Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 2301 - 2325 of 10707
Jewish Family Services of Greater Orlando is pleased to announce it has been awarded a $50,000 grant from Heart of Florida United Way to continue supporting our Central Florida community, including ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) households. "Our local nonprofit agencies have been and will continue to work tirelessly to keep Central Floridians facing insurmountable challenges afloat," said Jeff Hayward, President and CEO of HFUW. "Given ALICE households are already one...
(JNS) - Israel's thirty-seventh government was sworn in on Thursday, the culmination of a weeks-long political process following the victory of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-religious bloc in the Nov. 1 national elections. Netanyahu, Israel's longest-ever serving leader, takes the reins for his sixth term in the Prime Minister's Office, to which he returns following a year-and-a-half hiatus. His Likud Party will lead a 64-member coalition in the 120-seat Knesset, that comprises the R...
Writer's Block Bookstore is partnering with The Roth Family JCC to host author Brad Meltzer at the Maitland Jewish Community Center auditorium for an in-person Q&A and signing on his latest book, "The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchil," which he co-authored with Josh Mensch. This event will be held Sunday, Jan. 15, from 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Meltzer will be signing all backlist titles as well. General admission tickets are $30 and include a copy of the book a...
To study the history of most cultures, you need to learn about wars and empires, warriors and city builders, and great works of art. But the history of Judaism is overwhelmingly a history of books. Books form the core of Judaism’s culture. But even if they’re known as “the People of the Book,” much of Judaism’s classic literature remains closed to contemporary Jews. This month, local Chabad Centers will open Jewish literature to a contemporary audience. Jews of many affiliations and backgroun...
When the Roth Family JCC and the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando joined together earlier this year to create Shalom Orlando, we did so with the knowledge that our community demanded better engagement opportunities, a stronger commitment to Jewish values, and for Shalom Orlando to step up and lead the future of Jewish life in Central Florida. That mandate requires us to take a step back, look at the white board and decide what we keep, what we sunset, and what we adapt. And by now we hope you realize that it is fun to build the future. If...
(JNS) — Prominent Christian pro-Israel organizations are speaking out against Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) after the rapper used Christianity to justify a months-long series of antisemitic statements. “Christians are mandated by God to stand with the Jewish people,” Pastor John Hagee, founder and chairman of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), told JNS. “One cannot be antisemitic and follow the teachings of Jesus.” Among many other antisemitic statements, Ye tweeted that he would go “death con 3” on Jewish people, accused Jews of givin...
As Benjamin Netanyahu made his dramatic return as Israel’s prime minister for a sixth term, Yair Lapid left the plenary hall without shaking his successor’s hand as per the custom. After being sworn-in, Netanyahu, who was interrupted by heckling, took the podium and chastized the Lapid-led opposition for lamenting “the end of democracy.” “This new government is determined to restore governance, peace, and personal security to the citizens of Israel.” “I hear the opposition eulogizing ‘the end of democracy.’ Members of the opposition, losing the...
(JNS) — U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday welcomed the swearing-in of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government. “I look forward to working with Prime Minister Netanyahu, who has been my friend for decades, to jointly address the many challenges and opportunities facing Israel and the Middle East region, including threats from Iran,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House. “The United States is working to promote a region that’s increasingly integrated, prosperous and secure, with benefits for all of its peop...
(JTA) — Jewish leaders in Italy had strong words for the president of the country’s parliament after he published a post on Instagram honoring the history of the Italian Social Movement, or MSI, a neo-fascist party founded in the wake of World War II. Ignazio la Russa, a senator from Cologno Monzese, a municipality in Milan, wrote alongside a picture of an MSI campaign poster: “In memory of my father, who was one of the founders of the Italian Social Movement in Sicily and who chose the path of free and democratic participation with the MSI t...
(JNS) - An ancient Jerusalem pool that was used by millions of Jewish pilgrims during the time of the Second Temple two millennia ago as a ritual bath before ascending the Temple Mount, and revered by Christians as the site where Jesus cured a blind man, will be fully excavated and then opened to the public, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Tuesday. The Pool of Siloam, located in the southern portion of the City of David, the ancient epicenter of Jerusalem, and just outside the Old...
(JNS) - Israel inducted a historic right-wing government Thursday, led by three-time Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu's return to power and the formation of a strong right-wing government is a tremendous achievement for a nation that has increasingly turned towards the right-wing values of strong security and protecting the Jewish character of the state. The 64-member Likud-led coalition, joined by Netanyahu's loyal right-wing and religious allies, puts to bed years of electoral...
Knesset passes ‘Smotrich-Deri’ amendment (JNS) — Israel’s Knesset on Tuesday morning passed an amendment allowing Shas Party head Aryeh Deri to serve as a minister and Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich to become a second minister in the Defense Ministry. The amendment to Basic Law: The Government, which passed by a 63-vote majority following an all-night filibuster, merged two bills. The first limits a law prohibiting elected officials convicted of a criminal offense from serving as a minister to apply only to those serving active...
(JNS) - Rabbi Mendy and Rivky Hertzel will move to Zambia early next year to establish a Chabad House and assist the small but thriving Jewish community in the southern African nation. Zambia has not had a rabbi in over 60 years. Rabbi Hertzel told JNS, "In February of this year, they tasked me to go to Zambia and investigate the possibility of establishing a permanent Chabad presence here. After a three-month stay, I saw firsthand that the country was a good fit for us to establish a Chabad...
