Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS) — Yarden Bibas, whose wife and children were murdered by Hamas terrorists, discussed for the first time the horrors of captivity in Gaza, speaking to CBS‘s “60 Minutes” along with former hostages Keith Siegel and Tal Shoham. Bibas said he chose an American news outlet for his first interview because he wanted the White House and U.S. President Donald Trump to hear his plea to bring a stop to the fighting in the Gaza Strip. Israel resumed airstrikes on March 18 after a two-month ceasefire. “Please stop this war and help bring all the h...
(JTA) — Nearly 1,000 active and retired reservists in Israel’s Air Force have called for their government to strike a deal to release Israeli hostages in exchange for an immediate end to the war in Gaza, arguing that the fighting endangers the captives’ lives as well as innocent civilians. In response, the Air Force said it would dismiss any active-duty reservists who signed the letter, accusing them of using the force’s “brand” to voice their opinion. “Refusal to serve is refusal to serve — even if it implied and in polite language,” Prim...
(JNS) — In early March, during a family trip to Tel Azekah near Beit Shemesh, three-and-a-half-year-old Ziv Nitzan from Moshav Ramot Meir stumbled upon an extraordinary piece of history — an ancient scarab amulet dating back approximately 3,800 years. The young girl’s discovery was purely accidental, according to her sister, Omer Nitzan. “We were walking along the path when Ziv bent down and picked up a particular stone,” she said, according to a press release published by the Israel Antiquities Authority. “After rubbing off the sand, we sa...
(JNS) - The Western Wall Heritage Foundation removed tens of thousands of prayer notes from Judaism's second-holiest site on April 2 in preparation for the Passover holiday, which starts on April 12. Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, rabbi of the Western Wall and holy sites, oversaw the annual extraction of prayer notes, which will be buried alongside disposed sacred writings according to Jewish customs. "The removal was carried out according to halachic guidelines, using gloves and disposable wooden...
(JNS) — A 2,200-year-old pyramid-shaped structure from the days of the Ptolemaic and Seleucid rulers is being unearthed in the Judean Desert in one of the richest and most intriguing archaeological excavations in the area, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Tuesday. The mammoth structure discovered just north of Nahal Zohar near the Dead Sea is made of hand-hewn stones, each one weighing hundreds of kilograms, the state-run archaeological body said. Two millennia old historical documents written in Greek on papyrus, bronze coins, w...
(JTA) — The Nova music festival, where more than 350 people were murdered on Oct. 7, 2023, has quickly become one of the most visited tourist destinations in Israel. More than 200,000 people per month visited the site, at Kibbutz Reim near the Gaza border, on average over the last six months, according to Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael–Jewish National Fund. If sustained, that pace would put Nova on track to draw more visitors than the Dead Sea or Tel Aviv’s Anu Museum, which focuses on the Jewis...
(JNS) — Avida Bachar, who lost his wife and 15-year-old son in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist assault on Kibbutz Be’eri near the Gaza border, called on the Israeli government to extend “full sovereignty” over Judea and Samaria to prevent another Oct. 7-like attack. “We must have full sovereignty here. If we don’t, another Oct. 7 is just a matter of time,” said the farmer, who lost a leg when a Hamas terrorist shot him during the cross-border assault. Bachar made the comment during a tour of Samaria with Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria R...
(JNS) — The Israel Defense Forces is seizing territory in the Gaza Strip in response to Hamas’s refusal to release the remaining 59 hostages, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Wednesday. “Last night in Gaza, we switched gears,” the premier said in a Hebrew-language video statement. “The IDF is seizing territory, striking the terrorists and destroying the infrastructure.” “We are also doing something else. We are seizing the Morag Corridor,” he said, calling the security strip “an additional Philadelphi Corridor.” Netany...
(JNS) — The family of freed hostage Yarden Bibas has raised more than $1.7 million via a public fundraising campaign since its launch on Saturday night, exceeding its initial $1,371,086 goal within 24 hours. The campaign, which was launched via the Lehosheet Yad (Lend a Hand) foundation, aims to help Yarden Bibas’s recovery and establish a memorial for his wife, Shiri, and two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, who were murdered in captivity in the Gaza Strip. As of Monday morning, 30,979 people from all over the world had donated to the cam...
(JNS) — The Tikva Forum of Hostages’ Families on Tuesday called for “all or hell”—meaning the return of all the remaining hostages held by Hamas at once, or the resumption of “massive” Israel Defense Forces pressure on the terrorist group. “The past weeks have proven what we have been saying all along—Hamas will never return all the hostages willingly,” the group said, referring to the terror group’s refusal to agree to a U.S. proposal to extend the first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire through Ramadan and Passover. “Only massive militar...
(JNS) — Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz warned on Tuesday that Hamas will face intensified military action unless it releases all remaining hostages. “The murderous Hamas needs to understand: If they do not release all our hostages, our blows will intensify,” Katz stated in remarks released by his office. The statement came during a high-level security assessment held at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The meeting was attended by Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen...
By JNS Staff (JNS) — Nearly three in five Israelis back the resumption of fighting in the Gaza Strip in the wake of Hamas’s rejection of a U.S. proposal to extend the ceasefire in exchange for the release of more hostages. According to a survey carried out by Israel’s Direct Polls Institute and published by Channel 14 on Monday night—before the Israel Defense Forces launched a campaign of extensive airstrikes in Gaza—59 percent of Israelis support the resumption of hostilities. Some 38 percent said they opposed it, while 3 percent of respondent...
