Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 2054 - 2078 of 3854
(JNS)—For the second time in two months, the leadership of the Jewish Federation of North America has made it clear that it is fed up with the policies of Israel’s government. According to multiple news reports, JFNA leaders told Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Relations this past week that “relations between Israel and U.S. Jewry are at their lowest point since the state of Israel was established.” Eric Goldstein, chief executive of the UJA-Federation of New York—the only leader willing to come on record—is reported as stating that “people... Full story
The idea of Palestine may be somewhere in the dust, but Israel still has problems. There are several cases of recent attacks that were prominent, and the IDF is digging out tunnels coming from Lebanon into northern Israel. Security forces count in the hundreds the instances of attack that have frustrated this year. One incident was about a month ago, when an employee of a West Bank industry killed two of his colleagues and then ran. Most recently there was a drive-by shooting at an area in the West Bank where people were waiting for rides.... Full story
In this year’s Time Magazine’s Person of the Year edition, editor Edward Felsenthal published a letter from 12 of the Silence Breakers (Time Magazine’s 2017 Person of the Year). In the letter to Time Magazine the 12 authors tell of the hardships they and the other Silence Breakers endured this past year as whistle blower’s in publicizing the widespread sexual harassment and abuse plaguing almost every aspect of American life; and the important work still to be done to “formalize and expand their push for enduring reforms.” In explaining the wor... Full story
Religion does play a part in politics. When John F. Kennedy was the first Catholic elected president in 1960, the rumble was that the Catholic vote was united —there was an underlying fear that “The pope would now rule American politics.” Nonsense, of course. So far, no Jew has run for president. But, it has always been more about who, what and where we are as a people than our religious positions that have ruled our politics. During the 1930s, at the tail end of the huge immigration of Eastern European Jews to the United States, it is a fair... Full story
I just came from one of the most inspiring luncheons I have ever attended. Even though this time of year is very busy with luncheons, office parties, and friend or family get-togethers, I am glad I took the time out of my day to be at this one. It was the annual RAISE holiday luncheon. Like other gatherings, people were recognized, thank-you gifts were given, and a fun gift exchange kept everyone laughing (I really wanted that Olive Garden gift card, and I had it for but a brief moment). But there was just something about this particular... Full story
(JNS)—In recent years, anti-Israel movements have spread to college campuses across North America, manifested by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. Georgetown University is no exception. Although the BDS movement at Georgetown gained momentum in recent years, it was rejected in 2017 by the university administration and hasn’t gained ground since then. Moreover, anti-Israel activities also significantly died down, making Georgetown a relatively safe space for pro-Israel and Jewish students alike. What can explain this success sto... Full story
Dear Editor: At one time we Jews were about 15 million strong. The past century almost half of us were wiped out. We may be wiped out completely in the future. Iran wants to wipe Israel off the map. Palestinians, namely Hamas, wants to wipe out Israel. Anti-Semites want to wipe out Jews. Throughout the ages, Jews have been persecuted and killed. In 1948, the United Nations approved a country (Israel) for the Jews. If you are a Jew and have no place to go, Israel will accept you. Finally, a country for a Jew. Why does Israel support U.S.... Full story
Dear Editor: This morning, it was announced that President Trump is considering a full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria. The reason given is that the terrorist organization ISIS no longer holds territory in Syria, thus the primary objective of a U.S. military presence there is completed. Yet ISIS is far from the only Syria-based danger to America’s interests and allies. Before reaching a final decision on the matter, the Trump Administration should consider the threats still posed from Syria’s borders. Israel shares a northeastern bor... Full story
‘Twas the month before Christmas And without so much as a flinch AirBNB joined the Israel boycott And became the new corporate Grinch. In recent weeks, it seems as if there have been an unprecedented number of anti-Semitic decisions and declarations that have been dismaying and worrying. Some are cloaked in the veil of being “only” anti-Israel. Make no mistake, these are bald-faced, anti-Semitic acts and need to be called out. While there are no shortage of anti-Semitic grinches this season, and in general, there may be a light at the end o... Full story
(JNS)—Back in January, the unlikely figure of Paddington Bear—the cuddly, bright-eyed cub much adored by young children through the years—ran afoul of the Russian government. As part of its policy of limiting the influence of foreign culture on Russia’s citizens, Vladimir Putin’s regime delayed the release of the movie “Paddington Bear 2” by two weeks to prevent it from competing with locally produced films that hit the screens at the same time. That decision was enabled by legislation from 2015 that also permits Russia’s rulers to, in t... Full story
(CAMERA via JNS)—Airbnb, the worldwide online lodging service, has been in the headlines recently for succumbing to pressure by anti-Israel NGOs, most prominently Human Rights Watch, to delist (that is, boycott) Jewish-owned properties in disputed Judea and Samaria. Some of the media coverage has been a pretext to repeat distortions about the territory and Israel, and far too few stories have shone a light on the deep bias of Human Rights Watch and its staffers. The company claims it is evaluating situations on a “case-by-case” basis, but so fa... Full story
(JNS)—New York Times op-ed columnist Michelle Goldberg has stirred quite a hornet’s nest with her recent article declaring that anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitic. Others will wrestle with the anti-Zionism/anti-Semitism debate. I prefer to focus on one particular sentence that really goes to the heart of the issue—and which also reveals Goldberg’s gross ignorance of the basic history of the issue she is addressing. According to Goldberg, Palestinian demands are reasonable, and it’s Israel that is being unfair because “the de facto policy of t... Full story
(JNS)—International Human Rights Day was marked on Dec. 10, with special attention made to honoring the 70-year anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Over the last 70 years, technological innovations have radically changed how human-rights groups engage with the public at large. With the advent of social media, they can amplify their voice at minimal cost. A well-crafted tweet or an eye-catching infographic can enable an organization to reach millions of people in seconds. And while advancing human rights o... Full story
