Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1426 - 1450 of 3636
My grandparents were so strong! Imagine you were born in 1900. On your 14th birthday, World War I starts and ends on your 18th birthday. Twenty-two million people perish in that war. Later in the year, a Spanish flu epidemic hits the planet and runs until your 20th birthday. Fifty million people die from it in those two years. Yes, 50 million. On your 29th birthday, the Great Depression begins. Unemployment hits 25 percent, the World GDP drops 27 percent. That runs until you are 33. The country nearly collapses along with the world economy....
(JNS)—Apparently, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations is sensitive to criticism. Over the past week, it received enormous—and well-deserved—flak after it announced the decision of its nominating committee to select former HIAS chairman Dianne Lob to serve as the Conference’s next chairman. In what is largely viewed as a formality, the full Conference membership is expected to “elect” Lob formally on Tuesday. She will be running unopposed in an open election that will be held on a Zoom conference call. Confe... Full story
The Jewish community in America finds itself in a dilemma concerning the 2020 presidential election. On one hand, President Trump has been a strong ally and friend of Israel. He understands the necessity of Israel moving forward in consolidating its security position and normalizing its relationship with the Sunni Arab world. In the face of Iranian aggression and Palestinian intransigence regarding the peace negotiations, the Trump administration realistically recognized the nuclear and security threat posed by Iran and the implausibility of a... Full story
(JNS)—The U.N. agency responsible for international health, the WHO, and its director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, have come increasingly under intense criticism for playing dangerous partisan politics. Tedros, the Ethiopian microbiologist who has led the U.N. agency since 2017, visited China in late January to deferentially praise “the actions China has implemented in response to the outbreak” and its leaders’ “transparency” regarding the coronavirus epidemic. But while the WHO was praising China’s handling of the situation, th... Full story
If we ask the right questions, we might get a lot closer to the answer much sooner. I am almost never offended by criticism of anything I write. For one thing, I’m acutely aware that there is usually more than one side of an issue. Second, I’m an ardent proponent of the clarifying power of debate. But I confess to being more than a little irritated by a private email sent to me in response to my first column on the coronavirus. The correspondent began by accusing me of having mentioned the economic impact of a prolonged shutdown because I’m in... Full story
(JNS)—Outside of Israel, it was the alternative ceremony that got the most coverage. The official commemoration of Yom Hazikaron—the country’s Memorial Day that occurs the day before celebrating the Jewish state’s Independence Day—began with a one-minute siren that sounded throughout the country and continued at the Western Wall, where President Reuven Rivlin and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi led a small ceremony that, due to the coronavirus pandemic, had no audience. Most Israelis, all too many of whom have lost a loved o... Full story
I’m sure that there have been no shortages of instances of “leaders” of cities throughout the world with large Jewish populations lashing out at their local Jewish community. Many of these were part and parcel of warnings, if not triggers, for violent pogroms. Nevertheless, its shocking to see Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City, the city with the largest number of Jews, do so. de Blasio’s recent tweet, calling out “the Jewish community” because of a large funeral gathering in largely ultra-Orthodox Williamsburg, is a repugnant anti-Semiti... Full story
(JNS)—Israel’s yearlong government standoff is finally over, and the only real winner is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Although there were moments when it seemed as if there was no way he could hold onto office for long, Netanyahu again proved that it’s a mistake to underestimate his political acumen or survival instincts. But there’s something else about this outcome that Netanyahu’s American detractors need to understand. The agreement does reaffirm the conventional wisdom that views Netanyahu as a ruthless, skilled and self-inte... Full story
ZOA urges Joe Biden to retract his profuse praise of extremist anti-Israel J Street and to reject J Street’s and far-left Israel-bashing socialist Senator Bernie Sanders’ endorsements. ZOA also urges Biden to retract his anti-Israel video remarks at AIPAC last month, condemning and threatening Jewish communities and lawful Israeli sovereignty in Judea-Samaria. (Biden failed to attend AIPAC in person.) Biden’s remarks and embrace of these radical endorsements do great harm to bipartisan support for Israel. Inappropriately, during his pre-recorde... Full story
(JNS)—The coronavirus pandemic has given rise to some of the most complex and significant medical-ethics dilemmas in recent history, namely the question of triaging ICU care and, by extension, deciding who shall live and who shall die. As society begins to contemplate how to readjust to the new normal and eventually lifts isolation measures, new and similarly challenging ethical questions will arise. One such question that has not yet received much discussion, but which I believe requires our community’s attention, revolves around the rush to... Full story
Israelis and Zionists around the world marked Yom HaZikaron this year starting on the evening of April 27. Yom HaZikaron LeHalalei Ma’arakhot Israel ul’Nifge’ei Pe’ulot HaEivah, literally: Memorial Day for the Fallen Soldiers of Israel and Victims of Terrorism is Israel’s Memorial Day, and it is not celebrated with barbecues, but with tears of ultimate grief. And as so many Israelis mourn for their precious fallen fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters, and friends and comrades, it is not the same for Jews outside o... Full story
(JNS)—Holocaust survivors do not need annual ceremonies to remind them of the Nazi atrocities that they endured or of the family members that Adolf Hitler’s henchmen slaughtered during World War II. No, those memories are just as inked in their hearts and minds as the numbers tattooed on their forearms. Indeed, it is not those people who require the admonition “Never Forget,” but rather the rest of the world. It is also a mantra for subsequent generations of Jews to repeat and forge a collective memory of events that we did not experie... Full story
