Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 2185 - 2209 of 11638
‘Fauda’ star posts photo of injuries sustained in Gaza (JNS) — Israeli actor Idan Amedi posted on social media a photo taken soon after he was wounded while fighting against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Amedi, 35, known for his role in the Netflix hit show “Fauda,” was released from the hospital last month after an explosion left him unconscious for days, with shrapnel in his eye sockets, jaw and neck. At the time of the blast, he had been serving in a reserve combat engineering unit. “Every now and then, I have some understanding of the miracle th...
(FLAME via JNS) — If members of the Ku Klux Klan vote overwhelmingly Republican, should Republican politicians adopt policies that curry favor with white supremacists? Certainly not. It would not only be wrong, it would also offend the vast majority of American voters, who are not white supremacists. Similarly, if voters who support terrorists vote overwhelmingly Democrat, should Democrats craft policies to attract them? Definitely not. It would be immoral and unethical—and would alienate the overwhelming majority of Americans, who oppose ter...
(JNS) — Israel is evaluating the credibility of Hamas’s confirmation to Qatar that the terrorist group in Gaza received a shipment of medical supplies in a deal brokered by Qatar and France and has started delivering them to hostages in Gaza. Doha made the announcement on Tuesday evening, over one month after the badly needed medicines entered the coastal enclave. “The Qatari announcement is the direct result of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence on receiving proof that the medicines have reached our hostaAes,” the Prime Minister...
(JTA) — When the Biden administration announced new sanctions meant to stop the flow of U.S. donations to extremist Israelis, many watchdogs assumed that one charity would be especially concerned. But the Central Fund of Israel says it is unfazed by the new sanctions, which were announced amid a push by the White House to rein in violence in the West Bank. The sanctions came alongside a warning against funneling money to nonprofits that promote violence. The Central Fund is a New York-registered charity that distributes tens of millions of d...
Last November, circumstance connected the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Orlando and Central Florida Hillel. On Feb. 9, 2024, that connection was solidified in the traditional Jewish manner — over Shabbat dinner. The connection was, in fact, prompted by shared outrage. In November, local U.S. Representative Maxwell Frost, to the surprise and dismay of the local Jewish community, voted against a congressional resolution condemning the rise of antisemitism on college campuses in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas t...
The attitude about antisemitic groups in Central Florida used to be “if you ignore them, they will go away.” Not anymore. Now people hold to “if you see something, say something.” On Saturday, Feb. 17, a group of neo-Nazi demonstrators stood on the corner of Lee Road and Orlando Avenue waving a Nazi flag and a Confederate Flag, while holding signs that read “Jews love genocide,” “The ADL protects pedophiles” and “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.” The protesters drew the attention of Sen. Rick Scott,...
The St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society will host Dr. Isaac Amon, director of Academic Research at Jewish Heritage Alliance, at its meeting Feb. 29 to begin at 2 p.m. The one-hour presentation in which Dr. Amon describes "An Extraordinary Odyssey: The 3,000 Year Story of Sefarad," will take place at the Main Library, 1960 North Ponce De Leon Boulevard in St. The Jewish Heritage Alliance is an educational organization dedicated to preserving and promoting the legacy of Sefarad, Jews of the Iberian Peninsula. All are welcome to this event....
(JNS) — The National Library of Israel has embarked on a massive project to collect and archive all published materials about the Oct. 7 massacre, both the good and the bad. While scholars and the curious public explore the new library building in Jerusalem and its Israel, Judaica, Humanities, Islam and Gershom Scholem collections, Chaim Neria is quietly gathering more recent—and sometimes painful—printed and digital items associated with the murder by Hamas of some 1,200 people. “The significance of this project to Israel and the Jewish...
(JNS) — During his call on Sunday with U.S. President Joe Biden, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the U.S. administration’s move to sanction four residents of Judea and Samaria over purported “settler violence,” Axios reported. Netanyahu’s protest signaled his belief that the sanctions, allowing the imposition of penalties on Israeli officials directly or indirectly involved in vaguely defined “settler violence,” could have implications for the entire country, including the political and defense establishment...
(JNS) — Israeli forces in Gaza recently found a secret document written by a senior Hamas official detailing the terrorist group’s psychological warfare strategy against the Israeli public, Channel 12 reported on Monday. Furthermore, the document was discovered at a site visited by Hamas’s senior leader in the Strip, Yahya Sinwar, according to the report. However, it was unclear whether the mastermind of the Oct. 7 massacre had penned the paper. The document orders that photos and videos of the Israeli hostages continue to be published “due...
(JTA) - Jewish billionaire businessman and philanthropist David Rubenstein has reportedly agreed to purchase the MLB's Baltimore Orioles. Rubenstein, a Baltimore native who is best known as the co-founder of the private equity firm The Carlyle Group, is leading a new ownership cohort that includes Jewish former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Orioles Hall of Fame player Cal Ripken Jr. Rubenstein's group will initially purchase a 40% stake in the franchise, taking over from the Angelos family, who have owned the Orioles since 1993....
Last month, Natalie Sopinsky, spokesperson for Hatzalah Y'osh, Rescuers Without Borders, spoke at The Roth Family JCC as well as at Fellowship Church in Winter Springs. It was clear to all that she really didn't want to be away from Israel. This attitude seems to be that of most Israelis. When there is danger brewing, Israelis run to the source of the danger while so many others run away from it. Sopinsky came on the insistence of the Hatzalah director who said she needed to tell Americans what has happened and is still happening in Israel....
