Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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When Israel came to a standstill in March 2020 at the onset of the COVID pandemic, shops, restaurants and offices shut down as part of a nationwide lockdown. But for Israel's hungry, there was no break. On the contrary, the closure of corporate dining facilities, restaurants, hotels and military base cafeterias left them more vulnerable because suddenly there were no excess meals from these institutions to donate. For Leket, Israel's leading food rescue organization, this was an immense...
(JTA) — When the world shut down last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Natan Sharansky figured his experience as a Soviet political prisoner meant he had a thing or two to teach the millions of people who were suddenly confined to their homes. So he recorded a video providing his advice that went viral among the many Jews around the world who have long seen him as a sage figure. Nearly a year and a half later, Sharansky, 73, announced on Facebook that he and his wife, Avital, had contracted the disease. The Israeli couple had both been v...
(JNS) — As Israel observes the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban, it’s difficult to forget the capitulation of the Iraqi army to ISIS in 2014 or the EUBAM observers who fled as Hamas seized power in the Gaza Strip in 2007, not to mention visions of the United States fleeing Saigon in the spring of 1975 as part of the collapse of the Vietnam War. Noting the coincidental, yet equal number of years separating each of the Middle Eastern incidents in which Islamic fundamentalists defeated their adversaries, Eran Lerman, vice president of the Jer...
(JNS) — Archeologists have uncovered in the City of David National Park in Jerusalem the first evidence of the capital being hit with an earthquake that was mentioned in the Bible, reported i24News. According to the first verse of the book of Amos, the earthquake occurred during the time of the Kingdom of Judah in the eighth century BCE. The Israel Antiquities Authority said last week that while evidence of the earthquake has been discovered across Israel, archaeologists have never unearthed markings of the destruction that prove the natural d...
(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett blamed Iran on Sunday, Aug. 1, for the attack that left two dead on the oil tanker in the Arabian Sea on Thursday night. Speaking during the weekly Security Cabinet meeting, Bennett was quoted by Maariv as saying that while Iran is denying responsibility for the incident, “I state here absolutely: Iran is the one that carried out the attack on the ship.” “The intelligence evidence for this is there and we expect the international system to make it clear to the Iranian regime that they have made a...
(JNS) — Lebanese media outlets as well as Saudi Arabia’s London-based Asharq Al-Awsat have reported that Israel’s freedom of action against Iran in Syria is dwindling as Russia makes changes to its policy vis-à-vis its relationship with Israel. But this so-called reversal of policy by Russia may be manufactured news and does not necessarily reflect reality. Micky Aharonson, former head of the foreign-relations directorate of the National Security Council in the Prime Minister’s Office and an expert on Russia at the Jerusalem Institute for Strat...
(JNS) - It was billed as the first Iranian delegation to Israel since the fall of the Shah 42 years earlier. Six Iranian Muslim dissidents, forced to leave their homeland decades ago and who made their way to the United States, came on a three-day solidarity mission last week to show support for the Jewish state following the May clash between Israel and Palestinian terror groups in the Gaza Strip - namely, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad - that have long been backed by Iran. Accompanying th...
The Shmitah (Sabbatical) year is a little over a month away. Coincidentally, the Israeli Finance in coordination with the Agricultural Ministry, has introduced reforms that would enable more European produce to be imported into Israel creating unwanted competition for Israeli farmers. In response, Farmers across Israel have blocked roads by dumping massive amounts of unsold crops in major highway intersections on Thursday putting traffic throughout the Jewish state at a standstill for an hour-and-a-half. Thousands of farmers and agricultural...
Leah and Yehuda Smolarcik are moving to Israel from Chicago with their four children this summer. The challenges over the past year and a half of COVID convinced them not to put off reaching for their dream any longer. "My husband and I met in Israel while living there temporarily after college, and we always hoped to return as immigrants," Leah said. "The pandemic made us realize that there is no sure or stable thing anywhere, so we felt now was the time to make the move." The Smolarciks are...
(JNS) - Iranian defector Saeid Mollaei, who now represents Mongolia, dedicated his silver medal to the State of Israel after the match on Tuesday at the Tokyo Olympics. "This medal is also dedicated to Israel, and I hope Israelis are happy with this achievement," said Mollaei, according to Israel's Kan news. Earlier this year, Mollaei competed in the Tel Aviv Grand Slam, winning a silver medal for Mongolia. He was warmly received by the Israel Judo Association and its president, Moshe Ponte....
(JNS) — In a video address to the 2021 summit of Christians United for Israel, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Monday expressed his appreciation to the largest pro-Israel organization in the United States for their ongoing support — most recently, during and after the 11-day conflict with Hamas in Gaza in May. While its base is American evangelicals, which are largely politically conservative, CUFI as an organization emphasized that it makes its decisions based on the pro-Israel issues it believes in. While evangelicals fervently sup...
Hebrew University of Jerusalem studies published in a pair of medical journals suggest that already-existing drugs can be repurposed to fight Covid, the Hebrew-language news sites reported Monday. The studies give fresh optimism that a solution to the pandemic will be found despite fears of variants. Rather than create a Covid vaccine from scratch, Professor Shai Arkin of Hebrew University’s Biological Chemistry Department wondered if any existing medications could be reprocessed to fight the virus. After screening 3,000 potential drugs, A...
