Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1876 - 1900 of 3636
erally pulled my car to the curb, listening to determine the city in which it occurred, and sat until I could gain my composure. A lone gunman attack on a synagogue at 10 a.m. on a Saturday morning. A baby naming in progress? Children in school? Worshipers in the sanctuary? Total disbelief. This is America, not Argentina; not France; not Turkey or Africa. We don’t live within the vestiges of this level of brutality. A heinous act encompassing the most blatant anti-Semitism in the purest of senseless evil. An evil that is not comprehendible b... Full story
Just hours after the largest massacre of Jews in America in U.S. history, the Atlantic Monthly posted a piece by Franklin Foer. In his “Prayer for Squirrel Hill, and for American Jewry,” Foer wrote, “Any strategy for enhancing the security of American Jewry should involve shunning [President Donald] Trump’s Jewish enablers. Their money should be refused, their presence in synagogues not welcome. They have placed our community in danger.” That is, in the shadow of the blood-drenched synagogue, Foer declared war on his fellow Jews. Between a quar... Full story
Last week marked the 80th anniversary of one of the single most infamous anti-Semitic days in history. Observing and understanding this anniversary is all the more critical in the wake of the anti-Semitic Pittsburgh massacre. While hatred of Jews is sadly not new, one thing new today is the solidarity among Jews and Christians standing united against anti-Semitism. By contrast, in the 1930s, many church leaders openly supported the rise of Nazi anti-Semitism. Known as Kristallnacht—the Night of Broken Glass—on the night of November 9, 193... Full story
The 78 percent figure frequently referred to by Democrat apologists as if it were The Holy Grail, is based on entry or exit polls whereas many Jews are reluctant to identify themselves as conservatives and risk peer pressure. In many synagogues, there are both rabbis and congregants who have a knee-jerk reaction to political issues denigrating conservatives and Republicans as reactionaries or anti-Semites, yet even if the real figure is “only” 70 percent, it is tragic and signifies the Jewish vote is of little strategic importance in the pocket... Full story
(JNS)—It was a gray and drizzly day in Pittsburgh, in what is usually a beautiful place, green and fresh, when a synagogue was hit at 9:45 a.m. on Saturday, becoming yet another target of that inexhaustible strain that is homicidal anti-Semitism—one of history’s most flourishing plants. As the alleged gunman Robert Bower opened fire on Jews who were participating in Shabbat-morning services on Saturday morning, he screamed, “All Jews must die.” He was, it seems, a “lone wolf,” and they are attributing the gesture by this monster that shot upo... Full story
(Mida via JNS)—Social-justice warriors and progressives went berserk this week when Israel exercised its right, as any sovereign nation, to determine who enters its borders. It barred an anti-Israeli American student from entering the country and ordered her deported over her alleged support for anti-Israel boycott efforts. There are few places on earth whose very mention causes anger hives to break out, rivers of rage to flow and violent marches of madness to occur, like one small country on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. That p... Full story
By Jonathan Feldstein Anti-Semitism thrives and is unleashed, among other things, when hate is fostered and allowed to go unchecked. But anti-Semites rarely need an “excuse” to do so. Following the attack on the Pittsburgh synagogue last week, many blame the current president and his rhetoric for that. Perhaps. However no less significant is when former president Clinton shared the stage with and gives credibility to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, one of the most rabid anti-Semites in the U.S., as if that’s normal and OK. Just by be... Full story
(Mida via JNS)—We may be witnessing the beginning of the end of the Jewish Diaspora. While the anti-Semitic terrorist attack against a synagogue in Pittsburgh is a grave warning for American Jewry, the danger for Jews in Scandinavian countries, France and Britain has been evident for some time. The Jewish Diaspora is the most enduring exile in human history. For 2,000 years, the Jewish people has been scattered across the globe and contributed disproportionately to humanity. Against all odds, Jews have survived persecution from the times of B... Full story
Dear Editor: I want to express condolences for the loss and suffering of our Jewish friends. I, among many, was touched by the rabbi’s consoling words to the nations, despite such heartache: “My cup runs over with love!” The essence of charity that heals the soul and body of believers. Thank you! Dorothy Wilson Casselberry Editor’s note: This letter was written in long hand Oct. 29 and sent to the Heritage via mail.... Full story
Our youngest, now midway through his first semester of college, has made a rapid and positive transition to his new life. Friends, classes, study time and party time all seem to have fallen into place. And we find ourselves adjusting as well to our quieter space and a slower pace, and as much as I still don’t like the emptiness, and infinitely prefer his presence to his absence, there is also the inevitability of the situation—the growth into adulthood and separation and individuation we all... Full story
This coming Tuesday Americans will go to the polls, to elect a new House of Representative and one-third of the U.S. Senate. This election has been called by the political pundits and media talking heads the most important election in American history. As a side note, I do not remember an election in my lifetime that has not been so categorized by the media. The fact is every American election cycle is important, not only to Americans, but to people world-wide because America’s policies both at home and abroad effect vast numbers of the world’s... Full story
(JNS)—Jordan’s King Abdullah II, in what has been described as a “sharp tone,” announced this week that he would annul an appendix to the 1994 Israeli/Jordanian peace treaty under which certain parcels of lands in the border regions—the Naharayim (Baqura) area near the Sea of Galilee and Zofar (al Ghamar), some 80 miles north of Eilat in the Aqaba region—were to have been leased to Israel in perpetuity. Jews have farmed these lands since 1926, when the then-British Mandatory power authorized it, along with the establishment of a power stati... Full story
Over the years, it has become apparent in the college community that Zionism is not only disapproved of, but discriminated against, with such outstanding remarks against Israel’s very existence. The already confirmed annual Students for Justice in Palestine Conference at University of California, Los Angeles in November expresses blatant discrimination against Zionists and Jewish students alike. As an organization, SJP goes out of their way to vehemently express their disgust and hatred toward Jewish students and pro-Israel organizations. These... Full story