(JNS)—Mixing food, especially ice-cream, with politics can be problematic. But Ben & Jerry’s—the iconic Vermont creamery founded by two Jewish guys from Long Island, N.Y.—became a huge success doing just that by convincing customers that their company’s support for progressive causes justified eating a fattening, if not tasty, dessert. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield hit the jackpot by building a business that billed itself as having a social conscience, identifying itself with the effort to save the rainforest and naming flavors after pop-cultu... Full story
A Saudi journalist went into his government’s consulate in Turkey, and may have exited some time later in a number of parcels. The disappearance has riled the media with the persistence of the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation. The folks are holding Saudi Arabia to a much higher standard of justice than should be expected. And it’s Turkey that is among those leading the fray. It is competing with Saudi Arabia and Egypt for leadership of Sunni Muslims. Turkey’s leader may be dreaming of the extent achieved by the Ottoman Empire. And he has his own re... Full story
(CAMERA via JNS)—The Washington Post is finally covering the systematic violations of human rights by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. In an Oct. 23 dispatch, Post reporters Ruth Eglash and Sufian Taha noted “the extreme lengths to which the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip go to curb dissenting voices.” The newspaper highlighted a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report that was released on Oct. 23 about “Palestinian leadership’s persecution of journalists and activists.” The Post’s decision to note the repressiv... Full story
(JNS)—My first personal interactions with George Herbert Walker Bush were in 1987, when he was running for president, and I was working for Congressman Jack Kemp (R-N.Y.), who was also seeking the Republican nomination. In the folksy one-on-one campaigning that occurred in early caucus and primary states, like Iowa and New Hampshire, the candidates and their staffs would bump into each other in hotels, airports, green rooms, county fairs, candidate forums and debates, such that a familiarity and respect often developed among us all. Despite b... Full story
Dear Editor: I continue to look forward to reading the Heritage to keep up with both the local happenings and global Jewish news. In the Nov. 30 issue, you ran a story titled, “Meet Carlos Lopez-Cantera: Florida’s first Jewish governor (for five days).” We now know that this is not going to transpire, but if it had, he would not have been the first Jewish governor of Florida. We had a full term, elected Jewish governor in 1933. David Sholtz (1891–1953) was elected as Florida’s 26th governor with the largest vote ever given to a gubernatorial ca... Full story
Dear Editor: In response to the letter written by Larry Gutter and Debbie Meitin in the Nov. 30 issue. These writers imply that the Heritage “once again” has committed some kind of serious journalistic flaw by presenting a view they label as “right” and where the authors are not tagged by any “identification of their affiliation, organization, etc. It helps immensely to know the background and perspective of the writer when we read an article.” Apparently the authors commit the same mistake by failing to identify themselves according to the sam... Full story
Dear Editor: I appreciate the pain that Deborah Meitin experienced when she read, without prior warning about the author’s background, the brilliant, informed, political analysis of Caroline Glick in the Heritage. Ms. Glick is not a follower of the Democrat’s ill-conceived narratives. I would point out, however, that the Heritage always presents articles on both sides of the major issues, often on the same page. Some of the news diligently reported in the Heritage is difficult to digest. There were the descriptions of all the Jewish Dem... Full story
By Sean Durns (CAMERA via JNS)—Washington Post reporting on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency continues to omit key context and mislead readers. A Nov. 19 front-page dispatch, “U.S. cuts add to Palestinians’ misery,” adds to the paper’s poor coverage of the U.N. organization. The Post is unable, or perhaps unwilling, to offer straightforward reporting on the agency. Originally envisioned as a temporary agency, UNRWA was created in 1949, following the unsuccessful attempt by several Arab states to destroy Israel. Over time, UNRWA dev... Full story
This Shabbat is the sixth day of Chanukah, a holiday of eight days duration commemorating, according to Jewish tradition, the miracle of finding a small jar of uncontaminated oil in the defiled Temple to light the Temple Menorah and to rededicate the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. The small jar of oil was sufficient to light the menorah for only one day, but it burned for eight days until a new supply of consecrated oil could be secured; thus the holiday became known as the “Festival of Lights.” The “Festival of Lights” precedes by many centuries ot... Full story
(JNS)—Don’t blame it all on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. It’s true that the most notorious member of the Democratic Party’s freshmen class in the House of Representatives was at the center of a media kerfuffle about her tweet comparing the standoff at the U.S.-Mexico border to the Holocaust. But the self-described Socialist firebrand isn’t the only one who’s been peddling this false analogy. The discussion about the Central American migrants who are trying to get into the United States has become inextricably tied to opinions about U.S. Presid... Full story
The Roth Family JCC will host author Jonathan Weisman at its second Literary Events series. The following reviews were written by community members, and aren’t official JCC statements, but reflect the thoughts of two community members who are interested in Weisman’s upcoming visit on Dec. 21, with a 6 p.m. VIP dinner and lecture at 7 p.m. at the Roth Family JCC. (Lecture is $15 ($10 JCC members) and VIP dinner and hardcover copy of his book, $49) Yes, the Trump presidency has fueled the flames of anti-Semitism in America By Susan R. Mil... Full story
(JNS)—It’s not every day that Israel decides not to vote with the United States at the United Nations. It happened, however, on Nov. 13, when the two countries wound up on different sides when the U.N. General Assembly’s Third Committee held its biannual vote on a resolution that discouraged member nations from using the death penalty. The United States was one of 36 nations opposed to it. Israel was among the 123 countries that voted in favor of the motion. While it must be nice for Israeli diplomats to not, for a change, be the focus of the U... Full story
