Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1701 - 1725 of 3636
(Israel Hayom)—Yisrael Beiteinu chief Avigdor Lieberman’s post-election ploy will go down in history as one man’s attempt to distort Israeli democracy. As a result of this move, Lieberman has lent a hand to the few individuals at the State Attorney’s Office who, in order to bring down Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are willing to break with precedent to redefine various felonies to suit their agenda. This type of legal “trial balloon” is a serious infringement on democracy and the will of the voters. The results of the election for state c... Full story
(JTA)—In terms of popularity, Shavuot is the National Hockey League of Jewish holidays. Passover, the High Holidays and Chanukah are the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball, while Shavuot has a much smaller, albeit intense, following. I don’t know if Shavuot is more popular in Canada. For the sake of the analogy, let’s presume yes. Rabbis and Jewish educators lament that Shavuot isn’t more widely known or celebrated. It is, after all, a festival linked to the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, which not only transformed an oppressed band of... Full story
(JTA)—Israel held a national election seven weeks ago. It will hold another one in September. If that sounds weird to you, you’re right: Israel has a famously raucous political system, but it’s never held national elections twice in one year. Until now. Just to be clear, no one really wanted this to happen, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; his main rival, Benny Gantz; or the president, Reuven Rivlin. Nor do Israeli political journalists, who just finished covering a vicious campaign. So why is it happening? It’s a result of Israel... Full story
(JNS—Israel Hayom)—The fissures are already visible. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two important, influential Persian Gulf countries, announced they will attend the U.S.-led economic conference in Bahrain scheduled for June 25-26. The Palestinian Authority and Hamas have already said separately that they will boycott the summit. Egypt and Jordan are still undecided. The rest of the Arab world is licking its wounds. Iran, for its part, is looking on, grinning from ear to ear. Jordan’s King Abdullah was able to weather the Arab... Full story
(JYA)—A few months ago, when two of my kids and I boarded the London Underground, all eyes seemed to rest on us. My son’s small black kippah, which he always wears, seemed to be drawing dozens of staring faces—and also a few glares and frowns. It was an uncomfortable moment. “Maybe you should take off your kippah,” my daughter, 15, whispered to her brother, 17. “No!” he whispered back. “The day I’m afraid to wear my kippah in public is the day I wear it for that reason!” Wearing a kippah is a traditional symbol of piety, signifying that we... Full story
(JNS)—Who could really be surprised by the story that grabbed the attention of the Jewish world this past weekend? When Felix Klein, Germany’s first Commissioner for Jewish Life in Germany and the Fight Against Anti-Semitism (yes, that’s his full title) warned Jews about the danger of wearing a kipah in public, it was hardly a shock that this would be the case in the country responsible for the Holocaust. Yet the alarming frankness of his admission has made it impossible to ignore the truth about the threat to Jews in Europe any longer. Some of... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)—As in all life matters, when it comes to abortion, Judaism doesn’t speak of rights but of responsibilities and obligations. Seeing things through that lens can be a real eye opener. The concept of “rights” is deeply ingrained in our Western minds. We rarely stop to question it. But the idea, as wonderful as it is and as helpful as it has been to humanity, doesn’t coexist very cozily with a fundamental Jewish truth: Everything benefiting us isn’t due us, but is rather a gift that we are charged to use responsibly in the service... Full story
Rep. Rashida Tlaib suggesting that her people made way for Jews in “Palestine” is dishonest and whitewashes the historical reality that the leaders of the indigenous Arab population of Ottoman and British controlled Palestine colluded with the Nazis to exterminate the Jews of Europe and Palestine. Her recent remarks beg anyone of decency to call out the lie and state the facts. Tlaib, presents a revisionist history and false narrative that the Jewish people have no legitimate claims to the Land of Israel and that Jewish restoration to the Lan... Full story
(JNS)—There’s an old joke that tells of a person who has been accused of being a self-hating Jew. His response is to tell his accuser that he doesn’t hate himself. It’s other Jews he hates. That’s an apt introduction to the controversy over cartoonist Eli Valley. For the last decade, Valley’s densely packed, grotesquely illustrated multi-panel cartoons have been spewing anti-Zionist propaganda over the Internet. His work used to appear in Jewish publications like The Forward and Tablet online magazine, but no longer. Still, he remains a p... Full story
(JCPA)—The shadow battle between Hamas and the Israeli intelligence services continues at full throttle, despite the discovery several months ago of an Israeli special forces unit operating in the Khan Yunis area that Hamas claimed was involved in special intelligence activity. Fatah elements in the Gaza Strip say that following the recent round of hostilities Hamas is very worried that precise intelligence in the hands of the Israel Defense Forces led to strikes on Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets. They claim that this intelligence was p... Full story
(JNS)—The first anniversary of the U.S. embassy’s move to Jerusalem sparked multiple articles in the Israeli press declaring it a failure for both U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. From the left-wing Haaretz to the centrist Times of Israel, headlines trumpeted the fact that only one minor country, Guatemala, has followed America’s lead. And even that might prove fleeting, as several candidates in next month’s Guatemalan election have pledged to return the embassy to Tel Aviv. All this is true, but it... Full story
By Rabbi Benjamin Blech Aish Hatorah Resources A Starbucks latte in medieval England is merely ludicrous. Destroying lives and legacies without taking into account historic context is a far more serious distortion. Tens of millions of faithful followers of Game of Thrones noticed the glaring error. In the fourth episode of the show’s last season, a celebratory feast in Winterfell included a very 21st-century Starbucks coffee cup sitting in front of Emilia Clarke’s Mother of Dragons Daenerys Targaryen among all the metal goblets of wine. Ima... Full story
