Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS) - A rare sight, a halo surrounding the sun, was seen in Israel's northern skies on Saturday, May 2. The striking halo was reportedly spotted by residents in the city of Kiryat Shmona in the Galilee Panhandle and at Shavei Zion beach near Nahariya in the Western Galilee. Dr. Amir Givati, director of the Israel Meteorological Service, told Ynet that the phenomenon is the result of high-altitude clouds typical of heatwave conditions. Due to their high altitudes of four to five miles in the...
(JNS) — Several pro-Israel, Democratic House members, including multiple Jews, could face tough races to be reelected to Congress if proposed redistricting maps, which Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled come to pass. “The proposed map is a blatant attempt to push out pro-Israel, Democratic champions in Congress,” Brian Romick, president of Democratic Majority for Israel, told JNS. “It’s bad for our country. It’s bad for those who care about Israel, and it’s a violation of Florida’s redistricting constitutional amendment,” Romick said. “We...
Sent to Heritage by Rabbi Naftali For many readers unfamiliar with Orthodox Jewish life, the word Hatzalah may sound unfamiliar. Yet in Orthodox Jewish communities across the country, the presence of Hatzalah often marks something significant: a community that has developed enough internal strength, organization, and volunteer commitment to build one of its most serious communal services — rapid emergency medical response. The Hebrew word hatzalah means “rescue,” and that is exactly what Hatzalah South Florida provides: highly trained volunteer...
(JNS) - Israeli journalist Amit Segal shared video footage on Monday, May 4, showing rare May snowfall on Mount Hermon, noting that it marked the first snowfall on the mountain's upper slopes this late in the season in 15 years. A clip posted to his X account showed the popular northern resort blanketed in white as an unseasonably cold front swept through the region....
Members of the Temple Israel Sisterhood gathered Sunday afternoon for a flavorful and festive luncheon at Sabbaba Market, celebrating the restaurant's recent transition from kosher dairy to kosher meat service. The special event, playfully dubbed a "meat-up," gave attendees the opportunity to sample Sabbaba's newly expanded menu under the supervision of the Greater Orlando Vaad Hakashrut. The gathering drew enthusiastic diners eager to support the local kosher establishment and enjoy a...
Looking for some entertainment that will really blow your mind? On Sunday, May 17, Temple Israel proudly presents Mentalmania, a comedy, mindreading, and ESP show from mentalist Mark Stone. One of the most sought-after entertainers in the country, Mark Stone will have your jaws dropping and your minds wondering just how he does it. He has performed for corporate audiences, colleges, private parties, holiday events, civic groups, religious organizations, and on cruises and television. Doors open...
(JNS) — U.S. Central Command said early on Monday that it would begin supporting “Project Freedom” to ensure the free flow of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global trade route. The operation, directed by U.S. President Donald Trump, aims to safeguard merchant vessels transiting the strait, through which U.S. Central Command noted that roughly a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil and significant volumes of fuel and fertilizer pass. CENTCOM said the mission will include guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 aircraf...
(JNS) — The lower house of the Swiss parliament voted on Tuesday against recognizing Palestinian statehood, following the example of the upper house last year. In the vote at the National Council of Switzerland, 116 lawmakers out of 200 voted against recognition and 66 voted in favor, according to a bulletin by the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, the country’s bicameral parliament. Another 11 lawmakers abstained and the vote of the remaining seven lawmakers was not recorded. The vote was on a text submitted by the Geneva Canton and, in additio...
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Monday that the United States must moderate its demands on the Islamic Republic, warning that Washington “cannot use the language of threats and force.” He said “our priority is to end the war,” urged the “other side” to abandon “excessive demands” and reiterated Tehran’s claim that it is the “guardian and protector” of the Strait of Hormuz. “The international community must hold the United States and the Zionist regime accountable for imposing insecurity on this waterway and for creati...
(JNS) — The U.N. Security Council returned its focus to Gaza on Tuesday during an open debate on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, after months in which other global crises had drawn attention away. The council had concentrated heavily on Gaza following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, before a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in late 2025 shifted priorities. “A pivotal juncture has been reached” in U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, said Tony Blair, the former British prime minister and a founding executive board m...
(JNS) — Most Jewish New Yorkers, 58 percent, think that Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York City, is doing a poor job, while 32 percent approve of his job performance and 10 percent weren’t sure, according to a survey from the Jewish Majority. Mercury Group, which conducted the poll and surveyed 664 Jewish adults who voted in November in the New York City mayoral election, found that 84% of respondents support the city passing a law creating barrier zones around the doors of houses of worship to prevent harassment and intimidation of wor...
(JNS) - A jurist who reviews anti-terrorism legislation for the British government and the head of the opposition called last week for a ban on anti-Israel rallies in the near future following a series of serious antisemitic attacks. Jonathan Hall, the independent reviewer of terror legislation, said the government should consider a "moratorium" on the marches following the April 29 stabbing of two Jews in London's Golders Green neighborhood, allegedly by a Somalia-born British citizen named Ess...
A couple of hundred French Jewish doctors interested in moving to Israel gathered in Paris on Sunday in a major immigration fair for medical professionals. The event was held during a time of global turbulence in the Jewish Diaspora, which is especially noticeable in the 450,000-strong community in France that is also home to the largest Muslim population in Europe, and where a recent survey showed that nearly four of five French Jews feel unsafe. "It is becoming more and more difficult to live...
