Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS) - The Israeli right is determined to prove that the majority of the nation supports judicial reform with a "March of the Million" rally on Thursday evening, April 27, outside the Knesset in Jerusalem. According to organizers, 6 million shekels ($1.65 million) have been raised for the protest, 1 million shekels of that through crowdfunding and the rest through large donors and coalition parties. The Religious Zionism Party contributed 1.2 million shekels and the Likud Party 600,000...
Florida has experienced a two-fold increase in antisemitic incidents in the last year alone, a disturbing trend, since history has proven that such acts undermine civil society as a whole. In response, the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida has launched a new and ongoing initiative to empower community members to recognize and respond to antisemitism and other acts of hate, prejudice and bigotry. The Holocaust Center invites Central Floridians to sign a pledge that means they will: • Reject prejudice, bigotry and h...
The Art of Healing The future of healthcare, designed by Israel, May 9 at 7 p.m. Special guest Professor Itai Pessah, director of the Edmond and Lily Safra Children's Hospital at Sheba Medical Center will discuss the work of Safra Children's Hospital and Sheba's critical care for wounded IDF soldiers. Refreshments served and dietary laws observed. Can We Talk? JBall 2023 Celebrate the best of Jewish Life in Central Florida, explore the programs at the J, discover ones you may not know about and...
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...
(JNS) — In a reflection of growing ties, Florida will soon be the only U.S. state where El Al will service two major cities, Gov Ron DeSantis said Thursday. Israel’s national carrier, which recently relocated its U.S. headquarters from New York to Margate, Florida, will offer direct service to Tel Aviv from both Miami and Fort Lauderdale starting this fall. The two Florida airports are about 30 miles apart. The move comes after American Airlines ended its nonstop service from Miami to Tel Aviv in March after nearly two years. The governor attri...
(JNS) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis emphasized that there has never been a Palestinian state in the Land of Israel or elsewhere. The Republican politician was in Israel, where he keynoted the Celebrate the Faces of Israel event, a project of the Jerusalem Post and the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem. “When your focus is only on one Jewish state, and you hold it up to a different standard than any other country in the world, that is antisemitism,” said DeSantis. “We are doing what we can do in Florida to enhance the ability to hold people account...
(JNS) — Two suspects were arrested on Thursday in Tel Aviv, as anti-government protesters attacked Israel’s economy minister Nir Barkat. Meanwhile, organizers estimated 600,000 advocates of judicial reform gathered in Jerusalem. “March of the Million” participants, some hitting snags when bus drivers canceled their transportation to the rally at the last minute, reportedly arrived on as many as 1,000 buses. Other media outlets estimated the crowds were larger than 200,000. “I thank the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who came to Jerusalem...
(JNS) - While "dialogue" was a central theme of the "Israel at 75 General Assembly," the annual gathering of the Jewish Federations of North America, held this week in Tel Aviv to coincide with the 75th anniversary of Israel's birth, several of the key discussion topics appeared overwhelmingly one-sided. This was especially evident when it came to the foremost political issue of the day-judicial reform-a topic that has consumed Israel's political landscape for the past three months. Federation...
(JNS) - Member of Knesset Simcha Rothman, one of the key figures behind the government's judicial reform initiative, was continuously interrupted by hecklers during a panel discussion at the Jewish Federations of North America's General Assembly in Tel Aviv. Although the panel discussion at the Expo Tel Aviv convention center was not on judicial reform but rather on issues related to the Law of Return, protesters, many identifying with Achim L'Neshek ("Brothers in Arms"), an extremist group...
(JNS) - Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) has been answering 20 minutes of questions from JNS in his office in the Cannon House Office Building when he unveils a silver Star of David necklace that he says he wears daily. "I want everyone to know, and I'm not afraid that I'm Jewish," he told JNS. Miller, 34, and Rep. David Kustoff (R-Tenn.) are the only two Jewish Republicans in Congress. In his first term, Miller made headlines for introducing legislation that stripped Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) of her...
(JNS) — Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) announced an exploratory committee to run for U.S. president in 2024, the senator announced on April 12. Scott, 57, made the announcement in a video recorded on Fort Sumter in Charleston, where 162 years ago, the first shots of the Civil War were fired on April 12, 1861. “Today, our country is once again being tested. Once again, our divisions run deep, and the threat to our future is real,” said Scott, the only black Republican in the Senate. “Joe Biden and the radical left have chosen a culture of grievan...
(JNS) - Thousands of Israelis protested in favor of Jewish rights in Samaria on Monday afternoon, with a main march beginning at the Tapuach Junction and ending at the Evyatar outpost. At least seven Cabinet members, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, along with some two dozen other lawmakers were due to participate in the show of support. "We do not surrender to terrorism, not in Evyatar and not in Tel Aviv," said Ben-Gvir at the...
