Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Chabad of South Orlando is hosting a Mega Challah Bake for the safety of families and soldiers in Israel and the return of the hostages. The event will be held Thursday, Sept. 12, at The Castle Hotel, 8602 Universal Blvd., Orlando. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the program begins at 6 p.m. and ends at 9:10 p.m. The cost is $36 online or $45 at the door. To register, visit JewishOrlando.com/megachallahbake. Registration closes on Sept. 10....
(JNS) — Where is the Air Force? This was the tragic question that did not have to be repeated yesterday. Those like this reporter who remember Oct. 7 minute by minute cannot forget how, from the moment of the opening missile barrage, everyone’s eyes fixed desperately on the sky, looking for the Israeli fighter planes. We expected them to finally flush out the terrorists, destroy the missile launchers, bomb the hundreds of invaders in the south and then those in Gaza, and cover the army’s retaliation. It didn’t happen. The desolation of the sil...
(JNS) — The U.S. State Department stated on Tuesday that it “strongly opposes” Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s call for construction of a synagogue on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. The proposed Jewish house of worship “on the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount” would “would demonstrate blatant disregard for the historic status quo with respect to the holy sites in Jerusalem,” Matthew Miller, the State Department spokesman, said. “The ongoing reckless statements and actions of this minister only sow chaos and exacerbate tensions at a...
(JNS) — Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz on Wednesday called for “the temporary evacuation of Palestinian residents and whatever steps are required,” after the IDF overnight on Aug. 27 launched a large-scale anti-terror operation in Judea and Samaria. “This is a war in every respect and we must win it,” Katz tweeted. “The IDF is working intensively starting tonight in the Jenin and Tulkarem refugee camps to thwart Islamic-Iranian terrorist infrastructures that have been established there,” he said. Iran is working “to establish an ea...
(JNS) — The Israel Defense Forces launched a large-scale counterterrorism operation in the Jenin and Tulkarem areas of northern Samaria overnight Tuesday, involving hundreds of troops and air support. At least 11 Palestinians were killed, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry—including two in clashes with IDF troops in Jenin, three in a drone strike in a nearby village and another four in a drone strike in the Far’a camp in Tubas. Israel’s Channel 12 identified two of the fatalities as Kassam Jabarin, 25, and Atsam Belot, 39. Several...
(JNS) — A new campaign by the Samaria Regional Council blames Israel’s 2005 disengagement from Gaza for Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist massacre of some 1,200 people, primarily civilians, in the Jewish state. As part of the effort, financed by friends of Samaria in Israel and abroad, the council put up billboards in Tel Aviv and other cities that read, “The reason—the result.” The ad shows a picture of the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, followed by a photo of the Oct. 7 attacks. “Oslo and the ‘disengagement’ brought this disaster upon us. Gush Kat...
(JNS) - A circle of yellow flags, symbolic of the hostages who remain captive in Gaza, greet you as you enter Kibbutz Nir Am-a painful reminder of that Black Sabbath of Oct. 7. Every so often, the dull boom of combat in the neighboring Strip punctuates the air. The cacophony of war continues. Nir Am is in the northwestern Negev, close to Sderot. The closest point of the kibbutz is less than a mile from the Gaza border. On Oct. 7, as Hamas-led terrorists invaded the communities of the "Gaza...
(JTA) — Israeli troops have rescued an Israeli hostage from southern Gaza, the military announced Tuesday. the eighth captive held by Hamas to be brought back alive by Israeli forces since Oct. 7. Qaid Farhan al-Qadi, 52, a Bedouin Israeli and father of 11 from the southern city of Rahat, worked as a security guard at Kibbutz Magen on the Gaza border and was captured by Hamas terrorists during their Oct. 7 attack. He was one of several Israeli Arabs to be taken hostage. Al-Qadi was rescued Tuesday morning by Israel’s elite Shayetet 13 unit fro...
(JNS) - Qaid Farhan Alkadi, who was rescued from Gaza by Israeli forces on Aug. 27, after 326 days in Hamas captivity, has begun to share details regarding the brutal conditions he experienced since his abduction on Oct. 7. "He spoke about the darkness, not being able to see. But, thank God, he's back with us, alive-it made us all rejoice," Alkadi's cousin Fayez al-Sana told the New York Times after visiting him in hospital. Ata Abu Medigm, the former mayor of Rahat, told Ynet that Alkadi was...
(JNS) — The following is the transcript, translated from Hebrew, of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conversation on Aug. 27 with Farhan al-Qadi, who was rescued after being held hostage in the Gaza Strip since the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu: “Farhan, hello to you my friend. Welcome back!” Farhan al-Qadi: “Hello, welcome. Hello Bibi, Abu [father of] Yair!” Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu: “Farhan, I am so happy to speak with you.” Farhan al-Qadi: “I am also happy. I have been waiti...
(JTA) - Hersh Goldberg-Polin's mother looked almost as the world has gotten to know her when she took the podium at her son's funeral in Jerusalem. Rachel Goldberg-Polin had her hair pulled back neatly and was wearing a crisp white shirt, the trademark piece of masking tape marking the number of days since her son and 250 others were taken hostage on Oct. 7 affixed to its breast. But the shirt was ripped, in keeping with the Jewish tradition of rending one's clothing upon learning of the death...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) - The vibrant Redhead Days Festival in Tilburg, Netherlands, known for celebrating auburn-haired individuals worldwide, struck a poignant note this year. Amid the sea of orange locks, participants were urged to remember the Bibas family-Shiri, Yarden and their young sons Ariel and Kfir-who were taken captive from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The event, which ran from Aug. 24-25, drew over 10,000 attendees, was transformed into a platform for raising awareness about the family's plight, with a spotlight on the two redheaded...
