Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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“Hang up the phone and play dead.” This harrowing advice from Yuval Raphael’s father saved her life on Oct. 7, 2023, and brought her to the spotlight in Basel, Switzerland as Israel’s representative to Eurovision this week. Most Americans have never heard of Eurovision, and surely not 24-year-old Yuval Raphael. On Oct. 7, 2023, Yuval was at the Nova music festival in southern Israel along the Gaza border, located in a wooded area with an adjacent lot on which a stage had been set up for all night music and dancing. Thousands of young people...
(JNS) — A recent report published by the Network Contagion Research Institute highlighted a connection between the Middle East Children’s Alliance, makers of the “Teach Palestine Project,” and the Union of Health Work Committees in Gaza, which has financial and personnel ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The PFLP is a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. Connections between the terror group and UHWC came to light after the 2019 murder of 17-year-old Israeli Rina Shnerb, and was reported on by Matthew Levitt f...
(JNS) — I wrote last week about the most famous biblical commandment: “love thy neighbor.” We shared commentary by Nachmanides (the Rambam) on how we mustn’t harbor hate in our hearts but rather confront the person who we believe wronged us. That way, we will be able to keep the peace between us and ultimately be able to fulfill the commandment to love thy neighbor. The problem is that not everyone enjoys being confrontational. I don’t have any statistics, but I would imagine that most people tend to shy away from confrontation. The average p...
Recently there have been rumors of President Trump changing the name of the Persian Gulf to the “Arabian Gulf,” causing great concern and even anger among millions of Iranians. At the same time, there are ongoing reports about the U.S. making a deal with the evil Iranian Islamic regime, concerning Israelis, Iranians, and Americans alike. As Trump visited the Middle East and flew over the body of water separating Iran and the Arabian peninsula, it’s important to look at what this means today, historically, and the long-term implications for t...
(JNS) — This week, one of our prayers has been answered: Edan Alexander is free. Taken hostage during the Hamas-led terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, and dragged into the Gaza Strip along with some 250 others, he is now able to see the sky after 584 days in captivity. And while we thank God for his return, we must also take a few minutes to reflect on something even larger — what it means when a young man like Edan chooses to leave his family, friends and future behind to serve a people and a nation he didn’t have to. Because he didn...
(JNS) — U.S. President Donald Trump is the greatest friend that Israel and the Jewish people have ever had in the White House. Still, some are concerned that there has been no action on Iran. The ayatollahs are the most devious, conniving and untrustworthy cabal in the world. They have perpetrated terrorism against America and Israel in the form of proxies like Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. They have funded and encouraged university riots and protests in cities across the world. Regime change in Iran should be the goal. Iran is a paper t...
Last November, as part of a company staff retreat, my daughter (who is also my co-worker) and I had the opportunity to visit Paamoney Ruach, (Wind Chimes), a unique nonprofit that serves as both a therapeutic facility for people with severe PTSD and a shelter for abused animals. As someone with a background in social work who generally prefers animals at a distance, I went with an open mind but no expectations. Wind Chimes is located in a residential neighborhood, hidden behind fences. When Dr....
(JNS) — An incident involving college students at a bar owned by a celebrity best known for sports betting and reviewing pizza isn’t the sort of thing expected to go down as a pivotal moment in the history of antisemitism and the Jewish world’s responses to the hatred directed at it. But the viral story about a sign that read, “F*** the Jews,” at a Barstool Sports eating and drinking establishment in Philadelphia and the angry reactions to it by owner Dave Portnoy may tell us a great deal about both the way Jew-hatred has become normalized in 2...
(JNS) — Former President Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear deal, officially the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, failed because it was ill-conceived, incompetently implemented, sold to the American people on a series of lies and bastardized the Constitution. Obama believed that both America’s “friends” and the Iranians needed to “find an effective way to share the neighborhood.” Chief among those “friends” was Israel. Obama was intent on shifting American policy from an Israel-centric Middle East to an American-sponsore...
(JNS) — Sadly, during this year’s Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, the Jewish state added more names to the list of those who died at the hands of enemies who want Israel destroyed. As was the case last year, not only were the dead remembered, but those who, hopefully, are still alive, being held hostage by our enemies and whose welfare is still of great concern, were also present in people’s minds. Indeed, since that fateful Oct. 7 day, the hostages have been on the mind of every concerned Jew and every non-Jew who is an ohev Yisrael...
(JNS) — We awoke this week to the news that Iran has unveiled a new ballistic-missile system, the Qassem Basir, which the Iranians claim has a range of 1,300 kilometers, and can bypass the U.S. THAAD missile and Arrow Defense missile programs. Iran can use the Shi’ite communities within Iraq and Jordan to attack American or Israeli bases. Aziz Nasirzadeh, Iran’s defense minister, said that he had “no problem” with his Mideast neighbors, stressing that “they are our brothers.” But, he added, “American bases are our targets.” This comes the day a...
(JNS) — Podcaster Joe Rogan recently hosted a debate between journalist Douglas Murray and comedian Dave Smith about Israel. While Rogan likely intended to facilitate a productive dialogue, what unfolded was a moral tragedy because Smith wasn’t just dangerously misinformed about Israel and the war we are fighting — he’s Jewish. And that’s what makes this so painful. Smith used one of the most influential platforms in the world — “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast has more than 19 million subscribers — to amplify some of the most toxic lies a...
(JNS) — As we celebrate the 77th year of Israel’s independence this Yom Ha’atzmaut, the need for Israel’s existence as the world’s only Jewish state is paramount for the Jewish people’s survival. As we remember the brave men and women who died fighting to make the promised land a reality and celebrate all Israel has become, we must continue to push back against the rise of antisemitism and anti-Zionism that threaten Israel’s survival. To do that, we must not only advocate for a continued strong U.S.-Israel relationship and a secure Israel...
