Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1177 - 1201 of 1203
With little progress otherwise reported toward forming a new Israeli government, one point of agreement which is said to exist between Likud and Blue and White is over Israel’s right to claim sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea area. Before the September 17 Knesset election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he intended to immediately annex the Jordan Valley if he is re-elected. “In Blue and White, they are prepared to begin a process of imposing Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and the northern Dea... Full story
(JNS)-Palestinian Islamic Jihad-the second-largest armed terror faction in Gaza after Hamas-is agitating for violence, and is in fact the organization that conducted Friday-night's rocket barrage on the Israeli border city of Sderot. It appears as if the commander of the PIJ's northern Gaza brigade-a terror chief named Baha Abu Al Atta-is directly behind the latest rocket fire that targeted Israeli civilians. The Iron Dome air-defense system intercepted most of the incoming rockets, though one... Full story
(JNS)—As Iranians took to the streets this week to commemorate 40 years since the U.S. embassy takeover in 1979, Iran announced new violations of the nuclear deal it signed in 2015. The rogue Islamic Republic admitted that it now operates 60 advanced IR-6 centrifuges and is working on a new type of centrifuge that will work 50 times faster than what is currently permitted under the deal. This announcement comes after Iran has engaged in attacks on oil tankers and Saudi oil facilities, shooting down an American drone, and, of course, its ongoing... Full story
(JNS)-Benny Gantz and the Blue and White Party are hard at work trying to find other parties to join his coalition to give him the 61 mandates needed to form a government. Much talk has centered on the possibility that he would form a minority government with the support of the Joint Arab List. Yariv Levin, Likud Tourism Minister and chief negotiator in coalition talks, told JNS that "Blue and White has not ruled out the option of a minority government with the Arab parties." On Sunday, Gantz... Full story
A Kurdish refugee toddler-we'll call him Ajwan, for security reasons-is the latest of 44 Iraqi and Syrian Kurdish children who've had emergency medical treatment at Israel's Sheba Medical Center in 2019 alone. Ajwan, three and a half, had lifesaving open-heart surgery that wasn't available in Iraqi Kurdistan, where his family has been living for a few years due to the dangers the community faces in northern Syria. "I was not afraid to come to Israel, even though I was warned I could lose my... Full story
(JTA)—As of Wednesday morning, Israel’s embassies and consulates across the globe are on strike. “No consular services will be provided and no one will be allowed to enter,” one ambassador posted on Twitter. Those services include passport renewal and assistance to Israelis living abroad. Why has Israel’s entire foreign service shut down? In a word: taxes. Israeli diplomats get lump-sum expense stipends meant to cover a range of personal and official expenses. The Finance Ministry now says it wants the diplomats to submit individual receipts... Full story
Shir Tabac had always yearned for a dog, but it wasn't until she completed her military service and went to college that she felt ready to make the commitment. "It was the first time I was living independently, and I wondered how I could have a dog and do something good at the same time," said Tabac, now a third-year chemistry student at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. "I realized that volunteering to train a guide dog was the perfect plan." Within a month of arriving at the... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)-Benny Gantz said Wednesday that he will aim to form a unity government with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party to "repair the divisions in our society." "I promised I would form a liberal unity government and that is what I intend to do," Gantz said. The Blue and White party leader made the remarks after being officially tasked by President Reuven Rivlin with forming a government. After accepting the mandate at Rivlin's official residence in Jerusalem, Gantz commented, "I... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)-Carved into the rock on the side of a mountain directly under the Har HaMenuchot cemetery here lies the entrance to Jerusalem's newest necropolis, a city of the dead that its designers hope will relieve a shortage of burial space in the capital. A local engineering firm and Jerusalem's largest burial society have devised a plan to radically change how Jerusalemites dispose of their dead by building a modern system of burial caves, a throwback to a practice discontinued some two... Full story
Two days shy of his 28-day time limit to establish a government, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday that he cannot form a coalition and that he is returning the mandate to do so to President Reuven Rivlin, paving the way for Benny Gantz, leader of Kahol Lavan (Blue and White party) to try to create a government. Gantz will have 28 days to try to form a coalition. What happens if the Gantz-led coalition talks also fail? Then any lawmaker backed by a majority of at least 61 Knes... Full story
(JNS)-This year, more than 5,000 Christians from all parts of the world gathered on Thursday for the city's annual Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) festive march around Israel's capital, which saw 10,000 participants in total. The Jerusalem municipality organized and funded the march and entertainment events, with participants coming to Israel from 100 nations. The arrival of the Christian pilgrims, who come annually to Israel for Sukkot, was facilitated in part by the International Christian Embas... Full story
(Israel Hayom via JNS)-Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has ordered his office to draw up plans to stop the Turkish government's efforts to undermine Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem and protect Jordan's special status as guardian of Muslim holy sites in the city. Katz intends to present the plan to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu soon. Due to the sensitivity of the plan, the implementation of which will almost certainly lead to a direct confrontation with Ankara, it is also... Full story
