Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 10707
(JNS) Following a directive from Israel’s political echelon, the Israel Defense Forces launched what it described as a preemptive, precise and combined offensive codenamed “Operation Rising Lion” in the early hours of Friday, targeting Iran’s nuclear program and other military targets across the Islamic Republic, as well as, reportedly, senior Iranian military and Islamic Republican Guards Corps commanders. The decision was, according to a defense official, signed off on by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel...
The White House was informed of Israel’s strikes against the Iranian regime ahead of time but was not involved militarily, U.S. President Donald Trump told Fox News‘ Bret Baier on Friday. Washington still hopes that Tehran will clinch a nuclear agreement with the United States, Trump told Baier. “Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and we are hoping to get back to the negotiating table. We will see,” Fox News cited the commander-in-chief as saying. “There are several people in leadership that will not be coming back,” he added. U.S. officials w...
Eight people were burned in Boulder, Colorado, in a firebombing attack on a demonstration to draw attention to the Israeli hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza. At least one of the victims, who ranged from 55 to 88, was critically injured, according to authorities. Police arrested one man at the scene. The FBI identified him as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, and said he had used a “makeshift flamethrower” in the attack, which the agency said it was investigating as an act of terrorism. Soliman yelle...
Stan Rubins, Shalom Orlando Board chairman, shared with the “Shalom Orlando community” through email the following: After helping guide Shalom Orlando through an important leadership transition, Executive Director Rachel Greenspan will conclude her time in this role later this year. I’m very proud to say Shalom Orlando is on a path of positive growth and success, and we appreciate all of Rachel’s contributions. We wish her the very best. With the support of our full Board of Directors and a dedicated Search Committee, I’ll be leading a compreh...
Stan Rubins, Chair of the Shalom Orlando Board of Directors, recently introduced the Shalom Orlando 2030 Strategic Plan to the community at large, but he's quick to point out the plan isn't just for the community, it was created by the community, itself. "This isn't my plan, and it's not even Shalom Orlando's plan," said Rubins. "This is your Strategic Plan. The people of this community told us loud and clear what they want the Central Florida Jewish community to look like five years from now....
A special time of global prayer for Israel will be Saturday, June 7, 2025 at 9 p.m. Israel time; 8 p.m. S. Africa & Central Europe; 7 p.m. UK; 2 p.m. Eastern and 11 a.m. Pacific U.S. time. After over 600 days of war since the October 7 Hamas massacre, with concerns of imposing a ceasefire on Israel without all the hostages released, near daily missile attacks on Israel from the Houthis, and a deal being negotiated with Iran that may leave its ability to create a nuclear weapon intact, it’s essential that we unite urgently, globally, to pray t...
Maitland, FL – Congregation Ohev Shalom is honored to host a unique musical experience, Concerts for Peace, featuring the Orlando Symphony Orchestra and internationally acclaimed baritone Lawrence Craig. This intimate performance is open to the community, and will take place on Thursday, June 12, 2025, at 7 p.m. at Ohev Shalom, located at 613 Concourse Parkway South, Maitland, FL. Under the direction of Music Director David Handel, the Orlando Symphony Orchestra will present a thoughtfully c...
The Zionist Organization of America and The United West will present "From the IDF to the US campus: Between Two Worlds," with guest speaker Guy Finkelstein on Sunday, June 29, 4 p.m., at Decision Tactical, 430 Towne Center Cir., Sanford, Fl. At the start of the Oct. 7 attack, Guy Finklestein, 26, from Lehavim, Israel, was a Division 1 NCAA tennis player in Indiana. As the IDF entered Gaza, he made the life-changing decision to leave his team and return to Israel to serve. For months, he fought...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — The celebration of Jerusalem Day highlighted a profound religious controversy dividing Israel’s Orthodox establishment, with influential rabbis publicly questioning whether Jews should continue the traditional practice of praying at the Western Wall, or embrace the more contentious path of ascending the Temple Mount for worship. Monday’s Jerusalem Day observances, commemorating Jerusalem’s liberation, traditionally draw religious Zionist groups to the capital in celebration of the city’s reunification and restored acces...
(JTA) — Israel is embarking on the largest expansion of Judean and Samarian settlements in decades, its finance minister announced Thursday, a step meant to reinforce Israeli control of the territory. Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right minister who holds authority over civilian affairs in Israel’s settlements, announced the establishment of 22 settlements in Judea and Samaria. Some are existing outposts that the Israeli government considered illegal but will now authorize. Others will be new towns. Smotrich called the announcement a “once-in-a-gener...
(JNS) — The infant son of Tzeela Gez, who was critically injured in the same terror attack that claimed his mother’s life, died at Schneider Children’s Medical Center on Thursday morning after two weeks of intensive medical efforts to save him. The tragedy began two weeks ago when Tzeela and her husband, Hananel Gez, were driving from their home in the Samarian community of Bruchin to the hospital for the birth of their child. En route, a terrorist opened fire on their vehicle. Tzeela was fatally shot, and medics attempted extensive resus...
(JNS) — Please see details of the proposal on this website. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel has accepted U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff’s hostage release proposal. However, Hamas says the plan is biased in favor of Israel and demands changes. Speaking to bereaved families of hostages, Netanyahu said Israel has agreed to a plan that would release 10 living hostages and the bodies of 18 deceased captives during a 60-day ceasefire. However, Witkoff confirmed Saturday night that Hamas has effectively rejected the...
