Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday categorically rejected claims of starvation in the Gaza Strip, dismissing such reports as “a bold-faced lie.” Speaking at a Daystar TV conference in Jerusalem hosted by Pastor Paula White, leader of the White House Faith Office, Netanyahu said, “There is no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza.” Israel, he continued, had “enabled humanitarian aid throughout the duration of the war to enter Gaza. Otherwise, there would be no Gazans.” It is Hamas that ha...
(JNS) — The United States will examine “alternative options” to bring home the 50 captives held by Hamas as the terrorist group “does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith,” U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff said on Thursday. “We have decided to bring our team home from Doha for consultations after the latest response from Hamas, which clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza,” U.S. President Donald Trump’s point man in the talks wrote in an X post on Thursday afternoon. While mediators Qatar and Egypt “have...
(JNS) — House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) voiced support for extending Israeli sovereignty to Judea and Samaria during a meeting with Samaria Regional Council leader Yossi Dagan in Washington. “Sovereignty is so important to the world. It’s so important to all of us,” Scalise said. The congressman spoke alongside Dagan after taking part in a summit on the issue organized by the council on Capitol Hill. “We always pray for Israel and especially the people of Samaria,” Scalise said. “We know how difficult the times are but keep mora...
(JNS) — Israel has called on the United Nations Security Council to act against the Damascus regime for its role in atrocities being committed against Druze civilians in Syria’s Suweida province. In a letter dated July 17, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar expressed “deep concern” over reports of brutal violence targeting the Druze community in southern Syria. Sa’ar described acts of “killings and executions, defacement of bodies, public humiliation of captured civilians,” alongside widespread looting and desecration of religious sites....
(JNS) — Two of the three Iranian nuclear facilities that the United States struck in June could potentially resume nuclear enrichment over the next several months, according to NBC News. NBC cited five current and former U.S. officials familiar with the most recent assessment — which has been briefed to some U.S. lawmakers, U.S. Defense Department officials and allied countries — who said that one of the sites was “mostly destroyed,” while the other two “were not as badly damaged.” According to NBC, discussions have been held within the U....
By Edwin Black It took more than 20 years of meticulous planning and practice for Israel to launch Operation Rising Lion. The Jewish State used every tool it could muster, from the clandestine forces of Mossad to its mighty air arsenal. It took almost two decades for America to develop the munitions and delivery system to finish the job. But more than mere munitions, it was the mental trigger that made the Twelve-Day War an explosive reality. The turning point for Israel was Oct. 7 followed by the frightening certitude that Iran was just two we...
(JNS) — A majority of Israelis want the Gaza Strip to remain under Israeli military rule after the current war ends, according to a survey published by the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs last week. The poll, conducted by Menachem Lazar of Lazar Research at the beginning of July, found that 52 percent support an Israeli takeover of Gaza with a temporary military administration — if all hostages are first released. Only 4 percent believe Hamas should remain in power, whether politically or militarily. The survey sampled mor...
(JNS) — Or Levy, who spent 491 days as a Hamas hostage, spoke out this week about his ordeal and the pain of knowing others remain captive in Gaza. Levy, 34, was freed in February, his pale, frail frame shocking the world. Nearly all his captivity was spent underground, shackled and starving. “It’s hard to understand how difficult it is to live on one pita a day for 491 days …, no human should live like that,” he told CNN this week. Levy was kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel. His wife, Einav, was killed in the attack, t...
(JNS) — The way to prevent the Iranian regime from buying itself more time and securing enough funds to rebuild its nuclear program is to “double down on secondary sanctions, with shipping, so they can’t do their illicit oil sales,” according to Sandra Hagee Parker, chair of the CUFI Action Fund. “Now that they have been brought to their knees, we must put their face to the pavement,” Hagee Parker told JNS. “Now is not the time to let up off the gas.” On Tuesday, thousands of attendees of Christians United for Israel’s 20th annual Washington...
(JNS) — The U.S. military’s recent airstrike under Operation Midnight Hammer has delayed Iran’s nuclear program by up to two years, according to a new Pentagon assessment. Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell told reporters Wednesday that intelligence assessments continue to confirm the significant damage inflicted on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. “We have degraded their program by at least one to two years—intel assessments inside the [Defense] Department assess that…. I think we’re probably closer to two years,” Parnell stated. T...
“It’s in the open, he doesn’t accept my position, he wants a deal,” Ben-Gvir said during a faction meeting of his Otzma Yehudit Party at the Knesset on Monday afternoon, adding, “I think that’s a big mistake. “We have a disagreement on this subject. We agree on many things — we agreed about [the targeted killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah, we agreed about Iran, we agreed on many things. On this subject, he does not agree with me,” the Cabinet minister told JNS. Netanyahu landed at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington on Mon...
(JNS) — The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency said on Wednesday that intelligence indicates Iran’s nuclear program was “severely damaged” during the 12-day war with Israel. “CIA can confirm that a body of credible intelligence indicates Iran’s nuclear program has been severely damaged by the recent, targeted strikes,” according to a statement attributed to agency director John Ratcliffe. “This includes new intelligence from a historically reliable and accurate source indicating that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would...