(JNS) — Lindsey Boylan, whom New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani endorsed and who has called the Israeli prime minister a “war criminal and a danger to Israel” and accused the Jewish state of “genocide,” conceded the special election in the New York City Council’s third district on Tuesday night. The New York Times reported that Boylan, a Democratic Socialist, called Carl Wilson, a former chief-of-staff to Erik Bottcher, who resigned the council seat to join the state Senate, to concede the race. With 99 percent of votes counted, Wilson appe...
(JNS) - The U.S. State Department approved a possible sale of $992.4 million worth of laser-guided rockets, or "advanced precision kill weapon system" and relevant equipment, Foggy Bottom said on Friday. Israel sought 10,000 of the APKWS equipment, which is made by BAE Systems, the State Department said. "The secretary of state has determined and provided detailed justification that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale to Israel of the above defense articles and defense services...
(JNS) — Air-raid sirens blared across the Western Galilee on Monday morning, sending thousands of civilians scrambling for bomb shelters as Iranian-backed Hezbollah launched a drone attack from Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that it fired an interceptor missile toward a “target that was launched from Lebanon,” but said it subsequently lost contact with the UAV. “No injuries were reported,” the military stated, adding that additional missile alerts in the north were activated “due to concerns of falling interception debris.” La...
(JNS) — Air-raid sirens blared across the Western Galilee on Monday morning, sending thousands of civilians scrambling for bomb shelters as Iranian-backed Hezbollah launched a drone attack from Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that it fired an interceptor missile toward a “target that was launched from Lebanon,” but said it subsequently lost contact with the UAV. “No injuries were reported,” the military stated, adding that additional missile alerts in the north were activated “due to concerns of falling interception debris.” La...
‘Miss Israel’ 2021 Noa Cochva cancels University of Oregon event due to safety concerns (JNS) — An event at the University of Oregon in the city of Eugene, featuring Noa Cochva, “Miss Israel” 2021, who served as a combat medic in the Israel Defense Forces, was disrupted by anti-Israel groups who blocked access to the reserved space and issued death threats toward Jewish students, according to the Oregon Hillel. The event, sponsored by the Oregon Hillel in partnership with StandWithUs and Ducks4Israel, was scheduled for April 22 on the Chapm...
(JNS) — U.S. President Donald Trump has called for Jewish Americans to observe a national Shabbat from sundown May 15 to nightfall May 16 in honor of Jewish American Heritage Month and the nation’s 250th anniversary. Rabbi Steven Burg, CEO of Aish, told JNS that he was "very moved" by the president's message because it shifts the narrative from Jew-hatred to Jewish faith. "One of the things people lose in all of this antisemitism is that we're a proud religion," he said. Burg told JNS that the call for a national Shabbat observance is "mo...
(JNS) - Hundreds of Christian and Jewish leaders are gathering in Washington, D.C. this week to press lawmakers on Capitol Hill to strengthen ties with Israel and confront the rise of global antisemitism. The annual interfaith event comes amid increasing criticism of Israel on both sides of the political aisle amid a burst of antisemitism around the globe triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel. The gathering for Israel Advocacy Day, which will bring together pastors...
(JNS) — Israeli President Isaac Herzog last week visited the Jerusalem College of Technology, where he expressed his deep appreciation for combining Judaism with scholarly work. “The unique integration that JCT represents—between Torah and science—is a tremendous asset for the State of Israel, especially in a time of division,” he was quoted as saying in a press release by the institution of higher education. JCT is home to approximately 4,500 religious and Haredi students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, managemen...
(JNS) — Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael–Jewish National Fund chairman Eyal Ostrinsky is pushing back against an April 28 report in the Haaretz newspaper that his organization is halting funding to agricultural farms in Judea and Samaria based on their geographic location. Though last month, KKL–JNF’s executive committee passed a motion to halt funding to certain farms, Ostrinsky says the decision was based on each farm’s mission, not its position relative to Israel’s “Green Line” (the 1949 armistice line). Ostrinsky told JNS that his organization ha...
(JNS) — Nobody was entirely sure the ceremony would take place. Organizers had quietly filmed a full dress rehearsal days earlier in case renewed fighting with Iran made a live public event impossible. A fragile ceasefire with Iran and Lebanon was holding—barely. Last year’s ceremony was canceled due to wildfires in the Jerusalem hills. This year, thousands arrived from across the country, determined not to miss the event. What followed was one of the most emotionally charged Independence Day ceremonies in recent memory—a sweeping, two-hou...
(JNS) — Israel’s population has reached 10.244 million as the country marks its 78th Independence Day, according to data released on Sunday by the Central Bureau of Statistics. Of the total population, 7.97 million are Jews and others (76 percent), 2.15 million are Arabs (21 percent) and 296,000 are foreign residents (2.9 percent), according to the figures. Israel’s population has grown by 146,000 since its last Independence Day, registering an increase of 1.4 percent, the Bureau noted. Durin...
Winter Park, FL - Jewish Family Services of Greater Orlando has received a substantial in-kind donation 21 pallets of bottled water totaling more than 43,000 pounds from a generous local company, bolstering critical resources for Central Florida families as hurricane season approaches. The donation will directly support the Pearlman Food Pantry, one of Orlando's most vital community resources for individuals and families facing food insecurity. Water is consistently one of the pantry's most...