(JNS) - It's been a difficult decade. 2020 was the year of coronavirus-pandemic panic and the general collapse of established norms. This was compounded by the Black Lives Matter riots that set off a moral panic about race, with the mainstreaming of fringe ideas and intersectionality. 2021 was a little better, as the world gradually shook off its COVID paranoia. But it was notable mainly for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot that has roiled American politics ever since, the disastrous withdrawal from...
(JTA) — Yes, Lionel Messi will forever be the face of Argentina’s long-awaited World Cup championship on Sunday. But the voice of the victory belongs to the Argentinean Jewish sportscaster who cried as he announced the win. Andres Cantor, a prominent soccer announcer, responded to Argentina’s game-winning penalty shot with his signature elongated “Gooooooool!” In a video clip that has gone viral, Cantor can be seen grabbing onto his broadcast partner as he yells “Argentina, campeon de mundo!...
This year, as in the previous 44 years, Jewish Family Services of Greater Orlando is proud to have worked together with the community to make an impact on the lives of those in need, especially as hardships continue to grow. From fighting hunger and homelessness to addressing mental health needs JFS Orlando is always there if you need help or if you want to help. As you prepare for the countdown to 2023, join us in counting down the ways JFS Orlando has made an impact in the community this year so far and how your 2022 year-end gift can still...
Chanukah with the Jewish Pavilion was extra special at Brookdale Lake Orienta this year. The Jewish Chamber of Commerce partnered with the Pavilion and provided a top-notch party complete with candle lighting, latkes, doughnuts and chocolate gelt. The best part was the fabulous pianist Michael Kramer who provided superb entertainment. More than a dozen Jewish Chamber members interacted with seniors. They brought gifts and food and danced with their elders....
(JNS) — The U.S. State Department’s point woman on Jew-hatred says there’s a key element to antisemitism differing it from other types of hate. It’s the conspiracy theory. “You can’t really grasp what antisemitism is, even if you care tremendously about it,” unless you understand the element that makes Jew-hatred unique, Deborah Lipstadt, the State Department special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, said in a pre-Shabbat briefing on Friday. “If it’s someone you loathe, you just want to keep them down and keep them out of your life...
(JTA) — In its closing session, Ohio’s legislature passed a law imposing penalties of up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine for “zoom-bombing” religious services, a practice that antisemites have used to intimidate Jews. The law, “Increasing Penalties for Disturbing a Religious Service,” passed last week unanimously in the state Senate. It had previously passed in the state House, 95-1. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost sought the law after discovering that disrupting a religious service was only considered a “class four misdemeanor,...
(JNS) — A video of U.S. President Joe Biden saying that the nuclear deal with Iran is “dead” but that Washington will not announce as much surfaced on Tuesday, Dec. 20. The footage, which was apparently taken during Biden’s visit to California early last month, shows a woman asking him to declare that the 2015 agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, is no longer in effect. “President Biden, could you please announce that the JCPOA is dead?” the Iranian-American woman asks, as the American president approaches...
(JNS) - It is being dubbed the "Christian Birthright." The group of 120 American college students had just crisscrossed Israel on a nine-day journey, visited the requisite sites including a Friday night at the Western Wall, stops in Bethlehem and Nazareth, and must-see places such as the Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, before diving into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with its diversity of narratives, security and multi-faith briefings, and visits to border areas. At first glance, the boisterous,...
(JNS) - Washington should steadfastly stand by the Jewish state, U.S. Congressman Dr. Andy Harris (R-Md.) said last week. "It is an American interest for Judea and Samaria - indeed all the land of the Bible - to remain a part of Israel. Unification of these biblical lands benefits people of all religions, ensuring religious freedom and access for all. It is not an obstacle to peace but a chance for real peace," said Harris during a visit to the Binyamin region. He vowed to ensure that the U.S....
(JNS) - U.S. Reps. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.), Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) and Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) on Thursday were joined by U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in announcing their bipartisan bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to Benjamin Ferencz, the last living Nuremberg trials prosecutor. Over the course of his life, Ferencz has advocated for the rule of law and international justice. During World War II, Ferencz served in the U.S. Army and helped collect evidence of...
(JNS) - Some 70,000 people from 95 different countries immigrated to Israel in 2022 with the assistance of the Jewish Agency for Israel, in cooperation with the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration. It was the most olim in 23 years and a dramatic increase from 2021, when about 28,600 immigrants arrived in the country. Jewish Agency data for the period between Jan. 1 and Dec. 1, 2022, shows that 37,364 olim arrived from Russia; 14,680 from Ukraine; 3,500 from North America, with assistance from...
(JNS) - The Dec. 18 New York Times crossword puzzle, published on the eve of Chanukah, disturbed readers and elicited online backlash with a design resembling a swastika. Conservative talk radio host Mark Levin tweeted, "Meanwhile, on the first night of Chanukah the anti-Israel New York Slimes issues a crossword puzzle that looks like a swastika. Of course, when pointed out, they claimed it was a coincidence. What a sick and sad history." Brooke Goldstein, the founder of End Jew Hatred and...
