Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Hours before a vote to oust him, outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly accused President Joe Biden of endangering Israel’s security by taking a soft line on Iran. He also compared Biden’s Iran policy to the refusal of the U.S. to bomb the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1944. Netanyahu said that the Biden administration had asked him to keep their disagreements on Iran private, Axios reported, but that he refused to do so, valuing his hard line on Iran over smooth relations with the United States. The prime minister dep...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — The years of archaeological excavations Israel has conducted on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City have yielded no proof that a Jewish Temple ever existed in the city, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh told Al Jazeera on Monday. When asked about current tensions in Jerusalem, Shtayyeh said that Jerusalem was at the core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict “Since 1967 and the occupation of the West Bank, Israel has carried out a series of excavations underneath al-Aqsa mosque which haven...
(JNS) - They're baaaaack! If you're in Israel this month, you can't miss the clusters of them downing falafel on Jerusalem's Ben-Yehuda Street, cooling off in the Dead Sea, climbing Masada at sunrise or slipping prayers between the stones of the Western Wall in Jerusalem. After more than a year of pandemic silence, the Birthrighters have returned with all the gusto of young adults who'd waited out the year of coronavirus restrictions with visions of Israel dancing in their heads. Take Conor...
(JNS) — One week to the day after the Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg was vandalized, hundreds gathered on Thursday to say no to anti-Semitism and stand up for the Jewish community. It was back on May 27 that graffiti, including a swastika and the words “The Jews are guilty,” was discovered painted on the outside of the museum. It came amid an upswing in anti-Semitic incidents worldwide — many related to Israel’s recent conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip — and St. Petersburg...
(JNS) — A Massachusetts state senator is under fire for comments he made legitimizing Hamas, a Palestinian terrorist organization, as well as a call to replace Israel with a binational state. In a statement posted on his website on May 28, State Sen. Jamie Eldridge, a Democrat who serves the Middlesex and Worcester district, commented on the recent 11-day conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, urging “much-needed dialogue around this very serious and consequential conflict.” “Against the backdrop of hundreds of human lives lost over th...
(JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned violent rhetoric on “every side” of the political spectrum Sunday but also claimed that Israel’s incoming government, which will replace him, is the result of “the greatest electoral fraud in the history of the country.” Netanyahu’s speech came as the head of Israel’s Shin Bet security service warned of a rise in rhetoric that encourages violence. A pro-Netanyahu lawmaker compared two of his rivals to “terrorists” facing a “death sentence,” and members of the incoming coalition have...
(JNS) — A dozen Jewish Democratic lawmakers have issued a statement strongly condemning recent remarks made by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who equated Israeli and U.S. actions to terrorist groups like Hamas and the Taliban. In a tweet on Monday, she wrote: “We must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity. We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan and the Taliban.” Her tweet also included a link to a video, where she questioned U.S. Secretary of St...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — After a dozen Jewish Democrats in Congress asked Rep. Ilhan Omar to clarify remarks in which she grouped Hamas and the Taliban with the United States and Israel, she complied — but not before she got something off her chest. An insinuation in the request that she was covering for terrorists was Islamophobic, Omar said in a tweet, and she exhorted her colleagues to call first next time. “On Monday, I asked Secretary of State Antony Blinken about ongoing International Criminal Court investigations,” Omar said Thursday afterno...
Israeli haredi publication blurs face of Labor Party’s female leader (JTA) — A haredi Orthodox publication in Israel published a photo on its website Monday that blurs the face of the Labor Party’s leader, Merav Michaeli. Bechadrei Charedim did not explain its decision on the photo, which was used with a story about Israel’s incoming government, but the reason was likely because Michaeli is a woman. Haredi Orthodox publications have blurred, photoshopped or otherwise excluded photos of women from their pages for years. Most famously in the Uni...
(JNS) - Hundreds of anti-Israel protesters prevented the unloading of an Israeli container ship from Asia at the Port of Oakland, Calif., on Friday, with the cooperation of the local longshoremen's union, which refused to unload the vessel. The protest was sponsored and organized by the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, a pro-Palestinian BDS group operating in the Bay Area. In a Sunday Facebook post, the group, which claimed "thousands" streamed to the protest throughout Friday, praised...
(JNS) - Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, told a group of students and academics in Gaza on Saturday that the terrorist organization has the capability to demolish Tel Aviv and that Israel had only destroyed 3 percent of Gaza's tunnel network last month during "Operation Guardian of the Walls." "God has decreed that we must attack Tel Aviv, and there are other capabilities we have not revealed," said Sinwar, adding that Hamas and its terrorist partners could launch 130 missiles at the city...
(JTA) - Perhaps it's beginners luck: Russian-Israeli tennis player Aslan Karatsev, playing mixed doubles for the first time, has reached the finals of the French Open with partner Elena Vesnina. Maybe not: At the Australian Open in February, Karatsev had an amazing run, reaching the semifinals before losing to the eventual champion, Novak Djokovic. That was his first Grand Slam tournament in singles or doubles. Karatsev and Vesnina now have their sights set on playing mixed doubles at the Tokyo...
