Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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LOS ANGELES (JTA) - When Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff sat down for a Zoom conversation with Holocaust survivor Pinchas Gutter on Wednesday, he opened by saying, "I feel like I already know you!" Though the two had never met, Emhoff did, to an extent, know Gutter. Just moments before the video call, Emhoff had engaged with Gutter's interactive biography, asking him questions about his experience in concentration camps and even listening to Gutter sing "Shir Hama'alot," the song that begins...
(JTA) - A Jewish arts group. A Jewish high school. A Jewish newspaper. A synagogue network. A major Jewish philanthropy that directs funds to mental health, homelessness prevention and refugee resettlement initiatives. These are a few of the locations on a dense interactive map of "Zionist leaders and powerhouse NGOs" in Massachusetts created by an activist group that says it aims to expose "local institutional support for the colonization of Palestine" and reveal how support for Zionist causes...
(JTA) - Amid controversies concerning the Vatican's Holocaust-era record, Pope Francis and the head of Israel's state museum on the Holocaust, Yad Vashem, met for a first-of-its-kind talk. Yad Vashem Director Dani Dayan met with the pope Thursday at his office in the Vatican. During their 30-minute talk, they spoke about ways to "bolster collaborative activities" in areas of "Holocaust remembrance, education and documentation, and to discuss efforts to fight antisemitism and racism worldwide,"...
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas failed to show up for a press conference in Ramallah on Wednesday morning, where he was expected to make a public appearance in order to dispel rumors that he is dead or very ill. Although the reports cannot be independently confirmed, the Palestinian street is buzzing with rumors that the wildly unpopular octogenarian, whom the vast majority of his constituents believe should resign, is in poor health. Last week, Arabic-language media reported that...
(JNS) — If the West does not stop Iran’s nuclear program in its tracks then the mullahs will soon get the bomb, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told The Telegraph in an interview on June 11. So, where do negotiations stand and how close is Iran to crossing the nuclear threshold? In March, efforts to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, more commonly referred to as the Iran nuclear deal—from which the Trump administration withdrew in 2018—appeared within reach. “Our view is that we are close. We have been close for some time...
It’s never been a better time to join the Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation.The Hardoon family, long-time members of SOJC, are offering free religious school tuition for kindergarten to second grade for any new members to SOJC. This generous offer aligns with SOJC’s commitment to Jewish children’s education. The SOJC Religious School has been serving this Conservative Jewish community for over 20 years. Students not only learn to read Hebrew but also grow up chanting Torah and Haftarah. The religious school curriculum focuses on learn...
Do you withhold emotions rather than express them? People often swallow their feelings because they fear others will not accept them if they are expressive. However, stifled emotions can have a negative influence on your well-being long-term. Acknowledge and constructively express your emotions when they occur, and your mental health can improve. If you don't want to talk about how you feel, try writing your thoughts in a journal. By bringing them out in the open you'll be in a better place to...
(JTA) — Massachusetts’ two Democratic Senators have joined at least four Democrats in Congress, including one vocal critic of Israel, in speaking out against a Boston pro-Palestinian activist group’s initiative mapping “local institutional support for the colonization of Palestine,” saying the map, which includes the names, addresses and staff members of many Jewish organizations, could incite violence against the Jewish community (See page 1 article). “At this moment of rising antisemitism, racist attacks, and political violence, this ‘mapping...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — A bipartisan slate of lawmakers launched a bill that would establish an “integrated air and missile defense capability” joining the United States, Israel and Arab countries in a bid to deter Iran. Senate and House members of the Abraham Accords Caucus rolled out the bill, called the DEFEND Act, in a press conference Thursday outside the Capitol and described it as means of advancing the U.S.-brokered normalization agreements between Israel and four Arab countries that collectively bear that name. “The full potential of the...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — A bipartisan slate of 25 Congress members, including a number who are close to the pro-Israel community, called on the Biden administration to pressure the Palestinian Authority to release the bullet that killed a Palestinian reporter for an independent investigation. “We urge you to ask the Palestinian Authority to provide access to the forensic evidence in [Shireen] Abu Akleh’s death for an independent investigation so that all parties can reach a definitive conclusion about the events leading to her death, and hold all p...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas hosted a U.S. delegation on Saturday led by Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf. Her three-day visit comes amid a degree of uncertainty surrounding U.S. President Joe Biden’s first trip to the region, scheduled for July. Leaf met with Abbas “to discuss the U.S.-Palestinian relationship, U.S. assistance to Palestinians, deepening ties, and how Palestinians and Israelis alike deserve equal measures of freedom, security, and prosperity,” the U.S. St...
(JNS) - As European and American negotiating teams continue to convene in Vienna in an attempt to sign a new nuclear deal with Iran, the Iranian people have taken to the streets to protest the rising cost of living. Food and gasoline prices have risen, and clean water is scarce. Unemployment is high, and prices of goods have skyrocketed. Western media outlets will have readers believe that Iran's economy is tanking due to United States-led sanctions only, but there is more to the story; in...
(JNS) - A U.S. State Department report on June 2 features research by a Jerusalem-based monitor of educational material in Palestinian Authority textbooks and their systematic messaging regarding the promotion of violence, martyrdom and jihad. Research by the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Culture Tolerance in School Education found that textbooks made for "all grades and subjects" in Palestinian schools contained such incitement. The report also discussed IMPACT-se's critique of the Georg E...