Herman Wouk, the famed novelist who first became a household name for his 1951 Pulitzer Prize winning “The Caine Mutiny,” died last week nearly 70 years after achieving fame. Besides his long career as a writer he was also a lifelong Zionist. This fact of Wouk’s love affair with the State of Israel has been completely absent from the many articles celebrating his literary career and marking his passing, less than two weeks before what would have been his 104th birthday. In this small space we will attempt to rectify that. Again and again—from h... Full story
(JNS)—New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker seems to think that America has been supporting the creation of a Palestinian state pretty much since time immemorial. He’s badly in need of a history lesson. Booker made his latest comments in an interview with David Axelrod on his podcast, “The Axe Files.” Axelrod was former President Barack Obama’s chief campaign strategist, and Palestinian statehood was a central plank in Obama’s ideology. So it’s no surprise that Axelrod would ask Booker a question slanted in favor of that goal. But Booker is well-educa... Full story
“A Near Death Experience.” Ever had one? There actually is such a thing. Been there—done that. Well, I did—and it ain’t a picnic. About two months ago I developed a cough that would not go away. We complacently kept the same primary medical practice after our Doc retired. The “new” doctor hired by the practice almost killed me—seriously. I complained during a routine visit of a constant cough. He told me to go to the drug store and get some cough medicine. Didn’t help. Cough persisted. Got so bad I could not sleep. Two of our children were her... Full story
Lately, I have been awestruck, not by the increasing number of anti-Semitic incidences, acts, statements and publications spewing forth from supposedly educated and responsible people in government, academia, the arts, and other respected organizations, but by the ever increasing number of public apologies for the use of anti-Semitic tropes and other hate speech directed toward Jews and Israel. I am equally astounded by the completely incomprehensible attitude of some Jews and Jewish organizations who rush to accept, forgive and in some cases... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Recent assertions made by Rep. Rashida Tlaib regarding the Holocaust and the establishment of the State of Israel have no foundation in the historical record. In this imagined version of history, after the Holocaust, the Jews were awarded a consolation prize—the establishment of Israel—at the expense of those already living there. Asserting that Israel’s creation was a direct response to the Holocaust overlooks the ancient and ceaseless connection of the Jewish people to Israel, as well as the modern Zionist enterprise that re... Full story
(JNS)—As Israelis took refuge in bomb shelters (again), and Palestinians celebrated in the streets as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad rockets flew overhead, one of the oldest synagogues in Washington, D.C.—the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue—spread the calumny that Israeli victims and Palestinian aggressors are one and the same. On the evening of May 7, when Jews around the world commemorated Yom Hazikaron (Israel’s Memorial Day), which honors the memory of the thousands of heroes who have died defending the Jewish state, Sixth & I—a “no... Full story
Dear Editor: I just read Christine DeSouza’s article in the Heritage Jewish News regarding anti-Semitic material being taught in the Orange County Public School System (“Orange County School Board made aware of anti-Semitic curriculum, May 10, 2019). Laurie Cardoza-Moore, president, Proclaiming Justice To The Nations, spearheaded a group of concerned citizens in bringing this anti-Semitic material to the attention of the Orange County School Board. Now we must all follow up with the School Board chair, Theresa Jacobs, and let her know the commu... Full story
PITTSBURGH (JTA)—The April 27 shooting at the Chabad of Poway, which left one woman dead and three people injured, was a devastating tragedy for the American Jewish community. As an Israeli expat who has made a home in Pittsburgh, it made me feel more vulnerable than I have ever felt before. It’s been 12 years since my husband, 2 1/2-year-old son and I moved to this Pennsylvania city from our kibbutz in the north of Israel. We came to America with just three suitcases, no jobs, no apartment and no ties to the community. But America seemed to... Full story
(JNS) Exactly 71 years ago, as Jewish pioneers fought for Israel’s independence, a military hospital was created to treat soldiers wounded on the battlefield. That moment marked the beginning of a new story for a determined people and a promising future for a nation. Just as the State of Israel has evolved into the vibrant and successful country it is today, that military hospital would evolve into what is now Israel’s national hospital, Sheba Medical Center. Today, Sheba Medical Center has expanded from old army barracks to a sprawling 200... Full story
(JNS)—According to The New York Times, the re-election of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has left Palestinian families seeing “no light at the end of the tunnel.” A feature published on the front page of Monday’s Times focuses on the despair felt by Palestinian families about the current stalemate in the peace process. They know that the Palestinian Authority that rules over their cities, towns and villages is horribly corrupt and unable to conclude a peace deal with Israel. And they understand that Israelis have no more faith i... Full story
You could be forgiven if you hadn’t heard of the latest round of Palestinian Arab terrorists firing an unprecedented barrage of rockets from Gaza into Israel the weekend of May 4-5. Since most of the world media broadcast limited details, if you’ve heard about it, odds are that you’ve only heard part of the reality, if at all. Another battle, not a war—with last week being Israel’s 71st Independence Day, the latest barrage of missiles underscores that this is another battle in the war that began 71 years ago and that has never ended. Israel has... Full story
(JNS)—New York University has one of the largest number of Jewish college students in the country. But prospective students and their families, alumni and donors should know that the university has a deeply troubling anti-Semitism problem that it won’t acknowledge or address. Jewish students filed a complaint last month against the university with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Asserting a violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, the complaint alleges that university officials have failed to remedy “two... Full story
(JNS)—It’s been a surreal few days. On Thursday, I grappled with how to explain the Holocaust Remembrance Day siren to my 4-year-old. We were in a coffee shop when it blared. I decided I would leave explanations about dead Jews and the people who want them that way for when she’s older. I only warned her in advance what the siren would sound like and told her that we had to stand very still. Today, we were in Ashdod, visiting her grandmother. Three sirens blared. The first sounded when we were in the playground outside the synagogue. She stood... Full story