(JTA) - Benjamin Netanyahu will no longer be Israel's prime minister, as his political opponents announced Wednesday night that they have formed a coalition that will replace him, pending a vote in Israel's parliament. The new coalition, dubbed the "change bloc," is an ideologically broad alliance that spans the Israeli political right, center and left. For the first time in Israeli history, it will include an Arab-Israeli party, not as an external supporter of the government, but as a full memb...
(JTA) - In the days before Benjamin Netanyahu's rival lawmakers announced that they had formed a government to replace the longtime prime minister, one fled her home with her partner and baby after receiving what she called "severe threats" against their safety. The threats to Tamar Zandberg of the left-wing Meretz party included a fake notice of her death that circulated on social media. Zandberg wasn't the only Netanyahu opponent to receive death threats. So did Avigdor Lieberman and Naftali...
JERUSALEM - Isaac Herzog, former minister, chairman of the Labour Party and leader of the Opposition, was elected by the Knesset (parliament) to serve as Israel's 11th president. Herzog currently serves as the chairman of the Executive of The Jewish Agency for Israel. Herzog was elected with the support of 87 out of the 120 Members of Knesset and his tenure will begin on July 9. President-elect Herzog noted: "For over two decades I have fulfilled the mission of my life, to serve my people and...
The Jewish Community Relations Council recently learned that some of Central Florida’s elected officials have received calls from anti-Israel advocates. The Council has asked, via social media, the community to make phone calls to these officials listed below, beginning with your personal representatives in your district, and send a counterbalancing message. “The objective is to advocate on behalf of Israel and share that our community supports Israel and condemns Hamas as a recognized terrorist organization. It must be emphasized that our mes...
After a successful career in the world of finance, Boynton Beach, Florida, resident Jerry Klinger has become a "professional rememberer." Klinger, 73, started this endeavor as a result of trying to locate the first Jewish house of worship in New Mexico, Temple Montefiore, Las Vegas, N.M., established 1884. Instead, he found a Catholic church. At that location, he established the first of many markers, plaques and monuments he has placed across the United States. The list includes the first...
(JNS) — Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa’s documentary film “Babi Yar. Context” has been selected to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in July. The 120-minutes long film is based entirely on archival footage uncovered by Loznitsa, which depicts the events leading up to and the aftermath of the Babi Yar massacre in September 1941. In a period of two days, from Sept. 29-30, 33,771 Jewish victims were shot to death by the Nazis and left in a ravine. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians, Roma, t...
In the past few weeks, the Israeli American Council has witnessed a disturbing rise in antisemitism across the United States. Israeli American and Jewish American students have experienced more and more cases of bias, harassment, and discrimination in their schools. IAC calls on students, parents, or educators that have experienced antisemitism or encountered antisemitic or anti-Zionist content in schools to file a complaint through the SchoolWatch platform. The IAC will bring these complaints to the attention of the school or district to...
(JNS) — Qatar prides itself on its high level of education and yet its own textbooks clearly do not meet accepted international standards, according to a new report by IMPACT-se, a research institute that analyzes schoolbooks and curricula within the prism of UNESCO-defined standards on peace and tolerance. Its updated report evaluates the current Qatari curriculum in conjunction with the London-based think tank the Henry Jackson Society. Some of the key findings show that hatred towards Jews and clear anti-Semitism remain central themes of t...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — A Biden administration official said the U.S. government supports restocking Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system after it was depleted by last month’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza. Dozens of House members from both parties have said they would push Congress to appropriate funds to replenish the system should Israel make the request. Israel’s defense minister, Benny Gantz, was here on Thursday reportedly seeking $1 billion for Iron Dome. In addition to Iron Dome funding, the acting assistant secretary of state for Near Ea...
(JNS) — The teachers’ union for the San Francisco school district voted in favor of a resolution on May 19 to boycott Israel The United Educators of San Francisco (UESF), which is affiliated with the largest federation of unions in the United States, the AFL-CIO, is the first K-12 union of public-school teachers in America to officially back BDS. This is also the first time since 2016 that any American union has officially supported the BDS movement, according to The Jewish News of Northern California. The resolution’s last sentence calls...
(JNS) — If body language is any indicator, then last week’s meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not go as well as they intended during their joint press conference. While they openly discussed issues pertaining to Gaza and the Palestinians, it is without a doubt that in their earlier private meeting, they discussed the issue of Iran as well. Blinken’s remarks signal that the scolding and finger-wagging of the Obama administration is back after a four-year hiatus during the Tru...
(JNS) — The National Geographic Society named University of Haifa professor Dr. Aviad Scheinin as one of its “Emerging Explorers” in 2021—one of 15 individuals it described as changing the world “one idea at a time.” In an announcement last week, it said its cohort of storytellers, researchers and conservationists “are conducting innovative work focused on a range of topics such as inventing space technologies, ocean exploration, understanding the past through archaeology and anthropology, species conservation, storytelling and elevating you...
Mayim Bialik makes ‘Jeopardy!’ guest host debut By Gabe Friedman (JTA) — Jewish actress and neuroscientist Mayim Bialik began her two-week stint as a guest host on “Jeopardy!” Monday night, paying tribute to her “creative and academic family” and the show’s late host Alex Trebek in her opening remarks. Bialik, who has written about her Jewish identity in the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and beyond, drew praise on social media after the first night of her run, which goes through June 11. The show is matching the amount won by contestants to...
