Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Israeli FM congratulates new Japanese premier on ‘historic election’ Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Tuesday congratulated Japan’s first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, on her “historic election.” “We look forward to further deepening the partnership between Japan and Israel across various fields and building a prosperous and secure future for both our nations,” tweeted Sa’ar. Takaichi, who leads Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, was voted in as premier by a clear majority of the nation’s parliament on Monday. While the 6...
“If we have to, we’ll disarm [Hamas],” U.S. President Donald Trump told Fox News’ correspondent Maria Bartimoro in an interview aired on Sunday night, in light of the terrorist group’s recent claims that it has not committed to disarmament. Trump said that during negotiations for the Gaza ceasefire that went into effect on Oct. 10, Hamas promised it would disarm but added that “these are very violent people; this is a very violent part of the world.” When asked who would disarm Hamas, Trump replied, “Whether it’s me, the U.S., or a proxy,...
(JNS) — Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) are urging the Trump administration to investigate the Council on American-Islamic Relations for possible links to Hamas and other terrorist groups. The Congress members wrote to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, asking him to look into whether CAIR, a decades-old organization that says it advocates for Muslim civil rights, is providing material support for terrorism, based on its history and its conduct following Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel. The Tre...
President Donald Trump appeared to threaten violence against Hamas in Gaza on Thursday as he responded to reports that Hamas was executing Gazans following the ceasefire with Israel that Trump brokered last week. “If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the Deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday, concluding with a trademark flourish: “Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Soon after, he clarified that he did not mean the United States would enter Gaza. “Somebo...
(JNS) - The Blue Sky Warden aircraft, the result of a collaboration between Israel Aerospace Industries and the U.S. company L3Harris Technologies, embodies an innovative concept in light strike and reconnaissance aircraft. It is an enhanced iteration of the Air Tractor aircraft, which is originally a farming workhorse and an aerial firefighter, and also serves in Israel in the Elad Squadron, the aerial firefighting squadron. The new version of the aircraft will be adapted in Israel for...
(JNS) — The Trump administration is pushing ahead with the second phase of its Gaza peace plan, aiming to rebuild the southern city of Rafah, Israeli media reported on Thursday, citing senior U.S. officials. According to Israeli journalist Barak Ravid, the aim is to create a “day-after” model for life in the Gaza Strip. Despite incomplete progress in returning Israeli hostages—only nine of the 28 bodies held by Hamas have been recovered—advisers to U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly said that the United States plans to begin reconstruction...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — Last Sunday, Secretary of State for Education Bridget Phillipson said in an interview with Sky News that Britain played a “key role behind the scenes” in shaping the Gaza ceasefire agreement, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s presence in Sharm el-Sheikh would be evidence of this “central role.” U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee shared the video and wrote, “I assure you, she’s delusional.” The less-than-diplomatic statement subsequently led to a post by U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. “I want to recognize Britai...
Palestinian committee picked for Gaza reconstruction By JNS Staff (JNS) — A 15-member Palestinian committee has been chosen to oversee the rebuilding and administration of Gaza after the war, the Associated Press on Tuesday cited Egypt’s foreign minister as saying. “We need to deploy them to take care of the daily life of the people in Gaza, and the Board of Peace should support and supervise the flow of finance and money, which will come for the reconstruction of Gaza,” Badr Abdelatty told the news agency ahead of Monday’s regional summit he...
(JNS) — Families of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza have sent an urgent letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, calling on the body to award the Nobel Peace Prize to U.S. President Donald Trump for his efforts to end the Israel-Hamas war. “After almost two years of suffering, we have reached a critical turning point,” the families wrote, according to a statement from the Hostage and Missing Families Forum Headquarters. “President Trump’s determination to bring peace made possible what many said was impossible. We strongly urge you to award Pres...
(JNS) — On the 84th anniversary of the notorious Babi Yar massacre, the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center revealed the names of more than 1,000 newly identified victims, announced publicly for the first time at a ceremony at the site on Monday. In Jerusalem, BYHMC and March of the Living hosted a parallel memorial at the National Library of Israel, where the newly discovered names were also read out. Speakers included BYHMC Chairman Natan Sharansky, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk and Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan. “Me...
In one of her last interviews, renowned British primatologist Jane Goodall said that she wanted to send Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with several other world leaders she disliked, on a one-way trip to space. “There are people I don’t like. And I would like to put them on one of [Elon] Musk’s spaceships and send them all off to the planet he’s sure he’s going to discover,” Goodall said on Netflix’s “Famous Last Words: Dr. Jane Goodall,” which was filmed earlier this year and premiered following her death last week at 91....
(JNS) — World leaders from across the globe on Thursday welcomed Israel and Hamas’s agreement to the first phase of Trump’s ceasefire deal, reflecting both intense global relief that the end to the two-year-old war may be in sight and respect for the American president. Among those praising the move were countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Canada and Australia, who defied the American administration by recognizing a Palestinian state just last month. United Kingdom “I welcome the news that a deal has been reached on the first stage o...
JK Rowling ‘appalled, ashamed’ Jews feel unsafe in United Kingdom (JNS) — J.K. Rowling, who penned the Harry Potter book series, responded on social media to someone who posed the question of how most Brits feel when they learn that Jews don’t feel safe in the United Kingdom. “I don’t know what most Brits feel, but I’m appalled and ashamed,” the best-selling author stated. Five days after Oct. 7, Rowling stated that “we said ‘never again.’ The UK was a safe haven. Now, after the biggest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, British Je...
