Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS) — Israelis are increasingly concerned about the possibility of a large-scale terrorist invasion led by Palestinian terrorist organizations from Judea and Samaria, according to a new survey made public on Thursday. The poll, published by the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs and conducted by the Lazar Research Institute, surveyed a representative sample of approximately 700 Jewish and Arab Israelis. Eighty-one percent of the Jewish Israeli respondents have concerns about a large-scale terror attack emanating from Judea a...
(JNS) — Families of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza issued an urgent demand for clarification from Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government on May 7, following a statement by U.S. President Donald Trump that only 21 captives remain alive—contradicting Jerusalem’s official figure of 24. In a statement issued by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, relatives called on the government to disclose any updated intelligence. “Following the U.S. president’s statement last night regarding the number of living hostages st...
(JNS)- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone conversation on Tuesday with Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old Israel Defense Forces soldier and dual U.S-Israeli citizen released from captivity in Gaza the previous day. Alexander, who had been held by the Hamas terrorist organization for over 580 days, is currently receiving medical care in an Israeli hospital, as confirmed by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office. According to Israeli media reports, Alexander's medical condition has rul...
(JTA) — Cardinal Robert Prevost, who was just elected as Pope Leo XIV, studied under a pioneer in Jewish-Catholic relations when he attended seminary in Chicago. The Rev. John T. Pawlikowski, who taught for nearly half a century at the Catholic Theological Union until his retirement in 2017, served as co-founder and director of the school’s Catholic-Jewish Studies Program and also served four terms on the board of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. More than 40 years after Leo’s ordination as a priest, Pawlikowski remembers the new pope as a...
(JNS) - Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, 69, a Chicago native, was elected as the new pope of the Catholic Church on May 8. He will be called Leo XIV. The first U.S.-born pope is also a Peruvian citizen and was previously archbishop of Peru, the Associated Press reported. Most recently, the new pope was prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, "one of the most important jobs in the Catholic Church," the AP reported, as "the powerful head...
Crown Heights, Brooklyn. That was the destination for a recent memorable, uplifting Shabbaton sponsored by JLI, the educational arm of Chabad Lubavitch. More than 25 people who represented the Chabad of North Orlando thought they were leaving home in Orlando for a weekend away. What most people said after the weekend was that they felt like they had arrived at home in Crown Heights. Here's how some of the participants described their two-and-a-half days in one of the world's premier bastions of...
By (JNS) — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) urged Israel to destroy Iran’s oil facilities and continue to hit the Houthi rebels in Yemen. On May 5, Israeli fighter jets conducted a wave of airstrikes on Yemen’s Hudaydah Port, a day after the Houthis, an Iran-backed group, launched a ballistic missile that struck near Israel’s main international airport, wounding six. “To my friends in Israel, do what you have to do to protect your airspace and your people. It is long past time to consider hitting Iran hard. It wouldn’t take much to put Iran out of...
(JNS) — As Israel geared up to celebrate its 77th Independence Day, data released by the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics on Monday revealed that the country’s population has reached 10.094 million. This marks a growth of 135,000 people (1.4 percent) since last year’s holiday. Of the total population, 7.73 million (77.6 percent) are Jews or classified as “others,” including non-Arab Christians and individuals without religious classification. Arab citizens account for 2.11 million (20.9 percent), while foreign workers make up 248,000 (2....
(JTA) — Only 38 percent of American Jews believe in an afterlife, far fewer than in Israel, according to a new study of spiritual practices around the world. That share was lower than the 83 percent of U.S. Christians who believe in life after death, as well as the 58 percent of Israeli Jews who say there is an afterlife. The finding dovetailed with other results in the survey published May 6 by the Pew Research Center, which found that Jews were among the least likely in the United States to say animals or objects can have spirits, or that fea...
(JNS) — U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee affixed a mezuzah on the entrance of his office in Jerusalem on Sunday, during his first official meeting with Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan. A mezuzah (“doorpost” in Hebrew) is a piece of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah, held in a case that is attached to the right doorframe of an entrance and in all of the rooms of a residence. The mezuzah gifted to Huckabee by Dagan, a longtime friend of the new ambassador, was made by an artist from the Samaria town of Itamar and cra...
(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, 69, for being elected pope of the Catholic Church. “Congratulations to Pope Leo XIV and the Catholic community worldwide. I wish the first Pope from the United States success in fostering hope and reconciliation among all faiths,” wrote Netanyahu on X. The new pope is also a Peruvian citizen and was previously archbishop of Peru. Most recently, he was prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America,...
(JNS) — “Territory.” It’s a magical word in the lexicon of anti-Israeli sentiment, always tied to terms like “occupation” and “colonialism.” Yet the international public lashing out about “territory” fails to understand what is truly unfolding in the Gaza Strip. On Sunday, the Israeli Security Cabinet approved an expanded military plan in Gaza. The guiding principle? Wherever the Israel Defense Forces capture territory, they will stay. This marks a return to a classic strategic doctrine: Territory must be held if a war is to be won. It also...
This year, more than ever, it's impossible not to think about the execution of my best friend, Shirin Alamhooli, on May 9, 2010. I met Shirin in Iran's notorious Evin Prison where I had been arrested and sentenced to death by hanging because of converting to Christianity, a "crime" the Islamic regime calls "apostasy" and which carries a death penalty. I was arrested in March 2009. Shirin had already been in prison for some time as a political Kurdish prisoner. As a Christian, I had many people...
