Heritage Florida Jewish News - Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

(JNS) — We Americans seem quite capable of separating ourselves into fractious groups without the help of our enemies, but that hasn’t stopped many, especially the Islamists of the world, from using the death of George Floyd to fuel our divides....

We can either choose to divide or connect. Dividers spew hate, connectors share love. People can be divided into two categories: connectors and dividers. Connectors look for commonalities, dividers focus on differences. Connectors give the benefit...

Let me put the disclaimer out first: I am no biblical scholar — I am no expert on ancient Jewish history. So, this column is really in the form of a few questions about belief and my own life. I have stated before that I was raised in a totally...

This article is part of a collaboration between the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Kveller about pandemic parenting and school reopenings.  HIGHLAND VILLAGE, Texas (JTA / KVELLER) — I’m dubbing “school shaming” the new Mommy War of 2020. If...

NEW YORK (JTA) — On Friday afternoon, a few hours before Shabbat, I found myself scrolling through Twitter when I stumbled upon an anti-Semitic rant.  This by itself is hardly unusual — the amount of anti-Semitic vitriol on Twitter is horrifyin...

Dear Editor: There seems to be a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding concerning the United States government’s allocation of the sum of $3,800,000,000 of military assistance to the State of Israel for defense purposes. In reality, only 20 p...

(JNS) — Peter Beinart’s two pieces, one in The New York Times and the other in Jewish Currents, are calling for the elimination of Israel as a Jewish state. Beinart no longer supports a two-state solution, but rather a binational state where J...

(JNS) — Irony may be dead in America, but if any were left alive, this would count. Consider the work of Vincenzo Miserendino (1875-1943). An Italian-American sculptor, he created statues and busts of famous Americans and other notables, including...

(JNS) — On March 7, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Resolution 183 condemning anti-Semitism. The resolution, which passed 407-23, was initiated in response to anti-Semitic comments made by Democratic Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and...

ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. (JTA) — The Babylonian Talmud in Tractate Kiddushin teaches that “devarim shebalev einam devarim” — words not put out into the universe are irrelevant — and that we must speak our minds when we feel the imperative to...

ST. MICHAELS, Maryland (JTA) — The day is one of my most vivid and treasured memories. I was associate director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and we were in the middle of our flagship public policy conference. One of my responsi...

Dear Editor: I believe that it is worth noting that your fine publication noted in separate columns that the prime minister of the Palestinian entity has submitted in writing plans for a Palestinian state (“PA says it is ready to restart peace...

(JNS) — For most observers of American journalism, The New York Times has long been regarded as the flagship of liberal thought and opinion. But after a woke mob essentially hounded Bari Weiss, a centrist Jewish writer who has been outspoken abou...

At two universities on opposite ends of the country, student government leaders recently found themselves mired in controversy for promoting anti-Semitism online. In June, the student senate president of Florida State University, Ahmad Daraldik, was...

Last week, I received an e-mail from a reader of my Everywhere column of July 10, 2020, titled “Black lies matter,” criticizing me for an attempt to be cute with the title by playing on the words, “black lives matter,” and suggesting that...

I grew up worshipping The New York Times. To this day, I live on the paper’s home page. Only lately, as much as I still enjoy much of its cultural reporting, my jaw drops when I see the homogeneity of opinion. Virtually every op-ed and regular colu...

NEW YORK (JTA) — Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Zach Banner posted a video late last week in response to Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson’s anti-Semitic screed against Jews.  After describing his horror at the 2018...

Dear Editor: I’m writing to object to three statements by David Bornstein in his July 10 column. I’ve skipped others due to The Heritage’s word limit. Bornstien said President Trump denounced NATO. President Trump criticized our NATO allies...

Dear Editor: As an avid subscriber to the Biblical Archaeology Review for over 40 years, I really appreciated Heritage’s article about some of the more important archaeological sites to visit in Israel (“The 10 most iconic archeological sites in...

(JNS) — Peter Beinart has laid out his political vision once again. Once again, too, he trots out his ignorance, his serpentine reasoning and his shocking immorality. It’s always crisis time for him. However, this time, it’s not a solution...

(JNS) — What, exactly do American Jews think about the possibility of reuniting small parts of Judea and Samaria with the rest of Israel? Rabbi Eric Yoffie, former president of the Union for Reform Judaism, says he knows. Writing in Haaretz this...

(JNS) — As Israel considers how and when to apply sovereignty to parts of Judea and Samaria — drawing its map in cooperation with the United States and leaving a chair at the table for the Palestinian Authority — American Democrats, the...

(JNS) — In the view of those cheering on the efforts of the Black Lives Matter movement, this July 4 was one less of celebration than of soul-searching and reassessment. Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, the normal festivities were always going...

(JNS) — Given the racial strife in the United States during the past month, the news media appears determined to exploit every possible manifestation with partisan political purpose in mind. Or so it seems. A recent “news” story that...

Dear Editor: Thanks for publishing the article about this anti-Semitic president (“FSU senate keeps new president”) and the article “Speak out against anti-Semitism on campus,” (both in June 26, 2020). I hope many of your readers decide to...