(JNS)—It seems pretty clear to me that I care about my Reform and Conservative brethren in the United States more than much of their own rabbinic and lay leadership. They could have asked people like me—someone who represents the majority of Israelis and who wants the State of Israel to have a strong Jewish identity—to attend and talk, but they didn’t. I have many family and friends who are Reform and Conservative Jews in America, and they want to be proud Jews. They also want to feel connected to their homeland, Israel. Yet, their own rabbini... Full story
(Mida via JNS)—The recent Gaza hostilities against Israel constitute a continuation of an intractable conflict with seemingly no end in sight. Ultimately, it is rooted in the Jewish people’s unique relationship with power and its unwillingness to use it. Israel and the Israel Defense Forces have effectively neutralized two main predicaments plaguing the Jewish people for 2,000 years: homelessness and defenselessness. Against all odds, the Jewish people created one of the finest and best fighting forces in the world, the IDF, which, like oth... Full story
Observers lament lack of wide-ranging views at Federation's General Assembly in Tel Aviv (JNS)-The 2018 annual General Assembly, held this year in Tel Aviv, took on a decidedly different tone to previous conventions. Focused on the theme, "Israel and the Diaspora: We need to talk," calls came for a respectful but serious dialogue on key issues that have been troubling America's Jewish communal establishment. Yet many of the hard questions being asked of Israel by a largely liberal Jewish... Full story
(JNS)—The confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh as the newest associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court was greeted by the organized Jewish world in the same manner as his nomination by U.S. President Donald Trump. While some organizations stayed silent, liberal-leaning Jewish groups generally deplored his ascension to the high court. The far smaller number of conservative-leaning groups that label themselves as Jewish cheered him. But the willingness of so many of the institutions that are tasked with representing Jewish interests to seek to drag... Full story
(Camera on Campus via JNS)—As the U.S. Air Force C-17 left Afghan airspace, I allowed myself to relax for a brief moment. My year-long tour in Kabul, Afghanistan, was over. Returning home, I thought of those fellow soldiers, including my command sergeant major, who had not been so fortunate. In their service to the United States, they had been killed by the Taliban. In remembering them, I thought of the oath that we had all taken: to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” Now,... Full story
Earlier this month my wife and I flew to Iceland to chase and hopefully observe the Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights, a spectacular colorful light show appearing in the night sky above the arctic circle, and in some instances even at lower latitudes. This heavenly event is caused when intense solar activity increases the solar wind and spews out highly charged particles strong enough to break out of the sun’s gravitational pull, which then travel to the outer limits of the solar system. As this solar wind passes through Earth’s magnetic fie... Full story
Rabbinic debate has a long history in Judaism. In that spirit, I am responding respectfully to Rabbi Sanford’s Olshansky’s article in the Heritage accusing Mayor Andrew Gillum of being anti-Israel and Chris King of being anti-Semitic. Both charges are extremely serious and should not be made without full investigation, knowing all of the facts, and speaking to those who personally know them. Truth is a basic value in Judaism and we are not permitted to accuse someone of something that is not true in order to create fear of that person. How oft... Full story
(Israel Hayom via JNS)—Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced on Saturday that he was stopping the newly resumed supply of fuel and gas to the Gaza Strip, and added: “As long as the violence on the Gaza border does not come to a complete halt, including sending burning balloons over the fence and setting tires on fire near Israeli communities located near Gaza, Israel will not be resupplying the Gaza Strip with fuel or gas.” On the other hand, Hamas leaders claim daily that the “marches of return on the border will end only wh... Full story
(JNS)—Given the rising tensions on the Israel-Gaza border, it is time we ask Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman: How many times can you threaten Hamas? How many times can you say “Somebody stop me” before your credibility, as well as the military’s ability to effectively generate deterrence, will be completely eroded? The Palestinians have marked significant propaganda achievements over the past seven months. Islamic Jihad has declared that its operatives will not allow any normalcy for the border-... Full story
At the end of the month, the Jewish Federations of North America will hold their annual General Assembly in Israel. And while the Federations’ decision to hold their annual conference in Israel rather than America seems at face value to be a statement of solidarity with Israel, in this case, it isn’t. Five months after U.S. President Donald Trump moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv in an extraordinary act of friendship, the Jewish Federations of North America chose to hold their annual General Assembly in... Tel Aviv. The nam... Full story
There was a time when “real” anti-Semitism was alive and doing well in the United States. I have written before that had we moved to Shaker Heights, Ohio, two years earlier than we did, we could not have bought a house there. It was not until 1948 that the “No Jews” restriction was declared illegal. At that time there were quotas on the number of Jews allowed in many medical and law schools around the country. Most country clubs did not allow Jews (we retaliated by opening our own country clubs and not allowing gentiles). Before the war, Je... Full story
(JNS)—Some American pundits are slamming Israel for denying entry to Palestinian-American student Lara Alqasem. Perhaps they should take a look at America’s own laws concerning the admission of extremists before they throw mud at Israel. In 2014, Ms. Alqasem became a member of the anti-Israel group Students for Justice in Palestine at her home campus, the University of Florida. She didn’t join as some passing lark; she was an activist who rose through the ranks, becoming vice president of the chapter, and then serving as president in 2016-... Full story
