Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Last Thursday evening approximately 600 Jews and Christians stood together to show their support for Israel at the Standing With Israel event held at the Orlando Sheraton North in Maitland. Sponsored by Steve Strang, CEO of Christian publishing company Charisma Media, and promoted by Michal Osteen of the Jewish community, the evening opened with prayer by Rabbi Geoffrey Spector of Congregation Ohev Shalom, followed by the singing of Hatikva and the National Anthem. Paul Wilbur, a well-known...
(JNS) - A world-first event took place at Rabin Medical Center's Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah, where a woman suffering from severe intestinal inflammation caused by Crohn's disease underwent a life saving, minimally invasive robotic bowel resection in her 32nd week of pregnancy. The complex surgery, which lasted several hours and involved dozens of medical staff, was completed successfully, allowing her to carry the pregnancy to term and give birth to a healthy baby girl. Tzofiya...
New York Rep. Elise Stefanik announced a run for governor Friday, as the Republican seeks to leverage her elevated profile as a vocal supporter of the Jewish community to a role in higher office. She aims to challenge the Democratic incumbent Kathy Hochul, who angered many Jews in New York with her endorsement of New York City's mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani, despite his track record of Israel criticism. In an announcement video for Stefanik's gubernatorial run, a narrator notes that she "fought...
(JNS) - Israeli actress Gal Gadot, best known for portraying Wonder Woman, was named on Tuesday as the winner of the 2026 Genesis Prize, often called the "Jewish Nobel." "I am a proud Jew and a proud Israeli. I love my country and dedicate this award to the organizations who will help Israel heal and to those incredible people who serve on the front lines of compassion," Gadot said. "Israel has endured unimaginable pain. Now we must begin to heal-to rebuild hearts, families and communities." The...
(Altamonte Springs, Florida) Jewish Pavilion Senior Services will be hosting its Annual JP Connections event on Thursday, Dec. 4, in the ballroom at the Hilton Orlando/Altamonte Springs at 11a.m. This is a one-of-a-kind gourmet luncheon event and holiday shopping bazaar with an array of vendors and raffle prizes. All proceeds raised through ticket sales, raffle entries, and sponsorships benefit Jewish Pavilion Senior Services and its mission to bring joy and Jewish culture to residents of local...
A coalition of progressive Jewish organizations is condemning the Anti-Defamation League for what it calls “Islamophobic and racist” attacks on New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. In a statement released Tuesday, the groups criticized the ADL’s creation of a “Mamdani Monitor” to track policies and personnel appointments that the ADL views as threatening Jewish security. The signatories — including New York Jewish Agenda, Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, IfNotNow, J Street NYC, Jews for Racial & Economic Justice and T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call...
(JNS) — Israel’s flagship carrier, El Al, posted another record quarterly profit on Tuesday, continuing to benefit from strong demand and raking in historic returns as major foreign airlines resumed flights to Israel amid a lull in the war against Hamas in Gaza. The airline, which operated almost continuously throughout the war, reported earnings of $203 million between July and September—an 8 percent increase from $187 million during the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose more than 7 percent to $1.07 billion, up from $1 billion in the c...
(JNS) — One of the anti-Israel founders of the ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s is striking out on his own over a politically charged frozen treat. Ben Cohen announced on Tuesday that he is making a watermelon-flavored sorbet with a theme of “peace in Palestine.” He said that parent company Unilever and its ice cream spinoff, Magnum, “stopped Ben & Jerry’s from creating a flavor for Palestine.” “I’m doing what they couldn’t,” Cohen said, sharing a video of himself crushing watermelons into juice. “I’m making a watermelon-flavored ice c...
(JNS) — A 5.1-magnitude earthquake centered in Cyprus’s Paphos region was felt in northern Israel on Wednesday, the Geological Survey of Israel reported. Israelis in Haifa, Tiberias, Nazareth and other northern towns reported feeling the tremor, but no injuries or damage were reported, Ynet reported. In September 2023, following a tremor that killed more than 2,000 people in Morocco, Israeli State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman said the country had failed to prepare for a major earthquake. Englman’s warning came after a report found that 93 pe...
(JNS) — The Israel Defense Forces confirmed to JNS on Wednesday that it is building a barrier at the Israel-Lebanon border and that the security wall is entirely on the Israel side, countering Arab media reports that the work is being carried out beyond the Blue Line. “Contrary to Lebanese reports, the barrier in question is located within Israeli territory and does not cross into Lebanese territory,” the IDF said. The Hezbollah-affiliated Al Manar network had earlier reported that the IDF was building a new fence opposite the village of Yarou...
(JNS) — U.S. President Donald Trump has sent a letter to Israeli President Isaac Herzog requesting a full pardon for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his corruption trial, Herzog’s office said on Wednesday. The letter reads in part, “As the Great State of Israel and the amazing Jewish People move past the terribly difficult times of the last three years, I hereby call on you to fully pardon Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been a formidable and decisive War Time Prime Minister and is now leading Israel into a time of peace, which includes my co...
(JNS) — The war against Hamas in Gaza isn’t over, because the Islamic terror group will not willingly give up its weapons, Israeli Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Avi Dichter said on Wednesday. The blunt comments by the senior Israeli minister, a former head of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and a member of the Security Cabinet, come amid increasing Israeli concerns regarding the second stage of the U.S.-brokered Gaza ceasefire plan. “The war is not ended; it is a ceasefire to prepare ourselves [for] the next stage,” Dichter sa...
Last year, Amsterdam’s Royal Concert Hall held its 10th anniversary of a Chanukah concert series that was rebooted 70 years after it was halted by the Nazis, in what some Dutch Jews saw as a repudiation of antisemitism that had swelled during the war in Gaza. This year, the concert has been called off — and the prestigious concert hall citing the chosen singer’s ties to the Israeli army. The Chanukah Concert Foundation, which organizes the event, had booked Shai Abramson to sing. Abramson is a retired lieutenant colonel for the IDF who serve...