At first I was not going to watch this presentation because 1) I did not know most of the participants, and 2) the fact that it was in support of the WHO was a ‘turn off.’ However, the fact that it dealt with the Coronavirus and that it was simulcast on the three major broadcast networks and streamed online all over the world was enough of an influence to get me to watch it. And I’m glad I did—IT WAS JUST OUTSTANDING!—with one major reservation—see below. The good, the bad, the ugly... and the outstanding The Good: The production was first c... Full story
Dear Editor: In the 17 April 2020 edition of the Heritage Florida Jewish News in the article by Stephen M. Flatow (“J Street’s line: Virus, shmirus; let’s focus on the Palestinians”) he takes J Street to task for advocating help to the Palestinians to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. While I certainly recognize that Mr. Flatow has many issues with certain policies of J Street, it is short sighted to complain about asking support to help the Palestinians avoid or at least minimize the effect of COVID-19. He implies that J Street is asking that th... Full story
(JNS)—The presidency of Donald Trump has shaped coalition talks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White Party chairman Benny Gantz. For weeks, the chief stumbling block holding up a unity government deal was Gantz’s attempt to delay or block Israeli implementation of Trump’s peace plan, which green lights the implementation of Israeli law over parts of Judea and Samaria. Gantz argued that there was no reason to rush ahead, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Israel should wait six months until the dange... Full story
(Jewish Journal via JNS)—On Thursday night, as sundown falls on the holiday of Passover, Sephardic Jews everywhere will celebrate the centuries-old tradition of Mimouna. This is the night when Jews open their doors to their neighbors, offering tables lavish with sweets to usher in a year of sweetness and good fortune. If there’s a Jewish ritual that calls for maximum social connection, Mimouna is it. As I wrote in a column years ago, “Mimouna represented the love and intimacy of a neighborhood. There’s nothing like popping in to see 10, 20,... Full story
These past few weeks have not been good for the American people or for the rest of the world. The coronavirus pandemic has wrecked havoc on not only the general health of the world’s population, but has had devastating effects on all aspects of the human condition, from our economic well-being to our social, religious and personal behaviors. While the pandemic has for the moment quieted our political divisions at home, it has focused and brutally demonstrated our government’s three fundamental policy shortcomings. At the same time, it has hig... Full story
(JNS)—Microbes are changing our lives, our economy, our culture. You should know—though it will provide no consolation—that it has ever been thus. Perhaps you assumed that the ability of pestilence to change the course of history was... well, history, in the sense that modern science, modern public health systems, and such modern bureaucracies as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the World Health Organization would show those nasty little germs who’s boss. The Ebola outbreak of 2014-16... Full story
(JNS)—It is rare, at times like this, to begin the week—yet another week in the shadow of the coronavirus—on a note of joy and excitement. The crisis persists, and with it, heartrending stories of people lost, as well as of loneliness, of challenges to livelihood and of worries about what yet awaits us. But it is precisely at such moments that the heart looks to the small stories, of individuals. And it is on one such story that I would like to embark—a story that heartens me in these dark days. It is the story of Eli Beer, an esteemed friend... Full story
By Manfred Gerstenfeld (JNS)—The coronavirus pandemic has led to huge societal problems all over the world. In such an unprecedented reality, it is important for governments to start planning as soon as possible for the period immediately after the worst danger to public health has passed. Such an agenda should be constructed ahead of time, even if it is full of holes. New plans can be added as developments arise. Among the multitude of issues governments will face post-coronavirus, the hit to national economies will have to take priority. Lock... Full story
There are quite a few things I’ve been seeing all over my social media feeds ever since the spread of COVID-19 forced everyone to social distance. There are the jokes about no longer wearing a bra, comments about being confused over what day it is and comparisons to Anne Frank hiding in an attic. One of these things is not like the other. The U.S. government recommending individuals to practice social distancing in order to prevent the spread of a deadly virus is not at all similar to being forced into hiding to avoid the impending threat of a... Full story
(JNS)—The whole world is changing—but not for J Street, which, virus or no virus, is still devoting itself to persuading members of U.S. Congress to embrace the Palestinian cause. Over the past several weeks, J Street was mobilizing its supporters around the country to urge them to “demand the administration release vital assistance to help the Palestinians combat the coronavirus pandemic.” Think about that. In the midst of an epidemic that has left U.S. hospitals desperately short of emergency equipment and has resulted in millions of America... Full story
In the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic, as we all pray and guard our behaviors in order to ensure the health and safety of ourselves and of our neighbors to prevent its spreading, noted anti-Semitic “Christian pastor” and “broadcaster” Rick Wiles has proven that while there will be a cure for coronavirus, there is no cure for the older and no less deadly virus of Jew-hatred. Most recently, Wiles said that the coronavirus is spreading via synagogues and is a punishment from God. “Stay out of those things, there’s a plague in them. Go... Full story
(JNS)—A frightening coincidence is upon us. As we are about to recite the plagues that preceded our ancestors’ freedom from Egyptian slavery, we endure the terrible plague that now enslaves us in anxiety and fear, tragically claiming tens of thousands of lives and decimating communities worldwide. It has imposed solitude even upon the most gregarious among us, forcing us to substitute electronic satisfaction for hugs and handshakes.To be sure, the Internet provides ample opportunities for connection, as I have learned from family members and... Full story
(JNS)—Israelis have been accustomed to national emergencies and tend to accommodate well to stressful changes in their daily routines. However, in contrast to past crises, the current predicament is exceptional. People across the world are experiencing an identical threat and creating a sense of shared global destiny. This sustained worldwide threat generates unprecedented situations that are of interest to psychologists. The prolonged involuntary home confinement offers opportunities to many, stress and risks to some, and a relief to o... Full story