(JNS) — In the aftermath of the direct war between Israel and Iran, the United States is attempting to actively leverage the perceived weakness of Hezbollah’s patron to push for a tangible disarmament process in Lebanon. The American framework, described by international media reports as a “step-for-step” plan, links a potential Israeli withdrawal from disputed border points to the Lebanese Armed Forces taking control of Hezbollah’s remaining arsenal of illegal weapons. This diplomatic initiative is unfolding in a new regional environment. The...
(JNS) — All 14 Jews the Iranian regime arrested have been released, Iranian opposition activists and journalists told JNS, after news reports last week that the Islamic Republic arrested some 600 people across the country after an announced ceasefire between Iran and Israel. Rosa Parto, an Iranian-Israeli journalist based in Israel, told JNS that a “reliable source,” a Muslim man who works in the Iranian government and is “unfriendly to the regime,” told her that no Jews were arrested in Tehran. “All 14 Jews, who were arrested in the cities...
(JNS) — Israeli fighter jets struck the entrance gate of Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison on Monday, according to Iranian opposition media and Israeli officials. Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed the operation as part of a broader campaign targeting “governmental repression bodies in the heart of Tehran.” Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said in a press briefing that the Israeli Air Force was “intensifying strikes” in the capital area. The Israeli military described the attack on the prison as “symbolic....
Following a directive from Israel’s political echelon, the Israel Defense Forces launched what it described as a preemptive, precise and combined offensive codenamed “Operation Rising Lion” in the early hours of Friday, targeting Iran’s nuclear program and other military targets across the Islamic Republic, as well as, reportedly, senior Iranian military and Islamic Republican Guards Corps commanders. The decision was, according to a defense official, signed off on by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, i...
(JNS) — The Islamic Republic will reject any nuclear agreement that aims to curb its “peaceful activities,” Iran’s foreign minister said on Monday, referring to its uranium enrichment efforts, while demanding assurances from the United States that sanctions will be lifted. “Iran has a peaceful nuclear programme. … we are prepared to provide this assurance to any party or entity,” AFP quoted Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as saying. Uranium enrichment remains a major issue in negotiations with the United States that have been ongoing...
(JNS) Following a directive from Israel’s political echelon, the Israel Defense Forces launched what it described as a preemptive, precise and combined offensive codenamed “Operation Rising Lion” in the early hours of Friday, targeting Iran’s nuclear program and other military targets across the Islamic Republic, as well as, reportedly, senior Iranian military and Islamic Republican Guards Corps commanders. The decision was, according to a defense official, signed off on by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel...
(JNS) — Please see details of the proposal on this website. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel has accepted U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff’s hostage release proposal. However, Hamas says the plan is biased in favor of Israel and demands changes. Speaking to bereaved families of hostages, Netanyahu said Israel has agreed to a plan that would release 10 living hostages and the bodies of 18 deceased captives during a 60-day ceasefire. However, Witkoff confirmed Saturday night that Hamas has effectively rejected the...
(JNS) - At the 2023 Palestine Book Awards ceremony, the winner of the "Counter Current Award" category was the volume "Imagining Palestine," which concerns itself with a topic referred to as "cultures of exile and national identity." Oddly enough, it has a very Jewish ring to it. The book highlights that "all national identities are somewhat fluid, held together by collective beliefs and practices as much as official territory and borders" and that "the articulation and 'imagination' of...
(JNS) — Jordanian textbooks justify the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre and promote antisemitism and violent jihad, marking a troubling decline in the Hashemite Kingdom’s educational standards, an international think tank reported Monday. A study by the London-based watchdog IMPACT-se found that nearly 300 textbooks used in the 2023–2025 curriculum “promote antisemitism, glorify violent jihad, and express strong hostility toward homosexuality.” At the same time, and somewhat contradictorily, the materials also “generally advocate concepts of r...
(JNS) — Israel’s Ministerial Committee for Legislation on Sunday advanced a bill to designate Qatar as a “terror-supporting state,” clearing the way for the coalition proposal to be put to a preliminary vote in the Knesset. The bill, initiated by Likud lawmakers Moshe Saada and Dan Illouz, Otzma Yehudit’s Yitzhak Kroizer and Michal Woldiger of the Religious Zionism Party, advances as the Israeli negotiating team continues to pursue a hostage agreement with Hamas in Doha, where senior leadership of the terrorist organization has long been host...
The Hamas terror organization launched its deadly invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in order to foil a possible peace deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, May 17, citing internal Hamas documents recovered by the Israeli military. According to Saturday’s report, the IDF discovered records from a high-level meeting of Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 2, 2023, during which Yahya Sinwar, the late chief of Hamas forces in Gaza, warned that Riyadh and Jerusalem were nearing a normalization a...
(JNS) — Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that the chances of a breakthrough in negotiations with the United States over Iran’s nuclear program are slim, accusing the U.S. administration of making “nonsense statements.” “The Islamic Republic does not believe that the current negotiations with America will yield positive results, and no one knows what will follow,” he said at a ceremony commemorating former Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi and foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who both died in a helicopter crash in Ma...
(JNS) — Five tiny figurines — including black wood-carved heads depicting African figures — have been uncovered in Israel’s Negev Desert, offering rare insight into unexpected cultural connections in the region some 1,500 years ago, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced. The statuettes were discovered in 2017 during an excavation at Tel Malhata in the Arad Valley, in graves belonging to women and children. The findings date to the Byzantine period and suggest trade or cultural ties that extended far beyond the immediate region. The res...
