Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gifted Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) with a silver-plated beeper in reference to Israel’s September 2024 detonation of thousands of pagers carried by Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon. Meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, Netanyahu explained the difference between the commemorative pager and the genuine article. “The real beeper is like one-tenth the weight—it’s nothing,” the Israeli prime minister told the senator from Pennsylvania. “But it changes history.” Wearing his signature ho...
(JNS) — The Israeli-American Council announced on Monday that it had been unanimously voted into the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, calling it a “historic milestone for our community.” “Of the hundreds of Jewish organizations in the United States, fewer than 50 are officially labeled ‘major’ and allowed to sit at that table where policy is fashioned for the entire Jewish world,” stated Elan Carr, the CEO of the Israeli-American Council. “Whether addressing our shared challenges, combating antisemitism or...
By JNS Staff (JNS) — Nearly three in five Israelis back the resumption of fighting in the Gaza Strip in the wake of Hamas’s rejection of a U.S. proposal to extend the ceasefire in exchange for the release of more hostages. According to a survey carried out by Israel’s Direct Polls Institute and published by Channel 14 on Monday night—before the Israel Defense Forces launched a campaign of extensive airstrikes in Gaza—59 percent of Israelis support the resumption of hostilities. Some 38 percent said they opposed it, while 3 percent of respondent...
(JTA) - After running as a candidate last time, Abraham Silberstein will not even be voting in this year's election for the World Zionist Congress. In 2020, Silberstein had joined a liberal slate from the United States vying for representation in the congress, a unique legislative body that lets Jews from all over the world have a say in Israeli affairs. A critic of Israel, he agreed to join the Reform movement's list of candidates. Serving in the congress, he felt, meant having a seat at the...
(JTA) — Immigration authorities have arrested a second Palestinian involved in protests at Columbia University, the Department of Homeland Security announced on Friday. A third person who was involved in pro-Palestinian protests at the school, a current graduate student, “self-deported” earlier this week after having her visa revoked, according to the department. The announcement comes as Columbia reels from both the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian protest leader with a green card, and the loss of $400 million in federal funding as re...
(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last Wednesday that security officials are aware that a “more intense front” could open in Judea and Samaria amid the resumption of heavy fighting with Hamas in Gaza. “Because while we are waging an intense war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, we are aware of the possibility that a larger and more intense front could open here in Judea and Samaria,” the premier said during a visit to the Border Police’s undercover “Mista’arvim” special forces unit. “They are simply doing holy work for...
Over 60 arrested in counter-terror ops in Judea and Samaria (JNS) — Over the past week, units from the IDF Commando Brigade, including the Duvdevan, Egoz and Maglan units, have carried out operations targeting terrorists across Judea and Samaria, the Israel Defense Forces reported on Saturday. During these operations, more than 60 individuals wanted for security-related offenses were arrested. Israeli forces also confiscated a substantial cache of weapons, including firearms, explosives and ammunition. The operations are part of the IDF’s ong...
(JTA) — Yeshiva University has approved a new club for LGBTQ students, reversing a policy that it has spent years defending in court. The school’s announcement on Thursday marks a significant shift for the Modern Orthodox flagship in Manhattan. For years, and particularly during a stretch of fall 2022, the school fought to avoid recognizing the Pride Alliance, a support group for LGBTQ students that launched unofficially in 2009 but had not received formal recognition as a student club. The dispute revolved around Orthodoxy’s prohibition again...
(JNS) - In a groundbreaking achievement for Israel's space program, a constellation of nine research nanosatellites-built entirely by high school students-was launched into space from Cape Canaveral in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Dubbed Tevel 2, this project marks the largest Israeli satellite constellation ever deployed, the Tel Aviv University Spokesperson's Department said on Sunday. Gila Gamliel, Israel's Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, hailed the launch as a tes...
(JNS) — Over the last several years and particularly since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has felt isolated diplomatically. Perhaps most painful for the Jewish state has been waning support among American Democrats, once stalwart defenders of Israel. A near-lone voice from the left flank of the party has been Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman. A towering giant easily recognized by his hooded sweatshirt attire, Fetterman has stood up for Israel time and again when other members of his party refused to do so. When it comes to Israel, Fetterman is a...
The oldest and largest Reform congregation in Central Florida, Congregation of Reform Judaism will celebrate “Decades & Diamonds,” its 75th anniversary, on April 5, at 7 p.m. The congregation hasn’t always been known as the Congregation of Reform Judaism, in the fall of 1948, it was named Liberal Jewish Fellowship and was formed and headed by Dr. Clarence and Bobbie Bernstein and Mr. and Mrs. Ed Morse. The Holy Day Services were held in the vestry room at Congregation Ohev Shalom. Rabbi Emeri...
(JTA) — Voting March 10 in an election that gives American Jews a rare chance to directly shape Israel’s future. The U.S. election for seats in the 39th World Zionist Congress will help determine the balance of power in the legislative authority of a Zionist organization founded by Theodore Herzl 128 years ago. Influence over $5 billion in funding for Jewish causes is at stake, as is authority over quasi-governmental institutions such as the Jewish Agency, which plays a central role in immigration to Israel, and the Jewish National Fund, whi...
