Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS) — A Jewish family was allegedly kicked off a taxi in Austria last week and called “murderers” by the driver, who reportedly assaulted one of the passengers. In France, “Free Palestine” graffiti was sprayed on Jewish-owned cars on Wednesday. In the Netherlands, Israelis were filmed at a vacation park and threatened online last week. And in Italy, a hotel employee demanded that an Israeli guest cancel her booking if she supported her government’s actions. The incidents, all reported in local media, were part of a wave of violence an...
(JNS) — Former Hamas hostages Keith and Aviva Siegel led a group of protesters in Pretoria, South Africa on Monday to confront the International Committee of the Red Cross over its inaction regarding captives held by Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza. They were joined on the “Bring the Hostages Home” Solidarity Bus Ride to the South African capital by the South African Zionist Federation, members of civil society, faith leaders and political representatives. “We are here at the Red Cross o...
(JNS) — Israelis who were uprooted from the community of Sa-Nur in northern Samaria during the 2005 Gaza disengagement returned on Thursday morning to prepare the area for resettlement, Channel 14 reported. The group of evacuees cleaned up trash and repaired damage caused following the Arab takeover of the village, which is one of the two in Samaria that the Israeli government decided in May to reconstruct. The visit was led by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich — who initiated the Cabinet decision three months ago and whose brother use...
Jewish Maryland congressman latest Dem to sponsor arms restrictions against Israel (JNS) — Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) joined far-left House Democrats in pushing for restrictive arms sales to Israel. The “Block the Bombs Act,” to which Raskin signed on as a co-sponsor, would require Congress to authorize each sale or transfer of a variety of weapons systems and to identify how those weapons would be used. The conditions imposed by the law would be unprecedented in the U.S.-Israel relationship. Raskin, who is Jewish, represents a suburban Maryl...
Cairo intends to train 5,000 Palestinian police officers to help restore order in Gaza after the current Hamas-Israel war ends, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said on Wednesday. In an interview with Egyptian media, Abdelatty noted that the training has already begun and that, at this stage, hundreds of officers are participating. According to the minister, Cairo has received vetted lists of names of those currently training at military camps in Egypt, in coordination with Jordan. The aim, he said, is to ensure the officers have no...
(JNS) — A significant drop in the level of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) was recorded on Sunday following an extreme heatwave that swept through Israel last week, bringing it closer to the lower red line, Hebrew media reported. “The Sea of Galilee has lost several centimeters since the start of the severe heatwave last week,” Kinneret Department Manager at the Water Authority Firas Telhami said, according to Ynet. “The evaporation rate, especially in the last two days of the peak of the heatwav...
(JNS) — Students from 24 U.S. universities toured Israel last week as part of a program which according to its organizers would use firsthand testimonies to help counter misinformation about Israel. The students attend universities including UCLA, Duke, UC Berkeley, and the University of Michigan. On their 10-day visit, the participants of the Hasbara Fellowships and IsraelAmbassadors.com delegation met politicians, visited the grounds of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas massacre, met with a former h...
The S’firot Foundation proudly announces the appointment of Wayne Green as its inaugural executive director, signaling the launch of its mission and the beginning of its leadership and vision for the future. With a career spanning Melbourne, New York, London, and Israel, Green brings a rare blend of global philanthropic expertise, strategic acumen, and a track record of driving transformative social impact. Green is a seasoned senior executive whose career has traversed the nonprofit, g...
(JNS) — One morning in July, on a pathway atop Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, eight barefoot men lay spread-eagled, faces pressed to the ground, as four police officers stood by and watched. Just two years ago, this act — part of a mitzvah, a religious commandment known as Hishtachavaya — would have led to immediate ejection. For decades, authorities restricted Jewish prayer at the site, which houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the remains of the last Jewish Temple, making it one of the most sensitive and contested religious spaces on earth. Often d...
Winter Garden, FL – The WOW Chavurah is growing and thriving! Serving the Orlando southwest area, including Winter Garden, Ocoee, and Windermere. WOW was founded in 2023 by Adam Cohn and Randa Marder. The Chavurah is dedicated to building a welcoming and inclusive Jewish community through informal, lay-led Shabbat and holiday gatherings that feature music, dance, and activities for all ages. WOW offers a variety of groups to engage all members of the community: Keshet – for children aged 4–8...
(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized nationwide anti-government demonstrations on Sunday, saying at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting that the results are the opposite of what they claim to want. “Those who today call for ending the war without defeating Hamas are not only hardening Hamas’s position and distancing the release of our hostages, they are also ensuring that the horrors of Oct. 7 will repeat themselves, and that we will be forced to fight a never-ending war,” Netanyahu said. “Therefore, to advance the r...
(JNS) — More than 85,000 passengers were traveling through Ben-Gurion International Airport on 500 international flights on Thursday, the highest single-day figure since the Hamas-led terrorist attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Israel Airports Authority. The numbers highlight both the resurgence of the Israeli aviation sector and the reemergence of Tel Aviv as a travel hub, even before all leading international carriers have resumed flights to Israel. Some 43,700 travelers were departing Israel on Thursday, while o...
The American real estate developer shared a message via Instagram, saying, “A state that produces such violence is one that should not exist.” Some of the comments underneath the post echoed Hadid’s message. “End Zionism and restore world peace!!!” one commenter wrote. “Yes exactly this. From the river to the sea Palestine will be free,” another person said. “I couldn’t agree more! Zioni$m needs to be dismantled for good!” a third wrote. Hadid, 76, has been vocal regarding his anti-Israel views. He was born in Nazareth in 1948, shortly befor...