(JNS) — The Jewish people have survived Pharaohs, inquisitions, pogroms and gas chambers. We have endured dispersion, genocide and countless attempts to erase us from history. And yet, with all that resilience in the face of external threats, we too often crumble from within. David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s founding father and first prime minister, once said that the Jewish people have always had two enemies: “the external enemy that wanted to destroy us and ourselves.” It is the latter enemy that may be the most insidious because it wears the mas...
(JNS) — “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy.” — Psalms 126:5 After a year of profound heartbreak, Yom Ha’atzmaut arrives as a testament to the indomitable spirit of the Jewish people. Even amid pain, we celebrate the miracle of Israel’s rebirth—the harvest of dreams sown through centuries of sacrifice and hope. Seventy-six years ago, David Ben-Gurion stood in Tel Aviv and proclaimed the birth of the modern-day Jewish state. It fulfilled a 2,000-year-old dream—a miracle shaped through sacrifice, courage and unyielding hope. Today, we...
(JNS) — Borrowing a nifty lyric from the Beastie Boys (those white-hot, hip-hop Jewish sensations): “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Hate Jews!).” Yes, the original rap song focused on an altogether different “Right”: the one to “Party!” — once an eager rallying cry at college. But those were different collegiate days — before social justice and self-importance transformed mirthful campuses into humorless hotbeds of antisemitism. Keggers officially traded for keffiyehs. Faculty and student priorities took an extreme hard-left and Isl...
(JNS) — April 22, 2025, may be remembered as a turning point in the history of Israeli public diplomacy, and rightly so. On that day, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs harnessed the power of social media to expose the Palestinian Authority as the enemy it is. From the official @Israel account on X, a powerful statement was posted: “The Palestinian Authority isn’t educating children, it’s indoctrinating them. Maps without Israel. Teachers praising martyrdom. Textbooks that glorify terror. As long as they teach hate, there’s no hope for...
Dear Editor: Editor’s Note: This article was written and sent to Heritage right after Marcia Hahn read Myrna Ossin’s recipe for a Passover birthday cake (“Birthdays during Passover? No problem when it comes to cake!”, April 4, 2025, issue.) The letter was in a pile with several subscription envelopes and finally made it to the editor’s desk on May 5.) Our apologies. My daughter, Cathy Hahn, was born April 18, 1963. For this story, it’s the year that matters. We grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. in the middle-class Midwood neighborhood. All my children...
This week, Palestinian Arabs and their supporters around the world have declared a “Day of Rage” on April 22. Again. Their “Days of Rage” along with “Nakba Day” are pretexts to rally support for Palestinian Arabs, my heart sinks — not out of fear, but out of a profound sadness for the moral bankruptcy it reveals. This phrase, dripping with venom and incitement, is not a call for justice, peace, or progress. It is an orgy of anger, a glorification of destruction, and a stark reminder of timeless failure of Palestinian Arab leadership to...
By (JTA) — I vividly remember each of the many times I was fortunate enough to meet with Pope Francis. The initial meeting was in June 2013, when the pontiff welcomed a group of Jewish organizations to the Vatican — the first of many such meetings of his tenure. We were expecting a large ornate hall, complete with the new pope seated on a royal chair atop a riser. But Francis had not yet (reluctantly) given in to the reality of his position, the one where he led more than a billion Catholics and became, perhaps, the most recognized and inf...
(JNS) — In India, an attack by Islamic terrorists against Hindu tourists visiting Pahalgam in the Kashmir region on April 22 was a heartbreaking reminder of the enduring pain caused by religious hatred and intolerance. A total of 26 people were murdered. Husbands and fathers were slaughtered in front of their families. As an Indian Jew observing Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, I lit a candle to honor the victims of the Holocaust. Yet it deeply saddens me that, even after 80 years, people continue to be killed simply for their faith. R...
(JNS) — As we mark the 80th anniversary of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany and the liberation of the concentration camps, that terrible chapter of history no longer seems so distant. While there are only 15.7 million Jews among a global population of more than 8 billion—still less than the nearly 17 million who were alive in 1938, the year before World War II broke out—the uninitiated could be forgiven for thinking that the number is at least twice that, given the volume of media and political attention that the Jewish state and Jewis...
(JNS) — I trust that Jews worldwide enjoyed a meaningful and memorable Passover with family and friends. Of course, no one could stop thinking of our brothers and sisters who have been held hostage in Gaza now for 18 months. We continue to pray for them to speedily enjoy their own anxiously awaited “season of freedom” and liberation. After all the excitement of Passover, we now return to the weekly Torah readings; the portion this week is Shmini (Leviticus, Chapters 9-11). We read about Aaron, the brother of Moses, who was consecrated into...
(JNS) — Are they serious? The president of the United States is finally doing what the Jewish community dreamed the Biden administration would do to stop antisemitism on campus. They are taking action — actual, tangible, visible action to hold campus agitators and foreign funders accountable. Yet instead of applauding this long-overdue shift in domestic policy, some in our community are wringing their hands and crying about “authoritarianism” and “chilling speech.” Let’s be honest. For years, the Jewish community has asked for federal enfor...
As an Iranian-born Christian who survived the brutality of Iran’s Evin Prison because of my faith, I’ve witnessed and suffered the Islamic regime’s cruelty firsthand: their lies, their oppression, their unrelenting hatred for, and repression of any freedom. When I hear about the United States negotiating with Iran’s Islamic leaders, my heart aches for both my homeland and my adopted country, America. Negotiation with this regime is not just futile — it’s dangerous. Those who champion an “America First” approach, yet shy away from maximum pr...