Local resident Idit Lotringer is representing IAC Slate #22 in the World Zionist Congress election. "I'm honored to represent IAC #22 in the upcoming World Zionist Congress elections!" Lotringer stated. "This is a once-in-five-years opportunity to shape the future of Israel and our Jewish communities. The time is now, and we're all excited to take action together!" Many people in the Jewish community know the ever-passionate Idit Lotringer. She is a regional manager at the Israeli American...
(JTA) — The World Zionist Congress election, which runs from March 10 to May 4, determines how $5 billion will be spent in Israel — and is seen as a referendum on the future of the country. Jews in the United States can choose among 21 lists of candidates, or slates, each with a specific agenda and profile. There are options by denomination, demographics and outlook on Israel. Here are the slates on the ballot for U.S. voters and what they stand for. Achdut Israel — Founded in response to the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, 2023, Achdut Israel is fo...
For more than 40 years, The Heritage Florida Jewish News has been in a brick building in Fern Park. There are a lot of memories within its walls. Although times changed and people came and went within these walls, so much stayed the same. Now the Heritage staff will have a new home. We are now located at 251 Maitland Ave., Ste. 213, Altamonte Springs, Fl 32701....
The Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida is hosting a workshop on Sunday, March 23, from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. with Dr. Michael Berenbaum, a leading global voice in countering antisemitism. Register at https://www.hmrec.org/events.../dismantling-hate-part-1. to secure your spot and learn how to confront antisemitism in all its forms while emphasizing the importance of allyship and collective action....
Last night [March 11] House Republicans passed a government funding bill that fails to protect the programs American families depend on and fails to deliver the lower costs they’re counting on. I voted no—and I wanted to tell you why. This bill threatens to cut funding from a whole host of critical government programs—everything from healthcare and nutritional assistance to veterans benefits and disaster relief. It slashes resources from care for veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances, and it risks throwing thousands of senio...
(JNS) — Fifty-eight percent of Israeli Jews believe that civilian towns in Judea and Samaria contribute to the security of the entire country, according to a poll published by the Jewish People Policy Institute on March 11. Asked whether they concurred with the statement, “Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria create deterrence and contribute to the security of all citizens of Israel,” 46 percent responded that they “very much agree,” while 12 percent said they “somewhat” concur. In the past six months, there has been an increase in the perce...
(JNS) — The wave of impending U.S. government layoffs has touched cities, suburbs and rural areas across the country. One demographic, in particular, is bracing for impact: Jewish day schools in and around Washington, D.C. Jewish Insider reported that “local schools, synagogues and social-service agencies are making plans to support laid-off community members and their families,” and wrestling with how fewer students and dues-paying members will upend their bottom lines. “It’s day schools, it’s camps, it’s early childhood, JCC memberships,...
(JNS) — The Israel Defense Forces’ Military Rabbinate distributed almost half a million hamantaschen, or oznei Haman (“Haman’s ears”) cookies, the army said ahead of the holiday of Purim, which starts Thursday night. Approximately 460,000 hamantaschen in the flavors of chocolate, poppy seed and date arrived at army bases across the country, according to the IDF announcement. Vegan and gluten-free options are also provided. Around 5,000 Purim gift baskets were distributed to various units. In keeping with the religious commandment of hearing M...
(JNS) — A group of American Christian leaders are publicly reaffirming the Jewish people’s right to the biblical heartland of Israel, ahead of a key U.S. decision on Israeli sovereignty over the territory. The move comes weeks before U.S. President Donald Trump is slated to announce whether or not he supports the Israeli annexation of Judea and Samaria—a goal backed by many evangelicals including some administration officials—amid international plans to rebuild post-war Gaza. The declaration will be made public on Tuesday at the annual National...
(JNS) — A Spanish-language documentary on the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, told through the eyes of Latino immigrants who were targeted in the country’s south that day, premiered in Los Angeles in February. The four-part series, “7/O: Testigos del Terror” (“10/7: Witnesses of Terror”), tells the story of the largest single-day attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust by focusing on Latin Americans living in kibbutzim and other farming villages on the border with Gaza, the largest immigrant group that came u...
(JNS) - "When I stood at the Gama junction next to Re'im, the first place whereas Israelis we could see the trucks with the coffins pass, it was very emotional. I understood why they had to come back," Daniel Lifshitz told JNS. The remains of his grandfather Oded Lifshitz were returned to Israel from the Gaza Strip last month as part of a ceasefire agreement with the Hamas terrorist organization. Oded was laid to rest in Kibbutz Nir Oz on Feb. 25. "It would have been like a very strong voice in...
(JTA) — The case of Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian protester arrested by ICE officers at Columbia University over the weekend, has divided Jewish groups: Right-wing pro-Israel voices are praising the arrest as a blow to a terrorist sympathizer, while a range of liberal and progressive Jewish groups are slamming it as authoritarian and unconstitutional. On Monday, one more Jewish voice said Khalil should not be deported, at least for the time being: Judge Jesse Furman of the Southern District of New York. Furman, on the bench at a federal d...
(JNS) — A new study from the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., highlights the impact of Birthright Israel across the generations, revealing how the effects extend beyond participants to their children as opposed to those who applied to the program but did not go. The study, which tracks long-term outcomes of Birthright participants, found that children of participants are more likely to be raised as Jews, more likely to have had a Jewish circumcision or a baby-naming ceremony, and more likely to b...
