Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JTA) - The success of Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party in Italy's national election last week means the country is poised to have its most right-wing government since World War II, when Italy was Hitler's staunchest ally in Europe. The prospect has unnerved many Italian Jews, even as several of their leaders appear to be taking a wait-and-see approach to Meloni's leadership, refraining from making public statements about the results. "Faced with the prospect of a prime minister that is...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — It appears that history is about to be made in Italy: Giorgia Meloni, the 45-year-old leader of the national conservative party Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy), who has pledged to fight mass immigration and Islamization and has been very critical of the European Union, became the country’s first female prime minister. Speaking with Israel Hayom, Meloni lashes out at those who engage in anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric, which is now a common feature in left-wing circles. Q: Some members of your party come...
By Ron Kampeas WASHINGTON (JTA) — Democrats on the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee voted to name as chairman of its influential Middle East subcommittee Rep. David Cicilline, a Jewish Rhode Islander who is a member of the party’s Progressive Caucus. Cicilline bested Brad Schneider, a moderate Jewish Illinois Democrat, in an 18-6 vote. Cicilline and Schneider are both close to the mainstream pro-Israel community and are both endorsed by the American Israel Public Aff...
(JTA) – Progressive Jewish leaders have launched a new think tank meant to counter what its founders see as an effort by a few billionaires to flood the Jewish world with conservative ideas. Emor, the Institute for Bold Jewish Thought, is a project of T'ruah, an advocacy organization of rabbis dedicated to promoting human rights and social justice. In Hebrew, "emor" is a directive meaning "speak." The think tank will fund research, host events with scholars, and publish essays that draw on J...
(JNS) — A son of Holocaust survivors is demanding an apology from Facebook for blocking ads for his newly-released film “Beautiful Blue Eyes.” British filmmaker Joshua Newton said the tech giant’s move hurt his film, which was released in 143 theaters earlier this month. When his ads featuring the late actor Roy Scheider were flagged with a message that they violated Facebook’s policy against content that “includes direct or indirect assertions or implications about a person’s race,” Newton assumed it was an algorithm error. He grew increasing...
Yeshiva University can go through appeals process without changing LGBTQ+ club’s status (JNS) — Putting aside their differences for the time being, Yeshiva University and the YU Pride Alliance have agreed to a stay of judgment in their ongoing court battle, allowing the university to go through the appeals process without making any changes to the status quo on campus. The move is the latest action in the case that pits the university against students who want to have an officially recognized LGBTQ+ club on campus. Yeshiva University cla...
(JNS) - The International March of the Living announced on Thursday a global campaign with the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial to preserve thousands of shoes belonging to children, most of them Jews, who were murdered in the Auschwitz concentration camp. Around 8,000 children's shoes found at Auschwitz are rapidly disintegrating and require immediate conservation so they can be retained as historic documentation, the Foundation said. The conservation project,...
(JNS) - Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid supported the creation of a Palestinian state in a speech addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, sparking a swift denunciation from Israel's right. "Despite all the obstacles, still today a large majority of Israelis support the vision of this two-state solution. I am one of them," Lapid said. "An agreement with the Palestinians, based on two states for two peoples, is the right thing for Israel's security, for Israel's economy and...
Fall at the Rosen JCC is jammed packed with events for the entire family. Community Bingo! Oct. 2 —The doors open at 1 p.m. and the games start at 2 p.m. It’s $20 cash to play for the day. Cash prizes and Raffles will be held. Refreshments are available for purchase. Don’t miss out on the phone and tell your friends and family. Vaccine Clinc — Walgreens will be at the Rosen JCC on Friday, Oct. 7 from noon to 4 p.m. offering vaccines. You can get Flu shots, Covid shots and boosters, Pneumonia (65+), Shingles (55+) DAP (Whooping Cough) and chi...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The lawmakers thanked the representatives from the social networks giants for attending the Capitol Hill hearing on antisemitism — after all, it was not an official congressional hearing and no one was obliged to turn up. But then, after some tense exchanges last Friday, things got acrimonious quickly: Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Jewish Florida Democrat who convened the hearing, said that the tech reps’ stonewalling on whether and how antisemitism would be treated will lead to congressional action. “We’re all start...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — It’s an argument that has percolated for years in salons and on social media and now members of Congress are duking it out: What fits better into the “progressive” portmanteau, supporting or opposing Israeli policies? Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat who is Palestinian American and who is the only member of Congress who opposes Israel’s self-definition as a Jewish state, said Tuesday that there was no room in the progressive movement for supporters of what she called Israel’s “apartheid” government. “I want you all...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Joe Biden is bringing a Jewish High Holiday celebration to the White House for the first time. His White House is hosting a Rosh Hashanah reception tonight, Sept. 30, Jewish Insider reported on Monday. As vice president during the 2009-2017 Obama administration, Biden hosted Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot receptions at the Naval Observatory, the official vice presidential residence, the first vice president to do so. President Bill Clinton was the first president to host a Chanukah party for staff, and President George W....