(JNS) — The U.S. Department of Justice is pursuing the death penalty and hate crime charges against Elias Rodriguez, who it accuses of shooting and killing two Israeli embassy staffers as they left an event at a Jewish museum in Washington in May, CNN reported. “The charges, if approved by a grand jury, would position the case as a centerpiece of the Trump Justice Department’s fervent approaches toward both violent crime and targeted hate against the Jewish community,” per CNN. The news organization said it sought comment from the Justice...
(JNS) — In video footage screened for the first time at a rally in Tel Aviv on Sunday night, Hamas hostage Matan Zangauker appealed to family and friends to increase their efforts to secure his release. “To all my acquaintances, all my friends, go out and make noise as only you know how, and with God’s help we will see each other soon,” he said. Zangauker, who was taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023, said that he missed his mother, sister and girlfriend, adding that “God willing” they would be re...
(JNS) — In a quiet room at Israel’s soon-to-be inaugurated October 7 Museum, Mosab Hassan Yousef—the son of Hamas co-founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef who is known as “The Green Prince”—looked at the evidence of Hamas’s atrocities and spoke the truth that too many still refuse to hear: “Hamas is not just at war with Israel. It is at war with Jews, Christians and the very foundations of civilization itself.” Yousef knows this from the inside. Raised in a home steeped in Hamas ideology, he was taught from childhood that Jews must be killed, Christians...
(JNS) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered Israeli assistance with Iran’s water woes once its people shake off the tyrannical regime in Tehran. “The thirst for water in Iran is only matched by the thirst for freedom,” the premier said in a nearly 5-minute video address to the Iranian people published on Tuesday. Speaking from Jerusalem, he detailed what the Jewish state could bring the “moment” that the regime is toppled and freedom is achieved: “Israel’s top water experts will flood into every Iranian city bringing cutting-edge te...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) - Millions of Israelis were expected to participate in a nationwide strike on Sunday for the return of the remaining 50 hostages being held in the Gaza Strip, who have endured 681 days in appalling conditions. Major corporations, institutions, businesses and government authorities have confirmed they will permit employees to participate. During a 7:10 a.m. press conference, hostages' families issued urgent appeals for public participation in street demonstrations and work...
Israel’s security cabinet has endorsed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to expand fighting in Gaza, despite warnings from military leaders and others that doing so would put soldiers and hostages at risk. The plan approved early Friday morning does not specify that Israel will “occupy” Gaza, as Netanyahu said shortly before entering the marathon meeting that he intended to do. Instead, it focuses on Gaza City, the largest area within Gaza where the Israeli army does not already operate on the ground. The IDF says it has conquer...
(JNS) — The University of Wisconsin-Madison has suspended its Students for Justice in Palestine chapter after the group was “found in violation of multiple rules” after an April protest. The SJP chapter announced its suspension on social media on Sunday. In its statement, the group wrote that the decision was made in response to the chapter›s protest of a speaking appearance by Linda Thomas-Greenfield, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, in April. John Lucas, officer of strategic communication for the university, told JNS that “f...
(JNS) — Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Wednesday announced the approval of 3,401 new housing units in the so-called E1 area near Ma’ale Adumim in Judea and Samaria. The E1 project has been delayed for decades due to international opposition, led by previous United States administrations. “Approval of construction plans in E1 buries the idea of a Palestinian state and continues the many steps we are taking on the ground as part of the de facto sovereignty plan that we began implementing with the establishment of the gover...
The UJA-Federation of New York will send $1 million to an Israeli humanitarian group providing aid to civilians in Gaza, the federation’s CEO announced on Friday. The funds will go to IsraAID, Israel’s largest nongovernmental aid organization, to supply food, medicine and water filtration systems for displaced Gazans. IsraAID has traditionally operated in disaster zones abroad, from earthquake relief in Turkey to aid for Ukrainian refugees, but since Oct. 7 has expanded its work to Israel and now into Gaza. In a letter to the community, UJA...
(JNS) — A federal court ruled that a Chabad couple, which alleges that a Florida homeowners association is guilty of Jew-hatred for blocking it from using its property as a synagogue, can go forward with its lawsuit. Rabbi Naftaly and Henya Hertzel also accuse the association of vandalism and discrimination based on their faith. Aileen Cannon, a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida and an appointee of U.S. President Donald Trump, rejected last month the effort of the Loggers Run Homeowners Association in Boca Ra...
(JNS) — Israel is preparing the delivery of humanitarian supplies to vulnerable populations in South Sudan, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced on Monday. The move is led by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who instructed the foreign ministry agency MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation, to deliver urgent assistance to the crisis-hit country. The African nation is currently struggling with a cholera outbreak while also facing a severe shortage of resources, the ministry explained. The aid will include essen...
(JNS) — Unidentified individuals spray-painted “NYT Lies, Gaza Dies” on The New York Times building in Manhattan on Wednesday, with sections of the structure’s doors and windows also daubed with red paint. The incident follows heightened criticism of the newspaper’s coverage of the Gaza conflict. The perpetrators remain unknown. The graffiti appeared hours after The New York Times issued an editor’s note amending its July 24 article, “Gazans are dying of starvation.” Five days after publication, the Times acknowledged that its story reference...
