Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Washington, D.C. — The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law welcomes news that Guinness World Records Limited will once again accept submissions from Israel, starting with GWR reversing its decision to deny Matnat Chaim recognition for its kidney donation record. Since November 2023, one month after the atrocities committed by Hamas in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, GWR rejected submissions from Israel for more than two years. When the Brandeis Center was made aware of this violation of U.S. law in December 2025, the organization f...
(JNS) — The city council of Burlington, Vt., rejected a resolution that would have put a nonbinding advisory question on the March ballot asking voters whether the mayor and city council should declare Burlington an “apartheid-free community.” The question would have also asked voters to urge the city to “join others in working to end all support to Israel’s apartheid regime, settler colonialism and military occupation.” The vote failed 57, marking the third consecutive year the council has blocked the measure. Opponents of the resolution,...
(JNS) — Senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzouk told Al Jazeera that the terrorist organization never agreed to disarmament as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s ceasefire deal for the Gaza Strip. “Not for a single moment did we talk about surrender the weapons, or any formula about destroying, surrendering or disarmament,” Abu Marzouk claimed in an interview with the Qatari state broadcaster. According to him, Hamas gunmen have already moved to “restore order” across parts of the Strip from which the Israeli military has withdrawn. The Unite...
(JNS) - Israel has agreed to reopen Gaza's Rafah Crossing with Egypt for the passage of people after the IDF concludes "Operation Brave Heart," which seeks to return the remains of Israel Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last remaining hostage held in the Strip. The Israel Defense Forces "is currently conducting a focused operation to exhaust all of the intelligence that has been gathered in the effort to locate and return the fallen hostage, Master Sgt. Ran Gvili of blessed memory," the Prime...
(JNS) - In today's global discourse, few words have done more damage to Israel's legitimacy than "occupation." What is often presented as a neutral legal term has instead become a political weapon-one that reframes terrorism as resistance and casts Israel as a state whose very existence requires justification. That warning comes from American Judge Alan Clemmons, who argues that modern antisemitism is sustained not only by hatred, but by language that is repeated until it becomes accepted as...
(JNS) - Israeli model and actress Tal Berkovich was killed in a traffic accident Thursday on Route 40 outside Telalim, a small community in the Negev. Relatives said they had been on their way to celebrate their mother's birthday at the time of the crash. She was 41 years old. Berkovich, who was visiting family in Israel, was traveling with her brother, Gil, 40, when their vehicle collided with a truck, police said. He was listed in critical condition at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva. The...
(JNS) — Jerusalem is readying for talks with the White House on a new foreign military financing deal that would focus more on joint projects than cash handouts, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing the Financial Times. “The partnership is more important than just the net financial issue in this context … there are a lot of things that are equal to money,” Gil Pinchas told the Financial Times, prior to stepping down as chief financial adviser to Israel’s Defense Ministry. He was referring to military- and defense-development projects on...
(JNS) — The Palestinian Authority’s attempt to throw off Western scrutiny by claiming it has ended pay-for-slay suffered another setback after beneficiaries celebrated receiving the payments. Families living abroad received their full payments from the “Martyr’s Fund,” the program which provides monthly stipends for attacks against Israelis, according to Palestinian Media Watch, an Israeli watchdog group. Payments typically go to the families of the terrorists. “Jordan salaries have officially entered the bank—for released prisoners and...
(Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs via JNS) — Senior security officials in Jerusalem argue that an unprecedented opportunity exists to replace Iran’s ayatollah regime, and urge United States President Donald Trump to act decisively to seize the moment. According to them, Israel missed a rare chance to eliminate the Iranian leadership, headed by Ali Khamenei and his son Mojtaba, who is designated to succeed him, during the 12-day “Rising Lion” operation against Iran in June 2025. Israel had the intelligence and operational capabi...
Terror merch sparks city funding freeze for Muslim nonprofit in New York (JNS) — The New York chapter of the Muslim American Society, which has received $265,000 in City Council discretionary funding, is facing a fiscal freeze after an event in Brooklyn, N.Y., allegedly featuring merchandise praising U.S.-designated terrorist groups. MAS hosted a “Thrift4Sudan” on Jan. 18 at its youth center in Brooklyn. The New York Post reported that the vendors sold key chains, stickers, pins and other items that referenced Hamas, Hezbollah and the Popul...
(JNS) — International leaders gathered in Davos, Switzerland, for an annual forum intended to focus on economic development. Yet several wars are raging throughout the world right now, including in Europe itself. Earlier this month, the United States carried out a military operation to depose of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Máduro. This was coupled with American musings over a similar action in Cuba and debate over the status of Greenland. All this meant that the forum was never expected to live up to its original purpose. Rather, ge...
(JNS) — Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem warned that any military strike on Iran would also be considered an attack on his Lebanese Shiite terror army, and cautioned that a new war against Tehran would set the Middle East ablaze, AFP reported on Monday. According to the report, in a televised address to supporters at a solidarity rally for the Islamic Republic, Qassem said Hezbollah and its main backer were facing “aggression that does not distinguish between us. … [W]e are targeted by any potential aggression and determined to defend ourse...
The Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center of Florida opened Hope & Humanity, a redesigned core exhibition that reimagines how the Holocaust is presented, experienced, and remembered. The exhibition also serves as the first public demonstration of the storytelling methodology under development for the future Holocaust Museum for Hope & Humanity in downtown Orlando. Hope & Humanity centers the lived experiences of 10 local Holocaust survivors - Suzanne Szmajuk Schneider, Henri Landwirth,...
(JNS) - Tu B'Shevat, the "Jewish New Year for Trees," gained a new meaning in the early 20th century. The tree-planting tradition that was renewed and adopted by the Zionist movement became a symbol of connection to the Land of Israel. Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) played a central role in embedding this late-winter celebration as a tradition in Israel through mass tree plantings, environmental education and the promotion of nature conservation values. The holiday became...
(JNS) - The Israel Defense Forces on Monday confirmed its soldiers recovered the body of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last remaining hostage, from the Gaza Strip. "Following the completion of the identification process by the National Center of Forensic Medicine in collaboration with the Israel Police and the Military Rabbinate, IDF representatives informed the family of the hostage Ran Gvili, of blessed memory, that their loved one has been identified and will be laid to rest," the IDF...
(JNS) — The advancing of bills in U.S. states seeking to require the use of “Judea and Samaria” on official documents instead of the “West Bank” represents a strategic step in defending not only Israel, but the western world, according to Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan. Dagan attended events in both Florida and Georgia last week as part of his “Friends of Samaria in the U.S.” initiative, as legislators pledged to advance bills on the issue in both of those states respectively. “Especially after Oct. 7, we all understand that...
(JNS) — In a survey of 1,000 people in Ireland published on Wednesday, half of all adults surveyed and 54 percent of those aged 18-29 did not know that six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. The survey, conducted between Oct. 15 and Nov. 6 last year for the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, exposed widespread ignorance about the Holocaust, at a time when many Irish Jews believe expressions of antisemitism are rising in their country and elsewhere in Europe. Almost 10 percent of the younger groups of adults surveyed...
(JNS) — American businessman and investor Jared Kushner unveiled an ambitious economic development plan for a “new Gaza” at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, as part of the launch of President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace. “We’ve developed ways to redevelop Gaza. Gaza, as President Trump has been saying, has amazing potential, and this is for the people of Gaza. We’ve developed it into zones,” said Trump’s son-in-law and adviser in his first administration. “In the beginning, we were toying with the idea of saying,...
(JNS) — Eight Muslim countries agreed on Wednesday to join the Board of Peace, which will “play an essential role” in realizing President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end the Gaza conflict, according to a Jan. 16 White House statement. The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates announced in a joint statement that they “welcome the invitation extended to their leaders by the President of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump, to join the Board of Peace.” They s...
(JNS) — An Israeli-owned restaurant chain closed its final branch in Belgium and declared bankruptcy last week following a campaign of harassment and boycotts, local media reported. Owners Tom Sas and Lori Dardikman declined to provide details on the closure of the Bokertov chain’s final branch in Antwerp, the Made-Innews site reported. The couple did not respond to a request for comment from JNS before publication. However, the couple recently said their business, which marketed itself as an Israeli restaurant, had been financially imp...
(JNS) — A Czech cyclist on Sunday night completed a 620-mile journey in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which will be marked on Jan. 27. Identified as Lukáš Klement by Israel’s Government Press Office, the Czech national said that he began his route from the “Gate of Death” at the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, where the Nazis in World War II exterminated about 1.1 million inmates, the majority of whom were Jews. Klement’s route spelled out “Never Again” when depicted on a map. With ice on his beard, Klement related...
(JNS) — Israel received its 11th university on Tuesday following the Higher Education Council’s decision to upgrade Tel Hai College near Kiryat Shmona in the Upper Galilee, and award it university status thanks to a $181 million grant to meet the relevant requirements. The unanimous decision by the Council for Higher Education in Israel—a supervisory board headed by Education Minister Yoav Kisch—means that beginning with the 5786–87 (2026-27) academic year, the University of Kiryat Shmona in the Galilee will have the title for a five-year...
(JNS) - The Trump administration issued an urgent warning for U.S. citizens to leave Iran immediately, as protests in the country continue to intensify. The virtual U.S. Embassy for Iran instructed Americans to "leave Iran now" and develop exit plans that do not depend on government assistance. Officials warned demonstrations are escalating and could turn violent, leading to arrests and injuries, and said that "U.S. nationals are at significant risk of questioning, arrest and detention."...
Jewish Pavilion Senior Services hosted a highly successful Sponsors Breakfast on Thursday morning, Jan. 15, at 8:30 a.m. at Legacy Pointe. The event brought together 30 board members, sponsors, and community leaders for an inspiring gathering focused on collaboration and shared dedication to supporting seniors throughout the Orlando area. The breakfast created a warm and welcoming atmosphere where attendees enjoyed meaningful conversation, relationship-building, and productive networking....
On Jan. 12, Dick & Dottie's Place, in partnership with Sage Catering, reopened with free coffee for everyone. The little coffee shop in the lobby of the Roth JCC offers a full kosher menu of slow-drip coffee, cappuccinos, lattes, delicious pastries and much more....