(JNS) — The Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., is opening a new exhibition with unprecedented access to the life, culture and history of the Samaritans, a 2,000-year-old community. Beginning on Sept. 16 and running through Jan. 1, it was created in partnership with the Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies under the direction of Steven Fine, the Dean Pinkhos Churgin Chair in Jewish History. A panel discussion and documentary are part of the opening events. The Samaritans have lived in the Land of Israel, beside their sacred m...
(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Sunday described as “successful” his government’s diplomatic offensive against a revival of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. However, he conceded that there was a “long way” to go to ensure that Tehran does not benefit to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars should an accord be reached. “Together with Alternate Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Israel is conducting a successful diplomatic campaign to stop the nuclear agreement and prevent the lifting of sanctions on...
The Jewish Pavilion depends on its generous sponsors in order to pursue their mission: enriching the lives of residents in elder care communities. Forty companies support the Jewish Pavilion financially and emotionally. They are integrally involved in volunteering with seniors and planning events. Some serve on the Board of Directors. Twice a year, sponsors get together with leadership for a networking breakfast. Allegro Winter Park sponsored the Rosh Hashanah-themed breakfast on Sept. 20....
One of my favorite Rosh Hashanah stories that I tell to the residents in the Orlando area senior living facilities is about an apple tree that is growing in a forest. The apple tree gazes up at the night sky each evening and sees the stars that appear to be sitting on the branches of the other trees in the forest. She begs God to place stars on her branches as well and seems to get the cold shoulder time after time. In her frustration from being denied the stars, she begins to shake furiously back and forth, which causes an apple to fall and...
(JTA) — Yair Lapid called the people around the table “family” and “brothers and sisters.” The vibe was unusual for the 50 or so Jewish leaders who convened Wednesday to meet the Israeli prime minister, and who were used to being lectured at by the man Lapid hopes to keep from returning to office, Benjamin Netanyahu. That was the point: Ahead of what is likely a close election on Nov. 1, Lapid, who is in New York to address the United Nations General Assembly, wants to draw distinctions between himself and the leader of Israel’s Likud Party, am...
(JTA) — Robert Sarver, the Jewish owner of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, announced Wednesday that he will seek buyers for the two franchises as he serves his one-year suspension for misconduct. Sarver, a real estate businessman with a net worth of nearly $1 billion who purchased the teams in 2004, received the NBA’s maximum fine of $10 million after an investigation found a pattern of inappropriate and abusive behavior including racist remarks and sexual harassment toward employees. Sarver reportedly used the N-word multipl...
(JTA) — Germany’s public broadcaster, Deutsche Welle, has revised its code of conduct to require support for Israel’s right to exist, and employees who fail to do so may now be fired. The move announced Sept. 1 preceded a court order last week that DW reinstate a former employee fired who was fired after the company determined she had made comments about Israel that could be construed as antisemitic. In all, seven employees from the broadcaster’s Arabic service were let go last year on similar grounds, and so far two have successfully sued DW...
US Rep. Torres calls to probe NYC’s ‘failure’ to prosecute hate crimes (JNS) — New York Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) sent a letter on Friday to the U.S. Department of Justice asking it to investigate what he called New York City’s failure to prosecute anti-Semitic hate crimes. “I am respectfully asking the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department to consider investigating New York’s systematic failure to police and prosecute hate crimes and to issue recommendations for reform,” Torres wrote to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland...
(JNS) — Jews around the world are reflecting on the consequential 70-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II following her death on Thursday and what she meant for the Jewish community. Shortly after the news was announced, Britain’s Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis released a video where he expressed condolences from the Jewish community throughout the Commonwealth. Mirvis said that the queen embodied “the most noble values of British society” and was a “rock of stability” in an ever-changing world, and that she had a warm relationship with the Jewish...
(JTA) - Israel's tourism minister has threatened a "diplomatic war" with travel site Booking.com over the company's decision this week to display a safety warning on any listings in Israeli-controlled territories in the West Bank. A Booking.com spokesperson told the Associated Press on Monday the company would implement the warning as a reaction to recent unrest in the region, which has included Palestinian attacks on Israeli citizens, attacks by Jewish settlers on Palestinians in the West Bank and Israeli military raids in the territory that...
(JNS) - Queen Elizabeth II concluded her 70-year reign on Thursday with her passing at the age of 96. The longest ruling monarch in British history's death comes after years of deteriorating health. She was surrounded by the royal family, including her children at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. "The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and the Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow," said Buckingham Palace in a statement. The Que...
(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid took to Twitter to express condolences upon the death of Queen Elizabeth II, calling her “an extraordinary figure, a unique leader who symbolized devotion and love for her homeland.” “On behalf of the Government of Israel and the citizens of Israel, I send my condolences to the Royal Family and the citizens of the United Kingdom on the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” he wrote. Israel’s President Isaac Herzog called the Queen’s death “the end of an era.” “On behalf of the people of Israel, I...
(JNS) - Liz Truss won the vote on Monday to become the leader of Britain's Conservative Party, a contest that also decided who will replace Boris Johnson as prime minister. Truss, who served in Johnson's Cabinet as foreign secretary, was the odds-on favorite. She received 57.4 percent of the vote among party members, while her opponent, former chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak, garnered 42.6 percent. In a brief acceptance speech, Truss said that she would cut taxes, tackle the energy...