(JTA) — A Palestinian poet and essayist who evacuated Gaza with his family and chronicled the experience of dislocation for the New Yorker has won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for commentary. Mosab Abu Toha left Gaza in December 2023 — after being detained by Israeli soldiers, in an experience he chronicled in his writing — and moved in 2024 to Syracuse, New York, after receiving a visa permitting him to teach at Syracuse University. The Pulitzer committee recognized four essays by Abu Toha: one exploring his memories of a now-destroyed landscape; o...
(JNS) - Since Gadi Moses's release at the end of January 2025, after 482 days in captivity in Gaza at the hands of Islamic Jihad, his daughter Moran has been struggling to keep up with him. The 81-year-old hostage returned with an energy that defies both his age and his ordeal, driven by a renewed determination to help rebuild his beloved Kibbutz Nir Oz. "He has no brakes," Moran said wryly, told interviewer Racheli Avidov and an intimate audience at the Valley Train Heritage Site in Kfar...
(JNS) — Just after he completed his first 100 days in office, I had the privilege of hearing President Donald Trump speak in the White House Rose Garden during America’s National Day of Prayer. I was amazed by all that had been accomplished. I sat behind Adi and Yael Alexander — their son, Edan Alexander, is the last remaining American citizen held hostage by Hamas believed to be alive. The president spoke about them at length and talked about his efforts to free the hostages still in Gaza. He described in brutal detail the cruelty of Hamas...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — Approximately 800 digital recordings and transcripts of Nazi criminals from after World War II were revealed on Saturday, including dramatic and disturbing testimonies that shed light on Nazi methods during the war and Holocaust and on their escape routes. Among the recordings, published on the Hoover Institution website, is one from SS officer Bruno Streckenbach (1902-1977), head of the Administration and Personnel Department of the Reich Security Main Office, in which he admits that Adolf Hitler gave explicit i...
(JNS) — Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas recently claimed that the First and Second Jewish temples were in Yemen, not Jerusalem, citing the Quran. Not only does all reputable archeological research locate the temples in Jerusalem, but the Quran does not assert that they were in Yemen. So much for Abbas’s “facts.” The Palestinian narrative claiming rights to “Palestine” is based almost entirely on deceitful attempts to nullify deep Jewish connections to the region. Lacking any evidence of Palestinian peoplehood earlier than the 20th ce...
(JNS) — In a ceremony underscoring the enduring friendship and growing cooperation between Israel and Germany, Mayor of Tel Aviv-Yafo Ron Huldai and Governing Mayor of Berlin Kai Wegner signed a new Twin Cities agreement on Monday. The deal marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations and took place in the presence of Israeli Ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor. Speaking at the ceremony, Mayor Huldai emphasized the symbolic and practical significance of the renewed partnership between the two cities. “Here today in...
Plaque in memory of deported Jewish children damaged in Marseille By Yossi Lempkowicz (JNS) — A plaque commemorating Jewish children deported during World War II was vandalized in the southern French city of Marseille, La Provence reported. The incident occurred in the city’s 13th arrondissement, at the Château de la Verdière, from where several Jewish children were deported during the war. According to authorities, the suspect was arrested shortly after the act. City officials condemned the vandalism, calling it “intolerable.” In a statement p...
This is the final consideration, with conclusions presented. To avoid confusion, the term West Bank will be used here when referring to Judea and Samaria. Israel’s Obligation to a Two-State Solution Israel’s four most influential prime ministers were possessed of differing personalities, political philosophies, and security challenges. They were consistent in recognition of the Palestinian National Identity that required geographic commitment to self-governance and political consequence. However, any implementation must be subject to the sac...
(JNS) — A fourth round of talks between Tehran’s envoys and Steve Witkoff, U.S. President Donald Trump’s lead negotiator, did not take place in Rome over the weekend as had been expected. Neither Tehran’s spokesmen nor the State Department gave a clear explanation for why, but I’ll venture a guess: Iran’s rulers want concessions in exchange for continuing to talk. They think Trump needs negotiations more than they do. Their assessment is based on years of palaver with presidents Obama and Biden. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei hopes that,...
(JNS) - At exactly 8 p.m. on April 29, a siren pierced the air across Israel. But this time, it was not a warning of incoming missiles. It marked the beginning of Yom Hazikaron, Israel's Memorial Day for the Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terror. In cities and towns nationwide, the country and its people paused - hearts heavy with grief and pride - to remember those who gave their lives in defense of the State of Israel. The moment was most poignantly felt at Jerusalem's historic Ammunition...
(JNS) - Massive wildfires erupted on Wednesday morning in the Judean Hills region of central Israel, prompting evacuations and widespread emergency responses amid soaring temperatures and high winds. The most serious blaze began in the Eshtaol Forest near the communities of Mesilat Zion and Neve Shalom, both of which were evacuated as flames rapidly spread through the area. Fire and Rescue Services mobilized dozens of firefighting teams, aircraft and helicopters to contain the inferno, which...
The installation of the sculpture honoring the women of the Israel Defense Forces is now underway. The sculpture - depicting two female soldiers, one from 1948 and one from 2024 - is expected to be completed and delivered by late May, with a dedication ceremony to follow. Standing approximately 12 feet tall atop a hill, the tribute will occupy a prominent site in Petach Tikva, a city known as the "Mother of Settlements." Founded in the late 19th century as the first modern Jewish agricultural co...