(JNS) — Jewish organizations are responding with outrage over what they consider a flawed and biased report on the 2021 conflict between Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip after the report’s release by the U.N. Human Rights Council’s Commission of Inquiry on Tuesday. The report blames the root of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians on the “occupation of Palestinian territory and discrimination against Palestinians.” Other contributing factors identified by the report include forced displacem...
In an emergency vote Monday evening, the Knesset voted against a bill that would extend Israeli law to Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria for another five years. Fifty-eight MKs voted against the bill, including coalition MKs Mazen Ganaim of the Islamist Ra’am party and Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi of the extreme-left Meretz, versus 52 who voted in favor. Ever since the 1967 Six Day War — when Israel liberated Judea and Samaria, which had been under Jordanian rule for 19 years — successive Israeli governments have renewed the law every five years...
(JNS) — A Knesset vote to renew a law, set to expire on June 30, that applies Israel’s legal system to citizens in Judea and Samaria, and has been in force as “emergency regulations” since the Six-Day War of 1967, went down in defeat on Monday night. Although these regulations have been extended without fanfare every five years, this time the government failed to muster the required votes and the bill failed to pass, 58 to 52. The law failed despite the opposition party led by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supporting it in princip...
(JNS) - International Atomic Energy Agency director-general Rafael Grossi said on Monday that Iran was "very close" to crossing the nuclear threshold, and that it "cannot be avoided" at this point. Speaking at the IAEA's Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, which runs until June 10, Grossi said, "Having a significant quantity [crossing the uranium enrichment threshold] does not mean having a bomb, but ... this idea of crossing the line, it's going to happen." According to an unnamed Israeli off...
Jewish man beaten and allegedly called ‘dirty Jew’ while campaigning for his political candidate wife in France By Cnaan Liphshiz (JTA) — A group of men violently assaulted a Jewish man while he was putting up campaign posters for his wife, who is running for a legislative seat in Strasbourg, France, the victim told police. Initially, two men who approached Liron Rozenhaft, 41, on Thursday called him a “dirty Jew” after reading the name of his wife, Audrey Rozenhaft, on the posters, Le Parisien reported on Friday. She is running as a candidate...
The Men’s Club and Sisterhood of Congregation Ohev Shalom hosted an afternoon event on Sunday, May 22, to raise much-needed funds for Ukrainian refugees who have been forced to leave their homes and flee their country amid the ongoing war with Russia. Mark Stone, a long-standing member of the congregation and a mentalist extraordinaire, donated his time to present his comedy and ESP show “Mentalmania.” Stone astounded the audience with his uncanny ability to read minds, make predictions and “see” with his fingertips while blindfold...
Following a national search, The Holocaust Center has selected Talli Dippold, an educator and community builder with nearly 15 years of leadership experience in Holocaust education, as its new chief executive officer. She will start in that role on July 1, taking over from interim CEO Shelley Lauten. "Talli's knowledge of Holocaust education, teaching experience and personal ties to the Holocaust clearly demonstrate her alignment with our Center's mission, vision and goals making her a unique...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last week at the 75th World Health Assembly meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, the Biden administration’s attempt to present 13 proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations that would empower the World Health Organization to unilaterally declare a “public health emergency” for any reason, failed miserably. None of Joe Biden’s 13 proposed amendments were adopted by the WHO. Rather than reducing the time frame, as Biden sought, the delegates agreed to extend the time for a member nation to reject an amendment from 9...
On May 27, Heritage Florida Jewish News employee Gil Dombrosky, along with his wife, Risa, and daughter, Karyn, attended a lecture on the Jewish History of Florida at the DeLand Regional Library. Sam Friedman, former director of Stetson University Hillel and now chief development officer of Shalom Orlando, presented the program. Some interesting facts presented were: • The first Jewish congregations in the state were Ahavath Chesed in Jacksonville and Temple Bethel in Pensacola, both claiming t...
Zionist Organization of America National President Morton A. Klein and ZOA Director of Research & Special Projects Elizabeth Berney, Esq. released the following statement: The U.S. State Department just clarified that the Biden administration is “committed” to opening an illegal “Palestinian” consulate in Jerusalem. This dashed the recent, previous sliver of good news, reported by The Times of Israel and Israel National News, based on statements from senior Biden administration officials, that the Biden administration had finally given up its...
At least 70,000 Israeli from all over the country proudly participated in the Flag Parade celebrating Jerusalem’s Day on Sunday night, ignoring Hamas’ threat to attack Israel. The Jerusalem Day celebrations, marking the victory during the 1967 Six-Day War and the reunification of Israel’s capital, include a parade in which tens of thousands of Israelis march with flags through the city’s center and then through the Old City while entering it through the Damascus Gate. In one of the most joyful and memorable marches in recent years, familie...
(JTA) — Jewish extremists shouted racist slogans and clashed with Palestinians during a heavily policed Jerusalem Day march, but there were no major injuries at an event that last year was among the spurs to a deadly conflict. Police said 50,000 Jews marched through the Old City on Sunday, Jerusalem Day, the Hebrew calendar anniversary of Israel’s capture of the area in the 1967 Six-Day War. A record 2,600 Jews visited the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, which is also the sight of a mosque enclave among the holiest in Islam. A num...