(JNS) — Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, referred on Monday to convicted Palestinian terrorists held in Israeli prisons, including those with blood on their hands, as “political prisoners” during a press briefing. Leavitt confirmed that Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy for special missions, and Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and former senior adviser, are in Egypt to lead technical talks with Israel and Hamas on implementing the peace plan which Trump unveiled last week. Leavitt said that Hamas’s...
(JNS) — Hundreds of Christians marched through the streets of the Kenyan capital of Nairobi in a faith-based show of support for Israel. The event, which commemorated the second anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught on southern Israel, offered a stark contrast with the throng of anti-Israel protests held the same day throughout Europe as well as in Australia. This follows an intensive Israeli outreach to the African continent. The nearly two-mile peaceful “March for Israel,” which was convened by the King Jesus Celebration Churc...
(JNS) — U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a plan to end the war in Gaza, with a 72-hour deadline, which begins when Israel accepts the agreement, for Hamas to return the hostages it holds in Gaza. Speaking at a press conference after the White House released the plan, Trump said that Hamas has not agreed to the proposal but that Arab and Muslim countries are negotiating with the terrorist group. “We’re relying on the countries that I named and others to deal with Hamas, and I’m hearing that Hama...
(JNS) — The Israeli mission to the United Nations held an event honoring the “women who stepped forward when the world stood still” at U.N. headquarters in New York City on Tuesday. “On Oct. 7, not only was the cruelty of Hamas revealed to the world, but also the heroism of Israeli women,” Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, said at the event. “In the face of terror and murder, they stood up like lionesses,” he said. “They fought, saved and protected.” “We carry their spirit with us. The women of Israel have proven...
(JNS) — World leaders reacted swiftly and largely positively to U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement Monday of a comprehensive plan to end the Gaza war and secure the release of the remaining hostages. French President Emmanuel Macron was among the first to respond, posting on X (formerly Twitter): “I welcome President @realDonaldTrump’s commitment to ending the war in Gaza and securing the release of all hostages. I expect Israel to engage resolutely on this basis. Hamas has no choice but to immediately release all hostages and follow...
(JNS) — Washington will defend Qatar from future attacks, including with military force if needed, according to an executive order that U.S. President Donald Trump signed on Monday. “The United States shall regard any armed attack on the territory, sovereignty or critical infrastructure of the State of Qatar as a threat to the peace and security of the United States,” the order states. If the Gulf state is attacked, Washington “shall take all lawful and appropriate measures —including diplomatic, economic and, if necessary, military...
(JNS) — European Jewish Association Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin said on Friday that the deadly terror attack at a synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur “proves what we warned of a year ago: Jews in Europe live under constant threat.” “We called for a state of emergency then, and if leaders had acted, lives might have been spared,” Margolin said, adding: “This is not random violence; it is the result of a climate where demonizing Israel has become acceptable, and Jews everywhere pay the price.” Police on Thursday identified the suspect i...
(JNS) — Marco Massari, mayor of the Italian city of Reggio Emilia, was presenting a civic honor to Francesca Albanese, a United Nations special rapporteur for Palestinian rights, on Sunday, when he told an audience of hundreds, “the end of the genocide and the release of the hostages are necessary conditions to start a peace process.” The U.N. adviser, who has a long history of Jew-hatred, reportedly scolded Massari, as the crowd jeered the mayor. “The mayor was wrong and said something that is not true,” Albanese said. “Peace does not need co...
(JNS) — Wikipedia, one of the most viewed sites on the internet, has hosted a page on “Gaza genocide” since Dec. 29, 2023. Since Sept. 22, Wikipedia has linked to the “Gaza genocide” article, which accused Israel of war crimes, in an “in the news” section on its main page, which millions of people view daily. The American Jewish Committee told JNS that Wikipedia is “elevating reckless and biased charges of genocide as fact,” and given how many genocide scholars disagree with that statement, the crowd-sourced encyclopedia “showcases how da...
Sara Netanyahu visits gravesites of Lubavitcher rebbe and rebbetzin in Queens, NY By JNS Staff (JNS) — Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visited the Ohel in Queens, N.Y., late Sunday night under heavy security, reported the COLlive news site. It is the resting place of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson; his wife, the rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson; and his father-in-law, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn. There, she prayed for the Jewish people; the defeat of their enemies; and the s...
By Alex Traiman (JNS) - In August, barely a month ago, U.S. President Donald Trump referred to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a "war hero" over the near-perfect 12-day war in June that thoroughly neutralized Iran's illicit nuclear program. Now in September, Netanyahu received less than a hero's welcome at the United Nations. While the entire world obsesses over nearly every Israeli military and diplomatic action, nations of the world collectively walked out as Israel's prime...
(JNS) — Most House Democrats signed a letter on Thursday warning the Israeli government against trying to annex territory in Judea, Samaria or Gaza. Led by Reps. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), and joined by the entire Democratic House leadership, the 178 congressmen told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar that Israeli annexation of any territory would “plunge the region” into “further chaos and violence.” “We are convinced that unilateral steps by eith...
