Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JTA) — Leaders of the New Hampshire House of Representatives released a statement last week condemning antisemitism after a state lawmaker tweeted in support of Palestinians using a slogan many deem to be antisemitic. Speaker of the House Sherman Packard, a Republican, and House Democratic leader Renny Cushing wrote in a joint statement Thursday that “any form of bigotry — anti-Semitism, racism, bigotry — has no place in our society” and “it is unacceptable that any member of this historic legislative body is involved in perpetuatin...
(JTA) — Student governments considered resolutions to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel at 17 college campuses in the United States during the 2020-2021 school year, according to a new report from the Anti-Defamation League. The watchdog group, which released the data Wednesday as part of its annual reporting, called the BDS resolutions a “cornerstone of anti-Israel campus activity during the last year.” During a school year in which a May conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza was accompanied by widespread criticism of Israel on an...
(JNS) — Students Supporting Israel said in an open letter that it urges the Duke University Student Government to vote against its president, who vetoed a decision to formally recognize the organization. DSG president Christina Wang vetoed recognition of SSI on Monday because the group called out a student on social media in a way that was “unacceptable for any student group,” Wang wrote in a statement obtained by Duke’s student publication, The Chronicle. “Have we really gotten to the point where one student government leader can de-platfo...
(JTA) — Pennsylvania will allocate $6.6 million in funding for the redevelopment of the Tree of Life synagogue campus where 11 people were killed in an antisemitic attack in 2018. Speaking at a press conference outside the synagogue Monday, the last day of Hanukkah, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolfe called the state’s contribution to the renovation “a Hanukkah present.” “Tree of Life is undertaking a project to remember the past, to inform the present, and promote healing for the future,” Wolf said, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazett...
(New York Jewish Week via JTA) — Israel will set plans in motion to renovate the non-Orthodox prayer space at the Western Wall, an Israeli official said Tuesday in New York. The current Israeli government is expected to implement an agreement, shelved under former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that would expand an area of the holy site where men and women could pray as they please. But speaking to journalists at the Israeli consulate in New York City, Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai said that before it formally implements the 2...
(JNS) - A new autonomous unmanned ground vehicle introduced by Israeli companies Elbit Systems and Roboteam, called "Rook," can carry out a remarkable number of roles on the battlefield. Elad Levy, CEO of Roboteam, told JNS that the ground robot is tailor-made to client needs through its ability to be assembled in a system of "boxes," with each box allowing for clients to choose a different kind of capability - much like assembling Legos. While one box can act as an electrical engine, others...
(JNS) — Jewish groups are sounding the alarm after the New York City Police Department released statistics on Wednesday indicating that hate crimes have doubled in a single year. Of the nearly 500 hate crimes reported in the city as of November, some 180 were antisemitic in nature. The total is up from 121 incidents the year before and accounts for the largest number of hate crimes against any group. Scott Richman, NY/NJ regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, said “it’s alarming that in the past seven weeks alone, we have had to is...
(JTA) - Michael Steinhardt, the hedge funder and megadonor to Jewish causes, has agreed to surrender 180 stolen antiquities worth $70 million to their rightful homelands and to never again collect ancient artifacts. In exchange, Steinhardt will avoid criminal charges related to an investigation that found he had acquired, owned and sold more than 1,000 looted items over the past three decades. Those are the terms of a deal that Steinhardt finalized Monday with Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus...
German broadcaster will probe antisemitism allegations against Arabic-language staff By Asaf Shalev (JTA) — A German government-owned news broadcaster has launched an investigation into a report that four of its employees and one freelancer made social media comments that downplay the Holocaust and promote antisemitism. The five individuals, members of Deutsche Welle’s Arabic service, are being suspended from work until the investigation is concluded, the news service announced on Friday. Leading the investigation will be two independent exp...
The Netherlands’ far-Left BIJ1 party has called for the cancelation of the country’s annual Holocaust commemoration ceremony, calling the event “inherently racist,” according to a Dutch report picked up by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “The BIJ1 party, which defines itself as devoted to ‘antiracism and decolonialization’ and advocates for ‘official apologies for slavery and colonial occupation and bearing of the legal consequences,’ made the call in a draft of its program in the March 2022 municipal elections in Amsterdam, the news site Jonet....
(JNS) — European diplomats said on Tuesday that if Iran does not demonstrate seriousness in nuclear negotiations with world powers this week, there will be a problem. Andrea Stricker, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and an expert on the Iran nuclear program, told JNS that “if Iran comes to talks with maximalist demands for sanctions relief and refuses to resume discussing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the P5+1 will quickly realize that Tehran’s game is one of extortion, and they could pivot to a unite...
(JTA) — After an outcry and a rebuke from the University of Toronto president, the student union at a satellite campus modified a proposed ban on kosher foods in any way affiliated with Israel, but a campus Jewish campus group said the change made matters worse. The board of directors of the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus Student Union convened for an emergency meeting Dec. 1 to address the outcry after a Nov. 24 resolution affirming the union’s boycott, divestment and sanctions policy regarding Israel placed restrictions on kos...
Are you already wondering what activities you can plan for your children when school closes for winter break? The Rosen JCC offers Winter Mini-Camps. These camps include art, music, sports and plenty of fun activities. They will run Monday, Dec. 20 – Wednesday, Dec. 22. You can choose the days you want and full or half day options. In addition there are options for extended care. These camps offer different themes and activities to keep kids engaged during the long winter break. To learn more a...