(JNS) — The International Committee of the Red Cross has decried a “recovery” that Hamas staged of hostage remains in Gaza and called it “unacceptable,” but the Israeli Foreign Ministry accused the organization being complicit in the charade. “We appreciate the Red Cross condemnation of Hamas’s staged ‘burials’ and ‘discoveries’ of hostage bodies, which they previously extracted from Hamas holding sites,” the Israeli ministry stated on Wednesday. “There seems to be a gap between what the Red Cross office knows and reality, given footage of...
(JNS) — Concerned residents and officials from towns and municipalities in Judea and Samaria are weighing their options following a Nov. 2 District Court decision, overturning a previous ruling that allowed the Ariel Municipality to bar certain Palestinian Authority workers from entering the city based on security concerns. An Ariel municipal spokesperson told JNS that the ruling was a “catastrophe” from a security perspective, saying the city must now prepare for an influx of Palestinian Arab workers. He explained that until now, Ariel Mayor...
(JNS) - When David Letterman took the stage at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Nov. 8 in Los Angeles, he wasn't just paying tribute to a friend and frequent guest on his late-night talk show. He was paying forward a piece of Jewish-American rock history. During his final appearance on Letterman's Late Show in 2002, Warren Zevon, who was terminally ill, performed "Keep Me in Your Heart." He later gifted his guitar to the comedian. Letterman brought that guitar to the Nov. 8 cer...
(JNS) - Jared Kushner, son-in-law of President Donald Trump and adviser in his first administration, held a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday afternoon. A picture distributed by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office showed that Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer joined for the Israeli side, while Kushner was accompanied by Aryeh Lightstone, a senior adviser to Trump's special Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff. Kushner touched down in Tel Aviv on Sunday...
(JNS) - Gal Pauker, 25, grew up around wine. His grandfather, Gideon Pauker, and three of Gideon's buddies-Gadi Mozes, Haim Perry and Yoram Metzger-started a winery on Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel, where they filled about 1,300 bottles a year with fine wine. It was a joint effort: Gideon planted the vineyard that supplied the grapes, and the friends would harvest together, choose the blend together, and enjoy the wine together. Then Hamas terrorists attacked the kibbutz on Oct. 7, 2023. Of...
(JNS) - Steven Meiner didn't wait long after he was reelected mayor of Miami Beach, Fla., to invite New Yorkers, who had just elected anti-Israel socialist Zohran Mamdani as mayor, to move south. "To our friends up in New York. If you crave a law and order city, sunshine, ocean breezes, where economic growth is on the rise, Miami Beach is ready," wrote Meiner, an Orthodox Jew. "No state income tax, year-round warmth, world-class culture and neighborhoods that feel like home." Meiner, who...
(JNS) — Archaeologists in Israel’s Jezreel Valley have discovered the country’s oldest known winepress and other Canaanite items in Tel Meggido, where groundwork on a new road unearthed the artifacts, the Israel Antiquities Authority said on Wednesday. The winepress, which is 5,000 years old, and other items found “instruct us about everyday domestic Canaanite worship taking place outside Tel Megiddo,” said the IAA. The finds will be displayed at the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein National Campus for the Archaeology of the Land of Israel in...
Community gathers in celebration at Jewish Pavilion's Harvest and Post-Sukkot Festival The spirit of Sukkot lingered joyfully on Nov. 6 as more than 100 guests came together at Watercrest Winter Park for the Jewish Pavilion's Harvest and Post-Sukkot Networking Festival. The evening radiated warmth, gratitude, and community connection - hallmarks of the Sukkot season. Attendees were treated to a festive atmosphere filled with lively music, delicious cuisine, and beautifully crafted harvest...
MAITLAND - The spirit of generosity filled Congregation Ohev Shalom this past week as hundreds of community members gathered for the ninth annual Men's Night Out, a fundraiser benefiting Jewish youth across Central Florida. The event, hosted jointly by the area's major synagogues, raised money to support children's programs, scholarships, and opportunities for local kids to attend Jewish camps like Camp Ramah or study abroad in Israel. Elliot Davis, one of the program's organizers, shared the...
The Rosen JCC will host its inaugural performing arts event with the acclaimed Orlando Ballet School on Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. at the Pargh Event Center. Following the performance, guests are invited to stay for an exclusive “talkback” session with the dancers. Because it is the first performance in the Pargh Event enter, the event is specially priced at $10 per adult/seniors and $5 per student/child. Donations are encouraged to help the Rosen JCC continue building a vibrant new home for the Arts at the J. Purchase tickets at htt...
(JNS) — The Israel Defense Forces is preparing plans for “a renewed occupation of Gaza and the dismantling of Hamas,” Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a member of Jerusalem’s Security Cabinet, told JNS on Monday. “We will be ready,” Smotrich said, speaking with JNS following a faction meeting of his Religious Zionism Party at the Knesset. “Now we have no hostages there and there are far fewer restrictions: fast, sharp, resolute,” he said. President Donald Trump “often used the word ‘violent,’ so I like that word,” Smotrich conti...
(JNS) — Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar reiterated on Monday that Jerusalem will not accept the inclusion of Turkish armed forces in President Donald Trump’s International Stabilization Force for the Gaza Strip. “Countries that want or are ready to send armed forces should be at least fair to Israel,” Sa’ar declared at a news conference in Budapest, speaking alongside his Hungarian counterpart, according to Reuters. “Turkey, led by [President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan, led a hostile approach against Israel,” the top diplomat stated. “So it...