(JNS) — The Israel Defense Forces shelled targets in Lebanon on Tuesday morning after two rockets were launched from Southern Lebanon at northern Israel on Monday night. Israel’s Iron Dome air-defense system downed one of the rockets, while the second fell in an open area, according to the military. No injuries or damage were reported, and the IDF Home Front Command issued no special guidelines for residents of the north. Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz warned on Tuesday that Israel would not tolerate the current Lebanese crisis spi...
(JNS) - SpaceIL, an Israeli nonprofit organization that strives to inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, and dreamers through innovative space missions, announced this week that it has secured crucial funding towards the launch of the "Beresheet 2" Spacecraft mission in 2024 with the goal of sending Israel back to the moon. In 2019, with its first "Beresheet" spacecraft, the organization became the first private entity in history to reach the moon, thereby securing Israel's...
(JNS) Israel’s Security Cabinet voted on Sunday to withhold 597 million shekels ($182 million) from the tax revenues it collects for the Palestinian Authority, in accordance with a terror finance law passed in 2018. The amount is equivalent to what the P.A. spent on “indirect support for terrorism” the previous year, according to an annual report prepared by the Defense Ministry’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing and submitted by Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz. Israel collects taxes on behalf of the P.A. and transfers them on...
With local shops and artisanal businesses, stunning artwork, boutique wines, and scrumptious food, it is easy to see how Israel's Western Galilee region was welcoming over 2 million tourists annually before the pandemic. And with the tourism industry employing 40 percent of the Western Galilee's residents, the region is pinning its hopes on a swift post-pandemic recovery. Supporting the region's economic recovery is Jewish National Fund-USA through its Go North initiative. With the organization'...
(JNS) — Former Labor Party leader and Jewish Agency chairman Isaac Herzog was sworn in as Israel’s 11th president on Wednesday, saying he would work to repair divisions within Israeli society. The ceremony took place at the Knesset in Jerusalem and marked the end of Reuven Rivlin’s seven-year term. The 60-year-old son of the sixth president of Israel, Chaim Herzog, also served as the country’s ambassador to the United Nations. He was sworn in using the same 107-year-old Torah that his father use...
Israel just inaugurated a new president. He is largely a ceremonial figure as the official “head of state.” He has a limited but very structured constitutional role. Nonetheless, amazingly, he is a Palestinian. Isaac “Bougie” Herzog is Israel’s 11th president. His father was also (Israel’s sixth) president, Chaim Herzog. He was also a Palestinian. How do I know this? Because I am a Palestinian too. “What?!!” you ask. “But Jonathan, you’re Jewish. How ...” Yes. Stick with me. The new President Herzog’s grandfather was Israel’s renowned first...
(JNS) — At the end of June, the new Israeli government led by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett approved 31 new building projects throughout Judea and Samaria. The projects were green-lighted by the subcommittee on Jewish “settlements” within the Civil Administration. A Civil Administration spokesperson shared the list of approvals with JNS, which include the construction or enlargement of public buildings within various communities, such as a new shopping mall in Mishor Adumim just outside of Jerusalem, and a school for students with...
(JNS) Passersby were treated to a striking sight outside Jerusalem's City Hall on Tuesday. One-hundred and fifty bright orange "ambucycles" – motorcycles and scooters equipped with lifesaving medical equipment – were lined in neat rows at Safra Square to celebrate the dedication of the Dr. Miriam & Sheldon G. Adelson Ambucycle Unit of United Hatzalah. Hundreds of United Hatzalah volunteers attended the event, and Channel 12 news anchor Ofer Hadad served as master of ceremonies. The 150 amb...
(JTA) — The Palestinian Authority canceled a deal that would have seen Israel give it 1 million COVID vaccine doses in exchange for a later shipment. The P.A. made the move because many of the doses were set to expire in the coming weeks, according to Haaretz. By time Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila announced the cancellation, 100,000 of the doses had already been delivered. The decision, made Thursday by Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz and approved by Naftali Bennett, the prime minister, constituted a change of Israeli policy followin...
(JTA) — After being blasted by critics for staying in the Israeli prime minister’s residence well over a week past his ousting from the role, Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to leave — in another three weeks. He and his successor, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, released a joint statement Saturday that says Netanyahu will depart by July 10 and until then, no official state meetings will be held there. Netanyahu had stayed in power through a series of close elections over two years and multiple corruption cases that made him the first prime minis...
(Israel21c via JNS) — For the first time in 12 years, Israel’s Likud Party and its head, Benjamin Netanyahu, have moved from the prime minister’s seat to the opposition in the Knesset. The new government, sworn in Sunday night, brings into power a broad coalition of eight political parties, spanning the country’s political spectrum. Heading Israel’s 36th government is Yamina Party leader Naftali Bennett, the 13th Israeli prime minister. Bennett was sworn in along with Yesh Atid Party leader Yair Lapid, who will serve as alternate prime min...
JTA - Israel's new prime minister is probably the first one who has stuck a wad of chewing gum to his head right before a public event. Naftali Bennett, who took office last week, is the first prime minister in the country's history to regularly wear a kippah, the Jewish ritual head covering (sometimes called a yarmulke or skullcap). Unlike his secular predecessors, he identifies as a religious Zionist and practices Modern Orthodox Judaism, which requires men to cover their heads. He's also...
(JNS) - "Israel, you are not alone. ... We represent 10 million-plus people in America and these people say to you Israel, we have your back." That was the message of Pastor John Hagee, chairman and founder of Christians United for Israel, the largest pro-Israel organization in the United States. Hagee was in Israel on a June 13-14 solidarity mission that included former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley. Haley, who served in that role from January 2017 to December 2018, stood...
