Heritage Florida Jewish News - Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

(JNS) — During his first public speech since the start of the latest escalation of rocket attacks from Gaza and Israeli retaliation, Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh on Tuesday declared “victory” over the Jewish state. The Hamas...

A senior Hamas leader who helped found the Iran-backed terror group in Gaza came out of hiding, saying that while he thinks the recent ceasefire will hold, his organization remains totally committed to replacing Israel with a Palestinian state, Sky...

(JNS)— Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized to foreign diplomats that the Israel Defense Forces go to great lengths to target its enemies with great precision and to avoid collateral damage. Speaking to more than 70 diplomatic...

(JNS) — As violence in Israel persists for a second week, Yad Sarah announced its commitment to remaining open and providing full services to citizens across the country. From the outset of rocket attacks launched from Hamas and other terror...

(JTA) — A rocket from Gaza killed a 5-year-old child in the Israeli city of Sderot, bringing Israel’s death toll to seven in its exchanges of fire with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In Gaza, 83 people have died, including 14 children, according to...

In the wake of a barrage of 250 missiles launched from Gaza into Israel, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin invited citizens from the Gaza “envelope” (periphery) area and greater southern Israel to his official Jerusalem residence, Beit Hanasi....

UPDATE: Israel’s announcement of a ground operation in Gaza may have been intended to misdirect Hamas militants. While the Israeli army bombarded Gaza on Thursday, the army later clarified that troops did not enter the territory. (JTA) ...

(JNS) — With Israel coming under the fire of more than 1,300 rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, many U.S. lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have vocalized their support for Israel. As to be expected, some in the progressive wing of the Demo...

(JTA) — After 11 days of fighting, Israel and Hamas agreed to a “mutual and simultaneous” ceasefire on Thursday that began at 2 a.m. Friday Israel time. Israel’s security cabinet unanimously approved the truce, according to reports, after mil...

(JNS) — In recent days, conflicting reports have emerged over the ongoing negotiations in Vienna to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, leading to questions over to what extent the United States will undo Trump-era sanctions against Tehran. Richard...

(Israel Hayom via JNS) — In the runup to Jerusalem Day, which this year falls on May 9, the city continues to be Israel’s largest, with a population nearing 1 million, according to a study by the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research. The...

(JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has failed to form a government by the deadline imposed by Israeli law, thrusting the country into uncertain political territory yet again. This could mean that after more than 12 years as...

(JTA) — The videos circulating out of Jerusalem — of beatings, stone throwing and racist chants — are shocking. Reporters say it’s some of the worst fighting the contested city has seen in years.  But the tensions that fueled the violence...

(JTA) — “If you haven’t seen the joy of Lag b’Omer on the grave of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, you haven’t seen joy at all,” wrote the author Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Israel’s first Nobel Prize laureate. That description reflects an aspect of...

(JTA) — A woman will be the spiritual leader of an Israeli Orthodox synagogue for the first time. Shirat Hatamar, a congregation in the West Bank settlement of Efrat, elected Rabbanit Shira Marili Mirvis, 40, as spiritual leader on Monday with the...

A Syrian surface-to-air missile fired at an Israeli Air Force fighter jet that had been involved in airstrikes on targets in Syria exploded in Israel’s southern Negev region early on Thursday. Warning sirens went off in the region of the Bedouin vi...

(Israel Hayom via JNS) — The Shas Party is pushing for a vote to reform Israel’s electoral system to enable a special election for prime minister, Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Sunday. The plan was the result of a meeting between Shas...

(JNS) — Ahead of Israel’s 72nd Independence Day, the Central Bureau of Statistics has published the nation’s latest population figures. The Jewish state is home to 9,327,000 people, among them 6.894 million Jews (73.9 percent of the...