Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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2 dead, over 210 injured in synagogue bleacher collapse In West Bank settlement By Andrew Lapin (JTA) — Israeli paramedics said that at least two worshipers had been killed and at least 213 were injured in a bleacher collapse incident at a synagogue in the Judean Israeli settlement of Givat Zeev on Sunday. The prayer gathering was held to mark the beginning of the Shavuot holiday. “Hundreds” of haredi Orthodox Jews were congregated at the synagogue in the Israeli settlement northwest of Jerusalem, which was still under construction, a Magen...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Saying that Israel has a right to defend itself, President Joe Biden has sent his top Israeli-Palestinian negotiator to the region in a bid to deescalate the deepening conflict there. During a White House news conference Wednesday (May 12) afternoon, Biden said he had just spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and had an “expectation and hope” that the conflict would end soon. “My national security staff and Defense staff has been in constant contact with their counterparts in the Middle East — not just with...
(JNS) — U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, where he double-downed on his “unwavering support” for Israel’s security amid more than 1,300 rockets fired on the country from terrorist factions in the Gaza Strip. According to a read out of the call from the White House, Biden “condemned the rocket attacks by Hamas and other terrorist groups, including against Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.” Furthermore, it said that the president “conveyed his unwavering support for Israel’s security and for Israel...
BERLIN (JTA) – The number of politically motivated crimes rose sharply in Germany last year, including a 15 percent rise in antisemitic offenses. The total documented by the country’s federal police force is the highest since contemporary record-keeping began in 2001. German officials said new efforts are underway to help police officers identify antisemitic crime. The annual report by the Federal Criminal Police Office released Tuesday showed an 8.54 percent increase in political crimes over 2019, to 44,692 crimes, German Interior Min...
(JNS) — The escalating conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians is one of the first major policy tests for the Biden administration. Despite U.S. President Joe Biden’s hope to shift foreign policy away from the Middle East to deal with threats from China and Russia, it is now being confronted with the difficult reality of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told JNS that the Biden administration is in a “decidedly awkward position” right now. “Amid n...
The Guardian says supporting the pro-Zionist Balfour Declaration in 1917 was a mistake By Cnaan Liphshiz (JTA) — In an article about its “worst errors of judgment” from its 200-year history, a Guardian writer implied that the storied British paper’s editorial support of the Balfour Declaration of 1917 — the then-British foreign minister’s approval of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine — was a mistake. “The Guardian of 1917 supported, celebrated and could even be said to have helped facilitate the Balfour declaration,” edito...
(JNS) — A mass grave of Holocaust victims has been discovered near the village of Logoza in Belarus, the Daily Mail reported on Friday. Photos from the excavation site show that officials uncovered bone remains, full skeletons (some with bullets in their skulls), fragments of clothing and children’s shoes, in addition to ammunition from ditches that are as deep as five meters. Personal objects were found as well, including a key and a broken comb. The mass grave is located about 22 miles from the capital, Minsk. Experts from the cou...
In Jewish Heritage Month proclamation, Biden recognizes Emhoff and Schumer — and the rise of antisemitism By Ron Kampeas WASHINGTON (JTA) — In his proclamation marking Jewish American Heritage Month, President Joe Biden cited the precedents set by prominent Jews in politics this year and condemned the nation’s spike in antisemitism in recent years. Biden recognized Douglas Emhoff and Chuck Schumer, saying this year Americans saw “two historic firsts… the Vice President take the oath of office alongside her Jewish spouse, and a Jewish American...
AMSTERDAM (JTA) — Many thousands of people protested against Israel in major European cities over the weekend as the latest Israel-Gaza conflict reached new heights. Several events featuring antisemitic rhetoric and rioting. In Brussels, London and Vienna dozens of men were filmed at rallies on Saturday shouting in Arabic: “Jews, remember Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning.” The chant relates to an event in the seventh century when Muslims massacred and expelled Jews from the town of Khaybar, located in modern-day Saudi Arabia. It is...
(Jewish Journal-Massachusetts via JTA) - It's been nearly a decade since Phillip Weiner last lived in Sarajevo, where he served as an international war crimes judge. But Weiner has remained in touch with the Bosnian Jews he met there, and when he heard about their plight during the COVID-19 pandemic, he knew he had to do something. Serving in The Hague court at the Yugoslavia war crimes tribunal, Weiner prosecuted those responsible for the atrocities committed during the Bosnian War from 1992...
Kerry denies claim he informed Iran of Israeli strikes in Syria (JNS) — U.S. Special Climate Envoy John Kerry on Monday denied allegations that he had discussed covert Israeli strikes on Iranian targets in Syria with Iran’s foreign minister. “I can tell you that this story and these allegations are unequivocally false. This never happened—either when I was Secretary of State or since,” Kerry tweeted on Monday night. Kerry was responding to a leaked audio recording of a closed-door discussion involving Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad...
LONDON (JTA) — Two of London’s most prestigious Jewish schools are in turmoil after they were implicated on a website for Brits to share their stories of sexual abuse. The website, Everyone’s Invited, launched in March after the disappearance and murder of Sarah Everard launched a national conversation about the safety of women. Among the tens of thousands of testimonies shared on the site already are dozens that name Jewish schools as either the location of an alleged assault or the school that students attended when the alleged events took...