Over a hundred people gathered to honor Gary Becker (l) and Sandi Trainor at the Jewish Pavilions annual luncheon called "JP Connections." The festivities included a tribute to the honorees and their remarks, beautiful awards designed by Sandy Silbert, a holiday shopping bazaar and wonderful raffle prizes. The room was beautifully decorated for Chanukah....
BOSTON (JTA) – Against a backdrop of disturbing revelations of antisemitic incidents, including many in local schools, Massachusetts lawmakers this week approved a bill that will require genocide education in all public secondary schools. “An Act Concerning Genocide Education,” which also establishes a public-private trust fund to support curriculum development and training for educators, is now at the desk of Republican Gov. Charlie Baker. Once signed, Massachusetts would become the 21st state to require some form of Holocaust education in sec...
MUNICH (JTA) — Three political parties in Germany presented a coalition agreement which reiterated commitments to ensure Israel’s security and fight antisemitism and, for the first time, also pledged to promote Jewish life. The agreement, whose main focus is addressing climate change, was presented Wednesday by the coalition parties, which include the Social Democratic Party of Germany, the Free Democratic Party and the Greens, in Berlin. The coalition agreement determines the division of ministerial positions and major policy themes and mar...
(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Sunday that his government’s goal is to “utilize the window of opportunity” between rounds of the nuclear talks in Vienna to tell Washington that the time has come for a “different toolkit” against Iran’s progress in uranium enrichment. The Islamic Republic “must start paying for its violations,” said Bennett at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting, according to a statement released by his office. “The goal of the Iranian regime is the lifting of sanctions,” he said, adding, “For th...
(JTA) — Chelsea Clinton took Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to task Wednesday for allowing groups to use the social network to organize book burnings. Clinton compared the phenomenon to Facebook’s past resistance to banning Holocaust deniers from the platform. “Come for the book burning, stay for the s’mores,” Clinton, the daughter of former President Bill Clinton and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, said in a tweet Wednesday. “Not terribly surprising #Facebook would platform book burning events in the image of 1933 Nazi G...
(JNS) — United Kingdom’s Home Secretary Priti Patel announced that she is seeking to declare the entire Hamas organization as a terrorist group. While the military wing of Hamas, known as the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, is currently declared a terror group by the United Kingdom, its political wing is not. Patel said that parliament will add the designation next week, which Jewish groups have long called for. Under U.K. law, it is a criminal offense to belong to or invite support for a proscribed organization or wear clothing which could be...
(New York Jewish Week via JTA) - Hundreds gathered in Times Square Monday to celebrate the second night of Chanukah, with live music, speeches and, of course, a public menorah lighting. But it wasn't just about feel-good holiday cheer: The event was part of the "Shine a Light on Antisemitism" campaign, which aims to raise awareness about antisemitism in order to encourage individuals and their communities to fight against it. The campaign, which is sponsored by more than 60 North American organi...
(New York Jewish Week via JTA) — Speaking to a group of college students, Rep. Jamaal Bowman expressed no regret about taking a recent trip to Israel and the West Bank with the liberal pro-Israel group J Street, despite intense backlash from his socialist allies. He did, however, have harsh words for Israel’s government. “I left less optimistic about a two-state solution because of the reality on the ground,” he said in the question-and-answer session Monday. “Of course, I still believe in it and working toward making it happen but I think the...
(New York Jewish Week via JTA) — Over the weekend, bagel lovers across the five boroughs (read: Jews and everyone else) were shaken to the core when the New York Times announced a cream cheese shortage in the city. It was news no one expected to hear. A cream cheese shortage affecting bagel shops: so niche, yet so terrifying. The piece, by Ashley Wong, detailed a frightening shortage of cream cheese base that New York bagel sellers use to make their signature cream cheeses. “Supply chain issues have plagued the United States for months, cau...
Z3 Presents: Who Can Predict the Future? Future Workshopping as a Tool for Jewish Peoplehood By The Z3 Project War games, also known as simulations, are often used by policy planners to come up with new ways of thinking about longstanding threats and challenges. This year’s Z3 2021 Futures Workshop uses a simulation to game out the year 2025, in Israel and the Diaspora. For approximately 200 individuals, this exercise will happen in person, at the Palo Alto JCC. For others this will happen virtually. In this fully participative experience, spea...
(JTA) — The Christian Zionist pastor of a major church asked forgiveness for allowing the church to host an event where Michael Flynn said that the United States should only have one religion. “Last week I allowed an event to be held at Cornerstone Church by an outside organization,” Pastor Matt Hagee said in a statement Thursday. “Regrettably, the organization was not properly vetted. It was not appropriate to allow this event at our church. The church is not associated with this organization and does not endorse their views.” Hagee’s f...
(JTA) — Just ahead of Chanukah, the Jewish Federation of Broward County in Florida tried to purchase an ad on Facebook, a simple post calling attention to the problem of antisemitism as a part of a new nationwide campaign called “Shine a Light.” But Facebook’s automated system rejected the ad without explanation, leading federation officials to suspect the post was accidentally ensnared by a filter designed to block hate speech. “Unfortunately, Facebook inexplicably rejected our ads, presumably because they contained the words ‘hate’ and ‘anti-...