(JNS) — Hamas leader abroad Khaled Mashaal called for a return to suicide terror attacks against Israelis in Judea and Samaria. During a video address to a conference in Istanbul, Turkey, Mashaal said, “Resistance operations in the West Bank are escalating despite the harsh conditions,” according to CNN Arabic. “We want to return to martyrdom operations. This is a situation that can only be addressed by open conflict. They are fighting us with open conflict, and we are confronting them with open conflict,” he continued. “The enemy has opened...
(JNS) — Israel’s United Nations Ambassador Danny Danon on Thursday morning responded to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ call for a halt to IDF activity in Judea and Samaria. “Since Oct. 7, Iran has been working vigorously to introduce into Judea and Samaria sophisticated explosive devices that are intended to detonate in the centers of Israeli cities,” Danon tweeted. “The State of Israel cannot sit idly by and wait for the spectacle of buses and cafes exploding in city centers. The activity of the IDF forces in Judea and Samaria is...
(JTA) — The United States announced sanctions against a nonprofit that has received funding from the Israeli government as well as the civilian security chief of a West Bank settlement. The sanctions are the United States’ latest effort to curb extremism among settlers and come as violence in the West Bank has escalated. The nonprofit, Hashomer Yosh, was founded a decade ago with the stated mission of supporting and protecting farms in Israeli West Bank settlements. In its announcement of sanctions, the State Department accused the non...
(JNS) — According to Hashomer Yosh, an Israeli nonprofit organization that assists farmers and protects agricultural state land in Judea and Samaria, the sanctions the United States imposed against it on Wednesday are based on false information provided by left-wing groups. “We ask, why? And we have an answer,” Meir Bertler, the group’s foreign relations chief, told Israel’s Kan public broadcaster. “The answer isn’t about the activities of Hashomer, which are legal and legitimate and coordinated with the government. It is about false and dis...
(JTA) — The federal government will spend nearly $150 million more this year than it did in 2023 to secure religious organizations, a jump aimed at addressing a rise in antisemitism since Oct. 7. The Department of Homeland Security announced last week that it had allocated $454.5 million this fiscal year toward the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which funds security enhancements at houses of worship and religious organizations. It is the largest sum ever allocated toward the program, and a significant increase from last year’s figure of $305...
Drone downed over southern Kinneret likely came from Syria (JNS) — Israeli air defenses on Monday morning intercepted a drone just south of the Sea of Galilee that appears to have penetrated the border from Syria to the east. The drone set off sirens in several towns in the southern Golan Heights area. The incident occurred well south of the areas usually targeted by Hezbollah in Lebanon. According to Israeli Army Radio, military officials believe the object was launched from Syria, a fairly rare occurrence. Hezbollah has rained thousands of p...
(JNS) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Wednesday that the major flare-up with Hezbollah earlier this week wasn't "the end of the story." During a tour of the country's northern border, Netanyahu said, "[On Sunday], we foiled a surprise attack by Hezbollah against the State of Israel. We destroyed thousands of intermediate-range rockets that were aimed at the Galilee and the Golan Heights. We thwarted all of the drones that were directed against the State of Israel, at...
(JNS) - Nearly 30,000 new immigrants have arrived in Israel since the Oct. 7 massacre, according to figures released Tuesday by the World Zionist Organization. The wave of aliyah coincides with the nearly 11-month war against Hamas in Gaza and a surge in global antisemitism, including in North America. The war began when thousands of Hamas terrorists infiltrated southern Israel, slaughtering 1,200 people and abducting another 250. Of these, 109 still remain captive in the Strip. "On Oct. 7, a war erupted not against the state of Israel but agai...
(JTA) — Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who injected outlandish comments about Jews into the national dialogue and also vocally supported Israel, suspended his campaign Friday and said he would support Donald Trump. Kennedy, who had previously run in the Democratic party and had gained attention in recent years as an anti-vaccine activist, dropped his bid Friday during an extended press conference in Phoenix, shortly before a scheduled Trump rally nearby. Kennedy’s lon...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — The Israeli American Council unveiled its “Hostage Square” exhibit on Tuesday at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, drawing attention to Israeli captives held by Hamas. The political event has been marked by large pro-Palestinian demonstrations. An IAC spokesperson confirmed to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the exhibit is situated on private property near the United Center, where the convention is taking place until Aug. 22. By choosing a private lot,...
(JTA) — Israel bombed hundreds of sites inside Lebanon and Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets into Israel early Sunday in a sharp flare of hostilities at Israel’s northern border. Hezbollah has said for weeks that it is planning a significant attack within Israel in response to Israel’s killing in Beirut last month of Fuad Shukr, a Hezbollah commander. Israeli military leaders said they had determined that an attack was imminent and struck against Hezbollah’s rocket launchers in a bid to prevent or blunt the damage. They said that a fleet o...
Dr. Kenneth Hanson has just released a powerful documentary about the Oct. 7 massacre of 1200 innocent Jewish men, women and children in the northwestern Negev. The video, titled "October Shadows: Denying the Day of Despair," brings attention to what exactly happened on that fateful day and covers the almost immediate denial of the evil acts committed by Hamas and Gazan citizens. "... while Oct. 7 is a different kind of Holocaust than what transpired during the dark years of World War II, the...
Participants are in for two very special treats in the Jewish Pavilion Senior Services online auction fundraiser this year. Not only can participants bid on the usual amazing range of items from restaurant gift cards to theme park tickets to unique experiences, but this year’s auction will also feature nearly 75 brand-new, couture fashion items such as purses and shoes donated by a wealthy benefactor in New York City. Even better, everyone who registers for the auction has the chance to win a $500 Visa gift card courtesy of Cornerstone H...