PARIS (JTA) - A rumble rose from the 20,000 Jewish protesters at Trocadero Square, then exploded into shrill screams. "I don't even know whether to reassure you or cry out my fury," boomed Joel Mergui, president of the Consistoire, the organ of French Jewry responsible for providing Orthodox religious services. "Yes, cry out your fury!" French Jewish events are usually dignified affairs that often end with the singing of the Marseillaise, the French national anthem. But the rally on Sunday...
(JNS) — U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) urged the Biden administration to consider conditioning military aid to Israel in order to help the Jewish state “adjust course.” “We should talk about the elephant in the room—America’s military assistance to Israel,” she said. The senator went on to say that she is committed to Israel’s security, “but if we’re serious about arresting settlement expansion and helping move the parties toward a two-state solution, then it would be irresponsible not to consider all of the tools we have at our disp...
(JNS) — Buckingham Palace announced on Friday the death of Prince Philip, 99, the Duke of Edinburgh — husband to Queen Elizabeth and father to Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. Leaders of the United Kingdom’s Jewish community reacted to his death, praising him for his public service and his “affection for the Jewish community.” Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom Ephraim Mirvis called Philip a “selfless and loyal public figure” who offered his “steadfast support to the Queen” and “exceptional service to our nati...
(JTA) - Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said he was ready to "remove obstacles" to renewing U.S.-Israel ties, apparently signaling a willingness to stop the payments to the families of Palestinians who have killed Israelis that have proven to be a stumbling block. Speaking Sunday to J Street's annual conference, Abbas also urged the participants of the liberal Middle East policy group's forum to lobby Congress "to repeal all laws that block the road toward enhancing...
(JNS) — Speaking at the virtual J Street national conference on Monday, former Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) indicated that they were willing to place conditions on the aid Congress has promised Israel. “I strongly believe that we must also be willing to bring real pressure to bear, including restricting U.S. aid, in response to moves by either side that undermine the chances for peace,” Sanders said in his virtual speech. “The truth is that the United States gives an enormou...
Hundreds of Palestinians protest barriers in Jerusalem during Ramadan By Ben Sales (JTA) — Hundreds of Palestinians have been protesting barriers placed in the Old City of Jerusalem during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. The protests have centered around the Damascus Gate, a landmark and meeting point in the eastern section of the city. Palestinians typically sit on and around the steps leading to the gate following nighttime prayers during Ramadan, a month of daylong fasts that end at sunset. This year, police placed barriers on the s...
(JNS) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that America's commitment to Israel is "ironclad," and that he, and the Biden administration, supports more normalization agreements. Blinken appeared as part of a virtual event hosted by Israel's embassy in Washington for Israeli Independence Day, which also featured U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and was viewed by more than 20,000 people online. "In your 73rd year of freedom,...
(JNS) — Legislation brought forth in the U.S. Congress on Tuesday would allow insurance beneficiaries to recover billions in unclaimed payments from World War II. The Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act of 2021 was re-introduced by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), along with its original co-sponsors, who include Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and Reps. John Garamendi (Calif.), David Kustoff (Tenn.) and Lee Zeldin (N.Y.). According to a statement announcing the legislation, 97 p...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Days after resuming U.S. funding for the troubled U.N. agency that administers to Palestinian refugees and their descendants, the Biden administration says it has the commitment of UNRWA to “zero tolerance” for anti-Semitism, racism or discrimination. “UNWRA has made clear their rock-solid commitments to the United States on the issues of transparency, accountability, and neutrality in all its operations,” a senior U.S. official said in an interview this weekend, describing the process that led last week to the administr...
Julian Edelman announces retirement By Marc Brodsky (JTA) — Julian Edelman, the New England Patriots wide receiver who has shown his Jewish pride on a number of occasions, will retire following a stellar 11-year career in which he won Most Valuable Player in Super Bowl LIII. Edelman, who played in only six games last year due to a chronic knee injury, had his contract terminated Monday by the Patriots in a procedural move, ESPN reported. He announced his retirement in a video posted Monday to social media. Edelman was at his best in the big g...
(JTA) - Prince Philip, perhaps the closest member of the British royal family to Jews and Jewish causes, has died at 99. Buckingham Palace announced his death on Friday, April 9. Philip, who had been married to Queen Elizabeth II for 74 years, since five years before she ascended to the throne, had been in declining health for some time. Also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, Philip's support for Jewish and pro-Israel causes ran deep. His mother, Princess Alice of Greece, sheltered a Jewish...
(JTA) — Iran and the United States will join talks in Vienna next week that aim to return all parties to the terms of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. There will not be direct contact between Iran and the United States at the in-person meeting, according to a European Union statement issued after a virtual meeting Thursday of the countries left in the deal — China, Russia, Iran, Britain, Germany and France. Instead, a coordinator will make “separate contacts” with “all JCPOA participants and the United States.” The Trump administration pulled the Un...
UPenn refuses to reschedule commencement ceremony on Shavuot (JNS) — The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia said it will not move the date of its commencement ceremony, which is set to take place during the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, despite a petition to reschedule the event to accommodate those who celebrate the Jewish holiday. According to the university’s student-run publication, The Daily Pennsylvanian, nearly 40 seniors who identify as Orthodox Jewish received an email about the decision on March 24. Vice president and uni...
