Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS) - Israeli authorities have busted a massive black-market operation featuring rare and exotic animal species, the Nature and Parks Authority said on Tuesday. The Jerusalem-area raid was a coordinated effort of the Israel Police, Border Police and the Nature and Parks Authority National Wildlife Crime Prevention Unit. "Thanks to the cooperation of the Israel Police and Border Police, we were able to stop a breeder that was illegally keeping a large number of animals, some of which were kept...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — An Israeli nonprofit that studies Palestinian society has found a troubling possible linkage between U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority and the scope of terrorist attacks against Israelis. Palestinian Media Watch released a study this week that analyzed statistics taken from periodic reports published by the U.S. Congressional Research Service, from 2011 (the year the nonprofit exposed the P.A.’s terror-rewarding pay-for-slay policy) through 2022. It found that when aid to the P.A. dropped, such as during the Trump a...
13,000 Israeli children not vaccinated against polio (JNS) — The New York State Department of Health issued a warning over the weekend for travelers to Israel to ensure they are fully immunized against polio. It came after Israel’s Health Ministry earlier confirmed four positive cases in children who came into contact with a girl who was infected in Tzfat in the Upper Galilee. On Monday, Channel 12 news cited a Health Ministry statistic to the effect that at least 175,000 Israeli children are not vaccinated against polio, described by the New...
(JNS) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday night updated U.S. President Joe Biden on the terrorist attack in Huwara in which an Israeli-American was seriously wounded. The two leaders, who spoke via telephone, also discussed the Israeli government's judicial reform plan and the Iranian threat, according to a statement from Netanyahu's office. David Stern and his wife were driving on Route 60 in the Arab town in Samaria when a Palestinian gunman opened fire on their vehicle....
WASHINGTON (JTA) — For the first time, a poll by Gallup found that Democrats are likelier to sympathize with Palestinians than with Israelis, though a majority of Democrats have a favorable view of Israel. Asked, “In the Middle East situation, are your sympathies more with the Israelis or more with the Palestinians?” 49 percent of Democrats sympathized more with the Palestinians and 38 percent sympathized more with the Israelis. An additional 13 percent, according to the poll, sympathized with neither, both or had no opinion. It was the first...
The Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center will present two multi-media genocide exhibits “Finding Kalman” and “Never Again—Again.” This will be the world premiere of “Never Again—Again.” The exhibits will open with a reception from 6:30-8 p.m. Thursday, March 23rd. The public is invited to meet with the exhibit creators — filmmaker Laurie Weisman and artist Roz Jacobs. “Finding Kalman” is a multi-media exhibit featuring art and film to tell a powerful story of a family’s love and los...
(JNS) - The corneas of two Israeli brothers killed in Samaria a week ago Sunday were transplanted into the eyes of four Israelis at Beilinson Medical Center in Petach Tikvah on Wednesday. "I'm so excited. I couldn't have imagined. What a strong family. I'm so looking forward to meeting them already. Just to hug them," said one of the recipients, Ziona Salzberg. Ron Carmeli, another recipient, said: "When this terrible incident happened, I looked at the TV and saw their beautiful, big blue eyes....
Over the years, Heritage Florida Jewish News has received hundreds of books from various sources. The genre ranges from non-fiction, fiction, history, political, the holidays, and children’s books — all Jewish of course. We have no more room to store these books! If you would like to get a couple or a whole lot, call Chris DeSouza to set up a time to come and peruse the shelves. The books have to be gone by the end of the month, so please call 407-834-8787 or email Chris DeSouza at news@orlandoheritage.com....
(JNS) — Iran has indicated its “readiness” to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency, after the U.N. nuclear watchdog last month found uranium enriched to 83.7 percent in the Islamic Republic. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi was in Tehran for two days of high-level meetings that “addressed the importance of taking steps in order to facilitate enhanced cooperation, to expedite as appropriate the resolution of outstanding safeguards issues,” according to a statement released by the parties on Saturday. The statement said that the sides ag...
(JNS) — Israel’s Minister of Justice Yariv Levin met on Wednesday with several prominent public figures who drafted a judicial reform compromise proposal to bridge the gaps between the sides. Levin met with Israeli jurist Yuval Elbashan, high-tech businessman Giora Yaron and former National Security Adviser Giora Eiland, who drafted the proposal. Daniel Friedmann, the former justice minister who was also involved in drafting the compromise, did not attend the meeting. On Tuesday, Levin had responded favorably to the outline, with sources fro...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Four states have presidential primaries that fall on the first day of Passover next year and legislation has been introduced in at least two of them, Maryland and Pennsylvania, to change the date. The four states listed on the website of the National Conference of State Legislatures as having presidential primaries on Tuesday, April 23, 2024 are Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Rhode Island. Passover starts the previous evening, and traditional Jewish law, or halacha, prohibits writing, driving or the use of e...
(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday criticized as “unworthy” International Atomic Agency Director Raphael Grossi’s statement a day earlier that any attack Iran’s nuclear program would be illegal. “Against which law?” said Netanyahu at Sunday’s Cabinet meeting. “Is Iran, which openly calls for our destruction, permitted to defend the destructive weapons that would slaughter us? Are we permitted to defend ourselves? It is clear that we are, and it is clear that we will do so.” Rafael Grossi, he said, was “a worthy gentlema...