(JNS)—Eagles’ Wings, a nonprofit New York-based evangelical movement, hosted a “Global Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem” on Sunday, bringing together 70 millennial pastors from the United States, Canada and Brazil to Israel, many for the first time, along with their followers. Additionally, more than 500,000 evangelical Christian churches worldwide tuned in as GOD TV broadcasted the event to more than 260 million homes globally. Government, religious and business leaders, including other major Jewish and Christian global leaders... Full story
(Israel Hayom via JNS)-A 5,000-year-old metropolis, the largest uncovered in Israel to date, has been excavated near Ein Iron, northeast of Hadera. The city, which dates back to the Early Bronze Age (the end of the fourth century BCE), was surrounded by walls and included residential and public areas, streets and alleyways. It had an area of 161 acres and was home to an estimated 6,000 residents. The Bronze Age metropolis was constructed on the remains of an even earlier city that dates back 7,0... Full story
(Israel Hayom via JNS)-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Wednesday with leaders of parties from the right-wing bloc to discuss the future of negotiations to form a unity government after talks with Blue and White went south, with the center-left list pulling out of the most recent scheduled meeting to, in its officials' own words, "weaken" Netanyahu. During the meeting, the possibility of Netanyahu giving up his mandate from President Reuven Rivlin to form the next government was... Full story
(JNS)-The Arab Israeli public came out in force during the second round of elections on Sept. 17, and according to an Arab Knesset member and others, was motivated to prevent the formation of a right-wing government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also heads the Likud Party. On Wednesday, the Joint Arab List announced that it will boycott Thursday's swearing-in ceremony for the new Knesset as part of a general strike among Arab Israelis to protest what they say is the... Full story
(JNS)-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's pre-indictment hearing began on Wednesday after three years of investigation. Netanyahu, who did not attend the hearing, is seeking to convince Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit and state prosecutors not to indict him on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three separate cases, labeled in Israel as Case 1000, Case 2000 and Case 4000. Attorney Avi Himi, who heads the Israel Bar Association, told JNS that "the hearing process is... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Demi Lovato had gushed about her “magical” visit to Israel, saying she felt a “sense of spirituality” there. Now the 27-year-old pop star and actress is apologizing to those who may have been offended by her trip. In Israel, Lovato made three posts earlier this week on Instagram, where she has 74 million followers, speaking glowingly of the country. “Entertainment Tonight” reported that reactions to those posts included criticism from accusing her of promoting or supporting Israel despite the country’s treatment of the Palestini... Full story
TEL AVIV-Shlomit Norman was only 42 when doctors diagnosed her with multiple myeloma-a bone marrow cancer with no known cure that rarely strikes people under the age of 65. At the time, the youngest of her three boys was 10, and few patients with the disease survived for more than a couple of years. "I told my best friend that she'd have to be in charge of my son's bar mitzvah because I didn't think I'd be around by then," recalled Norman, who lives in Haifa. But thanks to some innovative... Full story
(JNS) With negotiations between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, failing to form a national unity government, Israel's President Reuven Rivlin ultimately choose Netanyahu as having the best chance to form a government within the next 28 days. However, with Netanyahu only garnering support of only 55 Knesset members-six short of a governing majority-it appears that Israel's political deadlock will continue with both sides blaming one another for th... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)—White House Middle East peace envoy Jason Greenblatt wrote in an op-ed that his work on an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan has left him “proud, grateful, surprised, sad, and hopeful.” “I wonder if my deceased grandparents who fled Hungary with their families decades ago—one from the Holocaust and one from communism—could have imagined their grandson would one day serve in the White House, attempting to solve one of the most complex conflicts in history,” Greenblatt wrote in the op-ed published Friday by CNN. Greenblatt an... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)-The morning after Israel's second national election in five months, the results are still unclear. According to the latest vote count, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trailing his rival, Benny Gantz, by the slimmest of margins: The incumbent's Likud and the challenger's Blue and White remain within a seat of each other. More important, neither candidate appears able to form a governing coalition outright with allies on the right or the left. In the 120-seat Knesset, the... Full story
(JNS)-Blue and White leader Benny Gantz rejected Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's call to join a unity government under the Likud leader's leadership, stating that he would be prime minister of a potential unity government. "I am interested [in] and intend to form a broad, liberal unity government under my leadership," Gantz said in a statement ahead of Blue and White's first faction meeting since the elections. "To form a unity government you do not come forward with political blocs and... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and the Blue and White were again locked in a virtual dead heat at the close of voting in Israel, exit polls on Tuesday showed. Both Blue and White, which is led by Benny Gantz, a former military chief of staff, and Likud took 32 seats in the upcoming Knesset, or parliament, according to polling by the Kan national broadcaster. Channel 12 reported that Blue and White had 34 seats and Likud 33, while Channel 13 had Blue and White with a 33-31 edge. The two parties had tied in Apr... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that if he is re-elected, he will immediately annex the Jordan Valley. Netanyahu also promised to annex West Bank Jewish settlements in what he termed a "dramatic announcement" exactly one week before Israelis go to the polls for national elections on Sept. 17. The announcement was a plea for votes. "This is a democracy. I won't do anything without a clear mandate. So I'm asking for a mandate, to do this thing that enjoys a... Full story