(JNS) — Fourteen Democratic members of Congress, led by Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), urged U.S. President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 13 to condition U.S. aid to Israel. “We call on your administration to ensure that all future foreign assistance to Israel, including weapons and equipment, is not used in support of gross violations of human rights, including by strengthening end-use monitoring and financial tracking,” wrote the lawmakers. The other signers were Reps. Cori Bush (D-Mo.)...
(JNS) — Israeli President Isaac Herzog announced on Sunday night the launch of a consultation process with global Jewry, ahead of an initiative to establish a worldwide Jewish advisory council under the Office of the President. The initiative, Kol Ha’am—Voice of the People: The President’s Initiative for Worldwide Jewish Dialogue, aims to foster open dialogue between Jewish communities and advise the Israeli president on core challenges facing the Jewish people. The advisory council, which will meet on a recurring basis, will be tasked with tak...
(JTA) — Frankfurt’s administrative court ruled that the city can’t cancel a Roger Waters concert after calling him “one of the most widely known antisemites in the world.” Waters, the former frontman of the band Pink Floyd, took legal action and prevailed on Tuesday after Frankfurt officials said in February they would cancel his concert in May. The city can appeal the ruling. The Frankfurt court ruled that because Rogers “did not glorify or relativise the crimes of the Nazis or identify with Nazi racist ideology” in past concerts, it...
(JTA) — Two popular Israeli singers — one the “Madonna of the East,” the other the “king” of Mizrahi music as well as a convicted rapist — have teamed up on a new song in honor of their country’s 75th birthday. The twist: Both Ofra Haza and Zohar Argov have been dead for decades. Their collaboration, “Here Forever,” wasn’t unearthed in a dusty archive. Instead, the song and its accompanying video are essentially deepfakes, created using artificial intelligence that mined recordings from when they were alive to fabricate a lifelike performance...
‘Leave New York’s yeshivas alone,’ writes Wall Street Journal (JNS) — “Are Jewish moms and dads who send their children to religious schools lawbreakers? Or are they exercising their right to live by their beliefs—even if those beliefs are out of fashion with modern American sensibilities?” So asks William McGurn, a Wall Street Journal editorial board member, in an op-ed in the paper. The piece comes to the defense of Orthodox Jews, who have come under regular fire in The New York Times, and who are being investigated by the state’s educa...
(JNS) — Many see the creation of the modern-day State of Israel as part of a historical narrative, in which Israeli independence was a reaction to the Holocaust. “The catastrophe which recently befell the Jewish people—the massacre of millions of Jews in Europe—was another clear demonstration of the urgency of solving the problem of its homelessness by re-establishing in Eretz-Israel the Jewish State,” the provisional government of Israel declared on May 14, 1948. But when JNS interviewed nearly 30 veterans of the 1948 War of Independe...
(JNS) - There are no words to describe a trip to the extermination camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. The camps are surprisingly well-preserved and are a living testament to the most heinous crime in modern human history: the systematic extermination not just of every Jew, but of the attempt to annihilate every single one to the extent that shockingly detailed records were kept on so many of the 6 million killed. Visitors to the camps witness the cruelest of inhumane living conditions of the...
(JNS) - Holocaust distortion and trivialization and banalization are on the rise around the globe, even as outright denial is relegated to the fringes of society, the head of Yad Vashem said. The remarks come at a time when multiple European countries seek to whitewash their roles in World War II by highlighting the heroes among their countrymen while obscuring or outright denying the actions of collaborators who participated in the murder of six million Jews. "The good news is that outright Hol...
RAISE, a work and social skills training program for adults with disabilities, is excited to announce its recent partnership with the Rosen Hotels & Resorts and Joann Fabrics. Now, with more partnering locations, RAISE is looking to expand its enrollment capacity this fall. Currently, there are 12 RAISE employees and since each employee has two job coaches, there are 24 active volunteer job coaches this year. RAISE hopes to be able to accept up to 20 new employees in the fall cohort. To do so...
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...
Several modern-day celebrations take place between the holidays of Passover and Shavuot. The first that occurs is Holocaust Memorial Day or Yom Hashoah. The list of survivors diminishes with each passing year, however, the importance of remembering remains alive within the Orlando community and specifically in the senior living facilities in the area. The Jewish Pavilion provides candles, flowers and a meditation to help those who want to take a moment and reflect on the horrors of this event...
(JNS) — Negotiations over the Israeli government’s judicial reform initiative resumed on Monday as coalition representatives met with counterparts from the Yesh Atid and National Unity parties at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem. Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who is mediating between the sides, said the talks would be “focused and rigorous” and cover all core issues. “The Office of the President continues to do everything in its power to encourage the sides to adhere to dialogue with the aim of bringing about a broad consensus,...
(JTA) — In a surprise move, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has backed out of his appearance at a major conference of U.S. Jewish leaders in Tel Aviv, just hours before a speech that was expected to draw mass protests. But in a sign that the conference organizers did not expect Netanyahu’s cancelation to head off the protests, Jewish Federations of North America told attendees that it was not changing the schedule of the buses bringing them from their hotels to the conference center. The group had told attendees to plan extra tim...