(JNS) — The alleged attacker in Sunday’s firebombing of a pro-Israel vigil in Boulder, Colo., overstayed his visa and was subsequently granted a work permit by the Biden administration, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller said on Monday. Mohamed Sabry Soliman, a 45-year-old Egyptian national, is accused of setting elderly demonstrators on fire during a peaceful “Run for Their Lives” walk calling for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Eight people were wounded in the attack, which Colorado officia...
(JNS) - "I dream of seeing both of my sons coming through the door," Silvia Cunio, a survivor of the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Kibbutz Nir Oz and the mother of Hamas hostages David, 35, and Ariel Cunio, 27, told JNS on Friday. On Oct. 7, Hamas attacked Cunio's house along with the residences of her four sons. David and Ariel were taken captive by the terrorist group and have remained in Gaza ever since. The Cunio family marked David's second birthday in captivity last Wednesday. "It's very...
(JNS) — U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff’s latest ceasefire proposal for the Israel-Hamas war includes the two-stage release of 10 living hostages and 18 bodies, in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire aimed at facilitating negotiations to end the war, according to a report on Thursday. On the first day, five living hostages and nine deceased hostages would be released, followed by five more living hostages and nine deceased on the seventh day, according to an Israeli source cited by Israel’s Channel 12 News. The proposal, which...
(JNS) — In today’s volatile world, with the Middle East undergoing significant change, Meta (formerly Facebook) has a Supreme Court-like body that determines content on Facebook and Instagram, comprising 21 people on an independent board that even Mark Zuckerberg (its founder, chairman and CEO) cannot fire. The so-called Oversight Board comprises many Jew-hating non-Americans who decided recently that calling “From the River to the Sea” “antisemitic is either inaccurate or rooted in Islamophobia.” The Oversight Board has ruled that it is okay...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — Art Garfunkel from the legendary musical duo Simon and Garfunkel delivered a performance for the ages at Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park on Thursday evening as a guest of Israeli rocker Aviv Geffen, marking the first visit by a major international artist to Israel since the war erupted almost 19 months ago. “I am happy to be here in Israel,” the 83-year-old performer told tens of thousands of audience members who greeted him with enthusiastic cheers. Performing alongside his son Art Garfunkel Jr. and Geffen, he delivered several...
(JNS) - At the 2023 Palestine Book Awards ceremony, the winner of the "Counter Current Award" category was the volume "Imagining Palestine," which concerns itself with a topic referred to as "cultures of exile and national identity." Oddly enough, it has a very Jewish ring to it. The book highlights that "all national identities are somewhat fluid, held together by collective beliefs and practices as much as official territory and borders" and that "the articulation and 'imagination' of...
Argentina’s President Milei to receive $1m Genesis Prize in Israel By JNS Staff (JNS) — Argentina’s President Javier Milei will be awarded the $1 million Genesis Prize during his visit to Israel next month. The staunchly pro-Israel leader is to receive the prize during his June 11 speech at Israel’s parliament. The award was announced in January in recognition of his unequivocal support for the Jewish state. Organizers say Milei will donate the prize money to launch an initiative aimed at improving diplomatic relations between Israel and Lat...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — On Sunday afternoon, what began as a peaceful rally in downtown Boulder, Colorado, part of the global “Run for Their Lives” campaign calling for the release of hostages held by Hamas, descended into violence. A terrorist armed with fire bombs had been waiting for the marchers, and hurled a flaming bottle that hit one of the participants directly and wounded several others. “I had just gathered the group and started speaking when the terrorist threw the Molotov cocktail,” said Shahar, who resides in Boulder and has b...
(JNS) — In the nearly 20 months since some 6,000 Hamas-led Gazan terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the Jewish state has facilitated the delivery of close to 1.8 million tons of aid to the Strip, including 1.3 million tons of food, Israel said this weekend. The figures were released amid warnings of “imminent famine” in the Strip by international aid agencies led by the U.N., alongside criticism of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation that was launched a week ago to distribute aid in Gaza that circumvents Hamas. The 1.8 milli...
The morning after a shooter killed two Israeli embassy aides at a Jewish event in Washington, D.C., incendiary rapper Ye took to X with an unexpected message: “I am done with antisemitism.” Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has become well known for antisemitic rants and provocations, including a song he debuted earlier this month titled “Heil Hitler.” In February, Ye doubled down on his antisemitic sentiments, declaring in a post on X, “I’m never apologizing for my Jewish comments.” But in a string of posts Thursday morning after the dea...
(JNS) - During her 471 days in Hamas captivity, then-hostage Emily Damari lost two fingers, raised a hand to a terrorist, organized a "lice competition," was genuinely "excited" to be brought down a Hamas tunnel, and was the unquestionable morale-lifter for her captive friends. In an extensive interview with Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 aired on Saturday, Damari, 28, opened up about her captivity in the Gaza Strip. "I was nicknamed 'Shejaiya,'" Damari said in reference to her captors. "Which means heroes [in Arabic]. ..., then they called me...
(JNS) KFAR ADUMIM, Israel - It was four decades ago that three childhood friends from New Jersey who had immigrated to Israel heard of a young Jerusalem rabbinical student who was looking for scuba divers who could help him find snails off the Mediterranean coast. The three young men knew nothing about snails or the centuries-old search for the biblical blue known as tekhelet, but it was an adventure that would change their lives. "It became a hobby that became an obsession that tuned into a...
Two Israeli embassy staffers were shot and killed on Wednesday evening outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. The male victim was identified as Yaron Lischinsky. His final post on social media was a repost of a message condemning the United Nations' false claim that 14,000 infants in Gaza were facing imminent starvation, labeling it a modern-day blood libel. According to Israeli Ambassador to Berlin Ron Prosor, who taught him as a master student, Lischinsky was a Germany-born...
