Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1851 - 1875 of 3636
(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
I was born into what was known as the “Sha, Still” generation. Jews, who had been in the U.S. since long before the Declaration of Independence, still did not want to call attention to themselves in the 1930s. The fear of a backlash and stronger displays of anti-Semitism if Jews became too visible, too successful, was the order of the day. Lynchings were still taking place (the last one in Central Florida was in 1941). A Catholic priest by the name of Father Choughlin was preaching anti-Semitism on hundreds of radio stations. As we have poi... Full story
More than a week ago, the police recommended indictments on a half-dozen of prominent Israelis. The issue concerned the purchase of submarines and other warships from Thyssen Krupp a German firm in the port of Kiel. Involved in the police recommendation were a cousin and attorney of the prime minister, a former head of Israel’s Navy, and several others who held positions close to the top. Details were supplied by a confidant of them all, who had provided information, including recordings, that linked them to maneuvers that moved Israel’s pur... Full story
(JTA)—I don’t mean to get mushy about what for tens of thousands of people was a miserable night—and certainly won’t complain about an ugly snowstorm when dozens have died in California wildfires—but Thursday night’s “Snowvember” taught me a lot about the kindness of friends and strangers and the strength of Jewish community. In case you don’t happen to live in the center of the universe, a recap: New York City and environs were expecting the first snow of the season Thursday afternoon. The predictions were for two to three inches, with slop... Full story
(JTA)—When Stan Lee died on Nov. 12 at 95, he left behind a vast legacy. Between 1961 and 1969, his greatest sustained burst of creative activity, he co-created a vast array of iconic characters, including Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Avengers, the Incredible Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Black Panther, Daredevil, Nick Fury, Doctor Strange and Falcon. Lee raised the bar for superhero storytelling. He created characters who had godlike powers, but who were painfully human nonetheless. They were relatable because of their flaws and foib... Full story
(JNS)—The Arab world has so far been indifferent to the political crisis currently plaguing Israel. This may indicate that the Arabs simply expect the next Israeli elections to bring about more of the same with respect to the makeup and balance of power in the government, but it also seems that many Arab rulers are in no rush to see a change in the nature of the Israeli government. The messiah may not be coming anytime soon, but we are in the midst of a golden age in term of Israel’s relations with the Arab world. From the Persian Gu... Full story
Dear Editor, Once again, you have published articles on your editorial pages from writers, including absolutely no identification of their affiliation, organization, etc. It helps immensely to know the background and perspective of the writer when we read an article. As an example, in the Nov. 9 issue, there is an article by Norman Berdichevsky, with no reference point at all. What is his position, location, organization, etc.? In the Nov. 16 issue you have an article by Caroline Glick, previously published in the Jerusalem Post. No information... Full story
By Andrew Silow-Carroll (JTA)—My father, whose own father changed his unpronounceable last name to Carroll when he came to America, would often tell a story about job hunting in the late 1940s and 50s. It was only after the interview that the men across the desk would ask, “And all we need now is a recommendation from your clergyman.” “I knew what you are asking,” Dad would tell them. “And yes I’m Jewish” He suspects he lost out on a lot of jobs, although somehow he became what he thinks was the first Jewish high school principal on Lo... Full story
When it comes to Jews and Israel, the Boston Globe has a habit of inverting reality in the nastiest ways imaginable. Decades ago, the Globe reported on a Palestinian who had been arrested after the bomb he was making blew up and blinded him. The Globe headline? “Israelis Arrest Blind Palestinian.” Really. For years on the holiest Jewish day of Yom Kippur, when Jews repent for their personal sins, the Globe published op-eds by an anti-Israel Jewish activist who hectored Boston’s Jews to repent for “oppressing” the Palestinians. And then ther... Full story
(JNS)—In the summer of 1993, I found myself at one of the most unsettling dinner engagements that I have yet experienced. I was a young journalist writing about the war in Bosnia, and a friend of mine in London who was working as an aide to Haris Silajdzic, the Bosnian foreign minister at the time, called one day with an invitation to sneak into a private dinner Silajdzic was attending in the British capital that same evening. “Sure,” I enthused. “Where?” “South Kensington,” my friend laughed. “The Iranian Embassy.” I went along. Under a hu... Full story
In light of the recent tragedy in Pittsburgh, I have reflected on my vision of the future of the American Jewish community. These are my “Points to Ponder” ideas to reflect upon for the future survival of the American Jewish community-long term and our local Jewish Community. Points to Ponder 1. Why is there no voice for right of center Jewish voices in the greater Orlando area? All programs seem to lean toward the “left” which is not an accurate accounting of our local Jewish community. Why has there not been a demographic study made of the gr... Full story
(JNS)—Who is the most evil: the Nazis or followers of radical Islam, white supremacists or Louis Farrakhan and Linda Sarsour? This is the great American Jewish debate. The not-so-hidden rationale for this passionate debate is to justify loyalty to one political party and slam the other. Truth: They are all horribly evil. The question remains: Is finger-pointing where American Jews should spend their angst and energy? In lieu of this waste of time, allow me to propose four very basic steps to fight Jew hatred. Pick any one of them or all of t... Full story
Dear Editor: When my husband recently passed away, I tried to attend minyan every day. I went to the Jewish Academy during the week where I met a number of dedicated people who were there for me. BUT WE DID NOT HAVE A MINYAN EVERY DAY. If we were missing one and had only nine the Torah took that person’s place. Once or twice we had to depend on getting a teacher to stand in if we had only eight in order to recite Kaddish. I told the group that I would give back by attending at least once a month, on a Monday, which seemed to be the day when T... Full story
For months now, through the course of the recently completed elections, I have been asking myself one basic question. Not who’s right or wrong. Not who’s better or worse. Not who will I support or fight. We all have our personal, predetermined answers to those. My question is this: what is a good word? I’ve written column after column calling attention to that very phrase. I’ve tried to use “good words,” and sometimes the words I’ve chosen have been what people might consider “bad words”—c... Full story
I know a thing or two about underdogs, having lived for some time in an underdog town in an underdog country. The town: Kiryat Shmona. The country: Israel. To the north and to the west, beyond a ridge of high hills, lay Lebanon. To the east, beyond majestic Mount Hermon, stretched Syria. I was hired for the crew of an American television broadcasting and news gathering operation headquartered in Marjayoun, southern Lebanon. This was a good three decades ago, and in those days, the south of Lebanon amounted to Israel’s “security belt.” The Leban... Full story
The Bill of Rights, one of the most important underpinnings of our American experiment in free self-government, is in realty a “Bill of Obligations,” instructing our government not to unreasonably intrude into the private lives and freedom of the American people. The very first words of the 1st Amendment are, “Congress shall make no law ...” The rest of the text details in what areas Congress is restrained or prohibited from acting. The language does not define what the people can do but rather, what the government is prohibited from doing.... Full story
