She called Israel an “apartheid state” and likened it to...
March 2nd is Jewish Heritage Night at the Solar Bears. The doors open at 6 p.m. and the puck drops at 7 p.m. The Jewish Chamber of Commerce is participating in the event. For this game, Jewish Chamber members will enjoy an upgraded suite and a guest speaker at 6:30 p.m. Shades, the Mascot, is going to visit with Chamber participants. It is a $5 beer night! Expect a very fun evening with lots of networking/socializing. For parking and ticketing information visit https://jewish-chamber.com/events/solar-bears-game....
The Jewish Chamber is having a networking breakfast in the private room at Panera Bread on Rte. 436 and Maitland Avenue on Wednesday, Feb. 15, from 8 a.m.- 10 a.m. Enjoy a bagel, coffee and socializing. An RSVP is not necessary. For more information about the Chamber visit https://jewish-chamber.com The Jewish Chamber of Commerce was founded in 2010 with the vision of bringing together Jewish business professionals of every denomination to stimulate growth within the business community. We aim...
(JNS) — The Jewish Federations of North America and American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee have launched fundraising campaigns to provide humanitarian aid to people in Turkey after the devastating earthquakes today. Thousands have been killed in what officials are calling the worst quake to hit the region in decades. The initial one registered at a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale, causing massive damage to buildings, homes and medical facilities in Turkey and Syria. An aftershock, which registered more than 7.5, exacerbated the d...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Republican Party unanimously condemned as antisemitic Kanye West and Nick Fuentes, saying their beliefs have no place in “any political discourse.” The resolution opposes “all forms of antisemitism, antisemitic statements and any antisemitic elements that seek to infiltrate the Republican Party.” It names West, the rapper and designer now known as Ye, saying he “has repeatedly made statements that are antisemitic, shameful, wrong, offensive, bigoted, and contrary to American and Republican principles.” It also names Fuent...
(JTA) — Second gentleman Doug Emhoff extended his focus on Holocaust remembrance by inviting a Washington, D.C.-area survivor to be his guest at President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech Tuesday evening. Ruth Cohen, who survived multiple concentration camps including Auschwitz, joined Emhoff at the annual policy address in Washington. Emhoff first met Cohen last year before International Holocaust Remembrance Day with his wife, Vice President Kamala Harris, according to a press release from the White House. This year, Emhoff spent Int...
WASHINGTON — On Thursday, the CUFI Action Fund released the following statement welcoming the House of Representative’s vote to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from the House Foreign Affairs Committee: “Antisemitism has no place anywhere in America, including and especially in Congress. The CUFI Action Fund welcomes today’s vote to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “Rep. Omar has a track-record of trafficking in antisemitic tropes and making bigoted claims concerning pro-Israel activists. Moreover, her posit...
(JNS) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intervened to delay the demolition of an illegally constructed building in eastern Jerusalem due to American pressure, Channel 11 reported. Netanyahu was also reportedly warned by security forces that amid the current tensions, the building’s destruction could set off a round of violence in the largely Arab part of the capital. The large building houses 100 persons and is located in the Wadi Qaddum section of Silwan/Shiloah, an Arab neighborhood in the city’s southeast. The illegal structure has been...
(JNS) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu led a tree-planting ceremony on Monday to mark Tu Bishvat in the Neve Ya'akov neighborhood of Jerusalem, where a Palestinian terrorist killed seven people last month. Netanyahu was joined by Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion and family members of the murder victims, as well as police officers, medics and paramedics who treated the wounded at the scene of the Jan. 27 attack. The following day, another Palestinian terrorist shot and seriously wounded an Israeli...
This winter, the city of Odessa, Ukraine, feels like the heart of darkness. The city is constant bombardment by the Russian military, freezing nighttime temperatures commonly fall below zero, and electricity is only available for six hours per day: three in the morning and three at night. Amid these desperate circumstances, Avraham Wolff, the chief rabbi of Odessa and southern Ukraine, is trying to bring some light - and heat. He's doing so with jerry-rigged car batteries to provide warmth and...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The resolution is called “Recognizing Israel as America’s Legitimate and Democratic Ally and Condemning Antisemitism,” and its cosponsors are a who’s-who of the pro-Israel Democrats, including leading Jewish lawmakers. Also on the sponsor list: Rep. Ilhan Omar, who has been one of Israel’s harshest critics in Congress and who Republicans on Thursday kicked off the Foreign Affairs Committee for past comments that Jewish groups have said were antisemitic. In a press release sent out just an hour ahead of a successful...
(JTA) — The Brooklyn Nets traded Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks, a team whose Jewish owner had spoken up about the star guard’s antisemitism controversy last year. Mark Cuban, known as one of the NBA’s most outspoken team owners and as a star of the hit TV show “Shark Tank,” did not comment on the trade that was the talk of the league on Sunday. But in the fall, after Irving promoted an antisemitic film on his Twitter account and at first refused to apologize for the tweet, Cuban said the eight-time All-Star was “not educated about the i...
(JNS) — On Feb. 2, John Podhoretz, editor of Commentary, shared a joke on his magazine’s podcast riffing on Hunter Biden’s laptop—what Miranda Devine has called the “Laptop from Hell.” So, have you heard the one about the Jew who returns 40 years later to pick up a pair of shoes from the cobbler? “The shoe store owner says, ‘Was they wing tips?’ ‘Yes. They were wing tips.’ ‘Were they black with a brown trim?’ ‘Yeah. You have them?’” Podhoretz said, exaggerating the cobbler’s accent. “‘They’ll be ready Tuesday.’” Clearly, the original owner...
Israel passes important hurdle to enter US visa waiver program (JNS) — Fiscal year 2022 saw a significant drop in the number of Israelis refused visas to enter the United States, for the first time falling under the 3 percent threshold to qualify for the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, the U.S. Embassy in Israel said in a statement. “Israel has made one huge step toward the visa waiver program,” U.S. Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides tweeted on Monday. However, he continued, much work remains to be done. The U.S. Visa Waiver Program allows citizens o...
(JNS) — In 2021, a University of Michigan music professor showed a 1965 film adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Othello,” which featured a white actor in blackface, in class. The professor apologized and stepped down, yet a dean at the university stated that the experience “was hurtful and upsetting to the students in the class,” and the professor’s actions “do not align with our school’s commitment to anti-racist action, diversity, equity and inclusion.” When someone distributed racist fliers on the school’s Ann Arbor campus five years prior, the...
(JNS) - As of the new year, a total of 1,116 global entities have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's Working Definition of Antisemitism. According to the Combat Antisemitism Movement, this includes 18 U.S. states that adopted the IHRA definition via legislative or executive actions in the course of 2022, bringing the total number to 30. American cities such as Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., El Paso and Wichita have all adopted the definition, as have seven out of the 10...
