Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS) - Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died on Monday morning at the Vatican at the age of 88. He passed away at 7:35 a.m. local time, according to the Vatican. Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Francis became the first Jesuit pope and the first from the Americas when elected in 2013. His papacy was marked by reform efforts, calls for social justice and outreach to marginalized communities. He also faced mounting criticism over...
(JTA) — At a time of heightened antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment, American Jews have been voting in record numbers in an election that will help determine how billions of dollars in Israel-related funding will be spent. The election for the World Zionist Congress, held every five years, provides the only democratic mechanism that gives Diaspora Jews a voice in determining the leadership and priorities of four main Zionist entities: the World Zionist Organization, the Jewish National Fund-Keren Kayemet åLeIsrael, The Jewish Agency for Is...
(JNS) - The U.S. Senate voted 53-46 on April 9 to confirm Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, to be U.S. ambassador to Israel. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) was the lone Democrat to back Huckabee, who has mounted two presidential campaigns since leaving office, and has been a TV and radio host since 2008. Every Republican voted to confirm Huckabee except Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), who did not vote. Ahead of the vote, Republicans said that Huckabee would be a more pro-Israel diplo...
(JNS) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said that he couldn’t understand why Israel ever gave up the Gaza Strip. During a press conference in the Oval Office on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the president said, “They took oceanfront property and they gave it to people for peace. How did that work out? Not good.” Netanyahu traveled from Hungary to Washington, D.C., on Sunday for an unplanned visit to resolve a tariff dispute. Referring to Netanyahu, Trump said he knew that “this man” would never have done it. “He w...
IDF dismantles kilometer-long Hamas tunnel in Gaza By JNS Staff (JNS) — The IDF announced on Monday that it had destroyed a kilometer-long (0.6 miles) Hamas tunnel in the Beit Lahiya area amid its ongoing operations in northern and central Gaza. Separately, Israeli troops also uncovered a rocket production workshop, as well as launchers, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Dozens of terrorists have been eliminated, the military added. “IDF troops will continue to operate against terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip to protect the citiz...
By Mike Wagenheim (JNS) — Former hostage Amit Soussana was decorated with an International Women of Courage Award by the U.S. State Department on April 1 as she called for a global effort to free the remaining captives held in Gaza. Soussana, who was sexually assaulted after being taken from her Kibbutz Kfar Aza home during Hamas’s rampage through southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, was the only one of the eight award recipients asked to give a keynote speech. “While I am here, my friends remain in the darkness, 543 long days and nights,” said So...
(JNS) — The European Union presents itself as a defender of democracy, fairness and human rights. It claims to promote peace and cooperation among nations. However, when it comes to Israel, the European Union shows a clear bias that contradicts these ideals. Israel is a strong democracy yet faces unfair treatment. In March 2024, Israel declared more than 1,900 acres of land in Judea and Samaria (commonly called the West Bank) as state property. The European Union strongly criticized this action, calling it “illegal” and threatening diplo...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — A deeply concerning trend has emerged in Norway, where Jewish community members fear seeking medical care due to growing anti-Israel sentiment among healthcare workers. In an unprecedented letter to health authorities, Jewish leaders warn that community members are hiding their identities in medical settings—a situation not experienced “since World War II.” The letter, signed by Marius Gaarder, chairman of the Jewish community in Oslo, and John Arne Moen from the Jewish community in Trondheim, raises alarming concern...
(JNS) — The United States opposes the candidacy of the Palestinian Authority for the presidency of the United Nations General Assembly. Riyad Mansour, the authority’s longtime “permanent observer” to the global body, is mounting a bid to helm the assembly presidency in 2026-27, despite the authority holding non-state “observer” status. The 22-member, U.N. Arab Group, which passed the nomination onto the 55-member Asia Pacific Group, backs the nomination. The latter group holds the rotating slot for the presidency in two years, based on re...
Delta resumes flights to Israel By JNS Staff (JNS) — Delta Air Lines is restarting flights to Israel on Tuesday, becoming the latest major carrier to renew service suspended due to the Israel-Hamas war. The moves comes two weeks after chief rival United Airlines resumed service to Tel Aviv, and ahead of the busy Passover and Easter travel season this month. The Atlanta-based Delta said it is restoring its daily flights to Tel Aviv from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. The daytime service on Delta will add nearly 2,000 wee...
After rebuffing U.S. President Trump’s requests to absorb Palestinian civilians from Gaza, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi has said he is willing to temporarily absorb half a million Gazans, according to the Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper. Sisi made the remarks during meetings with other Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. After Sisi and King Abdullah of Jordan rejected Trump’s request that they absorb 2 million Gazans during a planned reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, Egypt formulated its own proposal for rebuilding and gov...
(JTA) — Almost one in four U.S. adults raised Jewish do not identify as religiously Jewish anymore, according to a recent study by the Pew Research Center. The study, published March 26, surveyed “religious switching” around the world, and found that significant percentages of people raised in religious homes in the United States and internationally are now religiously unaffiliated. Smaller numbers have converted to another religion. Among Americans raised Jewish, 17 percent now describe themselves as religiously unaffiliated. An addit...
(JNS) — Representatives from seven countries released a statement condemning the “reprehensible acts of hostage-taking and unjust detention.” The “Joint Statement on Unjust Detention” was released by representatives from the United States, Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Israel and the United Kingdom at a bilateral meeting in Big Sky, Mont., on Tuesday, according to the U.S. State Department. “These acts are a flagrant affront to human rights. Perpetrators of these practices shatter lives and communities, undermine peace, and threaten gl...
Anti-Hamas protesters march in Gaza, in rare and risky show of dissent By Philissa Cramer (JTA) — Hundreds of men shouting criticism of Hamas marched in Gaza on March 25, according to footage shared from the territory the terror group has long governed. Protests took place March 25-26 throughout the enclave, including in Khan Younis and neighborhoods of Gaza City. The demonstrations were a rare and risky public display of dissent against Hamas, which began controlling the territory in 2006 and ousted its rivals in a brief civil war the f...
(JTA) - Bruce Pearl, whose Auburn men's basketball team advanced to the Sweet Sixteen this weekend, opened his postgame press conference by calling to "bring the hostages home." Auburn is one of three No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament with a Jewish coach. All three made the tournament's round of 16, as has the biggest Jewish star on the court, Danny Wolf. Pearl is known for his outspoken support for Israel, which he put on display Saturday after the Tigers beat...
(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...
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...
(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...
(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...
(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...
(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) — 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...
Some Columbia classes reportedly canceled in solidarity with anti-Israel activist By Izzy Salant (JNS) — The Washington Free Beacon reported on Monday that at least three professors at Columbia University canceled in-person classes in solidarity with the anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil, whom federal agents arrested on March 8. “Given that the college and Columbia University has neither issued a public statement with any clear explanations as to why or how this arrest was allowed nor offered any serious reassurances for international stu...
(JNS) — A group of Judea and Samaria leaders made history last week by visiting Abu Dhabi on the first-ever organized trip by the Yesha Council to a Muslim country, the umbrella organization announced Thursday. Yesha Council chief Israel Ganz and CEO Omer Rahamim, as well as Hebron Hills Regional Council head Eliram Azulay, returned on Wednesday from their first visit to the United Arab Emirates. They were accompanied by Rabbi Matanya Yedid, who heads the Sifra Institute. During the visit, the three met government officials, business l...