(JNS) — The United States expressed support on Tuesday for an Israeli counter-terror operation in Jenin earlier in the day. During the daylight raid, Israeli forces eliminated the terrorist responsible for the murder of two Israelis on Feb. 26, according to the Israel Defense Forces. “Israel, as we have made the point before, has the legitimate right to defend its people and its territory against all forms of aggression, including, of course, those from terrorist groups,” said State Department spokesman Ned Price during a press briefing. “And w...
(JTA) – A Holocaust-themed novel by bestselling author Jodi Picoult was among dozens of books removed from a South Florida school district library’s circulation last month, in the latest example of books with Jewish themes getting swept up amid a larger conservative-led effort to police potentially inappropriate material in classrooms. “The Storyteller” was removed from the library last month at a high school in Martin County, a southeast Florida district, owing to a parental complaint. According to a list of removed books published by local me...
(JTA) - Ben Savage, the Jewish actor best known for the 1990s coming of age series "Boy Meets World," is running to replace Adam Schiff, the Jewish Democratic congressman from California who is running for Senate. Savage, 42, is among at least four Democrats running in the primary to replace Schiff in his Los Angeles-area congressional district. His Instagram post on Monday announcing the campaign focused on good governance. "I'm running for Congress because it's time to restore faith in governm...
KYIV (JTA) — In a historic building in the most industrial part of Podil, the hipster district of Kyiv that once was the heart of the Jewish trading community, a senior and passionate Esther seduces a much younger Ahasuerus. She flirts with the handsome king to the raucous giggling of the audience, which breaks into applause when the Purim shpiel comes to an end. A year and a few days into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Jews in Kyiv and the rest of the country have celebrated Purim in precarious economic and emotional cir...
At 9:34pm Thursday, I got a strange message from my daughter in our family WhatsApp group. “For all those who asked, I am ok and alive.” Since nobody asked, her sarcasm coupled with a little fear were evident. I had been recording a podcast and didn’t know what she was talking about. None of us did. It seems that there was another terrorist attack, this time in central Tel Aviv. I hadn’t heard. Three people were injured, one shot in the neck and as of this writing in critical condition. One terrorist was killed on the spot but there are rep...
(JTA) - A new FBI report found that anti-Jewish incidents increased nearly 20% in 2021 relative to 2020, but decreased relative to prior years. The updated FBI statistics released Monday counted 817 anti-Jewish criminal offenses reported by local law enforcement agencies in 2021, up from 683 in 2020 - a year when people largely stayed off the streets for a substantial period due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 numbers, however, represent a 15% decline from 2019, when the FBI reported 963...
Israel’s Supreme Court rules in favor of ‘Utah Zoom weddings’ (JNS) — Israel’s Supreme Court rejected the state’s appeal against registering civil marriages performed online through the U.S. state of Utah. The ruling directs the Population and Immigration Authority within the Interior Ministry to register these marriages, which are generally conducted via Zoom or Skype, as an alternative to a religious ceremony conducted through the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. These “Utah marriages” became popular after a 2020 rule change in the U.S. state made...
(JTA) - The fifth edition of the World Baseball Classic is just days away, as players and fans across the globe prepare for two weeks of competition beginning on Wednesday. Jewish fans may remember that Israel took the WBC by storm in 2017, winning four straight games as an underdog and advancing to the second round before being eliminated by Japan. Team Israel is back for the 2023 WBC, with more current MLB talent on its roster than ever. It will also face its toughest competition yet. First...
(JTA) — Following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, federal regulators have shuttered Signature Bank, whose chairman, Scott Shay, is a major donor to Jewish causes. The New York-based bank was closed on Sunday, two days after Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse, stoking panic in the markets and assurances from President Joe Biden on Monday that the banking system was safe. Both Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank shut down because of depositor runs on their holdings. In Signature’s case, the run was triggered by concerns that the bank was o...
(JNS) - A sheriff in Central Florida made it loud and clear that white supremacists are not welcome following a series of antisemitic incidents in Volusia County and adjacent areas. "When you are trying to crush a radical group of cowardly scumbags, unity and sunshine destroy it," said Sheriff Mike Chitwood of Volusia County in Central Florida on the eastern coast, which includes the popular resort cities of Daytona Beach and Ormond Beach, at a press conference on Feb. 27. "We stand beside one...
(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met separately on Tuesday with U.S. Sens. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), stressing to them the importance of the bilateral relationship and that America is the Jewish state’s “greatest friend.” Netanyahu told the lawmakers that despite any disagreements between Jerusalem and Washington, such meetings were an expression of the strength of ongoing bipartisan ties with Israel. Among the topics discussed were the Trump administration-brokered Abraham Accords and their possible expa...
(JNS) - An historical marker will be dedicated on Sunday, March 12, in Casselberry to recognize and honor Jewish American actress Hedy Lamarr. Lamarr is considered by many Hollywood historians as one of the most beautiful and best actresses of the Golden Age of Hollywood. She made multiple films opposite some of the greatest Hollywood male talents-Clark Gable, Walter Pidgeon and Spencer Tracy, to name a few. She was a Jewish refugee from Austria who escaped the Holocaust after having known...
Following up on his promise made to Rabbi Konikov of Chabad of South Orlando and the entire Central Florida Jewish community, Rep. Darren Soto reached out to the United States Attorney General Merrick B. Garland to seek an investigation into the antisemitic actions committed by the Goyim Defense League a couple weeks ago in southwest Orlando, the Lake Nona area and Volusia County. “I write to express my concern with incidents perpetrated against the Jewish community in Central Florida by the ‘Goyim Defense League.’ I respectfully request your...