(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last Wednesday that security officials are aware that a “more intense front” could open in Judea and Samaria amid the resumption of heavy fighting with Hamas in Gaza. “Because while we are waging an intense war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, we are aware of the possibility that a larger and more intense front could open here in Judea and Samaria,” the premier said during a visit to the Border Police’s undercover “Mista’arvim” special forces unit. “They are simply doing holy work for...
(JNS) - In a groundbreaking achievement for Israel's space program, a constellation of nine research nanosatellites-built entirely by high school students-was launched into space from Cape Canaveral in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Dubbed Tevel 2, this project marks the largest Israeli satellite constellation ever deployed, the Tel Aviv University Spokesperson's Department said on Sunday. Gila Gamliel, Israel's Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, hailed the launch as a tes...
(JNS) — Fifty-eight percent of Israeli Jews believe that civilian towns in Judea and Samaria contribute to the security of the entire country, according to a poll published by the Jewish People Policy Institute on March 11. Asked whether they concurred with the statement, “Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria create deterrence and contribute to the security of all citizens of Israel,” 46 percent responded that they “very much agree,” while 12 percent said they “somewhat” concur. In the past six months, there has been an increase in the perce...
(JNS) — The Israel Defense Forces’ Military Rabbinate distributed almost half a million hamantaschen, or oznei Haman (“Haman’s ears”) cookies, the army said ahead of the holiday of Purim, which starts Thursday night. Approximately 460,000 hamantaschen in the flavors of chocolate, poppy seed and date arrived at army bases across the country, according to the IDF announcement. Vegan and gluten-free options are also provided. Around 5,000 Purim gift baskets were distributed to various units. In keeping with the religious commandment of hearing M...
(JNS) - "When I stood at the Gama junction next to Re'im, the first place whereas Israelis we could see the trucks with the coffins pass, it was very emotional. I understood why they had to come back," Daniel Lifshitz told JNS. The remains of his grandfather Oded Lifshitz were returned to Israel from the Gaza Strip last month as part of a ceasefire agreement with the Hamas terrorist organization. Oded was laid to rest in Kibbutz Nir Oz on Feb. 25. "It would have been like a very strong voice in...
(JNS) — Omer Wenkert, 23, described the brutal abuse he endured in the Gaza Strip at the hands of his Hamas captors. “They just hit you like crazy with everything they can find, whether it’s hitting your legs with the barrel of the gun, punching your face, kicking you all over. With each punch you pass out and the next one wakes you up,” said Wenkert in a televised interview with Israel’s Channel 12 News. On his birthday his captor had opened the door and awakened him in a state of “complete madness, insanely aggressively,” he recalled. “That w...
(JTA) - Hamas has returned bodies of four Israeli hostages who were killed in captivity in Gaza - the final group of hostages to be released under the terms of the first phase of a ceasefire that began last month. The four hostages, all men 50 or older, were abducted in Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Unlike previous hostage releases under the current ceasefire, their bodies were handed to Israel quietly, without a public ceremony early on the morning of Feb. 27. That stipulation came after Hamas...
(JNS) — Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Tuesday hailed the island nation of Fiji’s decision to open an embassy in Jerusalem. “I commend the Republic of Fiji’s government for its historic decision to open an embassy in Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Jewish people. Thank you, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, friend of Israel. Thank you, Fiji! tweeted Sa’ar. I commend the Republic of Fiji’s government for its historic decision to open an embassy in Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Jewish people. Thank you, Rabuka had confirmed...
(JNS) — The surviving member of the Bibas family, Yarden, shared a poignant eulogy at Kibbutz Nir Oz for the burial of his wife, Shiri, and their two children, Ariel and Kfir who were murdered by the hands of Hamas terrorists in Gaza. Yarden recalled his deep love for Shiri, remembering their first moments together and their bond as best friends, a wife, and a mother. He expressed deep sorrow and regret for not being able to protect them, especially during the tragic events on Oct. 7 when Gazans snatched them from their home. “I remember the...
(JNS) - "Looking at their scared frightened faces, begging to come out, wanting to be like their friends who got released, it is very hard to see your son begging for his life, asking to come out," Ilan Dalal, the father of Guy Gilboa-Dalal, told JNS. On Saturday, Hamas published a propaganda video showing Israeli hostages Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Evyatar David at their friends' release ceremony from captivity in Gaza. Hamas compelled the two to watch the ceremony from inside a vehicle as Israel...
(JNS) - Kibbutz Nir Oz announced early Saturday morning that resident Shiri Bibas was murdered while held captive in Gaza, after Hamas said it returned her body to Israel late the previous night. "With pain and deep sorrow, Kibbutz Nir Oz announces the murder of Shiri Bibas, may her memory be a blessing, who was kidnapped from her home," according to a statement from the community. On Thursday, Hamas returned the bodies of the Bibas children, Kfir and Ariel, along with that of octogenarian Oded Lifshitz. However, the fourth body freed from...
(JNS) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday night ordered the military to conduct a "massive" counter-terrorism operation in Judea and Samaria, after three buses exploded near Tel Aviv and bombs were found on two others in what is being investigated as a coordinated attack. Netanyahu also instructed the Israel Security Agency and Israel Police to step up "preventive activities" against possible additional attacks across the country. Following a situational assessment on...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) - The family of Hamas hostages Gali and Ziv Berman has received the first sign of life from the twin brothers in nearly 500 days. The brothers were abducted from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on Oct. 7, 2023, along with Emily Damari, Doron Steinbrecher and Amit Soussana, who have since been freed. "On one hand, we can breathe a little easier, but we also know whose hands they are in and the grave danger to their lives," said the twins' aunt, Makabit Meyer. "They are alive, and we must...