(JNS) — A controversial “Muslim civil-rights and advocacy” organization experienced a major blow to its reputation last week after the Florida House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution to denounce the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The rest of the county should follow suit and permanently blacklist this Hamas-linked Islamist group. Introduced by State Rep. Randy Fine (R-Palm Bay), House Resolution 1209 encourages all state and local government agencies in Florida to “suspend contact and outreach activit...
(JNS) - The Israeli Defense Ministry has approved the purchase of more than 200 armored vehicles for civilian security squads in parts of the country facing increased security risk, including Judea and Samaria, the Gaza envelope and the Lebanon border. The purchase is estimated to be worth around 150 million shekels ($41 million), the ministry announced on Tuesday. The project is "intended to strengthen the resilience of the localities and the standby units" and provide a "quick response during a security incident," the announcement added....
(JNS) — France banned 28 Israelis from entering the European country, accusing them of attacking Arabs in Judea and Samaria, its foreign ministry said on Tuesday.‘ One day earlier, the U.K. announced similar measures. The statement did not name the 28 individuals who allegedly carried out acts of violence against Palestinians but urged Israeli authorities to “put an end to it and prosecute its perpetrators. “These measures come at a time when violence perpetrated by settlers against the Palestinian population has been increasing in recent...
(JNS) - The western German city of Aachen, which has awarded an annual Charlemagne Prize for nearly 75 years, has recognized Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt and European Jewry with the 2024 prize, named for the medieval Frankish king. "With this accolade, the Charlemagne Prize Board of Directors wishes to broadcast the message that Jewish life is a natural part of Europe, and that there is no place for antisemitism in Europe," the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen stated. "Jewish life is an essential part of Europe's past, its present and...
(JNS) — As word spread about four residents of Judea and Samaria being sanctioned for “settler violence,” some scoffed while others wondered what exactly the four did to deserve the infamy. “I wonder what took them so long,” said Professor Yossi Spiegel of Tel Aviv University’s School of Management, president of the Israeli Economic Association. “The international community considers the settlements illegal, but until now consequences were just a threat. Now they mean business.” However, some are taking action. Marc Zell, an American-Israel...
(JNS) — The Hamas’s Oct. 7 invasion of Israel has spurred a historic level of Jewish philanthropy, with the largest emergency fund set up when the war broke out alone raising nearly $800 million, the Jewish Federations of North America said on Monday. The surge in donations following the Hamas massacre that triggered the now four-month-old war created a huge surge in interest in giving to the Jewish state as it fights the Islamic terrorist group after years of decline in giving. “In these past months, we have witnessed our community comin...
(JNS) — The Biden administration is preparing to make a major push for Palestinian statehood if a Gaza ceasefire agreement being negotiated in Cairo this week takes effect. According to The Washington Post, the United States and its Arab partners are “rushing” to finalize the plan to establish a Palestinian state—a plan that could be announced in the next few weeks with hopes that a deal to release the remaining 134 hostages held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza in exchange for a six-week pause in fighting takes effect before Ramadan, which begins o...
(JNS) — The Israel Defense Forces is expected to increase troop activity in northern Gaza in the coming weeks following attempts by Hamas to reestablish a foothold there. Israel’s Army Radio reported that the military is planning to carry out extensive raids due to increased activity by the terror group in northern Gaza, which included a rocket barrage on Sunday night that set off air-raid sirens in Ashkelon for the first time in nearly a month. The report also noted a recent gun battle near the coast in northern Gaza in which IDF soldiers kil...
RJC endorses Rep. August Pfluger of Texas (JNS) — Jewish Coalition has selected its 23rd recommendation of candidates in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate this election cycle. “Although he is only in his second term, Congressman August Pfluger has established himself as an exemplary defender of our national security and the U.S.-Israel alliance,” Norm Coleman, a former Minnesota senator and current RJC national chairman, and CEO Matt Brooks said in a statement. “Last year, when Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal [D-Wash.] smeared Israel...
(JNS) — U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday that Israel “should not proceed” with a military operation in the Palestinian city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, without a plan for the more than 1 million civilians currently sheltering in the area. Speaking alongside the visiting Jordanian King Abdullah II at the White House, Biden added that there have been “too many” Palestinian civilian casualties in Gaza. He appeared to cite statistics from the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry, despite having criticized those numbers in the pa...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — In the wake of the global rise of antisemitism, a new campaign against Jew-hatred launched Tuesday with the participation of influential Jewish and non-Jewish celebrities, athletes and opinion makers. The project, named “New Year, New Voices,” which has already launched several videos on social media, includes model Cindy Crawford, actresses Connie Britton, Ginnifer Goodwin, Debra Messing, Jennifer Morrison, Jaimie Alexander, Rebecca Gayheart and Emmanuelle Chriqui, singers Lance Bass and Montana Tucker, actors David...
(JTA) — Two concerts by Matisyahu, the American Jewish singer famous for his peace anthem “One Day,” have been canceled after pro-Palestinian protesters targeted venues where he was set to perform. Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, New Mexico, canceled one concert on Wednesday. The Rialto Theatre in Tucson, Arizona, canceled a second on Thursday, after first saying it would not do so. Both venues cited staffing shortages and safety concerns. Both had been targeted by protesters who said Matisyahu’s record of performing for Israeli soldiers and pro-Isr...
(JNS) — Paris has brought a proposal to Beirut that aims to prevent a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah over the Iranian terrorist proxy’s cross-border attacks from Lebanon. Last week, French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné delivered the draft document to top officials in the Lebanese capital including Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Reuters reported on Monday, citing four senior Lebanese and three French officials. Additionally, Jerusalem and Hezbollah were presented with the two-page proposal, underscoring the importance placed...
